The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Fuel subsidy resurfaces

    Fuel subsidy resurfaces

    • Oil minister’s recipe will paralyse and impoverish the Nigerian citizen

    About three months after the contentious issue of fuel subsidy removal made the headlines in the country, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, rekindled the matter on Tuesday at the ongoing 8th edition of the Oil, Trading and Logistics (African Downstream) Expo in Lagos. According to the minister, who was represented at the occasion by the Deputy Director, Gas, Department of Petroleum Resources, Oliver Okparaojiako, “The truth is that heavy subsidy is unsustainable expenditure even in the long term. It generally promotes energy inefficiency and imprudent consumption … To provide a competitive market environment and sustain supply, the downstream should be fully deregulated”.

    The last time there was a sustained focus on the matter was around July when the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee insisted that retention of fuel subsidy was a fraud against the country. We understand where the Forum of Commissioners for Finance of the 36 states of the Federation who form the bulk of the committee members was coming from: their share of the revenue from the centre government was dwindling. They wanted the shortfall augmented but could not care from where.

    As usual, fuel subsidy came handy, notwithstanding the opposition of the generality of Nigerians to its removal. Indeed, the impression was given then that the country would have collapsed by now if the subsidy had not been removed. Here the country is, still standing, in spite of the hiccups which were not as pronounced then as they are now in the international oil market.

    Fuel subsidy is a product of the importation of petrol and kerosene because our four refineries cannot refine enough for local consumption.  Most of them are presently down; even in the best of times, they have never produced optimally in the past decades, despite the regular Turn-Around Maintenance that we spend billions to do on them.

    The scary news this time from the minister is that there does not seem to be any hope in sight in the near future for the country and other oil-producing African countries, to stop fuel importation. “Notwithstanding the possibility of building new refineries in Africa, including new projects in Angola (Sonaref Refinery); Uganda (Uganda Oil Refinery); Mozambique (Nacala Refinery); and Nigeria, among others, Africa will remain a net importer of petroleum products for at least 20 years to come”, she said.

    The reason? There hasn’t been enough planning for production to catch up with the continent’s bourgeoning population. “ …There are only 24 fuels refineries within the region, with a total refining capacity of 1.6 million barrels for a population that is close to a billion. Population growth means more energy consumption”, Mrs Alison-Madueke said.

    Clearly at a glance therefore, it is obvious that the oil industry has been bogged down by incompetence, lack of foresight and, above all, corruption. These and other factors are responsible for the crippled state of our refineries in Nigeria. Regrettably, rather than address them, the government prefers the easy way out, which is importation, and sees nothing shameful about a major oil producing nation importing fuel.

    But we wonder how Mrs Alison-Madueke arrived at the position that we have to wait for about two more decades to have enough refineries to take care of our local fuel consumption. Where are the Greenfield refineries promised by the government in the wake of the 2012 fuel subsidy riots?  What about the other promises made by the government to douse the nationwide fury then?  Why is the government still keeping the refineries if it cannot make them work optimally?

    We restate, even if for the umpteenth time, that we are not opposed to deregulation of the downstream sector; what we are opposed to is deregulation based on the template of importation. Any deregulation regime must be productive and yield returns, rather than the paralysis of external dependency. If fuel subsidy is unsustainable as the minister claimed, then, perpetual importation of fuel by Nigeria is as undesirable as it is unpardonable.

  • How much is Mimiko worth? 

    How much is Mimiko worth? 

    SIR: Shortly after the Alabi-led Ondo PDP executive went to court to get the status quo to remain, an infuriated Mimiko would rant in the newspapers that no one can force him out of the party because he’s bringing value to the party. Value according to an online dictionary, is worth in usefulness or importance to the possessor; utility or merit. It might be monetary or material. In politics, the number of votes you can harvest, the huge amount of cash you can donate, your ability to twist an arm, break a leg and to some extent, cause mayhem or snatch boxes makes you valuable; makes you an asset.

    Where lies Ondo State governor Olusegun Mimiko’s strength in the above listed values that he keeps priding himself that he is bringing values to Ondo State PDP?

    Before his defection he was no longer popular. The two elections he conducted were inclusive because they were not in his favour. The seat of the late speaker is still vacant. He is out of favour with the masses. Mimiko that was in LP has only one vote. The vote of his wife he can’t guarantee that is if she will be voting; so are the votes of his kids provided they will be in the country to vote. So what values are the governor bringing to the table?

    In Abuja during his defection, he said President Jonathan’s ambition is the major reason for his defection. Does he need to move to PDP to campaign for the president? In 2007 as Labour Party governor and member, Jonathan won handsomely in Ondo State, kudos to Iroko; why would he not repeat the same feat in 2015?

    The truth is that things have changed.

    For Labour Party to die a natural death in Ondo State after the defection of the governor means the party is all about him. The LP aspirants followed him automatically hoping they will be the anointed candidates of the governor in the sharing formula that will emerge.

    The main reason the governor decamped is his doubtful loyalty. His chameleonic nature is obviously a source of worry to the presidency.  To convince the presidency of his loyalty, he chose to decamp at Abuja. Abuja on the other hand, appropriately rewarded him as south west coordinator of the Jonathan re-election project to keep him in sight.

    Both of course needs each other; Mimiko needs a soft landing and for the presidency to watch his back at the end of his tumultous tenure; the presidency needs a strognman to assist it manipulate Ondo votes. It is a case of rub my back, I rub yours.

     

    • Olusola Farouq

    Warri Delta State

  • Abandoning Lagos

    Abandoning Lagos

    •Why is the Federal Govt now suddenly interested in taking over the Badagry Expressway?

    Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) had during his 2,700 days celebration in office at the Lagos Television, Ikeja, given a hint of a purported statement credited to Mike Onolememen, Minister of Works, that the Federal Government was planning to take over the Lagos-Badagry Expressway. The expressway, which also serves as gateway into the country, has been abandoned by the Federal Government for years. Why it has suddenly become attracted for take-over at a time that its transformation is being bankrolled by the Lagos State government remains curious.

    Governor Fashola however reportedly admonished: “On the statement credited to Minister Onolememen… I think it will be wise to hear what they have to say on the matter and I think it will be an unfortunate journey to even contemplate that idea. They will have us to contend with should that be the case, but I don’t think that anybody who is sensible will want to stand in the way of development. What will the objective be?”

    The Federal Government has undoubtedly abandoned Lagos for inexplicable reasons. The pointers: The centre government has neglected its duties to the state and also refuses to refund the N51 billion that the Lagos State government claimed it had so far spent on repairs of dilapidated abandoned federal roads in its jurisdiction, so as to improve the state’s transportation challenges. Moreover, the Federal Government has been ignoring the state’s application for approval to share the red line federal corridor without which the take-off of the state’s light rail project becomes impossible.

    Lastly, we query why the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Works, has refused to act on the report of experts assessment conducted on all bridges in Lagos and submitted to it by the state government. The report purportedly contains evidence showing that some of the 39 bridges in its territory are vastly deteriorating and need urgent attention.

    Lagos State, as former federal capital, has federal roads/bridges that are in bad shape and it is even a shame that while the state government has taken it upon itself to fix the roads and bridges, the Federal Government has failed to show appreciation by refunding the money spent on them by the state government. It is clearly a case of ingratitude for the centre government to say or even contemplate taking over the Badagry Expressway when the money and design for its expansion and others not belonging to the state, were provided by the state government so that the state can make progress.

    For instance, the on-going Eko Bridge rehabilitation project with 33 joints’ repairs that is reportedly costing the state over N400 million is due for completion by the second week in December. Yet, the Eko Bridge especially, and others presently abandoned by their federal owner, are of strategic security and economic importance, not only to the state, but the country in general. We are aware of the current official trend that the centre government’s approval must be sought and given before any state can embark on rehabilitation of a federal road or bridge, but must the state government wait until a total collapse occurs before rescuing its inhabitants from avoidable tragedy?

    Without doubt, the pressure on roads and other infrastructure in Lagos is too much. Any unnecessary maintenance delay, as exhibited by the Federal Government, can lead to dire consequences if not quickly attended to, as the Lagos State Government is doing.

    The state government deserves commendation and motivation, not hounding with political undercurrents, from the Federal Government. We therefore demand that the Federal Government should stay off the Badagry Expressway, pay its verifiable outstanding debts to the state and henceforth promptly attend to federal infrastructure in Lagos.

  • Boko Haram crimes

    Boko Haram crimes

    •Tales of woes by returnees from the insurgents’ camp call for caution as the Federal Government continues negotiations with the terrorists

    The euphoria that the Federal Government hoped to generate with news of negotiations and a possible ceasefire deal with the Boko Haram insurgents might have been dampened by a report published by Human Rights Watch, of gross abuse of the women and girls being held in captivity by the insurgents.

    A report just published by the human rights group documented interviews with women and girls who had managed to escape from the camp or were released. They all had grim tales to tell of how they were subjected to physical and psychological torture by the abductors who insisted that the Christians had to convert to Islam at the pain of death. Others were forcibly married to some insurgents while others were brutally raped without regard for their ages.

    Since a ceasefire was reportedly agreed between the Federal Government and the terrorists on October 17, many more women and girls in Borno and Adamawa states have been taken into captivity. Men have been killed and the peace of the area continually disrupted. It is certainly a classical example of how not to strike a deal. Despite the promise of securing the release of the more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls abducted since April 14, the signals from the camp of the terrorists indicate that the road to a deal is long, bumpy and crooked.

    We call on the Federal Government to painstakingly look at all angles to the negotiations, get experts involved and ensure that in a bid to shore up President Goodluck Jonathan’s popularity on the eve of his declaration of interest in a second term, the larger interest of the country is not sacrificed.

    Nigerians, and indeed the international community, want the girls and women and all captives freed, but they also want lasting peace. They want an end to brutality and seek soothing balm to the pains that the people of the region have suffered. Since the Chibok girls were abducted, more than double the number has been turned to sex slaves.

    Beyond negotiations and deals, the crimes against humanity being committed daily by the terrorists deserve condemnation by all. The insurgents have also proved that they cannot be bound by agreements. It is therefore incumbent on the government to keep equipping the military to root out the enemy from Nigerian territory, ensuring that the dignity of the abducted girls and women is restored. Those who have been so tortured and raped require psychotherapy.

    We call on the international community, statesmen and activists campaigning for the release of the kidnapped girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, not to relent in efforts to secure their release as soon as possible. The military has a key role to play in ensuring that a period of phony deal is not used by the insurgents to improve on their capacity to do more damage. The security network around towns and villages in the affected states must be improved and, beyond the trials for insubordination and mutiny, the morale of the fighting men deserves a boost.

    The Nigerian state owes the citizenry a duty to ensure that they go about their daily duties without fear of molestation. The agents of death need to be stopped in their tracks.

  • The Amaechi example

    The Amaechi example

    •State and federal governments should learn to replace financial waste with prudence

    It is amazing that a nation blessed with so many economic experts should find it so difficult to appreciate the necessity of saving for a rainy day. Despite its celebrated accession to the position of Africa’s largest economy, there can be little doubt that Nigeria is currently in the throes of a pronounced cash-crunch.

    For the past three months, the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has been unable to pay states and local governments their full allocations, resulting in an estimated deficit of about N336 billion. The shortfall, allegedly caused by the inability of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to remit oil revenues to the Federal Government, has resulted in drastic slowdowns in development projects, welfare interventions and the payment of salaries and other entitlements.

    It was a crisis waiting to happen. Nigeria has long been aware of the dangers of being a mono-product economy, but it has not made significant progress in weaning itself off its over-dependence on crude oil. The nation has continued along the discredited path of exporting oil without adding value, remaining at the mercy of a volatile oil market it cannot control, and failing to comprehensively store wealth against inevitability of leaner times.

    The Jonathan administration has further aggravated an already-bad situation by spending money with an abandon bordering on recklessness. The polity has been rife with allegations of missing funds running into the billions, especially the well-documented accusations of the former governor of the Central Bank, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. These allegations are yet to be satisfactorily resolved.

    The Federal Government has used the excuse of the Boko Haram insurgency to significantly increase the country’s defence budget almost exponentially. In the 2014 budget, defence was allocated N968.127 billion, representing 20 per cent of the N4.962 trillion national budget. In spite of similar percentages being allocated to defence over the past three years, Nigeria’s anti-insurgency campaign has been plagued with persistent complaints about inadequate arms and equipment from soldiers in the field. Recently, the National Assembly approved a loan of U.S. $ 1 billion specifically for the procurement of arms for the country’s armed forces.

    Given the shoddy handling of economic fundamentals by the country’s economic managers, the farsightedness of the Rotimi Amaechi-led Rivers State Government is all the more commendable. The governor only a few days back asked the Rivers State House of Assembly for N19 billion of the state’s reserve funds to complete ongoing projects.

    The Reserve Fund is the fruit of the assembly’s 2008 legislation compelling the state government to save N1 billion every month as a hedge against a downturn in income. The economic sense of this initiative is impeccable; it is merely the sub-national version of the sovereign wealth fund strategy that nations like Norway, the United Arab Emirates and China have utilised so successfully.

    By husbanding the state’s resources in this fashion, Governor Amaechi has been able to secure development plans against the vagaries of long-term financing. Unlike most other states, Rivers does not find itself in the embarrassing position of being unable to pay salaries, pensions and other statutory benefits. The state has not had to cut back on the maintenance of the social infrastructure that is vital to the well-being of the majority of the state’s citizens. Rivers has not been compelled to seek loans in order to defray recurrent expenditure, and has even refrained from availing itself of the first half of a N100 billion bond approved for the state.

    As the nation enters the run-up to general elections next year, the temptation for governments to become even more financially reckless is overwhelming. Rather than pour scarce funds into electoral campaigns, both the state and federal governments must learn from the Rivers State example. Nigeria can no longer afford to consume its patrimony with both hands.

  • Investors’ retreat

    Investors’ retreat

    •Worrisome auguries as foreign investors withdraw from Nigeria’s stock market

    There is not yet a stampeding flight or a crisis, but the news is that more foreign portfolio investors have moved their investment from the Nigerian capital market this year than did so same period last year. Reports emanating from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) show that about N482.91 billion worth of foreign portfolio investment had been withdrawn from the capital market in the first three quarters of this year.

    This sum represents a 35.4 per cent increase on the N356.64 billion foreign investment outflow recorded in the same period last year. The percentage change may seem not quite significant compared to the total net worth of the market but it is worthy of note. It is also important to keep a keen eye on the movement of foreign investments in the few years ahead as it could serve as a true measure of the state of the economy.

    Market watchers have attributed the current foreign investors’ retreat to several factors. The first factor is the up-coming general election early next year and the uncertainties that often surround it. Investment advisors reading the Nigerian environment would be cautious and less adventurous in exposure to this market; while some would advise safe cut-back.

    Another factor that may be responsible for the decline in foreign portfolio investment is the emerging changes in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. Nigeria’s chief cash cow has continued to decline noticeably since the beginning of the year and there does not seem to be any respite in sight. With viable alternative energy fuels like shale oil coming on stream and the entry of the United States into massive oil and gas export, both the price of products and quantum of Nigeria’s crude production have been in decline. Crude oil export is the fulcrum of Nigeria’s economy and any negative shift in trend is bound to affect other markets and economic indicators.

    We restate that this is not necessarily a sign of distress in the market. Indeed, despite the skewed withdrawals of the first three quarters and the drop in investment inflows, foreign investors still dominate the equities market, accounting for about 58 per cent of total equity transactions on the NSE from January to August, this year.

    Yet we caution that the management of the NSE must be more up and doing now than ever before, being the critical barometer for reading the well-being of the economy, especially the formal sector. They must not only keep their eyes on the impending auguries and read the signs right, they must be able to convey all the early warning signals concerning the economy to the appropriate government quarters for the overall good of the economy.

    The NSE must also continue to rebound and rebuild as it has been doing after the last debacle of about three years ago. It must gear up its operations and processes so that it does not suffer once again, the sad fate of those years. It is salutary that the NSE is doing some house cleaning by weeding off some comatose firms from its listing. It also should put some modalities in place that would ensure that such number of listed companies do not become ‘quiet’ again under its watch, considering the adverse effect of this on the ordinary investor.

    The exchange must further deepen the market and boost confidence by doing everything possible to ensure the listing of the multinationals in the telecommunications and oil and gas sectors. This must be the pep the exchange needs most now as it will give it the needed resurgence and perhaps, reverse the current outward flow of foreign investment.

     

  • Banks’ chronic debtors

    Banks’ chronic debtors

    •It’s still the same story of no lesson taught; no lesson learnt

    IN an industry that has done little else than “name and shame” chronic and pathological debtors, the report last week that the Bank of Industry (BOI) has inducted 10 indigenous companies into its Hall of Fame must be seen in two parts. The first is to see it as welcome – an affirmation of the Nigerian spirit of honesty and enterprise despite widespread claims to the contrary. The other is to rekindle the debate as to whether the financial services industry has learnt anything of significance, in the aftermath of the 2008/9 toxic assets crisis from which the entire sector has barely recovered, on the basis of which it can hope to chart a pathway to a stable future.

    The main substance of the report is that the companies “obtained long-term credit facilities from BOI at least twice and fully repaid the loans as and when due”.  In the words of BOI’s Managing Director and Chief Executive, Rasheed Olaoluwa, the companies “have proven that integrity is not a function of size or of the business environment. They have shown considerable honour and character that we commend and applaud”. The 10 companies are, Supercor Industries, Bauchi; Rumbus Sacks, Kano; Ammasco International, Kano; Cement Company of Northern Nigeria, Sokoto and Cobet International, Port Harcourt. Others are Happinex Foam, Benin; Innoson Enugu, Nigerian Aluminium Extrusion Ltd, Lagos;, Nigerian Foundries, Lagos and Paul B Limited, Enugu.

    The obverse side of the same story is that another set of companies – 24 in number  – made the bank’s blacklist for their failure to repay their loans and for showing “a high level of dishonesty and lack of integrity”.

    In an industry where bad moral hazards have become the rule rather than exception, the exemplary performance of the 10 companies obviously deserves to be showcased. And while there must be thousands of such entities and individuals operating in the financial sector, doing good business with the banks while fulfilling their obligations promptly, the fact that more than twice the number, for whatever reasons, have neglected to fulfil their obligations would seem to indicate a more fundamental problem in the industry. In this particular instance, the BOI would merely serve as a miniature – a window into an industry of which the value of non-performing loans has continued to soar in spite of the strict guidelines said to have been put in place by the apex bank. If ever any evidence was needed for this, it must be the quantum jump by 16 percent in the value of non-performing loans in the 12 months spanning August 2013 to August 2014, from N344.26billion to N400.57billion.

    Beyond its symbolism, there is little else that the idea of a Hall of Fame would achieve in practical terms – the same way that the tactic of “name and shame” has not proven to be effective deterrent to loan abusers. If we are any wise to the efficacy of the regulatory reforms promised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the wake of the banking crisis, it is their falling short of what was expected. A measure of the result is the latest finding by the apex bank that two banks have their capital adequacy ratio (CAR) below the 10 percent prudential minimum stipulated under the Basel 1 and 2 frameworks.

    While it cannot be denied that the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has largely succeeded in cleaning up the banks’ toxic assets, there are however, as yet, no proofs that the practices which necessitated the coming of AMCON have disappeared. This apparently is the context to explain the latest diversionary debate as to whether AMCON, a child of necessity, should operate in perpetuity as against its original design to wind up after 10 years. If we are worried by the curious provision for the sinking fund for AMCON which appears to have thrown entire cost of the resolution of the crisis to the banks, we are even more worried by the seeming reluctance of AMCON to embark on the process of winding down. Of course, we find the idea of the CBN committing N50 billion annually into the sinking fund as inexplicable, hence our relief when the National Assembly rejected the provision in the proposed amendment to the AMCON Act.

    The point is – the banking sector has never been lacking in worthwhile suggestions on how to deal with the hordes of delinquent debtors. The easiest one is to shut the debtors out of the financial system – something that has proven, time and again, to be easier said than done. In the situation that the frustratingly slow pace of the judicial process has hardly helped matters – the debtors are simply allowed to enjoy the fruits of their unwholesome behaviour even while preying on the system in the absence of a functional credit bureau.

    Most certainly, there is a lot that the banks can do to improve on their credit decisions through the instrumentality of the credit bureau. Then is the issue of corruption which also needs to be tackled frontally, particularly at the level of the judiciary.  The greater challenge of course, is to prevent the abuse in the first place through the banks whose responsibility it is to strengthen their internal controls; and the apex bank in the area of enforcing the relevant guidelines. While these may not necessarily provide fool-proof mechanism to insulate the banks from bad or non-performing loans, they would no doubt go a long way to bring the loans to the barest minimum.

  • Ebola, CAF and Nigeria

    Ebola, CAF and Nigeria

    SIR: The continent of Africa presently faces a huge burden in her battle to contain the deadly Ebola Virus Disease. According to a recent WHO data, the number of people with Ebola is set to hit 10,000 in West Africa. The WHO data further reveals that 9,936 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three major countries mostly hit in what is, undoubtedly, the world’s worst Ebola epidemic, have contracted the disease. In total, 4,877 people have so far died as a result of the epidemic.

    Experts have raised alarm that the rate of infections could reach 10,000 a week by early December, if something urgent is not done to quickly take control of the disease. In Liberia, in order to stop the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, schools across the country remain closed while economic activities have come to a standstill.  Similarly, the army has been deployed to enforce all measures put in place to avert the further spread of the disease. The situation in Guinea and Serria-Leone is only marginally better. This, without a doubt, is a trying time for mother Africa.

    Part of the current Ebola burdens in Africa, is the issue of the venue for the continent’s prime soccer competition, the African Cup of Nations, AFCON, slated for January 2015. The competition, which was initially billed to be hosted by Morocco, is facing a race against time with indications that Morocco is considering pulling out as a result of the Ebola virus epidemic.

    CAF has started shopping for a country that could host the competition.   South Africa was approached by CAF as a possible replacement for Morocco, but the request was reportedly turned down on the account that it has twice played host to the championship in similar situations and that it doesn’t have the financial muscle to host it within such a short notification.

    Ghana, which was contacted after South Africa declined the offer, is demanding for more time to carefully study the Ebola situation before making its position known to CAF.

    Now, there are widespread speculations that Nigeria is considering hosting.

    It would be careless and inconsiderate for the authorities to jump at the chance of hosting the AFCON without properly putting into context the pains and anguish that the nation went through in the course of its 93 three days’ battle to contain Ebola. Considering the porous nature of our borders and other such limitations, hosting the competition, at this point in time, could make nonsense of all the gains we have made in respect of our recent travails with Ebola.

    Could we have suddenly forgotten the several complications that the Ebola invasion brought to our land while it lasted?

    If Morocco, a country that is yet to record any cases of the Ebola virus could turn down the opportunity to host the AFCON based on the fear of Ebola, it would be a suicide mission for our dear nation to do same. It would amount o spitting on the graves of our unfortunate compatriots who paid the supreme price, while battling the deadly virus in the country.

    At the moment, rather than investing on hosting the AFCON, we should pull our resources into spearheading scientific researches that could bring about the much needed cure for the Ebola virus. This is what we owe Africa. As for CAF, it should respect the position of Morocco on postponing the competition till the continent’s Ebola situation improves. This is the time to put life above every other consideration.

     

    • Tayo Ogunbiyi

    Ministry of Information & Strategy,

    Alausa, Ikeja.

  • Yakubu Gowon

    Yakubu Gowon

    Toast to Nigerian statesman, officer and gentleman at 80

    On October 19, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, former military Head of State who presided over Nigeria’s Civil War (1967-1970), turned 80. The irony of the landmark is gripping.

    Gen. Gowon fought tooth-and-nail to keep Nigeria one. Indeed, the war-time acronym from his name, GOWON: Go-On-With-One-Nigeria, showed his personal commitment to his chosen cause, and, on the Nigerian side, the general enthusiastic identification with that cause.

    Forty-four years after that war, Nigeria indeed has remained one territory. But the push-and-pull of disintegration has not totally disappeared. That, of course, has nothing to do with Gen. Gowon’s noble and patriotic exertions, for a well-run, united and strong Nigeria is a heartbeat from greatness.

    Rather, it has everything to do with not resolving the deep injustices and structural hiccups that led to the war in the first instance. It is a classic case of winning the war, and losing the peace! But again, that had little to do with Gowon, except of course, if his own tiny drizzle of leadership mistakes is now part of the roaring flood of leadership glitches, over the years, now threatening the sanity of the polity; and the integrity of the country.

    But despite his mistakes, Gen. Gowon has remained an exemplar: a former ruler as a statesman par excellence; a high ranking soldier as the iconic officer and gentleman; a deposed leader, who bore his setback with grace and nobility; and a crisis-time leader oozing an excellent temper to cope with the perilous times, both with dramatic happenings in the polity and the often rash and hot-headed disposition of his military colleagues, juniors and contemporaries. Looking back on all these, Gen. Gowon has remained a study in calm navigating violent storm.

    Comparing and contrasting Gen. Gowon with the late Gen. Murtala Muhammed (who overthrew him in a bloodless coup) and Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo (who succeeded Muhammed after his assassination in a bloody but failed coup) is instructive.

    Gen. Muhammed was a hero in a hurry. Like the comet, he hit the land and expired in a flash, taking the Civil Service with him. Not a few believe that Muhammed’s furious but failed reforms of the Civil Service built the foundation of the crippling corruption today, even if the brave soul’s laudable target was to eliminate corruption “with immediate effect.”

    Gen. Obasanjo, on the other hand, is a recurring decimal with the Nigerian polity, crowning a tenure as military head of state with that of a two-term elected president in a democratic order.  Indeed, given sentiments from Gen. Obasanjo’s Not My Will, Gen. Gowon, who he brashly dismissed as “Mr. Gowon” in the vituperations in the book, was a common criminal all but fit for the gallows — all because of unproven allegations that Gowon was part of the Buka Suka Dimka failed coup that nevertheless killed Muhammed.

    With the right temper, however, Gowon showed the way in institution-building and deepening, for it was after his regime and the Muhammed probes that the Civil Service unravelled. And with personal probity and golden quiet, Gowon projected “principle, morality, honour, integrity, character”, words that periodically tumble out of Obasanjo’s mouth but which Gowon exemplifies, even without uttering a word.

    Still, on the right temperament for stability, Gen. Gowon was also an excellent study during the Civil War, with the way he managed his hot-head commanders, Murtala Muhammed, Mohammed Shuwa, and Benjamin Adekunle, to somehow achieve the desired balance. A precipitate move against any of them could have upset the applecart and led to more chaos.

    If Gowon earned plaudits for the compassionate and humane way he prosecuted the war (though many Igbo that wilted in the Biafran heat would scoff at such a claim), his No Victor No Vanquished philosophy, followed by his famous 3Rs — Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation — was the stuff of which post-victory nobility is made.

    Again, many on the Biafran side would dismiss the 3Rs as Nigeria’s post-war gimmick and propaganda. To the extent that no policy can be implemented 100 per cent, the nobility in the concept was crystal clear. Besides, the absence of any post-Civil War recriminations and victimisation, and the fast reintegration of the Igbo into the Nigerian community is tribute to this fine philosophy.

    Still, Gen. Gowon was not without blame. He was often perceived as fatalistic, weak and indecisive, an un-military trait, many insisted, that made his 12 governors become a law unto themselves, thus leading to massive corruption. Indeed, 10 of the 12 governors of the era were found remiss, by virtue of the Muhammed government’s probe.

    But the Muhammed-Obasanjo government’s attempt to rein in the governors, and turn military governorship into strict military postings, signposted the smashing of a federal Nigeria. That has resulted in the command mentality that has turned Nigeria’s paper federalism into glorified unitary practice, with grave consequences. Yet, without rediscovering a truly federal balance, Nigeria’s economic and developmental future hangs in the balance.

    On the political front, Gowon’s most grievous error was reneging on his promise to hand over to a democratic order in 1976. In a broadcast in 1974, he told a shocked nation that the promise was no longer “realistic”, claiming politicians had not learned their lessons and he needed more time to consolidate on the economy. That radicalised his civilian opponents (like the late educationist, Dr. Tai Solarin, who printed a handbill, “The beginning of the end”, which he mass circulated, after newspapers would not publish the opinion on their pages) and gave the military the excuse to move against him. He was ousted in 1975.

    On the economic front, the Gowon regime was an era of scrupulous four-year national development plans, under which ambit the regime wrought great infrastructural achievements like Eko Bridge, Ijora Causeway Complex, in Lagos and other groundbreaking roads nationwide. The regime’s expansion of opportunities into universities, with scrapped tuition fees and heavily subsidised meal tickets, also showed a military regime willing and ready to invest the new oil wealth in its citizens. That cannot be said of the so-called “corrective regimes” that came after him.

    As Gen. Gowon gracefully ages, he again epitomises what Nigeria can have but strangely appears beyond its reach. He was the most federalist of Nigeria’s military heads of state, with a masterful juggling of federal diversity and the military’s command structure. The Nigerian military exited power in a dust of disgrace, earning the tag of an institution that killed itself with the sweet poison of power. But Gen. Gowon eternally emits the noble image of the military, before the loss of innocence and rectitude.

    When basic ennobling mystiques about governance continue to disappear, and the government and whoever are in it continue to project a din of sleaze, distrust and turpitude, Gen. Gowon, with his personal conduct and grace, continues to tell Nigerians that the paradise of a caring, compassionate and empathetic governance can still be regained.

    We wish the Gentleman General and statesman many years yet of grace, health, peace and wisdom, as he continues to contribute to the development of his country.

  • Shoddy deal

    Shoddy deal

    •Release of Chibok girls should not be made subject of propaganda

    It is more than six months since the 219 Chibok school girls abducted by the terror group, Boko Haram, have been in captivity. It is therefore understandable that any suggestion of impending breakthrough in efforts to get them released would lead to excitement across the country. So was an announcement that a deal had been struck for a ceasefire and possible end to the insurgency that had claimed thousands of lives and led to devastation in parts of the North East and the North West.

    However, barely one week after the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh and the Director of the National Information Centre gleefully announced an agreement reached between representatives of the terror group and the Federal Government, nothing appears to have changed. We are miffed at the breaking news of significant progress in talks between the two parties when discussions had just ended. The bloodletting continued within 24 hours of the announcement as the Boko Haram insurgents killed 25 in Borno villages and, within days, abducted 60 women in parts of Adamawa State, a ccording to a report.

    We find it difficult to understand the premature instruction to troops to cease hostilities when the rather complicated negotiations were still on. Mallam Shehu Sani of the Civic Rights Organisation who had been involved in previous negotiations and obviously has solid contacts with leaders of Boko Haram expressed doubts of any ceasefire being agreed and imminent release of the abducted girls.

    Anybody who has any idea of negotiations with terrorists and militants knows how complicated it could be. It involves many layers and could take some time for a breakthrough to be agreed. Besides, what is the hurry in making announcements while talks were still on? We hope the information was not released merely to shore up the political rating of President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the declaration of his interest in the presidential election. If this is so, it would be unfortunate, indeed. The lives of the 219 girls and the peace of Nigeria are too important to be so treated. The territorial integrity of the country, for which many officers and men of the armed forces and citizens had been killed, should not be so traded by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

    Like all Nigerians, we are anxious to have the girls rescued and reunited with their families. We hope they would remain healthy as they were when kidnapped on April 14. We call on the Federal Government to do everything necessary to secure their release and ensure the security of lives and property in all parts of the country.

    It is deceptive and unacceptable that, while still holding talks, the government had made announcement of a deal. It is obvious that a shoddy job was done in the deal reportedly reached. Was the government able to identify the real leaders of the sect? Were the talks held with the terror group or a faction of it? Was the principal secretary to the president the appropriate person to handle the talks or would it have been more appropriate to get more senior members of the administration and those involved in previous negotiations involved?

    This would be the fourth time a ceasefire would be announced. And, they yielded no results. We therefore call on the government to raise a more credible team to handle the negotiations and be more discreet in handling information. No one should use this sensitive matter for propaganda geared towards reaping political benefits. It is the duty of government to secure the lives and property of all Nigerians and the Jonathan government owes us all a duty to ensure that the armed forces are equipped to ward off external and internal aggression as well as get the innocent Chibok girls released or rescued.