The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Critical moments

    Critical moments

    Report on Dana plane crash victims is, again, an indictment of our emergency procedure

    AS there any chance, however slim, that at least 27 of the 153 persons aboard the Dana Airline plane that crashed on June 3, 2012, in Iju-Ishaga, Lagos State, could have escaped death? This haunting question will likely remain in the public sphere for quite some time. The final report on the examination of bodies recovered from the crash concluded that 27 victims “did not die immediately after the impact.” Prof John Obafunwa, the Lagos State Chief Medical Examiner and Consultant Pathologist of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital who authored the report, said: “The post-mortem examination indicated that 27 victims had died of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. This suggests that the victims were alive for some time in the fire that probably followed the crash.”

    The revelation adds a disturbing twist to the ongoing coroner’s inquest into the deaths. Obafunwa also stated that, apart from smoke inhalation, the victims in question could have lost their lives because of other factors such as multiple injury or blood fall trauma, either singly or combined. The bottom line of the findings, however, was that these victims survived the crash, but succumbed to post-crash crisis.

    The picture of the crash survivors having to go through the experience of gradual death in the aircraft’s burning fuselage after the impact is nightmarish, and further plays up the tragedy. For those who died on impact, the end was immediate, but these others at least stood a chance of being rescued, if only help came promptly.

    It is regrettable that all went wrong at this critical point, exposing weighty flaws in the country’s emergency management. To start with, the site of the crash was turned into an instant sightseeing zone, where a crowd of curious onlookers gathered, blocking emergency service personnel from gaining prompt access to the plane. In his testimony, the Chief Fire Fighter of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Sanni Enessi, blamed crowd congestion for the delay in rescue work within the first three hours of the crash. The overcrowding at the place was not only unhelpful and counter-productive; it demonstrated a failure of public safety education. It was evident from the incident that the public was clueless on how to respond to such emergency.

    Sadly, this observation was corroborated at the inquest by Mr John Ekpe, FAAN’s Assistant General Manager, Rescue and Fire Fighting Services. He alleged that the National Emergency Management Agency, which has the responsibility of coordinating national emergencies, did not have a tested emergency plan. Such plan, he said, should have been tested by simulating an emergency, to prepare the public and provide education on emergency response.

    However, public attitude, which is a human factor, is just one aspect of the crisis-response failing. It is surely baffling that, as Eke also disclosed, the country lacks aircraft designed for fire fighting. What this means is that the country is basically ill-prepared for plane crash management. The Dana crash inferno reportedly raged for about 24 hours before it was brought under control, raising logical questions on the state of preparedness of the agencies concerned, both in terms of personnel as well as equipment. It is a disgrace that government emergency agencies have had to rely on private companies for essential equipment in emergency situations, such as happened in this particular case when Julius Berger Construction Company was invited to help out.

    Emergencies do arise, but when they do, how they are tackled may make the difference between life and death. This is the lesson to be drawn from the handling of the Dana disaster, which calls for a radical improvement in emergency management in the country.

  • Keshi’s resignation

    Keshi’s resignation

    The now-withdrawn resignation of the Head Coach of the victorious Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi, is a sobering reminder of the deep-seated problems confronting Nigeria’s football administration, especially the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF). The coach had accused the NFF of undue pressure during the just-concluded African Cup of Nations (AFCON) held in South Africa. He had allegedly been told that he would be sacked, his tactics and selection were continually questioned, and his salary withheld.

    Keshi had apparently kept all this to himself in order not to distract his team, and the heart-warming victory of the Super Eagles shows the wisdom of that strategy. However, the challenges posed by the incompetence and venality of many of the country’s football administrators are formidable obstacles to the growth of the game in Nigeria.

    Football is not just about sporting talent. If the sport is not properly managed, it will be difficult for players to flourish. Over the years, this fact has become tragically evident in the Nigerian game. The local league is characterised by the absence of binding player contracts, poor stadia and facilities, match-fixing and violence.

    At the international level, funds provided by the Federal Government and bodies like FIFA are poorly-managed and rarely accounted for. Elections into the NFF and the Nigerian Premier League (NPL), its domestic counterpart, are never transparent, and often throw up the worst candidates. Instead of focusing on grassroots development, most football administrators are intent upon competitions where money can be made from misappropriating government funds and overseas travels.

    The consequences for football in the country have been devastating. In spite of its depth of talent, Nigeria has consistently underperformed internationally at both the club and national levels. Its best players are so disenchanted with the local set-up that they continuously seek to move to better-organised leagues elsewhere. Foreign-based professionals are often reluctant to give their best to the country because they are afraid that injuries sustained while on national duty could jeopardise their club careers.

    Given the anomalies that plague football administration, it is understandable that the aggrieved Keshi attempted to quit his job in the wake of his triumph. In 1996, Bonfrere Jo set a precedent by resigning after guiding the Dream Team to a gold medal at that year’s Olympics in Atlanta. Nothing was done then to ensure that such a thing never happened again, and if the issues raised by Keshi are not thoroughly addressed, it could recur in the near future.

    If football administration in Nigeria is to be improved, it must be run on principles that are transparent, businesslike and result-oriented. For too long, football administration has been seen as a consolation prize for influential individuals who were unable to get more-coveted positions. Consequently, many administrators see it as an opportunity to make as much money as possible before moving on.

    That cannot continue if things are to change. Administrators should be chosen based on merit and competence rather than federal quota or political connections. Elections into the NFF and the NPL must be made more transparent; the practice of imposing so-called “government candidates” on those bodies must stop. Governing bodies for the sport in the country must be encouraged to depend less on government and more on the private sector for financing their programmes. This will give them greater freedom of action and will force them to be more accountable to their sponsors.

    As Nigeria basks in its AFCON triumph, those who administer the country’s football would do well to ensure that they facilitate the growth of the sport instead of hindering it.

  • UK press laws

    UK press laws

    The best hope for media freedom is independent regulation

    When Sir Brian Leveson published his report into the British press last November, he was clear about the regime that he wanted. A new regulator, endowed with strong enforcement powers, would protect the public against abuses. This would be dominated by independent minds. Newspapers would no longer get to mark their own homework.

    The Financial Times has few quibbles with the vision. Independent and robust regulation is not only desirable in itself; it is a necessary precondition if public confidence in the media is to be rebuilt after the shaming revelations of the hacking scandal. However, we have also always been clear that well-meaning reform must not unwittingly open the door to state interference in the press.

    Lord Justice Leveson’s original proposals would have taken us too far down this path, putting the new regime under statutory control for the first time, and appointing the broadcast regulator Ofcom, which reports directly to government, to oversee it. So now, the Conservative party has come up with a modified plan – albeit one that does not command the support of its coalition partners. Rather than Ofcom, the overseeing body would be an independent entity. Meanwhile, the entire regime would be placed, like the BBC, under a royal charter.

    In spite of the archaic title, this would not banish the shadow of state interference. Incorporation by royal charter is a form of government regulation. These instruments can be amended by the “royal prerogative” – an undemocratic procedure that hands power to the government of the day without reference to parliament. These powers have been used. Tony Blair’s administration amended the BBC’s governance in retaliation for its critical reporting in the run-up to the Iraq war.

    To protect the press, the Tory plan provides that the charter’s terms can only be changed if all three party leaders agree, and are backed by “supermajorities” in parliament. Yet this does not exclude the possibility that at some future date parliament might rein back press freedom.

    The royal charter is an ingenious concept, and parliamentary lawyers must be salivating at the task of drafting a quintessentially British instrument. But it cannot eliminate the risk of creeping state interference. While some may see such a fudge as a better expedient than statutory control, this newspaper continues to favour credible independent regulation at arm’s length from the state.

    – Financial Times

  • Misdirected anger

    Misdirected anger

    •Gov. Chime has himself to blame for the negative reaction to his prolonged stay abroad for treatment

    Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State’s disappearance from, as well as return to the country, after four and a half months of cloudy medical visit abroad would continue to generate ripples. His media clarification clarified nothing; rather, it exacerbated the situation. For the first time in months, worried indigenes and other Nigerians got a clue of the ailment that kept the governor away from his duty post. He personally declared that he underwent surgery and post-surgery treatment for cancer of the nose in Britain.

    Chime gleefully mentioned that he was “completely cured and declared cancer-free by the doctors.” The clean bill of health purportedly given the governor is praiseworthy. But the entire saga is just a reminder to all that ill-health is no respecter of persons or class; after all, people in power are not superhuman beings, as they could at any time fall victims of health challenges.

    We recognise and take this as a fact of life. Thus, Chime’s return to his duty post is a big relief to the citizens of his state. At least, normal governance, devoid of avoidable apprehension and tension that were the hallmark of the past months, can once again be witnessed in the ‘Coal City’ state of Enugu. But we consider as misplaced his criticism of a section of the media over the reportage of his ailment. How can he chastise the media when he deliberately kept the public in the dark over his whereabouts and medical predicament for months?

    It is trite that under a situation where government hoards information, speculations are inevitable. Why should Chime be livid over the ‘bizarre’ stories that were published against his person that arose from poor media management of his ailment? Ab initio, he ought to have informed the public of his true state of health and demanded for their prayers during the period that he was away for treatment. There is no doubt that millions of people would have sympathised with him and also wished him well if they were duly informed. His being secretive about this made speculations and public tension to be elevated and condoned.

    How could a governor go on four and a half months vacation at a stretch? This manner of vacation, especially for a governor that did not disclose any medical challenge, is one carried too far. In case Governor Chime has forgotten, we want to remind him that he was elected by the people of that state to govern them and not to disappear from work without any clue about his whereabouts. The inhabitants of Enugu State and, by extension other Nigerians, deserve to know his state of health and whereabouts at any point in time.

    His unusually long absence from duty without the people’s knowledge smacks of contempt. He merely successfully exploited the lacuna in the constitution that places no time limit on the duration for which a governor can stay away from work. Chime may have gotten away with this unwarranted scorn for the people; but since the situation is ongoing, the time to take another look at a system that permits noticeable abandonment from duty without official reason by men of power, is now.

    The governor’s curious explanations regarding what kept him away for so long from that exalted position were belated. If he had done that earlier, the polity would not have been unduly heated. Perhaps, he should thank his stars that he has a legislative arm in the House of Assembly that was, regrettably, so pliable. Otherwise his case would have been settled a long time ago and he would have returned as a private citizen.

  • Mindless killings

    Mindless killings

    • Govt must bring murderers of health workers in Yobe, Kano, to book

    The killing, in Potiskum, Yobe State, of three Korean doctors, has further illustrated how cheap life is in parts of the country. The doctors who were recruited by the state government under an exchange programme with the North Korean government were butchered in their apartments by unknown gunmen last week. It is hard to see any justification for killing men who left their country to help improve the state’s health system.

    Doctors, by the nature of their profession and calling, are engaged in humanitarian activities. They are called to serve humanity and save lives. It is an irony that in the course of performing this sacred duty, they are made to lose their precious lives.

    In recent years, governments, especially in the North, have turned to Egypt, Pakistan, India and Korea for support in critical areas of technological and scientific development. This is to allow for expansion of the system and enhance capacity. The gory sight of foreign doctors slaughtered in their homes, with one even beheaded, calls to question the humanity of those who perpetrated the act and is bad for the country’s image.

    This is a new dimension to the crisis in the North East where thousands of Nigerians have been senselessly mowed down for ill-articulated reasons. Churches have been razed, prominent citizens dispatched and the polity thus heated up.

    A few days earlier, nine health workers involved in polio vaccination in Kano, were similarly murdered. They were engaged in the noble cause of exterminating wild polio in the country. It has become embarrassing that Nigeria is one of only three countries in the world where polio still exists at all. In this, we are in the company of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

    The campaign to stamp out the disease received the first jolt in 2003 when the state government and some Islamic leaders in the country took exception to it on the ground that it represents a western ploy to arrest population growth in the Muslim world. It did not matter to the promoters of the view that leading Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia and Malaysia had cooperated with the World Health Organisation in ensuring that their populations were well covered by the polio vaccination. Even in case of misgiving against the vaccine, why descend on innocent people engaged for the purpose?

    The trend that has seen many innocent people slaughtered for the flimsiest of reasons must stop. Clerics of the major faiths must enlist in the task of properly educating their members that killing others cannot prove their piety. They must be involved in the task of restoring the dignity of man in Nigeria.

    The starting point is demonstrating that security agents are alive to their responsibility by getting the suspects prosecuted. It is gratifying that Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso has condemned the killing and expressed support for the immunisation programme.

    The Federal Government has a responsibility to give effect to the resolution passed by the House of Representatives to compensate the families of the heroes who died working for the country.

    Beyond compensation, governors of Northern states should get involved in mobilising support for the scheme. It should be the last time that people enrolled to work for the country would be made to lose their lives in such cheap circumstances. The plan by the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to provide security for all those recruited for the purpose is welcome.

    It is unfortunate that the three Korean doctors did not enjoy security cover despite the volatility of the area of their deployment. It has become imperative that the other 15 brought in under the scheme are immediately assured of their security at work and home. Others in and outside Yobe State who were engaged under technical agreements must also be made to see the commitment of the government to guarantee their security.

  • Fiscal anomie

    Fiscal anomie

    • The allocation of N4 billion for the president’s wife’s NGO is a new low in fiscal recklessness

    Appropriation bills in Nigeria these days seem to defy rhyme, reason or even sensitivity. And as for economic principles; perish the thought, for jungle instincts seem to hold sway. This is the overwhelming perception since early February when news broke that a handsome N4 billion is to be set aside in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) 2013 Appropriation Bill for a ‘pet’ project.

    The Senate, reviewing the FCT’s proposed budget, had frowned at a number of seeming outlandish allocations, chief among which is N4 billion for the construction of the headquarters of the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM), a project which is the pet dream of the wife of the president, Mrs. Patience Jonathan. The list of what seems like booty sharing in the FCT spending plan is long. There is N2.4 billion for securing the capital city which boasts of no police, army or security agency of its own; N5 billion for some social malaise in the city, including the rehabilitation of prostitutes and the destitute, and N150 million for the renovation of the vice-president’s guest house.

    We acknowledge that the document before the Senate is just a proposal, a plan which is subject to changes and reviews, but we cannot come to terms with N4 billion being proposed for what is at best, a non-governmental organisation owned by the wife of the president. How could this have happened; and who is responsible? The ‘Office of the First Lady’, as we have come to know it is the whimsical creation of the wives of successive presidents and governors which has no place in the law or Constitution of the Federal Republic. The Office of the First Lady is an aberration that has lingered for so long in the polity that many are beginning to forget that it is a mere charitable, if not ceremonial, set- up.

    Today, offices of first ladies are burgeoning across the country, from the local council areas through the 36 states and at the presidency level. There are massive office buildings being erected inside the precincts of government houses for her ladyships; a retinue of staff employed and deployed and recently, entire ministries and agencies are farmed out for the exclusive control of the “First Lady.” All of these, we hasten to state, are illegalities; they are unconstitutional and represent acts of impunity and abuse of office by successive governors and presidents.

    However, the current proposal in the FCT Appropriation Bill must be a new low and indeed, a new frightening dimension in the annals of first ladyship in Nigeria. It is only symptomatic of a reckless era when fiscal prudence and responsibility has been jettisoned. Budgets in Nigeria in recent times have been like garbage bins where all manner of things are dumped. There seems to be not a modicum of thinking, not to mention rigour, applied in budgeting these days. We are still nonplussed by the N14 billion proposed for the completion of a new residence for the vice-president; N6.5 billion for pushing a petroleum bill and multibillion allocations for presidential repast, among such other figures that simply jar the senses in their sheer illogicality.

    We urge the Senate to expunge from the FCT Appropriation Bill without further ado, the proposed N4 billion for the AFLPM headquarters. The Appropriation Bill is too important to the polity to be treated with levity. The National Assembly should, as a matter of urgency, restore sanity to Nigeria’s budgeting process and rescue the nation from the current fiscal anomie.

     

  • Bailout for shippers

    Bailout for shippers

     •In view of our experience, this is not the way to salvage the situation

     

    The Federal Government’s decision to bail out indigenous ship owners to avail them with capacity to undertake international operations must be treated with circumspection. The nation had witnessed bailouts in the aviation, textile and the banking sectors, yet, the performances in these areas are everything but satisfactory.

    This informed our worry when President Goodluck Jonathan, through Olugbenga Oyewole, his Senior Special Assistant on Maritime Services, sounded the public out on the policy move. The president puts it succinctly: “I cannot think of any country that has the kind of cargo that we have and yet, our national vessels are not carrying it. Every other country in the world keeps to their cargo. They carry it by themselves and they are coming to scramble for the ones we have here also…We may not have the capacity but the capacity may not come without government support. What we are trying to do as a government is to create the enabling environment so that they will be able to acquire good vessels. These vessels will fly Nigeria’s flag and will be used as training platforms for our people.”

    It is pertinent to ask: who is again proposing this same initiative that did not yield good dividends in the past? Could it be that the government just realised that ship owners in the country do not have the capacity to undertake international operations, thereby denying them the opportunity to compete globally? Despite the huge ingress and egress of foreign vessels on the nation’s coastal waters, it is sad that indigenous shippers cannot partake in high volume international shipping business.

    Even the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), the marketing arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is reportedly not patronising local shipping companies in moving its petroleum products within the country’s coastal waters. This is against the Coastal Shipping Act, otherwise known as the Cabotage Act.

    Furthermore, the economic implication of millions of barrels of crude oil and other exportable products being daily ferried out of the country in mainly foreign vessels is unfathomable. A study conducted by Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria, (ISAN) put the country’s annual loss to this ugly trend of foreign ship patronage at about N2.1trillion.

    Sadly, for as long as this trend continues, Nigeria would be developing the insurance, legal, engineering and maritime sectors of foreign countries to the detriment of hers. For a country like Nigeria with high rate of unemployment, this is quite serious.

    We want Nigerians to own very good ships that meet up with international specifications. But this should not be at the expense of the tax payers, in view of recent unpalatable experience in that regard. Previous bailouts by governments, whether in shipping or outside it, have not come with inspiring results. More importantly, we believe the situation would be better handled by the private sector. Why should the government be involved in such private-commercial ventures by making available to ship owners trillions of naira of tax payers’ money, which when doled out is capable of distorting the economy?

    In our view, loan initiatives with soft conditionality to willing and serious indigenous ship owners that are genuinely interested in broadening, to meet international standards, is by far a better option. So, the indigenous ship owners should approach the banks for loans. Government bailout is out of it; since they could see it as their own share of the national cake.

     

  • Champions Nigeria!

    Champions Nigeria!

    • Nigeria’s win at AFCON in South Africa is proof the country could attain its potential if the leadership is right

     

    In 1984, Festus Adegboye Onigbinde took a team of rookies to the Nations Cup in Cote d’Ivoire. Though that team comprised the likes of evergreen Muda Lawal (of blessed memory), the moving spirits in that team were the young Turks of Stephen Keshi, Chibuzor Ehilegbu, Humphrey Edobor, Henry Nwosu, Rashidi Yekini (also of blessed memory), Peter Rufai, Ademola Adesina, Clement Temile and others.

    Though Nigeria had won the Nations Cup in Lagos in 1980, it had crashed out with ignominy in the first round of the championship in 1982 in Libya. Coach Onigbinde was therefore clearly rebuilding; and his young team had a fancy run all the way to the final, where a more seasoned Cameroun side of Roger Milla, Theophile Abega (of blessed memory) and Ernest Ebongue triumphed 3-1, after the Eagles had taken an early lead.

    This year, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, ironically a part of that Onigbinde 1984 team, also took a team of rookies to South Africa – not rookies in the classical sense of the 1984 team, mostly players from Nigerian local clubs like New Nigerian Bank, IICC Shooting Stars, Abiola Babes, Stationery Stores and Bendel Insurance.

    But rookies nevertheless in the sense that the bulk of the team were playing their first Nations Cup, while veterans of the competition like Osaze Odemwingie, Taye Taiwo and Obafemi Martins were left out. Keshi made it known to all that he was rebuilding; and that South Africa 2013 was only one of the grills to put his young team through, if it must compete with the global best in the nearest future.

    As it has turned out, five members of Keshi’s team, despite their relative inexperience, made the Africa First XI, based on their superlative performance: Vincent Enyeama (goalkeeper and one of the few with Nations Cup experience), Efe Ambrose (right fullback who plays for Celtic in Scotland), Emmanuel Emenike (the tournament’s Golden Boot winner with four goals) and the Chelsea of England duo of John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses, both match changers and winners for the Eagles. That Sunday Mba, the Warri Wolves match winner against Cote d’Ivoire and cup winner against Burkina Faso did not make the Africa XI, shows the depth of talents the team boasts.

    It is vital to compare Keshi’s team with the 1984 team, rather than the famous 1994 team that won the Nations Cup in Tunis, Tunisia. The 1994 team may have been the climax of what a team built over years could attain; aside from earning Keshi the record of winning AFCON as team captain and now as coach. But the 1984 team was more in tune with Keshi’s present team, giving his umpteenth declaration that the team is still a work-in-progress. But if a work-in-progress wins the Nations Cup, what would the team achieve when it reaches its climax?

    That is the tantalising prospect of these Super Eagles that stunned all Africa at South Africa. That also underscores what Nigeria can achieve in all fields, if only we can put our acts together.

    But the present euphoria should not blind anyone to the team’s rather inauspicious start, before the game-changing quarter-final win against pre-tournament favourites, the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire. How many of those screaming halleluiah after Sunday’s win had any faith in the team only one Sunday before the final?

    That is not good enough. Nigerians must learn to support their teams, instead of clambering on board to hail to high heavens a team they had, with equal intensity, earlier condemned to the doldrums.

    On this score, Coach Keshi, the rest of the technical bench and the Super Eagles deserve plaudits for the way they soldiered on, even when no one believed in them. To those whose creed is turn to foreigners in panic, Keshi has taught Nigerians to believe in themselves. That should be a model national spirit: Nigeria might be the butt of jokes worldwide now, but Nigerians must continue to build their country. If they do, the same world that jeers now would be the one to cheer.

    But that will be possible only if the leadership is right. Nigerian political leaders must therefore take a cue from the spirit of the Eagles. The team triumphed because it had a leadership that believed in it; and asked it to go on and conquer. Nigerian leaders must not only have faith in the country and the vision to push it to hitherto unknown heights, they must have the ability to mobilise and motivate the people for development.

    Let the Eagles triumph therefore force a positive change in our country’s affairs. Congratulations, Champions Nigeria. But it is only the start of the real hard work to sustain the glory and vault our country where it really belongs in the comity of nations – in sports and other areas of life.

     

  • Can we count on FERMA?

    Can we count on FERMA?

    •The agency once again promised to repair all bad roads. But we’ve heard that before

    The deplorable state of federal roads, especially in the south-west, has suddenly caught the attention of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA). But we do not know how far this would go, especially when there was a presidential directive by the Presidency to FERMA, months ago, that all critical Federal Government highways must be fixed by December 2012. Already, we are almost mid-way into the second month of the year and nothing concrete has taken place on these strategic federal roads.

    The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, for instance, has consistently been an object of ridicule for years. Could the problem be that of inadequate funding? FERMA reportedly requires about N320 billion yearly to maintain and put in shape Nigeria’s 194,200 kilometres of roads. According to Olajide Adeniji, the agency’s chairman, 34 percent of this sum will be required for the federal road networks, 16 percent for state roads and 50 percent for local government roads.

    In our view, FERMA should concentrate on federal roads rehabilitation that falls within its purview. After all, despite the fact that the Federal Government spent over N1.05 trillion to develop road networks between 1976 and 2012, during which hundreds of kilometres were purportedly improved, rehabilitated and maintained, the state of roads, especially federal roads across the country, remains pathetic.

    What then has FERMA been doing since inception when its impact cannot be felt by the populace? With the awful state of federal roads across the country, we doubt if the agency has attained its professed 35 per cent efficiency since its establishment.

    We can count quite a few of these bad roads which include: Benin-Asaba-Onitsha Road, Benin-Shagamu (Ofusu-Ajebandele) Road; Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi Road, Sagamu-Port-Harcourt, Lokoja-Abuja and Ewu-Uromi-Agbor roads. Even more obvious are the numerous dangerous craters on the Lagos-Abeokuta and Lagos-Ibadan expressways that are begging for FERMA’s attention. What has happened to the zero potholes target set by the agency? What has happened to the all-important presidential ultimatum of December, 2012?

    In view of this not so inspiring performance and disregard for presidential order, we are not surprised that FERMA still has the effrontery of coming out to pledge its commitment to the rehabilitation, this year, of major highways in the south-west geo-political zone. This is in spite of the fact that the south-west is just one of the six geo-political zones in the nation with roads, that require attention. Most roads in the south-south, south-east and north-central, among others, must be attended to by FERMA as a matter of urgency.

     

  • Tunisia in shock

    Tunisia in shock

    – Belaid killing is wake-up call for national reconciliation

    Of all the countries swept by the Arab spring, Tunisia has been considered the most promising in the way it has handled its political transition. For western states fretting about Egypt and Libya, Tunisia has offered the best chance of an orderly shift from dictatorship to democracy in north Africa.

    In reality, however, Tunisia has been stumbling too – not as alarmingly as others perhaps, but badly enough. This week’s assassination of Chokri Belaid, a prominent anti-Islamist politician, shocked a nation that prides itself on sorting out differences peacefully. It was the deadliest in a string of recent attacks against politicians opposed to the ruling Nahda party. This murder must be investigated by a credible and independent body.

    The Islamist prime minister has now called for a new government of technocrats. This is a step in the right direction, if he can convince his reluctant party to co-operate. But the assassination should also spur a divided political class to unite behind a national project to meet the aspirations of the youth who led the revolution and who still find themselves without jobs and without hope.

    Most important, it must result in a credible commitment from Islamist politicians to punish not only those who commit violence, but also anyone who engages in incitement. Sadly, this has not been the case so far. Since the 2011 uprising, some ultraconservative Salafis have tried to impose their ideology with attacks on women and artists. Nahda leaders have hesitated to respond, afraid of alienating Salafis or radicalising them further.

    Equally distressing are the so-called leagues for the defence of the revolution. These youth gangs have been disrupting opposition meetings and attacking the liberal-secular elite. Whether they work for a faction of Nahda, as liberals argue, or are acting on their own, as Islamists claim, they should be disbanded. Their thuggish behaviour has no place in a democracy.

    It was inevitable that more than three decades of dictatorship and fierce secularism should produce a polarised society. But Islamists cannot take revenge on a repressive past by isolating political opponents; and secularists must accept that Islamists are part of the fabric of Tunisian society.

    Western nations, particularly Europeans, also have a stake in Tunisia’s success. With offers of greater financial support to the Islamist-led government, the EU can win significant leverage and use it to facilitate the political consensus that is dangerously absent in Tunisia.

     

    – Financial Times