Category: The NewsMaker

When President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration officially ends on May 29, after eight years in power, his legacy would be defined by the policies he implemented to Nigeria’s misery or relish.

As a ‘former President’ Buhari’s bequest would be defined by how humane his governance style was and what miseries or bounties were triggered by his policies.

Would history be kind to him? Or would it cruelly reserve for him, a space in the pantheon of Nigeria’s most unpopular leaders?

Beyond his sparse achievements, President Buhari would be remembered most especially for the glaring shortcomings of his administration and its insensitivity to the masses’ plight. More worrisome is his take-it-or-leave-it-attitude concerning his missteps and draconian policies.

Observers believe if Buhari is indeed concerned about what people would judge to be his legacy, he ought to be circumspect about his daily decisions as Nigeria’s chief executive. While he may believe that he has saved Nigeria from ruin, many Nigerians view his administration differently.

Buhari has continued to receive knocks, especially from legal giants over his flagrant disregard for the Supreme court following his approval of the use of old N200 notes while maintaining that the old N500 and N1000 cease to be legal tender.

In the past few weeks, the bizarre naira redesign policy which has sparked social unrest in some states has been largely criticised by many Nigerians, as it has occasioned hardship in financial transactions.

The more troubling development is that it appears the Buhari-led administration has lost touch with the reality of things and the dilemma facing the masses.

The hardships Nigerians have been subjected to in the past few months have been troubling. While the citizenry smarted the inconveniences imposed upon them courtesy shortcomings in the registration procedures at the National Identification Number (NIN) centres and the PVC registration/collection centres, Nigerians, recently have had to endure inexplicable fuel shortages and scarcity of the newly redesigned naira denominations (N200, N500, and N1000).

Consequently, crises have broken out at several bank facilities, filling stations, and INEC and LGAs offices across the country as the citizenry besiege.

Nigerians have never had it so bad. From Edo, Delta, Ogun, Lagos, and Kwara to Rivers, Ondo, and Oyo States, there have been protests – some of them have been violent, leading to vandalisation of bank assets.

Everything appeared well-intentioned until, midway into the currency swap programme, the Godwin Emefiele-led CentralBank of Nigeria (CBN), pronounced a “cashless” policy decision, which placed limits on withdrawals from individual and corporate accounts domiciled in deposit money banks in Nigeria.

The possibility of watching the ongoing crisis snowball into unimaginable proportions was scary as the citizens protested. Thus the governments of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara states approached the Supreme Court before Nigeria descended into anarchy.

The governors’ intervention, however, translated to a temporary reprieve as the Federal Government and CBN flagrantly flout the Supreme Court’s February 8 order of interim injunction, restraining both the commercial banks from suspending or ending on February 10, the usage and circulation of now older versions of the N200, N500, and N1000 denominations as legal tender, pending the hearing and determination of the plaintiffs/applicants’ motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, February 15, reasserted the ruling following a complaint by the lawyer to Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara states, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN), that theFed Govt and its agencies have failed to comply with the order and have allegedly directed the rejection of the old notes.

Consequently, the local economy and citizenry suffer unimaginable hardships. Amidst expectations that President Muhammadu Buhari would resolve the matter in seven days as he promised in the wake of the crisis, CBN governor, Emefiele, has admitted that the apex bank does not have the capacity to print adequate new naira notes.

The naira redesign policy has created so much ruckus since it was announced by CBN Governor, Emefiele. Buhari pleaded for seven days to address the issue yet there was no meaningful outcome. He summoned a council of states meeting, and they advised him on how to salvage the situation. Governors also offered ideas on how to make the policy work but it appears Buhari had his own plan.

The ball has been in Buhari’s court. Nigerians expected him to pacify the masses by showing empathy and suspending the obnoxious implementation of the naira redesign policy, but he failed to do that. Rather when he addressed the nation, there were several nuanced issues in his speech. It lacked empathy and resonated as an unrealistic defense of his ill-advised policy direction. Many allege this could be his greatest undoing. Buhari, while addressing the nation, had said that the old N500 and N1,000 banknotes were no longer legal tender in the country. He, however, said the old N200 note would be legal tender for the next 60 days, till April 10, 2023, while urging Nigerians to deposit their old N500 and 1000 notes with the CBN.

It’s hard to magnify the significance of President Buhari’s disregard of Supreme Court orders, not just for the operation of the rule of law but also for the effective respect for constitutional rights. Yet, the president is carrying on, irrespective of how citizens are bearing the brunt of a bizarre policy.

What has irked many so far is why would the president be experimenting with what seems to be a politically motivated monetary policy, that has caused too many citizens sorrow, tears, and blood.

The new notes are grossly inadequate. Yet, against all wise counsel, Emefiele’s CBN and Buhari-led administration are insisting on phasing out the old naira notes.

In a direct challenge to the directive of Buhari, some governors including Kaduna State Nasir El-Rufai; Kano governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; Jigawa State governor Abubakar Badaru and others have asked residents of the state to accept the old N500 and N1000 notes as legal tender because they championed the legal battle.

Recall that El-Rufai in the past days, rather than shy away, had chosen to sound the alarm on the bizarre policy. He had bluntly revealed that some “elements” in the Presidential Villa want its party to lose the February 25 presidential election. His exposè opened floodgates of reactions, and indeed it is becoming clear that the days ahead are bound to be interesting.

But it thus now appears that El-Rufai’s party, All Progressives Congress (APC), is fighting a twin battle from enemies within, and the opposition, but like the popular Yoruba proverb which says “Bi ikú ilé ò pani, tòde ò lè pani”, loosely translated “If the death at home does not kill, the death outside will not”, El-Rufai’s revelation bells the cat on some shady pipers dictating the discordant tunes within the ruling APC.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has also criticised the declaration made by the President. But beyond the immediate action or inaction of Buhari, it is important to do a proper diagnosis as to why Buhari is pushing for the policy which he claims that it would fight corruption and tackle security issues.

The President as the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces has an overriding duty to ensure respect for the judiciary and the rule of law, but it is quite appalling that after 20 years of civil rule, the executive seeks to roll back the hands of the clock.

Has Buhari walked his talk on the “rule of law”, in almost eight years of administration? The fight against corruption has been an important facet of his rhetoric but his disobedience of court orders, and flagrant disregard for court rulings puts into question his commitment to actually ending corruption.

Buhari may be setting a bad precedent with the gradual erosion of judicial powers and authority and outright disobedience to its judgments and rulings.

Last Saturday’s attack on the Igueben train station in Edo State by gun-wielding  kidnappers could not have come at a worse  time  for many Nigerians who are already fear stricken about their safety whether at home, work place, on the highway, on the streets, name it.

Kidnappers keep popping up anywhere and at any time, looking for their next victims.

Until the 28 March 2022 attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train by gunmen, a lot of commuters had seen rail transportation as safe and convenient.

But that does not seem to be correct any longer with the abduction of passengers waiting at the Igueben station to board the train to Warri. According to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), a handful of persons got whisked away, while many got injured trying to scamper for safety.

This Edo train attack happened just 10 months after the unfortunate attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train in Kaduna State, and also happening less than two months before the general elections in the country. In 2022, dozens of passengers were abducted by armed persons and several persons were killed in the attack.

Many of the kidnapped victims were later released after paying ransom to the kidnappers while others were released after negotiations between the government and the abductors.

While many adopted train service as the best, safest and more affordable means of transportation, they are gradually losing the trust in the safety of rail services. The clandestine mission of the Edo train attack caught many by surprise.

The Edo train attack throws up many questions about the essence of government, and more specifically, about the prioritisation of Nigerians safety, especially commuting through the rail services.

To sum it up, all these train attacks are indeed pointing to a disastrous fact that it is bad enough that the criminal gang or gunmen are showing superior intelligence than our security agencies to earn the commanding position.

It is even more unfortunate that terrorists are becoming more daring and brazen by the day. The fear generated by the dastardly act at Edo train station still remains a dilemma.

The ordeal of kidnapping leave victims agitated and traumatised at the end of the day. These attacks have been increasing in frequency, intensity, and citizens’ lives and rail assets are in peril.

Some Nigerians wonder what measures the Fidet Okhiria-led management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has in place to ensure the security of train passengers.

He was first appointed as the helmsman of NRC in 2016, Okhiria got his appointment renewed by President Buhari in 2020 for another term of four years.

Okhiria has faced scathing criticisms, over alleged failings of the corporation in its critical roles to guarantee safe rail transit.

Okhiria who hails from Iruekpen Ekpoma in Edo State, started his journey with the NRC as a pupil engineer and rose to the positon of Director Mechanical/Electrical/Signal and Telecommunication.

But sadly, under his watch, the facilities and rail tracks of NRC have come under attacks in recent times. The NRC has recorded various instances of vandalism of its rail tracks.

For Ohkiria, he argued that the attacks in the railway system were deliberate attacks, noting that security cannot be 100 per cent guaranteed, adding that even the United States of America still have challenges of security.

The Abuja-Kaduna rail was shut down for eight months to enable security operatives to carry out investigations, yet no one has been arrested in connection to the crime.

Many Nigerians are indeed tired and really want to know why security agencies are always “on top of the situation,” only after the attackers have wreaked havoc on their innocent victims.

The NRC owes Nigerians the constitutional duty of security and welfare. The NRC needs to reinforce assurances on safety and security using the rail services. It makes no economic sense that potential passengers are too perplexed to board due to safety concerns.

Importantly, security agencies have to re-double their efforts toward its prime responsibility of ensuring the security of lives and property.

With the 2023 general elections drawing closer, concerns about the spate of insecurity across the country and the impact it could have on the peaceful conduct of elections, have tended to spark anxiety across the land.

The Mahmood Yakubu-led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had warned that the rising security situation in parts of the country was not good enough and was capable of threatening the elections.

The development, it said, could force postponement of cancellation. But the Federal Government swiftly responded with an assurance that the elections would proceed as planned.

The security challenge, it emphasized, would not stop the polls in any way.

The assurance by the Federal Government followed concerns raised by stakeholders, civil societies and INEC, following rising cases of insecurity and the attack on the commission’s facilities in some parts of the country.

INEC said over 40 attacks had been carried out on its offices across 14 states since the 2019 general elections, with the South-east alone recording over 13 attacks.

Some Nigerians are in agreement with INEC on the threat posed to the conduct of the elections by the security challenge more so when facilities expected to be used by the commission are direct targets of the attacks.

They insist that the situation indeed calls for serious concerns, and that if not checked could undermine the conduct of free and fair elections.

This threat of insecurity is a major challenge for the security agencies in particular and not just INEC; they should bring their professional ingenuity to tackle this monstrous challenge. The onus lies on them to protect INEC and its personnel.

In past elections, the security situation affected the conduct of elections such that there was increased militarisation of some voting units on account of increased violence by unscrupulous people.

Observers say Yakubu and his team must not give room for manoeuvres by any one or group to undermine the public confidence in the commission’s capacity to deliver.

As the political atmosphere heightens, INEC and the security agencies should implement effective measures against the elements bent on derailing the exercise. Importantly, security agencies must take extraordinary measures to ensure hitch-free polling.

While President Buhari has repeatedly pledged to ensure a smooth transition to the next administration, relevant agencies and stakeholders must ensure all hands are on the deck to achieve maximum electoral success.

When the founder of DAAR Communications, Raymond Dokpesi left the shores of Nigeria last week for the United Kingdom (UK) he could not have imagined that an arrest was in the offing.

After all he had been in London many times over in the past and this time around he was part of the entourage of his long-standing friend and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, whose Campaign Council he serves as Deputy Director-general (Technical and Systems).

As soon as the plane carrying him landed at Heathrow Airport from Frankfurt, agents of the London Metropolitan Police invited him off the plane ahead of other passengers.

News of his encounter with the police soon went viral.

He was later released but no official reason was given by the police for the arrest.

One national newspaper quoted the police as merely saying in an electronic mail that: “On Sunday, 8 January, a 71-year-old man was arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of rape. The arrest relates to an allegation of rape in August 2019. The man has been bailed, pending further enquiries, to a date in early April. Enquiries into the circumstances continue.

“Please, note that we don’t confirm the identity of any person who has been arrested but not charged.”

The DAAR Management later said in a statement on Monday that Dokpesi had been released.

“Dokpesi was delayed at the airport for some hours before his passport was stamped and he was cleared by British Immigration officials for entry into the country,” it said.

“His visit to the United Kingdom is not unconnected to the invitation of the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar by the British government to share perspectives on issues around the 2023 presidential elections.

“Chief Dokpesi wishes to thank all for their outpour of love, prayers and support following the news of the incident and to reassure them that he is hale and hearty.”