Category: Editorial

The allegation of a looming government crackdown on opposition figures is alarming because there can be no democracy without a vibrant opposition

If true, the allegation that the Jonathan Federal Government is plotting a crackdown on key opposition figures should be decried by all. In-built in any democracy is a vibrant opposition. Indeed, while the government is the chief agent of state, the opposition is the soul of any democracy.

This is because the opposition not only criticises and offers alternatives, it also epitomises the idea that government and opposition are two sides of the same coin. The moment that coin is flipped by the electorate, the government can become opposition and opposition can become government. That equal opportunity access to power is what gives democracy its allure; and that is what ensures political stability, and following from that, economic progress in a modern nation state. Therefore, any threat to democratic opposition is a threat to political stability and economic progress.

It is from this prism then that the allegations by Lai Mohammed, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) national publicity secretary, must be viewed. In a statement published in newspapers on January 9, Alhaji Mohammed alleged that the Jonathan Presidency was plotting a crackdown on key opposition figures: former military Head of State, Major-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the 2011 elections, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, national leader of the ACN, the leading opposition party, and an unnamed former security chief.

Their alleged offence? According to Alhaji Mohammed, trying to galvanise a united opposition phalanx to legally wrest power from the federal ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015; and the government’s alleged motive, by the crackdown, was to scuttle this project.

Alhaji Mohammed further alleged that preliminary work in the alleged plot had started in earnest by demonising Tinubu in online publications, and by trying to link Buhari to the Boko Haram insurrection (by his reported nomination by the group to be a go-between between it and the Federal Government), and therefore tar him as a rabid Islamist and anarchist. Alhaji Mohammed further alleged that the looming swoop would complete the nefarious plot.

The Jonathan administration had not, at the time of going to press, denied this allegation.

In other climes, these charges would look ludicrous: why would a ruling party, in a democracy, swoop on leading opposition figures, for the perfectly legitimate and lawful steps of organising themselves to capture power? Isn’t that what the opposition is guaranteed in a democracy?

However, in the Nigerian peculiar clime of intolerance and perpetual devilish plots in high-stake political battles, nothing can be dismissed – and that tendency did not just start today.

The First Republic (1960-1966) abysmally collapsed because the ruling clique would willy-nilly suppress the opposition. The classic case was the federal ruling Northern People’s Congress (NPC) and allies who planted intra-party insurrection in the Action Group (AG) of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Federal Opposition Leader; and sponsored a contrived emergency in the Western Region where the AG was the ruling party. That crisis, and the fierce resistance by the rump of the AG, started the beginning of the end for that republic.

In the Second Republic (1979-1983), aside from other acts of political intolerance, the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN), in an act which clearly would foreshadow Alhaji Mohammed’s allegations if they are true, pounced on Alhaji Shugaba Darman, Majority Leader in the Borno State House of Assembly, then under the control of the Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim-led Great Nigeria People’s Party (GNPP), and declared him an alien. Within the virtual twinkle of an eye, Alhaji Shugaba had been bundled across the border into Chad, where the Federal Government of President Shehu Shagari claimed poor Shugaba was native! It took a legal rally by the Awolowo Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) to reverse this political crime against an innocent citizen and restore Shugaba’s citizenship and privileges.

Even in the present republic, Justice Ayo Salami has been a victim of political persecution, simply because he followed the law; and ruled as it directed in rigged gubernatorial polls in Ekiti and Osun states. Though President Goodluck Jonathan prides himself as a rule-of-law president, he has in the Salami case aligned himself with a rule-of-the-jungle temper, by stubbornly refusing to reinstate the innocent jurist, even after the National Judicial Council (NJC) had recommended that Justice Salami be reinstated.

While the cited examples over three republics in a spade of 52 years do not still confirm that Alhaji Mohammed’s allegations are true and that the feared crackdown is inevitable, the examples nonetheless underscore that the crackdown is not an outright impossibility. It is this shred of plausibility, no matter how thin, that should bother all lovers of democracy in Nigeria.

Again, at best, democracy without a sound opposition is a joke; and, at worst, a travesty that might harvest trouble for the republic. So, the sanctity of the opposition cannot be compromised, because it measures the good health of the political system.

That is why it is imperative to warn those accused of the plot to back off, for the sake of all. If the game is played according to the rules, the sky is wide enough for every power bird to fly. The polity must not descend into bestiality, just because the present powers-that-be fancy they can sneak in a temporary but illicit advantage.

That would be the way to political Golgotha, which must be averted by every patriot.

•Bishop Hyacinth Egbebor was right in identifying corrupt leadership as impediment to national development

The sermon by Catholic Bishop Hyacinth Egbebor at the funeral mass for the late General Andrew Owoye Azazi in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State on December 29 is a good example of the role expected of men of God in the all-important task of cleansing the Nigerian society. As this newspaper has consistently maintained, taming the corruption monster is a desideratum if Nigeria is to truly assume the position of ‘giant of Africa’. In every sector and at every turn, corruption in various forms – financial, material and institutional – stares us in the face and threatens the country’s existence.

At the centre of it all is a rapacious ruling class and elite that has refused to be patriotic. Until leaders emerge who buy into the need to develop Nigeria by ridding it of vices that have held it hostage over the years, it is impossible to take the needed step forward.

In these days when men of the cassock have taken to massaging the bloated egos of those in power, it is a welcome relief that a bishop could seize that solemn moment to make his point as succinctly as Bishop Egbebor did. He admonished that debasement of values and irresponsible accumulation of the common wealth by the privileged few might have caused the air crash that claimed the lives of the late Patrick Yakowa who, until his demise, was governor of Kaduna State, and Azazi, who retired as a four-star General and Chief of Defence Staff before his appointment as National Security Adviser.

Their deaths had raised posers over who is entitled to fly military helicopters. The fact that they were allowed to use one of the few helicopters bought by the Navy for surveillance underscores the tendency in the country to corrupt values. This is not the case in other countries.

At the time General Azazi and Governor Yakowa died, they were not on official duty, but social engagement. How did attendance of the burial of a presidential aide amount to enhancing the welfare of the people of Kaduna State which was the primary purpose for which Yakowa was elected? Or, how could it have contributed to promoting security of the coastline for which fund was appropriated to procure the aircraft?

What the bishop demonstrated in that homily was that all Nigerians must speak out and engage their leaders at every opportunity. In a country where adherents of the different religions revere their leaders, those who claim to have been called to the duty of ministering to souls should follow the example of founders of the religions and prophets of old who spoke truth to power. Ironically, leaders of some Christian denominations have become too close to power that they risk ultimately losing the respect of their followers.

President Jonathan committed a fallacy in his response to the bishop’s holy words. He sniped back by saying that the problem of Nigeria was not corruption but attitude. But is our attitude not corrupt? That is a clear case of either intellectual ineptitude or fraud for the president to fail to understand the nuance. Attitude can be corrupt, and that was the point the clergy made and it was lost on the president.

Bishop Egbebor’s courage is commendable, especially when President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife, governors, ministers and the top echelon of the military were at the service. The applause received by the bishop’s comment and the blank stare that greeted the rather tame response by the President who would rather blame underdevelopment on attitudes of the citizens, underscores the popularity of the view expressed by the bishop.

Nigeria can only be saved from the brink if the clergy, media, judiciary and civil society hearken to the national call to arise as compatriots and make the exploiters uncomfortable.

•The country must improve both its preventive and responsive capabilities

As Nigerians struggle to come to terms with the devastation that fire disasters inflicted across the country in recent times, it is tragic that their difficulties are being compounded by the widespread absence of proper preventive and remedial measures.

Two incidents demonstrate this worrying situation. The first was the alleged disappearance of fireworks from a store that had been sealed off in Jankara Market in Lagos, following the inferno of December 26. The second was the outbreak of fire at Ikoku Market in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in which many shops were destroyed.

Both incidents encapsulate the profound inability of the country’s security agencies and disaster-management services to address the underlying issues that make fire outbreaks so common. In the Jankara case, two other warehouses in which fireworks were stored allegedly belonged to the same individual whose store caused the earlier fire. These warehouses were sealed off by the police as part of their investigations into the matter. However, the fireworks in one store were removed overnight, allegedly on the orders of a senior police official.

It is obvious that this action was undertaken to frustrate ongoing investigations into the Jankara fire and protect the investment of whoever imported the fireworks. Those aims run counter to the Lagos State Government’s determination to find out how prohibited items were imported into the country, cleared at the ports and delivered to the market despite the profusion of security agencies.

If the disappearance of fireworks in Jankara is demonstrative of weak follow-up procedures, the fire outbreak in Ikoku Market is indicative of poor preventive measures. The fire took place in the early hours of New Year’s Day, when many Nigerians were commemorating the occasion in places of worship. The market, which deals mainly in automotive spare parts, apparently did not have fire extinguishers on the premises. There was no clearly outlined fire drill which could have enabled an immediate and organised response to the fire. The state’s fire service declined to show up, claiming that it did not have water. The fire-fighting unit of a multinational oil company which tried to help could not get to the market due to the lack of access roads.

When the absence of preventive measures is combined with poorly-implemented investigative procedures, the result is that fire disasters will continue unabated, regardless of how much destruction is wrought upon lives and property. If adequate care is not taken, Nigeria may return to the bad old days of the early eighties when the country suffered a rash of fire outbreaks in public buildings, allegedly caused by individuals seeking to destroy evidence of fraud.

The curtailing of fire outbreaks must be treated with the seriousness that it deserves. An important first step is that of increasing public awareness of fire-prevention measures. It is amazing that regular fire drills are an almost-unknown occurrence in the country, in spite of their obvious importance. In addition, government agencies must ensure that building codes which provide for the installation of fire exits, fire alarm systems and the provision of fire service access are adhered to without exception.

The habit of providing just one entry and exit point in buildings and on housing estates must be discontinued forthwith. There must also be increased investment in the training of fire-fighting personnel and the provision of requisite equipment. Standard post-incident investigative procedures must be strictly obeyed, and anyone who attempts to abridge them must suffer sanctions accordingly.

As the country begins a new year, we hope that sustained efforts will be made to limit the agony and sorrow caused by fire disasters to the barest minimum.

A committee of central bankers and regulators from more than two dozen countries, including the United States, has disappointingly given in to lobbying by big banks and watered down important rules meant to strengthen the global financial system. The change will let banks include risky financial instruments like corporate bonds and mortgage-backed securities as part of their liquid asset reserves, which are meant to cover up to 30 days of cash outflows during crises. And the banks have until 2019, not 2015, to comply fully with the easier standards. Each nation will decide when and how to implement the rules.

The committee unanimously rolled back the so-called Basel III rules that were adopted in 2010 to make them “more realistic,” said Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England. The banks argued that requiring them to hold most of their liquid reserves as cash and government securities would restrict their ability to lend to small businesses and consumers because they would have less money to lend.

The problem is that the new assets defined as liquid are precisely those that banks found difficult to value and trade in 2008. Relying on them to provide liquidity during a crisis is a recipe for disaster, said Anat Admati, a professor of finance and economics at Stanford University.

But the banks want to be allowed to hold more such assets because they are more profitable than cash or government bonds, like 10-year Treasury notes, which were yielding just 1.86 percent a year on Wednesday. Big banks also know that in a crisis they would likely receive emergency loans and capital from central banks and their governments, so why tie up their reserves with assets that provide only modest returns?

Coming four years after the failure of Lehman Brothers, the dilution of liquidity standards suggests that banks are again dictating policy in ways that will put the world at greater risk of another crisis. Policy makers in Washington and other capitals need to ask banking regulators to hold the line on the very limited progress made so far.

New York Times

It is becoming a scandal

Imo State civil servants resumed work on Monday, after a two-week holiday declared by the state government, supposedly to enable them celebrate the Christmas and New Year. It was such a big relief that the governor, Rochas Okorocha, did not extend the holidays, as it is becoming increasingly difficult to second-guess him when the issue is declaration of holidays.

The governor announced the holiday at Owerri City School, Owerri, when he addressed the civil servants in December last year. The holiday started December 21, 2012, and ended January 7. The governor also gave them N10,000 each as end-of-year bonus.

Governor Okorocha used the occasion to review his government’s activities in the 19 months that he has been in office, which is quite in order. But this should be with a view to looking at what he has done right as well as improving on his shortcomings. The governor apparently was satisfied with his performance, and, like the lizard that fell from a wall but which no one appreciated, felt the civil servants, as partners in whatever progress his government has made, deserved the rest to get them refreshed for the tasks in the new year. But this is not the general view in the state.

This two-week holiday is about the latest in Governor Okorocha’s scandals of indulgence. There is no immediate record that any such holiday has been granted anywhere, even as its desirability would remain a topic for discussion for a long time to come.Indeed, the rate at which the governor is declaring public holidays gives the impression that Imo State has conquered its environment, a thing many people in the state would readily contest. Just last October, Governor Okorocha literally shut down the state for three days, to celebrate his birthday as well as the 10th anniversary of the Rochas Foundation and the graduation of over 1,000 pupils of the Rochas Foundation College, his personal initiative. It would not come as a surprise if the state is grounded just to enable people attend the governor’s naming ceremony whenever his wife gives birth.

It is a bundle of disappointment for Imo State people that a governor they elected on a groundswell of goodwill and great expectations is the very one trivialising the serious business of governance. The way things are, the governor does not even seem perturbed about public perception of his administration or style. If he did, he would not have given the civil servants the long break, considering the criticisms that trailed the earlier extraordinary holidays that he awarded workers in the state in the past.

Imo State is a place where workers should ‘sleep zero night’ and work, if possible, for more than 24 hours in a day, considering its level of development and dearth of infrastructural facilities. Now, the governor is threatening contractors who disappear after getting mobilisation fees that it would not be business as usual this year. He also announced his intention to focus on industrial development and ensure the completion of some landmark projects. We wonder how these will be achieved given his penchant for holidays, flamboyance and pleasure.

Obviously Governor Okorocha did not consider the economic costs of these unusual holidays to the state. His government is boasting that it already has three months’ workers’ salaries (December 2012 – February 2013) in its kitty; but, that cannot be the only reason for the existence of government. The governor must face the business of governance more responsibly. As a matter of fact, he does not need to threaten contractors; the moment they see he is giving the desired leadership, they automatically fall into line. Imo State needs all the seriousness that can be mustered in the sober business of governance. Governor Okorocha should make a new year resolution to settle down to this serious business.

•The prevention of the fiscal cliff threat was victory over partisan wrangles

The last-minute compromise between the Barak Obama presidency and Congress to avert what is popularly known as the ‘fiscal cliff’ showcases, once again, the delicate balance and complexity that nurtures the beauty of American democracy. If the deal had not been reached at the nick of time before January 1, the fiscal cliff would have automatically triggered tax increases of about $536 billion and spending cuts of about $109 billion from domestic and military programmes.

Economic experts believe this would most probably have sent the US economy back into recession, with negative implications not only for the US economy but also the fragile global economy. President Obama’s emphatic re-election victory without doubt enhanced his negotiating strength. For, this was an affirmation of popular confidence in his leadership. Yet, despite his presidential veto and his personal appeal to a majority of the electorate, Obama still has to contend with a House of Representatives controlled by the Republicans who also enjoy a blocking majority in the Democrats–controlled Senate.

This scenario thus made it imperative for both sides to give up hard-line positions and reach a common ground in the national interest. The delicate balance of interests in the American polity reflects both the sophistication of the electorate and deliberate safeguards in the system to prevent an unhealthy monopoly of power by any single tendency or party.

Ever since President George W. Bush pushed through massive tax cuts worth $1.7 billion in 2001, which were to expire in 2011, there has been the need for continuous compromise on the part of key stakeholders in the American governmental process to ensure the healthy management of the country’s public finances. Thus, in 2010, a deal was reached to extend the Bush-era tax cuts by two years, while the Republicans agreed to a general payroll tax cut for citizens. And in 2011, President Obama once again reached a compromise with the Republican-controlled congress to extend the debt ceiling – the US government’s borrowing levels – to December 31, 2012, when the Bush tax cuts expired.

From his initial insistence that taxes must rise on all those earning above $250,000, President Obama agreed, in the spirit of compromise, to raise the threshold to $400,000. In the same vein, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, a Republican, wanted the Bush tax cuts to expire only for those earning above $1 million. However, this position did not enjoy the support of even militant members of his party who were mindful of the dangers of going over the fiscal cliff. Other elements of the fiscal cliff deal include increase in taxes for families earning more than $450,000 and individuals above $400,000 a year. However, all other categories will continue to pay the same tax rate with the bottom line being 10 per cent for those earning below $9,000.

While Obama conceded employee pay roll taxes rising back to 6.2 per cent from 4.2 per cent, with the elimination of his 2010 two percent point cut to this category of taxes, the Republicans agreed to a one-year extension for unemployment benefits affecting two million people at a cost of $30 billion. The extension, for five years, of 2009 tax cuts, including child credit and credit for attending university, was also agreed upon. Similarly, inheritance taxes have increased from 35 per cent to 40 per cent after the first $5 million for an individual and $10 million for a couple. And without the deal, rises in capital gains taxes affecting investment income would have been 39.6 per cent rather than the 20 per cent agreed upon.

Of course, there are lessons in all these for Nigeria. Firstly, politics is serious business. Secondly, the budgetary process is critical to the success of any economy. Thirdly, the public good must supersede partisan considerations.