The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Putin plays with fire in Ukraine

    Putin plays with fire in Ukraine

    • In the face of Russian aggression, the U.S. and other nations should be prepared to impose sanctions.

    Secretary of State John F. Kerry is right: Russia’s deployment of troops in Crimea is an “incredible act of aggression” that violates express promises Russia made two decades ago to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity. If Russia doesn’t reverse course, the United States and countries in Europe should impose economic sanctions. But even as they weigh such measures, the United States and its allies must be willing to show Russia that its concerns can be resolved, in Kerry’s words, “according to the standards of the 21st century.”

    Some of those concerns are legitimate. Ukraine’s elected, pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovich, was driven out of office by his own people even after he agreed to reforms and early elections. The forces now in control in the capital of Kiev include some ultranationalists who are hostile to Russian-speaking Ukrainians. Russians remember how Russian-speaking minorities in other former Soviet republics were targeted for discrimination after independence was achieved.

    But neither its desire to protect Russian-speakers nor the existence of a Russian naval base in Crimea justifies the invasion. Speaking to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to “violent actions in relation to the population living in the eastern regions of Ukraine and in Crimea.” But even if Russian-speakers were in imminent danger — and that seems doubtful — there were options other than an invasion. (Of course, protection of kindred groups in another country is a long-standing pretext for aggression, going back to Hitler and beyond.)

    Only a few months ago, in an op-ed article in the New York Times opposing a possible American airstrike on Syria, Putin wrote: “Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything else is unacceptable … and would constitute an act of aggression.” Putin’s actions in Ukraine make a mockery of that argument.

    So what should the rest of the world do? No one is suggesting that the U.S. or its allies intervene militarily in Ukraine. But President Obama was right to promise that there would be “consequences.”

    On Sunday, Kerry detailed a list of significant economic penalties: “visa bans, asset freezes, isolation with respect to trade, investment.” Kerry added that the U.S. is “absolutely” prepared to boycott a meeting of industrialized nations scheduled to take place in June in Sochi, the site of the recent Winter Olympics that Putin hoped would be a showcase for Russian accomplishment.

    If Russia doesn’t withdraw — or if it moves into other parts of Ukraine — the United States and other nations must be resolute in imposing and maintaining those sanctions.

    That doesn’t rule out continued diplomatic efforts to induce the government of Ukraine to take the concerns of its Russian-speaking citizens seriously. But Ukraine shouldn’t be forced to do so under occupation by foreign forces. Ukraine is an independent nation whose territorial integrity Russia has solemnly promised to respect.

    Predictably, events in Ukraine have inspired partisan attacks on Obama for his supposed pusillanimity in the face of Russian aggression. On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) complained that America has a “weak and indecisive president that invites aggression.” The president also has been criticized for saying last month that he didn’t regard the situation in Ukraine as part of “some Cold War chessboard in which we’re in competition with Russia.” Picking up on that metaphor, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, remarked that “Putin is playing chess and we are playing marbles.”

    This sort of sniping is unfair. Obama has been right to place the emphasis not on a contest between Russia and the West but to focus on the right of the Ukrainian people to choose their own political and economic course. Other nations can offer advice and assistance to Ukraine, and Russia can be part of that process. But military occupation is not advice.

    The direst result of Russia’s overreaching would be a military conflict between Russian and Ukrainian forces. But a de facto Russian annexation of parts of Ukraine would also be a disaster. The U.S. and other nations must do their utmost to prevent either outcome.

    – Los Angeles Times

  • Checking electoral impunity

    Checking electoral impunity

    •The NHRC indictment of three key institutions suggests another urgent need for electoral reform

    The damning 146-page report by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), following an investigation of the 2007 and 2011 general elections is an eye-opener on how the electoral process is subverted by institutions saddled with conducting and ensuring that all goes well during electioneering and polling.

    The NHRC, a federal institution identified 84 different crimes committed during the elections it investigated and submitted that the judiciary, police and the electoral commission collude in assaulting the sanctity of elections in the country.

    At a point when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is promising that all would be well at the elections coming up this year as well as those to be conducted in 2015, the NHRC report is a wake-up call to all Nigerians to rise up to monitoring the performance of the three key agencies indicted for committing crimes during previous polls.

    We find it unacceptable that officials found to have abused their positions in previous polls have not been sanctioned. In one case, the NHRC reported that an Assistant Superintendent of Police was identified before an electoral petition tribunal to have signed results as an agent of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Yet, the Police Force did nothing to sanction the officer. This suggests that he was acting under instruction or did nothing outside the norm. Others would therefore be encouraged to follow in his footsteps.

    In a ward in Anambra State in the 2007 election, while 2,089 names were on the voters’ register, more than 7,000 were returned to have voted. The electoral officials knew this was contrary to the law but allowed the result to stand until it was challenged in court.

    When institutions like the Police saddled primarily with enforcement of the law, INEC whose members pledged and swore to conduct free and fair elections and, the judiciary, the last hope of the people in ensuring justice prevails in all circumstances flagrantly flout the law, the society is doomed.

    It would be interesting to hear Professor Attahiru Jega’s response to this. As always, he has promised to conduct credible polls henceforth. But, logistics have remained a nightmare as if what is required is rocket science, his officials are found culpable and left in the system and members of the commission at the highest level found to have participated in partisan politics as members of the ruling party are still left to handle sensitive assignments.

    Nigerians stridently called for financial independence for the commission and only relented when Professor Jega was appointed its chairman, given his antecedents. There is little to suggest that much has changed since his appointment in 2010. The little gain made in 2011 seems to have been eroded in the Delta Central Senatorial and Anambra governorship elections, last year.

    As the various institutions prepare for the Ekiti and Osun states’ elections, we call for utmost transparency on the part of the electoral commission. The secret to building up confidence is to carry all stakeholders, especially the media along. The media are to serve as the watchdog of the process, the eyes of the public. It is also expected that all officials against whom there have been allegations and petitions suggesting that they might not be neutral should not be assigned sensitive assignments. The Operations and Logistics Departments of INEC’s national headquarters should be revamped. The two key departments have consistently failed Nigerians and cannot be trusted to do a good job. While Professor Jega could be excused for tolerating them on the commission’s board because he lacks power to appoint or sack, he has no justification for refusing to shake up the departments.

    Corruption, recklessness and impunity are largely responsible for the retrogression of the Nigerian system. The worst crime against the state and Nigerian people is political corruption exemplified by unpunished electoral crimes that subvert the will of the people.

  • Good one from Lagos

    Good one from Lagos

    •A N5 million grant to a fireman, injured in the line of duty, is a great boost for morale

    It would not take away his scars but it would soothe his mind. That is the bitter-sweet story of Sikiru Agbaje, a fireman in the employ of the Lagos State Fire Service, who sustained severe burns on his hands, legs and other parts of his body, and was hospitalised for more than two months after.

    Mr. Agbaje got his injuries on January 3, 2013, at a blazing property at 20, Akinjoro Street, in Abaranje, Ikotun, a Lagos suburb. He was one of the firemen drafted to save the house. For Mr. Agbaje therefore, it was a new year that brought nothing but terrible omen, though it was all in a day’s job.

    But 2014 appears to have brought better news. Oyinlomo Danmole, Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture, the supervising ministry of the state’s Fire Service, has presented Mr. Agbaje a cheque for N5 million.

    “Governor Babatunde Fashola approved a grant of N5 million to you and directed in a letter that if the assistance is not enough, we should see what we can do to make your life comfortable.”

    That is good a news as anything can be. It is true N5 million cannot pay for the pain, the anguish and the trauma the fireman has gone through. It cannot also achieve the magic of making his burns vanish.

    Still, the grant is more than paying or not paying for trauma. It is prime recognition by the state’s authorities that Mr. Agbaje’s heroism and industry have not gone unnoticed. Mr. Agbaje and his family should be supremely pleased by that. And if the fireman’s psyche is lightened, his body would be more receptive to treatment and eventual healing.

    It is on the score of this admirable sensitivity to a lowly citizen’s plight that the Fashola government deserves praise. With the kind gesture it has extended to Mr. Agbaje, other firemen, and indeed other state workers who could run into storm in the course of their daily work, would most probably face their jobs with more fervour, knowing that should anything go wrong, the state government would not turn its back on them.

    That the gesture is to a fireman is even more instructive. The Fire Service is one of the most vital agencies in a modern setting. Yet, there is a certain coolness towards that service, by authorities across the board, that underscores the fact that it should enjoy more quality attention.

    But inasmuch as the gesture to Mr. Agbaje is commendable, those engaged in such hazardous tasks should enjoy structural protection, which automatically results in befitting compensation immediately such accidents happen. Mr. Agbaje’s case, as good as it sounds, appears like a one-off thing. That should not be, though that should not take anything from the goodness of the grant.

    Much more importantly, good old prevention is always better than cure. It is better to protect firemen on duty against accidents than trying to lessen their trauma. Which is why, the news that the state government has acquired, for the Fire Service, protective gears, is pleasant to hear. Not only that: according to the Fire Service authorities, these gears would be complemented by modern fire-fighting equipment, to arrive the country soon.

    That is how it should be. From whom much is expected, much should be given. The Fire Service, as we found from the September 11, 2001 attack on New York, United States, is a crucial safety valve in any modern setting. With processed chemicals at Man’s beck and call for development, the inevitable fire is closer than most people think.

    That is why the Fire Service must be given its pride of place.

  • The Jihadist Pipeline

    The Jihadist Pipeline

    The European Union estimates that 2,000 European citizens have joined jihadist groups fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Other estimates put the number closer to 5,000. Most are Muslim youths who have fallen prey to recruiters and a romantic vision of the conflict as a holy war. European Union officials and governments are right to be concerned about the long-term security threat posed by battle-hardened combatants returning from Syria. But stemming the flow of would-be jihadists to Syria and dealing with their return will not be easy.

    Britain is particularly alarmed. The 2005 terrorist attack in London’s transit system served as a warning of the dangerous potential of radicalized young people. The nation was shocked by a video posted online last month of a British suicide bomber in Syria. Home Secretary Theresa May has argued that Britons fighting alongside jihadists in Syria should be stripped of their citizenship. The minister for immigration and security, James Brokenshire, has said that citizens involved in terrorism-related activities should be brought to justice.

    France’s interior minister, Manuel Valls, has called the eventual return of combatants “a ticking time bomb.” An estimated 700 French nationals, some quite young, have joined jihadists in Syria. A 15-year-old girl, who had said she was going to join the fighting, telephoned her family in Avignon from the Turkey-Syria border. Dozens of Dutch, German, Norwegian, Swedish and other European citizens are also fighting in Syria. Some may be drawn by Islamist proselytizing on the Internet and through social media, as well as by some imams in mosques. But widespread feelings of social marginalization are a big factor.

    Europeans are trying hard to deal with the crisis. In January, 180 experts and representatives gathered in The Hague for the Cities Conference on Foreign Fighters to Syria. Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and President François Hollande of France have discussed ways to collaborate more closely.

    Police and intelligence agencies cannot solve this problem. As Europe’s Radicalization Awareness Network, a European Commission umbrella group, points out, any solution will need a broad reach, engaging families and communities. Trust is critical to any effort to reach young people and offer alternatives to violence. As Europeans are all too aware, the conflict in Syria, in addition to its other horrors, has left its mark on a generation.

     

    – New York Times

     

  • Cameroon castaways

    Cameroon castaways

    In spite of previous efforts by the Federal Government to rescue Nigerians stranded in the Central African Republic (CAR), it is truly distressing to know that the travails of compatriots caught up in the crisis is yet to end.

    According to reports, more than 400 Nigerians who fled from the CAR are now refugees in Kentjou in eastern Cameroon, where their situation is becoming increasingly desperate. Deprived of the basic necessities of life, they have been forced to rely on the inadequate handouts of the already-impoverished indigenes. Many of them have been forced to take refuge in places of worship, playing fields and other public spaces. As their situation worsens, there are growing fears of diarrhea, cholera and other diseases. The rapidly-approaching rainy season can only make matters worse for these Nigerians in distress, many of whom are women and children.

    It is surprising that Nigeria somehow managed to overlook these citizens, especially as it was able to evacuate some 1,200 Nigerians from the CAR earlier this year. Apparently, that effort was not as comprehensive as it should have been: the evacuation should not have ended until everyone who wanted to leave the country was safely back in Nigeria.

    A country that likes to call itself the “Giant of Africa” cannot continue to look on while its citizens suffer intolerable conditions in foreign countries. Over the years, Nigeria’s inability to rescue its own people has undermined its grandiloquent claims to sovereignty and continental pre-eminence. The nation was slow to move when crises erupted in Egypt and Libya at the height of the Arab Spring. Nigerians were victimised during conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire. In contrast, Canada, the United States, the European Union and China are very quick to ensure that breakdowns of law and order anywhere in the world do not have overly adverse effects on their citizens. Indeed, many of these countries embark on the proactive strategy of issuing travel warnings when they deem them to be appropriate.

    Like those nations, Nigeria must develop a comprehensive rescue and repatriation system for its citizens. Very few national crises emerge abruptly: the increase in lawlessness and violence in any society can be precisely monitored and threat-levels accurately assessed. In order to do this effectively, the country’s various embassies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will have to be thoroughly overhauled. There should be a reliable database of Nigerians living abroad, with detailed information regarding their location and circumstances. The country can imitate the travel advisory system used by other nations as a means of constantly alerting its citizens on threats to their safety.

    When crises do erupt, comprehensive plans of action must be on ground to act upon. Emergency rescue and evacuation scenarios should be developed in cooperation with the armed forces, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) so that they can be implemented immediately. Points of assembly should be pre-identified; citizens resident abroad should be informed on what to do whenever a crisis breaks out where they live; contact information should be made available for them to utilise.

    In the specific case of the Nigerians now languishing in Kentjou, the Federal Government must move to quickly evacuate them before their predicament becomes worse than it already is. Arrangements should be made to transport them by road or air to Nigeria. Those with medical conditions should be handled with dispatch. It is time for Nigeria to live up to the expectations of its long-suffering citizens.

     

  • Ejigbo assault

    Ejigbo assault

    • Suspects should be prosecuted to send the signal that society does not condone such barbarity

    The heart-rending story of the inhuman treatment of two young girls and their mother for allegedly stealing pepper in a market in Ejigbo, a suburb of Lagos, sometime last year, appears set to be properly rested now. Thanks to the viral social media, the tenacity of a social activist, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, and the unwavering commitment of Lagos State government and the police; those allegedly responsible for the inhuman treatment of the young girls and their mother have been arrested by the police. The alleged suspects include the Babaoloja of Oba Morufu International Market, Ejigbo, Isiaka Waidi and 15 others.

    In a most bizarre show of brutality, the victims, as shown in the video that went viral, were stripped naked, tortured and had pepper mixed with hot drink poured into their private parts. The bandits responsible for this most degrading assault allegedly also extorted the sum of N50, 000.00 as ransom from the victims, before banishing them from the community. Until the parade of the suspects, many Lagosians were astounded that such barbarity could be associated with the cosmopolitan city of Lagos. Ordinarily, such brutish assault would perhaps be associated with remote towns and villages, considering the share impudence of the barbarians involved.

    Unfortunately, it is reported that one of the victims had died, apparently from the injuries sustained from the assault. Dr. Okei-Odumakin, says that she has visited the grave of the victim, Juliana, in Benin Republic, where she was reported to have relocated for treatment. In her testimony, one of the victims, Nike Salami, a half-sister of late Juliana, claimed that one of the torturers was enraged that Juliana had resisted his pass on her, and so he gruesomely maltreated her, when the opportunity came. She also claimed in the testimony that they were forced to steal, just to buy a day’s meal.

    While parading Mr. Isiaka Waidi and 11 other arrested suspects, the police noted that four others were on the run, and promised to publish their pictures so that public and other security agencies can help to track them. The names of the suspects on the run, who had been declared wanted by the Police, include Tiri, an alleged member of Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otera Oluranti, Michael Abolore and one Akeem. The police public relations officer, Mr. Frank Mba, who paraded the suspects in company of the deputy commissioner of police, Mr. Chris Ezike, said the arrest of the suspects was facilitated by the civil society groups.

    We urge the police to quickly and professionally conclude their investigation so that the suspects can be taken to court. Notably, the Director of the Office of Public Defender, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, while observing that the case file will be forwarded to the Office of Public Prosecution, promised: “we will ensure that justice is done in this case”. This is the least that members of the public expect from the authorities in charge of criminal prosecution in the state. For, as Dr. Okei-Odumakin succinctly put it, it is important “to prove a point that jungle justice does not pay”. A diligent prosecution of the offenders will also send a signal that Lagos State does not condone such barbarity.

    It is also important that the state authority continues its effort to take miscreants off the streets and disarm cult groups and hoodlums who like to take the laws into their own hands. They must realise, by a zero tolerance action of the state officials and security agencies, that self-serving quasi-security agencies have no place in the mega city status of Lagos.

  • Dangers of docility

    Dangers of docility

    •Nigerians must revive the culture of popular protests to call the government to order

    Ordinarily, Nigerians should need no lectures on the importance of civic action and a demonstration of people’s power in checking the excesses of the state, holding governments to account and promoting responsible governance. Popular struggles involving mass action by citizens played a key role in the country’s liberation from colonial rule. Various civilian and military regimes in post-independence Nigeria were confronted with popular protests and demonstrations against policies and actions perceived to be anti-people. Notably, the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election by the military resulted in a protracted pro-democracy struggle that ultimately saw the military retreating to the barracks, leading ultimately to the current civilian political dispensation.

    It would , however, appear that with the democratic restoration of 1999, Nigerians have retreated behind a veil of docility even when confronted with heinous acts of corruption, ineptness and other acts of impunity by their supposedly democratic governments. Such acts that violate the rule of law and the elementary ethics of effective public administration have become the hallmark of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration. Humongous amounts of public funds (fuel subsidy, kerosene subsidy, pension funds, revenues of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, etc.) are declared missing with little or no reaction from the public. The administration is therefore encouraged to turn a blind eye to even more outrageous acts of corruption that occur right under its nose.

    Nigerians surely have some useful lessons to learn from recent developments in countries like Ukraine or Venezuela. In the former, President Viktor Yanukovych provoked the ire of thousands of his country men and women when in November, last year, he opted for stronger ties with Russia and rejected a much anticipated far-reaching accord with the European Union. In reaction to demonstrations by thousands of aggrieved Ukrainians at the Independence Square in Kiev, the police attacked student protesters; opposition activists were beaten and abducted while parliament passed stringent anti-protest laws. The Ukranian people were not deterred. They intensified their protests until Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and his government had to resign and parliament ultimately ousted President Yanukovych from office. Despite the pro-Russia demonstrations in the Eastern part of the country and the military posturing of Russia, it is unlikely that an unpopular government can be imposed on the majority of the people of Ukraine.

    Venezuela offers another example of the deployment of people’s power to check an arrogant and insensitive government. For over a month since February 4, there have been widespread protests against the government of President Nicolas Maduro who succeeded the late President Hugo Chavez, last year. The demonstrations, which have rocked major cities, including San Cristobal, Barquisimento and Puerto Ordaz, have been in reaction to insecurity, government repression and shortages of basic goods. The detention of hundreds of people, including opposition leaders and the arrest of foreign journalists are high handed tactics that have only worsened the crisis. In an obvious attempt to undermine the demonstrations, Maduro declared a six-day holiday to commemorate the country’s yearly carnival; a gesture which majority of Venezuelans shunned. The protests have been sustained.

    In sharp contrast to these examples, Nigerian protesters promptly quit the streets when President Goodluck Jonathan ordered troops out to quell nationwide protests against a clearly untenable fuel price increase in January 2012. It is thus not surprising that the Jonathan presidency has shown ever increasing confidence in perpetrating acts of impunity. Good examples are the illegal suspension of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and the former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami. When a government perceives its people as being docile or vulnerable to being divided along primordial lines, it will not hesitate to take them for granted. Popular docility could be the greatest threat to democratic sustainability in Nigeria.

  • A welcome challenge

    A welcome challenge

    •Sanusi’s decision to challenge his suspension in court is good for rule of law

    Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s recourse to seek judicial salvation in his bid to reclaim his post as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor is commendable. He was suspended as Governor of the CBN by President Goodluck Jonathan last month, and he is now in court through his attorney, Kola Awodein, SAN, to challenge the suspension in an Abuja Federal High Court. Such seeming presidential impunity had hitherto gone unchallenged.

    His bid to restrain the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Inspector- General of Police from giving effect to his purported suspension from office, pending the determination of the suit, has been, understandably, rejected by the court. This interim setback notwithstanding, the court has in the interest of justice, ordered that the President should be put on notice while the matter was fixed for March 12 so as to avail both sides the opportunity to argue the motion.

    Justice Gabriel Kolawole, the presiding judge’s ruling would definitely allow the defendants to appear before the court to explain why the application should not be granted. Despite this justice-oriented legalese, we must quickly state that what is of more significant interest to us is that the substantive suit will go a long way in determining whether statutory laws guiding the operations of institutions of government can be breached by the President when suspending or removing the heads of such agencies from office.

    We do know that Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 in Section 11 clearly provides instances under which the governor or any of his deputies can be removed from office. None, to the best of our understanding, allows for presidential suspension of the governor. The only mention of the word ‘suspension’ is in section 11(1)(d) and that relates to the removal of the governor whenever he is disqualified or suspended from practicing his profession in Nigeria. And surprisingly, that was not the case in the prevailing circumstance. Furthermore, the only time the President can exercise any disciplinary control or recommend the removal of the CBN Governor is under section 11(1)(f) and that recommendation must be supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate before the CBN governor can be successfully removed. We will always stand by the tenets of the Rule of Law because this is by far preferable to the rule of the jungle – which we are deeply convinced Nigeria is not -but a sovereign country governed by rules and regulations. Her affairs should be devoid of sentiments but anchored on these written rules and regulations.

    We abhor official meddlesomeness, which is why the recourse to judicial solution in the present impasse is well appreciated. Some years back when Professor Maurice Iwu was unilaterally removed by the President, the move was applauded not because of its legality but because the public was already fed up with his leadership style as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Sadly, the seeming public approval given that illegal presidential act must have given the President the impetus to go ahead and suspend Sanusi as CBN governor. Unfortunately, in Sanusi’s case, this act is only tantamount to an indirect termination of his appointment because before the expiration of the period of suspension, his tenure would have expired, thereby making restitutio in integrum impossible.

    We consider this case a testy good one that is capable of extending the frontiers of constitutional governance and causing a reduction in executive impunity, now or in the future. It is even the more imperative that we know the position of the law on such matters, especially with general elections only about a year away. A situation where the fear of the President will be the beginning of wisdom is not good for INEC, for example. This would have been settled long since if Iwu had the courage to challenge his removal by the President.

  • Honour so foul

    Honour so foul

    •What were names of the queen, Lugard, Abacha, etc. doing in the centenary award list?

    Professor Wole Soyinka reacted with irony. Hear him: “I would have preferred that the entire day of infamy be ignored altogether. I’m even thinking favourably of just ignoring the obscenity, then turning up at the counter-event.”

    The bard and Nobel Laureate crooned about his zeal for the counter-event holding in London on June 27 in which Nigerians in Diaspora will honour 100 outstanding Nigerians in the United Kingdom.

    He was not alone at turning his back on the honour that the centenary committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan conferred on 100 persons they regarded as outstanding in the past 10 decades of Nigeria’s existence.

    The families of human rights virtuoso Gani Fawehinmi and music impresario Fela Anikulapo-Kuti also rejected the honour. For the Fawehinmi family, the honour contradicted the moral ardour and humanist agenda of their paterfamilias.

    “Our late father was empathetic to the sufferings of our people, particularly students,” wrote the family. “In the last 72 hours, 43 innocent students were mowed down by the bloodthirsty Boko Haram terrorists in Yobe State, while 20 other girls were similarly abducted by this band of terrorists…if our late father were still alive would he be wining and dining with all the glitterati at a centenary celebration under these circumstances? Certainly no.”

    The language of denunciation from the Kuti family was no less trenchant. “… Federal Government should first apologise for the killing of our grandmother and the burning of Kalakuta,” wrote music maestro Femi kuti.

    We agree with the sentiments of all three. In spite of the salutary value of giving honour to whom it is due, we believe this is not the case. The list of 100 was not all bad, but it was stained irretrievably by the inclusion of a number of names that do no honour to our aspiration nor define honour in the sublime term it is done in other countries.

    Soyinka, Fawehinmi and Fela deserved honour for their doings, no doubt. But to put them alongside such names as Queen of England, Lord Lugard, Flora Shaw, Sani Abacha, Ibrahim Babangida, etc., is to throw dirt on the meaning of honour.

    We want to know the criteria for conferring such honour. That is why we wonder why a Chinua Achebe or Aminu Kano should stand side-by-side with an Aguiyi- Ironsi. Do we give honour just because a person once ruled this country or pulled off a coup or was a prominent civil servant?

    For instance, we frown at the name of her royal majesty, Queen Elizabeth 11. She was grouped with Lord Lugard and Flora Shaw for their contributions to the making of Nigeria. What kind of Nigeria did they make? Did they make a free Nigeria or a colonial Nigeria? They represented colonialism. They represented the worst of tyranny in their times.

    Before colonialism was established, the British established the West Africa Frontier Force, with which they brutalised and wiped out local independence of the various peoples of Nigeria. The second half of the 19th century was dedicated to the “pacification of Nigeria” in which our local systems fell, and they introduced what they mischievously called indirect rule. But before this, the vast area of what is Nigeria today was turned into an elaborate commerce in human beings known as the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Various societies and peoples in the society that became Nigeria were already on the march to nation-building when the British intervened with their peevish schemes.

    We had independence in 1960 not because they loved us more but because they had lost the international initiative. The United States emerged under Franklyn Roosevelt as the world power and coerced Britain, under Winston Churchill, to cede its empire under international trusteeship.

    So the queen did not do us any favours. Neither did Lugard who often contemptuously referred to Nigerians as natives.

    What were names, like Sani Abacha, the supreme anti-democrat or Babangida, who up till today has not apologised for truncating our march to democracy, doing in that list? Abacha’s brutal reign hallmarked killings, repression of free expression and installation of a reign of terror that dwarfed the sly tyranny of his military predecessor, Babangida.

    The most searing of this irony comes when we observe that a coupist who took over from another coupist is honoured. For instance, Babangida justified the removal of Muhammadu Buhari, yet both the successful coupist and the victim were deserving of honour. It shows that we justified violence and the fait accompli of militarism. So why do we celebrate the democrats like Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo?

    Also telling is the cohabitation of the name of Babangida and Abacha with a name like Fawehinmi? Both stood on opposite sides of the moral compass, one standing for freedom, and the other for despotism. How come the list also added Murtala Muhammed? Was it because he was assassinated? That surely is not enough. Muhammed was the commander of the second division in the civil war. General Yakubu Gowon had to apologise to the Midwestern Igbos for the pogrom that they suffered under his division. Throughout his lifetime, he did not make any amends.

    We also observe that everyone who was head of state or president was given the award. It is poor judgment. We ought to honour people by what they do and not the position they occupy. This probably compelled the centenary committee with the consent of President Jonathan to give the honour to all of them. It shows they honoured persons without deep values.

    More importantly, we believe that the whole centenary celebration was insensitive given the butchery that took place the day before and the very day of its award. Families are in sackcloth. Schools are being burned and soldiers are fleeing those they should apprehend or destroy.

    It is out of character of true honorees to wine and dine in the glitzy ambience of a nation’s capital while a nation mourns.

     

  • China’s growing stake in stability

    China’s growing stake in stability

    China’s growing investment in industries worldwide chills those who see in it the specter of a global economic behemoth. But there could be more reason to welcome than fear this new role. By giving China a greater stake in global and regional stability and prosperity, these investments could ease the tensions created by China’s geopolitical activities.

    China has had a major role in world financial markets for years. But investment in foreign businesses by its public and private companies could soon overtake foreign investment in China, said Shen Danyang, a Commerce Ministry spokesman. Direct investments abroad not only create employment and wealth in the recipient countries, but, if they are large enough, they can bind national economies and political interests, stabilizing relationships.

    The Lenovo Group, a major computer manufacturer, recently made acquisitions worth more than $5 billion to push into the smartphone business in the United States. The company is based in Beijing but has a hub in Morrisville, N.C. Xu Weiping, the creator of huge business parks in China, is investing $1.6 billion to turn the abandoned Royal Albert Dock in London into the main European hub for Chinese companies. He said more than 60 Chinese businesses had agreed to take space in the development.

    Last week, the French government and the Chinese state-owned Dongfeng Motor agreed to buy $4 billion in shares of the troubled French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroën. The investment provides Dongfeng with technological upgrades and Peugeot with capital to restructure so it can become competitive again. The deal raises China’s stake not only in Peugeot but in the health of the French economy and in its relationship with the French government.

    Chinese investment in Japan has been in the billions for several years, despite tensions over conflicting claims about islets in the East China Sea that some strategic analysts fear could lead to war. But it makes little sense to go to war while increasing investments that could be confiscated during a conflict. Even though China does not seem worried about stirring up this rivalry, further Chinese investment in Japan should motivate China to tone down its aggressiveness out of self-interest.

    Deepening economic integration can act as a counterweight to international political difficulties. Japanese and European governments should take heart in the flow of Chinese capital that provides the much-needed investment in their current struggles to fight deflation. Conversely, any nationalistic effort to restrict the flow of Chinese capital would heighten anxieties to no one’s benefit.

    – New York Times