NMA disowns surgeon as investigation reveals he studied Economics
These are not the best of times for the family of Mr Kehinde Kamal of Rikkos community, Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State and Dr Noah Kekere of Murna Clinic and Maternity located at Yanshanu community also in Jos North LGA, as global attention is drawn to the case of missing kidney involving the family and the medical doctor.
The nation recently woke up to the news of Kamal’s family protesting his wife’s missing kidney and their suspicion that their medical doctor was responsible for the ugly development.
While the culprit in the missing kidney saga remains a matter of conjecture, there is no debate as to the fact that the life of Mrs Kehinde Kamal, a 45-year old mother of four, is in clear and present danger.
The Nation learnt that the housewife has suffered severe pains for about five years since she underwent a surgery for appendicitis in a private hospital known as Murna Clinic and Maternity located at Yanshanu.
Narrating her ordeal in an interview with The Nation correspondent, Kehinde, the victim of the alleged organ harvesting, said: “Dr Noah Kekere has been our family doctor for years. So when I had a stomach problem in 2018, I went to his clinic for treatment.
“After running some tests, the doctor told me my problem was appendix (appendicitis) and there was an urgent need for me to undergo surgery to remove the appendix.
“Because we trusted him, my husband paid the bill of N80,000 and the surgery was carried out successfully.
“But shortly after I was discharged from the hospital, I started experiencing a very strange pain in my abdomen and my husband said I should go back to the doctor for examination.
“So I went and the doctor gave me some drugs to relief the pains, but the pains kept going and coming.
“Each time the doctor gave me drugs to relieve the pains, I would only experience relief for a few days and the pain would return even more severe.
“I was having sleepless nights due to the pains. Then the doctor said I should come for another surgery and gave us a bill of N60,000.
“At that point, my husband and I decided to go to the University of Jos Teaching Hospital (JUTH) for advanced medical examination.
“To our surprise, we discovered at JUTH that one of my kidneys had been removed.
“I was shocked and confused at the discovery that my kidney was missing.
“The only thing that came to my mind was the hospital where I had a surgery in 2018, and that is our family doctor, Noah Kekere.
“So we suspected him and my husband reported him to the police”
“The truth is, since I was born, I had never had surgery. Even when I gave birth to my four children, I did not undergo surgery. It was only when this doctor said I had appendicitis that I underwent the surgery. So, the only person that has had access to my organs since I was born is Dr. Kekere”
With the bizarre discovery, Kehinde’s husband Kamal reported Dr. Kekere and Murna Clinic and Maternity to the police, accusing the former of removing his wife’s kidney during an operation in 2018. Dr Kekere was promptly arrested by the police over the allegation.
The Nation checks revealed that Dr Kekere, an indigene of Kogi State, is a graduate of Economics from Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma while the purported pastor with one of the frontline Pentecostal churches has operated the clinic for 25 years.
The Plateau State chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) told our correspondent that Dr Kekere is not one of their members because he is not known to the association.
The branch chairman of NMA, Dr Bapigaan William Audu, said: “Our records do not show that the person accused is a medical doctor. What we have at our secretariat and the investigation we have carried out is that Dr Kekere is not our member.”
Ironically, the self-styled doctor has earned a lot of trust from residents of the community as a competent medical doctor as many of his clients attested to the fact that they have received solutions to their health challenges at his clinic.
Popularly known as “Yellow”, Kekere attracted a lot of patronage from the community due to his compassionate disposition towards his patients.
A resident, Sulaiman Bala, said: “The doctor is very compassionate. He does not charge much and he even gives treatment on credit. He is very friendly with everyone and that makes people to patronise him.”
Fifty-one-year-old Busari, an indigene of Ogbomoso, Oyo State and husband of the victim, said: “I am confused. I don’t know what to say.
“All I am saying is that I want justice for my wife. She is has been in pains since 2018. We have never rested, and now we are discovering that her kidney is missing.
“I will spend my last kobo to get justice for my wife.
“I want government to help me take over this case.
“I have spent all I have while treating my wife over this stomach problem. I need help to get out of this problem.
“My biggest worry is that my wife is in pains. I want her to be well and healthy.
“I need treatment for her and I need justice over her missing kidney.”
The doctor at the centre of the missing kidney saga, Kekere, was still in police custody and could not be reached for comments. The police, however, said that investigation was ongoing as to how Kehinde’s kidney got missing.
However, a Jos based medical doctor, who pleaded anonymity, told The Nation that “this issue of missing organ is a very complex one in the sense that the truth can only be discovered after a careful and thorough investigation.
“It is possible for someone to be born with one kidney. It is also possible she was born with two kidneys and one has been removed, but how it was removed and who removed it has to be carefully investigated.
“Again, the antecedents of the accused owner of Murna Clinic have to be investigated, in case he has ever been suspected of such act and to also be sure his area of specialisation is in the medical field.
“So, it is an investigation that will take some time.”
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the Plateau State Command, Alfred Alabo, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), told The Nation: “The position of the police now on the missing organ is that our investigation is almost concluded.
“We have written to the state government and to NMA so that a team of medical doctors can be consulted to actually know and examine this woman to be sure if the kidney was actually removed or she was born with one kidney.
“We have been able to get all the other doctors that Mr Kekere employed. They are undergoing our interviews.”
Fans and admirers of promising Nigerian music act, Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba a.k.a. MohBad, woke up last Sunday to the sad news of his untimely death. The circumstances surrounding his tragic end at age 27 have ignited a flurry of speculations, with accusing fingers pointing towards some of his colleagues, including the owner of a record label responsible for the release of some of his songs.
The Genesis
As at 2019 and at the age of 23, MohBad was already an online music sensation, but he was still struggling and looking forward to making it big on the Nigerian music scene. Unknown to many, he was formerly known as 2Black but got his popular moniker MohBad after wowing a music producer who said his verses were mind-blowing.
Many of his short videos had gone viral owing to his well crafted and acceptable use of words and the weaving of Yoruba, one of Nigeria’s indigenous languages, into his songs. In the same year 2019, the owner of the record label aforementioned was arrested in connection with an alleged case of internet fraud and money laundering.
After the record label’s ordeal with the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), MohBad reached out to him on Instagram to seek collaboration on one of his songs. The conversation however drifted away from a duet to getting MohBad signed on to the record label. Thus MohBad was officially signed on to the record label in December 2019.
The Good
As it turned out, all through 2019 till October 25, 2022 when MohBad’s management announced his exit from the record label, it was all smooth and rosy between him and the owner.
While the good times lasted, MohBad worked tirelessly, releasing many singles with at least five of them becoming hit songs of the Afrobeats movement. From ‘Ponmo’ to ‘Feel Good’ and ‘KPK (Ko Por Ke),’ MohBad churned out hits under music label and worked with notable music producers including Rexxie, P.Beat and Austin Sinister.
From the Headies Awards to The Beatz Awards, MohBad’s fame knew no bounds and he churned out songs that produced an EP entitled ‘Light (Imole)’ in 2019 and ‘Peace’ in 2022.
Despite releasing many feel good songs to the delight of fans and music lovers, Imole, as MohBad became known after the release of his first EP, started having cracks in his relationship with the owner and other executives of the record label.
MohBad
It is alleged that the discord between Mohbad and the owner of the record label stemmed from the artiste’s refusal to participate in alleged drug peddling operations. According to reports, while the relationship that existed between the owner of the record label and MohBad appeared smooth on the outside, darker secrets lay beneath the surface.
Various reports claimed that part of the obligations of all music acts signed to the record label in question include alleged initiation into drug peddling and taking an oath of secrecy. Mohbad’s reluctance to partake in these activities reportedly triggered a bitter feud that ultimately led to his exit from the record label.
MohBad’s management later announced his exit from the record label while his legal team released a statement asserting that his exit was as a result of the constant attacks orchestrated by the label’s owner as well as unpaid royalties since 2019.
The ugly
Things grew from worse to ugly between MohBad and the executives of the record label with videos of physical assault and harassment viral on the social media in the second and third quarters of 2022.
The once rosy relationship that existed between the music act and his one time record label degenerated so badly that even after parting ways with the record label, Mohbad repeatedly raised the alarm over threats to his life allegedly originating from its owners.
Adding to the grim narrative, videos circulating online featured Mohbad lamenting how his life had taken a downward spiral since his return from an NDLEA (Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency) operation. Notably, the agency had conducted a raid on the residence of the record label’s owner in February 2022 and arrested Mohbad and others associated with the record label after recovering illicit drugs and cannabis in the house.
Subsequently, MohBad alleged that executives of the record label and their aides were frustrating his efforts of growing in the music industry at different times on his social media accounts.
As if his battles with the record label were not enough, MohBad’s health deteriorated so much that in October 2022, the singer took to social media to reveal a startling diagnosis – he had been identified as an emergency hypertensive patient at just 26.
In a tweet, he expressed the gravity of his health condition, denying any involvement with drugs or alcohol and pleading for support.
“I’m not intoxicated, but l have just been diagnosed as an emergency hypertensive patient. I’m not on drugs or drinks and my life is at stake. I’m still getting threats,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Despite his health conditions, he was again assaulted by men believed to be acting under the instructions of the boss of the record label with which he had had a running battle. In a petition dated June 27, 2023, Mohbad formally sought the intervention of the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) after he was assaulted during a music video shoot with another music act, Zlatan Ibile.
In his petition, Mohbad cited threats to his life and detailed how some individuals stormed and disrupted the video shoot, causing damage to the set and equipment.
MohBad narrated how he was assaulted by a singer and music promoter believed to be a close associate of the record label’s owner together with 15 others.
Until his death, the record label’s owner and MohBad could not make up as they avoided each other like a plague.
Family and struggles
While it is public knowledge that MohBad’s father, Joseph Aloba, is a clergyman, not many are aware that the late singer’s music artistry was one of the traits he picked up from his dad. Unknown to many, Aloba senior was a talented singer in his heyday and was popular as a member of a few choirs before he moved on to start a church he leads as the shepherd.
After the singer’s death, his father claimed he had a premonition but thought the battle had been fought and won in his dream.
Narrating his premonition for MohBad’s death, he said: “I had a dream about him, two days before the incident. In the dream, I saw someone trying to shoot me. I thought I escaped the bullet, not knowing something like this would happen to me.”
MohBad’s battle as a young boy growing up with a single dad spurred him into working hard for every penny. He was closer to his father, who raised him and his siblings.
Interestingly, in the midst of his battles, MohBad and his lover of many years, Omowunmi, welcomed their first and only child, Liam. The partners welcomed Liam in May 2023.
When Ahmed Mohammed bid his wife, three year-old-daughter, sisters and brothers’ wives goodbye as they headed for their farms in their old settlement across the River Niger last Sunday morning, he had no inkling that he was seeing them for the last time.
But midway into the journey between Jebba and Kanji Dam in Gbajibo Ward, Mokwa Local Government Area, Niger State, the boat in which they were travelling capsized after running into a water snag.
The boat, according to the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), had 100 passengers on board when it capsized on Sunday.
Speaking with newsmen during a condolence visit to the family of the deceased, Ahmed said the incident was still a nightmare he was praying to wake up from, adding only God could understand how he felt about it.
He said: “My wife, my daughter, my brothers’ wives and all my sisters were inside the boat. I cannot say much. I leave everything to God.
“I don’t have any explanation, because if I want to ask for an explanation as to what happened, who will give me the explanation?
“My mind is always going to them. I feel bad because since I came into this world, I have never experienced anything as bad as this.
“The way I am feeling, it is only God that can understand.”
Mohammed’s mother-in-law, Hajiya Kashi Mokwa, who also lamented the death of her daughter, grandchildren and other members of her family in the boat accident, described the incident as a severe disaster and great loss to the family.
“We are devastated by the mishap,” she said.
“Losing 16 members of your family is a severe disaster and it has happened to us. It has been a traumatic experience for me and the rest members of my family.
“When you lose 16 members of your family at once, how easy is it to bear the tragedy? We want government to come and help us. These boat mishaps are becoming too many.”
Mokwa explained that water transportation is the main means of transportation in the community as they always have to pass through the water to get to their farms and major markets.
Members of the affected communities accused the government of non-chalance in the provision of life jackets, calling on the government to stop making political statements regarding its availability.
They insisted that the number provided were far from adequate compared to the huge number of residents who must travel on water from time to time.
No fewer than 24 bodies were recovered on the first day of the rescue mission on Sunday, while six other bodies were recovered afterwards, bringing the the death toll to 30.
On Wednesday, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) declared that there were no more bodies to look for as no one else had been reported missing.
The agency declared that 100 people were on board the boat when it capsized.
The Chairman Mokwa Local Government Council, Jubril Abdullahi Muregi, said during a condolence visit to the affected families that the incident would have been avoided if safety measures had been adhered to by the drivers and passengers of the boat, adding that the government would need to clear the underwater snags responsible for repeated boat accidents on the river.
Muregi said: “One of the things that the government should do quickly is to embark on an operation to clear these trees that are under the river so that the incident would not repeat itself.
“It is an avoidable situation. There is need for every passenger using water transportation to use a life jacket.
“We will have to come up with a clear government policy that will prescribe punishment for anybody who fails to use their life jackets when embarking on water transportation.”
The Council Chairman moved from house to house to condole the bereaved families and gave an undisclosed amount of money for funeral expenses.
Ocean encroachment ravages area, pulls down buildings, displaces inhabitants
Ancestral shrine, cemetery, electric poles, others washed away
Questions trail multi-billion naira ecological funds received by state
Odioama, a coastal community in Brass Local Government area of Bayelsa State, is back in the mournful mood it found itself in 2005 when it was invaded by a Joint Task Force team on a reprisal mission. At the end of the invasion, many inhabitants lay dead while the community was left in ruins. Today, Odioama is suffering a worse form of invasion at the hands of nature which had previously beautified the area. The community is being ravaged by ocean surge that has pulled down many houses, including cemetery, ancestral shrines and other cultural landmarks. Fears are rife that the area and adjoining communities may soon be swallowed up if nothing urgent is done to check the fury of the ocean. INNOCENT DURU reports.
Ladstone Amabebe, a prominent member of Odioama, a community in coastal area of Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, suffered a debilitating loss recently when his exquisite one storey building was pulled down by a rampaging ocean surge that has ravaged the area.
Like every other house owner in the area, Gladstone had laboured hard and spent a fortune to complete the structure as it costs much more to build in the coastal area than plain land.
“I owned a very big building at the seashore area that was pulled down by ocean surge,” he said as he began to relive his ordeal.
The house, Gladstone said, was almost about 200 metres from the sea when he built it, adding: “Just within my line, about 70 buildings were washed down by the sea encroachment.
“We lost virtually everything to the incident. We didn’t expect that the incident would happen in the manner it did.”
He added: “Many people have been displaced. Just within my compound, over 15 people were displaced. It is difficult to explain how much other victims and I have suffered as a result of the incident.
“It is not easy to cater for the family now. The challenge is biting us seriously and there is nobody to run to.”
In spite of his predicament, Gladstone was glad that nobody was trapped in the incident. “The only luck we had was that nobody was trapped inside. That was the only saving grace. The children were inside the house playing and shortly after they moved out, the whole one storey building went down.”
Recounting how the incident happened, he said: “We didn’t know that it (sea encroachment) was digging from the under. We thought that when the wave comes, the water will just flash in and when the tide goes down it will dry up. We didn’t really know that it was digging from inside, causing the building to collapse.
“If nothing happens between now and let me say in the next two years, I don’t think the community will continue to exist.”
He further feared that the history, culture and everything about the community will be wiped away if it goes into extinction as he expressed concerns about the loss of livelihood by the community’s inhabitants.
“The main occupation of the community is fishing. There is no hope for the fishermen if the encroachment continues the way it has been coming. The sea is 10 times more ferocious than it used to be and the waves are getting stronger and coming close to the shore.
“It is going to be worse this rainy season. Nobody will even go fishing. The tide is going to be higher and there will be nothing like fishing again.
“Some will go to the creeks to fish, but those who usually go to the ocean will not be able to do so.
“Most of them are leaving for other areas.”
The menace often referred to as oceanification evokes fears in the minds of the people. The sight of it sparks anxiety. The thought of it pierces the heart and shatters the soul. The sight of the people standing with arms folded and helplessly watching the tide menacingly invading their buildings to wreak untold havoc forces tears down the eyes.
The Secretary of Odioma Council of Chiefs, Chief Ambrose Alfred Akierite, described the ocean surge as devastating and its impact on the community as unfortunate.
He said: “When we were younger, where the sea shore is right now, used to be far away from the community.
“But right now, because of the unprecedented sea encroachment on the land, places that used to be bushes are now part of the community, and it has eaten deep into the centre of the community.
“If nothing is done in the quickest possible time, the community will go into extinction.”
Asked about the fate of vulnerable members of the community, Chief Ambrose retorted: “I will consider everybody in the community vulnerable. The effect is not only on pregnant women or on the aged or the less privileged; it is on everybody.
“One of the best buildings in the community was washed away. The owner, by any standard, is not a poor man. The effect is on the whole community.”
Following the huge losses suffered by the people, the Odioama Council of Chiefs’ scribe said: “At a time, people were even considering relocating the entire community, but that is going to be very capital intensive. How long will that take and how long will the government agency handling that put up structures that will move people away from the community.
“What I think is the best bet is what I think the state government is considering doing, probably in partnership with the federal government and other international environmental bodies.”
In spite of the terror constantly unleashed on the community by the ocean, Chief Ambrose does not have any fears that the yearly flooding that has to do with the opening of the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon would compound their woes. “You can see its signs but not in the seriousness with which it ravages other areas,” he said.
“It could be because we are at the bank of the ocean. Maybe the water filters into the ocean and it doesn’t always rise to that level where it gives us concern.
“The one that is really disturbing us is the ferocity from the ocean itself. It is possible that there could be some reaction due to climatic changes and all that.
“We think that as the sand is being washed away, it is being deposited somewhere.”
We are afraid of what could happen in the next 10 years – Council of Chiefs Chairman
Chairman of the Council of Chiefs, Chief Marlean Walter Omieh-Munafa, told The Nation that the challenges posed by the ocean surge are so many.
“You know the ocean has washed away about 200 metres of our land that hosts some residential buildings.
“We have lost many residential buildings to the ocean encroachment. Part of the cemetery too has been washed away. Electric poles, parts of tarred roads and other things, including a juju shrine, have also been washed away.
“The encroachment of the ocean is continuing. We are afraid of what could happen in the next 10 years about the challenge we have.
“The challenge started about 10 years ago but no life has been lost to it.”
Many displaced people, according to the chairman, are squatting with their family members in the community.
“Some have left the community to live in Yenagoa,” he said.
The chairman also noted that the incident has affected the education of the children. “Like I said before, some of the people have packed to Yenagoa. They must have gone with some of their children that are schooling here.
“They may have financial problems looking for admission for their children.
“That is how it can affect the education of the children, because the menace has not washed away any school within the community.”
He added that no corpse or casket was washed out when the surge swept through the cemetery. “It is an old cemetery,” he said. “You cannot see the caskets. The only thing you would see are bones.
“Because of the encroachment of the sea, people now go deep inside and not nearer to the sea to bury their loved ones.”
As a community, the chairman said, “we have been making a lot of efforts on how to solve the problem.
“Last year, one of our community members attended many seminars and even travelled to one of the west African countries to represent the state on this.
“We are hoping that the federal government will do something, but that is not yet forthcoming.
“After the state governor came here, our matter was presented in the House of Assembly.
“They said the piling is too much for them but that they will do the dredging. That is the promise they made to us. That is how far we have gone on the issue.”
Tracing the history of the community, he said: “Ours is one of the oldest communities in Nembe Kingdom. We don’t know the first phase of our history, but the second phase dates back to when the Portuguese were exploring the West African coast.”
Ex-CDC chairman makes clarification between Odi and Odioama
Making a distinction between Odi and Odioama, the Community Development Committee Chairman, Samson James, said: “Odi is quite different from Odioama. Odi is in Kolokuma Local Government while Odioama is in Brass Local Government. Odi invasion was in the 90s or so but ours was in 2005.
“People were killed, houses were razed and the community was totally burnt down then. It was after that, that the community started rebuilding to the standard we find ourselves now. The rebuilding was done through self help.”
After the invasion, he said a committee was set up and it was headed by former Senate President David Mark.
“They said the government had made money available to us but we didn’t get any money,” he said.
The CDC feared that “what happened to Koluama in 1950 may happen to our community if urgent steps are not taken. Koluama is a community in Bayelsa. It was eroded by ocean surge. We would have to migrate to wherever nature says we should if our community is eroded.
“There is no hope as the government does not intervene.”
He noted that the problem confronting the community is beyond the state government, and called on the federal government to come in to help, especially the interventionist agencies like NDDC, Ecological Fund and others.
“When the one storey building fell, it was as if somebody had died. The community gathered around it crying and appealing to God and the government,” he said.
Menace also ecological, not just environmental – Activist Alagoa
Programme Manager of Environmental Rights Action (ERA) and head of ERA Resource Centre in Yenagoa, Alagoa Morris, said the significance of the ocean encroachment, just like desertification, cannot be overemphasised from the point of the economic importance, health, and psychological wise.
His words: “The issue is not just an environmental issue. It is equally an ecological issue. The last time I visited Odioama, I saw a number of trees that had been going down because of the ocean surge as it encroached on the land.”
Recently, he said, “we saw houses going down and building houses in those places isn’t cheap. Building a house in such coastal area is not easy as they are far from the city.
“It takes so much courage, financial and other resources such as time for people to put up good buildings there.
“Watching such buildings go down is very frustrating. The problem is beyond any community’s power to deal with from any perspective you want to view it.
“The people’s properties, ancestral graves, forests, land, and so on are washed into the ocean, and it is still raging day and night.
“The prowling waves of the Atlantic Ocean come to hit the shoreline and go back every now and then.
“It is worse when the tide is high. It is a very big blow when you talk about the environmental and ecological impacts.
“It is ecological in the sense that it can cause relocation.”
Continuing, Alagoa said: “The last time I was discussing with some natives, they were worried because Odioama has another river behind them. In front of them is the ocean and at another side is the St Nicholas River which is also very big and fearful to cross.
“St Nicholas empties into the Atlantic Ocean and where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean is where Odioama is settled.
“It is a very tough situation and it is even leading to relocation of some persons. People are now apprehensive to build houses because houses that were about 1,000 far away from the sandy shoreline have been washed away.
“The ocean encroachment is not abating. It is not like the wind that comes and goes; it is constant. For 24 hours you are hearing the roaring sound of the Atlantic. It will deny them of that environment if nothing is done to address the problem.
If nothing is done, they may lose that community in the not too distant future.”
Speaking on the psychological effects of the challenge on the people, the environmentalist said: “The psychological effects on the people are better imagined than experienced.
“There is a community in Sagbama Local Government called Anibeze; an Isoko speaking community in Bayelsa. It is located at the bank of River Forcados.
“We had a very shocking bad news there. A certain man had left his community for a while but by the time he retired home, this coastal encroachment occurred and washed down his house.
“Immediately, he got paralysed and eventually died. That is the kind of psychological impact on the people who are losing their properties when there is no hope of getting a replacement.
“As we speak, other communities are also suffering the problem along the rivers and creeks of Bayelsa State. One of them is very close to the Government House in Yenagoa.
“The way the erosion is eating up that community is faster than one can imagine. Just within a space of a year, a whole football field is gone.”
Looking at the relationship between the menace and climate crisis, Alagoa said: “The climate change phenomenon cannot be over emphasised. We hear that the ices are melting and the sea level is rising.
“In some areas, there are more rains and in some drought. It is very disturbing that it appears that the sea level is rising.
“In Lagos, around the Bar Beach, they experienced this kind of thing in the past and they were able to do some kind of containment.
“The rising level of the sea is part of the problem. When God created the world and talking about the ocean, in the scriptures, it is said that God asked the prowling waves of the ocean not to go beyond their bounds.
“They were supposed to stop somewhere, but now they are going over their boundaries and wreaking havoc just as it is happening in Ayetoro community in Ondo State.
“Climate crisis cannot be absolved from what is happening along the coastal areas in connection with the ocean surge. The sea is getting warmer, according to scientists, and getting more voracious.”
In spite of the magnitude of the challenge, he assured that all hope is not lost. “With proper scientific interrogation and application of science and financial resources with expert knowledge, Odioama can be saved.
“There is hope if there is the political will to deal with communities like Odioama, Tom Brass, Sangana and others on the fringes of the Atlantic Ocean.”
Failed promises by successive governments
Checks showed that failure of past governments in the state to keep to their promises has been largely responsible for the crisis in the community.
According to Gladstone, “The encroachment was happening gradually. From 2013, we started seeing the approach. It continued in 2014. In 2015, we saw it coming and complained to the state government.
“Then, the former governor, Seriake Dickson, came for his campaign and I think that was the campaign promise he made.
“He said he was going to call the federal government to come because it was not something the state government alone could do. 2015 passed and the whole administration passed without any action taken.
“We later started approaching international oil companies because we are also an oil producing community, we wrote a series of letters to the NDDC and the federal ministry of the environment but nobody listened to us.
“We also did a series of appearances on television but nobody listened to us but … I don’t know, … it is gone, it is gone.”
Going down memory lane, Chief Ambrose said: “In 2005, the community was destroyed and a committee of enquiry was set up and some recommendations were made towards the rebuilding of the community. I think about N2 billion was recommended by the commission of enquiry.
“Unfortunately, nothing happened. I led the delegation to the National Assembly with a petition and the resolution was passed. The money was not paid.
“The community was destroyed as a result of military invasion. There was an allegation that some youths of the community carried out a dastardly act where some persons were killed along the waterways. They pointed fingers at our community.
“The then governor, the late Alamieyeseigha, invited the joint task force and they entered the community. You know what happens when the military enters a community.
“I am sure you may have been told that the governor recently visited the community, and seeing things for himself, has made promises that the state government will do something about it. We are hoping and praying that it should not be one of those political gimmicks where promises would be made and nothing would happen. Although not too confident we want to say that we are relieved because the governor has made promises.”
Questions trail utilisation of ecological funds received by state
Following the crisis faced by various communities in the state, there have been questions about what the government does with the ecological and other funds, including the 13 per cent derivation it receives from the federation account.
Checks showed that the state has received about N1.2 billion in the last three years as ecological funds. Between 2021 and 2022, it received N1.2 billion and N700 million in 2023.
Failure of some state governments to alleviate the plight of their citizens when there was flood disaster last year triggered heated debate about the utilisation of the ecological funds.
The immediate past government of Muhammed Buhari had challenged states to give an account of how they spent amounts in excess of one trillion naira, allocated to them from the ecological fund to tackle floods and other ecological problems.
Roughly N1 trillion, representing 2.2 per cent of the total budget for 2018, 2019 and 2023, was budgeted for ecological and disaster management.
In 2018, 2.2 per cent of the estimated N9.120 trillion budget, amounting to N198 billion was set aside for the Ecological Fund. In 2019, 2.2 per cent of the budget of N132 billion was allocated to the fund, while in 2023, 2.2 per cent of the N21 trillion budget indicated N462 billion allocation for ecological funds.
No meaningful result came from the House of Representatives probe last year into the utilization of the funds for the past 10 years.
Diri allays residents’ fears
The state governor, Douye Diri, on August 8 visited the community, promising the people that the state government was going to make immediate intervention to prevent further damage to infrastructure.
The governor noted that the scope of work was beyond the state government but said “we must take our destinies into our hands.
“There is hope for our people. The sea encroachment, which is the perennial problem of Odioama will now begin to have a solution from your state government.
“Be rest assured that your government will be shoulder to shoulder with you to tackle this encroachment that is hitting our land and our houses.
“So we call on all our developmental partners to join the state government to keep Odioama safe. And not only Odioama, we have the same instances in Koluama, Sangana.
“So we have so much to do, which is beyond the scope of the state government.”
105 communities at risk -Don
Prof. Ambily Etekpe of the Department of Political Science, Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Bayelsa State, in 2021 raised the alarm that about 105 coastal communities in Bayelsa State could face extinction in the next 30 years if nothing is done to halt the rampaging effects of ocean encroachment.
Etekpe noted that oil exploration activities of some multinational oil companies have moved too deep into the sea, with their attendant negative impacts on the environment.
His words: “Desertification is equivalent to oceanification. But while nobody talks about oceanification, desertification is attracting not only national but international interest.
“Oceanification has thus become very important because the effects of ocean encroachment in Bayelsa in particular and other states that are also very close to the ocean generally are more devastating than those of forest encroachment.
“Most of where we used to have towns and communities have been taken over by the ocean. So, the towns and communities continue to shift and you find that the extreme end of that shifting is another river.
“If something is not done, in the next 30 years, a lot of our towns and communities will be taken over by the ocean.
“In Bayelsa, we have more than 500 communities out of which 105, representing 46 per cent, live near the ocean, and if they are disorganised or dislocated, where else can they go?” he queried.
Almost one year after the retirement of the Auditor-General for the Federation (AGF), Adolphus Aghughu, appointing a replacement has not been possible due to acrimony among directors. The appointment of one of the directors in the interim has not gone down well with some stakeholders, who claim the process contravened public service rules, reports TONY AKOWE.
The retirement of the immediate past Auditor-General for the Federation (AGF), Adolphus Aghughu threw up an intense competition among directors in the office for the coveted seat.
Prior to his retirement, there have been moves to outdo one another by some of the directors with claims and counter-claims of who is senior among them who can oversee the office.
Aghughu’s exit in September 2022 paved the way for the appointment of Andrew Onwudili to oversee the office, even though records show that he was not the most senior director; having been employed two years after three of the directors, making him the fourth in line.
Before the emergence of Onwudili, the Federal Civil Service Commission had commenced the process for the appointment of a new Auditor-General with an in-house advertisement.
The Nation learnt that the initial idea was to get the Auditor-General from among the directors in the agency. But one year after the process began, there appears to be a deadlock as the commission has not been able to come up with a candidate who will be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
Section 86 sub-section 1 to 3 of the 1999 Constitution as amended provides modalities for the appointment of the AGF.
The section states that “the Auditor-General for the Federation shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Federal Civil Service Commission subject to confirmation by the Senate. (2) The power to appoint persons to act in the office of the Auditor-General shall vest in the President and (3) except with the sanction of a resolution of the Senate, no person shall act in the office of the Auditor-General for a period exceeding six months.”
But the process has been bogged down by controversy regarding seniority among some of the directors in the agency. While some of them have been involved in the selection process, two others have been excluded.
The Nation observed that the struggle for the position appeared to have started long before the occupant of the office vacated it as five of the Directors started struggling for seniority despite the provisions of Public Service on seniority in the public service.
A letter from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation dated February 9 2021, with reference number HCSF/PSO/152/II/150 addressed to the Director of Audit overseeing the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation tried to set the records straight about seniority among the directors.
The letter drew attention to the provisions of the Public Service Rule 020106 which states that “seniority in any department shall be determined by the entry/the assumption of duty certified by an authorised officer as reflected in the appropriate register.”
In line with the provision, the letter which was signed by Babura in the USA, the Director in charge of Employee Mobility in the OHCSF listed the officers in accordance with their seniority level as Isiuku Julius Michael, Mrs Ogundowo Addition Oluseyi, Mrs Ugwu Ngozi Eucharia, Onwudili Ogochukwu and Gbayan Shirts Gabriel. It also stated that “with the above clarification, this matter would be laid to rest and allow for a good and harmonious working relationship devoid of rancour among the directors and other members of staff in the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.
The letter from the Head of Service was prompted by a letter from the Office of Auditor-General seeking intervention on the determination of seniority among the directors.
The letter reads: “I am directed to request your kind intervention on the resolution of the seniority challenge encountered by the under-listed directors in the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation. The Human Resources Department had received complaints that they were not placed properly on the office nominal roll. Efforts to internally address the issue seem not to be satisfactory. Accordingly, it will be appreciated if the OHCSF can intervene to resolve the matter.”
However, in another letter reference with reference number HCSF/ALSO/ODD/E&WP/64421/166 dated July 18, 2022, and signed by the Director, Organisation, Design and Development in the OHCSF, B. O. C. Omogo, the earlier list was completely turned round. The letter reads: “I am directed to refer to your letter ref no GEN/EMAD//CORR/2020/55 dated March 28, 2022, on the above subject and convey the reviewed seniority list among the five directors in your office as follows: Andrew Ogochukwu Onwudili, Shirts Gabriel Gbayan, Adeoti Oluseyi Ogundowo, Ngozi Eucharia Ugwu and Julius Michael Isiuku.
“In arriving at the reviewed list, the parameters outlined below were taken into consideration. (a) date of present appointment; (b) career progression; (c) date of assumption of duty and (d) date of first appointment.
“This letter, therefore, supersedes our earlier letter ref. UCSF/PSO/152/II/15 and dated February 9 2021 on the subject.”
A look at the Public Service Rules revealed that the only criterion for determining seniority in service is the date of employment and assumption of duty.
However, the nominal roll of the office of the Auditor-General for April 2021 sighted by The Nation revealed that while Mrs Ogundawo was first employed in the service on September 26, 1990, and confirmed two years later, the Director overseeing the Office of the Auditor-General, Andrew Onwudili was employed on July 27, 1992, and confirmed two years later. Also, another director in the OAUGF, who was excluded from the process of appointing a new Auditor-General, Mrs Eucharia Ngozi Ugwu was employed on November 11 1990 and confirmed two years later.
Also, Shirwa Gabriel Gbayan was captured in the nominal roll as having been employed into the service on August 24, 1992, and confirmed two years later in 1994; while Julius Isiuku (he retired from service in December 2022) was employed on January 13 1989 and confirmed two years later.
The Nation also sighted two different memos from the Federal Civil Service Commission on the list of directors qualified to participate in the selection process for the position of Auditor-General with the names of the two women missing.
It was also learnt that, in its last days in the 9th Assembly, the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives invited the Head of Service of the Federation, Folashade Esan to explain why it should issue two separate letters on the same issue.
Although the meeting between the Committee and the Head of Service took place, Oke, who headed the committee, said the best thing to do was to interface with the Minister of Justice and the Attorney-General of the Federation regarding the lingering controversy surrounding the seniority of top officials on the director cadre in the OAGF. Oke had said at the meeting with the Head of Service who was represented by a Director that “there is no provision for the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation to be run by a Director. It is illegal. The Director currently occupying that office cannot fulfil the constitutional roles of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
“We have a backlog of audited accounts of the Federation for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, which are yet to be laid before the National Assembly due to the absence of a substantive Auditor-General of the Federation to sign them.”
In a petition to the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives, dated February 3, 2023, Mrs Ogundowo alerted that her name was omitted from the list of eligible directors to be considered for accreditation exercise for appointment as Auditor-General for the Federation.
She said the omission of her name was based on an unsubstantiated report of the EFCC.
She said: “I humbly write to draw the attention of the PAC Committee to the process undertaken by the Federal Civil Service Commission midwifing the appointment of the next Auditor-General of the Federation. Having been screened by the DSS, and ICPC, it is shocking to note that the Commission (the EFCC) made an incorrect allegation on my account of income flowing into the account from a business “Satisqua Table Water Enterprises” on which I was not invited to explain but reported upon. For this kind of screening held in high esteem, it would be fair and just for the Commission to be specific on the income inflow traced to my account and seek further clarifications before drawing conclusions.
“It is against this background that I am here seeking clarification and clearance from the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), copy of the registered business name is attached to this application. Your prompt intervention on this would be highly appreciated, please.”
She also wrote to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation seeking intervention “in a case of serious misconduct levelled against me by the Auditor-General for the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu.”
The letter was dated June 28 2022, a few weeks before Aghughu retired as Auditor-General.
According to her, she was accused of contravention of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation’s Communication Policy; Falsification of Records; Unauthorised disclosure of official information; and any other act unbecoming of a public officer. According to her, issues raised in the query were in respect of seniority of Directors of Audit which she said started in 2020 but laid to rest in line with Public Service Rules (PSR) 020106, vide letter no. HCSE/PSO/152/150 dated February 9 2021.
In the petition, she said that “at an emergency top management meeting held on June 17 2022, the AGF presented a version of the seniority list different from the one approved by the OHCSF. This he had shared on the WhatsApp Platform of the Colleges of Directors and also acknowledged to have approved.
It is on this same Platform that I shared a copy of the seniority list I came across, particularly when the AGF had become inaccessible to most of his lieutenants (we the directors).
This is supported by the fact that he shouted at me and instructed his security personnel to walk me out of his office in March 2021. The WhatsApp Platform for the Colleges of Directors was created to disseminate information among the directors and also for interaction as is applicable in other MDAs.
Contrary to an allegation of circulating a fake nominal roll to the National Assembly, I wish to state that I am not aware of the existence of such in the National Assembly or any other government agency. It may interest the HCSF to note that one of the ‘fake’ nominal rolls, as alleged by the AGF was placed on the official notice board by the AGF himself.
The HCSF may also wish to note that many versions of the fake nominal roll are in circulation and that all these versions, which are at variance with what was approved by the OHCSF, placed Mr Onwudili Andrew Ogochukwu, a Director of Audit, ahead of me as my senior, even though this is far from the truth.
I assumed duty on September 26 1990, while he assumed duty on July 27 1992. Both of us attained our present post of Director of Audit on January 1, 2017.
Mrs Ogundowo alleged in the petition that “there is a plot to disenfranchise me from participating in the selection process for appointment of a new AGF, which is why I am being victimised. This, I believe, is to enable Mr Onwydili to take over after the exit of Mr Aghughu who will be exiting the service on September 7 2022 since the most senior Director of Audit, Mr Isiuku Julius Michael, will also exit the service in December, 2022.”
She made reference to the fact that the ground for Onwudili to take over as the most senior director may have been laid for him earlier when he was placed above her during their promotion exercise.
She said: “My claim above is further supported by the fact that, upon our promotion to the post of directors in 201 7, Mr Onwudili was placed on SGL 17 step 10 and my good self on SGL 17 Step 8. We were both on the same step (GL 16 before our promotion to the post of Director).
I wonder why he was given accelerated incremental steps. It is on the strength of this that I am inclined to conclude that there is a conscious attempt to prevent and disqualify me from aspiring for the post of the AGF, which I am entitled to, just like any other Director of Audit in the Federal Civil Service.”
Continuing, she claimed that “in my 32 years of active and dedicated service (now 33), I have not received any warning or query. I am a loyal and committed civil servant with a high premium on value addition in the discharge of my official duties or any responsibilities assigned to me.”
The Association of Retired Staff of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation have tried to intervene and ensure that justice is done to all those concerned. The association writes two separate petitions to the House of Representatives and the Federal Civil Service Commission.
In the letters signed by the Chairman and Coordinator, Alhaji Taiwo Lawal, the association said though some of the actions taken since August 11, 2022, were found to be just, fair and acceptable, the Commission suddenly tainted the process “with the unjust removal of the two topmost Directors of Audit from the list of qualified Directors of Audit for accreditation exercise despite the fact that these female Directors of Audit met all the required conditions laid down by the commission.”
In the letter to the House of Representatives, the Association said its desire was to see a level playing ground for all the Directors of Audit in all the processes for the appointment of the next Auditor-General for the Federation.
It added that “Mrs Adeoti Oluseyi Ogundowo and Mrs E. N. Ugwu were both promoted Directors of Audit on January 1 2017, but the FCC dropped their names from the list of aspiring Directors of Audit for accreditation exercise that was hurriedly fixed for Friday, January 20 2023.”
In the second petition to the Civil Service Commission, the association said that “being a critical stakeholder in the growth and development of our former office has been keenly watching and observing the process undertaken by the Federal Civil Service Commission in the appointment of Auditor-General for the Federation.”
According to them, following the retirement of the former Auditor-General, the association supported the idea of not leaving a vacuum and having someone from within the office emerging as a replacement. It said it felt elated when the commission issued an internal advertisement and also circular requesting qualified directors to submit relevant briefs through the Human Resources Department.
According to the Chairman, on January 13 2023, the Federal Civil Service Commission, through its circular with ref. no FCSC/CHMN/RAG/023/1I/126 and signed by Ogaba Ede (Director of Appointment and Recruitment) on behalf of the Chairman requested 10 Directors of Audit that have a minimum of one year and above before retirement to re-submit their CVs, briefs, certificates, personal and confidential files, and others to the Commission on or before January 17 2023.
With the reduction of minimum years to retirement to one year and above, the Commission had widened the space and extended participation to earlier screened-out Directors of Audit.
However, the Association observed that three names of suitably qualified Directors of Audit that were earlier screened and met all the requirements, including more than two years and above before retirement, were not included.
The Directors of Audit are Mrs Adeoti Oluseyi Ocundowo FCNA. — promoted in 2017, Mrs Eucharia Ngozi Ugwu FCNA, mni. – promoted in 2017 and Mr Shakaar Chira Kantiyor FCNA promoted in 2021.
The omission did not provide reason(s) for the non-inclusion of their names on the list. This Association was of the opinion that these three Directors of Audit must have been screened and hence there shouldn’t be a need to re-screen them for accreditation.”
The association also said that “on January 18 2023, the Federal Civil Service Commission, through its Circular no. FCSC/CHMN/RAG/023/II/127 and signed on behalf of the Chairman by Ogaba Ede (Director of Appointment and Recruitment) released list of 11 Directors of Audit for accreditation exercise fixed then for January 20 2023.”
It further said that “this Association was founded to protect the interest of serving and retired members of staff of Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation at all times and in all places. Consequently, the Association is not happy to confirm that, the two topmost female Directors of Audit that seem to have met all necessary requirements for accreditation were dropped.
“Also of note was the inclusion of one of the three serving Directors of Audit (Mr Shaakaar Kantiyor Chira FCNA) —promoted to Director of Audit on January 1 2021, that was among three earlier screened but not added to the list requested for as per letter Ref. no. FCSC/CHMN/023/1/126 of January 13 2023.”
It asked the Commission to be “gender-sensitive by bringing these two experienced female directors that were promoted in January 2017 up to the accreditation list and allow them to partake fully in the remaining exercise for the appointment of Auditor-General for the Federation.” They also want the two female Directors of Audit to be officially told the justifiable reason why their names were not included in the accreditation list.
In a letter dated May 31 2023, the immediate past Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Oluwole Oke informed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the infractions existing in the agency which is supposed to audit all government assets and accounts and present reports to the National Assembly.
Incidentally, by the provisions of section 85 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, all audited reports are to be submitted only to the National Assembly.
Oke, whose committee has oversight function over the agency for four years, drew the attention to developments within the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation bothering on constitutional infractions on the appointment of a substantive Auditor-General of the Federation.
He accused the Office of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Civil Service Commission of ignoring the provisions of the public service rules by appointing a junior director to oversee the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation. This decision also contravened the provisions of section 86(3) which requires a resolution of the Senate for anybody to act in the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
In a petition with reference no HR/ PAC/SC05/9NASS/66/206, Oke said the Head of Service contravened the provisions of the Constitution which states that no one should occupy an office in acting capacity for more than six months. As a result of the development, he said, several annual audited reports of MDAs have not been submitted to the National Assembly because the person acting as the Auditor-General lacks the power to sign the reports.
The Nation investigation revealed that the last audited report of the government expenditure submitted to the National Assembly is the 2019 report, while the 2021 and 2022 annual reports are still pending. He said the working of the Public Accounts Committees in the National Assembly has been hampered by such delays.
He said: “The position of the Auditor-General of the Federation became vacant on September 7 2022 after the retirement of the then substantive Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr Aghughu Adolphus.
Contrary to the practice within the Public Service, which is that the most senior official is required to assume the role of the Head of the Institution in an acting capacity, the number three director (Mr Andrew Onwudili) with less than two years to serve was imposed on the Office and designated as the “Director Overseeing the Office” by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
This practically upturned the seniority nominal roll of the Office and created severe animosity and apathy within the Office. In addition to the above, Section 86(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) requires that a public official heading a position can act only for six months and another person can be appointed in an acting capacity.
However, the Director Overseeing the Office has acted beyond the required six months, which is a gross violation of the Constitution. The implication of this is that actions taken by him are both illegal and unconstitutional.
In addition, the Annual Audit Report “for various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) which is due for “submission to the National Assembly, has not been signed and cannot be laid before the National Assembly.
The Director Overseeing the Office lacks the constitutional capacity to sign these reports; hence, it has created a backlog, which is affecting the performance of Committees within the National Assembly.”
Oke further said that “based on my personal inquiry and review of the situation, I noticed that one Mrs Oluseyi Ogundowo is the most senior director within the office and should have assumed the role of Acting Auditor-General.
The relocation of over a dozen foreign airlines from the dilapidated old terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) to the new facility at the Lagos Airport is not boding well for passengers processing their flights from the nation’s premier gateway. Aside the inconvenience of leaving their homes at least three hours before the scheduled time for departure, overburdened conveyor belts, succumbing to unprecendented surge in passenger numbers and uncoordinated procedures by aeronautical authorities, travelling through the new international terminal is becoming nightmarish, writes KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR.
These are not the best of times for passengers processing flights out of the country through the new terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
Reason: Airlines, passengers and other airport users are having a raw deal adjusting to the pains in the hurried relocation of processing flights from the new facility.
Though the Federal Government had given up to October 1 for the foreign airlines operating from the over four decade-old facility to move to the new infrastructure, a recent fire outbreak from the basement of the MMIA has altered the narrative.
Only last week, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) effected an accelerated implementation of the Federal Government’s directive forcing dozens of carriers to commence processing of passenger flight procedures from the new facility.
But, the hurried arrangement has not been without the anticipated hiccups as passengers continue to lament harrowing experiences using the new facility.
FAAN had in a notice informed passengers that flights precessing had moved from the old terminal to the new facility, urging them to leave their places of abode at least three hours before their departure time to complete check-in and other procedures in time.
This arrangement has not gone down well with many passengers, who have raised concerns over the failure of the airport to ramp up its facilities ahead of the anticipated surge.
Before the recalibrated passenger facilitation procedure, only six carriers – Air Peace, Qatar Airways, ASKY Airlines, South African Airways and African World Airlines (AWA) – were processing flights from the new terminal.
The new terminal has not been put to optimal use because of inadequate space to construct avio-bridges that could accommodate bigger aircraft.
Despite the obvious error in construction design in putting in place such a modern facility without consideration for avio- bridges for wide-body aircraft, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Mr Festus Keyamo said plans were afoot to procure shuttle buses that would convey passengers from the new facility to board at the airside.
The Minister recently said: “We have to find a way to use the new terminal. Like in many other countries, we have to get emergency procurement to buy big buses and move passengers to where the big planes can stop for both arrivals and departures so that Nigerians can have some form of comfort.
“The long-term plan is that, we are going to find a way to build avio-bridges for the big aircraft coming in and that means some of those private hangars will have to go for public purpose, we have to relocate them so that we can have a beautiful, functional gateway to Nigeria.”
To drive this however, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways, KLM/Air France, Lufthansa German Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt Air. Royal Air Maroc, Air Cote D’Ivoire, Rwand Air, Delta Airlines and others last week commenced processing of passenger at the new terminal.
While many industry watchers described the relocation as good, others said the government needed to put some things in place before implementing the directive.
The former President, Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), Dr Gbenga Olowo commended the Federal Government for the development, but urged the Federal Government to move regional flights from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport to the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2).
Olowo said Keyamo’s directive was appropriate.
But an industry player, who pleaded not to named in print, said the absence of buses to connect passengers from the local to the international terminal could stall the proposal.
Worried over the development, the Federal Government set up a task force to address challenges arising from the relocation.
To lead the task force, the government selected Hassan Musa, a retired permanent secretary and former Director, Air Transport Management; Adebayo Oladipo, the General Manager, Aerodrome, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA); three Special Assistants to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, namely, Mr. Collins Mukoro, Mrs. Uyoyou Edhekpo, and Mr. Henry Agbebire.
It would be recalled that during Minister’s inspection of the Lagos Airport last week, he had given October 1 as deadline for the movement.
However, the management of FAAN altered it when the fire broke out. It, however, pleaded for the public’s understanding of the situation.
“The statement reads: “We urge passengers and other stakeholders to be patient and bear with us as the inconvenience caused will soon be resolved. Your understanding plays a vital role in making this transition smoother for everyone involved.
“The primary objective of this task force is threefold, namely, to resolve passenger Concerns. The task force will work diligently towards resolving all concerns raised by passengers regarding congestion, discomfort, and related issues stemming from terminal relocation.
“We are committed to ensuring that every passenger’s voice is heard and addressed promptly.
The task force is also to work minimise discomfort: Our focus dwells on minimising any form of discomfort during this transition period. Efforts will be made in streamlining processes at both terminals while closely monitoring operations 24/7. Measures such as enhanced signage, dedicated support staff, improved communication channels will be implemented proactively.
“Effective Public Communication: We pledge transparency throughout this process by providing regular updates on progress made in addressing concerns arising from airline relocations. FAAN aims at improving public relations strategies through various channels including online platforms and customer service helplines so that you stay informed about developments firsthand.
“The Minister, however, extends his deepest regrets over the inconvenience caused and assures all travellers that we are fully committed to resolving these concerns promptly.
“We pledge our commitment to passenger comfort, safety, and overall satisfaction during this transitional period.”
There have been complaints of passengers missing their flights because of hitches in check-in, among others.
Investigations indicate that many passengers missed their connection flights as the majority of the airlines left Lagos late, including British Airways, Air France KLM and Qatar Airways, which left four hours beyond their schedule.
An airline official described the situation as chaotic because the new terminal had not seen such upsurge in passenger movement to the extent that travellers found it difficult to identify the check-in counters of their airlines.
There was also baggage belt malfunctions at the new terminal, which exacerbated the challenge.Though the new terminal has state-of-the-art facilities, it is smaller than the old terminal tiriggering congestion, forcing passengers to spill outside the terminal. Travellers with big luggage found it difficult to move their luggage to the checking, a source said.
Also, the facility has only one main entrance gate and passengers have to use escalator to climb to departures, which made movement sluggish, especially during peak hours.
An official of the airport authority said: “The airlines actually knew what to do but the terminal was small compared to the old one and that is what made passenger processing difficult, as check in took longer time and some passengers found it difficult to locate their airlines.
“It was difficult for passengers that have many luggage because they have to wait for the lift but those with lighter bags use the elevator. But things got better at getting better, we hope it will continue to improve.”
An official of a foreign carrier, who declined to named in print, called on the Federal Government to address the challenges emanating from the use of the new terminal comprehensively.
The official said: “The main issues are: space constraint. The terminal does not have the capacity to accommodate the number of passengers that they’re forcing into space.”
Food security is essentially defined as the state in which all essential food staples, particularly rice, are accessible and affordable. Rice used to be the cheapest dietary staple, often labelled as the sustenance of the masses. However, in recent times, the cost of rice has soared to an extent where it’s no longer associated with just the poor, as general scarcity of food has become widespread. This crisis is exacerbated by various detrimental factors affecting the agricultural sector, including stiff competition from inexpensive imports, adverse impacts of climate change, and lack of mechanised farming. Rice yields remain notably low while its supply chain faces a fresh threat from perennial shortage of paddy, DANIEL ESSIET reports
There are rising concerns over the inability of Nigeria to retain its position as Africa’s largest rice producer. This is because farmers struggle to produce enough to meet the needs of Nigerians. According to research by Statista, rice production in Nigeria amounted to around 8.3 million metric tons in 2021, making the country the leading rice producer in Africa.
Indeed, the industry has experienced rounds of good planting and harvesting from quite a lot of paddies in the past years, with attractive market prices encouraging farmers to increase rice acreage. Following this, rice production in Nigeria increased from 325,000 tons in 1969 to 5.1 million metric tons in 2019; growing at an average annual rate of 8.76 per cent. This is according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). In spite of this, rice prices have soared in almost 23 years as a result of insecurity and dry weather that threaten production. The combined effects of climate change, conflicts and economic shocks have pushed rice prices upwards, leaving millions of people extremely vulnerable as a result of low purchasing power. The consequences of surging rice prices have made it become a daily struggle to put enough nutritious food on the table.
Timeline of increment in rice prices
There has been a massive rise in the price of rice from about N8,500 per bag of 50 kilogrammes in 2015 to roughly N45,000 per bag this year. Analysts are already predicting that a bag of rice could hit N60,000 next month. In 2000, a 50kg bag of rice averaged ?2,500. In 2014, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, a 50kg bag of rice averaged ?10,000. At the end of June 2020, a 50kg bag of rice cost ?26,000.
Ordinarily, the rising price should get more farmers to expand planting areas to make more money. However, the President of the Young Rice Farmers’ Association of Nigeria, Rotimi Williams, told The Nation that, while higher grain prices should encourage rice producers, the costs of key inputs to boost rice yields have been on the rise. This is besides extreme weather that has affected cropping patterns. Williams has had to spend thousands on different fertiliser, diesel and water, among others to produce rice on a paddy.
Sometimes, he and other rice farmers have been constrained by droughts and heavy rains which flood the fields. His concern is that the threat to rice production also comes at a time when the country is already grappling with soaring food costs. The Flour Milling Association of Nigeria Agronomist, Ahmed Tijani, said farmers in the Northern Nigeria were experiencing unprecedented changes in rainfall patterns, droughts and extreme heat. According to analysts, increased demand and supply gaps can lead to high rice prices in the medium and long-term periods.
According to the President of the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN), Dr. Victor Iyama, there ought to be multiple strategies introduced to achieve specific self-sufficiency targets. This, he indicated, should prompt the re-evaluation of existing policies to provide high priority for the development of the agricultural sector, especially rice and other staple foods. Therefore, the government should continue to strengthen the rice sector through various initiatives and strategies, where the key focus is on the improvement of research and development of existing infrastructure to boost rice yield.
The Group Chief Executive of AFEX Commodities Limited and past Chairman of Smallholder and Agri-SME Finance and Investment Network (SAFIN), Ayodeji Balogun, believes that only increased private sector engagement in rice farming and staple foods reserve systems can support the government effort to ensure food supply chains. According to him, the introduction of the warehouse receipts system, which his organisation is driving, would help to mitigate the shortage of working capital loans faced by rice processors, wholesalers and retailers.
Nigeria now accounts for 70 per cent of Africa’s milled rice production growth over the past decade. Milled rice production was estimated at five million metric tons last year. Analysts expected it to grow at 10 per cent by 2025. This notwithstanding, the quantity of unprocessed rice produced outnumbered that of milled rice. As elsewhere, the persistently high cost of transportation has pushed up production expenses beyond expectations. Farmers attributed the price hike to an increase in transportation costs after the removal of the fuel subsidy on May 29 2023; coupled with the escalating expenses associated with acquiring foreign exchange.
Explaining the increase in rice price, the President of the All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Ibrahim Kabiru, said the high price of inputs such as seed, fertilisers and other chemical inputs such as herbicides, labour and transportation costs for moving the commodity from the farm to the processing mills have been some of the major challenges responsible for hike in price. Due to transportation hikes along the production routes, smallholder farmers have struggled to increase production in a cost-effective manner with the key inputs continuing to rise. The result is a shortage of rice, even for rice processors and millers.
The impact has been massive with stakeholders identifying insufficient supply of rice as the major factor responsible for the high cost of local rice. Another contributing factor to the hike in prices of rice is insecurity; local producers have been scaling down production while local traders are holding onto their stocks. This coincides with the lean months of July and August when there were less harvest. Stakeholders have also identified insufficient paddy rice and poor irrigation as another factor hindering all-year-round farming. Rice millers have attributed the hike in rice prices to the scarcity of paddy in the open market.
The report reveals that many rice mills have been forced to shut down operations due to paddy scarcity and the high cost of production. In response to this, the Chairman of the Northern Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Alhaji Dalhatu Abubakar, alerted that scarcity of raw materials is forcing millers to shut down operations. He explained that the implication of scarcity of paddy was the current increase in the price of parboiled rice, which, he noted, would further increase the activities of smugglers. He expressed his fear that food insecurity might reach its worst level in the country if the scarcity of paddy, a major raw material for the production of finished rice persists. Abubakar stressed that several millers had cut down production hours from 24 to 12, even as they sacked factory workers.
Williams also attributed the scarcity to insecurity issues that have been forcing many farmers to abandon their farmlands. He further linked the scarcity to the coup in the Niger Republic, which, he noted, had put a halt to the importation of paddy from countries within the West African sub-region. Sadly, the report said mills have been receiving wet paddy to enable them to meet up with market demands.
Interested parties express fear about food crisis
While rice-producing states such as Kebbi and Jigawa have become beehives of activities as millers were rushing to access paddy, the price has jumped to more than N450,000 per ton for the paddy with moisture. A ton in early June 2023 was sold at N330,000. Analysts fear a possible food crisis as a bunch of problems threaten to disrupt the supply of paddy.
Experts say that if Nigeria fails to introduce a proper action plan to tackle the paddy shortage, the situation could become disastrous. The low output, according to them, may cause further upward pressure on inflation and downward pressure on the economy. As rice is one of the country’s staple foods, it points to further pressure on a country already struggling with its worst economic crisis in modern times, including runaway inflation and growing levels of malnutrition. Analysts are worried that a drop in rice production will complicate the country’s inflation fight.
Following the Federal Government’s ban on importation of rice in 2019, the Republic of Niger has banned the re-exportation of rice from the country. The Nigerian government closed some of its borders to prevent the smuggling of banned goods into the country. This, however, didn’t stop traders from neighbouring countries from using the Niger Border to smuggle imported white and parboiled rice into Nigeria. The closure of the border months ago was a mixed fortune for the smugglers who smuggle rice and other items into Nigeria.
Eko Rice as elixir?
Lagos State invested in the construction of a 32-metric-ton-per-hour rice mill, with the hope that it will produce 115,200 metric tons of milled rice yearly. At the beginning of the year, the state launched Eko Rice in various sizes, including 50kg bags. So far, the supply of paddy has affected the rice processing at the facility.
On why there is scarcity of Eko Rice, the immediate Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and Rice Mill Initiative, Mr Oluwarotimi Fashola, said: “The problem now is the challenge of paddy supply. Everybody knows that there is no paddy in the market. Eko Rice has been in the market since January. It has been sold in commercial quantities since the beginning of the year. We are in August; it has been in the market since January.”
Early this year, the Lagos State Government said it would need about N100 billion annually to purchase paddy for the Imota Rice Mill in the Ikorodu area of the metropolis. Fashola said this huge amount of money might not be taken from the government’s coffers because of other items begging for attention, but the capital market would be a good avenue to source such funds. According to him, this is why the state government has agreed to partner with the Lagos Commodities and Future Exchange (LCFE) and other key capital market operators to provide sustainable finance to the commodities ecosystem through the generation of tradable financial instruments.
Fashola said: “Imota Mill will require over 200,000 tons of paddies annually. It is not cheap. In Nigeria as of today, that is going into almost N100 billion, and N100billion of taxpayers’ money being taken from the government funds will not be the easiest to do in any financial year. However, with the partnership with the commodities exchange, we can maintain the flow of paddy to the mill. If the mill continues to run, we have a comparative advantage of having a good price, and at the same time, the finished rice becomes available in the market.”
According to analysts, one of the key challenges the mill will be grappling with is raw material, paddy rice to service the mill. Without enough supply of paddy to feed it, analysts believe the facility is going to be underutilised, which will lead to waste. They urged Lagos to concentrate more on how to directly get the raw materials, not contracting it to other states, which have their own problems. They cited the logistics to bring the paddy rice to Lagos from other states which will push up the cost.
In response, the government has empowered about 800 rice farmers to grow more paddy rice. The immediate State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, explained that the state government’s strategic intervention was informed by the need to boost activities of rice farmers in the state. “It is expected that if these farming techniques are adopted by the farmers in the next planting season, it will result in an increase in paddy production to an expected average yield of four tons per hour,” she said.
Continuing, she said: “Due to the fact that the state has limited agricultural cultivable land area, and with the increasing rate of small and large-scale rice mills across the country, there is a strain on the state getting a constant supply of paddy to feed the mill. The government has trained rice farmers in Ikorodu, Epe, Badagry, Gboyinbo, Idena, Obada, ItoIkin, and Ise to bridge the rice demand deficit of residents and the Federal Government’s current ban on rice importation.”
The threat of drought
Any prolonged drought may lead to a shortage in rice supply if adaptation methods to raise production are not taken. Several state governments have initiated plans to introduce drought-resistant seeds. However, the seeds can be costly for poor farmers to access. Internationally, several factors are contributing to the steep rise in rice prices. These include drought and other bad weather. Many rice farmers are turning to more lucrative cash crops; hence reducing the quantity of land devoted to production of the grain.
Several communities on the Nigeria-Niger Republic border are currently gripped by uncertainty and fear of imminent war, with unbridled starvation and deprivation staring the residents in the face. In this report, AUGUSTINE OKEZIE and AHMED RUFA’I examine the dire situations in some of these communities
Already, the border communities have begun to experience severe hardships because of the economic sanctions imposed on the Niger junta by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders. Movements across the borders and within the communities have remained grounded to a halt, even as socio-economic activities and Cross-border trades, among others have been paralysed; with trade and commerce the worst hit.
Our correspondent who visited the border towns of Magama Jibia, Dankama and so on, reports that the people living in those areas are perpetually in fear of the unknown, and are experiencing starvation as well as crippled economic activities. Disenchanted by the development, residents of the Jibia-Magama Border Community in Katsina State have decried the decision of ECOWAS leaders to invade Niger to restore democracy.
According to them, the shutdown of the border has crippled their socio-economic activities in the area, making the youth jobless and encouraging street begging as the best option to survive the hardship. The resolution by the ECOWAS leaders has affected the livelihood of the Jibia-Magama Border communities; with many of them living in doubt of what may happen in future.
The Nation also observed that the Jibia-Magama Border has been shut down and that no vehicular movement is allowed in or out of the area, while several trucks were seen parked along the roads. According to our correspondent, individuals were seen on foot crossing to a nearby town to attend a local market in Dan Isah Community in the Nigerien territory. Also, local traders have devised means to manoeuvre their way into local markets to buy and sell just to survive the hardship caused by the border closure and fuel subsidy removal that has skyrocketed prices of commodities.
Although security operatives have mounted roadblocks on some of the illegal routes to check the excess of such movement, people still find their way into the communities and hinterlands because they can’t withstand the indescribable hardship. Alhaji Abubakar Magama, a resident in the local hinterlands told The Nation that they are not happy with the decision to close the border, which has rendered their youths jobless and terrified, causing hatred between them and the neighbouring Nigerien citizens.
He said: “We don’t know anything about subsidy before except now. All we knew then was that Nigeria had available cheap foodstuff, but the reverse is the case. No Nigeria can boast of eating one square meal a day or feed a visitor because of the hardship we face.
“The closure of the border has made things more difficult for us. We want the government to tell us if we are part of Nigeria or Niger Republic?”
Currently, a dark cloud of war is gathering over the Niger Republic. This followed growing chances that the armies of the ECOWAS member states might invade the Niger Republic soon. The current situation is sending shivers down the spines of many Nigerians living in communities along the Niger border. They are, indeed, apprehensive that if ECOWAS goes ahead to declare war on Niger, they too would be gravely affected.
According to them, going to war against Niger is needless; even as they maintained that Nigeriens are not just their neighbours, but also their brothers. Therefore, any war in Niger, they said, is akin to war against them because they share not only boundaries with them but also cultural and socio-economic ties. Instead, they advised ECOWAS to employ dialogue in resolving whatever issues they had with the junta that ousted President Bazoum.
The Niger challenge began on July 26, 2023, when the world woke up to the news of a military takeover led by a certain Abdourahamane Tchiani. The Army General sacked the country’s constitutionally elected President, Bazoum, and has placed him under house arrest since then. Since the Niger crisis began, ECOWAS, under the chairmanship of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been voicing its displeasure at the development, stating that it would have none of the coup plotters’ acts. It wants Gen. Tchiani to stand down and hand power back to Bazoum.
But that is a tale the Tchiani team and a cross-section of Nigeriens don’t want to listen to. So, they have remained unyielding. Left to them, ECOWAS’ demands were merely gaseous. Therefore, at the moment, the Nigerien coup plotters are resisting ECOWAS and calling their bluff. They have even called out the vocal ones among them to first remove the timber in their own eyes before turning to Niger.
Earlier, the ultimatum ECOWAS handed down to the new Nigerien military authorities to hand over power had ended without any impact. “They are calling on the governments of ECOWAS member states to avoid war between the Niger Republic and ECOWAS which will have detrimental effects on both sides who are brothers.”
Nigeria Customs and border communities
The Nation recalled that at a recent visit to Jibia Magma Border Town in Katsina State, the Acting Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashiru Adewale Adeniyi vowed to enforce the official directive of President Tinubu regarding the closure of Nigeria–Niger Border in compliance with ECOWAS mandate. Adeniyi, who began the unscheduled visit at Illela in Sokoto State and arrived at the Customs Border Station, Magama – Jibia, Katsina State, told reporters at a stakeholders’ meeting at the event that his men will comply with the Federal Government’s directive on the total blockade of Niger Border with an unwavering mission in mind which is to help secure peace, security, trade and good governance across the African sub–region. The Customs boss further vowed in a speech that the operatives of the Customs and other sister agencies would keep the Nigeria–Niger Border closed down as ECOWAS and other world leaders push for the return of democratic governance in the French-speaking neighbouring country.
In an impassioned address made against the backdrop of Tinubu’s recent emergence as ECOWAS Chairman barely weeks after his inauguration as Nigerian President, Adeniyi described Tinubu as not only an asset to ECOWAS’ quest for free movement of goods, trade and people across the sub–regional body but also a testament to the ECOWAS leader’s enduring commitment to trade and commerce. The Acting CGC, after addressing members of Jibia stakeholders and reporters further commended the total blockade of all border posts and other entry or exit points in the affected states until another directive to reopen the border is given.
He was accompanied on the tour by top brass of the service, including the Katsina Customs Area Comptroller, Mohammed Nurudeen Musa. The major impediment to the enforcement of the Presidential directive however, as envisaged by opinion moulders in the state remains the perennial misunderstandings and clashes between men of the Nigerian Customs Service and their host communities at the border areas which had often hindered the implementation of government economic policies and programmes.
Most political and economic watchers in Katsina State strongly believe that the successful enforcement of the Federal Government’s directives and policies, including the present one, requires cordial bipartisan relationship among the Nigerian Customs Services, the host communities and the businessmen that ply the routes. Meanwhile, the Katsina State Governor, Mallam Dikko Radda has expressed concern over the poor relationship between personnel of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Jibia business community. He urged them to harmonise their economic partnership for economic growth in the border area.
At a town hall meeting with the Jibia business community and Nigerian Customs to renew efforts in ensuring sustainable peace in the area, the governor urged the Customs Service to ensure more surveillance on the border between the Magamar Jibiya-Niger, instead of focusing on Katsina-Jibia Road where the movement of goods is mainly for local consumption. The governor also pleaded with traditional rulers, members of the business community as well and security personnel in the area to work together to ensure peace and harmonious co-existence in Jibia and its environment. Jibia has been a border town between Nigeria and Niger Republic and it has experienced a series of misunderstandings between the Nigeria Customs and the business community that often resulted in loss of lives while chasing smugglers along the area.
Customs boss seeks cooperation of border communities during visit to Katsina
The Acting CGC assured that the decision to close the borders was a temporary measure taken in response to current events in Niger. He emphasised that the closure affects multiple borders within the ECOWAS region and that the Nigeria Customs Service will work to sensitise the affected communities to the reasons behind the decision. Responding, the Katsina State Deputy Governor, Farouk Lawal expressed his support and congratulated the Acting CGC on his appointment, wishing him a successful tenure.
During the visit, the Acting CGC also assessed the level of compliance with the border closure order at the Customs Katsina-Jibia Outstation. He interacted with the residents of the border area and stakeholders, urging officers to sensitise the communities to the rationale behind the closure. The stakeholders present at the meeting assured the CGC of their compliance and support throughout his tenure, as they understand the importance of maintaining a stable and secure atmosphere for meaningful economic development in the country.
Katsina residents condemn war with Niger
In Katsina State, Nigeria shares two prominent border posts with the Niger Republic, namely Jibia in Jibia Local Government Area and Kongalam in Mai’Adua Local Government Area. The two border posts exclude several other illegal routes designated through which residents of the border communities conduct their social and economic activities.
Several Nigerians living at the borders do not envisage any ECOWAS war with the Niger Republic. “There isn’t going to be any war,” Umar Sale, a resident of Jibia told The Nation during a chat. This is because we are brothers and sisters with our neighbours in Niger Republic.”
Apprehension among residents of Dan Isa, Jibia
Despite the aura of mixed optimism in Katsina, not a few residents of Dan Isa, a semi-urban settlement near Jibia have remained apprehensive several weeks after the military putsch in Niger Republic as well as the threats of an imminent war. Most shops in the area have been shut, businesses grounded for lack of goods because of the closure of the borders.
“If there is war, we are likely going to suffer some of the effects,” Saidu Mohammed, a resident said. Mohammed also feared that “this is a border town which Nigerian troops will go through to prosecute the war. And the ones from Niger Republic will also come here; then we will be caught in the middle.”
‘Nothing can separate us from the Nigeriens’
However, despite that economic activities are grinding to a halt along the Nigeria-Niger Republic border due to the sanctions imposed on the military junta by ECOWAS, smuggling activities have surged at an alarming rate. This illicit trade involves numerous parties from both the formal and informal sectors. The situation in the border communities of Jigawa State, situated between Nigeria and Niger, is particularly dire. Virtually no one has been spared from the adverse consequences of the border closure and the sanctions imposed on Niger Republic as a result of the military coup in the country.
Women, children, youth, and men are already experiencing the repercussions of these sanctions, with hundreds of them losing their jobs and sources of livelihood. The Niger military junta has significantly bolstered security along their border, preparing for any potential ground attack from ECOWAS and aiming to prevent any crossings into their country. Meanwhile, Nigerian security forces have closed the main border entry points and conducted round-the-clock patrols on pedestrian routes to ensure that neither goods nor people pass through.
The border communities around Maigatari and Babura in Jigawa State view the sanctions on Niger as a collective punishment, as they consider the people of Niger to be their blood brothers, business associates, and good neighbours. They have also voiced strong opposition to ECOWAS’s threat of using military force to reinstate a constitutional government in Niger, deeming it illogical and unnecessary. “If ECOWAS used military force against the juntas, it would be a single action with too many unending consequences and we would be the first casualties,” said border communities.
The local population is deeply concerned about the potential prolongation of the situation, fearing it could lead to an increase in criminal and terrorist activities in the area. They are particularly worried about their young men, who, due to losing their businesses as a result of the sanctions, might be tempted to join such groups. There’s also apprehension about the influx of weapons, akin to what occurred in Libya and Afghanistan. The imagined border between Nigeria and Niger is incredibly porous. These communities share virtually everything in common, including farmlands, markets, intermarriage, culture, tribe, and religion. Some communities even have their graveyards on the Niger side, and vice-versa.
As the situation intensifies, it has become apparent that the local population is increasingly involved in smuggling activities. The secretary of the association of cattle sellers Maigatari Market, Alhaji Muhammad Duwa said the removal of fuel subsidy has affected their business and now with this crisis and the subsequent sanction imposed on Niger Republic, everything has been crippled in their market and the area.
“Today we are no longer what we were in the past; the sanction has disconnected us from our main business partners. Niger people brought livestock to our market and in retune they buy foodstuffs and other essential commodities from us, but the sanction has completely cut off the transaction. We are all in a critical situation. Anything affecting Niger affects Nigeria; they are suffering from sanctions as it is biting harder on us. We are calling on the Nigerian President to put the interest of Nigeria first before that of ECOWAS. He should not allow the use of military power, because Nigeria will suffer the consequences more than any other West African country. What the Niger military did is wrong, and I am sure they have no peace of mind now; so let us not repeat the same mistakes by using military force to crash them. This will not solve the problems,” Duwa stated.
Ali Dan’uku, a commercial truck driver residing in Maigatari Town in Maigatari Local Government Area of Jigawa State revealed that he and his four children relied on the truck as their primary source of livelihood. However, with the sanctions imposed on Niger Republic, they have all become redundant, and the routes they have traversed for over 15 years are now closed. He explained, “I have only ever visited Kano and Kaduna states in Nigeria, but there isn’t a single state in Niger Republic where I haven’t delivered goods. Our border communities have stronger commercial ties with Niger than with Nigeria.
In Babura, the hometown of the Defence Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, the local people expressed concerns about the actions of the federal government. They called on the federal government to reconsider its decision without further delay. Those who spoke to our reporter emphasised that they did not support the military junta in Niger, but they were more concerned about their social and economic lives, as well as the well-being of ordinary people in the Niger Republic who were also suffering due to the sanctions. Reports from the area indicate that smuggling activities are on the rise, with many people engaging in this illegal trade either because their legitimate businesses were affected by the sanctions or because smuggling has become more lucrative.
Another individual, one of the motorcyclists involved in the smuggling operation, volunteered to speak to our reporter but requested not to have his name or picture published. He said: “Frankly speaking, we are pleased with the current situation. It has relieved us of the hardships we endured due to the fuel subsidy removal, which caused serious difficulties. Before this, many of us couldn’t afford to eat three meals a day. Sometimes, not even one meal every day, and we barely made ends meet. With the current development, we are now able to buy enough food for our families and even save some.”
Recalls his life as bricklayer, okada rider, commercial bus driver
Emmanuel Igbasan is a chartered management accountant and Ondo State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning. His grass-to-grace story as a former bricklayer, commercial motorcycle operator and commercial bus driver would no doubt constitute a source of inspiration for many. In a chat with journalists, including OSAGIE OTABOR, he explained why he stopped lying about his age, among other issues of interest.
I see the governor as a highly insightful person. I see him as a man devoid of offence towards anyone. He takes actions as it comes to him out of free consience. I had studied him when I came into governance. He is a lover of intelligence and a lover of critical issues. He is intolerant of indolence and lies, and this has made some people to misunderstood his person.
I have a very close relationship with him. I enjoy attending the National Economic Council meeting with him. He is a man of great conviction. If he is convinced, he would go ahead.
If he makes a genuine mistake, it is not intentional. That is the kind of person he is. He is passionate about developing Ondo State to the best of his ability. He also loves people with sincere hearts.
Working with him has further enriched me to make sure that I am sure of my facts and figures before I talk to him. I don’t talk to him as a politician; I talk to him as a technocrat and a coordinator of the economy. I do tell him the truth no matter what.
Did you set out to become a commissioner in Ondo State?
Did I ever think I would become a commissioner? The answer is no. Most of us come from mud, not even from stone. I earned my first degree as an Okada ( commercial motorcycle) rider. I was also an apprentice to a bricklayer, and my master then turned out to be the one that built my house in the village. He’s still a bricklayer till date. I was also an apprentice driver. I drove from Kubua to Kano to eke out a living, even after my graduation. I prayed that the future should be alright for me. The future has not arrived, but we are in the next bus stop.
Having passed through these experiences in life, how did you feel when you made your first million naira?
The first good money I made was N40,000. When I finished school, I worked with a microfinance bank. They paid me N7,500 per month. One day, I asked the bank Manager how many years he had spent on the job, and he said 16 years. His clothes and shoes were too bad. I called another worker there, who was a graduate and had also spent 12 years on the job. He lived in a room with his wife and children. I then decided to resign from the job because that was not the kind of life I wished for myself. I started looking for work but my age had advanced, so I removed 10 years from it.
Pacific Bank called me for an interview. When I got to the interview, they realised that I lied about my age. Hence I was not employed despite the fact that I performed well. They wrote that “he is brilliant, but he is a liar.” I went back home and tore my CV.
I knew that because of my age, God had excluded me from seeking for Job.
I have had lots of experience in advertising. I have been into editing. I have been a consultant to Federal Internal Revenue Service in Lagos and a consultant to Ogun and Oyo states before I found myself here. Every Man’s life has been designed by God. Rely on him, He will take you there. I don’t know what the future holds for me but I know the one who holds the future. So I knew that my future would be brighter.
What is the debt profile of Ondo State?
We have internal and external debts in the state. But when you bring the totality together, the conceptual debt amounted to N220 billion when we took over. Rght now, it has reduced to between N90 billion and N92 billion, including multilateral debt. All the salaries we paid were part of the debt. The cumnulatuve debt of pensioners was N35 billion when we took over. Even if we deploy the resources of the state, we cannot offset this. Then we decided to give N200 million to them yearly to sort the pensioners debt.
How they handled it is also another ball game, but I have my reservations on it. We also allocated N300 million for their pallaitive. We have paid all leave bonuses except for Level 9 to 15 in 2019. As of today, with all the work that has been done, I am not sure we are owing up to N10 billion as conceptual debt.
How has it been since you came on board the administration of Akeredolu in 2017?
When we came on board, we engaged the citizens on budgeting. We believe the people should be part of decision process on how we deploy their resources and engaging people on our budgeting process. Luckily, the governor gave us the go ahead. After doing this, we received many global partnerships. In the past few years, we have upheld physical transparency, accountability, openness and citizens engagement.
In 2019, when the European Union did a comparative analysis for physical transparency, Ondo State came first in terms of budget and physical transparency. The Budget and Economy Planing Ministry is the blood of the government and the life wire of the administration. Nothing moves in the state without the knowledge of the ministry because extra budgeting spending is an offence punishable by impeachment. For us in Ondo State we occupied this critical function to ensure optimum allocation of resources.
Apart from resource mobilization and optimum allocation for the betterment of our people, we liaise with all developmental partners across all sectors. Our ministry is the first port of call for any national or international agency before they do anything in Ondo State in any of the sectors. We relate with development partners such as the World Bank, WHO, European Union, African Union and many more. This is necessary because we should be able to guide them and direct them in line with the economic objectives of the government. You cannot just come in and go into any area and begin to function without alignment with the objectives of the Government of the day. This is what we do.
Many Nigerians do not understand whether your ministry makes any impact on their lives…
The impact of this ministry on the adminstration is very important. Sometimes you cannot see it physically unless you take a deeper look or you are an expert in this area. It holds on us to know something about everything for us to function efficiently. Incidentally, the result has been showing through our resources management.
Looking at our IGR, we are the primary ministry that sits with every revenue generating agency and agree optimally what they should bring to the collective pool. We have the responsibility of resources mobilization. If there’s any leakage in the system, we ensure that it is closed. We have the monetary department; they monitor our appropriations. We are ready to absorb constructive criticism and we would do what is necessary, especially for our people.
How has your planning affected the ordinary citizens of the state?
For us to live in a prosperous and sustainable manner, we should plan on how to unleash our potential in a way that would benefit us that are alive and also benefit the generations coming. Looking at the statistics that we have out there, Wikipedia put Ondo State as number seven in the size of our GDP. In the National Bureau of Statistics, we are number six. The National Enterprises Promotion Council put Ondo State as number four. The World Bank made Ondo State number six in terms of the size of our GDP. Our GDP is at $8.4 million.
We have to interrogate the system critically. Ondo State might not have industries, but God blessed everyone with a measure of gifts. We have up to five or six forest reserves. If we properly manage what God has given to us, other states are not better than us.
You recently rolled out a 30-year development plan for the state, which was tagged Ondo 2054…
For a state to be able to meet its needs, there is critical need to access its asset, its potentials and its capabilities. As at 2006 census, Ondo State was 3.6 million in population, and definitely, we would have a growth rate of 2.8. By now we would have a population of six million people. In 2054, which is 30 years from now, how many are we going to be? We have occupied everywhere. What does that por tend for our agricultural sector? We have been known as largest cocoa producer. Now Cross River has overtaken us.
What has happened to Oda Cocoa Reserve? Have we not bulldoze it off and begin to erect structures there? If we continue in this way, how do we ensure food security for the growing population?
Many commentators have described the recently held Develop Ondo 2.0 as a jamboree…
Develop Ondo 1.0 was organised in 2018, putting into consideration some of the background information given, looking at the great potentials of Ondo State, looking at the advantageous situation and location of the state. If you would go to Lagos from Ore, it would take less than two hours. From the South East to Ore, it would take less than two hours to get to Asaba. We have close distance to the economy areas. Looking at the southern zone, we are opened into the Atlantic, which gives us natural advantage to use. That was what necessitated develop Ondo 1.0 to showcase the potentials and the benefits of partnering with Ondo State.
One of the benefits is the development of the Air route in Akure Airport. You are aware that it is not state-owned. But for us to bring investors, transportation is key, and now we have three flights almost on daily basis. We can see that number of people that have residential houses and businesses in Ondo State has increased because they no longer need to travel through the den of kidnappers before they get to Ondo State.
Another benefit of 1.0 is security, and that was when Mr Governor championed Southwest Nigeria Security Network known as Amotekun. Today we are all beneficiaries of the peace in the community and safety of life and property. This administration brought UNDP back during Develop Ondo 1.0. They are now profitable partners of Ondo State. There is no amount of money you spend on your state that is a waste. The benefits might not materialise directly but somehow, you would get the indirect benefits. Those ones that manifested directly would attract world investors. At Ore, we have partners on our farms there, which have engaged nothing less than 4,000 workers.
Coming to Ondo 2.0, it is too early to say that there’s nothing to do. You would see that we do engaged the NDDC on the project we wanted to execute at the moment. We engaged them on our objectives; they can’t just throw projects at us. We have to develop Ondo together. Chevron has also partnered with us. The benefits have started coming in even before it ends. It is not just a jamboree.
When will Port Ondo kick off?
In the whole of Africa, the only place to find a deep sea port is in Ondo State. Other ports like Badagry, Apapa, Onne, are all river ports. Ours is deep sea port. To bring more economic advantage to Ondo, we decided to develop our deep sea port. It supposed to be projected by the Nigeria port development, but Ondo did it.
What is the plan to curb Ayetoro sea incursion?
It is a problematic and pathetic one for us as a state. If you look at the historical heritage of that place and their enterprises, it is not a place that should go into extinction. There are so many theories, because for me, before I proffer a solution, I want to dig deep into the root of the problem so that I won’t be dealing with the symptoms.
I told Mr Governor that before we can give solutions to the problem in Ayetoro, we need to know the cause. There’s no vacuum in nature. If you look at the proximity of Ondo State to Lagos and the quantum of sand that was pulled from the sea to create a city where they drove the sea several miles away, there’s possibility the sand was taken from Ondo State. Some states erected sea breakers at the buttom of the sea, which would change the natural cause of flow of the sea water. That might have been the repercussions that we are facing here.
Another perspective is the activities of the oil companies. While I was doing my research, I stumbled on information as far back as 1958, and it has been predicted that something like this would happen.
The rise in climate change and the erosion level can be the cause too in Ayetoro. They have awarded numerous projects to salvage the issues in Ayetoro. One of them brought in sand to fill the place, but within a few days, they ran out of sand.
Many of the perspectives put there are not true. We need to conduct critical survey on the solution to that place. Mr Governor, before he went on vacation, had set up a committee on Ayetoro problem. They are to look for fund to tackle the situation. The Governor was emotional, and he said this would be one of the bad things he would be leaving behind; that he left Ayetoro worse than he met it.
If there is anyone who is not undaunted by difficult assignments—someone society can bank on to take on an existential problem and find a lasting solution to it—that must be Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd).
If you put the country’s biggest problem on the table and ask Nigerians for suggestions of trusted hands capable of solving it, he will be one of the obvious choices for many citizens across generations and ethnicities. It is not surprising that his name comes to mind quickly. In three cycles, he has proven his mettle by taking on gargantuan challenges and, each time, delivering spectacularly. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the results. That’s the Marwa way: his methodology, reflective of deep thinking; his feats, symbolic of his persona as a solution provider. Time and again, he leaves us with the impression that he is the kind that doesn’t come too often. A rare bread that is in short supply. The all-round leader.
Whatever this retired Army General touches turns to gold. Almost instantly. His imprint is more potent than the much-vaunted Midas’ touch. Everywhere he has been, he has left elaborate footprints. In and out of the military. In and out of government. In our society and beyond.
Yet Marwa is not unlike the rest of us. He has had his ups and downs. He has been through thick and thin. But wherever destiny takes him, and whatever fate drops on his laps, he takes it on wholeheartedly, with dedication and purpose, and leaves no room for half measures. He goes more than the proverbial extra mile to achieve good results. And that is why his exploits are unforgettable and immeasurable, and even legendary.
I mentioned three cycles earlier. The first was his sojourn in Lagos State, which has become a locus classicus for how to govern a state. Lagos is a state of giants. And Marwa’s records stand tall and are everlasting. He had a glorious moment as the Military Administrator of Lagos, where he was pragmatic, prudent and achieved a litany of feats with a strict budget of N14 billion, never borrowing a dime, and handing over a cash amount of N2 billion to his successor, which Wikipedia testifies is “the highest amount handed over from one state administrator to another.”
His Lagos ‘oeuvre,’ which we are all familiar with, was actually his Second Cycle of achievements. The first, relatively unsung, was when he was the Military Governor of the old Borno from 1990 to 1992. Old Borno is present day Borno and Yobe. Marwa left his mark on Borno in the areas of healthcare delivery, education, agriculture, and infrastructure. He created the first Ministry of Water Resources at the state level. Through direct labour, he constructed roads and completed the Maiduguri International Hotel. The highlight of his Borno years was how he reined in a brewing insurgency from across the border in the neighbouring Republic of Chad. The marauders were dislodged members of the Chadian Army who boldly crossed the border into Nigerian territory in Borno State to pillage border communities, Boko Haram style. Marwa quickly nipped the problem in the bud with a military taskforce that policed the border and responded with helicopters to confront the pillagers.
Presently, he is in his Third Cycle of achievements as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). We knew how deeply mired in the cesspool of drug trafficking Nigeria had been in the past. Our young men and women are serving time in various prisons across the world for drug trafficking. A few had gone to their deaths in countries with harsh posture towards illicit drugs. Within the country, we were teetering towards an illicit drug epidemic.
Marwa and the wonderful people at NDLEA have turned around the narrative. Like a general leading the battle, he leads the NDLEA workforce in a purpose-driven campaign against the drug underworld, a full spectrum offensive action that has seen 38 drug barons currently facing prosecution. Today, Nigeria is in a new epoch of drug law enforcement that has made the country the cynosure of the international community. Going by his precedents, we can be assured that the Marwa-led NDLEA will clean the Augean Stable.
To the ultimate question: What makes this man tick? The Marwa enigma has been well-assayed, no doubt. We have dissected his pedigree as the scion of a military family and how that may have been the factor for his audacity in taking on herculean tasks; we have x-rayed his management acumen and talked about how that may have been influenced by his education—yes, he has Master of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh (1985) and Master of Public Administration, Harvard (1986); and his scholarly disposition (as the author of three books) has been talked about, especially in unravelling his intellectual approach to issues.
There is, however, an aspect of him that adds colour and brings fresh perspective to his personality. His humanity. I have been privileged to study him at close quarters as we crisscrossed the country on the WADA advocacy campaign. In several interactions with military chiefs across the armed forces, I have had an earful of odes about the General. Many had given attestations of how they became who they are in the military as a result of the knowledge acquired from his books, which enabled them to pass exams in Defence Academy and War College. Once at a book launch, a citizen recalled how Marwa’s act of humanity some 30 years ago gave him a new lease on life. A multitude of people have versions of that story to tell. Marwa’s humanity is a never-ending story that flows from the fountain of his service to man, country, and God.
Born on September 9, 1953, Marwa is 70 today. He has remained as constant as the northern star. His life is defined by service. He is still serving this great nation. For him, life is about service. Instead of rolling out drums and marking the day with a fanfare befitting of the milestone, he’s miles away in the Holy Land to thank his creator.
For a man who has served Nigeria in every sense of the word ‘service’, his new age drives home a fact: The country still needs him. It is heartwarming to know that at 70, Marwa is able and willing to continue the service.
Babafemi, is the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA
