Category: Editorial

ANTICIPATING THE death of Hugo Chavez, the Obama administration began reaching out months ago to his designated successor, Nicolas Maduro, in the hope of bettering U.S.-Venezuelan relations. On Tuesday, that strategy absorbed a body blow: Hours before revealing that Mr. Chavez had died of cancer, Mr. Maduro tried to blame the United States for his illness, and he expelled two U.S. military attaches on charges of “proposing destabilizing plans” to the armed forces.

So much for the “reset” with Caracas. The ludicrous and crude propaganda launched by Mr. Maduro was a sign that Mr. Chavez’s successors will be more thuggish and less politically adept than he was — and, if anything, more inclined to scapegoat the United States and Venezuela’s democratic opposition for the horrendous problems the caudillo leaves behind.

Those troubles, it should be clear, are staggering, even more so when it is considered that Venezuela, a country of less than 30 million people, collected more than $1 trillion in oil revenue during Mr. Chavez’s 14 years of increasingly autocratic rule. Its inflation is among the highest in the world, power outages are routine and consumers are plagued with shortages of basic goods. The murder rate has more than tripled, making Caracas a more dangerous city than Baghdad. Official corruption is rampant, as is drug trafficking: Seven present or former officials have been designated as narcotics kingpins by the U.S. Treasury.

Perhaps most dangerous of all for the motley crew that inherits this legacy, Venezuelans have been grossly and cynically deceived. Mr. Chavez assured them he was healthy when he campaigned for reelection last year, even though he surely knew his illness was terminal. As recently as this month, polls showed that the regime’s propaganda had led a majority of Venezuelans to believe that he would soon resume his duties. The government can no more explain Mr. Chavez’s seemingly sudden demise than it can deliver on the extravagant promises he made in his last months, including a mass giveaway of apartments and appliances.

It’s little wonder the United States is being blamed. Since his youth, Mr. Maduro has been a client of the Castro regime in Cuba, which depends on Venezuela for 60 percent of its energy. The Venezuelan transition has been orchestrated from Havana, where Mr. Chavez was secluded from December until two weeks ago; anti-American hysteria is the Castros’ oldest wheeze.

The only mystery here is why the Obama administration is focusing its diplomacy on courting Mr. Maduro and his cronies. Venezuela’s constitution says a new presidential election must take place within 30 days, and Mr. Maduro will face a challenge from opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who has twice defeated Chavez lieutenants in gubernatorial elections, most recently in December. Nor is it clear that Mr. Chavez’s followers will unite behind Cuba’s favorite; the Venezuelan military and politicians close to it are said to be resistant to Havana’s tutelage.

A sensible U.S. policy in these circumstances would start with insistence on a fair, democratic vote to determine Mr. Chavez’s successor and with the defense of peaceful political actors, such as the Venezuelan students whose protest campground was attacked and burned in the hours after Mr. Chavez’s death. Further wooing of Mr. Maduro should wait until he survives the scrum in his own party, wins a free vote and demonstrates that he is more than a Castro puppet.

– Washington Post

Again, a foreigner tells us how we fritter away our treasure

The reality that Nigeria is frittering away her oil revenues is obvious to all, even though our leaders have demonstrated a bewildering lack of capacity to halt the trend. In fact, the country’s leadership, over time, has been culpable in this act that has telling effects on infrastructure and the country’s wellbeing.

Ordinarily, there ought to be no need for a reminder on this ugly trend. But since we seem helpless about how to nip it in the bud, it would not be an intrusion if notable figures from around the world, where resources are better utilised for the greatest good of their citizens, come around and counsel us against such avoidable shortcomings.

There were several instances of such wake-up calls in the past. Prime Minister David Cameron and Baroness Lynda Chalker, among others, came to the country at one point or the other to avail us of the truth about how the nation has been mismanaging revenues from her great treasure: oil resources.

The latest of such advice came from Mr. Bill Clinton, former United States (US) President at the18th ThisDay Newspaper Awards that held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. “You haven’t done well with your oil money”, he said. Clinton’s reminder casts serious slur on the integrity of the country’s leaders; past and present, who have contributed to the squandering of the nation’s oil revenue.

Though such admonition is now a routine, it has gradually become an embarrassment because virtually everything that ought to be done, to correct this anomaly, has been left undone by those in authority. At the root of this revenue crisis is corruption, especially in very high quarters. The fuel subsidy scam has benefited unscrupulous elements in government as well as greedy independent oil marketers. Hundreds of billions of naira that could have been used to put the nation’s refineries in good condition have been siphoned under the guise of providing fuel subsidy to cushion the effects of avoidable refined fuel imports.

In recent past, several committees were set up by the House of Representatives and the government, which came up with damning reports regarding the charade called subsidy. Yet, the government continues to behave as if nothing is amiss. Such official position would have been unnecessary if some people in the corridors of power are not benefiting from the scam.

This becomes sad in view of the grim reality that government has become helpless in arresting oil theft that is officially put at about 400,000 barrels of stolen crude every day. The figures could be higher because of the country’s poor record-keeping profile. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that is saddled with the management of the nation’s oil matters has become a cesspit of corruption and fraud; accountability and transparency are not in its hierarchy of priorities.

We demand to know from the nation’s leaders why oil that has been a blessing to many endowed countries has turned to a curse for Nigeria. Several oil producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, among others, have greatly deployed their oil proceeds to good use for the betterment of their country’s men and women, and to the admiration of the world. Sadly, the truth is that due to greed, oil has remained a problem to Nigeria when it ought to be a blessing.

Constant reminder of the nation’s mistakes such as Clinton’s is a reflection of abandonment of duty by the leaders. Such admonition goes a long way in letting them know that the problems in the land are self inflicted and they require urgent remedy.

Governor Fashola’s plan to redeem the city should be encouraged

Lagos State is fast evolving into an exemplar in beautification. The mega-city state is the epitome of lush greenery of example being sought after by other states in the federation. But the menacing nuisance of slums and unkempt markets constitutes the greatest threat to its environment. These evolving slums have, over time, become a major challenge to successive administrations in the state.

The recent demolition of Maroko and some shanties in Iganmu-Alawo community of Apapa, and the closure of markets, including Ladipo Market, that are gradually becoming slums are eloquent testimonies to the fact that Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration is not treating the matter with levity.

Chief Lucas Medunoye, Baale of the demolished Iganmu Community, elevated sentiment by tracing the community’s creation to 1973 when the Federal Government relocated them, to give way to the building of the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, without producing any document to back up such claim. The Baale overtly accused the Federal Government of having contributed largely to the emergence of slums in Lagos.

That to us is appealing to emotion which should not be introduced into attempts being made to rid Lagos of slums. For instance, attempts by the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment to halt the turning of Ladipo Market into a complete slum through closure have been given ethnic colouration. We deprecate such move as it is obvious that the market and others that suffered similar fate actually breached the state’s environmental and physical planning laws.

The way to move forward is for all to altruistically agree that the existing slums are high-risk zones without formal, or most times, with altered title deeds to both land and residence. They are hazardous sites that must be done away with. Hitherto, residential and market slums have become abodes of criminal activities, they contribute to infrastructural degradation or its outright deficit; poor sanitation and nest of contagious diseases, among other social malaise.

The Lagos case becomes a classic in the land because a recent study shows that not less than 600,000 persons annually migrate into the state from different parts of the country and even beyond, thereby burdening the state’s infrastructure. For Lagos to make a sense out of its status as a mega-city state, there is need for its government to sustain its current efforts at tackling the slum problem. From Ajegunle, Obalende, Shomolu, Odo Iya Alaro, Iba, Ipaja, Ikotun, Ijegun, Makoko, Maroko, Igando, Apapa, Oshodi and Iwaya, there are not less than 200 other slums requiring urgent attention.

We are aware of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) position which stipulates that by 2020, about 100 million global slum dwellers are expected to access functioning infrastructure, improved health care, potable water and good shelter. The truth is that even the UN summation acknowledged that the slum phenomenon cuts across countries of the world. The trend is no respecter of even the developed countries as they equally have their fair share of slums. But any responsible government should take the best of initiatives to drastically reduce slums in its territory. This the Lagos State Government is doing through its comprehensive slum upgrade programmes administered effectively by its Ministry of the Environment.

We have no doubt that if the current onslaught against slums is intensified, Lagos will become the preferred choice for investors because it is more economically vibrant and secure . The reality is that slums should not be allowed to flourish in the centre of any state with a mega-city plan. Lagos should not be an exception to this rule.

China’s decision to join the United States in proposing tougher sanctions on North Korea is a welcome step. The new resolution, introduced at the United Nations on Tuesday, would seek to curtail North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs by making it more difficult for that country to move money around the world and explicitly banning the sale of items coveted by its elite, like yachts. It would also increase scrutiny of North Korea’s diplomats.

But there is no reason to believe that the sanctions resolution will persuade Pyongyang — which conducted its third nuclear test on Feb. 12 — to curb its nuclear weapons program. The international community has failed to devise a coherent policy that might reverse or even slow the North’s accelerating efforts to become a full-fledged nuclear state. President Obama’s efforts have been no more successful than those of President George W. Bush.

China, which has more trade and financial dealings with North Korea than anyone, has often protected its ally from the harshest sanctions. The new resolution will do little good if China does not enforce the penalties more effectively than it does now. Perhaps it will respond differently: North Korea humiliated China with the nuclear test, directly challenging the new Chinese leader, Xi Jinping.

North Korea has responded to the proposed sanctions with blustery threats to abrogate the Korean War armistice, cut off a hot line with the American military and strike the United States. The United States, South Korea and Japan, concerned about the North’s nuclear program, are expanding defense cooperation.

Creative thinking is needed to end these cycles of sanctions and threats. South Korea’s new president, Park Geun-hye, has signaled interest in trying to improve relations with the North, and on Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry said the administration remained open to dialogue. There should be another high-level attempt by the United States to make clear to North Korea the dangers of its current course and the benefits if it curbs its nuclear program.

In the meantime, China and the United States should be working covertly to disrupt the North’s nuclear program, as the Americans and Israelis did with Iran’s. Washington could invest more in Radio Free Asia to broaden its reach so more information could reach the North’s people. Dealing with North Korea has never been easy, but neglect certainly will not help contain its nuclear and missile capabilities.

– New York Times

• We need to know why two harmless Nasarawa students died?

With the military authority’s denial that it was soldiers who killed the two students of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, during a protest last week Monday, the question: who killed the students, remains. The students were protesting lack of water and electricity on their campus when they were shot dead. But the Director of Army Public Relations, Ibrahim Attahiru, at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday denied that its soldiers were responsible for the killings.

According to Mr. Attahiru, soldiers from 177 Guards Battalion in Keffi only helped the police to quell the violent protests embarked upon by the students. But the police, who had earlier admitted that two students were killed during the protest, and seven others injured, said its officials were not responsible for the killings. “The policemen that went to the scene only cleared the expressway that was blocked by the students,” Frank Mba, the Force Public Relations Officer said, and referred any question on the killers to the army .

We are worried on two fronts; first, because we ought to have found a way of curbing student unrest since it will always occur, and second, we are afraid the killings may join the long list of Nigerians killed without finding who was responsible, no less apprehending them for prosecution to serve as a deterrent to others.

Although military authorities have said that soldiers were not responsible for the students’ deaths, their denial runs counter to the claim by one of the students who asserted that he witnessed the shooting. “I am really baffled that the same soldiers that shot us are denying it. To some extent, the men in black (policemen) showed understanding as they even pleaded with us to clear the road. But when the soldiers came, they started shooting sporadically. Today, you killed someone else’s child, tomorrow will certainly be yours,” he wrote on his wall.

It may be difficult to say who actually killed the students, at least for now, but what is undeniable is the fact that two students lost their lives during an innucuous demonstration. Even if students were protesting, there were more civilised ways of handling their demonstration. What has happened to rubber bullets and water cannons? These certainly would have contained the riots without any record of fatalities.

It is regrettable that between the police and the army, protesting students were killed and no one is willing to accept responsibility. It bears restating that life is too cheap, brutish and short in the country. There is hardly a day that we do not hear that people are killed here and such senseless killings seem to be so many that we have come to see them as a pastime; they no longer shock us.

But all hope is not lost. The government should carry out autopsies on the bodies with a view to determining whether the bullets that killed the students were released from soldiers’ rifles or those of the police. But in a country without discipline or order, how shall we tell if the police did not have soldiers’ arms and vice versa? Also, it is not unlikely that the protesting students were joined by hoodlums who made the protest to get out of hands. We must know the extent of this infiltration, especially with the military authority’s claim that some of the protesters were armed. It is important to know too if there was any justification for the lack of water and electricity on the university campus, or whether it was a result of fraud or corruption.

All these – and probably more – the government should provide answers to through a panel of inquiry that we expect it to set up on this sad incident. It is important that we find those who killed the students and prosecute them appropriately. We cannot be seen to condone senseless killings in a democratic dispensation. Whilst we deplore lawlessness on the part of students, we also think the authorities should devise a more humane approach to address their grievances.