The Nation Newspaper

Category: Special Report

  • For women, for youths and everyone

    For women, for youths and everyone

    On February 26, the Mai Mala Buni-led All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) will stage the party’s national convention. The convention is generating debates. One of the debates centres around women and youths, reports ROBERT EGBE.

    “We look forward to having more women contesting in the forthcoming National Convention of the party and the 2023 general elections. Now, as we approach the convention and move closer to the next general election, l wish to remind you of your progressive role in supporting progressive-minded leaders,” Yobe State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) Chairman Mai Mala Buni told a group of women at the maiden Progressive Women conference in Abuja last week.

    He went on: “You should enlighten your spouses, children, brothers, in-laws, neighbours and the larger society that we must not see the election as a do-or-die affair. We should promote peaceful elections and service delivery against personal gains.

    “Today, Nigeria proudly parades a good number of women at the Federal and State levels, as well as in political offices serving with excellence.

    “At the home front, you define the future of the country through great values and support to your spouses which helps in shaping the society and modelling the present and future of the country.

    “Politically, women have always played key roles in our electioneering process and administration. You remain the best and most reliable mobilisers of support to any political party and its candidates. You have always been there on queue on election days.”

    Buni’s statement is not unconnected with the clamour for more Nigerians to participate either as card-carrying members of a political party or as a voter. Women and youth are especially being enjoined to be more involved and the records show that they are heeding the call in their numbers.

    Last July 20, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) unveiled data that showed that 74 per cent of applications received on its online portal for the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise were from youths.

    INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said in just 21 days, 752,011 new voters registered online, representing an average of 35,810 registrants daily.

    “Out of this figure, 562,254 (74.7 per cent) are youths between the ages of 18 and 34. In terms of gender, 493,128 are male, while 369,188 are female registrants,” he stated.

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), for instance, seems to have taken a cue from this booming interest in political participation and is on an aggressive membership drive. It started some months back after Buni took over the leadership of the party in a caretaker capacity. The party is billed to hold its convention next month and the role of women and youth have come up.

    The timetable unveiled by the Buni-led All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) shows that the committee will receive the interim report of the National Reconciliation Committee on January 31, 2022. It will consider and adopt reports of state congresses on February 2, 2022.

    The schedule of activities, which the Secretary signed, also shows that the inauguration of the state executives will take place on February 3, 2022.

    The sale of forms to aspirants for national offices is slated for February 14, 2022 at the party National Secretariat while submission of completed forms will take place on or before February 19, 2022.

    The caretaker committee also fixed the publication of sub-committees for February 19, 2022 and screening of aspirants between February 20 and 22, 2022.

    The Screening Appeal Committee, the schedule shows, will hear and resolve complaints on February 23, 2022. The accreditation of statutory and elected delegates to the National Convention will take place between February 24 and 25, 2022 before the National Convention is held on February 26, 2022. The hearing of complaints arising from the National Convention will be conducted on February 28, 2022.

    The positions up for grab during the February 26 APC national convention are National Chairman, Deputy National Chairman South, Deputy National Chairman North, National Secretary, Deputy National Secretary, Vice Chairman South-West, Vice Chairman North West, Vice Chairman North Central, Deputy National Organizing Secretary, National Treasurer, National Financial Secretary, National Welfare Secretary, Deputy National Welfare Secretary, National Publicity Secretary, Deputy National Publicity Secretary, National Legal Adviser, National Woman Leader, Deputy National Auditor and National Youth Leader. Also available are Zonal Youth Leader North Central, Zonal Youth Leader North West, Zonal Youth Leader North East, Zonal Youth Leader South West, Zonal Woman Leader South East, Zonal Woman Leader North East,  Zonal Woman Leader North West, Zonal Woman Leader South-South, Zonal Woman Leader North Central, Zonal Woman Leader South West -Kemi Nelson, Ex-Officio Members South East, Ex-Officio North East, Ex-Officio North West, Ex-Officio South West, Ex-Officio Member North Central, National Auditor, National Vice Chairman South East and National Vice Chairman South-South.

    Also available are the positions of National Vice Chairman, North-East, National Organising Secretary, Deputy National Treasurer, Deputy National Financial Secretary, Deputy National Woman Leader and Zonal Youth Leader Southeast.

     

    Why women are important

     

    Women have traditionally not been as active in politics as the menfolk. But things are changing. Some days before the release of the timetable, leading women in politics gathered in Abuja for the maiden Progressive Women conference.

    At the event, the wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, spoke the minds of many when she emphasised the need for the APC to consider more women for important offices.

    Aligning with her, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, stressed that it was crucial to take a long-term and strategic approach to ensure that women are economically empowered if the nation was to have a stronger and more inclusive economy.

    The First Lady also warned governors that they would be held responsible if women do not get the 35 per cent affirmative action in political appointments and administration.

    The National Gender Policy (NGP) had formulated a 35 per cent Affirmative Action (AA) in Nigeria since 2006 and demands that 35 per cent of women should be involved in all governance processes.

    “This is the first time the national women conference of the APC is being held to establish our commitment to setting the position of women in matters of national importance, especially in increasing the visibility of women, positioning women for future political offices, and encouraging them to aspire more towards the progress of our great party,” Mrs Buhari said.

    She added: “Since 2015, I’ve had the privilege of engaging Nigerian women across the entire country. My conviction is that Nigeria’s future is entirely dependent on actually using the potential of our women.

    “It is no mere coincidence that parties that have grown strong, prosperous and influential have prioritised women’s participation in nation-building.

    “I, therefore, wish to call upon the APC to double its efforts in promoting women, which I believe will serve as one of the objectives of this conference.

    “As Nigeria races towards another election, we must go beyond paying lip service to putting women in vital offices within our party and the government.

    “We must put in place workable strategies to ensure that this actually happens; charity begins at home. And so the APC must start by ensuring that women occupying strategic offices within the party have the most strategic roles in government.”

     

    Need for youth inclusiveness

     

    Just like the womenfolk, the youths are not only many, they are also not afraid of letting older members of the party know what they want.  In November 2021, a member of the APC National Youth Strategic Lobby Committee Obidike Chukwuebuka, called on his party, to include youths in its leadership position as the party prepares for her National Convention billed for February.

    The lead aspirant for the office of the National Youth Leader canvassed the need for APC to place the youths into strategic offices in order to drive the most desired change that Nigerians yearn for. He opined that the global stage had set youths inclusiveness in her vision and so APC would grow stronger with more youths in the party leadership.

    “The global village has taken the young generation to the forefront, the youths are taking over the global leadership and even markets. Young leaders and very inspiring and should not be neglected. I believe our party will wax stronger when youths are taken seriously and given a bigger share in the state and national party structure. I believe this is the best time for our dear party APC to take the lead on youth inclusiveness,” Chukwuebuka said.

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State, Mbang David, also harped on the benefits of youth inclusiveness in politics.

    David, who is the President of the National Youth Summit Group, is mobilising the youth to embrace politics. He reasoned that if a majority of the youth get involved in the activities of their political parties, it will go a long way in bringing the much-needed energy into the Nigerian project and could change the Nigerian story.

     

    Tackling the youth, women challenge

     

    Aware of the challenge and benefit of youth inclusiveness, the Buni-led CECPC last July 22, authorised the party’s youth wing to set up zonal strategic lobby committees at the State and Ward levels, ahead of the 2023 general elections.

    Ismaeel Ahmed, the APC National Youth representative in the party’s CECPC, first commended the party’s leadership for adopting part of the recommendations of last year’s APC National Progressives Youth Conference which said that anyone vying for the position of youth leader in the party in the wards, must be between 18-35 years.

    Mr Ahmed said this should form part of guidelines for the conduct of the party’s upcoming Ward, Local Government and State congresses.

    According to him, adopting the recommendation by the party’s leadership rekindled the hopes of millions of progressive youths.

    He noted that until the adoption of the recommendation, such youths had been discouraged from participating in the party’s activities and holding elective leadership positions, especially at grassroots level.

    “On our part, we will take this further by setting up Strategic Engagement Committees which will work in conjunction with caretaker youth leaders in the various zones.

    “The committee will engage Governors, Legislators, Ministers, and other leaders and stakeholders in every zone to get more young people to occupy large percentages of the executives at the Ward and Local Government levels.

    “We believe that since the battle of the forthcoming elections will be fought for the youth vote, it is wise for our party to fight that battle with youth voice,” he said

    As for the issues raised by the women, Buni, who was at the Progressive Women’s Conference, got the memo.

    The CECPC National Chairman expressed gratitude to the party’s women for their support before, during and after the exercise.

    He said the party was looking forward to more support from the women during its February 26 National Convention and during the 2023 general elections.

    He described the APC as the most women-friendly party in the country and vowed that the party would support women’s political aspirations to enable them realise their political dreams.

  • Keeping out-of-school-children from harm’s way

    Keeping out-of-school-children from harm’s way

    There are about 13 million out-of-school-children in Nigeria, out of which two million are in Lagos State. These children are not only dangerous to society; they also are targets of predators. EKOEXCEL, an education intervention initiative of the Lagos State Government ensures that the children are taken off the streets and enrolled into classrooms, thereby protecting them from violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and exclusion which they face daily. CHINAKA OKORO reports.

    Since Nigeria’s economic fortunes nosedived as a result of a fall in the prices of oil in the international market; leading to economic recession, then compounded by the Coronavirus pandemic, many Nigerian families find it difficult to feed well let alone foot education bills of their children. Some in schools were withdrawn.

    Figures from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicate that close to 13 million Nigerian children are out of school. And every year, the army of out-of-school-children keeps swelling. They roam the streets and constitute societal nuisance.

    Not only that, most of them become recruits for banditry, kidnappers, robbers, Boko Haram and other enemies of state.

    This is why conscious efforts are being made at the national and sub-national levels to avert the catastrophe that looms.

    Experts posit that the out-of-school-children are not only dangerous to society; they also are targets of predators.

    In the circumstances, therefore, they are endangered species, as they have, several times, become victims of societal failure. They face violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and exclusion.

    Pundits in the knowledge industry have maintained that a society or country that is interested genuinely in its future would not toil with the education of its children or youths.

    This may have informed the decision of the Lagos State Government to ensure that all citizens of the state receive quality education. To realise this objective, it introduced the EKOEXCEL programme.

    Through the programme, the state is determined to tackle the problem that the over two million out-of-school-children in the state may create. It is instructive that at the inception of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration, he assured those indigenous to Lagos State that the provision of quality education was a major priority of his administration and he was determined to change the face of primary education by re-training and empowering teachers with technology-driven techniques to tutor students as well as the enrollment of out-of-school-children into school with a robust pupil enrollment drive exercise.

    The enrollment drive exercise has yielded tremendous results since its commencement, with a good number of out-of-school-children being captured and registered into EKOEXCEL schools.

    It was through the exercise that the story of a boy called Segun Borno came to the fore.

    The story of Segun Borno is an interesting one, as it was a case of transformation and a grass-to-grace one. He and his parents or significant others wouldn’t have believed that before September, 2021, he would be enrolled into a public primary school by that month end and that his literacy and numeracy skills would improve tremendously three months later.

    Prior to the morning of September last year, while Segun’s age mates were in school, Segun was on the streets, helping to support his grandparents and siblings from the proceeds of candy he hawked on the streets.

    His grandparents were not pleased that he was engaged in petty trading, ultimately, their desire was for him to be educated but they couldn’t afford it.

    So, the young boy became a sample of negative statistic, by being among the 258 million children and youths who are out of school globally, according to the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) 2018 statistics.

    Happily, Segun’s story changed that month during a pupil-registration drive of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board’s (LASUBEB) EKOEXCEL, a transformational intervention launched in 2019 by Governor Sanwo-Olu to provide quality education to the rich and the poor and up-skill teachers leveraging technology.

    Since its commencement, the education reform programme has recorded remarkable gains in enhancing the teacher-pupil interaction experience through technology (eLearning) in Lagos State primary schools and has succeeded in reducing the number of out-of-school-children in the state.

    The Executive Chairman of LASUBEB, Wahab Alawiye-King and members of his team were sensitising the public to the benefits of education. Incidentally, they were in Segun’s community. He summoned courage and approached them concerning his desire to be enrolled in school.

    Instantly, Alawiye-King handed him over to Mrs Abosede Adejayan, the Head teacher of Adeife Primary School, Bariga. After due diligence and discussions with his grandmother, Segun began his primary education career at no cost to the old woman.

    EKOEXCEL and Project Zero, a public-private partnership initiative to fund education for out-of-school-children also overseen by LASUBEB bore the cost of his education. Everything Segun needed-sandals, school bag, uniform and textbooks-were provided for him.

    While Segun was one of the beneficiaries of exercise in 2021, expectations are high that the ongoing public awareness campaign on the programme and the need to send children to school would also help in reducing the number of out-of-school-children.

    Above and beyond, the first of the campaign’s four objectives is driving enrollment and reducing the number of out-of-school-children in alignment with the state government’s course of action of “Leave no Child behind Policy.”

    The others are boosting academic excellence from a foundational level in Lagos public schools, engaging parents and communities on the need and importance of education and connecting citizens to the government’s economic growth agenda through the transformation of education.

    With empirical proof from the recently released EKOEXCEL 2020-2021 Endline Fluency and Numeracy Evaluation that affirmed that the intervention is making a significant impact with pupils, teachers and the states’ educational system, it is also noteworthy that it is succeeding in reducing the number of out-of-school-children.

    The evaluation showed that EKOEXCEL pupils are making strong progress in oral reading fluency and foundational numeracy compared to their performance before the commencement of the initiative.

    Fittingly, Segun is among the several proofs of the positive impacts of the education initiative. Now in Basic Three, Segun can now read and solve Mathematical problems. He is also looking forward to the future with hope, saying “I want to be a lawyer and will study hard to achieve this.”

    LASUBEB’s Chairman, Alawiye-King is also upbeat about Segun. He further noted that more pupils would be enrolled and no effort would be spared in giving them quality education to become globally competitive.

    He said: “In order to have pupils who are globally competitive, we must empower them and I’m happy to affirm that this is what EKOEXCEL has been doing since its inception.

    “While improving the students, it is equally important to raise the bar of quality education as we have been doing. In fact, I’m extremely optimistic about the future of public education in Lagos State. We are in the right direction under Governor Sanwo-Olu and I’m sure we will enroll more students this year.”

    A permanent board member of LASUBEB and oversight chairman of the EKOEXCEL programme, Adebayo Adefuye, added that the decision to turn public schools into friendly places for learning has also boosted enrolment.

    “We are making public schools a fun, environment-friendly for teaching and learning. I’m certain we will see more improvements in our enrolment figures,” he said.

    EKOEXCEL schools are monitored real-time by a digital and data- driven electronic dashboard that displays the data of all 1, 009 primary schools under the programme, 13,673 teachers, 10,085 classrooms and the almost 500,000 pupils across all the local government areas and local council development areas in Lagos State. The dashboard is accessible on-the-go to all the relevant primary education stakeholders across Lagos State.

    Having made education and technology a vital pillar of his development agenda, EKOEXCEL’s verifiable achievements would, no doubt, encourage Governor Sanwo-Olu to focus more on its improvement to ensure Lagosians can function optimally in the knowledge economy. This is aside taking the out-of-school-children out of harm’s way.

  • Are military chiefs staging comeback in Africa?

    Are military chiefs staging comeback in Africa?

    With the staging of four coups by military officers on African continent in recent times, analysts have warned that African leaders must play by the rules to deliver good governance and the citizens must rise to their civic responsibilities by demanding accountability. Assistant Editor BOLA OLAJUWON reports.

    The global community had since last year focused its attention on multiple elections holding in Africa this year, which are intended to restart democratic processes and resume constitutional governance in Libya, Somalia, Mali, Guinea, Somaliland and Chad. The elections are tentatively scheduled to hold after been delayed or disrupted by coups or conflicts.

    The global concern was informed by resurface of military coups in the continent – a regular occurrence in Africa in the decades since independence. Overall, Africa has experienced more coups than any other continent since its countries gained independence.

    AU, ECOWAS and ‘zero-tolerance’ for military coups

    The African Union (AU) and, by extension, the Economic Community of West African, through the Ezulwini Framework of 2009, adopted a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to military coups. The ECOWAS, following the original declaration by AU, also put in place a comprehensive Framework to respond to military coups and other forms of unconstitutional change of government. The AU relies on the Constitutive Act, the Peace and Security Protocol, the Lome Declaration, and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Good Governance. These instruments provide for the possible imposition of sanctions and suspension from the continental’s activities following a military coup.

    Africa and the new putsches

    A study by two American researchers, Jonathan Powell and Clayton Thyne, identified over 200 such attempts in Africa since the late 1950s. About half of these have been successful – defined as lasting more than seven days. Burkina Faso has had the most successful coups, with seven takeovers and only one failed coup.

    Of the 11 coups recorded globally since 2017, all but one – Myanmar in February this year – have been in Africa.  In August 2020, President of Mali Ibrahim Keita was deposed in a coup. Keita, who led the West African country from 2013 until he was ousted in a coup in 2020, died at the age of 76 in Bamako Sunday.

    The cause of Keita’s death was not given. Keita was two years into his second five-year term when in 2020 he faced widespread street protests against his government and was toppled by the military.

    Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was appointed by ECOWAS as a special envoy to head its mediation mission in Mali.

    Jonathan’s mission included facilitating dialogue with all Malian parties including Keita, opposition leaders, religious organisations and civil society to resolve the worsening socio-political situation in the country.

    Also in September 2021, Alpha Conde, Guinea’s president, was ousted from office and detained by military forces led by Mamady Doumbouya.

    Sudan also last year experienced two such events – a coup which failed in September and military strongman, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan’s dissolve of the civilian arm of the country’s transitional government and taking over of power. Sudan is now a theatre of daily protests and killings. The UN has offered to negotiate among the parties to the crisis.

    The coup ended the reign of Field Marshal Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, Sudanese former military officer, politician and alleged war criminal, who served as the seventh head of state of Sudan under various titles from 1989 until 2019 coup.

    In Niger, a coup was thwarted in March just days before a presidential inauguration.

    In response to the military coups in Mali, Guinea and Sudan, the AU and ECOWAS moved swiftly to condemn the coups, calling for the unconditional release of political leaders, who were detained by the military. It also suspended the countries from the organisation’s activities until they had taken concrete steps to return to democratic rule.

    Burkina Faso did not learn from the hammer struck on the offending countries by AU and ECOWAS. And as if supporting the notion of the country with the most successful coups, no fewer than eight soldiers were reportedly arrested in Burkina Faso last week for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government.  The West African country is the third in recent months to experience a coup attempt.

    A former Army commander, Mohamed Zoungrana, who is alleged to have been critical of the government, is said to be among those arrested. The authorities said an investigation has been launched into the matter.

    The last coup in Burkina Faso occurred in 2015, when the military announced the dissolution of the country’s transitional government, a day after presidential guards arrested the interim president, Michel Kafando and prime minister, Yacouba Zida.

    Sanctions bite harder in Mali

    In an unprecedented move, the ECOWAS announced last week the closure of the borders with Mali, suspending trade with the country, freezing its assets in the Central Bank of West African States and recalling member states’ ambassadors over delayed in holding elections.

    Mali reciprocated by recalling its ambassadors and closing its borders with ECOWAS member states.

    In an address to the nation last week’s Monday evening, however, Malian transition President Colonel Assimi Goita called for unity and calm, stating that Mali remains open to dialogue.

    It followed the move by Mali’s army-dominated government last month proposing to stay in power for up to five years before restoring democracy — despite international demands that it respect a promise to hold elections on February 27.

    Relations between Mali and its neighbours have steadily deteriorated since Goita took power in the military coup. The sanctions are already affecting travellers in Mali, a vast landlocked nation of 19 million people that borders seven other states.

    Thousands of Malians on Friday joined protest rallies in several cities called by the embattled military-dominated interim government against ECOWAS sanctions on Mali.

    The country’s location makes it a key transport hub for the region, with Bamako a key stop along the land route linking countries such as Senegal to states further east, such as Nigeria.

    Guinea, Algeria and the power play over Mali’s sanctions

    Paul Ejime, a global affairs analyst and an independent consultant to international organisations on corporate strategic communications, peace & security and elections, in a reaction over the issue, said Guinea’s ruling Committee for National Restoration has dissociated the country from the unprecedented financial, economic and border blockage imposed on Mali by ECOWAS on 9 January.

    Ejime claimed that there is reported intense power game playing out at the UN Security Council pitting France/Western allies against Russia/China over Mali.

    He said apart from the declared Guinean solidarity with Mali, Algeria, another Malian neighbour, is believed to have also thrown its weight behind Mali.

    Guinea said it was not associating itself with the regional sanctions, adding that the country’s land, sea and air borders would remain open to all friendly nations in line with Pan-African solidarity.

    According to him, Algeria, in an effort to keep terrorists and armed jihadists outside its territory, has a vested interest in the political stability of Mali.   Algiers hosted the signing of the Peace Accord by Malian protagonists in 2015. It is, therefore, in Algeria’s interest to keep ties with Bamako for its own national security and to restrict the movement of militants and fundamentalists.

    Like Mali, Ejime said Guinea is under military rule following the coup that toppled the government of Conde in September 2021 after changing the national constitution to elongate his tenure.

    Algeria has warned of the consequences of the emerging crisis between Mali and the ECOWAS while offering its assistance to end the tension. Whether Algeria and Guinea would assist Mali to truncate ECOWAS’ sanctions is to yet to be seen.

    Voices against military takeovers

    Not knowing that another attempt was nip in the bud, UN envoy Annadif Saleh, while briefing the Security Council last Monday at UN headquarters in New York, said resurgence of coups d’état, particularly in West Africa, is often the consequence of political practices that are completely out of step with the aspirations of the populations.

    Saleh, head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) as well as UN Special Representative for Central African Republic, also spoke about the  recent wave of attempts and coups d’état in Central African Republic, Mali, Sudan and Guinea. He lauded ECOWAS for its engagement with the crises in Mali and Guinea and said UNOWAS supports all efforts for a return to constitutional order as soon as possible.

    The envoy also warned that across the region, organised crime, facilitated by corruption, is also perpetuating instability, violence and poverty.

    “Lack of opportunities and frustration drive more youth to piracy and crime, and leave them more receptive to radicalisation narratives,” the UNODC chief warned.

    Also, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, while speaking with reporters in Accra after participating at an Extraordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, said there is a strong resolve by the ECOWAS and the international community not to accept coups d’etat or any other form of unconstitutional change of government.

    The extraordinary meeting, in which the vice president represented President Muhammadu Buhari, was to discuss the political situation in the Republic of Mali. Osinbajo said the regional bloc had not lost its bite as it was concerned about issues of good governance in the ECOWAS region. According to him, this informed the sanction against Guinea and Mali by the West African leaders.

    He said: “So, I think what is being done is unprecedented; in the years gone by, African Union, then known as Organisation of African Unity, never came down heavily on coup d’etat.

    “But it is evident now; there is very strong resolve that the ECOWAS, and indeed the international community, will not accept unconstitutional takeovers of government in the form of coup d’etat and other such unconstitutional means of taking over governments.

    “So, it is very evident that there is a very strong resolve which is why we are here today,’’ Osinbajo said.

    But, Mr. Visa Emma II, the secretary general of Southern Cameroons Restoration Movement (SCARM), a vanguard organisation for the statehood of the Southern Cameroons, in an interview with The Nation, said: “To paraphrase Chinua Achebe, the great African novelist, ‘if you see a bird dancing in the middle of the road, know that the drummer is hiding in the bush’.

    “These military coups have been in place ever since, but it’s just that the masters who rule the world have decided to come straight where they fear that their favoured candidates may not make it in a democratic process.

    “Most African regimes are propped by the corrupt military and are, therefore, military regimes in disguise.  Show me one African country where there’s been no constitutional coup d’etat? So, for me, it is not resurgence. It is a continuation of coups in a more subtle manner than before.

    “Let me take you back to La Republique du Cameroun, where a certain French stooge has been reigning for 40 years. Would you say he is elected at all these twists and turns? Ever since he was appointed by France to guard her oversea territory, the French have not found any reason to replace him because he’s a faithful servant. But, I can bet you that given the present awareness of the Francophone population due to the presence of the Anglophone no-nonsense attitude towards appointed leadership, the French will replace their appointee with a military man, whom they will prop up to enable them to continue to have uninterrupted access to the country’s wealth.

    “People will initially applaud this move, but will not see the hand behind it and its long term consequences.  So, the Capitalist West cannot afford to truly encourage democratisation because it will be shooting themselves on the foot. Their mission is to exploit Africa to the fullest by hook or by crook.

    “Therefore, the drummers in the bush are the multilateral companies run by the international criminal gangs and supported by their governments. These are the real leaders of our world.”

    Causes of military interventions

    Acting Director of Research, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Dr. Efem Ubi, in an interview with The Nation, said he did not believe in resurgence of military coups.

    According to him, “all the places we have military coups in Africa, it is as a result of failure of democracy and lack of social nets as promised by the respective political class in power.”

    He said the voters in the countries support military putsches when they occurred because they realised that democracy itself has not engendered the required development.

    Corruption in Africa has also reached cancerous proportions. According to analysts, so pervasive is this phenomenon in the region that it has been labelled the ‘AIDS of democracy’, which is destroying the future of many societies in the region and thus encouraging military coups.

    Military adventurers have also mentioned problems of bad governance, corruption, cronyism, election rigging and tenure elongation as excuses for staging coups.

    These conditions create fertile conditions for coups and for increasingly desperate young Africans who have lost patience with their corrupt leaders to welcome coupists promising radical change, as was witnessed on the streets of Guinea following the takeover, with some elated Guineans even kissing the soldiers.

    But as with the coups of the 1970s, these scenes of joy will likely be short-lived, says Joseph Sany, Vice President of the Africa Centre at the United States Institute of Peace. “The initial reaction of what you see on the streets will be of joy, but very soon, people will be demanding action… and I’m not sure the military will be able to deliver on the expectations, basic service delivery, more freedoms,” he said.

    Ways out of military interventions

    Ubi said until politicians played by the rule and give the electorate the dividend of democracy, the current scenarios being witnessed in Sudan, Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso would not abate.  To Ejime, military rule remains an aberration. But, he said only good governance and not sanctions, would guarantee democracy in Mali and Africa as a whole.

    “African leaders must play by the rules to deliver good governance and the citizens must rise to their civic responsibilities by demanding accountability,” he said.

    Independent observers, he said, consider the ECOWAS sanctions against Mali as disproportionately unprecedented and capable of stifling the nation and exacerbating the suffering of ordinary people.

    “Therefore, ECOWAS must act with greater independence, introspection and without foreign influences and, especially in the interest of Malians and some 400 million community citizens in a manner consistent with its regional integration mandate.

    “Going forward, the Bamako regime must do itself a world of good by quickening the transition process with inputs and support of local and external stakeholders all acting in good faith for the restoration of peace and constitutional order in Mali and across the region,” he said.

    According to the former ECOWAS Communication top-shot, ECOWAS leaders too, must address the problems of bad governance, corruption, cronyism, election rigging and tenure elongation, which are the triggers and drivers of political instability and recession of democracy in the region.

    On corruption, Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer said: “Citizen activists, journalists and whistleblowers play a crucial role in the anti-corruption fight. They help expose weak points that require government action, and sometimes uncover evidence of corruption that requires follow-up actions from the state’s anti-corruption agencies. Given the governments’ stated commitment to anti-corruption, they should only welcome their contribution.

    “Despite citizens’ readiness to contribute to the fight against corruption in Africa, 67 per cent of African citizens fear retaliation if they report corruption. It, therefore, becomes urgent that African governments address legal protections of these willing citizens, activists, journalists and whistleblowers as crucial partners in this joint fight against a common challenge.”

    Also, a Non-resident Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Africa Growth Initiative, John Mukum Mbaku, quoted the late United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan as saying, “Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development.”

    Mbaku said: “Without good and inclusive governance, Africa will not achieve its social and economic targets. It is imperative that African countries entrench mechanisms that promote constitutionalism, accountability, democracy, and good governance, if Africa is to achieve its development goals.

    “The type of governance structure that each African country should strive for over the next decade is one that should address peaceful coexistence and economic development, inequality, the effects of climate change, health pandemics, and enhanced regional cooperation, as well as ensure the full and effective participation in both the economic and political systems of groups that have historically been marginalised (e.g., women, youth, and ethnic and religious minorities). Each country must reflect upon its own governance challenges and engage in robust national dialogue on institutional reforms to enable an effective and inclusive governance system.

    “First, countries in or recovering from crises must engage in process-driven constitution-making to produce an agreed-upon governing process characterised by the separation of powers, with effective checks and balances, including a robust and politically-active civil society; an independent judiciary; and a viable, free and independent press. The process through which the constitution is designed and adopted must be participatory and inclusive enough to allow for all relevant stakeholder groups to participate—from the development of constitutional principles to the actual design and ratification of the constitution.”

  • 2023: APC and its heavyweight defectors

    2023: APC and its heavyweight defectors

    From 19 states, All Progressives Congress (APC) states increased to 22 under the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Committee. Aside from the governors who joined the party, many bigwigs have also found their way into the party. Can they help the party in its desire to retain power in 2023? ROBERT EGBE writes.

    One of the most visible accomplishments on the scorecard of the current All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) is the swelling of the party’s governorship roll from 19 to 22 in its 18-month-old tenure.

    It is not a feat many would have foreseen on June 25, 2020, when the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) tasked Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni to lead the CECPC.

    The 12 other members of the CECPC were a former senator for Akwa Ibom Northeast John Akpanudoedehe; former Senate President Ken Nnamani; APC governorship candidate in Bayelsa in 2019, David Lyon; Osun State Governor Isiaka Oyetola; Niger State Governor Sani Bello; Vice-Chancellor of Baze University in Abuja, Tahir Mamman (SAN); the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Cooperation and Integration in Africa and NEPAD, Abubakar Yusuf (Taraba Central Senatorial District); Rep Akinremi Olaide (Ibadan North Federal Constituency of Oyo State); Executive Director (Business Development) of Nigerian-Export Bank (NEXIM), Stella Okorete; Chairman, Plateau State Disability Rights Commission, James Lalu; former interim chairman of the APC Youth Forum (APYF), Ismail Ahmed; and Abba Ari representing the Northwest geo-political zone.

    Their appointment immediately after the NEC’s dissolution of the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) was the direct aftermath of the self-destructive crisis the party found itself at the time.

    In just two years of the former NWC, the APC lost several states, including Edo, Zamfara and Rivers and, according to a party chieftain, this was caused by Oshiomhole’s “aggressive attitude”.

    “Because of his aggression, we have lost quite a number of states. We lost Rivers State; we didn’t have a chance to contest. We lost Zamfara, where we won the election and all our victories were handed over by the Supreme Court to the PDP, all because of Oshiomhole’s aggression. I think there were also two other states which we lost because of his aggressive attitude,” the chieftain said.

    While calling for a reform in the party, President Muhammadu Buhari referenced several more challenges.

    “The issues currently confronting our party at this time are such that should worry every party member. At the moment, our great party is faced with internal wrangling; there are ongoing litigations amongst some party members and we cannot clearly ascertain the status of certain National Working Committee (NWC) members.’’

    The president expressed worry over the shifting loyalty within the party and inconsistency in leadership, which had opened the governing party to mockery.

    So, upon its appointment, the Buni-led CECPC had its work cut out. There was an urgent need for its intervention to immediately arrest further drifts and internal wrangling which could have led to the party’s total disintegration. And in just six months, it appears to have recorded relative successes.

     

    Gale of heavyweight defections to APC

     

    Beginning from January 28, 2021, three sitting state governors and scores of parliamentarians from other political parties joined the APC, gaining the party invaluable political capital.

    There were no fewer than 20 high-profile defections into the APC, including the following:

    January 28: Seven APM lawmakers in Ogun defected to the APC. The lawmakers were Modupe Mujota representing Abeokuta North State Constituency, Musefiu Lamidi from Ado-Odo/Ota II and Amosun Yusuf from Ewekoro State Constituency.

    Others were Ajayi Bolanle and Ganiyu Oyedeji from Egbado South and Ifo II State constituencies, and Ademola Adeniran from Ipokia/Idiroko and Sagamu II constituencies.

    February 15: Iyiola Omisore, a former deputy governor of Osun state defected from the SDP to the APC.

    February 16: Otunba Gbenga Daniel, a former Governor of Ogun State and campaign manager for the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in 2019, Atiku Abubakar, ditched the opposition for the ruling party.

    February 23: At the House of Representatives, the member representing Ondo East/West Hon. Abiola Peters Makinde left the ADC for APC.

    Just days before then, Hon. Blessing Onuh and Hon. Yakubu Abdullahi announced their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    While, Onuh who represents Oturkpo/Ohimini Federal Constituency of Benue, joined the APC from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Abdullahi who represents Bauchi Federal Constituency, also dumped the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) for the APC.

    February 23: All the three lawmakers elected on the platform of the African Democratic Congress ADC in the Ogun State House of Assembly defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

    Lawmakers who announced their defection during plenary included Jemili Akingbade, who was also the former Minority Whip, Adegoke Adeyanju, and Wahab Haruna.

    March 12: A former Speaker of the House of Representatives and party chieftain in Ogun State, Hon. Dimeji Bankole left the PDP and pitched tent with the APC.

    March 17: Lawmaker representing the Egbado North/Imeko Afon Federal Constituency of Ogun State, Jimoh Aremu, moved from the African Democratic Congress ADC to the All Progressives Congress APC.

    March 26: On this day, Buni received former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen. Azubike Ihejirika (REtd)“Dike Abia” into the party.

    Read Also: Long walk to APC national convention

    Ihejirika was formally presented to the chairman by the Jigawa State Governor and Chairman APC Strategy and Contact committee Abubakar Badaru and Farouk Aliyu.

    April 13: Samuel Tsebe, the member representing Akwanga South constituency in Nasarawa Assembly, dumped the PDP for the APC.

    May 20: Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade officially ditched the PDP for the APC.

    October 13: The Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Nkem Okeke, dumped the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) for the APC.

     

    Governors, deputies

     

    Just five months after the CECPC team was sworn in, it got its big break.

    After days of speculation, Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi on November 17, 2020, formally defected from the PDP to the APC.

    It was remarkable because the Southeast, Umahi’s region, was traditionally anti-APC and perhaps the strongest hold of the PDP.

    The governor defected to the APC along with members of his cabinet.

    He said: “Why am I moving to APC?, some people said I was promised this and that but I tell you, there is no such discussion. APC never promised me any position, they never promised South-East any position, there was no such discussion, however, I offered this movement as a protest to the injustice being done to Southeast by the PDP since 1998 till date.”

    Umahi is, in a sense, a big boon to the APC’s chances in the state ahead of 2023. He is believed to be largely in control of the party structure and his admirers across party lines believe he has built a reputation for relatively good governance in terms of infrastructure and other projects, perhaps better than most governors in the region.

    Responding to the PDP’s criticism of Umahi’s style of governance on December 19, 2021, the Chairman of the APC in Ebonyi State, Chief Stanley Okoro-Emegha said it was that the governor was the PDP’s greatest nightmare.

    He said: “I appreciate the PDP for acknowledging that they are deeply troubled by the governor’s exit from their party. I wonder how the same party will win election in 2023, in Ebonyi State. My party’s accomplishments from 2015 to date have already forced them into extinction.”

    The APC chairman added, “Essentially, Umahi is the one who collapsed the PDP in the country. Immediately he left the party as the pillar, Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River joined him. Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State joined, too. So many National Assembly members and State Assembly members in different states equally defected. They all defected with their teeming supporters.

    “I, therefore, enjoin the good people of Ebonyi state to disregard any accusation coming from Ebonyi PDP against our award-winning governor, as the PDP has gone into oblivion.”

    Next to dump the PDP for the ruling party was Cross River State Governor Prof Ben Ayade.

    Ayade’s defection in May 2020 came six months after Umahi.

    He formally defected to the APC after months of speculations that he would do so.

    He announced his departure from the opposition party while hosting Buni and five other APC governors who visited him in Calabar, the state capital.

    Apart from Buni, the others were Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, Hope Uzodinma of Imo, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa and Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti.

    It was not immediately clear why Ayade left the platform that brought him to power in 2015, but he had for months complained about being poorly treated by the PDP.

    With his defection, Mr Ayade became the only APC governor from the South-South geopolitical zone.

    The ruling party had lost its only governor in the zone in 2019 when Godwin Obaseki of Edo crossed to the PDP months to the governorship election in that state and won reelection on that platform.

    While Cross River is traditionally a PDP state, things are changing and Ayade’s movement to the ruling party along with his political structure will certainly add to boosting the APC’s chances of gathering votes next year. It is also expected that he would deploy his connections to raise funds – a key ingredient – for the electioneering.

    Just a month later, lightning struck again, this time, in Zamfara State.

    Governor Bello Matawalle, on June 29, formally defected to the APC, after months of speculation and denial.

    Matawalle announced his defection late evening at the Gusau Trade Fair Complex at an event attended by APC governors, ministers and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.

    However, the state’s Deputy Governor, Mahdi Aliyu, and the member representing Talata Mafara/Anka in the State House of Assembly, Kabiru Yahaya, remained in the opposition PDP.

    Some federal lawmakers from the state who were also members of the PDP had earlier announced their defection to the APC.

    Matawalle’s departure from the PDP followed months of speculation and snubbing the PDP governor’s meetings while hosting APC governors and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, at Government House in Gusau.

    The governor on June 12, 2020, dissolved the state’s executive council as part of preparations for his defection.

    He, however, rescheduled the defection date, ostensibly for further consultation with Aliyu and some state lawmakers who were reluctant to make the journey to the ruling party with him.

    With Mr Matawalle’s defection, APC became in control of six of the seven states in the North-west geopolitical zone. Sokoto Governor Aminu Tambuwal remains the only governor of the PDP in the zone.

    Mattawale is expected to be a key player in boosting the party’s chances ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

    When the general election comes, it will be clear if these men and women, who joined the party when Buni and his men led it, are blessing or curse to the ruling party.

  • Revelry as sanity gradually returns to Lagos ports

    Revelry as sanity gradually returns to Lagos ports

    Due to a combination of technology and human efforts, the persistent congestion and seemingly intractable gridlock along access routes to TinCan Island and Apapa ports is gradually disappearing, reports Associate Editor ADEKUNLE YUSUF.

    Recently, Mallam Danlami Audu, 62, was so pleasantly surprised that he could not hide his feelings. An investment mogul with extensive networks in international haulage business, Audu was a bundle of joy when he visited Lagos on a business inspection trip last December.  He said it was a great relief that the protracted Apapa gridlock, which has defied all solutions for more than a decade, has fairly disappeared.

    Like other Lagos port users, the businessman confessed that he was shocked that container trucks and tankers that usually flooded the ever-busy Apapa Expressway and sometimes extended to Fadeyi area had disappeared, leaving a free flow of traffic for commuters. “From Coconut to TinCan Island port to Apapa port complex and Ijora-Apapa road were almost totally free,” Audu said.

    For decades, evacuating cargoes from Nigeria’s busiest seaports in Apapa area of Lagos has become a clog in the wheel of the seaborne trade, which constitute enormously to the nation’s economy. After several tactics and deployment of technologies over the years, the gridlock had snowballed into a monster getting stronger with no end in sight. According to stakeholders, the situation graduated from natural to man-made, as some powerful cliques appear to be sabotaging efforts to bring the gridlock to an end. The heavy traffic congestion degenerated to all the link roads, making most of them inaccessible, as trucks and tankers spent for weeks and months on the queue before getting to the port. Successive governments tried and failed to tackle the situation, worsening by the day as a result of corruption and vested interests of highly-placed individuals.

    However, the situation has greatly improved in the past months as there is free flow of traffic – thanks to technology and tenacious efforts by the state and federal authorities. This, according to Mr Sola Giwa, head of operations, Special Apapa Traffic Management and Enforcement Compliance Team, is achieved by the cooperation between his team and federal officials. His team, which took over from the defunct presidential taskforce, is mandated by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to ensure that Apapa residents and businesses are able to move in and out of the port city. The enforcement team comprises policemen, LASTMA officials, men from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and NPA security department

    No more touting, racketeering on access roads

    Stakeholders said touting, extortion and racketeering on Apapa and Tincan Island ports access roads have been eliminated by the introduction of the electronic call-up system. According to Sola Giwa, senior special assistant to Governor Babajide Sanwo Olu on Central Business District, the introduction of the electronic call-up system has helped a great deal in controlling truck traffic into Apapa ports. Giwa, who doubles as head of operations, Apapa Traffic Management and Enforcement Committee on the implementation of the call up system, however, pointed out that the people, who were formerly benefiting from the Apapa gridlock, are now fighting back.

    While insisting that at least 90 per cent success in the management of traffic along Surulere-Western Avenue axis leading to the Lagos Port Complex in Apapa, Giwa attributed the success to collaboration the state government and federal officials, especially the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Trucks Transit Park (TTP).

    “Apapa traffic has improved. The Lagos State, the NPA, and TTP, a private firm in charge of managing Eto call-up system, have been managing the traffic going into the port. Before we came, there used to be traffic from Onipanu up to the Apapa Port while on the Mile 2 axis, we used to have traffic as far as Cele and sometimes up to Oshodi to the Tin-Can Port. But that is no longer the case,” he explained.

    Giwa, however, added that the electronic call-up is having issues on the Tin-Can axis due to the bad state of the road and ongoing construction as well as the failure of truckers to make use of the transit parks and shipping companies’ empty containers holding-bays. He added that there were initial inefficiencies in the implementation of the call up system and that was because there was no test-run, describing the system as work in progress.

    Explaining further, he said that a manual call-up system was formerly used to control truck traffic into the port and it involved human interference leading to static traffic on the port roads, which no longer exists. He blamed some pockets of traffic experienced presently on some truckers who insist on coming to the port even when there is no space at the port terminals to attend to them and, as a result, they try to bribe their way into the port.

    To have access to the ports, Giwa explained that truckers are expected to register on Eto app and go to the parks approved by the NPA before they can be called up to the port terminal, all also depending on the availability of space and road situation. He added that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu gave the enforcement team, comprising the Police, LASTMA, FRSC, and NPA security department, the mandate to ensure that Apapa residents and businesses are able to move in and out of the port city. Lamenting that the capacity of Apapa and Tin-Can ports are already overstretched, Giwa hopes that things will enjoy a new lease when the commencement of Lekki Deep Seaport becomes a reality, and other ports in Nigeria and Lagos witness expansion of infrastructure provision, which will help to decongest Lagos ports.

    “Lagos is expanding and the state government is providing infrastructure for businesses to thrive. When we see traffic, we see progress as well as development but the management of the traffic is what we do,” he assured.

    Too many checkpoints hinder vehicular movement

    Giwa, however, called for the unbundling of the TTP because the inefficiency being currently experienced in traffic management is due to the monopoly of TTP as well as the non-test running of the Eto app before usage. On several occasions, truckers have complained of brazen extortion from them by security agencies, mostly those of the federal government. This is contrary to expectations that the introduction of the electronic call up system would stop all forms of extortion and long hours in traffic.

    At a point, it was reported that about 30 toll-points have sprung up in Apapa for the collection of illegal monies. Mohammed Bello-Koko, acting managing director of the NPA, was quoted as saying that such an act was a major disincentive to the smooth implementation of the call up system. Reports also alleged that the security operatives, who were apparently sabotaging the call up system, extort millions of naira from truck drivers on daily basis.

    Giwa, who expressed satisfaction with the current traffic situation in the axis, admitted that the success recorded so far is built on the efforts of the presidential taskforce, especially with e-call-up system introduced. With over 3,000 trucks and tankers plying the Lagos ports daily, he described Apapa port as Nigeria’s busiest port.

    One factor that has not helped matters is the heavy presence of many police checkpoints, which slow vehicular movement. Giwa called on the State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, to reduce the number of checkpoints on the roads leading to the ports and reduce the travel time for truckers. Reduction of checkpoints would also address the claim of extortion by the police, he said. He also called on the Federal Government to hasten the ongoing road construction along Tin-Can Island and fix the bad portions of the road along Ijora to Apapa in order to ensure free vehicular traffic in the area.

    Giwa added that his team has stopped tankers from parking indiscriminately along the major roads and bridges in the state, insisting that stakeholders will experience better improved traffic flow when the police reduce the number of checkpoints along the Apapa axis – though the police deserve commendations for checking fake papers and documents to complement the electronic call-up system in order to stop people from cutting corners.

    Tackling other challenges

    Other problems identified are extortion by “area boys” (National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers Association (RTEAN) also hinder the progress of the free flow of vehicles in Apapa. Other issues include bad portions of the roads, the heavy presence of tank farms and a lack of compliance by some truckers.

    He, however, said that the over-sensitisation of Apapa traffic crisis is also fueling the corruption, adding that most drivers lie to the truck owners about the traffic situation in order to swindle them. Giwa stated that the checkpoints impede the free flow of vehicles and may also provide a venue for extortion, which the team was working to eliminate. “I am calling on the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, AIG Hakeem Odumosu, to reduce the number of checkpoints between Apapa and Ijora and also from Mile 2 to Tin Can. They said the checkpoints were to check criminal activities, but the people didn’t want them. Even though what the police at the checkpoints collect is just like N2000. At every point that you get to, the police will stop them and collect something. The stoppage slows down traffic movement and also gives room for corruption. If the motorist pays N2000, they will tell a lie that they paid more than that and pass it on to the consumers,” he said.

    NPA boss lauds electronic call-up system

    In a recent interview coming barely five months after assuming office, Acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko, also disclosed that the incremental deployment of the electronic call-up infrastructure for cargo trucks, launched in February last year, has to a large extent resolved the endemic Apapa vehicular gridlock. He explained that while NPA is not unmindful of the pains of Apapa residents, what remains is to address the gridlock caused by the failed portion along the Mile 2 – Tin-Can Port road, insisting that as soon as the entire stretch of the Tin-Can Port highway is completed, the perennial gridlock within Apapa would be completely eliminated.

    Debunking insinuations that the ‘Eto’ system has been compromised, Bello-Koko said, “The ‘Eto’ truck booking system was launched in February, and when I assumed office my first act was to carry out a comprehensive review of the system and we directed the system manager to immediately address all areas of deficiencies. These infrastructure upgrades coupled with the support of the Lagos State Government and other stakeholders, the vehicular gridlock along the Ijora – Apapa axis had reduced by over 80 percent and I am sure residents of Apapa can attest to this.”

    While enthusing that NPA has fully embraced multimodal transportation by encouraging better use of barges and port-rail for the movement of laden and empty containers in and out of the ports, a development that has brought significant reduction in the cost of doing business at the ports, he added that a fully automated transit truck park was established while 29 satellite parks were approved to ensure that trucks coming to do business in the port are properly profiled and verified before accessing the port. Out of the 29 parks, about eight have met the required standards, which include installation of bollards, CCTVs, automated gate systems and relevant IT equipment.

    Bello-Koko noted that apart from few isolated cases, where some truck drivers try to subvert the system by not adhering strictly to the truck manifest arrangement with its attendant disruption, the e-call up has been able to streamline cargo evacuation and truck movements, thereby bringing a level of sanity to the roads. He equally attributed the elimination of the Apapa gridlock to the new policy introduced by NPA, which compelled shipping lines to ship out no less than 80 per cent of the number of containers shipped in for every voyage, be it empty containers or export cargo.

    “Over time, we discovered that most shipping lines were storing their empty containers in Nigeria, which was cheaper for them, but we have introduced a policy whereby shipping companies should to take back 80 percent of the laden containers they brought into the country from the stock of empties and export cargo, this has also reduced the number of trucks with empty containers waiting on the roads.

    “What this meant in a lay man’s language is that if a vessel brings 100 containers for instance, such vessel must take back 80 containers, which must be among the empties and export containers, without which she would not be allowed to sail out of the ports.”

    The NPA boss declared that more than 80,000 trucks have so far registered on the ‘Eto’ platform. However, only 16,000 trucks have met the minimum safety standards, which he said is an indication that more work is needed to enthrone safety and prevent accidents within the port area. There will be continuous improvement of ETO system, including the deployment of additional physical and IT infrastructure as well as grant approval for more transit parks to cushion the excruciating pains of truckers he noted.

    Shedding more light on the provision of the barge services to ease movement of cargo out of the seaports, the NPA Managing Director said barge operators are now being guided by the revised standard operating procedures (SOP) in order to ensure efficient and safe barge operations. He stressed that owners of barges must comply with the new safety guidelines if they wish to do business at the port.

    “When we approved the use of the barges, we soon discovered that many of them (operators) did not have radio communication equipment onboard and we directed them to install the equipment. We also insist that these barges must be sea worthy before they are allowed to sail so as to forestall a situation where they breakdown at the middle of the channel, which would cause massive disruptions to shipping.

    “We are also developing an electronic call-up system for the barges, just like what we have for the trucks on the roads so as to ensure that we streamline their operations. There is a department in the NPA charged with the responsibility. In the last few weeks, we have also received proposals for the deployment of very large self-propelled barges, we are being careful, but we are studying all that, the PPP Unit of NPA is working on that,” Bello-Koko said.

  • ‘My husband murdered my three daughters to traumatise me’

    ‘My husband murdered my three daughters to traumatise me’

    Millicent Amadikwa relives the gruesome murder of her three daughters allegedly by her husband who also dumped their bodies in a disused freezer. The distraught mother of four spoke with DAMIAN DURUIHEOMA who visited her at her sister’s place at Nkwubor, Nike in Enugu State.

    MILLICENT Amadikwa is still finding it difficult to come to terms with the reality of losing her three daughters in one fell swoop. The mother of four had her three daughters hacked to death by no other person than her husband, 52-year-old Ifeanyi Amadikwa, at her residence in Emene, Enugu State where she lives with the Dubai returnee.

    Millicent, a mother three girls and a boy, had come into her eight-year-old marriage with Amadikwa with her first daughter, Chidalum, who was only three years old, before they had three other children made up of a boy and two girls.

    Tragedy, however, struck on January 4 when Millicent went to the market with her only son, leaving her three daughters behind with her husband and their father. Upon her return from the market in the evening of that day, she discovered that they were missing only for the three girls to be found dead inside a disused chest freezer in her house.

    The deceased children include Amadikwa’s 11-year-old stepdaughter Chidalum, eight-year-old Amarachi and four-year-old Ebubechukwu.

    The distraught woman, who spoke with our correspondent amid tears, said she felt strongly that her husband, who has since been arrested by the police, murdered the three girls just to get at her.

    Amadikwa
    •Amadikwa

    She said since her husband returned from Dubai, United Arab Emirates about two years ago, a week hardly passed without them quarreling.

    She said: “My name is Millicent, an indigene of Ebonyi State who is married to Ifeanyi Amarikwa, a native of Amuzi in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State. I sell fresh tomatoes at Umuchigbo, Emene in Enugu.

    “I have been married to my husband for more than eight years now and I have three daughters and a son.

    “On January 4, 2022, I went to the market with my only son, Akachukwu. Before going to the market, I told my first daughter, Chidalum, to wash her siblings’ clothes after they might have finished eating and she agreed and brought out the clothes.

    “Their father was at home, so I left them in his care and went to the market. But when I returned in the evening, I noticed something unusual. I opened the gates and none of my children came out to welcome me.

    “It was quite strange, because each time I returned home from the market or anywhere, once I opened the gates, the children would come to welcome me. But in this instance, nobody came out while their father sat in the veranda, mending his trousers.

    “I asked him about the children but he said he didn’t know. I started going round the neighbourhood to look for them.

    “I went to the places they were used to going and places they never entered before. But there was no sign of them. I started to panic while my husband was busy mending his trousers.

    “When I returned, I asked him again about the children but he scolded me. By that time, he had finished mending his trousers and had worn them. He didn’t even pretend to join me in looking for the children.

    “I asked him why he felt less concerned about the children’s whereabouts and was rather busy mending his clothes at that time, which was around 6 o’clock in the evening.

    “He said he didn’t know where to look for them but I insisted that he knew their whereabouts. He then asked me if it was possible that he sold the children and I also told him that he was capable of selling them.

    Amadikwa
    •Amadikwa

    “I went inside to get the food Chidalu had prepared and sat at the veranda where my husband was also seated. I called my elder sister to inform her about the development, but she said since my husband was not worried about the kids’ whereabouts, he must know where they were.

    “It was now getting late, and as I was about to start eating the food I had brought out, my husband got up from his seat and walked straight to the small deep freezer in the veranda and opened it. Then he said, ‘Come and see where the children you are looking for are playing.’

    “I rushed to the spot and noticed that the children were squeezed inside the freezer with the eldest, 11-year-old Chidalu kept on top of the other two.

    “He himself started bringing them out. I tried to see if I could do anything to revive them but they were dead already with some black liquid coming out from their mouths.

    “It was then that I raised the alarm and neighbours started coming. I also called my elder sister to inform her that the children had been found dead. So, neighbours brought a vehicle that took the children to the hospital where they were confirmed dead.

    “When we went to the hospital, the doctor noticed that the children’s body and that of my husband were reeking of chemical.

    “The doctor asked him why it was so and my husband simply said he used the chemical to treat the water in the well. So, I suspect that it was that chemical that he gave the children.

    “It was from the hospital that my brother reported to the police and they came, questioned and later arrested him.

    “When the police asked me if I suspected anyone, I told them that the only person I suspected was my husband. The reason is that he had brought home the unused freezer on January 2, two days before the incident.

    “The day he brought home the freezer, I asked him why he brought an unused freezer home to sell. Couldn’t the buyer have bought it where you brought it from instead of occupying the space here?

    “The freezer had no lock and was not closing well. So, if the children were not dead before they were dumped there, they could have opened it and come out themselves.

    “Also, before this incident, my husband had threatened several times to kill me and my children. He had boasted that he would kill me and none of my relatives could do anything about that because, according to him, my family members cannot afford a case because they are poor.

    “He also said that he would not even go to jail because he has people that would set him free any day.

    “He had also told me that he would leave me empty handed and that one day, he and I would appear on the pages of newspapers. He also said that one day the entire neighbourhood would gather because of us.

    “On each occasion of his threats, I would call his elder sister and my people to let them know about it. But his sister would always tell me that he was joking. And when my people called his attention to those threats, he would tell them that he was trying to correct me and that I was stubborn.

    “It got to a point that he asked me to leave his house on December 27, 2021. After packing my bags, I told him that I would also like to go with the kids, but he insisted that I was not going anywhere with them. He then locked the gates, preventing me from leaving. That was how I stayed back.”

    Asked what her husband does for a living, she said he returned from Dubai about two years and had ever since kept to himself and became quarrelsome.

    She said: “He wasn’t bringing money for food and he never asked me about our children’s school fees.

    “In January last year, he seized the keys to the entire house and the gates. We could only come into the house whenever he was around.

    “Most times, the children would return from school and stay outside until he came home, because no other person could gain access into the house without him being around.

    “I never knew that the threats from him were that serious. Even when I had cause to believe that the threats were serious, my people and his people told me that he was not capable of doing that. Now, I have lost all my three daughters.

    “I have left his house because I don’t know the people he was working with so that they would not come and hack me and my son to death. But I want justice on the gruesome murder of my daughters.

    “I am calling on the federal and state governments as well as good spirited individuals to come to my aid by helping me in this matter.

    “The police is talking about autopsy and the doctor said for that to happen, it will cost me over N500,000 for the three children.”

    Some residents of the neighbourhood who spoke with our correspondent attributed the killing to frustration and poverty on the part of the suspect, saying since his return from Dubai, Ifeanyi had never remained the same.

    A neighbour who spoke in confidence said: “He had travelled to Dubai so that he would make money and live the good life. But since the man returned from Dubai two years ago, he has been keeping to himself and quarreling with his wife.

    “He was not giving the wife money for food. He was not paying the children’s school fees. He left everything in the hands of the woman. His children attending a government school where they don’t pay.

    “I even had to join them this last Christmas and ate with them. The man complained to me that his wife was cheating on him because he didn’t have money. But I told him to have solace in the beautiful children and that very soon, he would begin to enjoy the fruits of his labour. I didn’t know it could get to the extent of killing children.

    “I know those children very well. They were always ready to assist their mother in her tomato business. In fact, I don’t know what to say again. It was really shocking.”

    Millicent, however, insisted that her husband was neither poor nor frustrated and neither did he have any mental issue. She said her husband returned home from Dubai with a lot of money but decided to be spending it all on himself.

    Amadikwa, who denied any involvement in the death of the children, is being held at the Enugu State Police Command headquarters, where investigation is still ongoing.

    According to the spokesman of the state police command, Daniel Ndukwe, the lifeless bodies of the children were found in the freezer with bruises, suggesting that they might have been murdered by the suspect and dumped in the freezer.

    Ndukwe assured that the police would thoroughly investigate the case and ensure that justice prevails.

    The state’s Commissioner of Police, Abubakar Lawal, has ordered the Deputy Commissioner in-charge of the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department to conduct a conclusive investigation into the case and ensure everyone found culpable was brought to book.

  • ‘Gunmen tied, made me watch as they killed my six children one by one’

    ‘Gunmen tied, made me watch as they killed my six children one by one’

    THE attack by gunmen on Nakuna and Wurukuchi communities in Shiroro Local Government Area on Tuesday has left many families devastated as they lost both relatives and homes.

    It was particularly tragic for 75 years old Mallam Yahaya Mota Nakuna, who had to watch as the gunmen killed his children one after the other.

    Yahaya, who spoke to The Nation through an interpreter, said that they had all left home for the farm on that fateful Tuesday without an inkling of the danger ahead.

    He said it was the harvesting period, so they had gone to the farm to harvest their farm produce only for the gunmen to come to them and ask whether they knew where the vigilance men who had operated in the area were staying, but his family told the gunmen that they did not see anyone.

    He said: “We did not know their exact mission because when they asked us where the vigilantes that operated in the area stayed, we answered them honestly.

    “If we knew what they were on the farm for, we would have taken to our heels when they arrived.

    “At least that was what we had been doing to keep safe these past years.”

    Yahaya said that he was on the farm with six of his children and four others who came to assist them in harvesting, adding that he was the only one spared among them.

    He said that the gunmen tied his hands and made him watch as his children were being killed without any mercy.

    •At the IDP camp in Zumba

    Recounting the incident as he sobbed uncontrollably, he said: “After asking us where the vigilantes were, they asked all my children to come out of the farm and marched them into the village.

    “They tied their hands to the back. They beheaded one of them and shot the remaining nine in the head one after the other. After killing them, they freed my hands and asked me to go.”

    He said that after the gunmen had gone, he looked for a relative in a nearby community to assist him in burying his slain children.

    “Only the two of us dug the graves for my children. We spent over five hours digging the graves to bury them because we were just two.

    “That Tuesday started well but ended with me losing all my family. Where would I start from? Six children gone at once! How will I survive this?”

    Yahaya is currently staying in Zumba community with other residents of the communities affected in the Tuesday attack.

    The gunmen attacked Nakuna and Wurukuchi communities on Tuesday at about 11 am. The majority of the people were in the farm and the gunmen attacked them as several bodies were recovered in various farms.

    However, while locals are saying that more than 37 people were killed, the Niger State Commissioner of Police, Monday Bala Kuryas, said that only 13 people were killed.

  • Evaluating Nigeria’s preparedness for dry ports operation

    Evaluating Nigeria’s preparedness for dry ports operation

    Dry ports in Nigeria will improve the movement of imports and exports outside the congested seaports. CHIAZO OGBOLU reports.

    Unarguably, dry ports in Nigeria will improve the movement of imports and exports outside the congested seaports. This forms part of the reasons why the Federal Government gave approval for the development of six Inland Container Depots (ICDs) or dry ports across the country.

    The tasks before the Federal Government include provision of an impetus to revive and modernise the railway as a primary mode for long distance haulage.

    Another task is to assist in the reduction of overall costs of cargo transportation to hinterlands as well as transit cargoes to landlocked countries.

    Unfortunately, it has been over 15 years since the approval was given but the process of having the dry ports has been bedeviled with many challenges.

    The Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) agreement was signed on May 16, 2006, between the Federal Government and the concessionaires to establish dry ports, otherwise known as ICDs, and Container Freight Stations (CFS).

    An ICD is an equivalent of a seaport located in the hinterlands with loading and offloading equipment needed to handle containers and to receive containers by rail or road from the seaport.

    Seven locations were approved for the ICDs, namely: Isiala Ngwa, Aba; Erunmu, Ibadan; Heipang, Jos; Zawachiki, Kano; Zamfarawa, Funtua; Jauri, Maiduguri; and Inland Container Nigeria Ltd. (ICNL), Kaduna.

    In addition to the seven gazetted ICDs, there have been proposals from the private sector to establish ICDs at Dagbolu in Osun, Lolo in Kebbi, Onitsha in Anambra and Ogwashi-Uku in Delta.

    Unfortunately, today, the only operational and functional dry port in the country is the Kaduna Inland Dry Port Ltd. commissioned by President Buhari in 2017.

    Malam Mustapha Zubairu, Deputy Director, Public Private Partnership, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) cited lack of funds as one of the factors that affected the take-off of dry ports in the country.

    Zubairu, however, said that there was  renewed interest and vigour by the present administration to ensure that all dry ports projects concessioned were implemented and made to operate.

    He said because of the renewed interest, some of the concessionaires had received funds so that the projects would take off.

    “There are a lot of factors that affected the early commencement of the project.

    “Funding was challenging for the concessionaires because the project is capital intensive and not something that can easily be done by an individual.  “Another challenge has to do with land. Some state governments have failed to perform their own commitment based on implementation strategy.

    “They are supposed to play key role toward the provision of basic amenities like access roads to the site, perimeter fencing, security, water and others.

    “Most state governments failed to discharge some of these responsibilities and the critical of them all is the land to be delivered free from all encumbrances and this was relatively challenging for some state governments,” he said.

    Zubairu noted that the Kaduna Inland Dry Port Ltd. was functional, but for Ibadan project, he pointed out that it had yet to be concessioned fully.

    He explained that what obtained at the moment was the preferred bidder.

    The deputy director said that the Ibadan project was under negotiation and very soon, someone would emerge as the concessionaire and have the approval so that operation would commence.

    He said in Funtua, the project had gone far, as an appreciable level of deployment had been attained particularly on infrastructure, various aspects of the project, including perimeter fencing with gates.

    Zubairu said in Maiduguri area, the insurgency in that part of the country had affected the take-off of the project.

    In Abia State, he said the land issue had remained the most critical aspect that affected the project.

    According to him, the state government was also not forthcoming but the issue was being resolved.

    Recently, Mr Emmanuel Jime, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) noted that all outstanding issues in the Full Business Case (FBC) and concessionaire agreement that would drive Ibadan Inland Dry Port development had been resolved.

    He commended Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde for the pivotal role he had played toward the actualisation of Ibadan Inland Dry port by agreeing to provide necessary infrastructure that would assist the successful take-off of the project.

    “A critical one is a link road from the entrance/exit of Ibadan Dry Port and a frame bridge at the entrance/exit of Ibadan Dry Port.

    “Others are connection of Ibadan Inland Dry Port to 33KV power supply and reconstruction of Oyo-Ibadan to Moniya -Iseyin link road, ”Jime said.

    The executive secretary noted that the outstanding issues that had not been addressed by Oyo State Government include payment of compensation for the 90 hectares of land acquired for the project.

    He listed others as the provision of infrastructure as well as the need for engagement with host communities and stakeholders for support.

    Jime, during an inspection of the on-going construction of the Dala Inland Dry Port site at Zawachiki in Kano State, noted that the port would boost trans-Saharan trade development and indeed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

    The NSC boss noted that the support and partnership of the Kano State Government with regard to the development of the Dala IDP should be emulated by other state governments.

    According to him, the Dala IDP, when completed, will serve to decongest the seaports and reduce the cost of doing business.

    Makinde noted that Oyo State wanted the Ibadan Dry Port project to be operational, assuring that it would give the NSC maximum support for the project.

    “Oyo State Government wants to partner with the council for speedy realisation of the project and as such appeals to council to bring to the government’s notice those things that they are doing that may impact negatively and vice versa,” he said.

    On his part, the Chairman/Chief Executive officer, Dala Inland Dry Port, Abubakar Bawuro, appreciated the Kano State Government and NSC for their roles toward the IDP project to actualisation.

    He further pleaded for the support of the council to fast track the conferment of the dry port status as a Port of Origin and Port of Destination.

    He gave an assurance that construction works at the Dala IDP would be completed soon for full operation to begin.

    Mr Bala Adamu, Chief Operating Officer NSC, during a Ministerial Implementation Committee (MIC) meeting with shipping companies, urged the Kaduna Inland Dry Port Ltd., (KIDPL) to ensure the issuance of Through Bill of Lading (TBL) for cargo at the port.

    “The KIDPL has been gazetted as a port of destination, so the management has a legal instrument to pursue the TBL and Shippers’ Council have expended a lot of money to create awareness but the KIDP need to take the crucial step,” he said.

    Adamu noted that to ensure that KIDPL got the TBL the council had engagement with shipping companies and allayed their fears, urging them to reach their principals on the need for them to issue the bill of lading.

    “Also, there will be a review of haulage rate, a standardised rate to provide benchmark for cargo evacuation from the seaports to the inland dry port.

    “The KIDPL should step up its game; nobody will push them to vigorously pursue importers and exporters. They should promise them incentives.

    “NSC is appealing to the KIDPL and its parent body ICNL, to embark on publicity to improve their visibility, synergise and collaborate with shipping companies, stating their volume and what they can guarantee them,” he said.

    • Ogbolu is of the News Agency of Nigeria.
  • When Ijebu community came alive for Abiodun

    When Ijebu community came alive for Abiodun

    The town of Ijebu-Itele in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State literally came alive on Friday, January 7, 2021, when the Chairman of Ogun State Television (OGTV), Olatunde Oladunjoye, hosted the Christian Association of Nigeria, Ijebu East chapter, to an Annual Thanksgiving and Prayer Service.

    There was no missing it. As you drive through the major road that links Ijebu-Itele to Ijebu-Imushin and Ijebu-Ife, you would know that something in the mold of a party, nay carnival, was happening at the St. John’s Primary School, Ijebu-Itele, as the crowd ate, drank and danced.

    Close to a thousand delegates and chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the 11 wards that make up the local government attended the event.

    They were led in prayers by over 60 clergymen from various denominations.

    The event, which was organized under the auspices of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ijebu East Local Government Area chapter, was to thank God for his faithfulness over Ijebu East Local Government Area, Ogun State and Nigeria.

    Also, it afforded the people an opportunity to pray for the peace of the local government, state and the country. Special prayers were said for the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun and the Awujale of Ijebu Land, Alayeluwa Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona.

    Oladunjoye, who is the Baba-Ewe, C & S Maberu, Isapodo, Ijebu-Ife, Ogun State, said, “Although I am a practicing Muslim, I reckon that we are all creatures of the Almighty God to whom we pray whether we are Christians or Muslims. Our basic needs are the same. We are all one people under God, regardless of our status, gender, religion or creed. So, there is no need for discrimination and acrimony. This is an annual event that I have been hosting for over a decade.

    “By the grace of God, every year, I gather Muslims and Christians to hold this thanksgiving and prayer service with eminent religious clerics from both religions leading us in thanksgiving and prayers. Today, we are holding the Christian version. Tomorrow, the League of Imams and Alfas in Ijebu East Local Government Area will be leading us in thanksgiving and prayers for our local government, our dear Ogun State and Nigeria. We will also offer special prayers for our amiable Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun (MFR).”

    The Progressive Movement, one of the groups at the event, described Oladunjoye as “a man who has the rare courage to speak for the people and interact with them in a genuine way.”

    It added: “We vouch for him as indigenes of Itele where he hails from and therefore seek the support of party faithful to  support him in his endeavours.”

    The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) were among the groups present at the occasion, where several personalities attested to the philanthropy of Comrade Oladunjoye as an exceptional politician with integrity.

  • Archbishop Desmond Tutu: Nobody’s messenger

    Archbishop Desmond Tutu: Nobody’s messenger

    Desmond Mpilo Tutu, South African Anglican Archbishop and theologian, who was born October 7, 1931. He died on December 26, 2021. In this tribute, the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Africa Today Magazine, KAYODE SOYINKA, recounts his amazing life and times.

    DURING THE JUNE 12, 1993 political crisis in Nigeria, the late South African President Nelson Mandela despatched his deputy, Thabo Mbeki, to Nigeria. It was a last-ditch attempt by the revered Madiba to appeal to General Sani Abacha’s better instincts. To persuade him to cool tension in Nigeria by releasing former Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, and his then No. 2, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, as well as the 38 military men and civilians convicted by a secret military tribunal of planning to topple the regime in a coup d’etat.

    Sending Mbeki, who arrived in Abuja on Friday, July 21,1995, on a three-day visit was a very wise move by President Mandela, for if there were anyone in South Africa at the time who was truly close to General Abacha it was the Vice-President. Mbeki used to live in Nigeria where he served as the representative of the African National Congress (ANC) between 1976 and 1978. With Nigeria’s heavy military investment at the time in the ANC’s military campaign against the apartheid regime, Mbeki served as the linkman with Nigeria’s military authorities and became particularly close to Abacha. They related to each other on a first-name basis.

    Since the political crisis in Nigeria started, President Mandela had tried personally to intervene. He had been to Abuja himself to discuss with Abacha the situation of Chief Moshood Abiola who won the annulled June 12, 1993 Presidential elections. After waiting for a while in the hope that Abacha would yield to his plea and release Abiola, when nothing of the sort happened he did a follow-up in April 1995 by sending the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu – again to General Abacha.

    By the time Tutu got to Nigeria, the situation there had become even worse than when Mandela visited. General Obasanjo, Nigeria’s Head of State from 1976 to 1979, famed for being the first and, up till then, the only military leader in Nigerian history to have voluntarily returned government to an elected civilian administration, had also been arrested. So, too, was Yar’Adua. They were both charged in connection with an alleged coup plot which the regime said it had uncovered.

    Obasanjo’s arrest, coming on top of the yet unresolved confinement of Abiola, was a move which Mandela, and several other world leaders who held the former Nigerian President in high esteem, considered went beyond the pale. The conviction of Obasanjo by the secret military tribunal brought three past British Prime Ministers together in an extraordinary alliance – Baroness Margaret Thatcher, her arch-critic within the Conservative Party, Sir Edward Heath, and Labour’s Lord James Callaghan – in a joint letter to General Abacha appealing to him to show clemency.

    For Mandela, arresting Obasanjo, trying him before a secret tribunal and finding him guilty meant that his two best friends in Nigeria, Abiola and Obasanjo, were now at the mercy of General Abacha. Had it not being for a last-minute hitch, Abiola would have bankrolled an ANC newspaper in South Africa. Obasanjo, as co-Chairman of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons’ Group, sent to South Africa to negotiate the release of Mandela and the liberation of the country from White domination, was singled out and given special permission by the then racist regime in South Africa to visit Mandela in prison. That brought them together and Mandela had ever since been very fond of Obasanjo to whom he referred by the short form of his name: “Olu.”

    Mandela also became friendly with Abacha, after intense pressure within South Africa to intervene in the Nigerian crisis especially from the vociferous trade union movement and the intelligentsia led by the Nobel laureate, novelist Nadine Gordimer.

    When I interviewed President Mandela in Cape Town in February 1995, he surprisingly referred to General Abacha as his friend. “Chief Abiola is a friend of mine and I am concerned about his position. General Abacha is a friend of mine and I have discussed the matter of Chief Abiola with him in a serious and confidential manner,” President Mandela told me. The friendship between Mandela and Abacha should not be taken lightly: Mandela himself told me in that interview that they were expecting a visit the following week from Nigeria’s First Lady, Mariam Abacha.

    It was to me in that interview with our magazine, Africa Today, that Mandela first disclosed his intention to send Tutu to Nigeria as a special envoy. That move deprived the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) of the privilege of having the Archbishop as leader of their own team which visited Nigeria in July 1995 to investigate the claims of human rights abuses levelled against the Abacha regime. The team was later led by the Zimbabwean former Chief Justice, Dr Enoch Dumbutshena, and the former Canadian Foreign Minister, Flora Macdonald.

    Mandela had hoped that he would be able to extract some concessions from General Abacha by sending Archbishop Tutu to him to plead for Abiola’s and Obasanjo’s release. That did not happen. The Archbishop was warmly welcomed in Abuja. He had meetings with Abacha at which he delivered Mandela’s plea and pressed for the release of both men. He was also allowed to see Abiola and, surprisingly, was the recipient of a concession volunteered by the detained politician for a conditional release. Abiola, however, still remained in detention.

    Mbeki’s trip to Abuja offered the best hope of persuading Abacha to show clemency, certainly potentially more effective than the efforts of the Western powers. If he failed to persuade Abacha, no one else was likely to.

    But as the international pressure was mounting on General Abacha, I took it upon myself to travel to Bishop’s Court in Cape Town to see and interview Archbishop Tutu. The aim of the interview was, primarily, to ask him about his experience in trying to negotiate with General Abacha the release of Abiola and Obasanjo. Secondly, it was to clear the air concerning what Abiola had agreed to in Tutu’s discussions with the detained politician. Had Abiola really agreed to his own conditional release?

    Of course, the interview with Tutu also provided a unique opportunity to talk to a man who was not only at the centre of the anti-apartheid struggle throughout the 27 years Mandela was in jail, but who was the embodiment of hope for all the oppressed people of South Africa. The interview had to include, therefore, asking the Archbishop about his experiences during the anti-apartheid struggle.

    In many ways my interview with Archbishop Tutu was a revelation. His explanation, for instance, for why he chose to be constantly in the eye of the storm, loved by the people, but hated by the God-fearing upholders of apartheid who could not or would not comprehend how a Churchman could be a political agitator.

    I saw Archbishop Tutu as a man who does not pull his punches. Yet he had a delightful sense of humour and an admirable ability to relate to people. Naturally, he was a man who had a talent for coining phrases. “The Rainbow People of God” are the immortal words with which he had described the people of the new South Africa.

    And when he was asked after South Africa’s first multi-racial election how he had felt as he cast his vote, this physically slight, elderly man seemed to tower as high as Table Mountain when declaring: “It was like making love again!”

    His remarks concerning his visit to Nigeria were very emotional. He spoke of Nigeria as a country for which he had a great admiration. He told me: “Nigeria is perhaps the most important country on our continent and not only on account of sheer size of its population. It has played a very important role in the liberation of South Africa. I think, almost from the inception of the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid, the chairperson was held almost exclusively by the Nigerian ambassador to the UN. That showed the remarkable importance Nigeria attached to the liberation of South Africa. In a way, without that commitment from Nigeria, our struggle would have been a great deal more difficult – it would have taken longer.”

    He recalled what one Nigerian ambassador had said to him in a private conversation: “You know, by right we should not be wanting South Africa to become free because a free South Africa is going to be one of our strongest rivals. But we are so committed to it that we don’t care even if South Africa should become our rival for leadership of Africa. We want to be involved in its struggle for liberation. So we owe a great deal to Nigeria. That is a country with a large heart. There are not many countries in Africa that have as many highly educated people. I became aware of this when I was studying at King’s College, London, in the Sixties. I had Nigerian friends, fellow students, who were working for their Ph.Ds in subjects like electrical engineering. They were quite extraordinarily impressive. A good number of South Africans went to study medicine at the University of Ibadan, which became the best medical school in Africa. When I asked the Dean how they had achieved this, he explained how they appointed Whites to all the important positions in the school and sent the Nigerians to Britain and other places; encouraged them to get all the qualifications they could; to come back to Nigeria and to understudy the White people. This they did and these highly qualified people, who had fellowships from places like the Royal College of Physicians or Surgeons, soon took over. They even had some of the best theologians, people like Professor Bolaji Idowu (former Head of the Methodist Church in Nigeria.) He further disclosed to me that it was in Nigeria, during a trip in the 1970s, that he was proud to find out that the pilots of the aircraft in which he was travelling were Nigerians and he remembered that in his native land racism assumed that blacks were incapable of such a vocation. He was therefore filled with pride to see his fellow blacks manoeuvring the big bird expertly.

    So he told me that this made him to tell General Abacha that: “…we in South Africa don’t want to compete with Nigeria for the leadership of this continent, but we are jealous of the continent’s reputation. The fact that the Giant of Africa is in the state that it is, in terms of its human rights record and the whole question of democracy, this has had a terrible impact on all of us. That is because we Africans are then dismissed by the rest of the world on the grounds that, if the leading nation is like this, what hope is there for the rest?” At one point he was so overwhelmed by his emotion, he moved to the edge of his chair, and tears welled as he exclaimed: “For the human rights record of the Giant of Africa to reach its present state – that has had a terrible impact on all of us.” As a Nigerian, listening to him as he waxed so eloquently and emotionally in that interview, I have to admit that it was Archbishop Tutu that made me realise that it is not for nothing that my country, Nigeria, is being referred to as “The Giant of Africa”!

    My interview, which is worth reproducing in full in the next edition of Africa Today, showed Archbishop Tutu as nobody’s messenger, but how one would expect him to be portrayed: a non-political voice of reason. As tense as the political situation in Nigeria was then, it was my view then that when the interview was read by the regime in Abuja, no shirt should hit the fan – nobody should be surprised that the Archbishop was very critical of the situation in Nigeria then. He had been very critical of even his own President, the revered Mandela. His constituency was humanity and the human situation. Therefore, when he went to Nigeria he did not go just as a messenger of Mandela nor of anybody else. Archbishop Tutu was more than that. His major achievements are in three areas: the work he did in the liberation struggle, all the way to the release of Mandela; his readiness to withdraw from the limelight immediately Mandela and the other ANC leaders were released from jail or returned from exile; and his readiness to be critical of the new Mandela government.

    He told me: “I never wanted to be actively involved in the way that we were when our leaders were in jail or in exile. I said clearly at the time that I was an interim leader. There were things that one was doing which, in a normal society, would not need to be done by a Church leader but by politicians. We were living in abnormal times then…Yet we are still involved politically. We would never become apolitical because politics is too important to be left to the politicians.”