The Nation Newspaper

Tag: antidote

  • Antidote to racketeering in driving schools and driver licences

    THE Antidote

    Having carried out several researches within and outside Nigeria, we have discovered that the workable and very effective antidote to the high rate of racketeering and other anomalies pervading the driving school and driver licence systems in Nigeria is an uncompromised pre-licence theory and practical tests which should be in two phases thus:

     

    Final assessment test by driving schools

    The certificate being generated by the driving schools is not a certificate of participation as in the case of seminars or workshops but a certificate for skills acquisition (certificate of competence). It is, therefore, morally wrong for driving schools to issue the certificates without administering the requisite tests or assessment (theory and practical) after offering the extensive theory and practical training in the various driving schools. We are  pushing for the activation of the final assessment tests in the DSSP portal before the generation of driving school certificates. The Corps Marshal/Chief Executive (COMACE) of FRSC has been very supportive in the push for sanity and global integrity in the driving schools and driver licence systems.

     

    Pre-licence theory and practical tests by VIOs

    There should be a well-structured and uniform computer-based tests incorporating theory and alternative to practical questions to be administered before recommending a driver licence applicant for FRSC capturing for driver licence production and subsequent issuance.

    This when done without any element of compromise will serve as proactive checks and balances to ensure that only the competent drivers and riders are issued with driver licences. Language barriers, level of education and biometric data capturing (fingerprint, signature and photograph) of the driver licence applicants should be considered in the design and administration of the theory and practical tests.

    Considering the fact that motorcycles and tricycles are also modes of public transportation in Nigeria, the pre–licence Tests (CBT and practical tests by the VIOs) should be designed to cover the testing of driver licence and rider licence applicants.

     

    Driving range

    The state governments should construct and maintain driving range in the local governments for the use of VIOs for testing driver licence applicants the driving schools can also be using the government driving range for the training of learner drivers for an agreed fee to be paid to the government on pay as you use basis.

     

    Pre- driver licence renewal tests and re-training

    Consequent upon the obvious fact that a very high percentage of the people holding  the driver licence did not acquire the requisite training in driving schools nor passed through the structured theory and practical tests of the VIOs coupled with fact that vehicle technology and road traffic regulations are dynamic (changing very frequently), we hereby recommend that all drivers no matter the status should be subjected to a theory and practical test with the VIOs and/or mandatory refresher  training in the accredited driving schools. This additional measure will further boost quality driver education for improved safety on the roads.

  • Antidote to racketeering in driving schools and driver licences

    Without any iota of doubt, the rate of road  crashes and fatalities in Nigeria is  too high to overlook or play  with.

    Having studied the trend of road accidents and the measures taken by the federal and state governments and their regulatory agencies, I can affirm that the cause of the worrisomely high rate of road accidents can be summarised into one word, COMPROMISE.

    It is a universally acclaimed that about 80 percent of road accidents are attributed to human factors (drivers, policy makers, traffic law enforcement agencies, employers of drivers and driving schools, among other stakeholders); about 10 percent are attributed to the mechanical factors (vehicle), while about 10 percent are assigned to the environmental factor, which include the road and road furniture.

    With selfless and uncompromised commitment by the state governments, Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and driving schools, the rate of road traffic crashes can be reduced significantly.

    Research have repeatedly revealed a high level of compromise in the following areas:

     

    Driving schools

    Driving schools are statutorily mandated to train learner drivers and re-train experienced drivers. Unfortunately, virtually all the driving schools in Nigeria have grossly compromised their driver training functions by issuing certificates of competence to learner drivers for the processing of driver licence without rendering the required training and assessment tests. The failure of driving school to provide quality driver education is a major cause of road accidents.

     

    Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs)

    The VIOs are statutorily required to administer theory and practical tests on the trainees turned out by the driving schools.

    Unfolding events, however, revealed that a disturbingly large number of driver licence are being passed by the VIOs for the issuance of driver licence without undergoing the requisite theory and practical tests while some of the applicants were made to skip the VIO desks by officers of the FRSC and the state Board of Internal Revenue. This level of compromise by officers who are to ensure appropriate checks and balances on the compromise by driving schools ended up further fuelling the licensing of unqualified drivers as well as further heightening the rate of road accidents in Nigeria.

     

    Traffic law enforcement agents

    The high rate of corruption on the part of some of the traffic law enforcement officers has been fuelling the breach of road traffic regulations with impunity and by extension, the rate of road traffic crashes, injuries and death on Nigerian roads.

    Several driving schools have, at one time of the other, been suspended on the DSSP Portal for up to eight months. Yet, the racketeering by driving schools still continued. Many transfers and other disciplinary actions have been meted by the FRSC and various tate governments against their erring officers. Yet, their compromise still continued in various dimensions.

  • Antidote for corruption

    Title: Fighting Corruption is Dangerous

    Author: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

    Reviewer: Arinze Oduah

    NIGERIA is not lacking in technical and leadership talent, and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is proof of this statement. Her latest book chronicling her second stint in public service is saturated with insights, recommendations and unforgettable anecdotes. My takeaways from her experience as the Finance Minister, and concurrently, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy (CME), are summarised below:

    Decades of mismanagement of the economy cannot be unwound in two consecutive presidential terms, even with the most cohesive economic team and a coherent economic management agenda. This is due to the structural fragility of the  economy. Our economy is oil-dependent and therefore vulnerable to oil price volatility. Add to this weakness the historical record of poor economic management and mediocre GDP per capita rarely rising above four per cent the high annual population growth rate (about 2.6 per cent), serious internal security challenges (Boko Haram, MEND, IPOB, Herdsmen, Bandits, etc) that undermine productivity, and a decaying infrastructure and educational system wholly incapable of producing human capital for a 21st century economy, then it is no surprise that the Nigerian economy will need to be on steroids (with GDP per capita less six per cent) for over a ten-year period before we can start turning the corner.

    Without a minimum consensus around which Nigeria’s governing elite (choose to) discipline themselves over a long time horizon, it will be wishful thinking to expect consistent progress. In fact, there appears to be no consensus on even fundamental economic strategies such as the Oil Price-Based Fiscal Rule designed to save money for the rainy day to provide budget support whenever the oil price dips.

    There is also a huge disconnect between reform policies and related institution building at the Federal level, and the frequent displays of executive recklessness at state level (witness the number of ex-governors being prosecuted for economic crimes, with some notable convictions). Without Federal-state coordination and mutual reinforcement of reform policies backed up by constitutional safeguards to check the potential for executive abuses at State level, all attempts at economic reform will be executed at half-battery.

    Our legislators offer no comfort. Based on NOI’s account, it is difficult not to perceive the National Assembly as a congregation of persons who prioritise their self-interest. This vital segment of the governing elite is perhaps the most fractious and resistant to arguments about the need to make sacrifices today for a better future. The role played by the legislature in reviewing and passing the national budget to ensure that their so-called first line charge is plumped up and ring-fenced, even at the expense of economically ruinous oil price benchmark, frustrates economic reforms.

    Building, embedding and deepening institutional mechanisms for fighting corruption is the best guarantee for sustainable progress in this challenging undertaking. By embedding and deepening such mechanisms they become difficult and inconvenient to undo, and provide a real chance of becoming the accepted culture over time. The opportunity space for developing and deploying such systematic institutional mechanisms is large, in fact, larger and faster than any other approaches. From the Treasury Single Account, to computerising government payrolls, to enrolling pensioners in biometric databases, to introduction of biometrics-based Bank Verification Numbers, and so on, the opportunity for undetected fraud is being consistently narrowed to prevent leakages, protect public funds, and direct them to where they are required in the public interest.

    The other planks for addressing corruption should be worked simultaneously, and separated from the politics of the day. These include; the investigation, prosecution, punishment and public censure of those who defraud the State at all levels; the enrollment of a diverse range of stakeholders, including traditional authorities, schools, faith-based organisations, civil society organisations, the media, international development partners, and so on; and the further democratisation of access to information in the tradition of sharing monthly data about budget releases to all tiers of government. We need to know how much is generated, how much is spent, on what is spent, and what is saved and invested for the future, etc.

    As a country we are failing to attract top talent into public service because of the way we have treated those who offered their services in the past. Despite enduring untold hardships (including the kidnapping of her aged mother!) in her self-sacrificing service to Nigeria, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala was subjected to a vicious campaign of calumny that she only survived because of her solid international reputation. As she herself rhetorically questioned, it is open to conjecture whether a lesser well-known person would have survived such attacks and come out unscathed.

    Service to one’s country should neither become an act of self-flagellation, nor an invitation to martyrdom. There must be ways of protecting those who offer themselves for service, both while they are serving and when they have finished their official engagements.

    Those who want to serve should borrow a leaf from her and be courageous, knowing what to expect – abuse, brickbats, calumniation, death threats, and the occasional encouragement. Hers is a story of uncommon love for Nigeria and a determination to leverage her prodigious talent, international networks, and focus to transform the way Nigeria’s economy is managed. By all accounts she succeeded despite the deliberate headwinds of distraction. It takes a true leader to build a formidable team and to persevere under pressure.

    Nigeria still has a very long way to go in gender equality and in dismantling barriers to a merit-driven culture. You cannot turbocharge an economy on the back of mediocrity and a culture that holds back women in all areas. The statistics of women disempowerment is damning, and the need to close the gap is most urgent in Northeast Nigeria.

    Unless a state of emergency is declared on this issue it will continue to hold us back as a nation.

    We must find ways to honor our heroes, especially our women who have served with distinction, and set them up as living role models for the next generation.

    Lastly, the individuals who showed up in poor light in her book are well known to us. Interestingly, many of them are posing as today’s reformers and agents of change. We now know better. This should guide us in choosing our leaders carefully whenever we have the opportunity to do so.

  • AMCON: Change as antidote to bad debts

    Nigeria’s banking sector was embroiled in bad debt – or their more fashionable name of nonperforming loans (NPLs) – back in the calamitous period of 2008-2009. Then, not only Nigeria but other nations of the world were submerged in the deluge of the infamous financial tsunami called meltdown, with the epicentre traced to US mortgage re-financing marketplace.

    Nigeria’s response was quite innovative – the establishment of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) with mandate to mop up the NPLs from the banks and stabilize the economy in 2010.

    Evidence that the root cause has not been adequately addressed is provided by the fact that NPLs are not only now on the rise again, but also at an alarming rate.

    At the risk of encouraging growth of bad loans, AMCON has stopped taking in fresh NPLs from around 2013. Doing otherwise would amount to a reversal of the raison d’être for its establishment. But loans are the lifeline of modern business financing. They are inevitable and inversely a part of the many challenges AMCON is facing in executing its mandate.

    Another challenge is the spiraling interest on NPLs, which is making the whole work of AMCON a more daunting task — the case of shifting the goal post in the course of a match! But the key challenge of fighting bad debts remains the attitude of the obligors and the sluggish judicial processes. Added to our not so rosy economic situation, the bleak picture of the task of recovering the bad debt as onerous task is complete.

    The attitudinal dimensions to fighting bad debts were brought to the fore by AMCON Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Lawal-Kuru, during a recent interview with the press. Hear him: “The challenges that we currently have are in two folds: the first has to do with willingness and ability; the second has to do with the state of the economy.” The former borders on attitude of the obligors and, before them, that of the bank directors and management, who allow infractions to subsist; the latter has to do with our economy and all its vulnerability to global market price fluctuations.  The two infractions that always lead to NPLs are insider dealings (bank directors approving loans for themselves) and poor structuring of the loan facilities in the first instance.

    Psychologists define attitudes as a complex combination of things we tend to call personality, beliefs, values, behaviors, and motivations.

    As for the two infractions highlighted above, bank managements need to encourage risk management training, which will help staff responsible for negotiating facilities do a good job of professionally structuring the facilities so that nothing goes wrong when it comes to recovery. The tendency to promote only the staff members bringing in the fattest accounts to the bank to the detriment of those in the risk assessment department, for example, tends to stack the top hierarchy of our banks with people not well grounded in risk assessment to professionally structure facilities that go out of the banks.

    It is the height of corruption for directors to take loans from their own banks.  To AMCON boss, “For good corporate governance, you should not take a credit from an institution that you sit on its board. You cannot give yourself contract from the agency that you superintend. It is simple logic and that is best practice. Before, when things were okay, we said the only requirement was to declare an interest. But we should go farther than that — you should not even take. If you are a director and responsible and you believe in the viability of your project, go and market it to another financial institution as there are many around but not the one you superintend over.”

    Despite all these challenges, the management of AMCON headed by Ahmed Lawal-Kuru is surging ahead. A humble leader, Kuru has decided to make his actions speak louder than voice. With about N300billion in debt recovery so far, the Kuru is bringing to bear his vast experience as a risk management expert. Back at the defunct Bank PHB, risk management, compliance, commercial banking, public sector financing, and multilateral agencies of the bank were under his purview as an executive director.

    With three years to go out of the 10 years target period given to AMCON to achieve its key objectives, nothing short of a miracle will see it accomplish them. But Kuru is not about to give up. Instead, he is trying his best to churn out strategies that will help AMCON meet it mandate. For example, this year, the corporation’s focus is to create relationships so that it can package related businesses and attract foreign investors as well as discuss with them how to take over some businesses, especially in the areas of power, oil and gas. The plan is to repackage these businesses and assets so as to attract third party interests. The AMCON -MD/CEO is cashing on the silver lining appearing on the horizon now; our foreign reserve is going up, foreign exchange is stabilizing, and other indicators are becoming more positive for investors to come in. And the targeted investors Lawal-Kuru is eying are those long-term vision and objective and he confessed to the press that “quite a number of them have shown interest; we are currently working on how we can partner with them.”

    It is on record that, as an institution, AMCON has taken acquisition of over 13,774 NPLs worth N3.6 trillion from 22 commercial banks in Nigeria and provided financial accommodation of N2.2billion. It has protected about N4.7trillion worth of depositors’ funds and interbank takings, as well as saved approximately 14,000 jobs. Of course, no one can deny the fact that, through the efforts of AMCON and other strategic stakeholders, the federal government has successfully managed our debt crises and saved our banking system from imminent systemic collapse. But this achievement will not be complete until bad debts are recovered in the interest of the public, whose taxes were used to purchase them.

    In all these, the attitudes of obligors, bank managers and our judicial officers need to significantly change for Nigeria to become investors’ destination in Africa.

     

    • Hassan is a financial analyst based in Abuja

  • ‘Entrepreneurship, antidote to unemployment’

    Founder, Ajayi Polytechnic, Ikere-Ekiti in Ekiti State, Dr. Busayo Ajayi, has described entrepreneurial skills as the antidote to high rate of unemployment.

    Ajayi, who urged young graduates to develop an entrepreneurship mindset for their advancement, also challenged Nigerians to learn how to run businesses through Information Communication Technology (ICT).

    He spoke during the institution’s maiden Inaugural lecture titled: ‘Entrepreneurship and basics of business skills’.

    Most young graduates, Ajayi lamented, were either jobless or unemployable because they lack the necessary skills and training. “This is why Ajayi Polytechnic was born to address this shortfall,” the founder noted.

    Ajayi added: “Innovativeness means being proactive and being able to take risks. These are some of the characteristics of entrepreneurship, which the youth must develop.  It has to do with creating businesses and becoming an employer in the larger business world.

    “Aside creating businesses and being employable through the entrepreneurial training, ICT knowledge will help them secure jobs in other countries while resident in Nigeria because we are in a global world.”

    He said the institution is partnering  Samsung and the British Computer Society to enhance its training scope and confer international recognition on the institution.

     

  • A sure antidote to peace

    A sure antidote to peace

    Those who accuse the police of being rude and crude should now be swimming in their senseless obstinacy. Why can’t we, for once, give them the credit they deserve?

    Consider their recent breakthrough which nobody, including the authorities and those fastidious fellows who hide under all manner of nomenclatures, such as social critic, columnist and activist, to scold and scorn the police, noticed. It is yet to be acknowledged, let alone commended. Even the media have failed to herald it with the publicity blitz accorded such revolution in better climes.

    The police have eventually found an answer to the disruption of public peace which plagues our polity, rendering all efforts at good governance a futility and giving our patriotic public officials nightmares.

    Abusing a public official – name calling, sneering, mocking and disparaging – by making remarks the police believe to be uncomplimentary about him or her can cause a breach of the peace, the police have just discovered. Stop such abuses and what do you have? Peace. Peace and peace.

    To test the efficacy of this landmark theory, which has been hailed for its profundity in intellectual circles, the police have bundled Citizen Deji Babington-Ashaye, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporter, before a magistrate in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, charging him with intent to disrupt public order by calling the distinguished Senator Kashamu Buruji “a drug baron and jail breaker”.

    Babington-Ashaye, the police said, conducted himself in a manner that could lead to a breach of peace by using offensive words on Kashamu on a PDP WhatsApp group called “PDP match to victory”. He reportedly committed the said offence between March 13 and 14 at a location opposite the Community High School, Ogere Remo, according to the prosecuting officer, Sunday Eigbejiale, who claimed that the accused also challenged Kashamu to travel to the United States. Babington-Ashaye pleaded not guilty to the charge. He was granted bail and the matter was adjourned till March 30.

    Ever since this matter went to court, there has been peace not only in Ogun East, the constituency of the distinguished senator, but all over the state. Now, people are aware of the grave legal and security implications of “using offensive words” on a public official.

    Apparently confused about the workings of the new formula, which a police source told me would be deployed in all the other 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), a student was asking me the other day to explain the connection between the senator’s private and personal peace and that of the state. He asked: “Couldn’t the senator have sued for libel? Is defamation an offence against the state? Is it criminal? How can abusing a senator or any public official spark a breach of peace?”

    Not being a law enforcement officer or a legal expert, I could only try to explain to the fellow how it all began. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) actually attempted to seize Kashamu and repatriate him to the United States to, according to the agency, answer for alleged drug offences. Kashamu locked himself in, defended his innocence and screamed that he would rather commit suicide than allow himself to be bundled onto a plane and freighted to the United States.

    The matter went to court and the NDLEA was asked to follow the due process, after it pleaded that it had the right to seize Kashamu and repatriate him to the United States where it said some unnamed accomplices of his had been jailed. The senator said in actual fact there was a case, but it had been tried in Britain and he had been exonerated. I am not the “Alhaji” they are looking for, he told the world. If there was such a person, he was quoted as saying, it was his brother who died and was buried a long time ago.

    Now imagine what havoc would have been caused if the police had allowed Babington-Ashaye’s defamation to stick. Will Kashamu’s constituents allow their distinguished senator’s character to be so hacked in such a merciless manner without rising up in arms? Wouldn’t a war have broken out if the police had not moved that fast?

    Why should Babington- Ashaye call Kashamu a drug baron and expect the police to stay calm, knowing that this could be a serious indictment on the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria if it was allowed to fester?

    Does a citizen’s right to free speech include the right to heap insults on a senator, knowing that such insults could breach the peace? Is it not taking free speech to a ridiculous level when a constituent or any person for that matter, no matter how important, tells a senator where he should travel to?”

    All those senators who have been unjustly maligned can now rejoice. The police, I am told, will soon press this innovation to their service so as to convince those who may think the action against Babington-Ashaye is a flash in the pan.

    To be counted among such lucky lawmakers is distinguished Senator Dino Melaye, who has been lampooned as a spendthrift and an irresponsible man on account of what they call his “inability to keep a decent matrimonial home”. The police, I am sure, know the implication of allowing such a character assassination to go unchallenged.

    What was Melaye’s offence? He expounded a powerful theory that only years of research by social science giants working under the best of conditions could have produced. He said he had discovered that to save the naira, the symbol of our economy, we should not just embrace local goods and services, we should marry “made in Nigeria” women.

    The innuendo, said his critics, was unambiguous. He was accused of disdaining the respected Edo State Comrade Governor Adams Oshiomhole whose charming wife Iara is from Cape Verde.

    Melaye was savaged from all sides. He was reminded of his crashed marriage and what they called his champagne life of wine and women. Peter Okhiria, the governor’s spokesman, hacked him down. He said: “The liberty of free speech guaranteed in the hallowed chambers does not impose lunacy on anyone to disparage other Nigerians. He is a man known for his vainglorious rodomontade and the childish display of his ostentatious lifestyle, which complement his love for foreign items.”

    Okhiria called Melaye “a court jester” who is “tactless”. “We advise that Melaye should mend his ways with his ex-wife and concubines,” he admonished  the senator.

    Now, let’s imagine the police not acting on these scurrilously seditious comments. Won’t the good people of Kogi West, whom the senator represents, rise in defence of their beloved one? Won’t there be a breakdown of law and order?

    A source has just told me of plans to deploy the new formula against those who still deride the distinguished Senator Sani Ahmed Yerima, the former Zamfara State governor, for his conjugal adventure with a girl they still describe as a 13-year-old minor, several years after the ceremony.

    Why refer to a matter that could not be prosecuted even when it was very hot? The other day when the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) brought the former governor to court for allegedly diverting N1 billion meant for the repair of a broken dam, there were suggestions that he should be tried under the Sharia law, which he introduced as governor. The insinuation was not lost. Should Yerima be convicted, he would have his arm chopped off. Yerima’s supporters were enraged. The ICPC officials had to be hustled out of the area by heavily armed security men.

    With the new formula, such an uprising of an otherwise good people provoked by a verbal assault on their dearest one will be prevented and public peace and order will be assured. Not so?

    Just before the Rivers State rerun, Governor Nyesom Wike was being disparaged as one who rode to power on broken limbs, his election a blot on the political landscape. He swam onto the seat in the blood of innocent people, some said. Others, who obviously are His Excellency’s bitter political opponents, were just short of describing him in such sacrilegious terms as “a cultist” and “father of militants”, particularly when a man was beaten up and burnt alive.

    Sending some of those suspected to have launched such verbal assaults  before a magistrate will surely ensure that the peace so much desired by all is installed.

    Nor should Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose bother any more about those who describe him as a “former bus conductor”,  “stunts man” and “failed chicken farmer”, and his popular “stomach infrastructure” policy  a mere deceit. The law will now take care of such felonies.

    For two weeks, the social media have been awash with the news that Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai slapped his deputy, Mr Bala Bantek. His Excellency said yesterday that it was all lies.

    The aim of this “wicked’ rumour”, obviously, was to disrupt the state’s peace, which the law on illegal preaching is supposed to keep and distract His Excellency from his interesting spar with Senator Shehu Sani. Has any governor ever slapped his deputy? The purveyors of this seditious rumour, I am told, will soon be taken before a magistrate.

    Now watch out, all those whose pastime is to ridicule our public officials in the social media – Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, BlackBerry and others – there will be no hiding place any more. The police will be busy combing such sites for deriding comments on public officials which can cause a breach of peace.

    Ever seen a more revolutionary crime prevention device?

  • Bafarawa’s hypocritical antidote against corruption

    If the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency is to be taken seriously about its determination to engage corruption in a do-or-die warfare, then it would have to do more than the weekly assessments tendered by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. This point becomes more poignant as prominent Nigerians have started speaking up on how the hydra-headed monster has stunted growth and development for ages. It is a miracle of some sorts that a callously raped Nigeria still manages to wobble along; holding on to the hope that things could have been worse than they are presently. Ironically, the solution to the problem might just be found within the rank and file of the privileged few who had, at one time or the other, been fingered in humongous corruption cases. I must confess that Nigerians as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission owe these characters some kind of appreciation not just because they have offered to make public their profound knowledge of the effects of corrosive corruption, but for also suggesting what they perceive to be workable solutions in the drive to tame the menace.

    Though the EFCC has continued to tighten the noose around the necks of some suspected treasury-looters that allegedly thronged the office of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.) to draw billions of naira without any contractual agreement, it has not stopped quite a number of these persons from offering unsolicited advice. Among these persons, none has spent quality time in ‘dissecting’ this problem than the former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa. In an interview conducted by my good friend, Ikenna Emewu and published in the Daily SUN of Monday, January 25 this year, Bafarawa spoke at length on the topic and found time to offer advice on the right path to building an incorruptible Nigeria of his dream. What amuses, one must confess, is not Bafarawa’s declarative statement that 90 per cent of Nigerians are corrupt. That could just be the painful reality. It’s just that corruption comes in many shades and forms. Yet, one’s curiosity was triggered by how Bafarawa struggled to turn a serious matter into a circus show where he positions himself as a hero among the villains that stole the country blind.

    Where one had expected him to speak on his latest travails as one out of the 88 persons listed as beneficiaries of billions of naira doled out by Dasuki for non-existent contracts, Bafarawa was busy reminiscing about how he ran the affairs of governance in Sokoto State between 1999 and 2007. Where he was expected to debunk official rumours that his company got paid N4.8bn for packaging spiritual matters on behalf of former President Goodluck Jonathan, the serial presidential aspirant was waxing lyrical about how the dwindling fortunes in oil revenue has generally affected governance in most states to the point that President Buhari had to intervene with a bailout. Where he should have seized the opportunity to justify the humongous payment he got for nebulous ‘prayers’, Mr. Bafarawa was more at home castigating the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and even Jonathan for not doing much in the fight against corruption. For a two-page interview, it must be said that Bafarawa was long on hollow sermons and abysmally short on the tangibles.

    Listen to him on why corruption thrives in Nigeria: “Today, corruption has become a general thing as you can see that 90 per cent of Nigerians are corrupt, because when you go to the grassroots level, corruption starts from there. The electorate will demand money before voting a candidate, no matter how good such is or the ideology she has. All that the voter wants is how much the candidate is ready to give. Then he who is going for the election will first look for money, whether he borrowed from the bank or his godfather will sponsor him is immaterial. That is the beginning of corruption, from the grassroots to the local government level, state level to national level. The electorate are corrupt; the politicians are either corrupt or forced to be corrupt because when they get to the office they are elected for, their first concern is how to pay the money back. They cannot get this money without the collaboration of the civil servants, because governors do not write the memo or raise the voucher. The civil servants will collaborate in bringing out the money and then you can see how corruption spreads all over”.

    So, what then is the antidote to stopping this madness that bleeds the nation’s treasury? I may be wrong but I didn’t read any from Bafarawa in that long-winding interface with the reporter. Apart from his clarion call on the citizens to rally round Buhari in his seeming lone fight against the powerful forces that continue to milk us dry while offering sickening reasons like the ones tendered above, Bafarawa brought nothing to the solution desk. If one were to go by the prognosis of this self-styled professional politician, there would not be any need to query why mind-boggling malfeasance has become the order of the day, even in sacred places like the judiciary and the legislature. We may as well give Chief Olusegun Obasanjo a knock on his bald head for daring to write the National Assembly to open its books for audit in the last 16 years. Didn’t Obasanjo know that these lawmakers invested huge sums of money on electioneering campaigns and are therefore justified to see the allocation of extra-budgetary funds to themselves as one of the ways to recoup such investment? Okay, maybe it’s an electoral offence to induce the electorate. Were there not cases of Ghana-Must-Go being sent to the National Assembly during the Obasanjo era? But who really cares as long as the end justifies the means? In fact, if we can all live by this principle of electoral planting and reaping, there would be no need for a Dasukigate or any other gates. What is so difficult to understand in a simple analogy which suggests these politicians were being ‘forced’ to be corrupt by circumstances beyond their control? In any case, how do we expect them to pay back loans to the banks if they refuse to fiddle with the treasuries? And let no one ask Bafarawa what could have ‘forced’ the dark-goggled Gen. Sani Abacha to steal with such gusto that, some 20 years after his demise, Nigeria is still recovering billions of dollars looted by him. Well, we can always blame that on unknown forces and the gripping fear of poverty. What else could explain the endless looting ad infinitum in which recovered loot is looted and re-looted by different sets of VIPs?

    By the way, it is not surprising that Bafarawa washed himself clean of the allegations levelled against him by the EFCC. He would proceed to advise Buhari to urgently create public awareness against corruption so that the common man, who elects people into political office, can “see the dangers of corruption” Hian! What baloney. And what happens to the over N1.4 trillion said to have been stolen in just seven years, including the Dasuki bazaar? What happens to the billions of slush funds lying in bank vaults scattered across the world? That must be inconsequential as long as some persons have stolen enough to the point of not only tying the hands of justice to the stakes but also keeping it hanging in perpetuity. One thing is sure though: As long as the rich and mighty walk roughshod on the justice system while the common thief pays the ultimate price for stealing the neighbour’s goat, Nigeria will not stop wallowing in pain and looking for solutions in the wrong corner of the corruption ring.

  • BPP’s antidote against corruption

    BPP’s antidote against corruption

    The steps taken by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to make public the contracts so far awarded in 2014 is an appropriate strategy to fight corruption, writes Group Business Editor, Simeon Ebulu 

    The publication by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) in leading national newspapers, showcasing over 270 contracts awarded to several companies in 2014, is a perfect example of exemplary display of transparency and openness in governance. The list which encapsulates contracts from Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and its release, BPP said, is in compliance with Section 5, Sub-section F of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

    The painstaking effort that went into the compilation of the list, indicating the companies’ names, implementing agencies, project locations, cost of projects, sources of funds and the respective dates of awards of the contracts, as well as the completion periods, underscore the desire of the agency to bring to the public domain, BPP’s stewardship, beyond its being a contract vetting Bureau.

    In the preamble to the publication, BPP called on stakeholders and interested citizens to take cognisance of the  fact of the approving authority, and more importantly, monitor the execution of the projects and ensure that value for money was achieved.  The BPP went ahead, urging that the same approach be adopted by MDAs, so as to ensure that the projects are executed according to specifications and within the given time limit.

    Before now, and until lately when the Federal Ministry of Finance commenced the publication of monthly Federal Allocations to the states as obtained from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) in selected newspapers, Nigerians were never in the know, as to what quantum of monies went to the states and Local Government Areas.

    One of the reasons given by the ministry in publishing these data and apprise the public of the benefit of being acquainted with these figures, is to make a lie of pronouncements by some public officials, especially at the lower segment of the Executive arm of governance, that they were not getting their due from the centre, and two, to give the discerning public the required platform, not only to monitor developments, but also to be able to hold their leaders and representatives, accountable in the management of public funds that they hold in trust of their subjects.

    Although the question as to whether the measure adopted by the Finance Ministry has yielded the desired results may not receive a-straight-yes answer, the fact that the BPP has taken a cue from it, is an indication that there is some good measure of value to the practice, given that a well-informed public, will no doubt be in a better position to offer advice and criticism, if and when the need arises.

    Before now, Nigerians were only used to hearing about  awards of huge contracts, most times in lump-sum, without necessarily knowing the completion period, and the contractors involved. Some communities and villages may not even be conscious that contracts of this magnitude have been awarded in their domain. Some will even be amazed about the huge sum allocated to projects in their areas and LGAs.

    Part of the beauty and recommendation for this exercise, is that it will help to eliminate contract inflation and over-invoicing. In addition, it will address the practice of abandoned contracts and the incidence of elephant projects that dot the entire nation. Award of frivolous and non-essential contracts will become a thing of the past, as project-bearing communities will now show more than a passing interest in projects domiciled in their areas and LGAs.

    One other clear positive effect of this measure is that it dovetails into the cry in the land of the need to check corruption and abuse of processes. If contracts, awarded over time are brought into the purview of public domain, the expected hue and cry against inflated and abandoned contracts will dissuade people from perpetuating, or engaging in acts inimical to the code of Good Corporate Governance and abuse of processes.

    The oft-repeated resolve of Muhammadu Buhari, who assumed office two days ago as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to fight corruption, can be better addressed by adopting this option.

    The leadership of the Bureau of Public Procurement, as exemplified by the Director-General, Engineer Emeka Ezeh, deserves commendation. His reputation as a stickler to due process and unwavering commitment to transparency in the discharge of his duties, his associates attest, are unrivaled and unassailable.

    BPP’s demonstration and openness in making public these contract details (to the consternation of some in positions of authority), it is said, is typical of the man at the helm of affairs. Ezeh, over time, has been known as a modest, unassuming and down-to-earth fellow. He is reputed for pitching his tent with the ordinary Nigerian in the suburbs of Abuja, against what his position (if he wanted to flaunt it) demands.

    This attitude reflects the character trait of what many Nigerians are yearning for and should be carried on-board the ship of the new government.

     

  • Kogi’s antidote for violence

    Kogi’s antidote for violence

    How is Kogi State responding to violence and other social challenges in the state?

    It is providing jobs for youths, reasoning that their joblessness is much to blame for the vices.

    The state’s Youths Advancement and Development for Kogi (YAD4KOGI) introduced in September 2012 is seen to be making a difference. It encompasses training in skills, sporting activities and environmental cleaning exercises, among others.

    The result is that more and more idle hands are engaged in productive activities, culminating in a more peaceful environment.

    There are several other spin-offs from the jobs scheme. The programme has generated  employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths and reduced rural-urban drift, in addition to creating wealth for the people. It has also helped to thin down thuggish behaviour and youth restiveness in the confluence state.

    In keeping with its mission to positively manage the zeal and energies of the youths, the beneficiaries are usually subjected to a two-week training exercise to ensure a disciplined lifestyle. The training which covers morning drills and parade, environmental cleaning exercise, lectures and sporting activities in the evenings, is targeted at secondary and primary school leavers and school dropouts. The trainees are issued uniforms and other kits. They are trained to carry out environmental sanitation in their various local governments, their activities including complementing the state sanitation and waste management board. The state government wants a clean state.

    The public works component of the YAD4KOGI programme has engaged and empowered about 10, 000 youths as direct beneficiaries in the 21 local government areas of the state with more enrolment on a quarterly basis. The volunteers are encouraged to spend the remaining part of the day acquiring skills.

    The trainees suffer the scorching heat, but many say it well worth it and the sacrifice of the past one year is yielding harvest. The youths have been undergoing skill acquisition training for the past one year, courtesy of the YAD4KOGI. When the organizsers decided on a military-like graduation ceremony for them, they were well prepared. They were trained at Ashaya, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of the state, receiving a stipend of N7000 monthly.

    The state governor, Capt. Idris Wada, who was represented at the event by the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Pastor Tayo Aremu expressed happiness that the programme initiated two years back was achieving the desired result of addressing youth unemployment and reducing poverty to its barest minimum in the state. The governor reiterated his administration’s commitment to “youth training for economic development and self-esteem”. He promised continuous government support and patronage for the participants even after their training and skills acquisition programme.

    Yemisi Omotonose, one of the trainees, said that the exercise will change her for good. Yemisi who said she hails from Ijumu area of the state, said: “Before my coming here I had almost lost hope but things have now changed and very soon I am going to establish on my own. I have acquired skills in the making of confectionaries, and by the grace of God I will start my own business together with my sister. I will not be a burden to anybody and I can even support the husband that I will marry in future. Before now, some of my friends were making jest of me saying how can I be taking part in YAD4KOGI after finishing secondary school education. But now level has changed and they are having a rethink. Competition is now stiffer and they all want to join”. Abdullahi Safu, another beneficiary of the training said “I am good to go now, and my plan is to work and make money, while at the same time using the money of my handiwork to further my education career at the College of Education. I have learnt a lot and I don’t intend to waste the opportunity”.

    Special Adviser to the Governor on Youth and Women Development, Mrs. Temitope Sinkaye said the graduation of the 1090 participants brings the total number of those trained under the scheme to 7,731 males and females. She said “Within the last two weeks participants had the rare opportunity of acquiring various skills of their choice. This skills includes shoe cobbling, beads production, ear ring production, ladies’ handbag production and hat production. This effort is geared towards ensuring that these youths become self-reliant and eventually employers of labour upon their exit from this programme. I wish to bring to Your Excellency’s attention that technical skills have been incorporated into the training activities. At this junction, I wish to reiterate the basic philosophy behind this programme. YAD4KOGI programme is not just about equipping youths for economic development but to rebuild self-esteem in the youths and to re-invent in them the dignity of labour, discipline, as well as ethnic and cultural values. This programme has been a veritable tool in fostering unity and promoting peaceful co-existence in the state, in addition to providing a rare opportunity for youths to interact with each other from different tribes, religions and background.”