The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • David Oyedepo at 70

    David Oyedepo at 70

    •Unarguably one of the most successful Pentecostal pastors around; he deserves all the accolades

    One of Nigeria’s Christendom’s most popular faces, Bishop David Oyedepo, turned the biblical three scores and ten on September 27. The Winners Chapel, the trademark name for his church, rolled out all the stops to celebrate their founder. It was not much of the partying and dancing in the usual ways most prominent birthdays are celebrated, but in his trademark way of evangelisation; his focus on winning more souls for Christ.

    In his words, “Don’t bother to give me gifts, I don’t need them, don’t give me cakes, I don’t eat them, give me souls, just win at least one soul per person for Christ”. In these few words seem embedded his mission as a leader of one of the largest Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. In his birthday testimony, he claimed to have won at least 177 new souls for Christ.

    So his 70th birthday again reinvigorated the energy that has propelled his work for Christian evangelism. Winning souls for Christ seems to have been his life ambition and the name ‘Winners’ for his church has given him a global presence in Christianity. His discipleship seems well-focused on carrying out the mission that Christ himself challenged the early disciples with: “go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”(Mathew 28: 18-20).

    ‘The Winners Chapel’ has branches in most countries and boasts a significant continental following.

    His establishment of schools, including the very successful Covenant University, is an eloquent testimony on his passion for holistic human development. The university has grown to be one of the most successful private universities in the country, with some international repute as well.

    His success in the education sector signposts his own pedigree. He is a PhD holder in human development from the Honolulu University, Hawaii, United States.

     Unlike most politicians across the country, he understands the value of and invests not just in the spiritual lives of the people, but also in their social and economic lives.

    He is one of the examples of inter-religious tolerance and inclusivity. His father was a Muslim and his mother a Christian of the Cherubim and Seraphim denomination. In a country where politicians often whip up religious sentiments as a divisive tool, his life is a source of inspiration to the people that sometimes it’s not about the religion but about individual choices to contribute to our shared humanity.

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    However, despite his larger-than-life image, Bishop Oyedepo is often seen by many as one huge prosperity evangelist whose lavish lifestyle differs remarkably from the simple life that Jesus, who inspired the early Christians, showcased. He lives in opulence with a number of private jets, luxury homes, cars and other signposts of plenty.

    Many claim that with much emphasis on prosperity, it is confusing to differentiate between the commercial and spiritual essence of the Bishop in running one of the most popular and populated Christian denominations. Some claim that while many of his church members contribute significantly to the church, many of them live in abject poverty and their children cannot attend the famous Covenant University because of the high fees charged. Some allege that the school is run with a bit of authoritarianism as some of their student policies are extreme and coercive.

    A gift of a Rolls Royce by some of his members for his birthday seemed contradictory to his pre-birthday preaching. It reeks of the appetite for luxury and a distraction at a time millions are wallowing in abject poverty. Speaking up in times of political crossroads and his actions during the COVID-19 lockdown has portrayed him as at once compassionate and divisive.

    Being human, he is not infallible; he has his positives and negatives, but we only advise that efforts be made to have a balancing act.

    We wish him more years of impacting on humanity.

  • JAMB’s rare breed is 70  

    JAMB’s rare breed is 70  

    • Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede joins the septuagenarian club

    Professor Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede, the registrar/chief executive of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has every reason to celebrate at 70. At the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, where he was once vice-chancellor, his achievements remain indelible. Even at JAMB, he would continue to receive accolades many years after his tenure, given the transformation that the board has been witnessing since his assumption of office in August, 2016. 

    Oloyede hit the ground running.

    The very first Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) that he conducted less than a year after his appointment was remarkable. Before then, the examination was largely characterised by commotion and irregularities. Indeed, every UTME conducted under Oloyede continues to be an improvement on the previous exercise because of the innovations he has brought to bear in the processes.

    One of the very first things he did as chief executive was reduce to the barest minimum human interaction in the conduct of the UTME. Today, the processes are largely seamless and devoid of human interface, with concepts like the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) that he introduced, which automates the admission process; IBASS, the Integrated Brochure and Syllabus System for prompt delivery of admission requirements, E-Ticketing for complaints, E-Slip, and use of biometric authentication to confirm validity of registration, etc. It is now mandatory for Computer-Based Test centres to have CCTV cameras to monitor the examination and registration, real time. All of these have helped considerably in checking examination fraud.

    The board has also instituted various schemes to make life easy for people with disabilities sitting the UTME.

    It has equally set up awards to encourage institutions to comply with laid-down rules and regulations for the conduct of examinations.

    Oloyede’s profile has continued to soar, not only because of the sanity he has brought into the conduct of the UTME but significantly by the astute manner he has been managing resources, human and material. From year one, he had been remitting billions into the Federal Government’s purse. This was unprecedented in JAMB’s history. Even the then Minister of Finance could not believe that such a profit was coming from JAMB which had in its 38 years before Oloyede’s coming on board relied heavily on government subvention. To date, JAMB has paid more than N55bn into the government’s coffers since Oloyede assumed office. And all of these despite reduction in application fees!   

    In a rare show of transparency and accountability, the board has been publishing its income and expenditure weekly in its bulletin for possible public perusal.

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    Little wonder Oloyede is being applauded nationally and internationally for transforming JAMB into a reference point in effective public service delivery, transparency and accountability.

    Expectedly, he has had challenges largely from those who profited from the rot of the past. That he has successfully waded through the storms is evidence of his great managerial acumen.

    Born on October 10, 1954 in Abeokuta, Ogun State, he graduated in 1981 with a First Class Honours from the University of Ilorin where he also bagged his Master and Ph.D degrees in 1985 and 1991, respectively. Oloyede became a Professor in 1995, was elected vice-chancellor of his alma mater, the University of Ilorin 12 years later (2007-2012). During his tenure, the university became highly-ranked among the best in Africa and the most sought-after university in Nigeria.

    Oloyede was Chairman of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities and Committee of Vice-Chancellors (2011–2012). He was also President of the Association of African Universities (2009–2011), Deputy Chairman of the Governing Board of the International Association of Universities (IAU) [2008 – 2011]; Member, Board of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (2010 – 2012); Fellow of the Islamic Academy of Cambridge, United Kingdom, and Secretary-General, Association of West African Universities (AWAU) [2013 – 2017], among others.

    His appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari was indication that the then president literally took his eyes to the market while looking for a capable hand to turn the tide around at the board

    We wish Prof. Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede well as he joins the septuagenarian club.

  • Rivers of impunity

    Rivers of impunity

    •The rule of law ought to take top billing in Rivers State now

    The Supreme Court decision that ordered the various states of the federation to conduct local government elections emphasised the virtue of having elected officers in the rural crevices of the country. It was hailed as a new breath of fresh air in a cadre suffocated by the strong arms of governors who played emperors in a democracy.

    Quite a few states conducted theirs and it turned out to be a farcical replay as the governors again controlled the polls without disguise of their imprint and swagger. All state governors’ parties swept virtually every local government area. At least, they have nodded to the ritual, if a mockery, of an election.

    But the real farce was in Rivers State where it was marred with a defiance or claims of defiance of a court order, spasms of violence and a hectoring chief executive. In the run-up to the polls, a palpable tension engulfed the Niger Delta state with Governor Siminalayi Fubara issuing a threat in a language unbecoming of a role model, a leading politician and a supposed statesman in the country.

    What was at stake was the legality of the polls. The police had said it was obeying a court order not to provide security for the polls. This made the election a matter of what court was right. Earlier, a federal high court in Abuja had ruled that the election should not hold until the voter registration was updated. This position did not delight the Action People’s Party (APP). A high court in Rivers State ruled to the contrary when some politicians took the same matter to court.

    We believe this undermines the concept of the rule of law, and the idea of conflicting rulings is an act of mischief. Many eminent lawyers, retired jurists, intellectuals and statesmen have condemned this habit. It contravenes the spirit of the law. If a court hands down a ruling, an offended party’s reaction is not to shop for a court of coordinate jurisdiction. That engenders institutional confusion as well as egos of judges. It is believed that such actions corrupt judges. The right step is to appeal the verdict and that means taking the matter to the next tier of the court. That is order, discipline and respect for the constitution.

    The police withdrew, and so did two prominent parties, the People’ Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). The results of the poll led to the swearing-in of the partisans of the APP, with Governor Fubara as the main feature of the event.

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    On the other hand, forces believed to be loyal to Nyesom Wike, the former governor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, allegedly went to town with mayhem and arson, burning down three local government secretariats.

    This is unacceptable. If the forces of Fubara did not follow the law, the reply is not impunity. We only retain the sanity of a civilised society by adhering to the law. Clearly, the election was conducted without following the law. The backlash also undermined the law. Hence President Bola Tinubu called for the restoration of order.

    Governor Fubara cannot say he did not incite violence in his state by his diction, and the tone of a warmonger he emitted on the eve of the election. He threatened to bring the state to “lawlessness” if the Inspector-General of Police dared him.

    At the time of writing, the state is calm, but tensions of deep partisan resentments seethe on both sides, and we urge all those not happy with the turn of events to resort to the court of law.

    Rivers State has been a tinderbox in recent election cycles. We expect decorum and the spirit of statesmen.

  • When the President speaks

    When the President speaks

    •The Independence Day promises should not end at mere pronouncements

    It is customary for the President to address Nigerians every October 1.

    This year was no different as President Bola Tinubu was on all the information channels to discharge that responsibility.

    One major highlight of the speech was the promise to convoke a Youth Confab at which young people would air their views and come up with recommendations on the way forward. Indeed, this is unprecedented. It is as desirable as it has become imperative, as the young people constitute 60 per cent of the population which the President acknowledged; but, they have had to force their voice to be heard in recent times.

    In October 2020, they took to the streets of major cities to express their grievances. Although it started as protest against police brutality, it soon turned to a revolt against the system, as additional demands were added. It could be summed up as rejection of a system that had shut them out of the decision making process.

    Then, more recently, they again poured out on the streets between August 1 and 10; and on October 1, Independence Day. While the Independence Day protest was not as loud and disruptive as the earlier ones, it was obvious that the younger Nigerians remain angry and something must be done urgently to pacify them.

    The administration’s promise to bring together representatives of the youth to plot the way forward should be seen as a direct response to the restiveness. It is equally sequel to the Not Too Young to Run Act enacted under the Buhari administration.

    There have, however, been concerns over the modalities for the conference. How would it be worked out, and to what extent would the target participants be involved in setting it up? Besides, some have wondered about the altruism of the conference, that is, whether it is not only a way of buying time or burrowing into the fold and drawing some of them to government’s side.

    One point that must not be lost on patriots is that we should not allow the past to keep stopping us from charting a way forward. Chronic cynicism is one poison that should be avoided if we are indeed to achieve the lofty goals of the nation.

    President Tinubu had used the opportunity to announce other plans for the youth, including a Labour Employment and Empowerment Programme (LEEP) that would be launched this month. The programme, expected to be anchored by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, is to provide jobs for about 2.5 million Nigerians. This is quite ambitious and would, if successfully pulled through, help in tackling insecurity and boosting economic development.

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    He also announced a Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) scheme that would train, retool and empower the young. To underscore its importance and draw attention to the focus, it is to be handled by the Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy.

    It should, however, be pointed out that Nigeria has never lacked beautiful programmes and lofty schemes; the challenge is in their implementation as many of those saddled with executing them are either inept or unpatriotic. We hope that these new initiatives would be different.

    If President Tinubu intends to reshuffle his executive council as widely speculated, we hope he would take the opportunity to ensure that only the competent are retained or brought on board. Some of those working for his government now have not acquitted themselves well, yet, Nigeria is not lacking in men and women of great ability, some of whom are serving other countries.

    This is a time that all useful hands must be on deck. It is a time to locate people who would truly be public servants, willing to roll up their sleeves in service of the motherland.

    As the Tinubu administration is approaching the mid-term point, ministerial and other appointees’ assessments should be more regular and those identified as surplus to requirement should be shown the way out without delay so that at the end of the four-year tenure, we would be in a position to proudly sing: “Nigeria we hail thee”.

  • Time to chart a new path

    Time to chart a new path

    • ASUU and Fed Govt should renegotiate the seemingly contentious 2009 agreement

    Stakeholders have become used to the longstanding cat-and-mouse relationship between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN). The posture of ASUU has principally been that the nation’s university education system is in the doldrums, that the injection of huge funds into the system is inevitable to make it globally competitive, and that the required funds are within the capacity of the Federal Government to dispense.

    The government’s posture, on the other hand, has been that it has limited resources, and that these resources must be judiciously spread across different competing sections of the country, thereby making it unrealistic to meet the demands of the union.

    In spite of these seemingly irreconcilable positions, both parties have, now and then, signed agreements. However, these agreements have been the crux of subsequent conflicts which have resulted in heavy costs to the union and the nation. This raises the question of why the agreements were signed in the first place. This question is especially relevant for what has come to be known as the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement. All subsequent FGN-ASUU conflicts and recurrent strike by the union have been hinged on the non-implementation or unsatisfactory implementation of aspects of this agreement. The last of such strike took place from February to October 2022, and had serious yet-to-be-resolved implications for the union and the Nigerian university system.

    Currently, a new problem is brewing, and ASUU has given a 21-day notice of strike to pressurise the government to address the union’s complaints. This is followed by a 14-day notice of strike with effect from  September 23, 2024.  In a release on the notice, ASUU declared: “The issues in contention include (a) conclusion of the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement, based on the Nimi Briggs Committee’s Draft  Agreement of 2021; (b) release of withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries due to the 2022 strike action; (c) release of unpaid salaries for staff on sabbatical, part-time, and adjunct appointments affected by the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS); (d) release of outstanding third-party deductions such as check-off dues and cooperative contributions; (e) funding for the revitalisation of public universities, partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government budget and, (g) payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government Budget.”

     Others are ‘‘proliferation of universities by federal and state governments;  implementation of the reports of visitation panels to universities; illegal dissolution of governing councils; and University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) as a replacement for IPPIS.

    Considering the recurrence of these issues, Babajide Kolade-Otitoju of TVC’s “Journalists Hangout” noted on September 26, 2024: “It’s like every government just kicks the can down the road.” In this regard, as the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education in 2021, the current Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Mr. Sonny Echono, was reported to have said: “I have heard so much about the fact that the government has failed to honour the agreements with ASUU. I have a different view about that because most of these agreements are imperfect. If somebody comes to my house and puts a gun to my head, I might agree to everything because those agreements are signed under duress.”

     In this vein, the December 31, 2018 issue of THISDAY newspaper reported on how an ASUU strike which commenced in November 2018 had created national anxiety in respect of the 2019 general elections , which were scheduled to begin on February 23 and which required “that the staff and students of federal tertiary institutions should be in school at least a month before the 2019 general election.” According to the newspaper, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) noted: “This is one critical resource and the absence will have adverse effects on the ad hoc staff requirement of INEC.”

    Moreover, the 2020 ASUU strike commenced on the verge of the global COVID-19-induced lockdown or stay at home order – a time when all of the intellectual resources of the nation needed to be mobilised to handle the fearsome scourge.

     The 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement thus appeared to be jinxed, and any perceptive observer could almost accurately predict when the next conflict related to that agreement would occur. The seemingly intractable nature of the problem may have led TVC News anchor Nifemi Oguntoye to ask the President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, this very profound question in an interview on September 30, 2024: “Quickly, let’s talk about this 2009 Federal Government and ASUU agreement. … After 15 years and four different presidents, ASUU doesn’t think it’s time to reconsider its approach to negotiations, and perhaps explore alternative solutions to these longstanding issues? …

    Some have said perhaps it’s time to strike more realistic deals rather than re-negotiating this particular one.” Furthermore, the ASUU leadership should desist from saying or doing anything that could portray it as an opposition party platform, as happened in 2022.

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    With respect to the students’ loan scheme, ASUU should know that it is swimming against the tide. The union should also note that the Federal Government plans to allocate 30 per cent of funds collected under TETFund to the loan scheme, a move increasingly criticised by ASUU, is adequately accommodated in the training component of the TETFund mandate.

    So far, it seems that ASUU and the Federal Government have been playing games with the country’s destiny; and neither of them has come out smelling rosy from the dislocations that their conflicts have caused the nation’s university education system. It has therefore become essential for ASUU’s messianic complex and the government’s paternalistic posture to be moderated to facilitate the forging of a new conciliatory, pragmatic, sustainable and patriotic understanding which would earn anew the Nigerian university education system global competitiveness and international respect. It would be an endearing legacy if the President Bola Tinubu administration could break the jinx of university lecturers’ unending strikes and solve the seemingly intractable problems of university education in the country. 

  • A wake-up call

    A wake-up call

    •Governments have responsibility to provide silos and address other factors militating against food security

    A country already posting an unflattering statistics of hunger globally yet enjoys an equally unenviable reputation of post-harvest losses along its food supply chain, again, globally. A familiar Nigerian paradox of unparalleled hunger in the midst of plenty, the situation would best sum up to Nigeria’s reality in the eyes of Ibrahim Ishaka, a chieftain of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

    He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the side-lines of an FAO-organised training in Yola penultimate Saturday that Nigeria loses around 50% of its agricultural products along the food supply chain. Explaining that food waste posed significant challenges to Nigeria’s agricultural sector, impacting food security, economic growth, and environmental sustainability, the challenges, he said “include technological barriers, inefficient harvesting techniques, pest infestations, and lack of access to modern farming tools, all of which contribute to losses during harvest, largely influenced by consumer behaviour”.

    He also listed inadequate storage facilities, poor handling practices and poor transportation infrastructure as additional factors contributing to post-harvest losses.

    “These factors result in significant losses, especially for perishable goods such as fruits and vegetables”, he said.

    Like every aspect of the Nigerian nightmare, the issue isn’t that the problems or the factors underlying them are unknown; rather, it is what has now become the legendary inability or unwillingness by governments at all levels, to confront them headlong and systematically.

    The truth is that none of the factors identified by the FAO chief could be said to be anything that our policy makers or even the ordinary Nigerians are not already aware of. Whether it is the matter of farmers being literally abandoned to the drudgery of traditional farming practices that take so much effort but in the end yields pretty little returns, or the daily nightmares they face while attempting to move their harvests from the farm gates to the markets in the absence of a functional, integrated transportation infrastructure, these factors have always been there.

    So is the dearth of basic knowledge and technologies, those simple tools and skills which practitioners in other climes have long taken for granted but which could have helped mitigate the perennial losses, and the lack of access to herbicides and other agro-chemicals; so over-dissected have the issues been with their solution in plain sight that the only missing link is the absence of the political will to do something about them. 

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    What the FAO chief has done in the circumstance is offer a reminder of how bad things have remained. Indeed, nothing in what he said suggested a reinventing of the wheels. Rather, it is more about ensuring that the right policies, programmes and infrastructure are in place to service the needs of our farming population, and to encourage the processing of agricultural products to optimise their values.

    Yet, given the dire food supply situation facing the country, the least the governments at all levels can do at this moment is to treat the intervention as something of a wake-up call.

    The state governments might want to consider, urgently, the strengthening of their extension services to ensure that the farmers are not only availed modern management skills to address the problem, but also the enabling infrastructure of storage and transportation to preserve the harvests. Of course, the Federal Government has a bigger role to play in all of these. For, while it may have done fairly well to assist the states in the procurement of agricultural machinery, inputs and in the provision of storage facilities, it still has a long way to go in the area of infrastructure, particularly transportation, in nurturing the right environment for start-ups and other players in the value chain, and in such other range of incentives to boost private sector participation in the value chain.

    As for our legion of agricultural institutes and universities, now is the time for them to step out of their comfort zones, to seek practical ways of collaborating with the relevant stakeholders to address those fundamental problems plaguing the agricultural sector. Surely, the current time demands no less.

  • The wages of rumour

    The wages of rumour

    •While those who burnt down NOUN centre in Imo must be punished, official channels should also be prompt in dispelling fears

    It is bad and sad that some suspected arsonists would burn down the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) Study Centre at Ezeoke-Nsu in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State over the rumour that the Federal Government has decided to  convert the facility to a training ground for repentant Boko Haram insurgents. The home of a former lawmaker in the area, Senator Frank Ibezim, was also torched during the unfortunate incident which happened at about 9.00 p.m. on September 30.

    What triggered the arson was the video of an inspection by the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Tijani  Mohammed, to the facility for the vulnerable, located inside the NOUN study centre. Mohammed was reported to have said in an interview that he was visiting the facility ahead of a training programme for vulnerable persons billed to hold at the centre before the end of the year.

    But the rumour that went viral was that the government intended to relocate and train some repentant insurgents at the NOUN facility.

    Ibezim’s crime was that he accompanied the federal commissioner on the visit.

    According to a source, “A lot of our people raised their voices against this Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) training project in that place, especially where there is no existence of IDPs in the state.

    “The planners of that project were insensitive to the agitation in the area.” If Mohammed did not know this, the people expected Ibezim, at least as a lawmaker who had once represented them in the National Assembly, to appreciate this idiosyncrasy.

    This newspaper aligns with the position of the state commissioner of police, Aboki Danjuma, that the attack was barbaric and condemnable. Indeed, we condemn violence and wanton destruction of public facilities in any form. We are therefore in support of the police in the state “to conduct a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the incident.” As the police command noted, “This unfortunate incident reflects a disturbing trend of violence that undermines the safety and security of our communities.”

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    We recall the ‘Ebony’ rumour that pushed into the public domain the false story that the then military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, was among the world’s richest men. This rumour by ‘Ebony’, an American magazine, sparked the anti-SAP (Structural Adjustment Programme) riots in 1989. Nigeria literally caught fire because Nigerians could not understand the basis for such fabulous wealth by their leader whose economic policy was taking a heavy toll on them.

    We recall also the rumour during the Buhari era that the original General Muhammadu Buhari was dead and that the then president was replaced with a look-alike. There was also the fake “wedding” between Buhari and one of his ministers, etc.

    Rumour-mongering sometimes produces comic relief but could also be deadly depending on the motive of the peddlers.

    Unfortunately for the people of Ezeoke-Nsu, they not only lost the NOUN centre, they also lost the only secondary school with boarding facility in the area — Ezeoke Girls’ Secondary School. Even if they had the resources to rebuild another such school, it won’t happen overnight. Some rumours had left worse consequences in their trail.

    While we condemn the arson on the NOUN facility, we also must stress the need for official channels to respond fast to rumours before they become something else. This is especially so in our kind of country fractured by mutual distrust and bigotry.

    There is also the need for clarity of both thought and expression on the part of public officials when enunciating public policies and programmes.

    We agree though that if rumour peddlers are bent on mischief, no amount of clarity of expression would deter them.

    We call for stringent punishment for those responsible for burning down the NOUN centre. They should be fished out and prosecuted to deter other rumour mongers from causing havoc in the future.

    Even if Mohammed’s mission was not clear to the people, the clarification by the state government on the Federal Government’s intention on the facility ought to have pacified them. People cannot just wake up from the wrong side of the bed and destroy public facilities.

  • Suspect campaigns

    Suspect campaigns

    • Debt forgiveness stands logic on its head, security council permanent membership is vanity fair                

    At the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, USA,  President Bola Tinubu, speaking through Vice President Kashim Shetimma, made an umpteenth twin-pitch: debt forgiveness for developing countries; and a permanent seat on the Security Council (SC) for Africa.

    Why any “debt forgiveness” would also benefit Nigeria because it is part of the global South of comparatively poor nations (put side by side with the rich global North of North America and Europe), the President had Nigeria in mind to get the permanent SC seat.  Nigeria’s clamour for that seat is not entirely without merit.  Its global peace-keeping records are well acclaimed.

    Still, there are strong reasons to push that both demands, whatever the moral and other reasons that go for them, are right now needless distractions, until Nigeria gets right its social, political and economic fundamentals.

    In truth, the politics of debt forgiveness makes sense, given how the international financial  system is badly skewed against the global South — and go no farther than the persuasive argument the President pushed in his UNGA speech.

    “We reiterate the call by countries, especially of the global South, for reform of the international financial architecture and promotion of a rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, equitable and transparent multilateral trading system,” he said. “Countries of the global South cannot make a meaningful economic progress without special concessions and a review of their current debt burden.”

    True — and whatever reforms that can

    make the global rich stack all the cards and pile all the pressures against the global poor are eminently welcome.  That can only birth a much fairer globe, and facilitate global peace borne out of reduced injustices.

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    But inasmuch as the politics and morality of debt forgiveness is right, the logic of it would appear suspect.  The debt market — even with all its odious tilt — is driven by agreements.  Both debtor and creditor signed those agreements after each had done his  due diligence — the debtor on projects that will turn the debt into assets; the creditor on the cash flow, from those assets, that should pay back the debt.

    So, upbeat to take a loan but self-deflated to pay it back would appear a tad dishonest, if not outright fraudulent, except there are genuine reasons for a force majeure.  But in many — if not most of debt payment defaults — the problem is gangling corruption. The facility is either blown on non-essential projects you cannot turn into sustainable assets, or a huge chunk of it ends up in private pockets.

    With such a profile, it would be really rich mounting a pity party not to pay the creditor, when the debtor has been wasteful and reckless on borrowed funds, which the creditor had sweated to accumulate, knowing full well his money would “work for him”.  That’s how the debt market works. 

    So, for Africa and the rest of the global South to creditably push a tinkering of the unjust international capitalist system, they must first work on own accountability systems.  If their loans are well applied — and transparently so — but harsh conditions press against re-payments, the problem with the system would be clear to all. 

    Since creditors cannot play the market without debtors, it would become clear to all why the market must be reformed to be sustainable.  But so long as corruption, the big elephant in the room, keeps rampaging the market, so long would the West hee-haw at any push for creditable reforms.  Besides, where is the national pride of a debtor-nation begging forgiveness from its creditor?  So, the reforms must start from here.

    Now, the second demand: the United Nations SC.  Both demands are related, if only you have the extra eye to locate the link.

    That one of Africa has a right to be a permanent member of the SC is sound morality.  Of the five permanent members, one is in North America (the United States), three in Europe (the United Kingdom, France and Russia) and one in Asia (China).

    The European trio were neck-deep in the terrible European tribal wars (dubbed the two “World Wars”) and were probably chosen to put their hearts of darkness in perpetual check.  The United States used its new-found might to impose order on its wayward European cousins. 

    China was the only outsider.  Though its huge population could stir trouble in Asia, it could also hold in check the hitherto reckless war monger that was Japan.  Besides, China not only joined the anti-Germany allies (as against Japan that fought with Hitler).  So, it was among the five victorious nations that formed the permanent members of the SC.  Even then, every condescension toward China has vanished, since its roaring economy, military strength and towering development started challenging the global powers-that-be.

    In 1945 when the United Nations birthed, Africa was conquered territory.  So, the case could be made for why it must be on the SC to represent Africa’s interest, now that it has a bevy of independent states. 

    Still, aside South Africa (still living in its apartheid-era economic past glory) and the nominally developed Arab states of North Africa, which African states have really proved their economic mettle: Nigeria? Ghana?  Congo DR, Kenya?  Ethiopia?

    For Nigeria — as the rest of most of Africa — you can’t be labouring under basic challenges and yet clamouring for self-actualisation fancies (if we can borrow Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of needs).  Which is why India, with its economic strides (to join China as Asia’s No. 2) and Brazil (to represent South America) would seem to even post more compelling cases than Africa for now.

    Yes, Nigeria ticks all the boxes for a potential UNSC membership, holding the seat for the rest of Africa: the hugest Black population in the world, a brilliant and innovative diaspora population sketching the glory of Nigeria for the rest of the globe, an underdeveloped but roaring economy that could be fired into a well and true global dynamo and human and natural resources that are potentially second to none.

    After Nigeria must have done its homework — and the result is clear to all — no one can turn down its request for SC permanent membership; not even the United States.  But right now, the quest appears nothing but vanity fair.  When the job is done, it would become a just and worthy desert.

  • Care for the aged

    Care for the aged

    Governments should institute functional schemes for the retired workforce

    It is now common to find elderly men serving as gate-men (otherwise called security men) in many homes. They not only keep the massive gates, but also run errands for their employers and their households. Some who had earlier retired from the lower cadre of the public service are driven to menial jobs when they could no longer fend for their needs; when the bones are already weak.

    Culturally, people in this part of the world are led to believe that all that is needed to live comfortably at old age is to train their children, and as such, as much as they could, they expended much of their resources on raising the children.

    Now, old age has come and the children too have fallen on hard times. They could hardly fend for their own families. So, their dependants, including aged parents also suffer the consequences. Some other children, now adults, have imbibed the Western culture of individualism. The age-old extended family system is caving in and the parents suddenly find themselves dependent on neighbours or friends. Tired of becoming beggars at old age, they are now back in the job market offering their services to whoever is able to pay a pittance to make them hang on to life a little longer.

    So, who do we blame for this. — the children who are sometimes considered callous, or the government that could not anticipate that times have changed? Or do we simply blame the anonymous social system? In the developed countries where individualism reigns, the system is able to cope with such turn of events. There are functional, modern old people’s homes where the aged are kept, fed and cared for. There is also a time-tested pension scheme for those who were engaged in their productive years. And those who are left in the cold have the social security system to cater to their needs.

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    Where are our own aged? When people even blame the children, they fail to take into account those who had none, or lost them in their prime. All these are realities that are hardly taken into account when we see old people end up doing odd jobs or begging by the roadside.

    It is time for the governments, federal and states, to come up with adequate provision for the aged. That period of life could be cruel. It is a period that people are most vulnerable, after infancy. Yet, it is a time   that their needs multiply. Geriatric care are both social and medical, and could be very expensive. Government has a duty to institute a general system by which the lonely and vulnerable are assisted. Pharmaceuticals are so expensive today that even those in active employment are hardly able to cope. At a time when the medical sector is tottering at the edge of collapse, it has become a case of survival of the fittest, and the aged would be forgiven if they think the society could hardly wait to despatch them to the Great Beyond.

    This is unfair.

    The least the government could do now is ensure that the health insurance scheme works for the old, while provision is specially made for them in public health institutions such that they do not have to wait so long on the queues while expecting attention. Where we cannot immediately ensure that old people’s homes are provided in all cities, there should be geriatric centres in all primary healthcare facilities in the country.

    Besides, the cash transfer scheme put in place by the Federal Government should be supplemented by the states for the elderly, in realisation that the agile today will become the aged of tomorrow. Where there is no provision for them, they too would be exposed to the vagaries of the time. Besides, it has a way of affecting the workforce. In preparing for old age, some would find a way of doctoring their registered age, while others would help themselves to public fund so they would have enough to cater for themselves at retirement.

    Governments should ensure that the existing workers and retirees are adequately remunerated. The Nigerian system has suffered so much at the hands of corrupt leaders and this should be looked into to help free funds for retirement benefits and geriatric care. The Nigerian aged deserve a better treatment.

  • Centenary Carter

    Centenary Carter

    •A shock reminder of vanished civility in US politics as we say happy birthday

    On October 1, former US President Jimmy Carter clocked 100 years — a centennial that a grateful world, won over by Carter’s global warmth and love, toasted.

    “I think he has a complicated legacy” Jason Carter, the former president’s grandson admitted, “but it really boils down, to me and I think, for him, that he lived out his faith and the commandment to love your neighbour as yourself in a way that made him respect people.”

    That vibrant live-and-let-live vision, to people of varying races, creeds, faiths and demographics, cemented Carter’s post-power global legacy. It’s a legacy as no other! Though he did only one term (January 1977 – January 1981) — something of a stain in American presidential folklore — he turned that setback into a spectacular feat: the most impactful former American president ever on global affairs.

    Now that claim could sound controversial — outrageous even — when the subject is power and glory, or the US global dominance, or the unfazed penchant of Uncle Sam to play the global super cop, armed with gunboat diplomacy. That’s not the Carter way.

    Rather, it becomes credible when the gauge is near-eliminating Guinea worm — spread by contaminated water, hitherto endemic in the world’s poorest communities in Africa and Asia; Habitat for Humanity (a home-building intervention that President Carter, post-power pushed well into his 90s), and overseeing sane elections all over the world. 

    Here in Nigeria, the Carter Centre was among the first to alert Nigerian voters that the 2003 elections under President Olusegun Obasanjo was a ruse. That was significant, given his amity with Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo as junta Head of State. That resulted in President Carter’s state visit to Nigeria in 1978 — the first by any US President. But for Carter, on the democracy front, duty trumped friendship.

    So, development matters — health, housing, sane elections and social conscience to build a much fairer globe, hinged on basic mutual respect — drove the charities that the Carter Centre drove. The world is grateful, happier and saner for it. 

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    That feat fetched Jimmy Carter the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. It came 21 years after his presidency and showed the great impact he had made during his post-power years. Indeed, Carter jumped — both feet — into his charities in 1982.

    Why, even Al-Jazeera, the Qatar broadcaster, swooned at how Carter, after his tenure, slammed “almost a universal silence concerning anything that might be critical of current policies of the Israeli government.” On that score, Al-Jazeera is no credible voice, though. Its headless propaganda for Arab/Palestinian causes is as reckless as US dogmatic support for Israel. 

    Yet Carter, trusted enough by 20th century America to be voted president, teaches both sides basic lessons in moderation and mutual respect. That eye for mutual understanding birthed the September 17, 1978 Camp David Accords, the first major peace breakthrough between Israel and its Arab neighbours, which he delivered as US President.

    But beyond being the longest-lived American president in history, and bettering his predecessors in global statesmanship, there is more to the former Georgia peanut farmer that became president, after serving in the US Navy. He’s a fecund writer and author — with works more than any of his brother presidents of any era. He has written or co-written 32 books. Twenty of those are listed as Times best sellers.

    Still, the Carter centennial would gall Americans and their friends abroad, for it marks the sharp contrast between the civil and decorous politics of the Carter era and the rough-and-gruff jungle politics today, as exemplified by Donald Trump.

    Indeed, between Carter and Trump, there are jarring parallels. The one lost power after one term, and moved on to global nobility. The other lost but plumbed into notoriety hitherto unknown, in brazen lies and execrable election denials, with his supporters even raiding the Capitol to turn his loss into a victory. Just as well they failed.

    Again, while Carter’s defeat pushed him to build international peace and goodwill, Trump’s defeat pushes him to run for a non-consecutive second term with unprecedented desperation; fashionable insults and general bad grace.  

    America, the famous settler-country, now howls at, curses and threatens budding immigrants, mainly on racial lines. The latest of that is the notorious claim, by Trump and confederates, that Haitian immigrants eat locals’ cats and dogs in Springfield, a small town in Ohio. It’s been found to be a racist fib.

    It’s 43 years since Carter left the US Presidency in 1981. Yet, it appears US politics, famed for its customary civility, has retarded and retrogressed, more than a hundred years, from basic decorum and common sense. 

    That’s the shock from the Carter centennial. Uncle Sam should claw back the Carter era, recapture those halcyon days, and reclaim his soul as perceived model for global good.