The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • To what effect?

    To what effect?

    This is a whale of a sum, to say it plainly. By any account and in any currency, N800 billion amounts to much and should leave a silhouette of monuments, if not monuments wherever it is deployed. But accountability is not the forte of Nigeria’s public officials and when they must give account, they trifle with it or give it to suit their own purposes.

    This is why we are taken aback at the statement by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa. Speaking at a symposium in Lagos, Olaoluwa stated rather gleefully that BoI had disbursed about N800 billion to small and medium enterprises in the country in the last seven years.

    Regaling his audience with what he presented as the success story of a public development finance institution under his watch, he said: “What we have seen in the case of the Bank of Industry is that we have a model that appears to be succeeding. For example, in our intervention in small and medium enterprises space, our cumulative disbursement of loans was less than N30 billion up till 2009. But 2009 till date, we are looking at about N800 billion.”

    The natural question that follows Mr. Olaoluwa’s seeming favourable self-appraisal is: to what effect? Until 2001, BoI which was set up over 50 years ago as the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB); was structured to be a foremost lender institution to catalyse the start-up and growth of small and medium scale industries in Nigeria. It was meant to afford small businesses long-term funds at below market rates. BoI was designed to harness funds from the Federal Government and international development institutions for onward lending.

    However, for various reasons, the bank has been less than outstanding in achieving this noble objective. Taking the example of the last seven years’ total loan disbursements of N800 billion, this amounts to over N100 billion per annum injected into funding small and medium businesses. It would have been much salutary if we have seen a showcase of businesses availed this huge facility over these years.

    It is not enough to tell Nigerians that so much large sum has been disbursed in the last seven years; that clearly amounts to playing pranks with figures. It is akin to telling us how many hectares of farmland a farmer has cultivated over seven years without reporting his harvest. If BoI must give Nigerians any report, it is only apposite that it shows us verifiable examples of its success stories, category by category, sector by sector and year by year.

    BoI was 50 last year; a comprehensive report of its activities over the last half century – the total disbursement since inception, its successes, failures and challenges should by now be in the public domain. Having disbursed funds in the range of a trillion naira, it would have been most salutary to see some flagship businesses and enterprises BoI had nurtured from scratch and some it has helped to revive.

    Again, we insist that N800 billion of taxpayers’ money is too much of a hefty sum to be trifled with. So, we will expect Mr. Olaoluwa and his team at BoI to reassure Nigerians that this institution deserves its keep by availing them independently verifiable report of its activities, at least in the last seven years.

    This is the only way BoI can dispel the general perception that it is but a drain pipe through which taxpayers’ money is siphoned. Finally, we ask: is there a chance that the Federal Government set up a similar development finance institution, Nigeria Development Bank, out of frustration with BoI?

     

  • Criminals within

    Criminals within

    News report that hackers have perfected another strategy to defraud people using the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) must have made many Nigerians who have vowed never to use the device to be convinced that they have made a right decision. According to the report, the hackers fix a small fraud tool on the ATMs that grants them access to the passwords of the cardholders whenever they come to collect cash or transact other businesses on the machines.

    A banker said of the development, “A number of the ATMs in Victoria Island and Lekki axis have been compromised by hackers. Some of these fraudsters visit those ATMs very late in the night or very early in the morning to fix some fraud devices on them, which are capable of collecting cardholders’ information, including their passwords. They come back later to remove those devices. The information collected is then used to commit fraud against those customers later”.

    This is a serious matter. Although electronic fraud is common worldwide, many other countries are not tired of devising ways to be ahead of the fraudsters. This is what is probably lacking in the country; it appears our own bankers and security agencies are working reactively when they should be proactive. For instance, a banker who acknowledged the development said some of the banks have deployed detectives to start “combing the affected areas and the ATMs from time to time” and expressed optimism that they “will get those guys soon.” Isn’t this like trying to use analogue solution for a digital problem? What if the fraudsters realise that they are being monitored in the aforementioned places and shift base? There are thousands of ATM points nationwide, are the security men going to be moving round them at the same time?

    Anyway, what seems a more pragmatic approach to dealing with the situation was offered by the Vice-Chairman, Committee of e-Banking Industry Heads, Mr. Dele Adeyinka, who assured that the incidence of such frauds should be reducing with the banks’ compliance with Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive asking them to install anti-skimming devices on their ATMs.

    Nigeria joined the rest of the civilised world to embrace cashless banking and we have achieved a lot in this regard. However, we need to build more public confidence in the electronic payment to make it a success. So much money is being lost to the fraudsters. Nigerian banks lost about N40bn to electronic fraud in 2013 alone. This is huge, considering that there were other cases of fraud perpetrated in the system in the same year.

    It is against this backdrop that we offer our support to the apex bank’s initiatives to stem the incidence of e-fraud. The bank had issued circulars after circulars to guide the operations of the banks with a view to safeguarding depositors’ funds. One of such directives dated January 19, 2015 prevents payment cards (debit and credit) issued by the banks from working in fraud-prone countries like South Africa, China and the United States of America.

    Another directive from the apex bank barred banks in the country from making their payment/ATM cards from working in non-Europay, MasterCard and Visa countries as well as made it mandatory for the banks to only activate the cards when the owners are travelling abroad and for the duration of the trip only. Since no bank would want to lose money, the CBN’s directive that the banks would be liable for fraud committed abroad using cloned cards belonging to their customers is also a welcome development; it would make the banks take extra measures to ensure that they protect their funds.

    We urge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the police and the banks to work in concert towards frustrating the fraudsters and ensure that more Nigerians develop confidence in the e-transactions. In the same vein, the CBN should fast-track the biometric registration of bank customers as a way of checking electronic frauds.

  • All-Nigerian, all Ivy

    All-Nigerian, all Ivy

    The news that Harold Ekeh, a 17-year-old Nigerian immigrant, secured offers of admission to eight of the top universities in the United States – the so-called “Ivy League” – is both a testimony to the country’s huge potential and the fact that it has not been properly utilised.

    Ekeh’s history is truly impressive. Brought to the US as an eight-year-old, he has had to overcome the hardships of migration, especially a significant amount of culture shock, while remaining focused on his studies. He founded a mentoring programme in his high school to help other students and wishes to become a medical doctor.

    Such brilliance and determination, while remarkable in themselves, are actually part of a distinguished tradition of high-level Nigerian scholarships in the diaspora. There is Emmanuel Ohuabunwa, who graduated with a 3.98 Grade Point Average (GPA) out of a possible 4.0, to earn a degree in Neurosciences at Johns Hopkins University in 2012. There is Tunji Olu-Taiwo who obtained a perfect cumulative GPA of 4.0 at Eastern Mediterranean University in the same year. There is Miss Gabrielle Oluwanifemi Akinluyi, who obtained a First Class degree in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2014.

    Stories like these are ample proof that Nigerian citizens abound in the potential to make significant contributions to the advancement of their societies. Nigerians can be found across the world working at the highest levels of medicine, engineering, aerospace and even politics, and their contributions to the growth of the societies in which they are based have been gratefully acknowledged by their hosts.

    The unfortunate paradox of such impressive scholarly achievements is the fact that it has done little to lift Nigeria to the ranks of truly prosperous and peaceful nations. It is ironic that a nation that can produce so many intellectual superstars on such a consistent basis is also the nation with the highest number of children out of school, and whose education system is characterised by dilapidated infrastructure, poorly-motivated teachers and administrators, and plagued by examination malpractice and poor performance.

    Indeed, it speaks volumes about the nation that so many of its intellectual high-flyers are compelled to go abroad to fulfill their potential. If Harold Ekeh had been a student in Nigeria, he would have had to struggle past the sundry inefficiencies of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), whose chaotic Computer-Based Test prevented many candidates from putting in good performances last March. Ekeh’s ethnicity might have been an obstacle in some Nigerian universities where notions of “catchment area” and “educationally disadvantaged states” could have conspired to deny him the fruits of his labour.

    It is not enough for Nigeria to complacently celebrate the scholarly achievements of its nationals in Diaspora. Policies must be set up to ensure that the country is able to produce similar high-quality students at home where their impact is most likely to be felt. This means transforming the educational system from its current dysfunctional state into a veritable pipeline of academic excellence consisting of good public schools, committed and well-paid teachers and administrators, functioning facilities, adequate infrastructure and comprehensive mentoring and scholarship schemes.

    In seeking to achieve this, the country would do well to learn from past mistakes. In 1986, the Babangida administration set up a Gifted Education Programme which became manifest as the Suleja Academy four years later. Twenty-five years later, the concept has not spread to other states, to say nothing of having measurable benefits on the country’s education system.

    Nigeria will continue to produce Harold Ekehs who will consistently amaze the world with their intellectual abilities, but it must now seek to create the conditions that will enable them to thrive within its borders rather than outside them. 

     

  • Stop that, Seplat!

    Stop that, Seplat!

    •We should not tolerate the firm’s decision to pay dividend in foreign currency

    THE decision of Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc to pay its dividend in foreign currency is unlawful and should be stopped immediately. We also call on all other Nigerian business entities that engage in similar acts of economic sabotage to stop such conducts . Should Seplat and indeed other companies operating under the Nigerian legal regime ignore this notice, the various security agencies, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should institute a probe, and where any of the companies is found culpable, the full weight of the law should be brought to bear on such irresponsibility.

    We also urge the Nigerian shareholders to exert all influence within their powers, to resist the attempt to force them to open domiciliary account, in order to receive their dividend. As they already observed, it is strange that while the shares were sold in naira, the shareholders are now asked to open domiciliary accounts to receive the dividends due to them. Accepted that Seplat is listed on the London Stock Exchange, the officials of the company must realise that in Nigeria, the company is a local company under the country’s laws.

    Indeed even without the intervention of the security agencies, we consider it strange that companies operating as indigenous companies, under the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990, would seek to undermine our national legal tender. The company’s officials and similar culprits deserve to answer for their irresponsible conducts. If there is a loophole under which such economic sabotage is operated, then it should be plugged immediately, as Nigeria should not allow a parallel legal tender operating independently as alternative means of exchange.

    Unfortunately, because of the laxity in the enforcement of our national laws, a lot of Nigerian companies and individuals freely demand for rents and other payments in foreign currencies. They engage in such unlawful conducts because, over the years, the enforcement agencies have failed to do their work. This must stop, in the interest of our national economy, which had suffered from duplicitous conducts of our national economic managers in the past. Part of our challenge has been the application of different standards for different operators in the economy.

    One glaring outcome of this laxity is what is commonly referred to as the rent economy, for which our nation has paid dearly. Under that system, many so-called frontline businesses are run on dubious paradigms of abuse that destroy instead of grow the national economy. The result is that many operators are mere parasites, who rely on illegal benefits at every opportunity. Such economic hooliganism is made possible because the regulators are either compromised or incapable of policing the national economy. What the government must do is to set clear common national standards and insist on their enforcement.

    We urge a change of heart, both by the security agencies and the executive authority, if we truly desire change. With the impending change in the leadership of the country, it is expected that the in-coming Federal Government would live up to its slogan. We expect that the change would happen at the policy making level, and also at the implementation and enforcement levels, to wrought a new national economy that is founded on the rule of law, instead of the rule of the thumb. To allow the current duplicity as exemplified by Seplat to continue, is to dig deeper, even when our economy is already in a hole.

     

  • Long overdue

    Long overdue

    INEC ‘s decision to insure its staff is belated but welcome all the same

    THE aphorism, ‘better late than never’, aptly captures the revelation from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), that its officials and adhoc-staff that participated in the last general elections were given life insurance worth N1.99m each. The policy, reportedly shared out amongst several reputable insurance companies, was meant to ensure commitment from personnel deployed during the elections. It is good that the firms were paid their premium before commencement of the elections.

    Noteworthy also is the report that these underwriting companies had, upon request by INEC, developed political insurance policies to cover losses likely to emanate from violence, accidents and other losses during the just concluded elections. This is the first time the electoral body is embarking on such policy, or rather making it a public issue.

    The idea, in our view, should have been introduced earlier by INEC, having regards to the reality that elections in the country have been prone to violence. What a shame that less endowed African countries have since innovated special insurance covers to mitigate the impact of terrorism and violence during elections. Sadly, Nigeria that is so blessed is just following suit when it ought to be the first to introduce such initiative.

    Prof. Lai Olurode, INEC commissioner-in-charge of the South West confirmed the scope of the cover: “INEC employees have insurance and we have cover in place for the ad-hoc staff, especially the youth corps members who are serving as presiding and assisting officers during the 2015 elections.’ Bose Aderibigbe, Director of Press and Public Relations of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), attested to this, to wit: “We are in partnership with INEC and there is an insurance cover for the corps members in the MoU we signed with INEC.”

    A breakdown of the compensation shows that in the case of outright death in the course of election duties, N1.99million is payable to the relatives of a victim; in situations of injuries, the affected will get compensation worth N108, 000. We hope that victims of various shades of losses in the just concluded polls would be justly compensated. We have in mind reports that three ad-hoc employees of INEC died in Benue State during the presidential election. The three purportedly died in different road accidents while on election duty.

    This insurance move is a good, responsive start to protecting the lives of electoral staff; but we still ponder over why otherwise noble election duties should become death trap for volunteers in this country. Even some unscrupulous INEC officials are alleged to have criminally promoted or induced violence through corrupt/compromised stance at election venues. No wonder the parents of many corps members are always wary about their wards’ involvement in the exercise.

    Until elections in the country become a routine exercise under which exposure to danger has been eliminated as is the case in better managed climes, or drastically reduced considering Africa’s peculiar situation, it should henceforth, be a compelling necessity for INEC to increase the value of life insurance cover for this class of people. It sounds ridiculous to note the meagre value placed on human life in this last cover despite the fact that no compensation can sufficiently atone for a lost life or one that is badly injured in the course of election duties.

    We understand the sanctity of human lives not only during elections but at all times. This is one salient reason why those who kill during elections should be apprehended, arraigned and sentenced appropriately if found guilty. All said, the insurance cover, though belated, should be encouraged because the nation must start from somewhere.

     

  • Can South West be hoodwinked?

    SIR: It was John Bitten that once said: “In politics, I think it is wiser to leave five minutes too soon than to continue five years too long.” This aptly describes the belated pacification approach of President Goodluck Jonathan to winning the southwest before the conduct of last presidential election. The ubiquitous visit of President Jonathan to the southwest has now shown that our President loves the south westerners only for his re-election. The visit to our Obas’ palaces must have given the President the rare opportunity to compare the heterogeneous collection of artifacts in those palaces visited.

    And of course, the President needs to be told that his government has shortchanged the southwest people in terms of human resources and economically. His government is as hellish as that of Abacha. The hoi polloi have been more impoverished. Small and medium scale enterprises have been crippled by the debilitating exchange rate, which is the worst in history.

    The southwest roads are worse than its government met them six years ago. People’s Democratic Party appointed offices were not given to the southwest. It remains an illusion that implementation of the latter-day CONFAB report that was hurriedly put in place to douse political conflagration has now become a campaign issue. It is cheap and spurious. But South westerners nay other Nigerians are wiser. It is difficult to believe that a government that has failed to move us forward in six years can do any magic in the next four years. The hate campaign against General Mohammadu Buhari is only making the man more popular among the people.

    Nobody can stop an idea whose time has come. To appreciate the mortality of man, our present political players should hear the word of Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) to wit: “What’s man? A foolish baby, vainly strives, fights and frets, demanding all, deserving nothing, one small grave he gets”. The nub of the matter is that the window dressing of the President in the southwest is hoodwinking and not sincere.

    • Adelani Olawuyi,

    Odooba – Ogbomoso.

  • Ekiti’s descent to anarchy

    Ekiti’s descent to anarchy

    Security agencies must be alive to their responsibilities and let the legislative arm do its job unfettered

    Is Ekiti State still a part of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and subject to the authority of the 1999 constitution, which is the supreme law under which the country is governed? It is difficult to credibly answer this question in the affirmative, especially since Mr Ayodele Fayose’s election as governor of the state at the June 21, 2014 polls. Since his emergence as governor-elect and even more so after he was inaugurated on October 16, 2014, the rule of law has practically been in abeyance in Ekiti State. The governor, who should be the symbol of law and order as the Chief Security Officer of the state has become the pivot around which lawlessness revolves and the prime source of insecurity within his sphere of jurisdiction.

    True, Fayose remains the governor of Ekiti State in accordance with the will of the people for as long as his election has not been upturned by judicial or other constitutionally sanctioned processes. However, it borders on treason for him to utilise his executive powers derived from the constitution to undermine the same constitution by incapacitating other arms of government and imposing a reign of tyranny, arbitrariness and violence on the state, which is exactly what he has been doing.

    As governor-elect, Fayose’s army of thugs invaded the premises of the Ekiti State judiciary, violently disrupting and ultimately truncating court proceedings in a case filed by a group of Ekiti State indigenes challenging his eligibility for the office. Fayose was physically present at the scene where a judge was beaten up and his suit torn to shreds while court records were destroyed. This is one of the worst cases of impunity in the country’s political history. That this travesty remains unpunished is an indication of the degree of anomie that has characterised the Jonathan presidency.

    On his being sworn in as governor, Fayose commenced a systematic assault on Ekiti State House of Assembly, particularly intimidating, harassing and hounding the 19 legislators of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who remained faithful to their party. He directed that a petrol station in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, owned by the Speaker, Wale Omirin, be shut down, claiming that the facility constituted an environmental menace. Fayose further sacked the personal staff of the Speaker, rendering his office ineffective.

    When the legislators refused to succumb to intimidation, the governor instigated a minority of seven members of the House belonging to his party to purportedly impeach the Speaker in a House comprising 26 members. The state security agencies, which are supposed to uphold the law, provided cover for this act of lawlessness, which amounts to a coup against the constitution. Fearing for their lives in a state where the rule of law had been replaced by impunity, the 19 majority legislators fled the state and had since been on exile from Ekiti.

    However, with the emergence of General Muhammadu Buhari as President-elect in the March 28 election, and even before his formal assumption of office on May 29, a sense of sanity is being restored across the country. For instance, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Department of State Security (DSS) in Ekiti State have restored the security detail of Dr Omirin, which was withdrawn after his purported impeachment. This indicates that the security agencies recognise that the impeachment was patently illegal and cannot stand in an emergent order that upholds the rule of law.

    In the exercise of the Assembly’s constitutional powers, the 19 APC members of the House have issued Fayose an impeachment notice, accusing him of acts of gross misconduct in the exercise of his powers. Rather than respond to the issues or seek requisite judicial remedies to stop the legislators, Fayose has, since Monday, instigated widespread violence and mayhem across Ekiti. His hemp-smoking and arms-wielding thugs and hoodlums have disrupted the peace and held the state hostage in Ado Ekiti and several other towns. When he eventually decided to go to court, the Federal High Court in Abuja to which he went failed to grant his prayer to stop the legislators from doing their work.

    Meanwhile, a detachment of soldiers, allegedly acting on the directive of Brigadier-General Aliyu Momoh, Brigade Commander, 32 Artillery Brigade, Akure, had earlier prevented the 19 APC lawmakers from entering Ado Ekiti, thus contravening their freedom of movement and aiding Fayose in his insolence and lawlessness. This is nothing but a descent to anarchy in Ekiti, which must not be allowed to stand.

    We call on the requisite security agencies to immediately restore law and order in the state and create a conducive environment for the legislature to function. The prevalent situation in the state is an unpardonable failure of security. All security agents implicated in the reign of impunity in Ekiti must be investigated and made to face the law.  We are aware that it is the people of Ekiti State who have the right to determine their governor. However, on no condition can such a person be allowed to hide under the guise of populism to violate the law and undermine constitutional rule.

  • M. D. Yusufu (1931 – 2015)

    M. D. Yusufu (1931 – 2015)

    •An ex-IGP and consummate politician departs

    If being a prince and a police officer should have personality implications, the life of Muhammadu Dikko Yusufu represents a remarkable study. Popularly known as M.D.Yusufu, or simply MD, his years as Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police (IGP) between 1975 and 1979 were followed by a period of political activity and activism that mirrored a potential for political leadership.  His role as Chairman, Central Working Committee of the politically and culturally relevant Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), which reinforced his standing as an elder statesman, marked a continuation of his socio-political involvement.

    His death in Abuja on April 1 at the age of 84 brought to a close his passionate patriotism and courageous interventions exemplified by two momentous instances. In the mid-1970s, MD as an intelligence officer reportedly got wind of a plot to topple the military administration headed by Gen. Yakubu Gowon and alerted the Head of State who was unconvinced and failed to adopt preventive measures. It turned out that MD was correct as Gowon was later ousted by those he identified as coup plotters.

    Ironically, it was this regime change that led to MD’s appointment as IGP. Also, in the late 1990s, MD defied the naked dictatorship of Gen. Sani Abacha’s military rule as the presidential candidate of the Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM) in a political transition programme that was designed to crown the despot unchallenged. In the post-Abacha era too, he sought presidential power on the platform of the Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ).

    In his pursuit of democratic power, MD demonstrated uncommon self-belief; particularly against the background of his police career which was not regarded as a sufficient quality for his ambition. He reflected strong convictions about his leadership capacity as well as the possibility of political change and progress. There is an important lesson to be learned from MD’s expressed attraction to the Socialist ideology, especially in the context of his nobility. It was a fascinating contradiction and an unlikely leaning in an environment where the patrician enjoyed being above the plebeian and worked for the perpetuation of domination.

    As a professional endorsement, MD’s decoration with the Nigeria Police Medal was a fitting tribute to a career launched when he was seconded to the Police Force as an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in 1962. It is noteworthy that he established himself as a thorough investigator and an impressive intelligence officer, and his success can be contrasted with the mediocre intelligence gathering abilities associated with the present-day police force. Furthermore, it is a testimony to his recognition beyond his professional circle that he was honoured with national honours, Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) and Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).  MD’s stature was perceptively underlined by President Goodluck Jonathan who, in a posthumous tribute, described him as one of “the most illustrious sons” of Katsina State.

    It is a measure of MD’s capability that he proved useful as Chairman of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd. and Chairman, Presidential Committee on Nigeria Police Force reform. His acknowledged cerebral characteristic had its roots in an educational trajectory that included: Katsina Provincial School, Katsina; School for Arabic Studies, Kano; Institute of Administration, Zaria; and Christ Church College (Oxford University).

    It is worth reflecting on what kind of Inspector-General of Police MD would have made at this juncture in the country’s political evolution with the police force constantly facing public criticism for alleged vulnerability to manipulation and influence by self-absorbed, power-drunk politicians. It is equally worth considering whether MD’s example of princely humility, despite its appeal, can be embraced by today’s power players resulting in people-friendly governance.

  • MD Yusufu: Departure of a guardian angel

    MD Yusufu: Departure of a guardian angel

    SIR: The death of Alhaji Mohammed Dikko Yusufu on the first day of this month should have been a silly April fool’s day prank for me. But alas, it wasn’t. For many, the death of MD would have been another attestation of the mortality of man. But to me, MD Yusufu was not just another man who had attained high position of governance in Nigeria.

    During the most difficult personal challenges that came my way in the seventies, MD sprung up around my children and I like a guardian angel. There were few people that one could run to who could provide a bulwark against the torments of the heart and body that became my lot in the midst of the abuses I suffered in the seventies when he was Nigeria’s top policeman.

    As the Inspector General of Police, he worked with then Head of State, General Murtala Muhammed to provide succour to us because it was the right thing to do.

    MD’s gallant defence of my emotional and human rights was to be further displayed to the surprise of most Nigerians in the nineties when he defied all odds to stand against the political aspirations of the military rulers when he stood for the presidential elections.

    Many Nigerians at that time would have asked where MD got his spirit of boldness? Till today, I still wonder from where this former Police boss got his unusual boldness. I really cannot know. All I can recall now is the recoil and cringe that I saw in him at the first sight of injustice to men and women of all tribes and religions.

    At the height of the domestic violence and persecution I suffered, I regularly saw those cringes as he responded to alleviate our devastating situation.  His words and acts of encouragement easily dismissed the assumption that some in my position would have believed that all men who attain power abuse it.

    MD Yusufu was there for us at the critical time in my life when justice and due process needed to be applied and not power and opportunity.

    I hope his family is comforted in the legacy of good works he left behind as a kind hearted and truly detribalized Nigerian. He was a blessing to me and I am sure to many others he came across. His loss to Nigeria is unquantifiable.

    Heaven has indeed gained an angel while earth has lost a sweet soul. May his soul rest in peace.

     

    Mrs. Oluremi Obasanjo is wife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

  • Plug the holes, please

    INEC, the security agencies and other stakeholders have a duty to ensure smooth polls tomorrow

    Tomorrow, elections will be held into legislative houses in the 36 states of the federation, while governorship polls will be conducted in 29 states. Only after then could we applaud the electoral commission and other stakeholders for improving on the standards of the elections held in 2011.

    The quest to have elections that would compare to the best anywhere in the world is still on as some shortcomings were observed in the presidential and National Assembly elections held in all parts of the country on March 28. Logistics in terms of distribution of materials and officials remained a major challenge. In many polling units, accreditation that ought to have commenced by 8.00 am started about five hours behind schedule. Voting did not start in some places till it was dark and that encouraged malpractices. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ought to have perfected the processes.

    Another area requiring urgent step is in the training of electoral personnel. Many of those deployed to conduct the presidential poll were new to the system and were soon overwhelmed when the exercise took off. In addition to ensuring that only those who had been given basic training in handling the sensitive duty of conducting the elections are handed the assignment, the monitors and INEC supervisors must step up their game tomorrow.

    Introduction of the card reader machines is a master stroke in the march towards having credible and controversy-free elections. However, the failure rate observed in the last elections deserves attention. The technology, if it could work well in Ghana, ought to serve the purpose in Nigeria..

    We note that conducting elections is no rocket science or nuclear engineering. All it requires to ensure that we have the best is concerted action by all, including the umpire, political parties, politicians and candidates, the civil society, the central government and the security agencies. Organs of state involved in election duty should be evidently neutral. They must win the confidence of the electorate and the general public. And, where they step out of bounds by acting contrary to the laws and guidelines, prompt action is desired to deter others from taking similar steps.

    In the first round of the 2015 general elections, glaring shortcomings were observed in Rivers and Abia North. Unfortunately, INEC has failed to take firm steps to demonstrate to officials who allegedly flouted the rules that they would no longer be tolerated. One of the political parties, and indeed, observers have pointed out that what took place in Rivers State on March 28 was a charade. Sixteen of the political parties in the state have called for the transfer of the Resident Electoral Commissioner as assurance that the playing field is indeed level. Yet, no action has been taken in this direction.

    In Abia North, the case is even clearer. In addition to the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) denouncing the result pushed out of the mill, the returning officer has disowned it. The question is: where then did the result published emanate from? What role did the Resident Electoral Commissioner play in the saga, and what steps have been taken to ensure that the flaws are not repeated in the district and others tomorrow?

    Ultimately, it must be realised that the antidote to violent protests is conduct of transparently credible polls. All the parties and agents should be carried along by the commission. Violence is an anathema to democracy which is predicated on the expressed will of the majority. So far, the level of violence trailing political participation has been reduced, except in isolated cases in Rivers and Ekiti states. The electoral commission and other stakeholders have a common duty to ensure that we do not return to the ugly past.