The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Radiance of the queen 

    Radiance of the queen 

    •Emergence of Asisat Oshoala as BBC’s first global preeminent female player is good omen for a renascent Nigeria         

    In truth she had been nothing but spectacular, the way she burst on the Nigerian and global football audience in 2014. That year, Asisat Oshoala won everything there was to win in female football, both in Africa and at the global stage.

    At the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada, Asisat won both the highest scorer and best championship player, officially tagged the Most Valuable Player (MVP). The only diadem she lost was the championship itself, in which Nigeria lost to Germany in the final.

    Fresh from that, she moved seamlessly into the full female national side, and won, with Nigeria, the Africa Women Championship in Namibia. Not only that: she also emerged the MVP.

    Come the Confederation of African Football (CAF) yearly awards for 2014, on January 8, Asisat also emerged both the African Women’s football player of the year, after earlier being named the best young female player on the continent.

    Later, she would move to Liverpool Ladies FC in England, from her Nigerian club, Rivers Angels FC. She also wasted no time to settle down, making herself a vital member of that team; and scoring crucial goals en route to doing that. Right now, “Queen Asisat” is with the Nigeria Super Falcons, preparing for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, holding in Canada from June 6 to July 5.

    So, her final shortlist for the BBC inaugural award, with four others, was not exactly a surprise. The final five were Veronica Boquette (Spain and FFC Frankfurt), Nadine Kessler (Germany and VFL Wolfsburg), Kim Little (Scotland and Seattle Reign FC), Marta (Brazil and FC Rosengard) and Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria and Liverpool Ladies).

    But the result must have surprised many — not because Asisat lacked the technical ability and athletic discipline, but because she would appear quite some green horn, in comparison with the strong field.

    The Brazilian Marta, for instance, had won the FIFA Women’s Footballer of the Year five consecutive times between 2006 and 2010. The other three are also more established names; in any case, playing in bigger and better organised leagues, across Europe and America.  Besides, Asisat, at 20, was the youngest in the pack. Yet she landed the diadem: Asisat Oshoala, the first ever BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year!

    Her win is again a reiteration of one thing: Nigeria is a storehouse of talents in almost every sphere of human life. With discipline and devotion, that raw gold can easily emerge as a global reference point in sheer glitter. In this age of national doubt and near-collapse, Asisat’s feat is indeed a good sign.

    Believers in perceptive symbolism, if not outright metaphysics, could even push the argument further: her emergence, from virtual nowhere comparatively, is good omen that Nigeria may well be rousing in the right directions.

    If Akinwunmi Adeshina’s election as the new president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) is added to the mix, it is refreshing that for once, good news, not torrid tales, are emanating from this country. Add that to the emergence of a new Muhammadu Buhari government, on which Nigerians, the rest of Africa and indeed the whole of the world pin new hopes, it is no doubt a loving symbol of better days ahead.

    Still, beyond the grandiose and the symbolic, the lesson from Asisat’s feat is simple: talent is never enough, except when well honed. That is the magic of Asisat’s success. If Nigeria deliberately and consistently hones her surplus natural talents, she would be a world beater in no time.

    But back to the young woman: it is morning yet on honour’s day. That is why she should work even harder to improve on her rising profile. It is therefore the patriotic duty of her coaches to manage her such that she is not exposed to crippling pressure. That is the surest way she can achieve her full potential.

    ‘Still, beyond the grandiose and the symbolic, the lesson from Asisat’s feat is simple: talent is never enough, except when well honed. That is the magic of Asisat’s success. If Nigeria deliberately and consistently hones her surplus natural talents, she would be a world beater in no time’

    Congratulations, Queen Asisat!  Congratulations, Nigeria.

  • Lesson from Israel

    Lesson from Israel

    • Jailing its former PM testifies to the power of the rule of law

    The primacy of the rule of law as against the rule of man is quite sobering, in its fundamental import. The attribute that all men are equal before the law, without the George Orwell’s epitaph in his book, the Animal Farm, to boot: ‘but some are more equal than others’, seems to have played out in Israel last week, when former Prime Minister Ehmud Olmert was jailed for eight months, on charges of receiving bribe, fraudulent conduct and breach of trust. The possibility of jailing such a political stalwart, is a testimony to enduring democracy in Israel, and we commend it.

    The former prime minister was also jailed for six years, last year, for receiving bribe over a Jerusalem real estate scandal. In both instances, the disgraced former prime minister, who was ousted in 2009, following bribery allegations, has appealed the sentences. To get at Mr Olmert, his former office manager and confidant, Shula Zaken, became a state witness, after his earlier acquittal, for lack of evidence. At his trial, it was discovered that Olmert got about 600,000dollars from a United States business man, Moris Talansky.

    For us, punishment for malfeasance must be blind to political or other privileges, in any nation that lays claim to egalitarian democracy. The current practice in Nigeria where the rule of law is prejudiced by such privileges is unfortunate, and that may explain our state of underdevelopment. In our country for now, it is perhaps far-fetched to expect a former head of government to be called to account, not to talk of being sent to jail. As our experience shows, the trial of several political office holders in the courts has remained more of a circus show, than a sobering encounter with the law.

    The Israeli experience of equality of all citizens before the law is common in several other prosperous nations, and it is fundamental to their national success. The primary benefit as can be gleaned is that those who are privileged to preside over the affairs of such states, particularly its resources, understand that they are exercising positions of public trust. Thus, when prudence is the hallmark of public service, the people are the primary beneficiaries, as that translates to improvement in the quality of service. Evidence clearly shows that nations that disregard the rule of law, lack improvement in infrastructure and standard of living.

    So, we commend to the new administration in our country, insistence on treating all men equally. As President Muhammadu Buhari stated in his inaugural speech, our courts must wake up to their onerous responsibilities, especially when dealing with cases of corruption and abuse of office. Perhaps as a mark of such re-awakening, all cases of corruption across the country, especially those that have lasted for years, need to be justly brought to a close, within the shortest possible time. With the assistance of the National Judicial Council, all cases of corruption should be given priority by the judges in our courts.

    Again, it is heartening that the president in his address laid emphasis on treating all Nigerians equally, without fear or favour, when he said that he belongs to all, but none in particular. We therefore expect that every Nigerian, regardless of social status, will thus be accorded the same privileges and liabilities under the law. One thing the new administration must ensure we do away with is expeditious trial for common criminals and prolonged circus show, in the name of trial, for privileged Nigerians. Once Nigerians are put on the same page before the laws of the land, many of our current challenges would be resolved.

     

  • Bestiality in Bata

    Bestiality in Bata

    •Equatorial Guinean policeman’s assault on Nigerian diplomat is base and unacceptable

    Though the rash of xenophobic upwelling in South Africa recently may have subsided, it seems the scourge is still latent, alive and well in parts of Africa. The unprovoked and unwarranted attack of a Nigerian diplomat in Bata, capital of Equatorial Guinea, mid- May is a clear pointer to the fact that the tendency of citizens of some African countries to unleash malicious attacks on non-citizens is still high and may require concerted efforts of the African Union to tackle.

    The sad tale of Nigerian diplomat, Mr. Noah Ichaba, makes the case for an urgent, inter-governmental action. Ichaba, according to reports, was brutalised in broad daylight on a Saturday morning in the heart of the capital city of Bata. Narrating the incident, Ichaba said he was in a cab which had been stopped by a traffic light at a roundabout in the city. Presently, a policeman had emerged and spoken to the driver and occupants in Spanish. When the policeman eventually turned to him, he had explained that he did not understand Spanish but English.

    The Equatorial Guinean policeman was said to have become enraged and started raising his voice. Ichaba’s fellow passengers had told him the cop was demanding his papers. He had handed the policeman his diplomatic identity card which was issued by the Foreign Ministry of Equatorial Guinea. The cop who was apparently infuriated the more, ordered the Nigerian diplomat out of the taxi.

    As Ichaba tried to make him take a look at his identity, the policeman reportedly dragged him out of the cab, snatched the identity card and tried to destroy it. He then pounced on the Nigerian, slapping, butting and kicking him in the glare of numerous onlookers.

    This seemingly unprovoked and malicious assault on a Nigerian diplomat on duty in Equatorial Guinea by a uniformed policeman is no doubt an affront to Nigeria; it is a violation of Mr. Ichaba’s personal rights and a debasement of all the ideals enshrined both in the AU and UN charters on the dignity of the human person. This action is also a violation of the diplomatic immunity accorded diplomats by the Vienna Convention of the UN.

    In a protest letter to the Equatorial Guinea authorities, against this crude and barbaric act, the Consulate-General of Nigeria in Bata has demanded that attacks of this nature should stop forthwith. It has also demanded an apology. The letter noted further that “this unfortunate incident demonstrates the unfair treatment that even our nationals receive at the hands of (Equatorial Guinea) policemen and it is now being extended to diplomats…”

    We aver that this matter is so grave that mere diplomatic protests and a demand for apologies would not be enough. The Federal Government ought to have immediately made a strong statement by summoning the Equatorial Guinean ambassador to Nigeria and insisted on an open and public apology from his home government. The message must go out clearly that Nigeria would not stand for any affront from any country. That a policeman in uniform would act in such a violent manner that the person was a diplomat or a Nigerian should be a cause for worry for the Nigerian authorities.

    In the face of growing xenophobic tendencies especially in the South and Central African parts of the continent, the Nigerian government must spearhead efforts that will lead to conferences and seminars by AU member states against the incipient hate sentiments among the peoples of Africa. Nigeria must show leadership by initiating and leading the campaign to stop hate and violence by Africans against fellow Africans.

    Although the harm done Mr Ichaba cannot be undone, the Federal Government should ensure that the Equatorial Guinean authorities pay for the assault.

     

  • Nigerians need real change

    SIR: The PDP government has failed Nigeria in the past decade and half. Nigerians do not need tinkering on the margins. We need real change in orientation from decadence to real growth with equity, employment and inclusion.

    Interconnections must be established among economic, social and environmental dimensions of development. Nigeria needs to invest in agriculture and agro-processing enterprises. Rampant corruption, sectarianism, cronyism and gross mismanagement of public funds must face a frontal attack, not arresting one individual for public consumption but all who have stolen the nation’s wealth must face the full wrath of the law. Dismissing or suspending a few police officers does not mean restoration of human rights and fundamental freedoms, there must be total reform in the Nigerian Police. We voted for change and change we must see after May 29.

    PDP government has failed. Controlling inflation, important as it is, is not enough. Measuring progress in economic growth and per capita income terms is necessary but not sufficient condition for improving living standards of all. Launching a new vision without providing a roadmap about its implementation, monitoring and evaluation isn’t helpful. For that reason 2020 vision died on the very day it was launched in part because the then president hadn’t seen the final version, it was a rushed plan. The drafters of the vision never provided the methodology and indeed it was planned to fail.

    Overemphasis on export in agricultural produce including foodstuffs has damaged the environment through de-vegetation and chemical pollution, overfishing and deforestation and reduction of food supplies in the domestic market contributing to severe under-nutrition. Poorly fed women produce underweight children with permanent physical and mental disabilities, children develop smaller brain size than normal and constrain their ability to learn and underfed adults don’t have the energy to perform optimally.

    Exchange rate adjustment in favor of exports has made the price of imports very expensive for consumers and investors. Keeping inflation so low has reduced money in circulation and drove interest rates so high that few investors are able to borrow and invest. Consequently economic growth has declined considerably following exhaustion of excess capacity. Nigeria’s economy needs to grow at an average rate of 10 percent to meet the Millennium Development Goals by 2020.

    Nigeria is well endowed in human, natural and financial resources. The problem is poor leadership. What General Muhammadu Buhari needs is a government of all stakeholders to sort out the mess that has accumulated since 1999. Those who have helped cripple the economy of the nation must not be allowed to serve again, no matter the party they belong. Nigerians can’t afford another failed four years under Buhari.

    Gen. Buhari must avoid the mistake of rushing to choose his cabinet ministers without knowing who they are. We should not have criminals in government again. Nigerians are hopeful that our children unborn will see why we voted out the PDP government and be grateful for the future opportunity that will be provided to them by the Buhari regime.

     

    • Comrade Ahmed Omeiza Lukman,

    Kiev Ukraine.

  • Unending mess

    Both the government and fuel marketers are to blame for the current scarcity  

    With the truce brokered by the Senate Monday last week, under which fuel marketers and transporters agreed to resume lifting of products, the nation would appear to have taken a breather from the crippling shortages that nearly brought Africa’s largest economy to its knees. At this time, the question is how long the truce would hold in the event that the main issues at the heart of the crisis have merely been passed over.

    Today, if the activities in the terribly opaque, fraud-ridden fuel import-distribution chain under which Africa’s largest oil producer is fleeced in multiples of hundreds of billions of naira annually are any revealing, it is the increasingly unchallengeable power of a cabal that only needs to cough for the entire economy to catch cold. Ordinarily, it would seem unimaginable that a dispute over N200 billion bill, which the oil marketers insisted must be paid – and which the government claims legitimate basis to query– could throw the country into fortnight-long spasm with reverberations across the broad spectrum of the economy.

    For once, Nigerians must worry that a tiny segment of economic players like the oil marketers not only continue to hold the country by the jugular but are ever so ready to enforce a total shut-down without minding the costs to the national economy. It must also be seen as worrisome that the national security implications of the act appears to have been lost to the feuding parties.

    Of course, the crisis merely presents the familiar symptom of the age-long disease afflicting the nation’s downstream petroleum sector – the failure by Nigeria to meet its domestic requirement in refined petroleum products locally. Every other thing – from marketers’ intransigence to the latest revelation of the astounding knowledge gap of those only too eager to be cited as authorities in our public finance, including the failure to have a firm handle on the book-keeping and accounting practices of the petroleum downstream sector after several years – are merely its derivatives. Needless to state that the riddle of how much fuel the nation consumes and how much is imported to qualify for the so-called subsidy lies in-between.

    Unlike the erstwhile finance minister that would rather demonise the marketers, the position of these actors, most of whom trade with borrowed funds obviously deserves some understanding. Dismissing their fears as baseless as the government did is certainly unhelpful to the extent that the government itself has not acted with utmost faith and responsibility towards them.

    Having said that, we must say that we find their latest action as one too many. Hyping their fears only to turn round to prey on the crisis they created is not only wrong, it is irresponsible and immoral. Immoral because the marketers have done little else than profiteer from the agonies of fellow citizens, selling fuel at cut-throat prices while at the same time pressing for their subsidy claims.

    But then, just as culpable was the Jonathan administration that opted to do nothing even when the marketers started to make good their threat. Was the administration lulled into sleep on the basis of the so-called 28 days strategic stock? Couldn’t the government have seen the grave national security challenge thrown up by the paralysis enough to have put measures in place to get the stock to the pumps?

    Going forward, the lessons would seem clear enough: while the current cycle of import-dependence continues, the country would continue to experience cyclic disruptions from the activities of disparate players in the fuel supply chain. And just as we have always said, boosting the nation’s refining capacity by getting more refineries on board would seem the surest bet to remove potential hiccups and the countless parasites along the value chain.

  • Bank loan defaulters

    N138bn loss in one year is worrisome; CBN should wake up to its responsibilities

    We loathe a situation where the issue of bank loans default gradually becomes a Frankenstein’s monster which, rather than be nipped in the bud, becomes a romanticised item by the topmost hierarchy of the banking sector. Yet, the avoidable quagmire is not beyond redemption.

    In a report based on data obtained from the 2014 annual reports of banks, it was stated that loan default by bank customers created a combined loss of N138bn amongst 13 deposit money banks (DMBs) within the 2014 financial year. The losses purportedly incurred under their respective interest expenses, were usually charged against profits made in a financial year. The breakdown of the affected five Tier-1 banks as reported include, Access Bank Plc.- N11.7billion; First Bank of Nigeria Limited-N25.9billion; Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.- N7.1billion; United Bank for Africa Plc. N6.6billion; and Zenith Bank Plc-N13.1billion. Collectively, banks in this category incurred total loan impairment charges of N64.4billion.

    On another level, eight Tier-2 category banks also affected in the report with breakdowns of the amount owed them include: Diamond Bank Plc.- N26.4billion; First City Monument Bank Limited- N10.6billion; Fidelity Bank Plc.- N4.3billion; Stanbic IBTC Bank- N3.2billion; Sterling Bank Plc.-N7.4billion; Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.-N6.6billion; Unity Bank Plc.-N15billion; and Wema Bank Plc.- N0.1billion. Collectively, they have a total of N73.6billion credit losses. Again, the provision for the losses were made from charges against the income or profit made for a given period. This is huge when the loss of N138billion is spread across the 13 banks, it gives an equivalent of a scandalous over N10billion loss per bank.

    We realise the unstable nature of the nation’s environment that negatively impacts on businesses. Here, we are talking about things such as high interest rate of sometimes 28 to 30 per cent, unsustainably high foreign exchange rate and irregular government policies, among other risk factors. Consequently, it is not impossible that several industries/companies established with large chunk of credit facility might have witnessed avoidable difficulty; but we also know that most times, the required compulsory feasibility studies were not effectively conducted by designated bank officials while the necessary collaterals and insurance guarantee, in most cases of loan default, were handled with levity. And because the bank officers involved can make impairment charges recommendation without any definite sanction by the banks on the erring officers, that bad trend has become intractable.

    While we unequivocally call on the government to endeavour to improve the business environment, it is also pertinent to admonish the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its inefficient discharge of its supervisory role over the commercial banks. Additionally, it takes the banks so long to make this avoidable trend public simply because most officials of banks saddled with the responsibility of ensuring conformity to requirements and standards in loans granted, with the exception of natural business risk factors, compromised the process, thereby making their banks vulnerable to credit losses.

    This detrimental loan default has become a recurring decimal and a scandal in an economy like ours. The retrogressive trend that is gradually becoming a vicious circle is nothing but a manifestation of the case of corruption catching up with the banks, but with greater consequences on bank customers.

    Henceforth, we demand, like we had canvassed in numerous editorials on the subject, that the name and shame policy of chronic loan defaulters should be implemented without further delay. The CBN should set up a Credit Bureau as institutional/systemic checks to vet loan applicants so as to stop the criminal incidence of loan refinancing among banks, and to enforce standards across board on loan issues.

  • Unpaid salaries

    Unpaid salaries

    Federal and state governments owing public sector workers should  find means of meeting this obligation

    At the last count, 18 state governments are said to owe their workers their monthly wages. This was confirmed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) last week as it encouraged the state chapters of the beleaguered workers’ body to lead the public servants in protesting the development. It is unfortunate that at a time when the economic situation in the country is biting very hard, governments have shown that they are incapable of fulfilling such a basic obligation, thus subjecting workers and their dependants to untold hardship. When a government is unable to pay wages, it is an indication that all other responsibilities are on hold.

    The failure is not limited to the state governments. Frighteningly, the Federal Government has consistently in the past few months failed in paying staff salaries as and when due, an indication that the inability of the states to pay is a symptom of a deep-rooted national economic malaise that could only be tackled concertedly by all the stakeholders.

    The striking characteristics of a state include having a defined territory and population. The citizenry should thus be made happy and assured that in addition to warding off external aggression, the state is committed to guaranteeing its welfare and thus excite hope of a better and more prosperous future. Lately, the Nigerian state has failed in this regard and it is a major challenge that the Buhari administration will have to confront.

    The states where workers are crying for succour are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Benue, Cross River, Ekiti, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kogi, Katsina, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers and Zamfara. They owe their workers more than three months each, thus condemning them to poverty and misery. The public servants have continued to tell tales of woes. Many already have problems with landlords who have threatened to throw them out; others are unable to give family members due medical attention, while yet others have their children and wards attending private schools drop out. Governments exist to wipe away tears, not induce it.

    We are conscious of the explanation that the states have been badly affected by the indiscipline in the management of federal resources and the vicious withholding of statutory allocation from the federal purse to the federating units. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) responsible for sale and revenue accruing from oil has over the past year refused to duly render account for crude oil lifted and sold in the international market. The situation was worsened by the plunge in the price of the commodity. Since budget calculations were based on projections quite different from what we have today, state finances have been hit by the attendant crisis.

    We, however, know that corruption is not only a vice at the centre, but at the state level, too. When the going was good, many failed to plan for the lean days and are now paying the price. As the past government frittered national resources away, so did the state governments. In many, cost of governance kept ballooning without attention to the defective structure of the economy. Governors were often seen moving about within and outside the country with large contingents. On occasions, money was moved out of the country as the state governments wastefully claimed to be touring the world to woo foreign investors.

    It behoves the new government at the federal level to recognise that what has hit the states is partly induced by the ineptitude and corruption at the centre and cannot thus be left to them. It must be duly acknowledged as an emergency calling for concerted attention. Since some states are not that affected, but nonetheless confronted by other challenges, we recommend that the Federal Government should introduce a package of loans for the affected states. Such loans must be paid back to the Federation Account as soon as the situation improves.

    The Federal Government, too, has a duty to lead by example by ensuring that fiscal discipline is introduced and transparency becomes the watchword in the management of the common patrimony. Complaints by state governments about under-declaration of revenue must be immediately looked into and a report released. Only competent and frugal managers should be appointed to run the NNPC and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, among others.

    This is not an era for the business as usual approach to governance. It is also a time to commence the march towards fiscal federalism. Too much resources and powers are concentrated at the federal level, thus making the concept of federalism a huge joke in the country. The mobilisation and application of funds should largely devolve to the federating units. Concentration of resources in the hands and control of a few could only breed leakages, inefficiency and corruption. To boost the health of the national economy, this must stop.

    In the same vein, the Federal Government, the National Assembly and the state governments should work together towards reviewing the laws that prevent state governments from harnessing the resources in their domain.

  • Time to build institutions

    Time to build institutions

    • If he does not start well, he will play catch-up, and that does not bode well

    Today the Buhari era begins. And the glory and success of this era will depend on whether it is the institution that supervenes and not the will of the strong man.

    The history of Africa’s flirtation with progress has been defined by the ancient deference to men and the diminution of the process. That explains the grip for over two generations of a cabal of vicious stragglers around the corridor of power on the society. The consequence has not only been the atrophy of the republican ethos, but a slew of sufferings that include poverty, disease and ignorance.

    As the Buhari government marches onto the stage, the nation is in its lowest ebb for over a generation. The standard of education has plummeted, people die from preventable illnesses, infrastructure has decayed and where it has not, it is non-existent. We will concede that some state governors have etched their performances in stellar ways, even if such glorious doings still fall significantly short of the nation’s needs and expectations. Many young men and women have no jobs, and those who have skills cannot match their engagements with qualifications.

    Security, especially the rise of insurgency, has pockmarked the landscape of the north and paralysed the rhythm not only of commercial life but also of social life, and led to the evaporation of towns and villages and the defilement of womanhood.

    At the higher reaches of government, the greatest tragedy is rampant corruption. It has been noted that Nigeria’s main challenge is how to rise above the base instinct to satisfy individual and group interests at the expense of the corporate progress of country. Individuals, tribes, political groupings and religious fidelities take precedence over the happiness of the whole.

    That is the fulcrum of corruption. Our bulwark against this fortress of decay is the adherence to the principle of the rule of law. That is where the Buhari administration must begin.

    It is the adherence to the rule of law that will show that institutions are more important that the strong man. The end purpose of institutions is to ennoble the humans. We do not seek the law for the law’s sake. Humans make the law but the law ought to be bigger than the humans, for humans make the law in the ultimate interests of the humans.

    So, if we follow the principle of the rule of law, we shall not have the sort of impunity that besmirched the past half-decade when contracts were awarded on the basis of cronyism, and performance or execution of the contracts was rare or shoddy. Due process is a byproduct of the application of the rule of law. The right people get the contracts so that the right job is done, and the people will enjoy the right benefits.

    The tragedy of the power reforms under the Goodluck Jonathan administration was that due diligence did not take place, and those who eventually took over the GENCOs and DISCOs were not immersed in the finances and state of technology of the power companies they were buying. It led to a cap-in-hand rush to the government and banks for support, thereby problematising the tackling of darkness in our homes and power in the offices.

    The nation slid even further into energy crises, and the consequences were deeper poverty, unemployment and infrastructure travails.

    To pursue the rule of law cannot ensure a prosperous society but it lays its foundation. We shall continue to see the society as a place of rules and not of men. Talent will take superior position over cronyism and opportunism, and it will also trigger industry rather than the sluggish bones of the slothful who want to reap where they did not sow.

    With that we can build physical infrastructures that will not collapse over our heads but will serve as anchor for the farmer to get his wares to the consumer and the teacher to convey his message and give homework assignments without fear of power failure.

    Social infrastructure, underpinned by healthcare and education, will flourish. The mind and the body constitute the greatest assets to any society. Once these are guaranteed, all will flourish.

    One of the drawbacks of the Jonathan administration was lack of budgetary discipline. The reason was that the era lacked accountability and wallowed in profligacy. It is one flaw the Buhari administration must avoid, and it will do that by not only monitoring that the nation’s finances are well spent but also by making sure that it uses men and women of competence and integrity to work with him. Buhari should beware of the wily ways of tribal and religious loyalties that could ruin a worthy project.

    In a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society such as ours, a sense of balance and decency will do President Buhari  as well as the nation a lot of good. The Jonathan era was accused of caving in to the low impulses of faith and tribe and it even became defensive in blatant ways.

    President Buhari should not allow himself to be seen as a religious bigot or an ethnic avatar, and he must make self-conscious efforts to disabuse his fellow citizens of any such suggestions. Either by words, deeds or symbolism, he must loft himself as a Nigerian who embodies our secular aspirations even while professing our private pieties.

    Yet, we need him to pursue with a sense of stout leadership a project of true federalism. Nigeria carries too much of a throwback to the Unitarianism of the military era of which Buhari was a part. It will be a heroic paradox for him to direct our liberation from that suffocating grip and usher in a federalism in which states are allowed to flower, whether in terms of generating their own wealth or by way of guaranteeing their own security.

    Part of the unhealthy dependence on the centre for revenue and survival arises from a skewed constitution that gives the Federal Government power over the resources of states. He will do well to revive debates as well as documents of past rigorous work, and push legislations that will help unlock the wealth of the land.

    Also related to this is electoral reforms, where the Uwais report should serve as the starting point to ensuring that our elections do not rely too heavily on a few individuals, whether in parties or in the umpire bodies. The last elections have demonstrated how the Independent National Electoral Commission’s chairman, Attahiru Jega, could not change any result or process of election even when all saw that it was rigged.

    A civil service that does not work except to stultify a good process or help a corrupt government must know that it has no place in a modern society, and the Buhari administration must ensure that we return to the civil service reforms suggested in a recent work by Orosanye as a starting point.

    The task for the Buhari government is great, and he has to go down to work without fanfare. But Nigeria cannot be healed overnight. Work should be seen to have begun and in the right direction. That’s the only way his era can truly live up to the mantra of change chanted during the campaign season.

     

  • The team Buhari needs

    The team Buhari needs

    SIR: Jim Ron once said “you don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.”Nigerians are frustrated and impatient, all they want is a government that will yield good results and make living affordable for all. They are tired of incompetent politicians who are hugely paid merely for the hour, rather than the quality their hours have brought to the country. They are clamoring for a radical change.

    The problem of this country is very deep and people have voted for General Muhammadu Buhari believing he is an instrument that will bring forth the long desired change. There is no doubt that Buhari understands the country and he seems to be the best candidate to take Nigeria forward, GMB, as he is fondly called, cannot be said to possess the entirety of the competency needed because a tree does not make a forest. He needs competent hands so as to deliver as promised. Although the buck ends on his table, it is of paramount importance that he picks a good team that comprises of people who have energy and are willing to serve. There is no doubt that he has a quality research team, some who have proved themselves right over time. GMB should not be restricted to his team alone; he should spread his tentacles home and abroad. We have people who are non-partisan and have the capability to serve and have proved themselves worthy both in the private and public sector. Recycling those who have been in the system is not the best way out, competency can be found across board.

    Choosing the right team, that is, the competent people to work with will go a long way in defining GMB’s government. The problem that has always existed with our political system is the way our leaders choose their team. There should be a proper and quality selection process. The legislative arm of government is corrupt; their method of selection is porous. It is not necessary that this selection process should be carried out by them. We can get international recruitment firms or bodies who have nothing to gain but to carry out their duties and thereafter leave for their countries. People who think they are capable and wish to serve will be interviewed by them and even those nominated by Buhari himself. The body will be left to carry out their duty without undue influence. Where the country has always got it wrong is the recruitment process. An upright recruitment team that cannot be compromised will be of great advantage to his government.

    Also, it is not necessary that the members of his team should come from his party. We have some sound and intelligent people in other political parties who are hardworking. The President can choose from other parties inasmuch as they are capable and fit into his job portfolio. Selection can be done home and abroad, we have Nigerians scattered all over the world and can contribute to the success of our country. Getting the right team with guidelines clearly spelt out will be of great advantage to his government. Nigeria is a great country with potentials, we need people who can manage them and good results will be obvious to all and sundry.

    • Oluwasanmi Bukola,

    Lagos

  • Deadly lead

    •Incessant deaths from lead poisoning and mining sites call for a revamp of mining policies

    Again, the death of 28 children in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State from lead poisoning is a demonstration of how careless government policies could negatively impact the lives of citizens. The admission by the Minister of State for Health, Fidelis Nwankwo, that the children were all below the age of five, the bracket considered most vulnerable and often protected  in developed countries, shows that some public officers are negligent in the performance of their duties.

    It is pathetic that this is not the first time such a deadly occurrence would take place. In 2011, lead poisoning killed about 400, mainly children and women, in Zamfara State. As was the case then, the death this time arose from illegal mining of unprocessed ore by the people. The iron ores were mined, taken home for crude, manual processing and in the process the lead content interfered with food items that killed the children before they could receive help.

    In this case, about 65 cases were said to have been reported at local hospitals, while almost half could not respond to treatment.

    It is curious that the investigations carried out by the federal and state authorities after previous episodes did not produce sufficient safeguards against a recurrence. We are constrained to ask the governments of Niger, Zamfara, Sokoto and the federal ministries of health and solid minerals to make public reports of the panels. Besides, they should bring to account agencies and officials who failed to perform their tasks, thus leading to the avoidable deaths.

    The Federal Government must note that its over-concentration of power at the centre is a major cause of these incessant incidents of illegal mining and the attendant deaths. The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals is not in a position to mine and give mining licences to would-be miners. State governments are in better position to oversee such a process. We advocate that solid mineral mining should be moved from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list of the constitution, while eventually, as part of rearrangement of the structure of the federation, it should exclusively be a state responsibility as is the case in other federations.

    We note, too, that at the root of the very crude and manual mining is poverty. In most cases, the people involved know that they run a risk of poisoning, yet they  continue, hoping they would escape unhurt. This is similar to cases of those who rush to scoop gasoline wherever and whenever there are spills. It is well-known now that it is a dangerous escapade, but people who do not have enough to fend for their basic needs deploy members of their households to fetch some for sale.

    This calls for action by the different tiers of government to reduce the level of poverty in the land. The people are groaning and seek succour. But things are getting worse. Social infrastructure that should cushion the effect of the prevailing harsh economic reality has collapsed.

    The Nigerian state has responsibility to protect her young population, not kill them. The people are suffering and do not have the luxury of wearing plastic smiles as was the case years back when the late Afrobeat maestro, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, waxed the album, Suffering and Smiling. It is an indication that this is prelude to social revolution. We therefore call on the Buhari administration being inaugurated tomorrow to show concern for the vulnerable section of the population – the children and rural women; the economically exploited and socially abused.