The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Let a dying nation come alive

    Let a dying nation come alive

    CAN it be truly said that because Nigerians know where they are coming from, they know where they are heading to? Can we really see clearly as a people the downward slump the nation keeps sprawling into with daily occurrences? Have we as citizens of this nation become walking corpses?

    Reggae music legend Bob Marley’s popular album, Exodus remains in line with Scriptural leaning about the movement of people. In the title song, he asked essentially: “Look within, are you satisfied with the life you are living?” This is a fundamental question for the Nigerians of today in view of what is going on in the country.

    Life is becoming meaningless. Stories of mindless killings, whether by bombings, shootings or mob attacks have become habitual episode being sidetracked to national pattern. Justice is turning out to commodity in the market of buying and selling. Avoidable disasters of all manners are being absorbed as part of global phenomenon. Many more now die before their times in ways God would not be asserted blame for the errors. Rather, they are more of signs of the end-time.

    I watched the video of the barbaric slaughter of the four UNIPORT students online. My heart sank seeing the level of depression of the spirit of the common man wasting innocent lives. Let’s even assume that it was true that the young undergraduates stole laptop and blackberry handset. Must they be the ones receiving the ultimate judgment from a mob? What about those scooping the nation’s resources in billions of cash into private purses? Ironically, those are the ones being hailed as society’s big men and honoured as success – with justice being turned upside down.

    Before this was prevalence of iniquitous manslaughters of the future generation across the nation. Go to Mubi in Adamawa State, scores of students of the Federal Polytechnic were either shot or macheted by suspected colleagues for no justification. The sad case of Nassarawa State University postgraduate student Cynthia Ozukogu, brutalized, chained and put to death by her Facebook social media friends remains a distressing and depressing story. Many more of such inhumanity filling the pages of newspapers.

    More than any other time in the history of this nation, kidnapping has become an order of the day. Just the same way, armed robbery keeps harassing the peace and security of the society without practicable solution. Many tales are being told of arrests of kidnappers and armed robbers, but records of judgment upon the culprit remain miserably scanty. This means the sustainability of criminality as there is hardly a precautionary trend to dissuade perpetrators.

    Same has been the chronicle of Boko Haram terrorism. The sect has shaken the north eastern part of the country and the federal capital with suicide bombings and shootings for a while. Several hundreds of innocent lives have been wasted alongside properties of value. Till date, prosecution of the arrested many of the terrorists remains hanging.

    What a nation? What a people? Unrighteousness has enveloped the land with afflictions. Natural disasters are taking over as recompense. There is what scientists with the wisdom of man now label as global warming. Yet, not all nations of the world are being afflicted. But Nigeria is experiencing overwhelming flooding in several parts today, rendering many homeless. The disaster is plainly being linked to global warming. Yes, it may be so. But going deeper should make one understand the catastrophe as compensation for the consequence of reigning intrigues and atrocities in the land.

    Beyond the tales of adversities, what else do we have to be glorified as a nation? Not only a prostrate, distraught and strangulated territory, but a realm saddled with levels of most corrupt and apathetic populace. As the much endowed resources flowing in are being pocketed by the advantaged few, the country is dwindling to wretchedness and penury, straining the unprivileged majority to be pressured to make it also at all cost. While those in power and their connections are enmeshed in corruption and fraud, those outside power are getting trapped in assorted criminalities. This is to say, since the head has become rotten, the bulk is decomposing and decaying.

    The slump is manifesting all around. Yearly budgets are no more than mere formalities. Federal legislators are presently combating the authorities over pitiable performance of the existing budget and yet presenting a bulkier one for the coming year – with barely anything on the ground to show for performance. In the Nigeria of today, government hospitals are becoming consigned mortuaries; sales of failed public properties – like NITEL and lately PHCN, are hardly done with purity; the poor desiring to eat from dustbins and decomposing waste-heaps are getting frustrated by the day as such sources of livelihood hardly offer anything anymore.

    If there is any contentment by the downtrodden, it must perhaps be because the oppressed has not suffered enough to the point of death. The reality is that the only category pretending to be enjoying the good of the land today are the kleptomaniacs, fraudsters in and out of government and the growing dupers of varied hues.

    Why are we where we are without making progress? Let’s go back to the dawn of December 31, 1983. The civilian administration under Alhaji Shehu Shagari was then being sacked by the military junta hungry for a return to power. By the grace of history, we can recollect the major actors who eventually became rulers that further dragged the nation down to the valley.

    But first, let’s hear the voice of Gen. Sani Abacha on that dawn of military take-over:

    “You are all living witnesses to the grave economic predicaments and uncertainty which an inept and corrupt leadership has imposed on our beloved nation. I am referring to the harsh and intolerable conditions under which we are now living.

    “Our economy has been hopelessly mismanaged. We have become a debtor and beggar nation. There is inadequacy of food at reasonable price for our people who are now fed up with endless announcement of importation of foodstuffs. Health services are in shambles as our hospitals are reduced to mere consulting clinics without drug, water and equipment.

    “Our educational system is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Unemployment figures, including the graduates, have reached embarrassing and unacceptable proportions. In some states, workers rae being owed salaries and there are threats of salary cuts. Yet our leaders revel in squandermania and corruption; and indiscipline continues to be the bane of the nation’s proliferated public appointment in complete disregard for our stark economic realities.”

    This is almost 29 years after. There have been successive administrations. How much has changed? The man who lamented on air then later forced his way in to reign and rule after his co-coup plotter, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida who collaboratively annulled the people’s choice ten years later was forced to “step aside.”

    Ponder again on Bob Marley’s cry: “Look within; are you satisfied with the life you are living?” Indeed, is your life better off than what it was in 1983? The concept of transformation might sound positive. But the veracity of it is what it impacts on the people’s sensibilities and lives. It must go beyond partisanship.

    Any leadership working for self will never move the people out of the miry clay. Rather than serving public interest, personal enhancement through elongated tenureship becomes prioritized. This is why those contented with the inglorious happenings in the land are the ones contending with the concept of a Sovereign National Conference that would have made Nigerians to speak out their minds and work out restoration of lost glories on the pathway to their destinies.

    But since nothing seems to be working other than atrocities and mayhem, now the National Assembly is considering the review of the militarily-enforced constitution. But would the populace see this as another opportunity opening up for a meaningful turn-around? Will there be sincerity and true love for the people in the heart of those at the helm?

    Devoted thought cannot be for retention of position of power or to benefit from the suffering of the masses. It is only in righteousness that the broken walls of this nation can be rebuilt. It is then that the hope and aspiration of true greatness can be restored and the glory we once had rejuvenated.

    Let it be known that tough time will not last for ever only if tough people are devoted to goodness and righteousness.

     

  • How Gowon re-integrated Igbos after the war

    How Gowon re-integrated Igbos after the war

    The ghost of the Biafran rebellion of 1966-1970 (note 1966, not 1967) was recently resurrected by Chinua Achebe, in a war memoir provocatively titled “There Was A Country”. Whether that controversial title is an attempt to ascribe post-mortem “state-status” to the failed dream of a sovereign Biafra, or a present-day denial of the collapse – 42 years ago – of that misadventure by a present-day octogenarian, or simply a continuation of the revisionism by pro-Biafra sympathizers keen on re-writing a version of the war history favourable to their dream, remains open to debate.

    I happen to belong to a generation that was born around the war period, which places me in my mid-40s today. Now in a county with a life expectancy of 45 years, one should feel lucky to still be alive to witness elders, at least twice one’s age commenting on events that correspond in occurrence to the time of one’s birth. But that sense of gratitude is violently affronted when the comments of one such elder and a venerated scholar, Chinua Achebe, distort historical facts. His reckless allegation of “genocide” against General Yakubu Gowon, who ruled Nigeria at the war period, is not only a gross fabrication but tantamount to biting the very fingers that fed the Igbos at a difficult and trying moment of brutal conflict, when a less sympathetic and more vengeful character would have acted with severe and drastic ruthlessness.

    As soon as Achebe’s account went viral on the social media, I became tempted to revisit the entire catalogue of the false assertions in the book that I deemed untrue, and to bring historical evidence to bear in their refutation. But for reasons of time and space, I have chosen simply to enumerate some of the policies implemented by Gen Gowon, both in the course of the Biafran rebellion and its aftermath in order to facilitate the re-integration and rehabilitation of our Igbo brothers and sisters into a federal Nigeria, rather than pursue a pointless contestation with Achebe. I consider such approach more beneficial to our younger generation for whom the Biafran rebellion is only a distant history, just as the second world war appeared to my own generation.

    The first thing to note about Gowon’s attitude to the Biafran rebellion was that the refused to view the conflict as a war with a foreign foe. Accordingly, he declared a “police action” rather than a war against the secessionists. And this came only after seven different attempts by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) at peaceful resolution of the conflict, in addition to the “Aburi” meeting and subsequent fateful declaration of secession by Ojukwu. Moreover, in the course of the armed confrontation itself, General Gowon directed the issuance of a code of conduct for all federal troops which required the rebel forces to be treated “fairly and decently” as well as the strict observance of the Geneva convention in the course of operations by federal troops.

    Specifically, the code of conduct required that under no circumstances should pregnant women be ill-treated or killed. Children must not be molested or killed; they should be protected and cared for. Hospitals, Hospital staff and patients should not be molested. Biafran soldiers who surrender will not be killed, but disarmed and treated as prisoners of war and were entitled in all circumstances to humane treatment and respect for their person and honour. No property, building, etc was to be destroyed maliciously and no looting of any kind was permitted. Women were to be protected against attack on their person and honour, and in particular against rape or indecent assault. Wounded soldiers and civilian were to be protected and given medical care, etc.

    After the cessation of hostilities, General Gowon declared general amnesty to all Biafran troops which exonerated them from prosecution for treason and other war crimes and offences (no victor, no vanquished). Many soldiers who fought on the Biafran side were reabsorbed into the federal armed forces after the war.

    General Gowon’s compassion, mercy and kindness were not limited to fighting soldiers alone. He undertook the resettlement of displaced persons and rebuilding physical facilities in the East. Ex-Biafran civil servants who were in the public service at the regional level were permitted to report to their new states for reabsorbtion, while those at the federal level were also eligible for reabsorbtion into the federal service if they so desired. Each returning civil servant in the East received salary advance as “mercy pay” along with three weeks leave to enable them settle down after the war. Gowon also appointed for the first time and without precedent two Igbo civilians, Ukpabi Asika and J.O.J. Okezie, to represent the East Central State in the Supreme Military Council, which was the highest policy organ in the Country.

    Gowon also established a National Rehabilitation Commission under M. Timothy Omo-Bare and saddled it with the task of collection and distribution of drugs and other humanitarian gifts from foreign governments and international NGOs, a responsibility later transferred to the Federal Ministry of Economic Development and Reconstruction to expedite the flow of relief materials to war affected areas. Moreover, Gowon ensured that sips carrying relief materials were granted advance clearance at Nigerian ports and accorded duty-free entry by Customs. Foreign relief workers were automatically granted visas at Nigeria Embassies abroad upon clearance with the Director of Relief Operations.

    As part of the reconstruction and rehabilitation in the war affected areas, Gowon restored telephone link between Lagos and the East Central State within three months after the surrender of Biafra. The Onitsha Bridge which was the major link between the east and the west was reconstructed also within three months of the cessation of hostilities. Within a single year of ending the war, most manufacturing industries were reactivated in the east, and the cement factories in Calabar and Nkalagu were re-commissioned into production. To revamp agricultural production in the war affected areas in the East, Gowon also set up the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to support agriculture and provide loans to farmers although many of the loan recipients in the east “diverted them to other areas of business instead of agriculture” (Ojeleye 2010, p89).

    Yet 42 years after the war, revisionists afflicted with the peculiar Nigerian ailment of selective amnesia, are now re-branding the same architect of our modern Nigeria, General Gowon, as a genocidal tyrant. But what did neutral foreign observers have to say on Gowon’s reconciliation efforts? Harold Wilson the British Prime Minister characterized it as “magnanimity in victory”. The Danish Ambassador to Nigeria, Trocis Munk, commented that “where yesterday we saw recriminations, distrust and destructions, we find today reconciliation, compassion and reconstruction”.

    With the benefit of hindsight, it became evident that the Biafran leadership were the very architects of Biafran destruction, who set out to mislead innocent Igbo men and women into unnecessary rebellion in gratification of their selfish motives of personal aggrandizement.

    •Poloma writes from School of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Limerick, Ireland.

  • Re- Achebe’s horde of attackers

    Re- Achebe’s horde of attackers

    In this column last week, I authored an article with the above headline. Reactions to it have been overwhelming. In those reactions, new posers were raised by contributors for which they would want my opinion. It is not my intention to commence a fresh debate on the matter. However, since the issue raised is central to the anger of those calling for Achebe’s head; it will be unfair on my part to ignore the question.
    I hereby reproduce some of those contributions with a little comment on the first:
    I dare say that like many Nigerians who have commented on the book, I have only read excerpts. One aspect of the excerpt that I read and which I think is galling to most Yoruba commentators and which Igbo commentators conveniently ignored is Achebe’s reference to the fact that Awolowo deliberately instituted these policies as a strategy to reduce the population of the Igbo whom Awolowo had identified as major obstacle to Yoruba ascendancy in Nigeria. What is your comment? 08027854444
    First, it must be stated that one is not holding brief for the author. As for the underlying motive for that policy; all that is evident is that those were Achebe’s impression, apparently arrived at through his perception of events before, during and since after the war. Being personal perceptions as he regularly admitted, they are essentially normative. Value-laden and prescriptive statements do not lend themselves to scientific rigor.  It is possible that another person who passed through the same experience could come up with a different or even similar conclusion. But we are yet to see such an effort from the hurried criticisms that have trailed the book. (End of comment)
    A man who runs and looks back never wins a race. Tell Achebe to write about future betterment prospects for our youths. Achebe lives in the USA today after the supreme prize paid by blacks for racial wars and slavery. In every house there comes a time to play and a time to fight among brothers. Achebe is diminishing his writing career to that of a tribal post war documenter.08090809030
    What some people fail to understand is that at the level of Achebe’s intellectualism, what is needed is the courage to speak and write the truth, state things as they are without fear or favor. That is what Achebe did. He wrote in his usual forthright manner. He did not display cowardice or hero worshipping which has come to characterize discourse on national issues these days. 08036724780.
    Bless you for telling Nigerians the truth. You are a fine writer. 08039568640
    Thank you for your piece. You spoke the mind and stand of the Igbo people.08038522961
    Thank you for your wonderful piece. Please keep the flag flying and the fire burning. We are proud of your courage and persuasion. Please let nothing daunt you. 08033334963.
    I really appreciate your write-up. You are one of the people that stand by the truth. One of Achebe’s critics did ask where else have the Igbo prospered most outside the south-east if not in Yoruba land. But this is beside the issue. The Igbo are a strong pillar in this country. 08024277773.
    It is evidently clear now that an average Igbo man harbors a ‘siege’ mentality which will not help the Igbo cause by any stretch of the imagination. I was in primary school during the war and the Igbo in my village suffered no humiliation. For your greed coupled with this Achebe war, Igbo presidency is up in smoke, at least while those of us who are 50+are alive and if Nigeria remains as it is. After the Igbo, the Hausas are the problem of Nigeria. 08030719220.
    I think it is ridiculous that our newspapers are flooded by bitter people like Fani-Kayode. It is laughably sad. How can we base our opinion on a paragraph of the book? Can we please read the book before blabbering? Like Achebe rightly said, “If you don’t like someone’s story, write your own’’ From Jemima, 08168709598
    I thank God that people like Achebe still live today and I thank you too for your proper analysis of the issue. Whatever they like, let them say or do. Awolowo’s role during the war is known and embedded in the hearths of Ndigbo unless you were not born before the war. His election campaign at Aba in 1979, what happened and why him alone? Bar. From Okechukwu, 08037235640
    Do you know why our country is sinking deeper and deeper after 52 years of flag independence? It is our knack to play the ostrich. Your piece is a clincher. Even that stated by the author is a notorious credo in the psyche of the post-war Igbo children who have been constantly demanding explanation from their parents of the reason for their sorry state in their own country.08093912933
    Like your brother one Arthur Anyaduba in The Nation of Sunday October, 14 edition, you should realize that people opposed to the convocation of a sovereign national conference are the people pretending that Nigerians are happy with themselves. You must be funny to think that the Nigerian government will design any policy that would have favored Biafra during the pogrom. Please Nigeria is the only recorded country in history that supplied food to the people that took up arms against her in the bid to secede. Igbo people should at least thank their stars that Papa Awolowo was not the head of state to do those things you said he did. Had Biafra the capacity to inflict genocide on Nigeria so as to win the war, they certainly would have done worse. People like Ojukwu, Achebe and others abandoned the Igbo and escaped to foreign lands at the peak of the war. It is convenient to make a scapegoat of Papa Awolowo and the Yoruba. And of course, when a Yoruba defends Yoruba, he is a tribalist but when the Igbo defend the Igbo, he is a nationalist. From Musa Baka, 08186589860.
    Those hurling invectives at Achebe are people who speak from both sides of the mouth because of selfish motives. Whether they say and stand for the truth, it does not change their standing in the Nigerian system. From Victor Samuel, 08074843298.
    Thank you for your-well written soul-searching objective work. Take note I am neither of Igbo nor Yoruba origin. From Bar. Obaro,  08033208558.
    Why did Achebe not deal with the people who diverted the food meant for the civilians? Did you or Achebe feel that should continue? Please let us not put these in the young ones. Boko haram is killing more Igbos in the north and nobody is talking.08056749385.
    Awolowo was the architect behind the fall of the Igbo nation. We have been told of the role he played together with that of Gowon and Ojukwu. So who is to apologize to whom? Injuries can be healed but the scars cannot be erased from the body.08039407702
    Let the truth be told. I do not see anything wrong in Achebe’s mention of Awolowo in his book. I shudder at the parochial nature of some commentators. 08033282957
    I really appreciate your objective analysis to some people’s reaction to Achebe’s book. Is Awolowo not human? Can’t he make mistakes? Achebe’s literary prowess is wonderful. From Dr. Saheed Adeyemo, 08023907157
    It is an excellent analysis. Truth is bitter and only truth will heal the open wound of conscience. We should be careful of the steps we take because there is always a time for accountability. 08039475550
    In spite of Awolowo’s defence of his role Achebe still reached and insisted in his faulty conclusion. What is this phobia about Awolowo wanting power and had to ‘eliminate’ the Igbo to achieve this or that? 08034726625.
  • Fashola empowers young farmers

    Fashola empowers young farmers

    Even though many right-thinking Nigerians are of the opinion that government alone, cannot develop agriculture, especially in a state like Lagos where the population triples on a daily basis, the idea of Agric Yes Programme by Governor Raji Fashola is on the right track.

    Agric Yes Programme which means Agriculture Youth Empowerment Scheme initiated by the Lagos State Government which has been in operation since 2009 is aimed at keeping the youths busy and making them be part of the agricultural revaluation in the state. The programme which the state government created to essentially target the youths in the state has so far engaged over 300 youths in different farm settlements in the state.

    At the moment about one hundred of such youths are undergoing training in different aspects of farming system and settlements so that in the end they will be given loans through different cooperatives societies to be their own masters. The training institute located at Epe, a marine and agrarian town in the state is an ideal place to locate and quarter farmers for the huge tasks ahead.

    Epe is noted for its large natural reserves and contributions to the economy of the state through water warp transportation, fishing and farming. And so far the fishermen to consider it adequate and ideal for the training of the Agric Yes programme students shows how concerted and committed government is towards agriculture revaluation in the state. This is something to be commended and emulated for the sakes the citizenry.

    The over all aim of this project, in the thinking of government, is to bread a new generation of young and committed farmers with unbridled entrepreneurial ability to produce and be their own masters. Those who specialized in poultry or fish-farming as the case may be, will be reposition themselves for the greater challenges ahead.

    Government has even enlarged the scheme to include bee-breeding and vegetable farming in such a way that with such varieties, there will be enough areas for the youths to veer into. As it is now, the six months training period has been commended by some of the students. A certain Bukola whose sole dream is to veer into large scale fish-farming on graduation is to use the opportunity to train more people in future. Bukola is from Somolu centre, where she has lived all her life, yet she sees the Epe environment apt and conducive for agricultural settlement.

    A couple of other enthusiastic participants admitted that years of idleness and graduating without jobs are over. They cannot wait to be entrepreneurs and business directors. This is more encouraging particularly as the Fashola – led administration equally empowers graduates with their own plots of land to assist them go into mechanised agriculture, unhindered.

    In its wisdom to ensure that participation is widely spread devoid of ethnicity or class or social standing in the society, the state government usually advertise the programme in the dailies. In a recent statement credited to Hakeem Anjolaiye, one of the course officers, the first step after collating the names, is organise an intensive test to decide those who are genuinely interested in farming. Thereafter, those found worthy are invited to proceed to the next stage. Each student then indicates where he/her interest is most deserving.

    It is interesting to note that it is only a government that is fully committed to the welfare of the people that can be so touched as to prepare its teeming youths for the future. Fashola has done so and is even doing more to prepare for the seemingly difficult years ahead especially now that the floods have ravaged many farms and food storage facilities across the country. Fashola has always come many years ahead of his contemporaries. By the time other states are still gnashing their teeth and bemoaning their fortunes, Lagos State is already in the bowel of abundant harvest in all spheres of livestock and food stuffs.

    By dividing the graduands into different cooperative groups, the government has proved that together they can achieve much. Each group is given N100 million to help them develop fast and produce quite enough for consumption. This is in addition to the housing accommodation given to them and members of their families in the farm settlements to enable them concentrate and be of maximum use for the venture.

    It is indeed heart warming that the scheme is totally people-oriented. You can’t empower the youths devoid of proper housing for effective productivity. As they settle down with their loved ones in the same vicinity and for the purpose of productivity, all you get is abundance of food production which will inadvertently help to keep hunger at bay.

    For a state that wants to avert hunger and food shortage in the future using what is available to it, the Lagos State government has initiated a scheme that will in the future guide as a pilot scheme to those who want to copy from it. There is no doubt whatsoever that with the breeding of rams which is now a new pilot project and an arm of Agric Yes, the state is yet to see more agricultural wonders. The youths are excited. The people have a lot of zeal and energy to exhibit. Even some disbanded Okada riders and operators can divert their energies to this project and be completely occupied.

    There is no gain-saying the fact that the issue of joblessness for the youths in the state is about to abate. The state government is creative in all spheres. Food is a must for all. This is why it still becomes imperative for more youths to continue to seize this rare opportunity to be productively engaged. With all provided, the task involved is obviously less stressful. This is therefore time to be a good, all-time farmer.

    • Adekoya writes from Somolu, Lagos.

  • Privacy and Google

    Privacy and Google

    Striking the right balance between protecting privacy and encouraging innovation is difficult in the rapidly changing world of the internet. But European regulators are right to increase the pressure by demanding that Google alter its controversial privacy policy, even if this could have consequences for all those offering internet services.

    Google erred when it ignored the request of European regulators to delay its new privacy policy in March. This pools user data it gathers across 60 online services, allowing Google to offer advertisers a better way to target customers. Now it will have to introduce significant changes or it could face sanctions, hardly the best advertisement for its service.

    Google will have to show it has the “unambiguous consent” of users to combine data and better explain how, why and for how long it intends to hold on to this information. This is the right approach to data, which should be seen as the property of those from whom the details are obtained. The rule should apply to any company that collects personal information, whether or not it operates on the net.

    But Google’s approach has not been ruled entirely illegal and this is also to be welcomed. Google has a hefty development bill to pay and the personal information left behind by consumers is a valuable currency. Users must be aware that there is a price to be paid for the convenience of free services, whether with a web service provider or a social networking site, such as Facebook.

    But, given the scope for abuse, they must trust those who gather and keep the information. On this score, companies such as Google and Facebook still have much to prove. Both have been rebuked in the past for cavalier treatment of privacy issues. The road to building that trust lies in a more transparent and considered approach to the privacy trade-off. Simple, clear notifications about the purposes for which information is gathered are the bare minimum.

    It is encouraging that the industry is beginning to acknowledge concerns. Microsoft’s new Internet Explorer package has an opt-out facility on default, so customers must choose to share information. This is to be applauded.

    Regulators also have a responsibility. Companies need reasonable and clear rules. EU member states should press ahead with harmonising their widely varying privacy laws. But the internet is a border-free world. Co-operation should go further. Otherwise, there is a risk that both privacy and innovation will suffer.

    – Financial Times

  • Bode Alalade (1937-2012)

    Bode Alalade (1937-2012)

    Nigeria loses an ace broadcaster

    The death last week of Otunba Bode Alalade draws the curtains on the life of one of Nigeria’s most admired professionals. Famous for his clear baritone, his penchant for traditional African attire, and his total commitment to the pursuit of excellence in different fields of human endeavour, Alalade epitomises the golden age of Nigerian broadcasting.

    Born in Ibadan in 1937, Alalade underwent an educational career which took him to Lagos, Warri, Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom. He was a prominent member of a distinguished corps of pioneer broadcasters which included Mike Enahoro, the late Chief Ikenna Ndaguba, the late Chief Segun Olusola, Dr. Christopher Kolade, and Mr. Sola Omole. These individuals laid down and maintained the very high standards of presentation and news reading for which the old Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and its successor, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), were renowned.

    Alalade in particular was well-known as a stickler for propriety both in and outside the studio. Although he was very easy to get on with, he never compromised standards or values. All words, whether indigenous or foreign, were meant to be pronounced properly, and those pronouncing them learnt them until they could pronounce them like native speakers. Proper comportment, poise, punctuality and respect for guests and the audience were non-negotiable. News reading had to be undertaken with close attention to stress, timing and cadence, as well as pronunciation. Since poor presentation could not be recalled, it was vital to get it right first time and every time.

    Otunba Alalade was the exemplar of these broadcasting precepts, and sought to teach them to others by demonstrating them in his own work. Many of Nigeria’s best-known broadcasters passed through his methodical hands, and virtually all of them fervently testify to his lasting impact on their lives and on their careers. He was a passionate believer in the transforming qualities of education, and the desire to impart knowledge was manifested throughout his life. As General Manager of the now-rested NTA Channel Seven, he oversaw its rise to the pinnacle of indigenous-language broadcasting.

    The death of Alalade and other titans of broadcasting like Chiefs Ndaguba and Olusola bodes ill for the continued progress of Nigeria’s broadcasting industry. While nobody lives forever, it is difficult to discern similar virtues of competence and commitment in many of their successors. Although the industry has grown beyond all recognition with the emergence of private and state-owned broadcasting outfits, it cannot be said that there has been a corresponding rise in the quality of broadcasters.

    Indeed, it may be argued that quality has been sacrificed for quantity in the current dispensation. Many of today’s broadcasters, presenters and continuity announcers are no longer the models of elocution that people like Alalade were. Grammatical errors are now so common in contemporary Nigerian broadcasting as to be the norm. The cardinal principles of politeness, punctuality and poise are barely followed; in fact, the more unconventional a presenter or broadcaster is, the more popular he or she seems to be. The rash of so-called “On-Air Personalities” (OAPs) has led to a lamentable lowering of standards, as broadcasting has become an all-comers game, open to everybody and closed to none.

    As his friends, former colleagues and other admirers contemplate the life and times of Otunba Bode Alalade, they should remember that the best way to honour the memory of this modest and efficient individual would be to ensure that the standards of excellence that he held dear are resuscitated in the business of broadcasting that he loved so much. May his soul rest in peace.

  • Fela’s museum

    Fela’s museum

     Gov. Fashola’s feat to epitomise the music icon is commendable

    THE news that the Lagos State Government has turned the house of the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo- Kuti, into a museum sounds like music to the ears. On display in the Kalakuta Republic Museum, which was opened this week at 8, Gbemisola Street, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos are Fela’s signature dresses and shoes, and covers of the albums of the musician which bespeak his politics and ideological orientation. Other exhibits are Fela’s musical instruments, some of his historical photos, the manifestos of his political party, The Movement of the People, his typewriter and household materials. Within the compound is the tomb of the artiste who died in August 1997, aged 58.

    The museum was opened to mark Fela’s 74th posthumous birthday on October 15, and also to kick start Felabration, an annual weeklong series of festivities to celebrate the legendary Nigerian musician. An iconic figure, he was acclaimed as Africa’s most famous musician and his country’s foremost political dissident. He combined pulsating Afrobeat rhythms and scathing Pidgin English lyrics to sting Nigeria’s leaders and denounce their high-handed and insensitive regimes.

    A showy singer, songwriter and bandleader, multi-instrumentalist and talented saxophonist, Fela was also known for his marijuana-smoking habit and for making appearances wearing only his underpants. In addition to condemning governmental corruption and military abuses, he also sang about shortcomings in Nigerian society, all of which led to his arrest and imprisonment by the authorities at least a dozen times.

    Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism and Inter-Governmental Relations, Mr. Disun Holloway, described the opening of the museum as “a deliberate attempt at bringing the old social life back to Lagos through the creation of places of relaxation within safe and secure environment.” He explained that the involvement of the state government in the museum project was to demonstrate its “commitment towards boosting tourism.”

    It is true that Fela’s museum has immense tourism value. However, opening the place is like the beginning of a journey. The exhibits will need to be well preserved to ensure that the museum does not eventually go to the dogs. In a country reputed for its poor maintenance culture, keeping the museum alive may well turn out to be an uphill task. It is interesting that the museum will be managed by a private concern. What may not be clear is how competent or well prepared the outfit is for the responsibility. Museum management requires some expertise and goes beyond mere intention to historicize.

    Indeed, the museum is certain to bring to life memories of the genius and heroism of Fela who was always on the side of the people through his music and other activities. He was a quintessential fighter for an egalitarian society; he fought the oppressive system and represented the interests of the downtrodden. This make-up inspired him to form a political party outside the sphere of his music, which he saw not as mere entertainment but a weapon for righting social wrongs.

    This image of Fela is important, and deserves to be remembered beyond the structure of the museum. In other words, it is not enough to keep memories of the man alive without accompanying efforts to realise his positive ideas and what he stood for. It is a plus that the state government is part of the project as the museum could well be a stimulus for the authorities to think more of the people as the object of governance.

    In this regard, it is food for thought that Fela’s son, Femi, who is also an accomplished musician, raised issues while speaking on behalf of the family at the opening ceremony. He said: “This would serve as a step forward if the cause my father fought for is achieved, the issues of poverty, electricity, education and many other vital ones.” We hope they will.

  • Politicians storm Ondo town for last minute campaign

    Politicians storm Ondo town for last minute campaign

    Ondo town was agog yesterday as politicians rounded off their campaigns for tomorrow’s election.

    Members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) thronged the Yaba headquarters of the party to conclude their campaign.

    At the rally, ACN’s standard bearer, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, was described as a man that would bring the desired change to Ondo State and work for the progress of the Southwest.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held its final campaign at its Akure Road headquarters. Members were confident that their candidate, Olusola Oke, would emerge victorious in the election.

    Soldiers and policemen patrolled the town yesterday. A chieftain of the ACN, Mr. Bola Ilori, said Governor Olusegun Mimiko should be rejected at the polls because he has not performed.

  • Ondo’s day of decision

    Ondo’s day of decision

    After the governorship election in Ondo State on October 20, the basic winner must be the process. Let the people vote without let or hindrance. Let the vote be free, fair and transparent. Let there be no rigging of any manner.

    We must warn against any form of rigging. Previous rigging efforts, right from the First Republic, had ended up under-developing the Ondo/Ekiti axis: for that part of the South West is where anti-rigging resistance is most passionate: from the Demo crisis of the First Republic, to the Akin Omoboriowo/ Adekunle Ajasin in the Second Republic and even the Olusegun Agagu/Olusegun Mimiko face-off in 2007. So, let every of the contending parties learn from history.

    But aside from the contestants, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must up its game. Less should be seen of its traditional glitches of late voting arising from shortage of electoral materials. After such routine glitches, it must put its acts together this time round. Also, all the security agencies must be absolutely neutral. Otherwise, they would stand legitimately charged with having wilfully contributed to a flawed election and all its dire consequences.

    After an inviolate voting process, however, let the best candidate win. With due respect to all the contenders, the leading three are clearly Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN’s Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, Labour Party, LP’s Olusegun Mimiko and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s Olusola Oke. Who among these three might the best candidate be?

    Mr. Oke, the PDP candidate, has proved himself a brilliant debater. In the two pre-election debates, he won the hearts of many by his oratory and logic; and the forceful manner in which he marshalled his points; and canvassed his programmes. But his Achilles’ heel is the perceived patented non-performance of his party, which has been in power at the centre since 1999, and under which the country is virtually grinding to a halt.

    To Governor Mimiko’s friends, his tenure has been “brilliant”. But to his foes, it has been three-and-a-half years of vacuous hype. On the balance of scale, there is certainly, on his part, gross under-performance, tantamount to betrayal of hope, contrary to the mood that heralded him into power.

    Though the governor has earned some N600 billion in less than four years from the Federation Account, there certainly are not groundbreaking achievements to justify this cash. Outside Akure, no notable road network is visible. Even in Ondo, the governor’s hometown, the main artery that runs through the town remains pathetically uncompleted. Major trunks: Akure-Ikere Ekiti Road, Akure-Ore Road and Ondo-Akure Road, to mention a few, are all in scandalous states. The governor’s Mother-and-Child Abiye hospital in Akure; and the Gani Fawehinmi Diagnostic Centre in Ondo have received their share of media acclaim. But really, for a government that pocketed that sort of cash, Ondo should by now be a vast construction site. That regretfully is not the case.

    That leaves ACN’s Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN. Mr. Akeredolu was President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). He made his mark so well the NBA House in Abuja is named after him. He combines that profile with the profile of a party that is a reference point in Lagos, and is duplicating that record in other states like Edo and the other states in the South West. Aside, he comes with a solid programme on South West integration, which is the future of the former Western Region, in a restructured federal Nigeria.

    It is this bouquet of personal integrity and proven performance by his party that we endorse Mr. Akeredolu. But of course, it is left to the Ondo voters to vote their next governor. Let them therefore think hard and vote right. By their vote, they would be shaping the destiny of the next generation.

  • Unlicensed vehicle trackers

    Unlicensed vehicle trackers

    Operators of unregistered vehicle tracking outfits in the country have two weeks to get their businesses licensed or face a clampdown by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). NCC’s director, legal and regulatory services, Ms. Josephine Amuwa said in spite of not getting licence, the firms have been placing advertisements in the media. According to her: “The provision of any communications service(s) by any person howsoever without the requisite authorisation by the commission is an offence punishable under S31 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.”

    This is quite thoughtful of the commission. Ordinarily, what these firms have done contravenes the law and the NCC would not have been accused of breaking any law if it had swooped on their business premises without indulging them any benefit of an ultimatum. The kind of business that the companies are into has a lot of security implications. They collect other people’s vital information which ordinarily they could not have got if they had not been engaged in vehicle tracking. All over the world, such data is of concern to governments, hence, the need to have some form of hold on the firms handling them. This, the operators ought to have known.

    But the NCC has acted wisely by giving them the benefit of an ultimatum. With 175 of them doing the business illegally, as it were; as against 17 licensed operators, closing down the companies would have meant throwing their employees into the already saturated labour market. This could compound the problem of unemployment that has reached a breaking point in the country. This comes with its social consequences. We should be seen to be encouraging entrepreneurship and not discouraging it, which is what would have resulted if the NCC had stuck to the dictates of the law.

    Moreover, the security situation in the country as well as the large number of vehicles requiring vehicle tracking provide a huge market for the services of the companies. They are sought after by individuals and organisations desirous of giving extra protection to their vehicles. In spite of their imperfections, some of the companies have proved useful in the recovery of many vehicles stolen or snatched at gunpoint. In addition, many establishments have engaged the services of the vehicle trackers to monitor the movements of their vehicles and do sundry other monitoring activities.

    In essence, the firms are providing invaluable services to the public and the more of them we have in the country, the better. That would even afford their customers more choices and engender competition which will further lead to reduction of the fees charged for their services. But they must regularise their operations. If the problem is the N500,000 that the NCC requires them to pay for the licence, there can be a way this can be addressed. For now, that is what the requirement is and it has to be complied with. By the time they obtain their licence, they can join their licensed colleagues to put pressure on the commission to review the fees.

    So, the unlicensed vehicle tracking companies should take advantage of the two-week ultimatum given by the NCC to obtain their licence. The industry they operate in has a lot of power, and it should not be found in the wrong hands. Nothing short of international best practices is good for the industry, and this cannot be achieved when operators are operating outside of the law.