The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Storm over Tompolo’s gunboat

    •Granting Government Ekpemupolo’s private company licence to import gunboats is subversive of our laws and dangerous to our existence

    The Jonathan presidency appears fixated on turning Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, into a sinister scarecrow. This is dangerous, and we condemn it.

    The latest in the flagrant abuse of power, bordering on nepotism, is the allowance granted Tompolo’s private company, Global West Vessel Services, to unlawfully import warships into the country. We know that such right is the exclusive prerogative of the Nigerian Armed Forces, and not even that of the Nigerian Maritime Services Agency, which has been trying to provide a cover for the importation of the war ships.

    No doubt, Tompolo, an ex-militant and an Ijaw just like the President, has enjoyed tremendous patronage under this government. But the extension of this privilege to the exclusive responsibility of the Nigeria Armed Forces is a call to anarchy, and Nigerians should rise against it.

    This development becomes even more sinister, when it is viewed in the context of the volatile nature of the region; as the Ijaws, the Urhobos and the Itsekiris square up against one another in battle, over the ownership of the water ways and the land, in that area.

    So, is it possible that, as already alleged by Ijaw rival ethnic groups, that Tompolo’s war vessels may be pressed into service by his own ethnic group, if a dispute arises?

    As has been eloquently argued by Professor Itse Sagay, a constitutional lawyer, there is no provision in Nigerian Law that allows the bearing of arms by private individuals and corporate entities, to provide security services in Nigerian waters. That is the exclusive prerogative of the Nigerian Navy, as an arm of the Armed Forces of the country.

    Section 3 of the Armed Forces Act, Cap A 20 of the 2004 Laws of Nigeria, provides: “The Armed Forces shall be charged with the defence of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by land, sea and air and such other duties as the National Assembly may from time to time, prescribe or direct by an act”.

    Section 4 of the Act further provides: “Notwithstanding the generality of the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, (a) The Navy shall, in particular, be further charged with (i) enforcing and assisting in coordiating the enforcement of all customs, laws, including anti-bunkering, fishery and immigration laws of Nigeria at sea; (ii) enforcing and assisting in coordinating the enforcement of national and international maritime laws ascribed or acceded to by Nigeria; (iii) making of charts and coordinating of all national hydrographic surveys; and (iv) promoting, cordinating and enforcing safety regulations in the territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone of Nigeria”.

    We decided to provide an elaborate quotation of the relevant Armed Forces Act, to show without equivocation that the Jonathan Presidency is on a frolic, when he unlawfully extends the exclusive rights of a major national institution, to a private company.

    Such a conduct becomes a double jeopardy when it boders on the security and general well being of constituent parts of the country. As provided in the act, it requires an act of parliament to extend or derogate the powers granted the Armed Forces under the act. So it behoves on the National Assembly to rein in the executive, in this instance.

    On our part, we urge President Jonathan to watch the uses to which he puts his kinsman, if he wishes to be regarded as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, instead of as a sectional leader. If he does not, then he should be ready to accept the appendage of a sectional president.

    So we urge the President to immediately do away with this scarecrow; and to restore his legitimacy as the Commander-in-Chief.

  • Obiano and changing face of Anambra

    SIR: The end may have come for the dismal look cities of Awka and Onitsha. Both cities suffered near total neglect in the past, and were almost given up for abandoned. Neither the administrative status of Awka nor the commercial strength of Onitsha could earn them gubernatorial attention. Past governments seemed obsessed with other aspects of governance to bother with their rustic state. An out of humour critic of those administrations once called Awka a bucolic town, mismanaged by a line of do-nothing governors who wished to change its looks by standing still.

    The decrepit infrastructure was not helped by the fractious nature of her politics. Needless to retell the dreary story here, but suffice it to say that it conspired with the failed infrastructure to rob the state a measure of respect in the comity of other states. It is important to mention that the lacuna in infrastructural development was not because the state could not stump up bills in transforming itself, but more for the lack of vision and political will by past governments to do so. The poor state of infrastructure inevitably encumbered development in other areas. In time, the condition conduced to criminal activities rather than stave it. The burgeoning commercial activities of Onitsha very easily exposed her to tidal surges in criminality. Awka, the state capital, held no better promise as it lacked the enablers for transformation and stifled growth in social interaction. Both repelled rather than attracted visitors. Investors whose activities should have given impetus to genuine development, nibbled at the thought of coming to the state. Those who did refused to take up residence in it. Perhaps only fly-by-night contractors and wheeler-dealer business men could brave the odds. To that extent, even a particular class of her citizens prefers to work in Awka from the comfort of either Enugu or Asaba.

    The Obiano government has, since debouching on the political stage, kept its nose to the grindstone to change the old order. Today Awka, the state capital, billows in dust of reconstruction. The decrepit infrastructure is now caving in to the menacing strides of the contractor’s bulldozers. By the time the dust settles, three flyovers at Arroma, Kwatta, and Amawbia bypass would stand firm to mark Awka distinctly out. This is a precursor to building an entirely new capital city in the ancient smithy town. The huge constructions (the flyovers), though a prerogative of the federal government, when completed, will achieve two things. First, it will decongest the town and allow for free flow of traffic that is fast forming a tailback at these junctions. Secondly, it will enliven Awka and make it attractive for residents. No longer will the state capital be passed unnoticed as was earlier the case. Already a body (Awka Capital Development Authority) has been constituted and charged with drawing up a befitting capital for the state. It was also instructed to be as eclectic as possible in harnessing ideas in order to give the state one of the best. Nothing could be more compensatory, given the wasted years.

    It may not be presumptuous to say that before four years of this administration Awka, and indeed the state, will be greatly transformed.

     

    • Ejike Anyaduba

    Abatete, Anambra State

  • Lamentations for Durbar

    •How faulty privatisation and vindictive politics scuttled an otherwise promising venture

    It’s a sad memory when people like us now drive past Durbar Hotel to see it like this; I laugh to remember that once upon a time there was a place called Durbar Hotel. Today, I’m still alive to see Durbar in this deplorable condition and I weep for my country”.

    That was veteran journalist, Alhaji Tajudeen Tijani Ajibade, lamenting, in an interview with this newspaper, the pitiable sight that the once prestigious, multi-billion Naira Durbar Hotel, conspicuously located along the busy Independence Way, Kaduna, has become.

    “It was at Durbar Hotel” Alhaji Ajibade recalled, “that I first interviewed the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola when he came to Kaduna with his children…It was in Durbar Hotel in the Second Republic that Chief Obafemi Awolowo addressed the largest press conference. The same Durbar you’re seeing was where Alhaji Shehu Shagari was picked as the presidential candidate of National Party of Nigeria (NPN)…in the same hotel Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe met with the late Isaiah Balat and Madaki Ali to bring about the Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP)”.

    This gives an indication of the reputation enjoyed by Durbar Hotel in the 1970s and 80s as a first-class hospitality destination with qualitative facilities and services.

    Located on a land area of 400 by 600 square meters, it was built in 1977 by the then Federal Military Government as one of the structures to enable the country host the historic Festival of Black Arts and Culture (FESTAC). Having successfully served this purpose, the management of Durbar Hotel was transferred to Arewa Hotels, a subsidiary of the New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC), owned by the northern state governments.

    Though a publicly owned enterprise, Durbar Hotel ironically continued to be run as a viable and profitable venture until its privatisation, as part of the Ibrahim Babangida administration’s Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP).

    The hotel’s lamentable fate is a graphic illustration of the flaw in the sweeping demonization of public enterprises that was one of the philosophical underpinnings of SAP.

    True, most of the affected public enterprises had become avenues of sheer graft that bled the national treasury.  Unfortunately, the privatisation and commercialization processes were themselves tainted by large scale corruption and abuse that aborted their much touted objectives of attaining efficiency and commercial viability.

    Thus, in 1992, the late Dr Hamza Zayyad bought Durbar Hotel from the defunct Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialization (TCPC) through his Kabo Holdings at a cost of N90 million, in circumstances that later turned out to be opaque and questionable.

    Reportedly unable to either fully meet its financial obligations to the TCPC or manage the hotel sustainably, Kabo Holdings in 1996 transferred its ownership, through a deed of agreement, to Nassimatune Investment Limited, a company that had Mohammed Abacha, son of the then Head of State, General Sani Abacha, as Chairman. The travails of the hotel, however, deepened with the advent of the Obasanjo administration in 1999.

    Citing irregularities and abuse of due process in the privatisation of the Hotel, the Federal Government seized the facility and took legal steps to recover ownership. But ruling in a suit by the Abacha family, a court in Kaduna decided in 2005 that the allegations could not be proven. Although the Federal Government has since appealed the judgement, the hotel remains dormant, overtaken by weeds, rodents and reptiles. It has been stripped bare of its valuables by hoodlums.

    Scores of its workers have been denied their jobs and the state of valuable tax revenue. Unfortunately, this is only one example of several such cases across the country.

    Urgent steps should be taken by the relevant parties to resolve the legal issues; and return Durbar Hotel and other similar wasting assets to viability in the national economic interest.

  • Season of jail breaks

    •In this period of widespread insecurity, there must be zero tolerance for jail breaks

    The startling progression of insecurity in the country is unfurling another routine pattern of criminality: the relentless and disconcerting level of jail breaks.

    The most recent is the troubling news that not less than 270 of the 323 inmates of the Minna Medium Prison, Niger State, escaped after an attack by six gunmen.

    Before this horrific incident was a similar attack on the Federal Prison, Afao-Ekiti Road in Ado- Ekiti, during which another 320 of the 446 inmates escaped.

    Not far from memory is also the report in early November that gunmen, armed with grenades and heavy fire arms, attacked the Nigeria Federal Prison in Koton-Karfe, Kogi State, freeing over 140 inmates in the process.

    Sadly too, yet another prison attack, in Bauchi State, remains a conundrum that still defies noticeable solution till date.

    The Minna incident introduced an especially frightening dimension, with the revelation that the freeing of two notorious robbers- Ayo (a.k.a Eze ego), a dismissed Mobile Police (MOPOL) officer, and Osama, convicted in Kebbi and Edo states, and respectively serving jail terms in the prison, were the motive behind the condemnable attack.

    Apart from a prison official that was seriously wounded by the rampaging gunmen, they also reportedly carted away arms and bullet proof vests meant for prison warders. The sad occurrence will not be mitigated by subsequent purported re-arrest of about 20 of the escapees barely two hours after the operation.

    We ask: What makes the nation’s prisons so vulnerable to attacks?

    Dr Peter Ezinwa Ekpendo, Comptroller-General (CG) of prisons, reportedly recommended the reprimand of the comptroller of the prison and at least 58 wardens in the Minna prisons. But beyond this, there is the need to find out how attackers in Ado-Ekiti and elsewhere succeeded in using dynamites to break prison entrance; and why, for some time, successive attacks on prisons usually happened on Sunday nights.

    Is this a coincidence or sheer failure of intelligence? Why are our prisons so vulnerable to attacks without any immediate solution?  Why are modern surveillance appliances not the forte of Nigerian antiquated prisons at this contemporary technological period?

    The prisons across the federation are witnessing unbelievable security laxity that needs to be urgently addressed. We know that prison officials are badly paid; and the near-relic infrastructure are in near-collapsed shape; thereby putting prison officials under tremendous strain; and undue pressure to bow to temptations of inducement from rich and powerful inmates, capitalizing on these stark inadequacies.

    Though this sad reality should not serve as excuse to tolerate possible collusion by prison officials in jail breaks, it just shows the disturbing reality that Nigerian prisons to have become a mirror of the tumbling disarticulation of the Nigerian system, which is a sad commentary on its own.

    The nation cannot afford to sit with hands akimbo and allow convicted felons,  yet to serve out their sentences, take over the streets at this period of monumental insecurity, especially in the north eastern part of the country; and not in any part of the country.

    The government must do all within its power to apprehend criminal inmates still at large; and who could still cause serious trouble for an already troubled society.

    We call for collective efforts of all security agencies to bring back to justice all absconding inmates wherever they might be hiding in the country.

    Also, the issue of possible internal complicity should be looked into to unravel the brains behind this dangerous criminal pattern of setting inmates free, as such practice is detrimental to the nation’s national security.

    Still, does a government regrettably yet to see the need for long overdue prison reforms have the capacity to achieve this desirable goal?

    This is a question that should be quickly addressed because the incessant jail breaks must stop, if this administration wants the people to take it serious.

     

  • Nigerians, don’t be deceived

    SIR: It is barely two months away from now that Nigerians will go all out to determine the direction in which they will be piloted for the next four years. The people will exercise their right under the constitution by voting for the leader of their choice. We do hope that the powers that be will not tinker with the electoral process.

    Politicians have started their permutations and combinations. Among them are those who are deceiving the people and making empty promises and also, those who are really committed to providing the dividends of democracy for the people. In short, we have the bad and the good apples. It’s left for the electorate to choose.

    The presidential election promises to be keenly contested. Now, Jonathan and Buhari have been presented by the PDP and APC respectively, who do we vote for? I don’t know. All I know is that it is high time Nigerians stopped voting based on sentiments. Forget religion, ethnic group, region or party affiliation. Instead, weigh intellectual ability; is it high or low? What can he do? Is he competent? Is he up to the task?

    Merit should be the first and the most important thing to consider. Nigerians should not fall for tricks. We should not be deceived by stomach infrastructure. We do not need a leader that will give us fish, but the one that will teach us how to fish.

    Many Nigerians are swimming in the pool of poverty; who among these aspirants have the ability to save them? Nigeria is thirsty for infrastructural development; who will quench its thirst? Our economy is in shambles; who can rejuvenate it? Our security is at stake; who can save us?

    So, it is not just about going out to vote; it is about choosing the best person for the job. The electorates are the architect of what is currently happening in Nigeria today. All will be well only if we get it right by carrying out a revolution that can save us from the mediocrity of our leaders. Please vote wisely, otherwise, things will fall apart.

     

    • Jamiu Idowu Esho,

    Eruwa, Oyo State.

  • Stove scam?

    Stove scam?

    •Is the N9.2 billion budgeted for energy-saving stoves and Wonderbags well-spent?

    The announcement that the Federal Government is to spend N9.2 billion on clean-cook stoves and Wonderbags for Nigeria’s rural women, as part of its National Clean Cooking Scheme (NCCS), throws up several conflicting responses.

    On the surface, it appears a welcome intervention in the lives of a much-neglected segment of the populace; and a long-overdue step in reducing desertification, global warming and disease.

    On the other hand, however, it is at best, a blatant attempt to curry votes in the forthcoming general election; and at worst, a slush fund to be used in purchasing votes in the polls.

    Perhaps the first bone of contention has to do with the manner in which it was conceived. How did the Federal Government arrive at the conclusion that the purchase of 750,000 clean-cook stoves and 18,000 Wonderbags is the most pressing need confronting rural women at the present time?

    Such a decision obviously requires the input of those it is meant to benefit; yet there is no evidence that any need assessment surveys were conducted among rural women anywhere in the country.

    Which rural women’s groups and non-governmental organizations were contacted by officials of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs? What recommendations and suggestions did rural women or their representatives make?

    Such questions make the scheme reminiscent of the attempt to make 10 million mobile phones available to farmers in January 2013, which was criticised for its opacity and lack of consideration for the actual needs of peasant farmers.

    If indeed rural women were not fully consulted on the clean stove initiative, then the scheme smacks of the arrogant paternalism of a Federal Government which thinks it knows more about those it purports to govern than they know about themselves.

    Then, there is the issue of whether the initiative was properly thought out. What kind of fuel will the clean-cook stoves be using? How is it to be sourced, and by whom?

    Even though the stoves themselves are to be distributed without charge, will the fuel also be free? What happens when stoves are damaged? On what basis will the stoves and Wonderbags be delivered, given the fact that different geographical zones will have different but competing requirements?

    The clean-cook stoves are to be locally assembled; it is assumed that the Wonderbags will be imported. Both are to be delivered in 12 weeks. Such projections assume superlative efficiencies which are unheard of in the Nigerian environment.

    What is the guarantee that this timeline will be met, and what are the sanctions in the almost-certain case of failure?

    It is particularly noteworthy that the period just happens to coincide with that of the elections, thereby giving rise to the question of whether it is actually being deployed as an electoral bribe, a more sophisticated version of the “stomach infrastructure” strategy that was so successfully used in Ekiti State in June.

    In the particular case of Wonderbags, it is surprising that the Federal Government has chosen not to replicate the successful experience of South Africa, where costs were kept down by working with a multinational company which elected to distribute it for free upon purchase of specific products.

    In the Nigerian case, it appears to be a wholly government-owned scheme, with all the risks of administrative inefficiency, sleaze, rampant corruption, impunity and ultimate failure.

    In addition to the many unanswered questions surrounding the clean-cook stoves and Wonderbags, there is the fact that their use will not address the fundamental issues that have stared the country’s rural women in the face for so long: stable electricity, cheap and affordable kerosene, cottage industries and small-scale enterprises, the construction of good roads.

    It is only when these developments occur, in conjunction with one another, that the lot of the long-suffering rural women will truly improve.

     

  • Time to stanch the waste

    Time to stanch the waste

    •GEMS4 is a good response to heavy post-harvest losses in tomato.  But it has to be replicated in other agricultural value chains

    For a sector known for annual post-harvest loss of some 50 percent, the offer by the Department for International Development (DFID)-funded Growth and Employment in States (GEMS4) Project, to help overhaul the tomato value chain, is certainly long overdue.

    GEMS4 recently took the first important step in this regard when it hosted a workshop for stakeholders in the tomato value chain. The workshop covered the broad areas of primary handling operations from farm to processing centres, improvement and expansion of support services like structuring farmers’ organisations, improving technical and managerial skills, agricultural extension and training, storage and transportation.

    To start with, it has been 11 months since the National Tomato Technical Working Group (NTTWG) was inaugurated by the then Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. NTTWG, a child of necessity, came in response to the problems of the tomato production sub sector, the result of which  the nation currently expends N16 billion on imports.

    It must, therefore, come as refreshing that the promise of that initial step by the CBN is on the verge of being realised with development partners picking up the gauntlet. With Nigeria ranking second in Africa, coming only behind Egypt, and placing 13th in the world in tomato production, the offer speaks to the recognition of the country’s potential as the leading producer of the commodity.

    But then, the other half of the picture is that the nation currently consumes 2.3 million metric tonnes of tomato paste out of which it produces 1.8 million metric tonnes.

    Unfortunately, half of this output is lost between the farm gate and the market, the result of which the treasury is forced to shell out N16 billion on tomato imports alone.

    Admittedly, the problem of post-harvest losses is not exclusive to the tomato value chain. It replicates in cassava, maize as indeed other agricultural products. It starts from the harvest field, right up to the farm gate up until the products’ final destination – the market.

    The underlying factors range from the virtual absence of critical infrastructure like transportation, power, and storage/marketing facilities; to lack of know-how on methods of preservation. Aside being a window into the state of the nation’s underdevelopment, it is a major source of the crushing poverty among the farming population.

    At the continental level, annual post-harvest losses is reckoned to be in excess of $4 billion.  That is why the attempt to address the challenges must necessarily be multi-pronged involving both the private and the public sectors.

    It comes basically to putting money into the value chain to make the sector truly a business; i.e. bringing to bear the fruits of technology into the handling, transportation, storage, processing and marketing of the commodity.

    It starts with equipping farmers with basic handling and storage skills to minimise farm losses; provision of cheap and efficient transportation system to move perishable products to the market in record time and, the ancillary infrastructure to preserve them in safe hygienic states and at minimal costs to the farmers from which point those who need them – whether as industrial inputs or as food – can access them.  This is where the offer of help comes as critical and important.

    We are aware that the Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a private firm – African Exchange Holdings – to build 800 warehouses across the country to mitigate post-harvest losses.

    The step, in addition to the existing grain silos scattered across states of the federation under the Federal Government’s strategic grains reserve, is certainly a move in the right direction. However, the real challenge lies in acquiring and retaining greater processing capacity for the bulk of our agricultural products.

    We remain convinced that acquiring a greater processing capacity isn’t just the surest way to guarantee stable incomes for our farmers and food security in the long run; it is the sustainable path to national development.

  • The die is cast

    The die is cast

    •President Jonathan and General Buhari hold the fate of Nigeria in their hands. It begins with a responsible campaign based on issues.

    As a nation, we are at the point again when we try to hope, when the elections loom both as an opportunity for improvement, or as a juncture for renewal.

    It is also a chance to peer into a potential abyss of tragic proportions. In the past month, Nigeria’s two major political parties, the People’s Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress, picked their candidates at various levels, for the general elections billed for February next year. Not all the elections have been exemplary. Contentions about propriety and fairness have plagued quite a few of them, and that shows that as a people and political class, we are yet to rise above not only sectarian foibles but also the incubus of manipulation based on money and overbearing personal influences.

    Yet, many of the exercises have demonstrated marked improvements from the past experiences. Court cases however hang over a few; and bad blood simmers over some that have been indubitably concluded. Healing within the parties may be the next step in those areas where the outcomes have left some contestants bruised. Victories of whatever type are no tea parties. Egos plummet, purses shrink, and influences come undone. But the political process continues. Tomorrow is another day.

    But of all the contests, the presidential sweepstakes take priority, not only within the parties but also in the nation at large. The president as the leader of the nation embodies the soul of the people. Hence, whether the gubernatorial candidates or the senatorial picks are consequential, all of them are subdued under the overarching heat of the presidential power.  So, when the PDP picked President Goodluck Jonathan in what was termed a consensus move, all eyes turned on the APC tussle for the prime seat. Yet the conventions took place last week, almost simultaneously. For the avoidance of physical collision and rivalry, the PDP held its own in Abuja, the nation’s capital, and the APC convoked its meet in the nation’s commercial hotbed, Lagos.

    Commentators described the victory of President Jonathan as the standard bearer of the PDP as a coronation, after some party members tried to challenge the president. In the United States, as it has happened in some parties in Nigeria at a lower level, the incumbent is given the chance of first refusal. If he wants a second term, democracies abide the courtesies of bowing for continuity. This is understandable in the case of the PDP clearing the path for a Jonathan deuce.

    In the case of the APC, the process came off transparent, and all the five presidential contenders had opportunities to orate before its audience of delegates. In the end, the votes in an emphatic victory fell on the laps of General Muhammadu Buhari.

    What we have here is a clear duel for the ultimate Nigerian prize: the presidency. It is important to note that in the barely two months left to campaign for the elections, a sense of peace and harmony must be allowed to prevail. Crowds must not turn into armies of violence. Rallies should not morph into rabble.

    It begins with the rhetoric of the contestants and their associates. Foul words and phrases of incitement must give way to civility. In a heterogeneous temper like Nigeria, both candidates should steer clear of language that emphasise why we are apart and focus on those ideals that cement our sense of community. Appeal to tribal sentiment in such a way that it rallies a people on the basis of primordial fealty only helps to rev up hate and distrust among people.

    Regional jingoists only hark back to a period of bloodshed and fear in this country. The other matter of concern is religion. If we are a multi-religious country, it only calls for toleration. All the faiths call for moderation and accommodation. It is not religion that brings us together but its values emphasize community. That is why religion should help coexistence rather division.

    What the rhetoric should focus on in the next eight weeks should be the myriad problems confronting the nation today. In the northeast, swathes of communities lie prostrate under the will of pious extremism in the name of Boko Haram. We want ideas how that will stop. Thousands of Nigerians have been killed and many more displaced since the insurgency careened out of our control over three years ago. A nation with a vibrant population and relatively robust oil wealth should not leave its fighting men without kit and unfit for battle.

    In the past few weeks, we have witnessed the Naira drop in a free fall, so that the Central Bank of Nigeria had to officially devalue it in response to a giddy market. Critical in that market is another freefall – of oil prices. This double threat amounts to a siege on the ordinary Nigerian.

    The consequence is the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. The fear is that many will get out of job, and the army of the jobless will stoke social tension in the land. As we know, the standard of education has fallen so much so that our universities are at the bottom of world rankings. Infrastructure of roads and power are suffering from great decay, and the atmosphere for investment is increasingly endangered by these important features of development.

    The task before us is therefore grave, and it will be a disservice to Nigeria if the candidates and parties veer out of the right issues and duel on the pettifogging matters of tribes, faith and region. The ordinary Nigerian has suffered enough. It is high time we took governance seriously, and it must begin with the candidates playing the true role of role model.

     

  • Growing outlawry?

    •The BPE penchant to disobey court orders, for whatever reasons, must be curbed

    The report that the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) has handed over the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (Disco) to Northwest Power, despite an order of a Federal High Court, Abuja, that status quo ante be maintained, does not present the organization as a law abiding institution. Such conduct, if true, smacks of lawlessness, and we deprecate it.

    Regardless of the opinion of the BPE with respect to the merit of the case brought by the reserved bidder, Leda Consortium Limited against Northwest Power, the preferred bidder, what BPE should do, as an agency created by law, where it disagrees with a court order, is to approach the court to discharge the order made; not to diregard it.

    It is shocking that Benjamin Ezra Dikki, Director-General of BPE, reportedly claimed ignorance of the order of the court, even when the press reported that the agency was duly served; ordering that status quo be maintained, before the hand over ceremony took place.

    So who is telling lies: the DG who claimed ignorance or those who claimed to have served the agency?

    We hope the High Court will diligently pursue the alleged infraction against the order of court, in the interest of rule of law, which is the bedrock of any democratic enterprise. If indeed the order of the court was disregarded, then those responsible should be punished for contempt, to serve as deterrent to other potential lawless organs of government.

    We note that the BPE has elswhere allegedly been remiss with regards to the obedience of court orders, especialy when the order does not favour its preferred position. We are here referring to the alleged infraction of the order of the court, with regards to the dispute between the prefered bidder and the runner-up of the Enugu Disco.

    As in the present instance, there was a dispute between the winner and the runner-up, which necessitated a suit between the contending parties, before the court. Again it was reported that the BPE ignored an order made by the court as in the present case.

    For us, when there are pre-agreed terms for a bid, then it defeats the essence of such agreement, when the neutral agency is accused of aiding the faulty party.

    But regardless of the merit of the case, what is paramount for us is that when an order is made by a court, then it behoves on the parties before the court and any other concerned party, to strictly obey the orders, even when they disagree with it. To do otherwise, as has been alleged against BPE, is a resort to self-help and a direct invitation to anarchy.

    So, if the court finds it appropriate in the circumstance of the reported case, it should make a positive order against the guilty party, nullifying the actions taken in defiance of the court order, to deter future re-occurence.

    We also expect that the Police will lend their constituional powers to enforce any order that the court may make, to right the disobedience of its order, or to punish those who may have disobeyed its earlier order.

    It should be noted by all and sundry that the constitution clearly empowers the court with judicial powers, which in section 6(6)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, “shall extend  to all matters between persons, or between government or authority and to any person in Nigeria, and to all actions and proceedings relating thereto, for the determination of any question as to the civil rights and obligations of that person”.

  • Atrocious airports

    •Despite the hype, Nigeria’s major airports get low ratings

    After several years of being told that Nigeria’s leading airports have benefitted from a rehabilitation programme that has made them clean and efficient, a survey of the world’s main airports has revealed that the top three in the country rank among Africa’s worst.

    Port Harcourt International Airport was the sixth worst airport in Africa, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja was seventh worst in Africa, and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos was tenth worst in Africa. The continent’s top three airports are O.R. Tambo International Airport, Cape Town International Airport, and King Shaka International Airport, all in South Africa.

    The survey was carried out by the online airport reviewers, The Guide to Sleeping in Airports; and based on the criteria of comfort, convenience, cleanliness and customer service. The rankings were determined by votes from visitors to the site, some of whom also sent in reviews detailing grossly inadequate facilities, surly or non-existent service, ridiculously expensive catering, incessant demands for gratification, and negligent security procedures.

    Although the website appears to focus on airports deemed to be most conducive to the ability to sleep in them, there is little doubt that an airport which is good enough to slumber in will also be good enough to pass through.

    It is clear that the Nigerian airports singled out in the survey fall short of continental best practices, to say nothing of global standards. All three have endured long-standing limitations relating to vehicular access, parking, arrival and departure terminals, and conveniences. In none of them are airport-users free from harassment by touts, overzealous security operatives and avaricious immigration officials. Laid-down processes regarding luggage restrictions, purchasing tickets and checking-in are constantly violated without sanction; flight information is rarely forthcoming, especially when there are delays.

    Ironically, the airport-rehabilitation programme launched by the former Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, in 2013 appears to have made things worse. In Murtala Muhammed and Port Harcourt airports, ongoing renovation has forced passengers and other airport users to avail themselves of near-primitive facilities. Renovation is in many cases limited to terminal buildings and does not often include outlying areas: access to and parking at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, for example, are still nightmares.

    Matters have not been helped by the overly-defensive attitude of the Federal Government to aviation issues. Oduah was constantly touted as one of the Jonathan administration’s top performers, and any criticism of her actions was often dismissed as partisan political sniping. The former minister had conceived of an ambitious aviation master-plan which included the development of so-called “aerotropolises” or airport cities, which would attract trade, industry and investment. However, it was financed mainly by foreign loans, the terms of which were not transparent. In May, it was found that the former minister’s policies had led to an indebtedness of about N174.6 billion as at May this year, compelling her successor, Chief Osita Chidoka, to extensively review them.

    It is surprising that even though Nigeria’s politicians are among the world’s most assiduous travellers, many of them find it difficult to replicate the high standards they enjoy abroad at home. This anomaly is probably due to the fact that most of them shamelessly exploit their social prominence to make sure that they do not have to endure the limitations and shortcomings that others are compelled to endure.

    The comprehensive rehabilitation of Nigeria’s airports is crucial to the nation’s social and economic development. As such, it cannot be left to the vagaries of political propaganda, or confined to the whims and caprices of whoever happens to be in charge at the moment. If the country is able to articulate and execute a transparent and properly-designed plan for the infrastructural development of its airports, the benefits will be visible to all.