The Nation Newspaper

Tag: CITIZEN

  • Politicians: Let every day count for the citizen 

    Politicians: Let every day count for the citizen 

    The Onitsha market shooting is yet another wake-up tragic occurrence crying out for a preventive solution in the ongoing saga countrywide called ‘The Government Uniform vs Fellow Citizens’. It is a pity that citizens have to die by this method so senselessly across the country. This is often only because of ‘an assumed lack of accountability by those in uniform’ resulting in widespread almost routine physical excesses of ‘uniforms’. This ‘abuse of uniform’ has become so commonplace as to be glossed over by the citizenry who largely cry silently ‘Thank God it was not me’ when such uniform strike again. 

    Yet this characteristic abuse of office resulting in death of a pregnant woman and her unborn child is an expected outcome of giving uniforms and guns and power to people without very close supervision. Close supervision is the key to prevention of ‘uniform-caused crime’ as it led to the introduction of bodycams in many security outfits worldwide. We suffer the latest widely known overreach of those empowered to control us, politically or socially or governmentally, through wearing a uniform and carrying a stick or gun.

    Fortunately, the governor who created the uniforms involved has taken immediate action and arrested the uniforms and investigations have been carried out and prosecutions are taking place. No matter how genuine a governor is or how strong his desire to serve, his reputation is only as good as the weakest link in the chain between him and the last citizen he has supposedly fought and won an election and taken an oath to serve. 

    Many genuine mourners will be attending the unexpected funeral of the prematurely dead diligent pregnant mother who died of bullet wounds merely for going to market where an ‘abuse of uniform’ occurred;  an irreversible abuse of office for which no apology or quantum of money would be enough.

    There are many types of uniforms worn by government officials. Politicians are government officials, make no mistake.  Politicians also wear a uniform. And they abuse that uniform also. They use their uniform to control the budgets and what they do with those budgets cares for and certainly can kill some members of the citizenry. How much time do politicians spend doing things selflessly for the citizenry? When politicians do things affecting the citizenry, do they think of the side effects when their men go ‘authoritarian’ when not supervised?  

    Nigerian politicians must recognise the citizen as needing protection for both politicians and the other uniforms of government. The vast majority of citizens are honest and many uniforms extort from them as a routine. Too many politicians feed off the same citizenry, denying the citizenry a rightful share of the budgets and projects supposed to lift the citizens out of poverty.

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    We need to get more done with less funds so that the budgets will go further to help citizens more. Nigeria has made too many politicians and hangers on very wealthy at the expense of additional penury and lack of opportunity and lowered achievements of millions. 

    Where we are today compared to our total income over the years is far behind expectations.  We should be a country in a hurry with everyone shouting hurray. Certainly, there is good work being done by the current administration to recover from years of ‘abuse by government of the citizenry’.  Many good steps have been made, but many budgetary quotes seem completely out of sync with reality. There must be a way to further reduce the cost of contracts. There is a general feeling that budget padding and contract inflation are acceptable, approved and ok when they are not such a large part of government corruption in the countries we aspire to be like.

    The deliberate opaque funding of political parties is a huge albatross around the neck of Nigeria and the huge self-service appetite of politicians for a ‘larger share of the funds available’ are serious problems for the citizenry. The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, sets the stupendous ‘Salaries And Perks’ for politicians which SAP Nigeria dry. Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) is trying to stop RMAFC  from further raising the emoluments of politicians who are among the best paid politicians worldwide at par with many countries fulfilling all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

    We in Nigeria have a minimum wage of N70,000 set by very well-paid politicians. The problem is that N70,000 is not a liveable wage today. In addition, simple things which can be done almost overnight have still not been done by the federal government. The citizen is equally or even more the responsibility of state and local government. It is unacceptable that electricity is still lacking and too many schools lack enough books and equipment for staff and students and too many hospitals still have no electricity and enough drugs and there are still not enough clean public toilets. This government may not have put us in this hole. All party leadership at all levels in past power have cumulatively contributed to our poor performance to date so far but the citizenry certainly expect the current government to take responsibility for the urgent emergency measures needed to get us out of the hole.

    Act now please, politicians should stop ‘counting the days to election’ and instead let ‘everyday count in Citizen Friendly Projects’.     

  • The sequestration of Citizen Joe

    We shall work with the common and simple meaning of the above word: sequester – to set apart, to seclude in order to act upon. Of course it is a long word and expectedly, it is rich in meanings; having variants of interpretations and origin in medicine, law and natural sciences.

    But let us concern ourselves with how it applies to Citizen Joe (CJ). Of course CJ is not the chief justice by any chance; it is actually a euphemism for the common man. CJ is that fellow at the bottom rung of the society. He is the guy who literally lives by the day; most of his daily sweat geared towards his mouth – he is the daily bread man.

    So what’s with CJ now?

    It’s something to do with a recent announcement by the Federal Government to jerk up the tax on alcohol and cigarette from June this year. And the increment, it appears, would be quite something but mercifully, FG has decided to spread it in tranches over three years.

    Hardball hereby calls this tax: Anti-Citizen Joe Tax. As we all know, cigarettes and alcohol are the repasts of Citizen Joe; let’s not call it his mainstay. Citizen Joe would reach for booze at the end of his long day to quench -not his thirst – but his painful sobriety (or sorrow if you like). Having been tossed all day by all manner of existential turbulence, he cherishes any opportunity to knock down one, or two, or … who is counting! Nothing like booze to rein in jangled nerves, Hardball can proclaim.

    FG says (though in passing) that the tax hike on booze and cigars is to help preserve the health of Citizen Joe but we also know that there is a huge haul of revenues accruing from this. But the point, which is the fear of Hardball is that this tax may become acutely counter-productive.

    Today, price of beer is already out of the reach of Citizen Joe. He actually quaffs all sorts of illicit stuff right now, sold in plastic cups, tiny sachets and small pet bottles. CJ drinks bitter concoctions which are supposedly herbs mixed with ample dosage of local gin. And they come with fitting names: mokogan, bajinotu, koboko, ogidiga, gbongbo, pakrumo, amolanke, name them.

    These gut-rots are cheap and easily available. But there is grave danger ahead; a real concern for mass kidney and liver damage among the population in a few years.

    The average CJ can’t really afford beer today. With this tax, it will be totally out of his reach. Sales will crash and breweries and allied businesses will suffer acute decline. Though government may get more cash, our lowly compatriots are further sequestrated!

  • Nigeria @57: Musings of a young citizen

    On Sunday, Nigeria turned 57. It was indeed a great cause for celebration. Amidst all the aplomb and celebration lay a very important question: Is the unity of Nigeria really non-negotiable?

    Let us examine the hypothesis surrounding Nigeria’s “sacred unity”. On October 1, 1960, 57 years ago, Nigeria gained her independence amidst much celebration and fanfare. I was not born then but I have heard and also read about how Nigerians were filled with so much hope and promise of a better future, a future which people like me still dream about till this day. As for the question posed above, I am contending that the “Nigerian Unity” our leaders have sworn to protect is incomprehensible and indeed a disaster for our nation.

    As the popular saying goes, “only a foolish man tries the same thing several times expecting different results”.  Is Nigeria this foolish man? For 57 years, we have been “united” and what benefits has this brought? We have had 57 chaotic years of poor leadership, a civil war and our people by the hour sink into moral delinquency. Whenever people bring the argument that ”our unity is sacred”, I ask ”How many countries have the same level of diversity as we have in Nigeria”? Nigeria has over 300 tribes and languages. All these tribes and languages have been merged into a strange contraption called Nigeria.

    I am of the opinion that the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates in January 1914 was a grave mistake that we have yet to recover from. It took Malaysia and India far less time to rectify similar mistakes.

    They recognised their differences early with the former splitting into Malaysia and Singapore while Pakistan and Bangladesh were created from India. However, the mistake called Nigeria has been made and it’s far too late to correct it now. The only solution is to minimize the effects of that mistake. The only way to achieve this now is by restructuring the country while abiding by the true rules of federalism, in a similar model as provided for in the constitution used in the period from 1960 to 1966.

    The period from 1960 to 1966, otherwise called First Republic, was arguably Nigeria’s golden age.  Power was effectively shared between the centre and the various regions. This gave autonomy to each region, basically enabling us to function as “three autonomous regions in one nation”. In those six years, Nigeria had visionary leaders like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Ahmadu Bello and the less talked about Chief Michael Okpara, Nigeria was at its closest to achieving its promise and delivering on the hope which Nigerians were beaming with at independence on October 1 1960. However, the ill-fated coup of 1966 happened and since then we haven’t had such quality of leaders. These leaders focused more on their regions and paid little or no attention to the “One Nigeria” myth. They were silent big achievers unlike the loud ones we have as leaders today. The fact still remains that the period from 1960 to 1966 under a regional system of government was our golden age. If it worked once, we can try again. Our representatives in the National Assembly should indeed hear the pleas of advocates of restructuring as the current system of “unitary federalism” has left our country in a coma for a little too long. It is worthy of note to mention that I lend no credence to the thuggery of separatist groups like IPOB but the only away to allay such fears and to prevent a re-emergence of such groups is to restructure this country in a way that will accommodate all our differences. The unity might be non-negotiable but the structure of the country is definitely very negotiable and in fact must be changed. There is need for devolution of powers instead of concentration of powers at the centre. We must re-ignite healthy competition between the regions.

    Cost of governance must be reduced to free resources for development. Our system must be tough on corruption.  Source of revenue for the state must be diversified. We must allow component units to discover their strength and exploit it for development purposes.

    In all, I wish all Nigerians a happy 57th independence, although I am of the opinion that there is little to celebrate. We can self-reflect and hope for a better future. I pray to the Good Lord to bless our country and enable us fulfil our true potential as the “Giants of Africa”.

     

    • Olaniyonu writes from Bwari, Abuja.

  • Lagos’ll protect citizens’ rights, says AG

    Lagos State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General Mr Adeniji Kazeem, has assured the people of the protection of their rights.

    Kazeem spoke during Public Advice Centre (PAC) Advisory Day at Alausa, Ikeja in Lagos.

    He said access to justice is one of Governor Akinwumi Ambode’s priorities.

    According to him, the Public Advisory Day was designed to give people free advice on any matter.

    He said access to justice meant access to information, which will enable people to make the right decision.

    The government, he said, would always be there to support the people.

    PAC Director Mrs Tola Akinsanya said PAC serves as the first point of call to people in distress, those seeking to know their rights on any issue, those seeking how to take action and who do not know where to go.

    “We aim in the coming years to take PAC to each local government, as the traditional rulers have agreed to partner with us to take PAC to the grassroots. All our services are free, Lagosians must not pay anybody.

    “At PAC, we refer people to where their issue will be addressed within a short period of time. It is better to come to government agencies like ours to get issues resolved without going to the court,” she said.

  • Buhari in Ogun: A citizen’s reportage

    Shortly before sunset on Monday, February 1, President Muhammadu Buhari flew into Lagos on his way to nearby Ogun State for a two-day visit. He was received at the creaky Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja by a good slice of the crème of his governing All Progressives Congress (APC): Bola Tinubu (APC’s National Leader), Bisi Akande, former National Chairman of the party, Lai Muhammed, Information and Culture Minister, Ogun Governor, Ibikunle Amosun and Lagos State Deputy Governor, Oluranti Adebule, among others.

    The pick of the pictures  that captured the event in the newspapers the following day was that of a small crowd of smiling politicians all revealing their sartorial  and facial trademarks: Akande’s  ear-to-ear grin, Amosun’s skyward cap, Tinubu’s Awo-like spectacles, Adebule’s hesitant smile, Lai’s crescent-packed cap and finally Buhari’s ascetic gait.

    At 6:15pm, a chopper dropped Buhari at Dipo Dina International Stadium, Ijebu Ode. Thereafter, he moved to the palace of the Awujale of Ijebu land, Oba Sikiru Adetona. He held a 20-minute meeting with the monarch. They shut out journalists who trailed them to the palace. But the reporters wrote back to their editors that they gathered from traditionally reliable sources whose names they withheld that Amosun was part of the talks and that the Awujale pleaded with Buhari to facilitate the creation of Ijebu State.

    Deep into the night, the visiting leader was hosted to a banquet where he tersely addressed eminent personalities and monarchs of Ijebuland. As courtesy demanded, Buhari apologized for his late arrival citing crucial meetings with diplomats in Abuja. Indeed the newspaper the same day ran a photograph that showed the President introducing members of his cabinet to the Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Buhari was robed in the same agbada and buba that brought him to Lagos and Ogun.

    Buhari found a strong ally in his relentless war on corruption when the Awujale told the Nigerian leader at the banquet: “If we don’t face corruption, corruption will kill us. And we don’t want corruption to kill us. So, Nigerians must support your efforts.”

    Leaving Ijebu Ode, Buhari headed for Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital by road in company with Amosun. The accountant -turned governor had invited the President to be part of celebrations marking the 40th Anniversary of the creation of Ogun State. Amosun saddled him with enacting a dramatic symbolism: the Nigerian leader would commission 40 projects executed by Amosun’s administration to reflect the 40 years of the existence of Ogun State.

    The nocturnal road trip was revealing: Buhari saw flood-lit six-lane roads, several flyovers, modern housing estates, farm projects, fully kitted hospitals among several other landmark features representing the new face of Ogun State in the era of Amosun.

    On Day Two of the President’s visit, the state government asked its citizens to stay away from work and schools as a mark of honour to the visiting leader. After inaugurating several projects, the President was the chief guest at a state luncheon in Abeokuta.

    It was a moment of nostalgic outbursts when the muse of reminiscences took over. After hailing Amosun for giving Abeokuta and several parts of the state a palpable facelift, Buhari said: “If you drop me in any part of Abeokuta and ask me to find out where the barracks is, I assure you I will get missing. I will not be able to locate Lisabi Club, where we used to drink Fanta while those who (did) other things also (did). And we listened to music. I am firstly pleased with your (Amosun’s) success and I envy you, because whatever I think I know about Abeokuta I have lost.”

    Ageless ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo was among those who spoke. He did not drop a bomb. He reacted to the Awujale’s agitation for Ijebu State. Obasanjo said he would support the campaign for Ijebu State “only and only if” its capital would be Ikenne, home of the revered Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Buhari was the Military Governor of Borno in the country’s North-east in 1976 when Ogun was created. Observers say Buhari can talk of a ring of déjà vu to this renewed clamour for the birth of a new state. No such creation has been done under a civilian dispensation since the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970. But a Mid-west Region was midwifed by the Tafawa Balewa government in the 60s. It descended from the big womb of the sprawling Western Nigeria.

    Will Buhari seek to break the jinx the same way he made a mess of the myth that in Nigeria the opposition at the centre wouldn’t be displaced by the ballot? Only the bullet could. Buhari opened no chink to let the state creation lovers know where he belongs.

    Meanwhile some explosive politics played out during the President’s visit. Back to Day One. Amosun held a parley at the Executive Chambers of the Governor’s Office. It was to gather the living ex-rulers of Ogun. Shouldn’t they come under one roof to bask in the giant strides of Ogun, the baby they nurtured these past four decades? Shouldn’t the living also honour the souls of those who once governed the state, including the journalist-governor, Bisi Onabanjo (Aiyekoto) who was the state’s first civilian governor in 1979? Two prominent sons of Ogun State, former governors Olusegun Osoba and Gbenga Daniel shunned the meeting hosted by the incumbent Chief Executive. But they were at the palace of the Awujale to pay homage to President Buhari. According to watchers, politics of temperance receded at the Abeokuta gathering of former governors of the state.

    The citizens are asking: what message was passed across to this visiting apostle of change by the disappearing act of the ex-governors? Did he notice what transpired? If he did, this reporter missed his reaction.

    • Ojewale is a journalist at Ota,

    Ogun State

  • A citizen of example

    Lagos State House of Assembly last week, resolved to invite Ms Josephine Agwu, a cleaner at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos to celebrate her for a rare display of honesty and integrity.

    Reports had it that Ms Agwu had in the course of her duties, found N12 million in various currencies and returned it to the owner. That was the third time she was returning lost monies for the collection of their owners.

    Apparently moved by this uncommon show of honesty and patriotism, the Deputy Whip, Rotimi Abiru, under matters of urgent public importance, called the attention of his colleagues to the fact that being the third time the lady was returning lost monies, the matter should not be allowed to pass just like that.

    He recalled that the lady who earns a paltry N7, 800 monthly was given $50 the second time she found and returned lost money. Other contributors noted though the incident did not take place within an establishment of the Lagos State government, yet it was not out of place to appreciate her as a sign of moral motivation. Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji therefore directed the clerk of the House to invite Ms Agwu for members to appreciate her.

    Though Ms Agwu is yet to appear before the state assembly and the nature of the goodwill of the house yet to be determined, there is still every reason to commend the assembly for its kind and visionary gesture. It is not only heart-warming but very patriotic for members to have realized such a rare display of integrity should be encouraged especially in a country held down over the years by monumental corruption. This is more so given the strategic importance of our airports.

    Being the gateway to the country, our airports have before now come under serious bashing from the outside world for sundry ills that go on there including corruption. At the heat of the Ebola virus scare sometime last year, a group of American security officials in transit had alleged that one of them was pursued and injected a substance suspected to contain the Ebola virus in an insecure area of that airport. The report which was meant to paint black the airport security was aptly denied by airport authorities for lacking in any shred of truth. They had faulted the claim because no such case was reported to any of its security outfits. Nothing was again heard from the US officials who bandied the claim. And nothing came out of the report of the test they claimed the victim who was admitted at a US hospital on arrival, was said to have undergone. This matter has been deliberately brought in here to underscore the kind of negative image our airports have before now, been subjected to for reasons best known to their sponsors. There have also been other instances in the past the nation has been treated with video clips of the corruption that go on in the airports involving our security men. All these have tended to give the image of our airports as an insecure, corrupt and unsafe place for business.

    It is this negative rating that has been put a lie to by the uncommon display of honesty by the conduct of the airport cleaner. This is especially the case given that this marks the third time she would return monies forgotten by their owners. A country that is interested in good moral standing, cannot afford not to appreciate and celebrate such a patriot. That is the duty the Lagos State House of Assembly has taken up and it should be appreciated by all and sundry.

    The state assembly deserves commendation for not allowing the contributions of the cleaner to pass unsung. Not with the high level of dishonesty that bestrides the nation’s entire landscape. Not with the concomitant corruption in high and low places that has held this nation prostrate and stultified all efforts at genuine economic development.

    The contributions of the assembly are better appreciated when it is realized that the incident occurred in a federal establishment which ordinarily, should be outside its area of authority. But it refused to be constrained by this temporary line of divide since the heuristic value of celebrating the cleaner will rob off positively on the moral bearing of the entire society. That is the way it should be and the assembly deserves to be commended. It has by this rare display of patriotism lived up to the motto of the state as the centre of excellence.

    Beyond the gesture, there are other potent issues thrown up by the incident. The first has to do with the conduct of Ms Agwu’s employers. There is nothing on record to show they appreciated this cleaner of example. For her to have returned lost monies for three consecutive times, meant there is something very special about her. She is a rare person; an uncommon Nigerian. She ought to be celebrated and hugely rewarded in order to send the message very unambiguously that honesty pays. She is poorly paid but not poor in spirit. That is why even with her meager salary, she was not moved at the sight of N12 million.

    In a country where armed robbers would have cleared any obstacle at sight to carte away such a huge money; in a country where employees disappear into the thin air with smaller amounts entrusted to their care, it is only proper the cleaner should be hugely rewarded not only by her employers but the federal government. These are the kind of people that deserve the yearly national awards and not the sundry characters that should ordinarily have had nothing to do with them. It is therefore only proper that the federal authorities seize the momentum set by the Lagos state assembly and demonstrate very unambiguously that honesty and integrity pay. She works at our airport and it is immaterial whether a private company employed her for that purpose. The good example she has consecutively displayed is for the overall good of the country.

    It is also important that other Nigerians of exemplary quality; no matter how lowly placed, are identified, celebrated and rewarded as a mark of encouragement to others who have been sold to the idea that life is all about hook and crook. And they are many.

    But there is also a contradiction which the loss of such a hefty sum has brought to the fore. In a country where the majority find it nigh impossible to feed, is it not scandalous that people could easily forget such a huge sum of money? In a clime where even a third of that amount would make a big difference between life and death for a majority, does it not speak of the wide gulf between the rich and the poor that such an amount can be easily forgotten?

    These are some of the issues that have been brought to the fore by the incident. You can imagine the big temptation it was for someone who earns less than N8, 000 a month to have returned N12 million she found on a platter of gold. Many would have seen that as a golden opportunity to make it. For such people, Ms Agwu may have lost an opportunity to conquer poverty. But they are wrong. For her, honesty and integrity pay better and life is not all about money. Such a moral bearer ought to be appreciated by all.

  • New college to breed ‘responsible citizens’

    Phidel College, a post primary school that prides itself as an all-round education institution, has opened its doors for academic activities.

    Located on an expansive land at Isheri-Olofin, Idimu, Lagos, Phidel College is a co-educational secondary school that aims to nurture globally-minded students to become communicators, thinkers, and knowledgeable, principled and respectable citizens, according to the school principal Ben Akintelure.

    Akintelure said the school runs Nigerian, British as well as American curriculums undertaken by seasoned teachers. The exams students undertake at the college, he said, include the West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO), International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) as well as Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

    The mix of the curricular, Akintelure explained, would give students the opportunity to study and excel at any higher institution of learning in the world after their secondary school education.

    Akintelure also said the college makes certain languages such as French and Chinese compulsory for students at some point in the college.

    He said the college teaches some vocational subjects; so that their graduates can think of a vocation that they had already learnt and developed in the school rather than looking for white collar jobs.

     

     

    “We have a standard Home Economics room. There is clothing and textile room with various sewing machines. We do tie and dye here. Our music studio is fantastic. There is no musical instrument that cannot be handled by our music teachers.”

    Some of the sachool’s facilities include sports complex; well equipped computer laboratory with internet connectivity; fully air-conditioned classrooms and 24-hour power supply, well-spaced hostel for boys and girls, among others.

    “Phidel College has standard hostels for boys and girls which are unique. For instance in other schools, they would have a big hostel where there would be 15 to 20 beds for students. But here, our rooms accommodates maximum of four students. The importance of this is that the issue of bullying would be eradicated. In a situation where you put many students in a big room, the senior bully the junior ones. Some are even molested.

    “Apart from that, our toilet and the bathroom are connected to each room, unlike the conventional one whereby the students would leave their rooms, go to another part of the hostel to use the toilet.”

     

     

    To give vent to its total education culture, Akintelure said the college also trains students in phonics, diction, and etiquette.