The Nation Newspaper

Tag: big

  • Nigeria: Big for what?

    Some years ago, I stopped writing travelogues comparing the developments, infrastructures and some other basic things I saw during my journeys outside the country with that of Nigeria.

    Before then, I never ceased to lament in my write-ups how our claim to being the giant of Africa doesn’t match up with the level of our development in many ramifications.

    It was understandable when I was writing about some developed nations in Europe and there was not much basis for comparison, but what about visiting some African countries and the reality of the successive mismanagement of our enormous resources stare you in the face.

    I remember taking the decision to stop the comparisons after a visit to Zambia.

    What really shocked me then was that there was uninterrupted electricity in the hotel I stayed for almost a week.

    If a country like Zambia had relatively stable electricity supply, I didn’t understand why my country with all the money we had made and was still making then from petroleum and other resources couldn’t guarantee power supply better than we had.

    I literally gave up and opted to save myself from the soul-depressing exercise of writing about what nobody in government seemed to be bothered about. Our leaders at all levels are not unaware of how they have failed to give us the quality of life we deserved like other countries they also travel to, but rather than take necessary steps, they prefer to take us for granted.

    Year after year, many development projects are provided for in the budgets but only few get done to improve on the infrastructure. Some of the ones implemented are so poorly done that they easily get dilapidated.

    I’m forced to talk about this worrisome issue again having been travelling in the last one week to Ghana, Ethiopia and South Africa.

    Once again, I am reminded of the need for our government to urgently address the yawning infrastructure deficit baggage we still have as a country that wants to be taken seriously in the committee of developing nations.

    Nigeria should have been the venue of the conference I went for in Ghana and the other one which held alongside the meeting I attended in South Africa but for apparent worry of many international organisations who can’t risk having to contend with lack of some necessary facilities to host their events.

    Our Lagos International Airport is a shame compared with that of the three countries I have flown through in the last week. Some basic facilities like the ones I saw in the other countries are not working optimally. Despite the huge amount the last administration claimed to have invested in developing airports in the country, the Lagos airport is still a traveller’s nightmare.

    A young colleague was so overwhelmed by the facilities at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, venue of the Global Investigative Journalism Conference, that she said she now knows better that the university she graduated from in Nigeria was not as good as she used to think, compared to some others in the continent.

    She is definitely in for a rude shock about the poor state of facilities as she gets to travel more outside Nigeria.  We definitely have a long way to go and we need to move faster not to remain the butts of jokes as not having much to show for our size and resources.

  • Garba: Dreaming big for ABU

    Garba: Dreaming big for ABU

    Nothing was indeed put in place either in form of plans or preparations by authorities of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, to rejoice with its Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Ibrahim Garba, who on Monday, clocked two years in office.

    Garba, a professor of Geology, assumed office on May 4, 2015 after taking over from Prof Abdullahi Mustapha, on April 30, 2015.

    Understandably, Garba’s decision not to roll out drums for celebration might simply be out of humility or probably because the past two years are too short to access an administration that will run for five years. However, it will be uncharitable for some of us who keenly watch every unfolding development in the university not to bring to public knowledge some of the laudable works Garba is doing for this revered institution.

    ABU, which has a good complement of international students and staff, has its own peculiar characteristics. Till date, it is such a huge institution that requires a leader with a strong academic background as well as a sound and broad administrative experience of the university system. Such leader must also show sufficient vision, moral courage and qualities of character that will assist him withstand all the strains and stresses of university governance, as clearly contained in a Government White Paper on Presidential Visitation Panel for the university in 2000.

    The university is widely regarded as the most cosmopolitan tertiary institution in Nigeria, both in terms of staff and student profiles. It has been established that every local government in Nigeria has students in the institution just as all states of the federation have a representative in the staff profile of the university. The institution is one of the greatest universities in the sub-Saharan Africa.

    At present, the university has 13 faculties, 12 specialised institutes and centers, a school of postgraduate studies and 98 academic departments. In addition, it has a division of agricultural colleges, a school of basic and remedial studies, a secondary and a primary school. This is besides offering extensive and consultancy services which provide a variety of expertise to the university and the wider society.

    Garba, soon after he took over, made it loud and clear at any given forum that he would consolidate on the gains made by his predecessors. For example, he strived to ensure the university maintains its academic standard by establishing institutional linkages, exchanges, collaborative researches and mutual staff training agreements with some other local and international institutions in line with world best practice.

    In the past two years, a good number of specialised institutions have presented themselves for partnership with the university in form of affiliations and collaborations. This is a result of his great concern for attainment of highest academic standards and achievements to be able to have a university true to its ideals and meaning in line with the vision and mission of ABU’s founding fathers.

    Some of the institutions include Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), which signed a memorandum of understanding with ABU to commence postgraduate diploma and masters in Transport and Logistics, as well as Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), which has also collaborated with the university to introduce insurance courses at its Department of Business Administration.

    The university also signed research collaboration agreements with De Montfort University, Leicester; International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property and National Museums and Monuments; and Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health Innovation (CERHI), Benin City. Equally, there is ongoing discussion with Robert Gordon University (RGU), UK, based on a visit in November last year by the VC and Dean of Engineering, Prof Muhammad Dauda for collaborative development of MSc Oil and Gas Engineering as well as joint delivery for prospective candidates.

    When Garba realised that the cost of power supply to the university community could not be sustained, he undertook to diversify the energy sources to ensure sustainability as well as engendering flexibility in the energy supply to the university. He realised that renewable energy sources offered the best alternative to achieving his twin ambition of delivering flexible as well as sustainable power supply to the university.

    Consequently, a delegation from the university visited Hungary in May, last year where it examined the possibilities for adaptation of bio-energy plant based on existing facility in Hungary. Accordingly, it was agreed that ABU will establish a biogas plant to be based on the university’s wastewater treatment plant system, a bio-ethanol plant using industrial maize silage as raw material and a bio-ethanol and disinfectant manufacturing plant which is expected to provide an organic manure of 1133 tons per annum.

    Garba must be praised for the stability in running the university, even though there were occasional tough engagements with in-house unions, especially when some of their demands could not be met. The secret behind the sustained stability in the system stemmed from the vice chancellor’s high sense of responsibility and tremendous respect for the unions. He would always and patiently have dialogue with workers’ unions in an attmpt to implement the university Council’s decisions, an action that sometimes is not in tandem with definition of welfare, rights and privileges.

    University governance is not without challenges. The vice chancellor, like all his colleagues all over the federation, faces the challenge of inadequate funding to cater for overhead costs and other expenditure. The level of current capital allocation to the university is utterly inadequate to cater for routine needs and services, which would always give any VC some sleepless nights. Yet Garba kicks and dreams tall for ABU!

  • Lived big, buried big

    DEATH must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forget life, to be at peace.”

    This popular saying by Irish playwright and novelist, Oscar Wilde, aptly captures the story of Ebony Vaults as well as Vaults and Garden, two exotic cemeteries in Ikoyi, Lagos. The peaceful and tranquil ambience may truly make a living man wish to want to take up a permanent residence in the vaults.

    The entrance to the private burial vault has huge intricately constructed black metal gates. The space in front of the fence is dotted with well manicured flowers and ornamental plants. Stationed at the front gate were two uniformed private guards that politely ask one his or her mission there. And like every private ‘home’, a visitor must have a strong and genuine reason to be there before you are allowed in.

    The expansive compound of Ebony Vaults Ikoyi, Lagos, in taste, architectural design and arrangement, is only comparable with a palatial home of a very rich and influential figure or the palace of a first-class monarch.

    Inside the premises, one is immediately drawn to the pleasant green, bright and soft colours from the flowers and ornamental plants all around.  The story is the same at the Vaults and Gardens, where an imposing fountain ceaselessly gushes out clean and clear water from its underbelly.

    Though a final resting place for the dead, all around, the overwhelming colour is green, the colour of life. The sections are well carved out with walkways made with interlocking stones.  And, probably in an effort to truly manifest life, beautiful peacocks spread their multi-coloured tails to welcome you to the beautiful surrounding.

    The irony about the Lagos private burial vaults is that everything about them, rather portray death, showcases life: the fountains, the beautiful peacocks, the green wall creepers, the well-demarcated and manicured lawns, are all testaments to life.

    In their life time, the rich had exotic streets named after them. In death, the trend is maintained, as they continue to enjoy the rare opportunity to own choice alleys named after them in private vaults.

    However, in the midst of the beautiful expression, you are suddenly woken up to the reality that below the  lawns are eminent personalities that once lived and enjoyed life, but are now oblivious of nature and the beauty they are surrounded with.

    The serenity, orderliness, show of affluence and dignity that one feels within the private vaults’ environment is a sharp contrast to what obtains at public cemeteries across the city. Indeed, it is almost like a continuation of the iron steel divide between the rich and the poor, even in the land of the dead.

    Like a community segregated by class and status, the Ikoyi Cemetery, a public cemetery, is just about a distance of less than 100 meters away from the private burial vaults. From afar, as you approach the cemetery, you begin to have an eerie feeling of being in the land of the dead.

    The walkway, which in the real sense of the word, are not what they are called, are bare, with no manicured lawns, orderliness and decency that reign supreme at the private vaults.

    At the entrance, in place of the guards in neatly-cut uniform that welcome you into the private vaults, about three attendants, one dressed in a buba and sokoto that have seen better days, while the other two wore shirts and trousers of different colours, sat down listening to music from a small transistor radio.

    Two of them sat on an old and unkempt grave, while the third gyrated to the music from the airwave. Not even the eerie feeling of death around matters to them.

    All around, the graves bore old cenotaphs, while some with cracks, some of the blocks used on the graves are gradually disintegrating with age.  There was little or no space between the graves. One of the attendants, who gave his name as Monday, gave a rundown of the cost of burying the dead at Ikoyi Cemetery.

    To build a ‘permanent tomb’ with blocks costs N250, 000, while double costs N480, 000. However, they could also bury one in what he referred to as ‘temporary grave’ for N45, 000. According to him, what that means is that the body would likely not spend much time at the cemetery before it would be removed to make way for a fresh corpse.

    In Africa, many attach so much importance to the final resting place. It is this desire to have a dignified final resting place that makes many to pay huge sums of money to get choice spots for themselves and loved ones at the private vaults.

    However, in recent times, it has gone beyond mere seeking a decent burial place for one’s loved ones. For many, where you are buried or where you bury your loved ones has become a status symbol.

    The success of the private vaults as a business has shown that affluent Nigerians do not just want to live big while alive, but continue to ‘live big’ even in death. They want the air of affluence to continue to hover over them wherever they are laid to rest long after they are gone.

    To achieve this, they spend huge chunks of money for a slice of the burial space in these private vaults. The demand for private burial vaults is so much now that the management of Vaults and Gardens has expanded to acquire the Victoria Court Cemetery in Ajah, Lagos.

    While for as little as N45,000, a dead man can find a space to be laid, even if it is temporary, at the public cemeteries, the least price for a space at a private burial vault within the Ikoyi area is about N3.2 million. The price, our correspondent found out, could go as high as N60 million, depending on the personality being buried.

    It should, however, be noted that this  excludes all other expenses, like the aso ebi and owambe party. The burial vaults at the private vaults are divided into high, medium and low density areas. You also have the single, double and special vaults. A special double burial vault could go for between N30 million and N50 million. There are additional charges for things like building of tombstone, depending on whether it is marble, granite or red bricks. Other services include usage of hall, naming of alley, re-opening of vaults and others.

    Despite the high cost of acquiring spaces at the private vaults, a large chunk of the burial spaces available has already been taken.  The idea of acquiring vaults and kept for years, has become also common.  At Vaults and Garden that became operational in 2006, there are vaults that had been acquired many years back that were still empty.

    Affluent Nigerians spend a fortune to maintain their standard of living; now they equally spend same to acquire their final resting places. At the relatively new Ebony Vaults, Ikoyi, all the spaces in the yet-to-be developed vaults have already been acquired.

    At both Vaults and Garden as well as Ebony Vaults, both private cemeteries, the least cost for a burial vault is N3,150,000.

    At the Vaults and Gardens, a staff, who pleaded not to be named, said: “We have two sites, one is here in Ikoyi, while the other is at the Lekki-Ajah axis. Ikoyi Vaults starts from N3.2 million. The cost for two vaults that could contain two bodies, but one person at a time is N5.2 million. You put the first body, seal it, and when the other person dies, you open it and put the second person.

    “At the Lekki-Ajah axis, there are only single vaults. The vaults go for N1.5 million. One thing that is synonymous with Vaults and Garden is that we don’t bury more than one person in a vault. Like in a public cemetery, four people could be buried in the same grave at the same time; of course the families will not know about this. But, Vaults and Garden will never bury two people in a grave. By that, I mean when it is not a double family vault. Our vaults are safe and security in guaranteed here. I will show you some of the vaults that go back to 2006 when the vault was opened. It is still very much intact. People come around to visit their loved ones.

    “The reason for the disparity in prices between Lekki-Ajah and Ikoyi vaults is that we encourage people to go to Ajah. In Lekki-Ajah, some will say it is far, but we encourage people to go there. We acquired the one at Ajah. It was formerly Victoria Court Cemetery, but it is now owned by Vaults and Garden and we are the ones managing it now.

    “A woman came here and told us that she was in her 60. She said that she knows that the Yaba Cemetery has been in existence since she was a kid and that it was still operating. I don’t know how they do it, maybe it is because of what they do. Once this place is full, we have the Victoria Court Cemetery. We have one in Port Harcourt, and also at the Redemption Camp.”

    Outside the cost of the burial vaults, there are other charges that go with burials at the private cemeteries.

    The Vaults and Garden’s staff explained further: “If there is a funeral, there are different types of tombstones- there are the marble, granite, red bricks and so on. When you make payment for the vault, you might as well make payment for the kind of tombstone you want. And inside the vault, you tell us whether you want to paint. The painting is N10, 500. If you want the inside of the vaults tiled, that will cost N63, 000.

    “When you put the person, then we put the slap and seal it. Depending on you, if you want to make the payment once and for all for the tombstone, you make it. Once these payments are made, there are no subsequent charges. The people that are buried here about 10 years ago, I think then they bought for about N500, 000 to N600, 000, since that time there have been no other payment.”

    Asked why the prices of vaults have shut up, he said: ”We all know that Ikoyi land is one of the most expensive in Lagos . The land I bought in Ikorodu five years ago, if I want to sell, it will be at a higher price. We also have to pay the cost of maintaining the place to look good.”

    A member of a family with a loved one buried at the vaults, Muyiwa, said:  “We decided to bury our mother at the private vault despite the cost, because we wanted to have peace of mind. In addition to this, my mother was somebody that loved good things. The vault was the kind of place she would have loved to be buried, and that was why we decided to do that for her. We spent about N5 million to cover every aspect of the burial and we were satisfied with the services they gave us.”

    However, a professor of Sociology at the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Professor  Mabayomije Aluko, believes that the craving for private vaults and other flamboyant activities has more to do with an innate desire by the super-rich to continue to enjoy what they had enjoyed while alive in the world beyond.

    Professor Aluko said: “You see, some of these things that you people talk about is not really sociological per se, it is historical. You discover that even when you read history of medieval Europe, ancient Egypt, and how the Pharaohs were buried, they were usually buried in Pyramids. That was when the issue of preserving their dead bodies was very common.  For several hundreds of years after the death of a Pharaoh, they still go there, the body is not decomposing. It is an orientation with the super rich and they believe that even in death, they should still be partaking in their wealth. That is the orientation. It is historical rather than sociological.

    “Even in Yoruba land, when kings died in those days, they will bury some slaves with them, they will bury lots of resources with them. It is believed that they will have access to such resources in the journey beyond, and that the slaves they buried with them, will still be serving them in the other world.

    “In contemporary times, it has become a status thing, that when I buried my father, Sunny Ade came to perform, the casket came from Britain. The number one undertaker was contracted and so on. It becomes a status thing. So, the sociological thing is that it is an elitist phenomenon.  It is for the super rich, but you can trace that to Europe, ancient Egypt and so on, how people were buried in a flamboyant manner.

    “But it has no religious origin. Even in the Bible, if you read the Bible well, burying people in a flamboyant manner is not biblical. In fact in the ancient Hebrew, when people died, they put ashes on their bodies and mourned; even they wanted people to come and mourn, to come and cry.

    Such burials culturally in Yoruba land, are usually for the kings, it is not for everybody.”

  • Julius Rone plans big for UTM

    Time was when the mention of Julius Rone’s name would be retorted with “Julius who?” The Delta born oil magnate has since moved far beyond his relatively humble, unknown beginnings to become one of the biggest players in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

    The man from the oil-rich Niger Delta now commands the attention of prominent political and business figures in the country and beyond. His company, UTM group, has grown over the years and now occupies a top spot in the energy industry.

    Rone, the Managing Director of UTM, is however not content with the company’s current lofty height as he plots to turn UTM into the very best locally and continentally. Undeterred by the current economic recession, the business mogul recently reorganised the company in a bid to align it with international standards. It is another in a long list of achievements by Rone, who is seen as a local hero and saviour by many in the Niger Delta.

  • Youth service: The big city bubble

    Youth service: The big city bubble

    Serving in major cities is not usually as rosy as National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members think,  reports TITILOPE FADARE, a Corps member with The Nation in Abuja.

    Graduating from a higher institution often comes with a sense of relief. Yet, it also marks the beginning of another phase in life’s journey. Those lucky to graduate at a young age see it as freedom from the restrictions in school.

    A university or polytechnic graduate is expected to undergo a mandatory one-year national service, which is to expose him/her to a different life outside his/her home setting. In most cases, the graduates are expected to serve outside their states of origin. It is assumed that this would afford them first-hand experience of the cultural, behavioural and ethnic orientations of their host communities, in addition to having access to work experience that would prepare them for their careers.

    The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), established in 1973 by former Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon, as part of reconciliatory efforts after the civil war, provides the platform for the one-year service.

    During the period, Corps members are regarded as Federal Government’s ‘property’.  But investigations have shown that this is not really the case.

    After graduation, the graduate waits eagerly for his posting for the service. Some lobby to be posted to Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt in Rivers State, which are among locations preferred by many graduates. They believe that serving in those states and Abuja would help them in getting jobs and making money during and after the service year. Those posted there are envied by their friends and regarded as lucky.

    However, being posted to Abuja, Lagos or Port Harcourt often comes with challenges that many corps members rarely bargain for – the biggest being rejection by employers, and lack of accommodation.

    While many are lucky to have their dreams fulfilled, others go through the service year managing to survive due to the high cost of living in the preferred states. They are forced to cope with high cost of transportation, feeding and accommodation, which is worse when they have no relatives to support them in such states.  Many often end up with no accommodation because of the large number of youths churned out annually, among other factors.  Many also hardly receive allowances from their places of primary assignment to augment the monthly N19,500 paid by the Federal Government.

    Getting a place of primary assignment is not also easy, as the rate of rejection by establishments is high. In some cases, Corps members lobby to be rejected by unattractive establishments, hoping to get lucky with blue chip companies. Unfortunately, most of them become stranded as only few Corps members are eventually engaged by the so-called well-paying firms. This further compounds their woes.

    A Corps member serving in oil-rich Rivers State, Ayodele Oyelese, told The Nation that it has not been easy surviving in the Garden City of Port Harcourt.

    He said: “In a place like Port-Harcourt, transportation is quite expensive because of the nature of the place as an oil-producing state. You go through a lot of difficulties and food is very expensive. The cost of living is very high. Judging from what I receive from the Federal Government as allowance and the fact that I don’t get anything from my place of primary assignment, I manage to survive there. The state government too is not helping matters as they are not supplementing the allowance for us. They have not even been able to pay their teachers for five months now.”

    Ayodele, who said he was accepted by the establishment he was posted to, stated that many of his colleagues were not so lucky.

    Adebimpe Keerah, serving in Abuja, is also full of lamentations. She has had to cope with high cost of living and rejection.

    She said: “When I was posted to Abuja, friends teased me saying I was going to ile-owo meaning Abuja is the home of  wealth.

    “I must confess that my parents and relatives were skeptical about how I would manage in Abuja. So, I came to Abuja  with the knowledge that it is a proverbial city filled with milk and honey and the cautious thoughts of my parents. Fortunately for me, I have an uncle in Abuja, and so the fears of accommodation were allayed.

    “While in camp, some of those things I heard started coming to bear. Things were ridiculously expensive. You have to take good note of how much you spend. One experience that hit me hard was when I was charged N1,500 to slim-fit my khaki pair of trousers and jacket. I was shocked because that was ridiculously expensive, compared to Lagos where where you could do that for N100. Paying N1,500 was way out of it.

    “Out of camp, I started realising that I was now in the real world. I was posted to a place where I was rejected. Back to NYSC, I was told to search for a place that would accept me. That was when the hustle really began. I was spending money on transport going from one place to the other in search of where to do my primary assignment. Since I was new in Abuja, the taxi drivers took advantage of the situation and exploited me.

    “It was not really easy for me. But, it was a worthy experience. I am still struggling with managing my resources because I have realised that everything in Abuja is quite expensive.”

    Ironically, while some corps members are going through tough times in major cities, some others claim to be happy where they were posted. Ayotola Ibitayo, a corps member serving in Kano State, described her experience as wonderful.  Apart from cultural challenges, she said it has been a pleasant surprise.

    “My experience in Kano State has been wonderful. Although I was not happy when I was posted there, but the living condition is better than I imagined,” she said.

    Ayotola explained that it was a relief that most establishments in the state, from government to private schools and companies, provided accommodation for Corps members, while those that don’t provide money to pay for rent.   She also said food and transportation were affordable.

    “Food is very cheap, especially for those posted to the village, (the villagers) give us food.  Transportation is also okay. The buses and cabs are actually cheap and transportation is easy in Kano State. The only thing that I would find uncomfortable for any Corps member that is not from Kano might be their culture, or their way of life. For example, the way they dress might be alien to some corps members, especially those who come from the south. But that is all part of the fun because that is the whole idea of NYSC– new culture and it is okay because it is just for a year.”

    Speaking in the same vein, Dolapo Fadahunsi, who serves in Oyo State, said: “Accommodation in some places in Oyo State like Eruwa, Shaki, Ogbomoso, Iseyin is very cheap, and relatively moderate in Ibadan compared to places like Abuja, Port-Harcourt, amongst others. The cost of living is relatively average, feeding is okay and I am enjoying my service year. Transportation is actually cheap because you can still get a cab of N30 or N50, depending on where you are going to.”

    Speaking on the hardship Corps members face in major cities, Chukwuemeka Kalu, an Abuja- based activist, said the government should take steps to solve their accommodation problem as well as reduce the rejection rate by employers.

    “NYSC and the government should look into putting up more structures in various zonal secretariats across the country to house corps members. NYSC should also invest more in carrying out a rigorous research of corporate entities that would require the service of the corps members and then post them accordingly,” Kalu said.

    He called on the government to look into the allowances of the corps members when the economy improves so that they can meet the challenges of fending for themselves without having to worry about dwindling resources or challenges they could come across in a strange state.

  • Rahama Babangida plays big

    Rahama Babangida plays big

    It takes hard work, determination and perseverance for a woman to rise above beauty, luck and a fortunate background and flourish in an environment dominated by men. A lot of people have no idea what beautiful Rahma Indimi Babangida does for a living. They simply assume that she is living on the fame and fortune of her family.
    Although she is a proud holder of an MBA certificate in International Marketing from the Lynn University, Frorida, United States of America, Rahama, the pretty daughter of billionaire Chairman of Orietal Energy Resources, Alhaji Mohammed Indimi, and wife of Mohammed Babangida has found fulfillment in fashion business as the CEO of Deva and Deva Petals and Fashion Cafe, both in Abuja.
    Beautiful Rahama stands out in her career for creating an avenue where the rich and famous can easily acquire elegant pieces they wear to very special events.

  • Big, big fun as FEGICOLLA Class of ‘95 celebrates 20

    Big, big fun as FEGICOLLA Class of ‘95 celebrates 20

    Fun, laughter and cheers filled the air last Saturday as the Federal Government Girls College, Akure Class of ’95 celebrated 20 years since leaving their alma mater. The all-ladies affair which took place at the exquisite Lagoon Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos had in attendance over 60 old girls who were obviously enraptured with seeing one another once again.

    It was tagged ‘Reunion ’95’ and the high points were when each of the ladies came out to give a brief update of their lives so far, the sumptuous buffet and when the president of the association placed a call to their principal at the time, Chief Mrs E.O Shodeinde, who for unavoidable reason could not be at the event.

  • Big four in big battle for Senate

    Big four in big battle for Senate

    In the 2011 general elections, the Anambra Central Senatorial District was a straight fight between Dr. Chris Ngige of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the late Prof Dora Akunyili, who contested on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). Now Ngige’s opponents are Chief Victor Umeh of APGA, Hon. Uche Ekwunife and Senator Annie Okonkwo, who are both laying claim to the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). NWANOSIKE ONU x-rays their chances. 

    With the calibre of candidates lined up by the various political parties, the Anambra Central senatorial race promises to be a battle of the titans. In the race are the incumbent Senator Chris Ngige of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Victor Umeh of the ruling All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the duo of Annie Okonkwo and Hon. Uche Ekwunife laying claim to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket. With the exception of Umeh, all of them have won elections in the constituency at one point or the other and are capable of clinching the senatorial slot. Even at that, Umeh is not a pushover. The former National Chairman of APGA decided to take the gauntlet against Ngige to prevent the APC, which has no doubt become a formidable platform all over the country, from establishing itself in the state.

    Observers say the Anambra Central race may be a replay of the 2011 contest, where Ngige squared up against the late Information Minister Dr. Dora Akunyili in a fiercely-contested election that could not be concluded in the first ballot. It was eventually decided in favour of the APC flag bearer at the second ballot. The Ngige versus Akunyili contest attracted the attention of the international community not only because of the calibre of the contestants, but perhaps also because it was the first keenly contested election in the state since the return to civil rule in 1999. Akunyili had contested on the platform of APGA, while Ngige flew the flag of then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), one of the opposition parties that came together to form the APC.

     

    Ekwunife

    Ekwunife, popularly known as Iyom, is the member representing Anaocha, Njikoka and Dunukofia Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. Though, her name is not on the final list published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), but the Amazon of Anambra politics has been campaigning vigorously for the contest, believing that the court would eventually award her the ticket. Senator Okonkwo is the PDP candidate recognized by INEC.

    But, political analysts believe that Okonkwo will not make much impact in the race, given the calibre of candidates fielded by the APC and the APGA and that Ekwunife would have been a better option. Okonkwo’s name appeared on the INEC list because the Ejike Oguebego-led faction of the party is the one recognized by the court.

    For now, the PDP still parades other acclaimed candidates for the senatorial race, including Sylvester Okonkwo and Dikeora Obiora Okonkwo in the same Central zone, alongside Ekwunife.

    The division within the PDP may be its undoing. There is a consensus among observers that Ekwunife has all it takes to defeat any of the candidates, but her major headache is the crisis tearing the PDP apart since she dumped APGA for the party.

    She is believed to be the anointed candidate of the national leadership of the party. But, INEC keeps insisting that it had no hand in the party’s primaries that produced her.

    In spite of this handicap, she continues to soldier on, traversing all the wards in the district to sensitise her supporters that she is still in the race. Indeed, Ekwunife has been meeting with all traditional rulers, market leaders, the youth, women groups and faith-based associations in the seven local government areas that makeup the zone. Her billboards and posters adorn all the nooks and crannies of the state. Anambra State Governor Chief Willie Obiano and the state House of Assembly have done everything humanly possible to stop her, but all to no avail.

    The Assembly even went to the extent of passing a law, which was given accelerated hearing by going through the first, second and third readings same day, to discourage her. But, Ekwunife has proved that she is equal to the task.

     

    Umeh

    For Umeh, the election is like navigating in uncharted territory, not having contested election at any level within the constituency before now. He has been at the helm of affairs in APGA for over 10 years. But, his long reign as the National Chairman of the party has been punctuated by one controversy after another. Some of the APGA faithful in the state believe he has done well for the party as its leader, while others insist that he has ruined their party.

    The two biggest obstacles standing before Umeh and the senatorial seat are former Governor Peter Obi and Chief Sylvester Nwobu-Alor, the former APGA National Chairman’s uncle, who is also the national coordinator of APGA Elders forum.

    Umeh’s quest to occupy the senatorial seat is believed to have been prompted by Obi’s decision to quit APGA for PDP, where he has been made President Goodluck Jonathan’s Deputy Campaign Director General in the Southeast.

    Another is Umeh alleged role during the primaries, where the ambitions of many aspirants were shattered. But, some p[arty stakeholders insist that Umeh had no hand in the injustice that were meted out to virtually all the aspirants. They say Governor Obiano, who has taken over as the leader of the party in the state with the exit of Obi, is to blame for what transpired at the primaries. Following the declaration of Umeh as the party’s flag bearer in the Anambra Central senatorial race, some of them vowed that it was payback time.

    But, the effects of such threats remain to be seen, as the former National Chairman is believed to have become a moving train in the politics of Anambra State. So far, his campaign has been attracting overwhelming crowd everywhere he goes.

    He has accorded a rousing welcome in all the communities he visits within the district in the course of the campaign. In fact, he has been offered chieftaincy titles by traditional rulers of most of the communities. Before now, he has acquired more than 25 chieftaincy tittles from different states and communities.

    Another factor that has worked in his favour is the APGA battle cry of protecting the interest of Ndigbo. Hate him or love him, many people believe that Umeh is the type of person who will not allow what belongs to Ndigbo to elude them at the Senate.

     

    Ngige

    Since he mounted the saddle of leadership in Anambra State as governor between 2003 and 2006, Ngige has not looked back. Today, he represents Anambra Central on the platform of the APC.

    The battle he fought in 2011 to clinch the senatorial seat at the expense of the late Akunyili is still fresh in the minds of the people. Indeed, some people refer to him as Anambra’s political oracle. He is one of the leading lights politically in Igboland today. He was one time the president of Aka-Ikenga, an Igbo socio-cultural organization, in Lagos.

    His followers see him as prudent, but his opponents describe him as “tightfisted”. He is still very popular among the masses. As one of the pillars of the APC in Anambra State, Ngige is a beneficiary of the growing popularity of the party in the state. The recent presidential campaign of the party in Awka, the Anambra State capital, was an eye opener to many about the growing popularity of the party.

    The crowd was awesome, even those who do not belong to the party marvelled with many others from different parties wearing the APC colours, singing and praising the APC standard bearer, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

    But, Ngige’s only challenge is that his popularity appears to be limited to Anambra Central. Nevertheless, one of the things he has going for him, as he campaigns for his re-election in the Senate is the life scholarships he gave to over 5,000 students in secondary and tertiary institutions in the zone.

    He is also credited as being instrumental to the near constant power supply in Awka and the communities within the Central senatorial district. This was made possible through the provision of transformers to several communities.

    Besides, many people still remember how Ngige opened up and linked many communities with good roads during his reign as governor of the state. Many political analysts believe that he has done well for Ndi-Anambra and should be backed by the electorate for a second term.

    Thus, the APC strongman stands the chance of retaining his seat, with many of the aggrieved members of other political parties working underground for him.

     

    Okonkwo

    The business mogul-turned politician grabbed the PDP senatorial ticket in the zone as published by INEC. But, observers believe he is merely playing the role of a spoiler in the race. Such observers say his mission is to split the Idemili North and South votes with Ngige and that he still bears grudges against the APC chieftain, following the manner he left the APC.

    Okonkwo’s candidacy does not appear to have the backing the masses, who prefer the more colourful and charismatic Ekwunife. They believe that the PDP would have been better off, if it were her that is on the INEC list.

    Many of the stakeholders are disenchanted with Okonkwo’s snobbishness attitude, which has led to some of his ex-allies working against his ambition. He is leaning towards the enfant terrible of Anambra politics, Chief Chris Uba, to assist him.

    Given the presence of Ngige and Umeh in the race, Okonkwo is not likely to make any appreciable impact.

  • Big economy, broke nation

    SIR: That Nigeria’s economy, by virtue of its recent rebased Gross Domestic Product, is the biggest in Africa yet governments across all levels have been finding it extremely difficult to meet their fiscal obligations due to cash crunch, remains one of the internal contradictions that characterise the country’s 100 years’ existence. In Nigeria, it is the more you look, the less you see!

    Except the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala and her team, every Nigerian knows that Nigeria is broke. The argument by Okonjo Iweala that “Nigeria, as country, has quite enough assets…” is only meant to distort empirical facts. To be broke, in its simplest term, means to be lacking in money. The concept of liquidation as applicable to banks if juxtaposed with the minister’s argument will expose her double standard. For example, banks are liquidated on account of bankruptcy not necessarily because they do not have enough assets but simply because they do not have enough cash to continue carrying on in their businesses. As a matter of fact, a liquidated banker’s assets are usually mobilised to set off its debts. So, it is inconsequential that the country has “enough assets” as the minister would insist. Until those assets (assuming they exist) are “mobilised”, the bleeding truth is that Nigeria is currently bankrupt, simplicita!

    Indices of a broke nation have continue to stare us in the face. The most evident is the continuous dwindling of the revenue allocation accruing to states and non disbursement of same to states as when due. As a result, most states have resulted to other excruciating means in order to augment the dwindling allocation. Today, many states owe their workers running into months. And where they could not endure any longer, they resulted to borrowing in the money market through bond’s instrumentality. Of course, the implication of this is that States are mortgaging the future of their citizens. Yet we have a “fat” economy which effects are yet to translate to meaningful impacts on the lives of Nigerian masses.

    How does the Finance Minister explain the recent disturbing revelation by the Niger State government of its inability to pay the debt of N294 million it owed the National Examination Council (NECO) was responsible for the non release of the 2013/2014 examination results of candidates from the state? The state government was unmistaken in its statement that this worrisome scenario was caused by the inadequate cash flow from the Federation Account. Also, in recent times, state commissioners for finance have had to storm out of meetings with the federal government in anger as a result of the inability of Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) to release their monthly allocations.

    Even the federal government, recently, have had to go borrowing from foreign countries and bodies in order to carry out her fiscal responsibility. The most recent was the $1 billion external loan approval sought and received by the federal government from the parliament to procure arms to fight the Boko Haram. It is abundantly clear from the foregoing that Nigerians do not need soothsayers or economists to tell them that the country is not only broke but may also not have the so-called “enough assets” to revive its much taunted N80.22tn economy contrary to the Finance Minister’s claim.

    Largely responsible for the doldrums is corruption and mismanagement of resources. And until these maladies are checked, the country will continue to witness cash crunch that may eventually drive it to the state of perpetual bankruptcy, notwithstanding the so-called big economy status, and the sooner the minister and her employers come to the realisation of this notorious fact, the better for the country!

     

    •Barrister Okoro Gabriel,

    Ebonyi State.

  • Big for nothing

    Big for nothing

    •Nigeria should not repeat last year’s UN General Assembly jamboree

    If it were not such a shocking shame, the honest observation that the country’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is usually wastefully bloated would qualify as just another evidence of laughable political administration.  What makes it even more depressingly worthy of attention is the source of the information, which would appear to be authoritative and unbiased.

    It is creditable that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bashir Wali, rose above considerations of political loyalty and non-professional sentiments during the inter-ministerial meeting in Abuja to adopt the country’s working documents ahead of this year’s 69th UNGA Sessionin New York. His candour while addressing heads of government ministries, departments and agencies reflected his understandable discomfiture, which was underlined by his declaration that he was seeking the approval of President Goodluck Jonathan to limit the number of delegates this year.

    Wali said: “The size of Nigeria’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly last year was 567; that is something that is certainly unacceptable. On that basis I asked that they send me the list of three countries, Germany, South Africa and Egypt to compare with what we in Nigeria have. None of them is up to one third of our delegation.”   He reasoned: “So, you can see that there is certainly need to really take a second look and see that those of our delegates that go to the UN General Assembly do have value. It is not a question of having a jamboree; but indeed, it is more like a jamboree.”

    Significantly, the minister pointed out that his argument was informed by facts derived from experience. He said: “I happen to have observed for four years as Nigeria’s ambassador to the UN, the delegation of Nigeria to the UN General Assembly. So, I know and if we are going to be honest to ourselves, I know 80 percent of the delegates that go from Nigeria do not add value to our team to the UN.” In other words, apart from what amounts to a trivialisation of forum and function, it is like being big for nothing.

    Against this background, it is worth considering how such an unjustifiably high number of officials get on the train, which is to say that the business of representing the country at the UNGA may have become equivalent to riding on a gravy train with the implication that the delegates enjoy rich monetary advantages unmatched by the value they bring to their work.

    Sadly,  it is no secret that the country’s shambolic public administration system has over the years encouraged government workers to scramble for foreign official assignments in order to collect substantial travel allowances known as “estacode”. A logical but ultimately senseless consequence of such state of affairs is that many of the beneficiaries reportedly indulge in shopping trips, visit relations and attend to other personal matters while neglecting the official business that took them abroad.

    Wali’s observation, which goes to show the extent of the rot, should prompt a critical examination of this freeloading culture and a proper intervention to bring it to an end. It is instructive that he said at the meeting: “Certainly, something has to be done to put a stop to this embarrassment.” Indeed, the absurdity exposes the country to avoidable international ridicule, especially because   the sheer numerical strength of such delegations has little to do with qualitative impact.

    It is indefensible that in this framework, accountability and responsibility are relegated to insignificance, and the powers that be seem unbothered by the squandering of public funds as well as the unproductiveness of human resources. This is no way to make progress and earn international respect.