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Tag: ethnic

  • ‘Ethnic, religious sentiments barriers to national growth’

    ‘Ethnic, religious sentiments barriers to national growth’

    Chairman of Senate Committee on Power,  Enyinnaya Abaribe, has said ethnicity and religious sentiments are some barriers facing the country and could affect national development.

    According to him, these barriers are intertwined and can bring down a nation.

     He stressed the need for a collective effort to stand against these factors to advance course of citizens and the nation itself.

     He was the keynote speaker at the 114th annual Founder’s Day lecture organised by King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA) in Lagos.

    It had  as theme: Dismantling the barriers: Creating a pathway for emergence of effective leaders in Nigeria.”

      “Whenever you see a system where people put tribal and religious sentiments ahead of good governance, then such system could be heading for difficult times. Ultimately, it slows down progress.

     “We must also not allow our inability to take care of our children by allowing them drop out of school and align with some other things in the name of religion.

    ‘’We must not leave out the substance that we are supposed to use to make Nigeria great.

     “We must be able to know when to draw the line by ensuring the children are given their rights, especially quality education, taught good morals as well as commit more to character moulding that will give way to sound leaders of the country,” he said.

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     The lawmaker identified lack of justice and equity as a barrier hindering growth and development.

     “Nothing endangers the feeling of citizens, when they seem to be treated like second class citizens, especially when it is done brazenly.

     “Another barrier is that of lack of competence and vision. Institutional competence has also been discovered over time to be one of the major reason for the state of our nation today. There is the need for the right man for the job to always be the one to be considered, irrespective of who is involved.

     “Another issue that has posed as a serious barrier to the advancement of our country is that of corruption…’’

     “Nigeria as a country is blessed with a lot of honest and enterprising people and we must not allow the corrupt ones to hold us down, because of their shameful acts. The challenge is that we hardly make a scape goat of any one.

     “We must encourage those that are forthright, showcase them to the world in order to breakdown these barriers,” he said.

      A senior advocate of Nigeria SAN and an old boy of the college, Mr Etigwe Uwa (SAN) , said   weaponisation of poverty and ethnicity by some  political leaders were responsible for the slow pace of national development and growth.

     According to Uwa, most corrupt politicians are the reason the country still lags behind, adding that they seem not to make the yearnings of the poor masses their priority.

     Mr Funsho Doherty, urged citizens not to lose hope as the country was blessed with abundance of both human and material resources.

     According to him, democracy itself does not produce good leaders, noting that all what is required is good pillars to ensure the emergence of such leaders.

       President of the association, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam emphasised on the need for a free and compulsory basic education for children of school age.

     According to him, education is the right of every child, adding that the country was doing  itself as well as the children  a disservice, if it failed to provide it.

     Mr Olumide Akpata, Chairman, Planning Committee of  this year’s King’s Week said  if the country must dismantle the barriers to development, it must start with the people.

  • Ethnic groups in political process

    Dr. Garba Abari, the Director General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), the man with arduous task of communicating government policy, staying abreast of public opinion, and promoting patriotism, national unity, and development of Nigerian society is angry with those he claims are politicizing the issue of Ruga settlement policy. I don’t think anyone should begrudge him for being unhappy. He is after all, doing the job for which he is being paid. I however sympathise with him for attempting to demonise those he describes as promoters of ethnic identity. There is nothing wrong with promotion of ethnic identity in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. The federal system has long substituted individuals with group as the most important variable in a participatory democracy

    Ethnic groups formed the foundation of our federal system. Our early political parties were in fact offshoots of ethnic groups with the exception of NCNC which at the end also ended up as an ethnic party. Nigeria People’s Congress (NPC) started as Northern People’s Congress. Action Group took its root from ‘Egbe Omo Oduduwa’, a Yoruba socio-cultural group. Our founding fathers who later emerged as Nigeria’s celebrated statesmen, all started as representatives of their ethnic groups except Zik who also discovered at the end that charity must begin from home when his failed attempt to become premier of Western Region forced him to return home to become premier of the Eastern Region. Ahmadu Bello started as chairman of Local Council. He opted to remain in Kaduna to serve his people rather than come to Lagos as prime minister. If Awo was at the end of his life described by Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the Biafra civil war leader as “the best president Nigeria never had”, it was on account of having served his Yoruba people as a regional premier with distinction.  It must also be remembered that even the policy thrust of the then outgoing British colonial power  was that each ethnic group should develop at its own pace by taking advantage of the wisdom of their forbearers.

    I understand we need to doubt the motive of the cunny British imperialists. It can be argued that Nigeria like most other African new states was designed by the imperial powers  that –  at their Oct 1884-Feb 1885 Berlin Conference –  arrogantly declared  Africa was terra nullis (nobody territory), and went on to share African territories among themselves with state boundaries set for their convenience rather than for our welfare was programmed to fail. The foisting of what Basil Davison describes as the black man’s burden or ‘the curse of the nation state’ on Nigeria undoubtedly contributed to today’s mutual suspicion among her many ethnic groups including the Yoruba, Hausa, Karuri, Igala and Igbo that had for centuries engaged in free trade among themselves without movement barriers.

    But it is also on record that the British colonial government also institutionalised a federal arrangement which formally recognizes groups as legitimate and autonomous participants in the political process. It was this new emphasis on group identity that forced leaders like Ahmadu Bello to dedicate his life towards bridging the 70 years gap between the north and the south in terms of western education by sending brilliant northern youths either to the military or to the best universities in the world. It was what propelled him to build the biggest conglomerate in Africa. It was what also encouraged Awo and his group to exploit the culture of their people to introduce free education in an effort to lay foundation for an egalitarian society for their Yoruba nation. Of course it was what also encouraged Zik to resolve in 1934 that the Igbo must catch up and obliterate the head-start Yoruba had in education, a feat he had accomplished by 1960. This healthy group competition went on without posing any threat to the health of the nation. What eventually abridged our march towards modernisation was the attempt by two of our three dominant groups to impose their world view on Nigeria. This was the root cause of the collapse of the elite group consensus that produced the golden age of Nigeria 1952-1962.

    From the end of the civil war to 2015, groups were demonized by self-serving Nigerian rulers who also made efforts to turn Nigeria into a unitary state through ‘mainstreaming’. Groups that once served as centres of development were broken into 36 states and 774 LGAs, all, going periodically cap-in-hand to Abuja for life support. Like the colonial masters who destroyed the various emerging nationalities they inherited to pave way for nation state (the Black man burden), the unviable states and LGAs were designed not for the welfare of the people but for short-term political advantages of those in power.

    After the destruction of our political socialization process, IBB decreed two parties which ended up presenting his two friends as presidential candidates in the June 1993. Abacha created five parties with all ‘the five fingers of the leprous hand’ picking him as their presidential candidate. Abdulsalami Abubakar imposed a constitution no one had seen before the inauguration of President Obasanjo in 1999. Obasanjo set up a constitutional conference ostensibly to find solutions to our crisis of nation building but in reality designed to rubber stamp his failed third term agenda. Jonathan set up a constitutional conference but only as a bargaining tool for his 2014 failed re-election bid. Similarly government policy thrusts all through this period such as JAMB, Unity Schools, Quota admission to universities, federal character policies were all designed not to promote justice and merit but to lower standard and institutionalise mediocrity for the benefits of the tendencies those in power represented.

    Dr. Abari’s demonization of ethnic groups as a response to indolence, incompetence or hypocrisy of government as the opposition PDP has alleged, seem to confirm nothing has changed under President Buhari’s government of change. Efforts by those who are passionate about Nigeria especially critical stakes-holders in the Nigerian process such as  Afenifere, Ohaneze and the Northern Elders Forum groups, to make the president understand that restructuring and devolution of power in a plural society where people require a measure of autonomy is not a threat to national unity has failed. His resolve to listen only to himself has led to frustration and bitterness among those who believe they have been reduced to second class citizen in their country.

    What the subsistence farmers of Benue, Plateau, Adamawa who under deadly attack of invading herdsmen who kill and allegedly confiscate land need is state and community policing to implement their state laws. The demands of the helpless Zamfara people held hostage by bandits, kidnappers and illegal miners is not different. The prayers of those in the Southwest whose forest reserves have been taken over by criminals is for federal government to get off their back so that they could manage their lives. The president who appears only listens to himself however seems to believe the answer to insecurity in the above areas and across the country is underpaid and ill-equipped federal police from Abuja, drafting of soldiers to highways and use of fighter jets against bandits who operate inside thick mangrove forest.

    Unfortunately for angry Dr. Abari, the attempt to surreptitiously railroad Ruga, a controversial government policy denounced by both the National Economic Council (NEC), crop farmers and nearly all the major Nigeria’s ethnic groups, has sadly left the impression that it is another self-serving policy thrust designed for short-term political advantage of those in power who like their preceding self-proclaiming messiahs, pretend to know what Nigerians want without asking them.

  • Ethnic, tribal threats not healthy for Nigeria’s growth, says Rawlings

    GHANA’S former President Jerry John Rawlings has advised Nigerians to stop issuing ethnic, tribal and religious threats.

    He said such acts may cause warfare, which he described as unhealthy and a disincentive for national political growth.

    Rawlings spoke yesterday in Lagos after attending the 12th Annual Lecture organised by the University of Ibadan Alumni Association (UIAA), Ekiti State branch.

    Given Nigeria’s multi-ethic and tribal configuration, he said tribal or ethnic threats were recipes for social disharmony.

    Rawlings said he was not comfortable with such negative development in Nigeria.

    He urged agitators hiding under tribal and ethnic colourations to forthwith desist from such practices.

    The former President urged Nigerians to stop the ethnic war and help one another to foster harmonious co-existence.

    Rawlings advised Nigerians to elect people with leadership integrity into public offices.

    He said as much as Nigerians desire performance based leadership, the people could sustain good leadership if they vote rightly.

    Rawlings said the challenge of governance in Africa borders on leadership without character.

    He said:  “By character, I mean distinctive qualities that overcome the challenges we have as constituencies and organisations. Let’s learn to be gracious. I am sad over the mean behaviour of my fellow black man. African countries are plagued with several challenges such as agriculture, deforestation, bad economy, governance, education among others”.

    He said he was worried by the classification of Nigeria and Ghana in terms of high rate of corruption by Transparency International (TI).

    Rawlings said: “Transparency International shows that countries in the South-South region of Africa failed to address corruption and that Ghana and Nigeria rate high in corruption indices. However, some leaders have the will but not the character to fight corruption. The fight against corruption in Nigeria calls for integrity and wise approach so that it will not conflict with the lives of the people”.

    He said when Nigeria fights corruption rightly, it would do well for Nigeria, Africa and the world because of its population.

    “Nigeria has the pride and integrity. Most African countries cannot meddle with you people,” Rawlings said.

  • How religious, ethnic interests marred review of Constitution

    How religious, ethnic interests marred review of Constitution

    Proponents of devolution of power, Land Use Act, state creation, boundary adjustment, indigenship and affirmative action in the ongoing constitution review have to wait for another opportunity. Assistant Editor ONYEDI OJIABOR, who followed the process from the outset, writes on what informed the senators’ voting pattern on core issues during the amendment.

    It is no longer news that core proposals slated for amendment in the ongoing constitution review were rejected by the National Assembly. What baffled many was the motive behind the lawmakers’ action.

    The lawmakers have come under scathing criticism for being selective with the amendment, which stakeholders described as self-serving and not in the general interest.

    The Nation learnt that overarching regional interest guided the amendments.

    Right from the conception of the idea for the fourth alteration of the 1999 Constitution, primordial interest wrapped around suspicion, mistrust and even pessimism about the whole process ran riot.

    It was a battle of wits from the outset. It was also obvious that some senators merely played along and waited for the auspicious time to frustrate the process.

    The voting pattern, especially on vital proposals poignantly depicted the true character of the National Assembly.

    All the items northern senators, led by senators Adamu Aliero and Danjuma Goje, kicked against during the clause by clause debate of the proposals, failed to pass the amendment tests.

    Aliero, a one-time governor of Kebbi State, did not hide his disdain for the proposed devolution of power to the states.

    The Kebbi Central Zone senator bellied his disapproval for the devolution of power in his insistence that devolution of power without first tinkering with the revenue allocation in favour of the states would be meaningless.

    Underneath his argument for allocation of more resources to the states was the fear of the unknown.

    The former Kebbi governor, it was discovered, was actually anxious not to endorse restructuring of the country under any other guise. It was ploy to buy time since reworking the revenue allocation formula was not on the card.

    Also, the northern senators opposed the removal of Land Use Act from the Constitution to free land for massive development including agriculture. The proposal crashed because the senators (from the north) felt that delisting Land Use Act from the constitution could be another way of endorsing resource control.

    The proposal for the devolution of power to the states that would have paved the way to rework the country for greater efficiency was opposed by the senators.

    State creation and boundary adjustments proposed to make for equity, equality and give a sense of belonging to the federating units also failed to scale the amendment hurdle as the clause was shot down by the northern senators.

    The indigeneship proposal to allow married women to choose either their state of birth or state of marriage for the purpose of appointment or election was rejected by the senators.

    They also opposed the proposal to institutionalise 35 per cent affirmative action for women aimed at creating more opportunities for women in appointments and elective positions.

    But less than a week after the contentious amendments, details of who did what have started unfolding.

    The leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives have invested a lot of hope in the nearly-aborted amendment.  Both chambers had promised to deliver a clean copy of the constitution long before the commencement of electioneering activities for the 2019 general elections.

    That promise informed why the constitution amendment formed a key issue in the legislative agenda of the Eight National Assembly.

    To achieve this, the leadership of Senate and House of Representatives were periodically briefing by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and Deputy House of Representatives Speaker Yussuff Lasun on the progress made.

    An insider gave an account of how northern senators perfected their plot to ambush the process.

    The account said: “Last Monday, when all seemed set for the debate and voting for the 33 items on the agenda, a meeting of the joint leadership of the federal legislature held in the Maitama home of the chairman of the National Assembly, Abubakar Bukola Saraki.

    “The meeting, which went on till past midnight was for the purpose of dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. At the meeting, it was agreed that the debate on the 33 items would hold on Tuesday while the voting would be done on Wednesday so that the process could be completed before the legislators commenced their annual recess which began at the weekend.

    “However, it dawned on the legislative leadership that early Tuesday morning when they were supposed to commence the debate on the floor, the Senate President, House of Representatives Speaker and Deputy Speaker were all expected to attend the 16th Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers’ Conference at the ECOWAS secretariat in Abuja.

    “This would mean that nobody would preside at the plenary. The matter was resolved that the Senate President and Speaker would attend while their deputies should preside at the plenary. It was also agreed that since Nigerian parliamentarians are the organisers, they should ensure the event began on schedule by 9am and end within two hours.

    “Eventually, the need to get the conference opened by the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo delayed the commencement of the event till 10.30am. However, by 11.30am, the opening was done with. Speaker Dogara, who was the presiding officer at the conference, had to stay back while the Senate President returned to the National Assembly complex.

    “However, on getting there, the Senate President met a tensed atmosphere. The northern senators having observed that their southern colleagues were enthusiastic about the constitution amendment voting process scheduled to begin that day were suspicious that something against the interest of the region might have been inserted into the constitution.

    “They further calculated that since Senator Ike Ekweremadu, a southerner with 11 years’ experience in the position with two previous experiences in constitution amendments, it was possible for him to sneak in a few things not in their interest.

    “Led by Senator Goje, the northern senators at an executive session of the Senate had requested for time to consult with their constituents. That was a delay tactic. Knowing that the Senate was due for recess in the next forty-eight hours, any further delay would put the amendment on hold till after the recess and by that time, the enthusiasm about constitution amendment would have died down.

    “Immediately the Senate President came in and was briefed about what transpired at the executive session in which the Senate seems divided on regional basis (North pitted against South), he immediately started persuading the northern senators that voting would be transparent. He also assured them that the rest of the country was waiting for the amendment as a way of dousing tension and agitations across the country. With his assurances to both sides, he moved from his holding office in the White House wing to the plenary to take charge of the proceedings from his deputy.

    “The controversial issues that created the division along regional lines are the removal of the Land Use Act from the constitution, the affirmative action in which at least 35 per cent of people in the executive council of states and Federal Government would be women and the devolution of more powers to the states.

    “The northerners see devolution of powers as indirect way of importing restructuring into the constitution and turning Nigeria into a confederal state with strong confederating states and a weak centre.

    “The Senate President assured all of them that the process would be transparent and give every lawmaker to fully himself. He then presented the various items as bills so that the issues can be voted upon separately. In that case, the rejection of one issue will not lead to the failure of all the issues as it had happened in the past when the issues were lumped together.

    “That was why voting were done separately on issues to be removed from the constitution, even though such issues came under the same bill. Thus, votes were taken separately on the issue of whether to remove the National Youth Service (NYSC) Decree, Public Complaints Commission and Land Use Act Decree from the constitution. While the first two passed, the latter one failed. And so, the former two would be passed.

    “Still in the early hours of Wednesday, the Northern Senators refused to go into the chamber without having a caucus meeting to articulate their positions on key issues.  They refused to allow northern senators who are members of the leadership to attend the meeting. Thus, Saraki, Ahmed Lawan and Bala Ibn N’Allah, were excluded from the meeting.

    “Eventually, the voting on the controversial issues like the devolution of powers to states, removal of Land Use Act from the constitution, Bills for women to claim either their state of origin or state of origin of their husband, 35 per cent affirmative action in the and federal and state’s executive councils reflected the division in Nigeria – the North versus the South.

    “The sharp division reflects the state of the country. The agitations for resource control in the Southsouth, the Biafran secession threat in the Southeast, the restructuring and true federalism campaign in the Southwest as well as the Fulani herdsmen/farmers clash in the Northcentral seem to have tainted the debate.

    “There is serious level of suspicion, mistrust, and pessimism about the purpose of the contentious issues. “It may be correct to say that the Senate President and other members of the leadership of the Senate were able to get the process through due to their political sagacity, maturity, confidence building ability, consensus building efforts and expanding the middle ground while rejecting extreme measures or positions.

    “In dealing with the issue, the Senate President recognised the need to allow members to express the wishes of their constituents. It is believed that no member could force the other to accept the positions that are contrary to the viewpoints of his or her constituent.”

    “Another factor that worked for the Senate in driving the constitution amendment process is the unity among members on the non-controversial issues and the huge respect for Saraki’s leadership”, the insider source said.

    But the hope of many Nigerians for a restructured may have been sacrificed on the altar ethno-religious interest. Some have described the failure of the National Assembly to pass the critical proposals as insensitivity to the aspiration of greater number of Nigerian.

    Nigerians, who desired and clamoured for true federalism are not the only the losers. The Eight National Assembly, which had an opportunity to writte its name in gold, is also a loser.

    It is obvious that even northern senators who blocked devolution of power to states know that over centralisation of virtually everything, including policing, education and health services, has not served the interest of the country well.

    However, constitution making is a work in progress as Saraki spoke of the possibility of the senators to revisit devolution of power.

    It is not over until it is over. The ayes can still have their way when the two chambers resume in September.

  • Perils of ethnic profiling

    If you are emotionally attached to your tribe or political leaning to the point that truth and justice becomes secondary considerations, your education is useless. Your exposure is useless. If you cannot reason beyond petty sentiments, you are a liability to mankind.” – Late Dr. Yusuf Bala Usman (1945-2005).

    We are about eighteen months before the 2019 elections and as is the norm in this clime, the polity is heated. However, the heat this time – for those who know their history – should not be waved aside as part of another election blues. We have a clear and present danger ahead and this is the time we need real statesmen with love for country to act as bridge builders and not hate merchants.

    Over the years, I have had cause to speak to an array of Nigerians about Nigeria. While we almost all agree that we face enormous challenges, the consensus is that we are better together than apart if we can just get our acts together to ensure that all Nigerians – irrespective of tribe, tongue or religion – have a sense of belonging. However, some ethnic champions and jingoists’ would never see anything positive about the country; they will pick holes even in the best of intentions.

    Yes, there are enormous challenges in Nigeria, but are these challenges insurmountable? I do not think they are. Some of our challenges are elite inspired – and this cuts across board. We may have an imperfect constitutions and laws, but are we even following what the imperfect laws and constitution stipulates? Things that are very clearly written and stated are not often “clear” when it comes to application.

    If you can take your time to understand our elites and their interests than you’ll begin to have a clearer picture of what I’m driving at. Read in between the lines whenever you hear a pronouncement or an “agitation” from our elites. If you have your ears to the ground and conduct a due diligence, you can put the jigsaw puzzle together.

    One of these jigsaw puzzles is ethnic profiling or sentiments which have been with us even before independence. Simply put, it is the use of ethnic or religious characteristics as a way of singling out people for identity. Nearly all the ethnic groups in Nigeria are profiled one way or another. These profiling’s – which of course comes through the spoken word – is often powerful and “incontrovertible.”

    Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.

    Considering the ‘powerful force’ of the words we utter, we must discipline ourselves to speak in a way that conveys respect, gentleness and humility. One of the clearest sign of a moral life is right speech. Perfecting our speech is one of the keystones of mature people. Before speaking take a few moments to contemplate what you will say and how you will say it; while considering the impact they will have on the listener/s.

    Gary Chapman in his book, “Love as a Way of Life” uses the vivid metaphor for words as being either ‘bullets or seeds’. If we use our words as bullets with a feeling of superiority and condemnation, we are not going to be able to restore a relationship to love. If we use our words as seeds with a feeling of supportiveness and sincere good will, we can rebuild a relationship in positive and life-affirming ways.

    In our country today the hate merchants are having a field day. From the Biafra agitation to the “quit notice” from some group in the North and South-South, a single trajectory flow through – leave our region. But have they thought through the repercussions of their action? Are they aware of a country called Rwanda?

    One of my areas of research interest is Rwanda because of the lessons and danger of ethnic profiling; especially how a single event can be used as a spark to cause mayhem by a politically deceptive elite. Many have purported ethnic hatred as the cause of the Rwanda Genocide and while an ethnic divide was indeed present in Rwanda around the time of the conflict, the reasons for the genocide are multiple and far more complex.

    In analysing the Rwanda Genocide as an ethnic conflict it is essential that ethnicity be examined as it influenced and was influenced by economic, political and social factors. The challenge for defining the violence in Rwanda as an ethnic conflict is that while – on the one hand – the atrocities were a clear cut case of genocide, committed with “the criminal intent to destroy or to cripple permanently a human group,” according to one writer, the lines along which the victims were grouped were not just ethnic but also political.

    And what was the spark used to ignite the genocide? On April 6, 1994, the plane conveying crash of President Juvenal Habyarimana crashed. A local radio station, Radio Milles Collines was used by the Hutu political elite to blame the RPF and a contingent of UN soldiers for Habyarimana’s death and urged revenge against the Tutsi. This set the genocides in motion.  Forty eight minutes after the crash, the Presidential Guard erected the first road blocks and fanned out around the city, picking up and murdering leading Tutsi and moderate Hutu politicians.

    The question to ask is this: why did it take less than an hour before the mayhem started if it was not planned before hand?

    The massacres ensued for a hundred days and were finally ended on 18 July 1994, when the RPF seized almost complete control of Rwanda and declared a unilateral cease-fire. While media sources regard the 1994 genocides as just another episode in a long, historic line of ethnic feuding, the  reality is that the brutal assassinations of more than half a million people did not result from a widespread “ancient hatred” among the Hutu people, but rather a strategic plan of “self-defense” that mobilized ordinary civilians into ruthless killers.

    For three and a half years, the Hutu elite worked to redefine the population of Rwanda into ‘Rwandans,’ meaning those who backed the president, and the “ibyitso” or “accomplices of the enemy,” meaning the Tutsi minority and Hutu opposed to him. Ultimately, the Hutu elite initiated the genocides to maintain political control by wiping out their opponents. By employing “ethnic norms” and a system of punishments and rewards, the Hutu elite managed to gain supporters that joined the genocides in some instances with enthusiasm and in others with little choice.

    This was achieved mainly through the spoken word, – hate speech – especially through the radio. However, from the ashes of a gory episode like the genocide emerged a new Rwanda which is today one of the choice tourist destination in Africa.

    Prof Nail Fergusson, a Harvard historian in one of his books “The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die” said the real issue for societies is the quality of public reason. He shows how the degeneration of western society occurred or could occur. What stands out from his analysis however is that the quality of institutions for coordinating social transactions makes the critical difference between prospering and declining societies. So, when societies think clearly and act intelligently, they create superior social institutions to solve their problems. But when public reason is weak then problems persist or compound.

    The dilemma of public reason in Nigeria is very evident and troubling. The quality of debate is also depressing. In the place of logic there is anger, emotion and fury. The government must do all within its power to stem the tide.

     

     

     

  • Dousing ethnic agitations

    SIR: Recent political developments in the country have further accentuated our diverse fault-lines and confirmed even to the outside world that the chord of our so-called national unity is yet fragile, very fragile.  Regionalism, ethnicity, tribalism, nepotism, favouritism, religious bigotry and the provincial character of leadership have continued to conspire to exert pressure on the nation’s fragile unity as Nigerians of northern and southern extractions agitate for fair and egalitarian accommodation in the federation.

    History, according to Karl Marx, repeats itself, first time as a tragedy and second time as a farce.  Having witnessed the historical tragedy of the Nigerian civil war, it will amount to a mockery of our leadership and nationhood if the instrumentality of dialogue and compromises cannot be deployed to contain the lingering conflict before it explodes into a conflagration in our faces.

    More than ever before, Nigeria appears to be a stone’s throw to preventable disintegration.  The mere verbal exhortation that Nigeria is an indissoluble entity is not enough to make certain that the otherwise does not happen. Except and unless conscious steps are taken to mitigate the dialectics of injustice, both inherent and obvious, in our nationhood, our forced marriage by the executive fiat of Lord Lugard is capable of being ruptured by the agitation for Biafra exit (Biafrexit) from Nigeria.

    When the tension of Biafrexit is thrown into the mix of the calls for restructuring by the Yoruba of the southwest zone, the minority ethnic nationalities of the South-south and North-central zones to accommodate even and equal development on the basis of exploitation and exploration of mineral resources under the soil of the respective zone and the states therein, the scenario cannot but foreshadow a looming apocalypse, which must challenge the sincerity of all stakeholders in the Nigerian project to justly deal with.

    If the best way to deal with this is by way of restructuring, which marginalised ethnic nationalities seem to be enamoured with, then it is high time the government of the day began to take steps along that line.  If the report of the 2014 National Conference is sufficient to deal with the issue, the federal government should bury its ego by implementing the recommendations contained therein whether partially or wholesale or as it may deemed fit.

    There is no more time to waste.  The future of Nigeria is now.  With an enlightened army of restive youths across the country, leaders of the Nigerian federation can no longer entrench a discriminatory policy of exclusion and deliberate underdevelopment of any zone or region without justifiable agitations.  The Biafrexit agitation is real.  The Yoruba agitation for restructuring is valid.  The middle belt agitation for egalitarian accommodation in the context of northern Nigeria is in apple-pie order.  The southern minorities, specifically Niger Delta agitation for more recognition and empowerment on account of their exploited oil wealth is reasonable.

    The government should do the needful to reinvent the wheel in the direction of true federalism and genuine unity by gravitating towards restructuring because if it does not do it or set machinery in motion to doing it in this first term, if Nigeria survives anyhow after 2019, a new government may do it and claim the prize for posterity.

     

    • Sufuyan Ojeifo 

     Abuja

  • ‘Nigeria’s problem is economic, not religious or ethnic’

    ‘Nigeria’s problem is economic, not religious or ethnic’

    Inside the expansive building that houses his fully equipped library and office, former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, shares with Dorcas Egede, his knack for record keeping and preserving memories, foray into politics and sundry issues. Excerpts 

    You’re an engineer who was doing well in his chosen career, why did you venture into politics?

    Politics is generally believed to be for people who want to “make it” or people who have not been able to do well in other areas and think that politics will provide them an avenue. That is the general belief, no doubt. But, I guess for some other people, it may not be so. It is indeed for genuine service. Some of us see ourselves as change agents. We look at the problem in the polity and we feel it is not as difficult as it’s been made to look like. We believe we have the capacity to make things work, that’s why some of us decided to serve.

    A tour of your library tells me you have a knack for record keeping. How was this born and how far back have you been keeping records of your activities?

    As a young man, even though I studied engineering, I was always interested in knowledge. I strongly believed and still believe that no knowledge is lost. So, I read a lot. Again, in my secondary school, I used to represent my school in debates and quiz competitions. I remember my quizmaster, the late Mr. Oyelakin, who used to say to us that if we are involved in quiz competitions, we must be able to answer questions from anywhere, underground, surface of the earth and even in space. He made it clear that if you must be, as it were, Mr-Know-All, you have to read voraciously. Therefore, as a young man, I had always done a lot of reading and still do.

    You have had six years since leaving office; I take it you’ve had time to do some retrospective and introspective assessment; given the opportunity to serve again, what are some of the things you may likely change or correct?

    The biggest problem for our people is probably linked to the first question you asked. What is the whole essence of governance? It does appear we do not know what it is, or put it this way, 95% of the people who participate in governance don’t really know what it’s all about. They see it as another means of survival, and for as long as that is where we are coming from, we have many challenges on our hands. I think governance and the process of governance should be more of service in the real sense of the word, and I therefore believe that the biggest problem that we have is that over the years people have come to appreciate governance from different perspectives. For a participant, it is a no win situation. If you don’t do what your friends expect you to do, you become a bad person. If you try to do things to satisfy their appetite, you may end up stealing or doing untoward things. And if you get framed and charged, nobody is there for you. It is a dicey situation in all respects. Therefore, I think the biggest problem we have in the polity is to change the psyche of our people to appreciate that governance is about giving to the society. It is about service and not about opportunities for personal enrichment.

    Today, politics is synonymous to manipulation or lie telling and the people who are able to manipulate correctly are the people who are hailed as being successful politicians. What society applauds is the ability of a politician to manipulate or outwit people, despite the fact that he or she knows that he is only manipulating. Again, the other side is that the people who are being manipulated are also naive and are easily carried away; then after they take a decision, like the Roman mob, they start regretting what they have done. This is why I was toying with the idea of a Political Academy. It is to create an opportunity for people to be more enlightened. Therefore, if there is anything I am going to put a lot of energy into, it is going to be an enlightenment process. Moreover, nothing is too much for one to do in enlightening the people.

    You talked about wanting to retire and people not allowing you do so. Do you really have intention to retire or are you bidding more time to return to the political scene in a bigger way?

    I have been told that politicians do not retire. That is what I have been told, but my own way of looking at it is slightly different, and I have said it on so many instances that as a people, leadership, governance and positioning appears to be usually an act of God. You can do a lot of manipulation and all of that, if God does not want you there, that is it.

    Part of the achievement of your government was that you were able to create jobs; but you were faced with the problem of unpaid salaries, and we still have that problem in many states. What can be done to enable state governments generate their revenues internally, so as to meet financial obligations, especially to workers?

    In all of my eight years as governor, there was no instance of unpaid salaries for civil servants, just for the records. When I took over the reins of government, we had accumulation of pensions and gratuities, and of course, we paid what we inherited. By the time we were leaving, we also had some pensions and gratuity that we were not able to offset. However, as far as salaries were concerned, we paid salaries as at when due until the last day. I think the only instance where some salaries were not paid were the tertiary institutions, and I’ve explained that under the administration we ran, tertiary institutions were autonomous. We paid them an agreed amount every month, like a subsidy, and the onus lied on the institution, based on their priorities, to decide what they wanted to do with the subsidy plus the IGR they generate.  We paid the subsidies, in the core civil service however, we didn’t have any arrears of salaries. Now, we had the economic meltdown in 2008, and that was actually why we had the pensions problem, otherwise we would not even have left any unpaid gratuity, but because of economic meltdown, we had those challenges. I think it is just a question of priorities.

    How can we have a well-structured IGR that can help state governments have good financial standing?

    Unfortunately, the understanding of IGR by many of our governments is to continue to make life difficult for the citizens. They say they are doing proper taxation. It is common knowledge today that the salary the average worker gets is not even enough for him to do anything, and when you now begin to overtax people because you’re looking to generate revenue, then it is counterproductive.

    The PDP has had more than its fair share of crises, and many believe it won’t survive all the problems rocking it. Why have you stayed on? Is the party indeed dead? Is there a flicker of hope for its survival?

    Well, all power belongs to God, that’s for sure, and there is nothing that is impossible in the hands of God. Nevertheless, PDP has challenges, and part of the challenge is because of our value system; because like I said at the beginning, a number of people that are into politics don’t really know why they are there, and when they do know it, they are doing it for the wrong reasons. When we have people who have turned politics into a business venture, they have a big challenge, and it’s only God that can help the situation. I haven’t moved because moving shouldn’t be for moving sake; sometimes it’s better to siddon look. There is nothing that is happening in PDP that we didn’t predict or warn about. All the people who didn’t listen to us have got their fingers burnt and it’s still going to continue like that. Therefore, my own attitude today is that things are still evolving, let’s keep our fingers crossed and watch.

    It seems to me we have a rather weak political party system, which encourages a lot of cross carpeting. How can we ensure strong party allegiance and a definitive lift for political parties?

    For as long as people see government as everything and there are no principles in government, we are going to have people migrating to the ruling party, because it is where the action is. What I see, whether the ruling party is doing well or not, you’re going to see a lot of gravitation towards it, because for a lot of people, it’s all about their survival. I have a case of someone who came to me in 2011; she was a senator. That year there was a change of government, the person came to me and said, “Your Excellency, I’ve had a good relationship with you, but another party has taken over government, I have to go there, because my people will not be able to survive if they are not in government. So, please understand, it’s not as if I have any issues with you, it’s just that I have to go to the ruling party.” She was very honest enough to tell me that. However, between you and me, that is the driving force for most people; it is the quest for survival. Moreover, as long as it remains that there’s nothing you can do in this country without the involvement of government (there is government hand in 80-90% of what we do) you have people migrating to the ruling party.

    I usually tell people that if you go to our colonial master’s country, Great Britain, you don’t need to know who the Prime Minister of Great Britain is to run your business. You don’t need to have any business with Queen of England to run your business.

    Ethnic militias’ unending rivalry, herdsmen attack, Boko Haram scourge, these are some of the many challenges that currently besiege the nation. What do you think the government can do to tackle these problems headlong?

    In my opinion, most of the problems are economic. Yes, there are ethnic and religious considerations, but most of the problems, I believe, are economic. The reason I said this is very simple. I read recently the story of a suicide bomber, who was given N200 to detonate a bomb and kill herself. It’s like a tale from the moonlight, but it’s true. This therefore signifies that the problem is more economic than religious or ethnic. Yes, there are, consequent upon the level of illiteracy, religious and ethnic considerations, but 90% of the problem is economic. Look at what is going on, if the economy can be arranged in such a way that people are guaranteed employment and they can see fairness in the society, the incidence of those things we are talking about will become minimal.

    The real problem is economic and bad governance, and one way the various governments bamboozle the followers is to make you look at it as if religion and ethnicity is the problem.

    You have said that many people go into politics to take care of themselves. Isn’t it possible for us to have people coming into government with the genuine desire to serve?

    Some people have done that, but unfortunately, the record in the Nigerian political space is not particularly good. Because some of the people who have genuinely tried to change the society have always been crucified and persecuted. We can start from Chief Awolowo whose praise we all are singing today. When he was alive, he was persecuted and jailed for doing good. That is the tragedy of our country and clearly the tragedy of homo sapiens.

    Can we possibly have a system that makes politicians and public office holders accountable?

    I think that some countries have achieved this largely because of the way they have fought and are still fighting corruption. That is what we should be heading for. Nigeria is now making efforts, but unfortunately, like most things that are Nigerian, the general feeling out there is that the fight against corruption is lopsided. When you actually look at it statistically and otherwise, you see that there is a little bit of lopsidedness and sometimes to the extent of witch-hunting. This is really the problem.

    Usually, a government in power undertakes many projects, which more often than not, is unable to complete before the expiration of its tenure. Now, his successor, most times does not continue with his legacies, especially if they are from different political parties. This results in huge wastes. What do you think can be done to correct this ill?

    I can only talk about myself, because when I took over power in 2003, I took over from another political party. However, part of what I did was to ensure that I completed all the projects that I met on ground, and settled all the liabilities I inherited. I have done my own bit and I’m proud of that. I think it also has to do with the kind of politics we play and the perception of people about politics. It’s also part of what I spoke about manipulating people. Unfortunately, people can be sometimes naive; we are not able to read between the lines that someone is just trying to play games and manipulating the psyche of the people. But basically, the responsibility is on government to see that when they take over, they look at what is on ground and the ones that they think are done in the interest of the people should be completed.

    Against our sprawling resources, what in your opinion does Nigeria have to show for its 18 years of participatory democracy?

    The only thing we can say is that we have been able to manage to keep the fragile pieces together, if that is an achievement. Beyond that, I think we could have done a lot more than we’ve done. It is a sad story that neighbouring countries like Ghana have been able to resolve their power challenges and we are yet able to do that. It is unfortunate that most of the roads again are yet unconstructed. What’s the reason for this? We have always said that until we allow Nigerians to do what they have to do in terms of their development, we’re wasting time. Until we keep our money in Nigeria and let Nigerians do what they have to do, we are wasting time.

  • Police panel to investigate Ife’s ethnic clash

    The probe panel setup by the Inspector General of Police, Abubakar Idris, to investigate the communal clash which occurred in Ile-Ife between some ethnic groups, arrived  Osun on Saturday

    Osun Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, confirmed the arrival of the Hammed Bello – led panel  in the state to newsmen in Osogbo.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Idris had appointed Bello, Commissioner in charge of Military Police at the Force Headquarters, to head the panel.

    The panel is to look into the immediate and remote causes of the clash and submitted its findings to the police authorities for appropriate action to prevent future occurrence of the incident.

    The team is expected to visit leaders of the ethnic groups involved in the conflict as well as pay courtesy visit on the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi in his palace, and other stakeholders in the city.

    Odoro told newsmen that apart from investigating the cause of the conflict, the panel would also work out how to ensure cordial relationship between the groups in conflict.

    She said detectives were still on the trail of some suspected culprits, adding that 10 persons had been arrested and were assisting the Police in their investigation.

    According to her, relative peace has returned to the city, with anti-riot policemen and other security operatives fully on ground to ensure that there is no breach of the peace. (NAN)

  • Addressing ethnic, religious and sectional manipulation

    One of the very important values accepted by most people and nations in the world today is the equality of all men. The idea presupposes that everyone is born equal and should be treated as such regardless of racial, ethnic, religious and cultural differences. The Nigerian Constitution, the Charters of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Organisation (UNO) support this value. In fact, equality of persons is one of the very essential principles of democracy. Any government that respects democracy must highlight equality of all men in its Constitution.

    But despite constitutional provision for equality in our country, we are confronted with dangerous tendency of mutual distrust and manipulation of what divide us by powerful political and religious cum ethnic mongers. In truth, socio-economic cum political inequality is a reality in Nigeria. But in spite of various efforts to eradicate the problem as evidenced in the creation and proliferation of States, ethnic “arithmetic”, ethnic balancing, federal character, NYSC scheme, Federal Unity Colleges, various formulas for revenue allocation, the policy of WAZOBIA, relocation of federal capital, official and unofficial exhortations for national unity and interethnic tolerance and inter-faith groups, the problem still haunts us.

    It is important to understand that governments, leaders, or groups who manipulate the people have a reason for doing so. The reason is simple. Manipulators have something to hide. They want to cover the fact that they exist by exploiting and oppressing the people. So they pretend to be friends of some people. They pretend to be protecting the interests of groups to which they belong by race, ethnicity or religion while, in actual fact, they are only taking care of their selfish interests. By this manipulation, such governments and leaders want to break the unity of the entire people. They want to weaken the consciousness and opposition of the entire people to their bad government and bad leadership.

    Since independence, various selfish leaders have manipulated our people by placing emphasis on our artificial differences. For example, some have based their political campaigns on ethnicity, regionalism and religion. Today, religion has become a strong weapon used by selfish leaders to manipulate and divide the people. Their misuse of religion has led to riots and loss of lives and property. But while in office, their performances, ways of life and style of living belied their religious claims as they are more corrupt and perverted than Satan.

    This devilish manipulation of our people through ethnic, religious and sectional differences has caused a lot of harm to our nation. It breaks the unity of the people and turns their attention away from the urgent and real matters of public interest. Consequently, terrible leaders easily get away with their various acts of impunity. Furthermore, internal disunity caused by manipulation prevents the people from playing a more prominent role in the development of the country.

    It is time we recognized that the old saying, “unity is strength” remains valid. It is only in unity that we can win the war for economic development, social progress and political emancipation. It is when we are united that the war against insurgency and what actually prompted it can be successfully fought and won. Trading of blames by various leaders, to further deepen our division, is counter-productive.

    The Nigerian people must know that the poverty, ignorance and disease which oppress the working masses today, do not recognize ethnic, language, religious or regional differences. Hunger does not discern your ethnicity. So, whether you are Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Longuda, Birom, Ogoja, Tiv, Gbagyi, Efik, Kanuri, Chip, Annang, Izon, Nupe, etc means nothing to poverty. Likewise, disease does not care about your religious affiliation. Neither does ignorance. Poverty, disease and ignorance attack primarily the masses. Therefore, the masses need to shun all artificial and counter- productive divisive tendencies. They would lead us to nowhere.

    The people should protect national unity and rise up against leaders who want to perpetually manipulate them for selfish gains. This is the time for our people to use religion and ethnic frontiers to promote national development and stability. The people should be educated about the importance of forming and joining popular associations, such as occupational and trade unions and clubs which cut across ethnic, language, religious and regional boundaries, so as to strengthen national identity and unity. We should not allow any exploiter, foreign or indigenous, to break this unity of experience and purpose.

    This is the time for individuals and organisations with influence and means to educate the masses on the imperative for national unity, harmony and cohesion. Of what use is a poor Fulani herdsman killing a poor Hausa/Yoruba/Igbo/Tiv farmer? Irrespective of how herculean it is, it is better today for leaders to agree on all areas that need restructuring in our polity before we approach another electioneering year. We have been fooled for too long. Now is the time to ‘shine’ our eyes and refused to be fooled again.

    As previously stated, irrespective of religion, ethnic and other such parochial divides, what every Nigerian wants is good governance that provides the basic needs of life. We don’t need all these unnecessary agitations over elemental differences that serve only the interests of our oppressors. For us to move forward as a nation, the masses need to realize that the political elite’s chief preoccupation is the advancement of parochial interests. It is only when such interests are being threatened that they resort to using the masses as canon fodders in their mischievous ploy to corner the commonwealth. The earlier the masses realize and reject this scheme, the better for our nation.

    • Musbau is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.

  • Edo ethnic nationalities drum up support for Obaseki

    The Coalition of Ethnic Nationalities (COAEN)in Edo State, which is made up the Igbo, the Yoruba, the Hausa, the Ibira, the Urhobo, the Itsekiri, the Efik and other tribes, has backed the candidature of Mr. Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he is more prepared for the challenges of governance.

    Its Executive Director, Mr. Clement Shola, said the choice of Obaseki and his running mate, Hon. Philip Shaibu, was the best for the state at the moment, given the precarious state of the  economy.

    He said the group would mobilise and move from one location to another to educate the people on the need to vote for Obaseki, because he is the best man that can tackle the current economic challenges facing the state.

    Shola said: “We recognise that Mr. Godwin Obaseki is the best candidate amongst all the contestants. We have seen and we know that Mr. Godwin Obaseki is aptly prepared for the job, especially as a high-ranking member of Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s administration.

    “We trust also that as a man who has shown good and sound advisory qualities becoming the next man in charge will definitely lead to further developments in the right track for the state.”

    “We assure you that we will be moving from one location to another, particularly places where we have a comparative advantage to sensitise our people to unite en masse for the Obaseki/Shaibu ticket, which we believe is the best we can get in the current circumstance.”

    In his remark, Obaseki thanked the group for their support and promised to empower them, by not discriminating against any tribe and group living in the state.

    He said: “There is no road constructed that I don’t know about, because I raised the money to pay the contractor. There is no school built that I don’t know of; there is no borehole that has been sunk that I don’t know about and I know in the plan we have. We will do more of what we have started.

    “I have never stolen from government and I want to assure you that all the money that Edo will make will be used to work for the people. There are still a lot of roads to be done and by the grace of God, we will continue doing the roads. There are many schools that we are yet to build, we will build them and train teachers to all the schools.

    “What we will do that has not been done is to emphasise on human development. We will bring investors to the state, so that jobs will be created. I have over 30 years experience in investment and that is how I made my money and many investors are waiting to come to the state. Once we start work by November, I will give 70 per cent of my time to the economy.

    “But you must make sure it happens; I don’t want to preach to the converted, so you have to go out to the markets and in your individual meetings convince people that Obaseki is a businessman, he has worked hard and he is capable of governing Edo state. Tell the people that we made a mistake before and that we will not make it again.”