The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Consultancy for railways

    Consultancy for railways

    A REPORT on the huge consultancy fees on on-going railway rehabilitation projects has merely highlighted another scourge of public procurement, which although less spoken of, is no less a source of undelivered value for ill-served citizens. We refer to the humongous fees charged by local and foreign consultants, either for no discernable services at all, or, for services whose utility are at best dubious.

    It is not for nothing that citizens’ expectations from the on-going modernisation of the railway sector have heightened in recent years. Since 1999, allocation of funds to the sector has grown significantly, with much of this coming by way of loans from the Chinese government. The sector comes second only to the power sector on the government’s oft-stated priority; it stems from what the government has long acknowledged as its promise, not only as a vehicle for transforming the economy, but also the critical wheel without which the economy cannot turn optimally.

    Considered against the amount poured into the sector in the last 14 years under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration, the government’s claims of progress would obviously come across as a sham, entirely disappointing.

    And the reasons for this are as many as they are varied. These include paucity of funds – it explains why vital investment decisions are put on hold, leading to cost overruns; the dearth of technical capacity which also serves to explain the absence of a discernable roadmap, hence the flip-flop policies by successive administrations; not least is the pervasive factor of corruption by officials who have come to see railway development as avenue to corner their own gravy.

    This is the context in which we view the slew of contracts for feasibility studies, all of which run into billions of naira, being awarded by the Federal Government for rail development. At the last count, these projects, spread across the six geopolitical zones, number nearly a score. Just as some of the proposed rail lines appear futuristic – and we see nothing wrong with that – the truth however is that most of the projects are as impracticable or outlandish even by Nigeria’s interminable standards of long term.

    It ought to bother every Nigerian that a Federal Government whose record at so-called modernisation of the old narrow gauge is at best a sham (and which went to China barely two months ago to shop for loans to complete the Abuja-Kaduna rail line) has since turned hyperactive in commissioning feasibility studies for new projects.

    With all due respect, it seems to us a case of misplaced priority. We would have thought that a better way to go is to concentrate on developing those lines long accepted as being of utmost priority, as against fishing for new avenues to dissipate scarce national resources. We must also add that some of the contracts look more to us like schemes to fleece the treasury – or better still, job for the boys.

    As for the foreign consultancies, the nation has just enough of unpleasant tales to tell from its experiences of the heady days of jumbo loans of the ‘80s when corrupt officials, acting in concert with their foreign collaborators, creamed off a significant portion of the loans meant for specific projects via the mechanism of “consultancy services”.

    It is bad enough that the nation is slipping determinedly back into debts; it would be most tragic to add the open licence of another cycle of free-for-all consultancy services of dubious value to the ails afflicting the economy. Seems about time the appropriate committees of the National Assembly stepped in, first, to determine whether or not Nigerians have the benefit of value for the contracts already awarded, and second, to halt further bleeding of the national till through schemes that are self-serving, as they are needless.

  • Time bomb

    Time bomb

    THE menace of chronic youth unemployment in Nigeria has at various times been described as a ticking time bomb. This implies that when the problem assumes an uncontrollable dimension, it will explode, with deleterious effects on the society. We are afraid that the challenge has become more urgent and dangerous than this ‘ticking time bomb’ imagery suggests. For, the explosives generated by unemployment are already sounding all around us, and we cannot pretend that the evil days are not here already.

    It stands to reason, for instance, that there is a clear correlation between the youth unemployment in the land and the reserve army of idle and ignorant hands that a sect like Boko Haram is able to recruit for its nefarious purposes. In the same vein, the ever increasing wave of armed robberies, kidnappings, mindless assassinations and other crimes perpetrated mostly by youths across the land, cannot be delinked from the spectre of mass joblessness. Again, the effects of such social vices like drug addiction, excessive alcoholism and prostitution, which breed diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS are already manifest in our country on a large scale.

    The magnitude of the unemployment menace was, once again, brought to the front burner by no less a person than Chief Christopher Kolade, Chairman of the Subsidy Re-investment Programme (SURE-P) at a sensitisation forum for firms in Ilorin, Kwara State. Noting that 40 million Nigerians, i.e. 23.9 percent of the population, are unemployed, Kolade lamented the “inability of the system to absorb the approximately 300,000 graduates churned out of our tertiary institutions annually”.

    While we admire Kolade’s forthrightness in making public the dismal statistics of unemployment in the country, we believe that his figures may indeed, inadvertently, disguise the seriousness of the problem. In other words, the 40 percent unemployment rate he cites may not necessarily include the chronically underemployed such as casual workers, or those who are only employed seasonally due to the vagaries of the weather.

    We commend the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) through which the government aims to generate employment for about 50,000 unemployed graduates in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in one year. The objective of the scheme is to improve the skills of unemployed graduates through work placement in registered firms. Yet, this scheme too is not without its difficulties because, as Kolade observed, “only 35 percent of 2,000 registered firms had met minimum requirement for participation while over 96,000 unemployed graduates had applied”.

    This, of course, raises a number of critical questions. Was there proper coordination between the SURE-P and the organised private sector before this scheme was introduced? Again, what is the relationship between the GIS scheme and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) since the latter also entails graduates serving one year internship with various firms, with the government paying them a monthly stipend of N25,000 while participating firms will provide adequate opportunity for work, mentoring and personal accident insurance?

    Kwara State offers a graphic picture of the challenges confronting this initiative. Out of 46 organisations registered for the exercise, five have been approved to take interns. And out of 3,290 graduates registered, 21 have been matched to firms but only three have been hired. We can thus understand why Mr. Kolade passionately appealed to firms to partner with government in addressing graduate unemployment.

    But then, business firms are not philanthropic outfits. There is still no alternative for the provision by government of basic infrastructure such as motorable roads, an efficient rail network, efficient transportation and communication systems, adequate security and uninterrupted power supply that will expand opportunities for business, enhance their margins for profitability and enable them to hire more staff.

  • Egypt’s democracy dies a violent death

    Egypt’s democracy dies a violent death

    The illusion that Egypt’s military-backed interim government was willing and able to take the country to inclusive elections after last month’s anti-Islamist coup vanished amid the carnage on Cairo’s streets on Wednesday. With chaos spreading across the country, the military has declared a state of emergency. As the army tightens its grip and the death toll mounts, so too does the threat of civil war.

    Violence was inevitable once the security forces moved in on the Islamist protesters who have occupied public squares in Cairo to call for the release of former President Mohamed Morsi. All sides share the blame. Islamists have refused every offer of negotiation, demanding as a precondition the release and reinstatement of the deeply unpopular Mr Morsi. Worse, at the height of the violence, they called for more protesters to join the pitched battles instead of appealing for calm.

    The military, which brought down a democratically elected government last month and now pulls the strings of a nominally civilian executive, has ignited Islamist fury further by trying to crush the Muslim Brotherhood. Hundreds of leaders have been rounded up and jailed, while Mr Morsi is being held on trumped-up charges. Until the resignation on Wednesday evening of Mohamed ElBaradei, secularists in the government have stood by as state forces were deployed against civilians in weeks of clashes that have left hundreds dead.

    International efforts to bring the warring camps to the bargaining table have failed. Diplomatic missions by the US and EU could not prevent the bloodshed on Wednesday. Yet more than diplomacy is needed to overcome the intransigence of those who believe the only path to victory is the destruction of the other. Washington has so far refused to suspend the $1.3bn in aid to Egypt’s military. This should now be done until the violence is halted and all parties agree to talks. The release of Mr Morsi has to be on the table.

    But pressure also has to be exerted on the Muslim Brotherhood. Turkey or Qatar are best placed to intervene with Egypt’s Islamists. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, condemned the earlier military coup, but this should not rule out him acting as an intermediary in concert with other parties. Qatar could also play a useful role. The new emir may be wary of foreign entanglements but he and the rest of the world should be even more wary of the consequences for the region of a descent into sectarian anarchy in Egypt.

    – Financial Times

  • Obasanjo’s pontification

    Obasanjo’s pontification

    The former president does not understand the relationship between age and leadership

    If there was any fog concerning former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s psycholo-gical condition, it was illuminated by his remarks at the Fourth Annual Ibadan Sustainable Development Summit organised by the Centre for Sustainable Development (CESDEV), University of Ibadan (UI), in collaboration with African Sustainable Development Network (ASUDNET). He seized the platform for self-glorification, and by the time he was done, it was unmistakable that he desperately desired worship. His keynote address at the forum on “Leadership in Africa’s Quest for Sustainable Development” turned out to be an enthusiastic exercise in hitting a straw man just to expand and extend his own over-dressed conceit.

     Demonstrating that consuming affliction commonly recognised as delusion of grandeur, Obasanjo sought to achieve the impossible image of a flawless hero, whereas quite a few would question the basis of his self-perceived greatness. It is ironic that the momentous episode, perhaps unwittingly, served the purpose of providing an opportunity for the public to, once again, focus on his years in power.

    In what amounted to a lamentable abuse of logic, Obasanjo argued that the “younger generation” was to blame for leadership failure in the country and, by extension, on the African continent. Specifically, in the case of Nigeria, he referred to an alleged “failed generation of leaders,” and listed some names. On his list was former Vice President in his administration, Atiku Abubakar, and former House of Representatives Speaker, Salisu Buhari.  He also named former Bayelsa State governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha; former Edo State governor, Lucky Igbinedion and former Delta State governor, James Ibori, among others.

    Although  it is true that these individuals were linked with unflattering controversies, Obasanjo’s classification betrayed his confusion and prejudice when, in one revelatory moment,  he also reportedly mentioned former Lagos State governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a top opposition figure who is acclaimed as a positive example of purposeful leadership. This glaring case of incorrect inclusion put a huge question mark on Obasanjo’s leadership standards.

     It is noteworthy that Obasanjo was quoted as saying, “We had some people who were under 50 years in leadership.” His age specification with regard to his definition of “younger generation” was not only unfairly limiting; more important, it also constituted a retrogressive and individualistic attempt to determine for society what age bracket its leaders should belong to. He needs to be reminded of the fact that the country’s constitution accommodates leaders who are under his prescriptive magical age of 50 years. Such reminder, it must be said, is a sad commentary on his memory.

    Furthermore, while it is unclear how he arrived at his age of leadership suitability, it is important to point out that there are sufficiently positive present-day examples of leaders who reached the political apex before age 50, especially in leading Western democracies. Two instances will suffice:  US President Barack Obama who at age 47, in 2008, became the first African American to attain that exalted height; and British Prime Minister David Cameron who in 2010, at age 43, became his country’s  youngest leader  since 1812.

     Given that Obasanjo is evidentially contemptuous of these instructive histories which, however,  does little to obscure them, he may need to be told in the clearest terms that good leadership is not necessarily a question of age, and that the world has left behind such promotion of gerontocracy suggested by his comments.

    Interestingly, it is relevant to note that the world considers as a sour entertainment the recent re-emergence of 90-year-old Robert Mugabe as President of Zimbabwe. Indeed, it suggests that, contrary to Obasanjo’s thesis, gerontocratic leadership may well be the bane of the continent.

    In addition, his position fails the test of logical validity by sweepingly implying that leadership by the under-50 is doomed to fail. This is a primitively outdated idea inspired by a mechanical gambler’s fallacy, which erroneously assumes that because some leaders who were under-50 allegedly failed, therefore, no such leader could succeed. His is an example of a pessimistic blanket judgement informed by sterile thinking.

    With the benefit of hindsight, it is reasonable to link Obasanjo’s infamous 2007 effort to seek an unconstitutional third term in office with his expressed thoughts on age-based leadership. By his twisted logic, good leadership is a function of age; therefore, the older one is, the more likely one would be a success at leadership. To go by his latest performance, this irrationality would appear to have motivated his move to sit tight.

    It is striking that Obasanjo, 76, was civilian president for eight years from 1999 to 2007, after a period as military head of state between 1976 and 1979, yet he seems unable to appreciate that the leadership question is less about age and more about vision and integrity. It is no secret that, even though he came to the presidency at over age 50, specifically at age 62, his track record is not particularly complimentary. Indeed, he is faced with the charge of “wasted years”, which he ought to tackle with humility and honesty, rather than engage in pompous pontification.

  • Dark excuses

    Dark excuses

    Instead of mitigating Nigeria’s power outages, govt keeps giving inexcusable reasons

    Going by the excuses that the Federal Government is giving as to why power supply remains erratic as ever in the country, Nigerians may still have to wait longer than can be imagined before their dream of uninterrupted electricity supply will come true. As with other sectors of the economy where things are either not moving, or are moving at a snail’s speed, the power sector has also become one in which Nigerians are bombarded with excuses for why they are not having light rather than undo their darkness. We have heard how rats entered one of the turbines in Kainji Dam many years ago, throwing the nation into darkness. We have been given other ridiculous reasons why constant supply of electricity has remained a pipe-dream in the country. The culprit this time is politics!

    Rising from a meeting of the Joint Committee of the National Council of Privatisation (NCP) and the Board of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), the Federal Government alleged that its efforts to provide constant power supply were being eroded by politically-motivated sabotage through gas pipelines and transformers vandalism. Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State and the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, told journalists at the end of the joint meeting presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo, that the activities of the vandals resulted in shortage of gas supplies to the power plants and a drop in power generation by about 1,600 megawatts.

    Although Nebo reeled out the list of such damages to gas pipelines and other damages allegedly perpetrated by the saboteurs, that is not our concern

    That all Nigerians are still reeling in darkness is a serious problem for a country whose citizens, at the best of times, have had to share about 4,000 megawatts, which is grossly inadequate for the national demand. Power supply is pivotal to whatever progress the country wants to make; it therefore should not be handled with levity. Again, this is a sector that has witnessed many failed promises since the beginning of this democratic dispensation in May, 1999; it is one in which there has been a lot of muddling up in the privatisation process as a result of which no timelines have ever been met. This is a sector that has gulped so much with little dividend.

    We are therefore surprised that the government, 14 years after, is still craving the understanding of Nigerians for the massive load-shedding that they are being forced to endure, as the government goes about the ridiculous business of ‘educating the vandals’ on the consequences of their actions.

    We have gone beyond the stage where the government will make unsubstantiated claims and expect Nigerians to bear with it. They have heard that again and again such that it no longer makes sense to them. Government is supposed to solve problems and not to give excuses. If there are vandals troubling its peace and making nonsense of its efforts to deliver democratic dividend, it is the duty of government to get such criminals arrested and prosecuted. That is part of the reasons it is in control of the security agencies.

    The government must have heard of people putting their money where their mouth is; if the government cannot protect gas pipelines, it cannot protect petroleum products’ pipelines, then, there is a serious problem. That government has lost its essence because security of lives and property is a cardinal reason for the existence of government, any government properly so-called.

    Given the stupendous amount spent on power supply in the country in the last few years alone, what Nigerians want is constant electricity supply and not wild allegations as to why this has become a mirage.

  • Premier poison

    Premier poison

    English Premier League 2013/2014 season opens on August 17. But it is another dose of sweet poison that kills local football  

    Tomorrow at 12.45 pm, the English Premiership opens, with Liverpool hosting Stoke City, in a match sure to stoke the television-viewing attention of a global audience. The racy drama, the whoop of victory, the hiss of defeat and the sheer atmospherics of organised sports as peaceful combat will all be there.

    It is the period again when top-flight club football takes centre stage. From England to Italy, France to Belgium, Germany to Holland, Turkey to Russia and Spain to Portugal, it would be all out action, as the other major European leagues also open.

    For many a youth from Nigeria and other parts of the developing world, the foreign league’s mega cash could well be passport to wealth from a life otherwise fated to poverty at home.

    Indeed, since Stephen Keshi, current Super Eagles chief coach and former Nigeria captain led the gold rush to Lokeren in Belgium’s Jupiler League in 1986, European leagues have proved a good hunt for Nigerians, though only a handful have been able to break into the ranks of Europe’s football aristocrats: Emmanuel Amuneke and Gbenga Okunowo (Barcelona), Nwankwo Kanu (Arsenal) and the pair of John Mikel Obi and Victor Moses (Chelsea).

    Indeed, Victor Moses’ case is an inspirational Cinderella story of an 11-year old kid virtually left for dead, after both of his parents had been killed in a religious riot in Northern Nigeria. Yet Victor, thanks to excellent grooming in the English league, was one of the heroes of Nigeria’s Cup of Nations (February), and the Mandela Challenge wins (August 14), both in South Africa.

    Of course, the allure of Europe is no monopoly of Nigerians and Africans. One of the stars pencilled down to shine in the current season is Brazil’s wonder kid, Neymar, who is joining Argentina’s Lionel Messi in FC Barcelona. Brazil’s Ronaldo and Kaka, and Argentina’s Maradona are among South American superstars who have virtually set European leagues ablaze, in the course of their illustrious foot-balling careers.

    But unlike South American leagues, which though continue to feed Europe has remained vibrant and exciting, the Nigerian league is comatose, as a result of local star players’ exodus. Indeed, it is sheer prestige to join the European leagues, so much so that even Godfrey Oboabona and Sunday Mba, the two-some home-based stars that joined the foreign legion to win the African Nations Cup in February now look forward to joining foreign leagues and that is not without some tinge of excitement and satisfaction.

    But as these stars gravitate towards Europe, the state of football in Nigeria becomes even more dreary, the organisation (the cause of the exodus to start with) starker and the league even more comatose. The era of Nigeria fans whooping for Super Stores of Lagos, IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan, Mighty Jets of Jos and Rangers International of Enugu appears near-permanently over. Now, it is the season of fanatical fans of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid, just to mention a few.

    Globalisation in football is Nigerian local football, and with it, the job opportunities for our teeming youths. If you want any proof of that “death”, just visit the once-upon-a-pitch at National Stadium, Abuja’s main bowl! Even worse is the cultural servitude watching Europe’s league, week in, week out, on Nigeria’s television, with the local league hardly on television!

    Foreign leagues are beautiful. But they are terrible beauties if they kill our local football. It is high time urgent steps were taken to resuscitate Nigerian football.

  • Military madness in Cairo

    Military madness in Cairo

    With yet another blood bath in the streets of Cairo on Wednesday, Egypt’s ruling generals have demonstrated .00.beyond any lingering doubt that they have no aptitude for, and apparently little interest in, guiding their country back to democracy. On the contrary, the political obtuseness of Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt’s de facto leader, and the brutal repression he has unleashed now threaten to produce the worst of all possible outcomes to an already inflamed situation: a murderous civil war.

    That would be a tragedy for Egypt, which until recently believed it was on a path to ending decades of repression and dictatorship. And it would be a foreign policy disaster for the United States. Egypt is the most populous and influential country in the Arab world. It is also Israel’s most strategically important neighbor.

    President Obama must make clear his unequivocal opposition to the Egyptian military’s conduct. He can do so by immediately suspending military aid and canceling joint military exercises scheduled for September. These steps can be reversed if the generals change their ways, but, until then, the United States should slam the door on an aid program that has provided the Egyptian military with a munificent $1.3 billion a year for decades.

    Those who argue that this aid gives the United States leverage can no longer do so with a straight face. Time and again, repeated phone calls from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to General Sisi asking for restraint and similar exhortations by Secretary of State John Kerry have been ignored.

    Mr. Kerry spoke out again on Wednesday, but it is now up to Mr. Obama to act. A cautious statement from a deputy press secretary in Martha’s Vineyard that the Obama administration “strongly condemns” the violence and is reviewing the aid program is unlikely to get the generals’ attention. Canceling next month’s joint exercises, which is now being considered, might. And if suspending a $1.3 billion subsidy does not do the trick, it will at least tell rank-and-file Egyptians that the United States is no longer underwriting repression.

    Hundreds of peaceful demonstrators were killed Wednesday when military and police units used helicopters, snipers, bulldozers and tear gas to evict them from two camp areas in Cairo. The military proclaimed a monthlong nationwide state of emergency, while the “transitional government” named 25 new provincial governors — 19 of them generals.

    The transitional government is little more than window dressing for military rule. Those liberals and moderates who have enabled and emboldened the military have been complicit in this deception. One prominent liberal democrat, Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Prize winner, resigned Wednesday as interim vice president.

    The Muslim Brotherhood must also share responsibility. Since the July 3 coup that ousted President Mohamed Morsi, it has shown too little interest in negotiating a peaceful path out of the crisis. And even before that coup, Mr. Morsi and other Brotherhood leaders had displayed little interest in reaching out to Egyptians of different political and religious persuasions.

    But the major blame rests with General Sisi. He seized power from a democratically elected government. He controls the security forces that have persecuted and brutalized political opponents. And he approved orders for heavily armed forces to use deadly force against peaceful protesters with a very legitimate political grievance — the ouster and secret detention of Egypt’s first democratically elected president.

    Washington’s influence on Egyptian public opinion generally is limited. That has less to do with the low-key tone Mr. Obama has taken than with the preceding decades of uncritical United States support for past dictators like Mr. Mubarak and the military forces supporting them, to the neglect of most of Egypt’s 84 million people. It is past time for Mr. Obama to start correcting that imbalance. Suspending assistance to Egypt’s anti-democratic military would be a good place to start.

    New York Times’

  • For justice’s sake

    For justice’s sake

    Lagos State government’s decision to challenge the Appeal Court’s verdict on Al-Mustapha is commendable

    The decision of the Lagos State government to approach the nation’s apex court, the Supreme Court, for a review of the Court of Appeal’s decision that discharged and acquitted Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Mr. Lateef Sofolahan, over the alleged murder of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola is a welcome development. We identify with the sound reasons for this action as offered by the state attorney-general and commissioner for justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, that the ‘step will ensure that all issues are fully articulated and the victim’s family, the defendants and the society are not deprived of the last opportunity provided by the constitution for the resolution of the case’.

    We urge the attorney-general and his legal team to ensure that they put their best foot forward in this final appeal, so that all parties will feel enamoured to accept the decision of the apex court. The prosecution must also appreciate that, as things are, Nigerians feel scandalised that despite a public confession that Mrs. Abiola was murdered in cold blood by agents of the state, the persons charged with the murder have been discharged and acquitted. That decision, for an ordinary man, no doubt gives a further impression that the state is determined to cover up and protect the perpetrators of the heinous crime.

    To soothe the sociological scare on the society arising from the murder, it is very important that all the gaping holes are covered so that the decision of the final court in the land would be acceptable. As the matter proceeds to the final court, it is also hoped that the defence team is not allowed to resort to the kind of shenanigans that saw a straightforward matter of murder trial turned into a circus show. We recall that the defence team of the acquitted twosome tried all tricks in the world to ensure that the matter was delayed for years, and had no qualms to tar the integrity of any judge they figured was willing to put the accused through an expeditious trial.

    While we await the judicial process to take its final course, it is important to condemn the show of shame that was led by Mr. Frederick Fasheun of the Oodu’a Peoples Congress, and his completely misguided likes. We recall that even before the acquittal, Fasehun and other hawks like him led the unfounded claim that Al-Mustapha was being victimised through his self-inflicted prolonged trial for the murder of Mrs. Abiola, without offering any scintilla of evidence. That reprehensible conduct had been furthered since the release of Al-Mustapha, with some state governors according the tainted fellow what is akin to a state visit. To show how far the moral value of our country has sunk, Al-Mustapha has been received in palaces and celebrated as if he is a new folk hero.

    Yet there is no doubt that Al-Mustapha served one of the most repressive regimes that this country has been unfortunate to experience. Even those campaigning in favour of, and now celebrating his innocence, will be dishonest if they pretend that they were not aware that Al-Mustapha as a major, ran rough shod over generals and his other superiors in the military, and supervised the most dehumanising regime of terror under the late General Sani Abacha. We are therefore surprised that after such a dishonourable tour of duty, Major Al-Mustapha would, in the eyes of some people, appear to be worthy of any decent company, not to talk of celebration. We urge the Supreme Court to rein in for contempt, any such meddlesomeness while the matter is before them.

  • Start talks with Iran

    Start talks with Iran

    THIS first news conference since taking office, Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, declared his willingness to negotiate with the United States. Speaking on Tuesday, he insisted he is ready to enter “serious and substantive” talks about Iran’s disputed nuclear program and said a solution can be reached only through “talks, not threats.”He added, “If the United States shows goodwill and mutual respect, the way for interaction will be open.”

    These are only words, and whether there is any meaning behind them is not clear. It does seem that after eight years of the fiery Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president, Mr. Rouhani is attempting to change the tone. He is not a reformer, but he is a centrist, and his election victory, as well as his early statements, could signal a new course, somewhat different from the bitter confrontations of recent years. Mr. Rouhani defeated a slate of more conservative candidates. He has talked of expanding civil liberties and freeing some political prisoners. He has appointed some technocrats to his cabinet and has suggested he may lift or ease Internet censorship, which has been heavy and heavy-handed. “Gone are the days when a wall could be built around the country,” he said, according to the Economist. “Today there are no more walls.”

    All well and good. But the United States and its partners who want Iran to stop enriching uranium for a potential nuclear weapons program can ill afford to see Mr. Rouhani through rose-colored glasses. The Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, remains the true center of power and controls Iran’s nuclear program. The Revolutionary Guard Corps is still a major force, up to its eyeballs in Syria and supplying Hezbollah. Mr. Rouhani, an experienced operator in Iran’s elite jockeying, will have all of them breathing down his neck in the months ahead.

    Nonetheless, the West should resume negotiations soon to explore the depth of Mr. Rouhani’s seriousness and whether his election has come with room to maneuver. The White House reacted positively to the new president’s overtures, and the European Union’s senior foreign policy official, Catherine Ashton, called on Mr. Rouhani to agree to a new round of talks as soon as possible.

    Mr. Rouhani’s priorities may well be at home, where Iran’s economy is crumbling. He will undoubtedly be eager to ease strict international sanctions, yet it is not clear whether or how quickly he can or wants to change course on Iran’s nuclear program. The Western powers should swallow hard and show up ready to talk. Mr. Rouhani’s demand for mutual respect is not unreasonable.

    Those talks must proceed with urgency, however. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Wednesday, “while everybody is busy talking to him, he’ll be busy enriching uranium.” Mr. Netanyahu, in fact, claimed that the Iranian nuclear program has accelerated. At about the same time, the publication IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly revealed the previously undisclosed location of a new Iranian facility that could be used to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles. Certainly international sanctions must remain in place absent genuine evidence that Iran has abandoned its nuclear weapons ambitions. No amount of sweet talk can change that.

    – Washington Post

  • Shekau’s challenge

    Shekau’s challenge

    •Unites States should translate its promise to help Nigeria fight Boko Haram into action

    The virulent influence of Boko Haram seems inexorable even though growing national and global concerns against its scourge have been without empirical dividend. Why did we say this? Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram’s leader, looks not deterred by the global terrorist tag and a bounty of $7million placed on his head by the United States (US). Not even the ongoing state of emergency and military operations in some parts of the north where the sect’s activities are more pronounced has slowed him and his men down.

    The religious reprobate, who over time has held the country under siege, is still threatening fire and brimstone from his hideout in a recently released Agence France Presse (AFP) video footage. He dared Presidents Barack Obama of United States, Francois Hollande of France and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to a contest.

    In Shekau’s imprudent view, the leaders of these powerful countries are “no match” for him. He reportedly affirmed his culpability in recent killings that occurred in some parts of the north. His statement, unfortunately, came while the nation groans over news reports that 44 people were again killed last Sunday in a mosque while praying in Konduga, 35 kilometres from Maiduguri, Borno State capital. Maiduguri is the epicentre of the sect’s activities since 2009 when its vicious acts became manifest.

    Boko Haram is responsible for several deadly raids over the past months, including the attack on the police and the military in Malam Fatori and Bama and the ones in Baga and Gamboru Ngala, near the country’s border with Cameroun. The Boko Haram insurgency is estimated to have claimed more than 3,600 lives since 2009. In an obvious reference to the generally held view that he suffered serious gunshot wounds during an attack on his hideout and is probably dead by now; Shekau vivaciously declared in the video: “You have not killed Shekau.”

    We consider as alarming Shekau’s claim that the launch of military operations by the Federal Government after its declared state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states on May 14, ‘cannot’ impede the activities of the sect. His call for support from some countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, in the sect’s bid to enthrone an Islamic state in the nation is damning. This thinking should be addressed by the nation’s security chiefs.

    The Shekau video boast and his sect’s growing activities cast aspersion on the effectiveness of the state of emergency and viability of intelligence gathering in the land. This is not the first time he would release video recordings anytime the sect strikes against the society, without any serious security intelligence clue on the matter. In January, 2012, just immediately after the Madalla bombing, Shekau emerged in a 15-minute video to say that the security agencies could not overcome his group. He also rejected government’s amnesty offer which, according to him, lacks Islamic ingredients.

    The US has publicly professed its voluntary determination to help the country combat terrorist acts of the Boko Haram. But till date, the positive result of such an important promise is yet to be felt. Could it be that the US was just blustering, or what could have been amiss? We know that the Boko Haram matter has been riddled with shoddy intelligence gathering by the country’s security agencies, but this is why an effective international intervention from the US would come handy. The Shekau challenge should act as wake-up call on the US. She needs to act and not bluster on the Boko Haram-inflicted insecurity, in the interests of the two countries.