The Nation Newspaper

Tag: future

  • Freed inmates ponder future

    Freed inmates ponder future

    What next for 40 prison inmates after their release?

    They were jailed in Suleja, Niger State prisons but have been freed  after a non-governmental organisation paid their fines ranging from N10,000 to N50,000.

    Their joy knew no bounds when the 38 men and two women were let go courtesy of the Peace Corps of Nigeria, (PCN), led by its National Commandant Dickson Akoh.

    They were happy to be free after varying lengths of time, but they have also been wondering what life holds for them.

    Most of them told Abuja Review that they do not know where to start from.

    A few of them spoke on how they got arrested, how long they were in prison and what they expect from outside the prison walls.

    Abu Muhammed, 36, was arrested at Kubwa two months ago, according to him, by police at about 8pm.

    He said, “When they arrested me they collected my bag, my set and my money, N26,000. They said I was arrested with India hemp, but that is not true. My fine was N10,000. I do not have anybody to pay because they are far away in Adamawa State. I am happy that Peace Corps of Nigeria came to my rescue and paid the fine. I am grateful. I am going home to Adamawa now. My family will be happy to see me. I wonder how I will face my family because for two years now I have been in prison. “

    One of the two females, Aisha Ismail said, “I was arrested in a hotel dancing in a night club before Abaji. I am from Jos. I am 22 years old. I am happy that I am leaving the prison. As I am leaving the prison I will not go back to my old ways again. I give thanks to God. But I do not know how to start my life again. This development is double-fold for me. I am happy and at the same time sad. May God help me.”

    Another freed convict who spoke with Abuja Review, Yakubu Adamu, 32, said he was arrested by the police at Sabo Wuse for wondering, adding that he had been in prison since February this year. Adamu said he was being held back because of N30, 000 fine.

    On his part, Akoh expressed sadness over the level of congestion in prisons across the country, calling on the government to act fast before the situation gets out of hand.

    He said in the spirit of the season, PCN felt that 40 of the inmates should regain freedom while others still in custody should feel happy and celebrate Sallah.

    He called on the National Assembly to enact a law that will: “allow suspended imprisonment in Nigeria because situation where petty criminals are jailed and held behind bars, while people who stole billions walk away from the court with little bail conditions is unacceptable to the society.

    “This will further help the decongestion of prisons across the country. Government should please look into this because it would be against the law of natural justice for someone who steals just a goat end up in prison for six or seven months and people that are stealing billion walking away freely.

    “These [freed inmates] are youths between the ages of 18 and 30, we felt like coming to show them sympathy.”

  • There is a future to embrace

    There is a future to embrace

    Some narratives of the past are soothing and reassuring. We used to take pride in our communitarian ethos which abhors crass materialism and greedy individualism. Nationally, we’ve been through some good times which we unfortunately failed take advantage of. But we cannot now afford to cry over the milk that was spilled.

    On the other hand, however, there was plenty in our past that we are better off forgetting because, even in our neck of the wood, they are painful reminders of our individual and collective human depravity. Within and across nationalities and ethnicities, we were accessories to repugnant crimes against humanity, including slavery and genocide.

    Both of the foregoing observations go to show that the past is better left where it belongs. Of course, this is without prejudice to the wisdom of learning from the past to avoid repeating its mistake. What it means is that we can learn a lot from a time slice without obsessing with its positives or agonising over its negatives.

    The present is beckoning us for an embrace of the opportunities it offers for a makeover. Where the past divided, the present urges unity. As opposed to the moral and material impoverishment of the past, the present offers opportunities for genuine all-round enrichment of values.

    But the past demons have placed themselves strategically on the path of the present possibilities, blocking our views, and presenting us instead with illusive optics. With these demons, the present is simply an extension of the past, with its counter-productive understandings of our various conditions.

    These past demons mis-educate us about the reality of our condition. They pit us against the better angels of our nature. They present us with false hopes about the way out of the morass of our national existence. They recommend approaches that are inimical to our interests. Unknowingly, we succumb to their entreaties. Unfortunately, as a result, it has become clear that our present is no different from the past, the grievous mistake of which we are reliving and repeating. It is no surprise because we have allowed the demons of the past to attack our present.

    Nations have histories which have better be left as such. Ours is no different. Now is the time to embrace a future that is without the baggage of the past. How is this to be done?

    The present administration came to power with a great deal of optimism and a lot of goodwill. For even the most loyal supporters of the previous administration knew that something was terribly wrong that needed to be fixed. They might have thought that the necessary fixing could be done by that same administration. Now we know that a lot was wrong and that if the last administration was not the sole source of the wrong, it was an integral part of the rot that it created. It wouldn’t have been able to fix anything by itself.

    Corruption is no doubt at the centre of the nation’s challenge. And it is one area that the present administration has focused, rightly, like a laser beam. It also happens to be one of its campaign promises. It therefore needs all the support and encouragement it can get to do it right and lay a solid foundation for a future to embrace.

    But important as the fight against corruption is, corruption itself is a symptom of a more dangerous disease that needs to be cured. While a sizeable number of Nigerians applaud the administration’s anti-corruption fight, many yet have faulted it for one reason or the other. One of the reasons is the perceived one-sidedness of the fight, which they argue have been against the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    While this is an understandable partisan grudge, it is not a valid point to argue, especially because the PDP administration has occupied all the branches of the central administration since 1999, while states just depend on the crumbs from the federal table. Secondly, at the same time that we shout on the roof top for true federalism, we must not give the impression that we need the federal might to probe state governments unless the largess from the federal purse are traceable to them as is the case with the allegation levelled against the Ekiti State governor.

    The partisan division in the matter of the appraisal of the anti-corruption fight is just one aspect of the challenge in that struggle, but it is far from being the only one. The other is more fundamental to our predicament and one of the demons of the past that has not faded away in the present.

    A few weeks ago, there was a news item regarding the position of the Southsouth and Southeast on the militancy in the Niger Delta. According to that news, the political leaders had approached the administration to drop all the anti-corruption investigations against members of the past federal administration, especially those from that zone in exchange for the cessation of hostilities in the Niger Delta.

    The particular information may be false for all we know. But if it is true, it is a demonstration of a past demon that is not unique to the Southsouth. It permeates our reasoning across the zones and states of the nation. In general, we route for those we perceive to be our kith and kin even when they misbehave. And we refuse to see the logs in our ethnic or zonal eyes even when we focus on the speck in the vision of others. It is a confirmation of our core challenge: uniting for a good common cause even if it requires our shunning old parochial alliances.

    To meet this challenge, there has to be a recognition that we are a nation of individuals with a common purpose that cuts across our ethnic or linguistic divides. Basic to our common purpose is a prosperous and secure future that our great grandchildren can look forward to. How do we secure that future for them in an atmosphere of mistrust that has characterised our past and threatens the present? True, the root of that mistrust feeds deep into the crust of a forced marriage. But it is a difficult proposition to prove that each of the partners to that marriage has not benefited in some way. Not a case of the end justifying the means; but rather, a realistic invitation to come to terms with a reality that is inescapable.

    That reality beckons us to seek a promising way out of the unprofitable constant recourse to our various corners where we make no effort to rise above the primordial instincts which write the other off as irredeemably evil. In a world that is clearly shrinking by the hour, we are dealing ourselves very dangerous cards.

    In all these, however, leadership matters. Whether in politics, religion, education, business, or culture, leaders have a huge responsibility to rise above pettiness. A populist ideology that only seeks to manipulate the ignorant innocence of the masses is potentially more harmful than the threat posed by a gun-trotting maniac. The former, being in a position of trust, is more likely to negatively impact the lives of many more people.

    More pungently, our present environment of serious inter- and intra-group mistrust requires leadership intervention to allay fears and rekindle the hope of future leaders and followers in project Nigeria. This demands more than words of exhortation. It requires action that revamps hope for fairness across the board.

    Importantly, it calls for paying attention to and grappling with the structural defects that have presented debilitating obstacles to national development and individual and group prosperity. Too many lives are being wasted.

    Majority of Nigerians would answer the call to duty on behalf of their country if only they know that their labour of love will not be in vain as it appears to be the case with those who had paid the supreme sacrifice without much changes in the affairs of a nation for which they gave their lives. There is a future to embrace if only leaders will just pick up the mantle and lead in its direction.

  • Niger Delta: Challenges, prospects and future

    Niger Delta: Challenges, prospects and future

    The Federal Government in 2008 created the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to coordinate its efforts aimed at promoting infrastructural development, environment protection and youth empowerment in the region.

    The oil-rich region historically comprises Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers and they largely occupy the mangrove creeks around the River Niger tributaries towards the Atlantic Ocean coast line.

    But in 2000, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Imo and Ondo State became part of the region that has been the centre of international controversy over pollution and underdevelopment.

    In the light of this, from the onset of the establishment of the ministry, the Federal Government has insisted that the ministry is responsible for direct response to the myriad of challenges in the region.

    Concerned citizens, therefore, suggest that the ministry should urgently work towards the delivery of a virile development plan as prescribed by the Niger Delta Master Plan.

    They note that although the master plan has been applauded since its scripting in 2006, previous administrations have not met the expectations of the people in the region.

    They observe that amorphous militant groups, including the Niger Delta Avengers, have sprung up, destroying oil facilities because of the feelings among the people that their expectations have not been met.

    They also note that dreadful cult groups are rampart among the youth, posing a great threat to the peace and development of the region.

    They maintain that although Amnesty Programme and disarmament process on the militants, particularly among the members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta are commendable, they failed to address challenges of lack of empowerment and socio-economic underdevelopment of the region.

    This development, perhaps, informs the recent decision of the Federal Government to inaugurate the clean-up of Ogoniland as a lead up to tangible development of the region.

    The government expresses concern that the militants are creating worse environmental health disasters by the rate they destroy oil facilities in the region.

    Apart from this, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Usani Usani, has assured the people in the region that the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will create an enduring partnership for the socio-economic and industrial development of the region.

    The minister said the ministry had not and would not abandon any of its ongoing projects in the nine oil producing states of the Niger Delta.

    Receiving the community leaders of the nine oil producing states who paid a courtesy visit on him recently in Abuja, the minister said that the ministry was eager to fast-track the development of the region.

    The minister said: “previous efforts created monsters that were bigger than the communities; the new efforts will cut down these monsters and cause them to submit to their communities.

    “Previous efforts were characterised by corruption and bribery of government officials, the new approach will bring all stakeholders into a transparent commitment to the development of the Niger Delta region.

    “Previous efforts paid more attention to mega projects like roads and huge buildings which were celebrated but not fully implemented, the new approach will pay considerable attention to projects that will truly empower the people by training, skill acquisition and ethical reorientation.’’

    The minister has also said that there were plans of the ministry to send 100 Niger Delta youths to abroad for training in various skills.

    He also said that the ministry had entered into many training agreements with various European and United Kingdom training institutions to train the youths in strategic areas.

    According to him, such partnerships involve Ministry of Niger Delta with S.T Georges and Ministry of Youth and Sports to train Niger Delta youths on a programme tagged “Train and Engage.’’

    He said the trainees would be absorbed and constructively engaged in existing oil and gas industries as soon as they finished their training.

    The minister said the Local Content Office of the Africa House in UK, Africa Business Forum and the Ministry of Niger Delta had also entered into a collaboration to engage Niger Delta youths on a special programme along the NVQ model design.

    He said the NVQ model “is designed to train the youths in oil and gas based on industry need basis.’’

    He also warned that the era of getting paid for what had not been done had gone, insisting that “those who take up jobs as contractors must deliver quality jobs to justify the tax payers money paid for such jobs.

    “Contractors who appear to have abandoned their projects are advised to go back to site to complete them.

    “If they have found themselves incompetent to deliver, government should be made to know on time in order to re-award the contract to a more competent company.’’

    The minister urged the people of the region against complicating the current environmental challenge of the region by engaging in vandalism of oil and gas pipelines which cause oil spillage and pollution.

    “The government will compel oil spilling organisations to do the necessary clean-up because the government is on the side of the people to checking oil spillage.

    “Already the Federal Government has taken the lead in this direction as it has inaugurated the clean-up of Ogoni-land,’’ he said.

    In spite of all these, observers insist that the plans and goals for the development of the region can only be possible or feasible in an atmosphere of peace.

    They note that it is necessary for all parties to maintain peace and work together for the rapid development of the region.

    “We can achieve much more under an atmosphere of peace and tranquility than in an environment of confusion and chaos,’’ they insist.

    • Makanjuola is of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

     

  • ‘Non-implementation of Pension Act, threat to workers’ future’

    The Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) has decried the failure of the Federal Government, states and local governments to implement the New Pension Act 2014 for workers. The union is urging all tiers of government to comply with the provisions of the act so that workers could have something to fall back on after retirement.

    Its General Secretary, Comrade Yusuf Lekke Zambuk, reiterated the union’s position at the 20th Plenary Session of the National Governing Council/AUPCTRE Week in Abuja.

    He regretted that the non-implementation of the New Pension Act 2014 has been posing a serious challenge to an average worker.

    Zambuk said the New Pension Act 2014, Part 11, Section 5, provided for a group Life Insurance Policy for each employee for a minimum of three times the total annual emolument of the employee. The premium is expected to be paid not later than the date of commencement of the cover.

    He, however, said as at date, neither the Federal Government, states nor local government has implemented this policy in favour of employees.

    He said: “It is surprising, however, that political office holders enjoy retirement benefits inclusive of medical, car, furniture among others, after serving their four-year tenure, but nothing is being said about serving public officials by the Federal Government, states and local governments.”

    However, the NGC-in-session has called onorganised labour, which is a Pan Nigerian Organisation and a defender of democratic values, to unite and rise up to effectively engage the political class to ensure that the dividends of democracy are not lost,” he said.

    In a related event, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige,  has said  the Federal Government will comply fully with section 173 (3) of the Constitution  that makes review of pension compulsory every five years or at any increment of salaries.

    Ngige gave this assurance when the leaders of the Association of Contributory Pensioners of Nigeria (ACPN) visited him in Abuja on Monday.

    He said: “The constitution is clear in section 173(3) on how pension should be administered. It is to be reviewed every five years or upon an increment in salary.

    A review was done in 2011 on minimum wage, and once the minimum wage is touched, it should automatically affect the pension”Serving the nation, nobody should discriminate against you. I don’t understand why in the same country some pensioners are receiving full benefits while others are not.

    This is unconstitutional.”The minister regretted the ordeal of the contributory pensioners and promised to urgently institute an appropriate liaison with Pension Commission (PENCOM) to rectify observed operational anomalies relating to the group so as to ensure that their benefits were fully paid.

    He added that pension matters by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 102 should be under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, assuring that the pensioners would not be abandoned by the federal government.

    He further said the existing Pension Act made it difficult to register two separate unions under pension as requested by the contributory pensioners.

    Earlier in his address, the Chairman of the association, Mr. Uche Ekpo, lamented the non-representation of the Contributory Pensioners by an organised union, insisting that what the Trade Union Registrar cited as reason for denying it registration covered only the non-contributory pensioners. He, therefore, sought the assistance of the minister for the registration of the body as a trade union so as to better articulate and push the interests of the members of the union.

  • To those who stole our future…

    No week passes by in Nigeria without the anti-graft agencies issuing statements on the mindboggling larceny perpetrated by the men of power or the lucky lackeys hobbling around them. Oftentimes, it is quite difficult to soak it all in that such daylight thievery actually happened under the nose of a government that made serious noise about giving corruption a sucker punch. Yes, the national treasury do have its own history of unenviable leaky patches here and there, you still cannot but wonder if those were big enough to allow the scandalous freighting of billions of dollars into private pockets without any encumbrance whatsoever. At a time when you had concluded that, even in death, General Sani Abacha had an unassailable record as Nigeria’s most callous looter, you got jolted to the reality that Abacha must have operated an archaic system when compared to the supersonic, light speed with which his modern-day counterparts steal blindly. And this is in spite of the fact that the nation is still grappling to recoup a large chunk of the slush funds stashed in foreign banks by the dark-goggled soldier!

    Earlier in the week, the Swiss government announced plans to return yet another $300m of the Abacha ill-gotten wealth even as the President Muhammadu Buhari government struggles to trace how previously returned loot were re-looted by light-fingered senior government officials. When the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission routinely reels out billions of figures that allegedly went into private pockets in the name of servicing electioneering campaigns, you are tempted to conclude that those officers must relish a game called pumping up the figures. How on this fantastically corrupt plane can that happen? You mean that, in this climate of cashless economy, people still withdraw billions of naira in cash, stack them in the boots of their cars and drive to guesthouses to share? Could it be true that highly placed military officers (the best breed of gentlemen) actually withdrew such humongous figures; convert them into rolls of dollars to buy mansions for themselves, family members and even paramours? That all manners of characters go with empty Ghana-must-go bags into the office of the National Security Adviser only to come out with heavily pregnant, dollar-laden bags which are dispensed on such spurious sub-heads as procuring prayers for smooth elections, funding prayer warriors to the Holy Land and rendering consultancy  advice! That, right under our noses, a penniless man becomes a billionaire in less than 24 hours and we give him a pat on the back with a chieftaincy title to boot!

    Without mentioning names, those who have persisted in stealing this country’s future know themselves. That is if they have not sold their conscience to the gods they worship—the one that has no compassion for humanity. On the other hand, is there any justification for the voracious appetite most of these persons deploy when they descend on the national treasury? They confound the world with the greed in their thieving eyeballs! They not only steal more than they need throughout their sorry lives, they packed monies presumably for generations yet unborn. They bury raw in latrines and sewages. If what happened in the past was wanton looting, what is happening now is, for the want of better words, unmitigated robbery. Lawmakers change cars at the rate their wives change diapers for their spoilt children. Some of them foolishly display their state of the art cars and aircraft on the social media believing that’s the new cool. These are persons who never owned or managed any cottage industry to profitability or had any tangible means of income before politics thrusts them into our consciousness. Privileged members of the executives including governors buy cars they may never ride more than few months before them into parts of the furniture in their gardens; they build houses they would never live in and tie down luxury items that may never adorn their bodies. They spend billions of naira on medical tourism mostly to check the beatings of their pulse or attend to sore throat in the most expensive facilities abroad. At the height of the lunacy, some even do their laundries in the world’s best capitals. Members of the judiciary equally joined the sickening wagon, as they become superrich, selling justice to the highest bidder. They just did not know how to put an end to the sickening madness.

    Today, the government says Nigeria is broke and we wonder why. If only we have taken an inventory of the figures being rolled out daily by the anti-graft agencies, we would have easily located where and when the shoes started to pinch. Where were we when government, in subsidising the rich, doled out trillions of naira to portfolio businesspersons in the garb of a nebulous oil cabal? How did the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation fail to remit a whopping $12.9bn into the Federation Account as at 2013 in spite of regulatory checks? Under whose authority did a minister in that sector derive the power to, unilaterally transfer millions of dollars to individual accounts as part of the war chest for the 2015 elections? Did we think the national treasury is a limitless pouch of foreign currencies when government closed its eyes to a crazy regime of import waivers that has sunk N447bn liability on that abused wallet according to findings by an ad-hoc Senate Committee on Import Duty, Waivers, Concessions and Grants? If it was normal for public officers to waste billions of tax payers’ funds on flying chattered jets and lodging in top notch hotels across the globe, why should it surprise us that the purse is getting drier and drier by the day. When we produce nothing but prefer grandiose lifestyles lived only by celebrities in other climes, why should we worry that our economy is dovetailing into recession, as oil prices remain low?

    While the privileged few relish this contest to outdo one another in this grave game of malfeasance, millions others are out in the cold hoping that the crumbs would fall on their laps. The irony is that those crumbs never get to them. Funds appropriated to build schools, hospitals, houses, roads, infrastructural facilities and services simply disappear into private pockets. People just siphon the money and launder to the many equally corrupt tax havens spread across the world. It does not matter if a little token from the slush funds is all that is needed to save lives or educate millions of children forced out of school by poverty. It does not matter if millions of unemployed graduates are already romancing the depression button out of anger and absolute alienation from an opportunity to trudge a path to economic freedom. It matters less if the primary beneficiaries of this stolen wealth use such to strengthen their economies and then turn around to label us as fantastically corrupt. We have become a laughing stock among the comity of nations—a blessed country with abundant natural resources watching helplessly as its hapless citizens feed from the dumpsite.

    Do not get it wrong. It is not as if kleptomania is genetically Nigerian. It is just that we seem to have laid it bare of any humanity. Some of our leaders are too fixated to stealing that they hardly remember their responsibilities to the people they pretend to govern. All they do is to steal, steal and steal until they become money drunk. It is, therefore, not strange that President Buhari was shocked that otherwise responsible men would just convene a meeting where the sole agenda was to share $1.2bn funds originally meant for the procurement of arms to fight insurgency. Even CNN’s Christiane Amanpour was surprised by the way Buhari kept repeating that what was being shared was billions of dollars! The sad reality is that the Dasukigate, as the arms deal swindle has come to be known, is a tip of the iceberg in the rot that has held us down as a nation.  And so, one year into the Buhari government, we are yet to get to the roots of how much these robbers of our tomorrow have creamed off us. In fact, no one cries blue murder again when news stories circulate about the next looter in billions. It has become a recurrent theme in the Nigerian narrative—a nation that wasted its past, toys with its present and steals, with reckless abandon, its future. Interestingly, those who are expected to be indignantly riled by this whole charade are either sleeping with hands crossed or waiting for an opportune time to rip their share of the national cake. Shame.

    Yet, something tells me that there is a glimpse of hope from all this. If this government can walk its talk by ensuring that these robbers of our commonwealth get the full wrath of the law regardless of their status, it is not impossible that the process of reclamation may take a firm root. Henceforth, let these privileged looters sit their butts down here and treat their emergency big man’s diseases right in Nigerian hospitals. We need to put an end to the maddening rush to visit Europe or America on medical grounds by these crooks. Like I said before, let these shameless marauders of our collective till understand that the tide has changed. A new Sheriff is in town. They may blame it all on a vengeance-seeking Buhari to satiate their craving for a psychological balance in times like this. That does not in any way preclude the fact that these pretentious statesmen (a misnomer if you ask me) and fluke democrats have cheaply sold their honour and integrity in the twilight of their lives. No amount of brash idiocy and crass resort to spewing hollow verbiage can restore the high esteem in which these persons were once held by the society. The earlier they start living with the reality of self-chosen and unenviable fall from grace to grass, the easier it would be for them to grapple with the certainty of an enduring public odium. Pity.

  • What future for PDP?

    What future for PDP?

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is distressed. Its leadership was on the brink at the weekend. Its two factions were locked in a protracted battle for supremacy. The bond of unity for 16 years was federal power. Without it, the main opposition party has paled into a carcass, unable to adjust to its role as the watchdog of the government.
    For the first time in its beleaguered history, the hitherto acclaimed largest party in Africa could not conduct a successful national convention. The election of new party officers was put on hold. Instead, a disputed caretaker committee was foisted on the feuding political family by a faction. Delegates at the national congress were confused. The journey to Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, was in vain. The next challenge is crisis-resolution. But, how will the PDP go about it?
    The reality dawned on the two groups struggling for the soul of the party that they had a common obstacle. To salvage the torn umbrella, the ebullient acting chairman, Senator Modu Sheriff, must go. Ordinarily, the former Borno State governor is a tough guy. He will have none of that. Therefore, he momentarily resisted the demeaning option. The embattled politician plunged into intense lobbying and maneuvering, putting up reasons why he was still the suitable candidate for the chairmanship. But, his strength failed him at that critical time in Port-Harcourt, following a split in his camp.
    The crisis finally drew the curtains on his brief, but controversial tenure when his major backers-the 11 PDP governors-resolved to set up a caretaker committee. The committee is headed by former Governor Ahmed Makarfi. For the governors, the decision was a face-saving measure. There was no rallying point in the PDP to bring the warring party lords to a roundtable. Some of the founding fathers are taking the back seat. But, it was evident that the two groups cannot survive, if they went their separate ways. The lesson of the defunct ‘new PDP’ was instructive. The best option was to sacrifice Sheriff, the man at the centre of the imbroglio.
    For the two-time senator and governor, it was a big blow. Yet, the fall from grace could have been averted, if Sheriff had voluntarily withdrawn to save his energy for a future battle. He had stormed the convention with confidence. The handwriting was bold on the wall, but he chose to ignore it. By daring the old timers in the PDP, he ran into a tragedy. The power broker from the Northeast was suddenly deserted. His major backer, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, made a u-turn, saying Sheriff has become a destabilising factor.
    Observers contend that the turn of events has implications for his career. Sheriff may go down in the history of party politics in Nigeria as the most unwanted chieftain for party chairmanship. Not only was he rejected by the All Progressives Congress (APC) during its inaugural convention in Abuja almost two years ago, he was also rejected by the PDP at the weekend.
    The matter may not end there. The setting up of an interim leadership has put an end to Sheriff’s tenure. But, the embattled politician has disagreed, saying that he is still in charge. The only option open to him is litigation so that the court can determine the legality of his position.
    But, can Makarfi proceed without making peace with Sheriff, who has his supporters, and Mantu, who is the Coordinator of Gana/Mantu group? The group is still silent on the composition of the caretaker committee. Will they endorse the composition and the three-month duration? Will they agree that the committee should hold a new convention? Will the committee be dissolve to allow a broader committee that can accommodate all interests to spring up?
    Former Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State hinted that the chairmanship will now be zoned to the South. Will the slot go to the Southwest, Southeast or Southsouth?
    The party has more lessons to learn. The aborted convention underscored the limitation to the powers of the PDP Governors’ Forum. It has been projected as the most powerful bloc. But, its powers will now have to be moderated by the influence of other blocs, particularly the league of aggrieved former governors, ministers, National Assembly members and other vocal chieftains.
    Besides, PDP leaders should now embrace the fact that any attempt to murder zoning, which is its main strength, will always backfire.
    The PDP has hurdles to cross. To overcome its challenge of reconciliation, it needs are crisis resolution mechanism, which appears to be absent. The lack of a rallying point is burdensome. But, if its leaders are less inflexible and more condescending, the party may bounce back on the altar of extreme sacrifice and self-abnegation. The snag is that pompous politicians are disposed to avoiding a moral path to quick recovery. If the ruling party regresses to the old trick fueling crisis in the opposition party, just as the PDP had done to the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeriaa Peoples Party (ANPP) and the APC, the crisis rocking the PDP may linger.
    The fate of the PDP has implications for popular rule. With the party in disarray, the role of opposition in democracy may not be effective.
    Since its inception, the PDP has been addicted to leadership crisis. Except the pioneer chairman, the late Chief Solomon Lar and Senator Ahmadu Ali, other chairmen-Chief Barnabas Gemade, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo, Tukur, Muazu and now, Sheriff-left office unceremoniously.
    In 2001, Gemade, placed a curse on the party. When he was shoved aside, he said in anger: “The fate that will befall my successors will be worse than mine.” The curse is still raging.
    Things have fallen apart in the PDP and the centre cannot hold. Unless the party puts its house in order, its faces a perilous future.

  • Wema Bank optimistic on future performance

    Wema Bank optimistic on future performance

    Wema Bank has assured shareholders and other stakeholders that ongoing strategic initiatives would strengthen the resilience of the bank against the macroeconomic and industry headwinds and lead to improved performance in the years ahead.

    At the annual general meeting yesterday in Lagos, managing director, Wema Bank Plc, Mr. Segun Oloketuyi, said the board and management of the bank remain committed to positioning the bank for sustained growth.

    He noted that in spite of the challenging outlook for 2016, the bank has started the year with a renewed focus on its strategic aspiration of becoming a leading retail bank in Nigeria.

    He pointed out that the performance of the bank during the 2015 business year has demonstrated its resilience and commitment to continuously deliver value to the stakeholders even in the face of obvious challenges.

    “The continued implementation of Project LEAP, the bank’s growth strategy, narrowed our focus and channeled our efforts towards specific opportunities with great potential and symbiotic relationships. This strategy, in its final phase, will continue to guide the bank’s allocation of resources in 2016,” Oloketuyi said.

    He commended the shareholders for their supports, which have continued to encourage the management noting that the bank attained many feats in 2015 including the granting of a national banking license to the bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    According to him, the 2015 financial year was a particularly challenging one for the banking sector and economy as a whole due to the impact of reduced government spending, policy changes in foreign exchange administration, a depressed energy sector, declining manufacturing outputs and elements of insecurity, which have continued to take a toll on consumer spending and economic activities.

    He noted that despite these challenges the bank was able to sustain its transformation drive with total deposits for the period growing about 10 per cent over the prior year to N284.9 billion, gross earnings improving to N46.0 billion from N42.19 billion recorded in 2014, and profit before tax remaining stable at N3.05 billion compared to N3.09bn in 2014.

    Wema Bank grew its top-line by a modest 6.1 per cent to N11.3 billion in the first quarter as the commercial bank continued to grow its retail business in spite of the tough operating environment.

    Interim report and accounts of Wema Bank Plc for the three-month period ended March 31, 2016 indicated that gross earnings improved to N11.3 billion in first quarter 2016 as against N10.6 billion recorded in comparable period of 2015. Profit before tax stood at N505.33 million in 2016 as against N615.29 million in 2015. After taxes, net profit stood at N429.53 million as against N522.99 million. Earnings per share closed first quarter 2016 at 4.0 kobo compared with 5.0 kobo in first quarter 2015.

  • Why Nigeria is never sure of its future?

    It is difficult – extremely difficult – for Nigeria to hear well or to hear the truth. And most of that is because the multiplicity of the political elites of Nigeria’s multiplicity of nationalities and cultures have so distorted and polluted Nigeria’s basic truth. They are all so focused on their personal political and material gains that they no longer can hear or perceive anything else about Nigeria. They cannot hear any message clearly, and they make it impossible for Nigerians to hear any important message clearly, or to benefit coherently from it. If Nigeria has been declining for decades, that is the most fundamental reason.

    Two days ago, I was privileged to be invited by an organization of Nigerian youths to a meeting in Lagos. The purpose of the meeting was to bring youth leaders from as many Nigerian nationalities as possible together to discuss how to prevent further inter-ethnic violence in Nigeria – how to promote and sustain inter-ethnic peace. It was immediately clear that the Nigeria that these youths perceive is vastly different from the Nigeria that the political elite perceive. Unlike the political elite, these highly educated youths know that Nigeria is a country of hundreds of ethnic nations, each of which deserves to be respected in the building of Nigeria. They know that the refusal to enshrine such respect into the structure of the Nigerian federation is the cause of many of Nigeria’s ills –inter-ethnic disharmony and conflicts, public corruption, and horrific poverty. They know that the politicians hardly ever pay serious attention to the needs and suffering of their ethnic nationalities. Above all, they want to proceed to establish avenues for contacts and exchange of views among youths throughout the country, in the interest of their various peoples and of Nigeria.

    These youths are right. The basic FACT and PROBLEM of Nigeria’s existence is that Nigeria is not a nation – a nation being a people group with their own homeland, their own culture and language, and their own self-image, and therefore their own unique expectations, ways of doing things, of enforcing their own national moral laws, of rewarding or penalizing their members, etc. A multi-nation country like Nigeria, to survive for any length of time, must be very thoughtful and careful in managing the inter-relationships among its component nations. If the country’s management of those inter-relationships is poor, unduly demanding and aggressive, and generates stress for some of the component nations, then the country cannot possibly be stable or peaceful – and it runs the risk of quickly breaking up.

    That is the basic summary of the history of independent Nigeria since 1960. By aggressively pooling all powers and resources together in the hands of the Nigerian Federal Government, we have created a powerful demon that could destroy Nigeria. In this column and in other writings, I have said these things repeatedly, and as clearly and loudly as I possibly can. Now, I say them again. Without restructuring Nigeria, without basing our states on the realities of our nationalities, and without taking away many of the powers and resource-control now held by the Federal Government and vesting them in the state governments, Nigeria will break up – probably violently, and probably very soon.

    Everything of significance emphasizes the truth that Nigeria is being destroyed by us Nigerians. As an important example, look at what is happening to our economy. The sharp falls in crude oil prices of these days are having a devastating effect on Nigeria because, according to the moulding of our economy by the Federal Government, the income from crude oil is the alpha-and-omega of our economy. Before crude oil started to become important to our country in about 1970, our country was doing quite well on some cash crops (cocoa from the South-west, palm produce from the South-east, and groundnuts from the North). We were also, on the whole, fairly productive peoples in food-crop farming, livestock farming, fishing, etc. From the 1950s, we were also beginning to develop as an entrepreneurial and gradually industrializing country.  But just as crude oil was beginning to emerge as a main contributor to our economy, our cash crops were transferred to federal control. The Federal Government, hugely over-impressed by the growing oil bonanza, focused its attention on the oil alone and, through inattention, allowed the cash crops to perish. Discouraged and lacking the governmental support systems that had been helpful to them under regional control, our farmers turned away from producing the cash crops. Nobody noticed this disaster as it developed – but it was a process of submitting the lives of our people to poverty. By the 1960s we were the largest exporter of groundnuts in the world; but by the 1980s, we had disappeared as a serious exporter of groundnuts. The same disasters befell our cocoa and palm produce exports.

    We became the poor country that we are now – the country in which 70% of us live in “absolute poverty”, where true enterprise has become unpopular, where dishonesty and crookedness threaten enterprise, where all state governments and local governments subsist only on monthly federal dolls from the oil revenues, and where most prominent citizens live on hand-outs or outright robberies from the oil revenues.  It is a country in which the Federal Government has seized control and destroyed education at all levels, and wrecked the universities that we proudly owned in the early 1960s. It is a country from which industries are fleeing, and which investors mostly avoid. At the youth meeting, I learnt a new word. One of the speakers said that we started as an “underdeveloped” country; then we rose to become a “developing” country; and now that we have declined and are declining, we are an “under-developing” country. “Under-developing”! That is a new word. World-wide, we have become notorious as a viciously corrupt country – a country to be avoided by decent humans.

    In the process, we have destroyed all love among our various nationalities, and spread confusion over our youths. Read the letters posted by Nigerians on the world-wide-web daily, and you will be horrified at the perpetual drivel of hate and venom that Nigerians spit against one another’s nationalities. In the past few years, let us not forget, some leading Nigerians have been importing and storing weapons – so as to be prepared to arm their own particular nationals to kill masses of other nationals when the time comes. Where do the Fulani herdsmen, mostly illiterate nomads, get the sophisticated weapons which they seem to now have aplenty? How did they get the training to use these weapons? We are ready for the Rwandan kind of genocidal insanity – only, if it comes, it will be thousands of times larger and more horrific than in Rwanda.  We also seem to be preparing for Sudan’s Janjaweed kind of terrorists. What respectable reason do we still have left for regarding ourselves as countrymen? We are destroying a country that had so much promise at independence.

    Can we possibly revive our country and guide it again onto the paths of stability, progress and prosperity? Can we possibly regenerate love and respect among the various nationalities of our country? In a few more months under President Buhari’s leadership, we are likely to find definitive answers to these questions.

  • Adeboye predicts brighter future for Nigeria

    Adeboye predicts brighter future for Nigeria

    The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) General Overseer Pastor Enoch Adeboye at the weekend predicted a brighter future for Nigeria amidst the country’s challenges.

    He said the glory and honour of the country would manifest if Nigerians embrace righteousness, urging the citizens to return to the way of God.

    Pastor Adeboye spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the inauguration of Redeemed Men’s Fellowship (RMF) of Region Four.

    The general overseer was represented by the RMF’s South West Coordinator, Pastor Dele Balogun, at the event held at Region Four Headquarters, Sabo-Oke Ilorin.

    He said: “We all need to go back to God in Nigeria. This Godly move must start from all men who are the heads of families. When we are sincere with this step, God will in return bless us as a nation.

    “It is the will of God that every man will know Him. We must serve God with all our heart, soul and body. Despite the arduous responsibilities in the modern world, we should know that the place of service to God has not and will never be abolished. We are also to bring other men to God.

    “God has placed this responsibility on us and we must not fail God. We should also know that the measure of our services to God will determine His love towards us, because God will always honour those who honour Him.”

    Quoting from Genesis Chapter 19, Adeboye hailed the relationship between Abraham and God, noting that it was the cordiality of the friendship that made Abraham to be enriched.

    He said Prophet Eli, another character in the Bible, should not be emulated as he lost total control over his family, leading to their extermination on a single day.

    “Eli the prophet lost all the same day because he failed to perform the responsibilities God has placed on him as a man. We must, therefore, lead all our household members to God in Nigeria. We are no doubt living in a dangerous time. Nevertheless, we are to serve only the living God and not strange gods.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • Sheriff: What future for PDP?

    Sheriff: What future for PDP?

    Former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff is the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the challenges that will confront him.

    His ambition has been to lead a national political party. He worked hard for it in the past, but the opportunity eluded him. Ali Modu Sheriff, rich businessman, one-time senator and former governor of Borno State, wanted to make history as the pioneer National Chairman of the All progressives Party (APC) during its maiden national congress in Abuja, almost two years ago. But, powerful forces within the party doubted his capacity to lead it to victory during elections.

    However, the controversial politician fulfilled his dream on Tuesday. Contrary to popular expectation, Sheriff succeeded Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu as the chairman of the traumatised, decimated and crisis-ridden Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is yet to recover from its defeat at the last general elections. He was selected and endorsed as the party leader by the National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC) at their joint meeting in Abuja. The onus is on the gladiator from Northeast to reposition the platform, foster cohesion and resolve the party’s multiple crises.

    Sheriff was born in Ngala, Ngala Local Government Area in 1956. His father, Galadima Modu Sheriff was a businessman. He attended Government Secondary School, Bama, between 1974 and 1979. He studied Insurance, Banking and Finance at the London School of Business. In 1981, he became a director in his father’s construction company, and later rose to become the managing director.  He is the owner of two companies-Meroil Organisation and Union Chase. A consummate politician, he rose to prominence in the Third Republic when he was elected as a senator on the platform of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC).  Her opponent was Kolo Kingibe, wife of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) National Chairman,  Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe. In 1994, he was also a member of the Constitutional Conference where he shared the Committee on States and Local Government.

    In 1998, Sheriff was elected as a senator on the platform of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) in Borno Central District. But, the transition programme was aborted, following the death of the military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha. In April 1999, he was elected as senator on the platform of the ANPP.  But, after the expiration of his tenure as governor, Sheriff appeared to face a career ceiling in politics.

    The position of the PDP national chairman, which has now brought him to the front burner, became vacant last year, following Muazu’s resignation. The former Bauchi State governor left office after coming under attacks, following the defeat of the party during last year’s presidential election. Following his exit, his deputy, Chief Uche Secondus, was asked to hold the forte in an acting capacity.  However, following a suit by former presidential adviser, Ahmed Gulak, the court nullified Secondus’ selection as the acting chairman, saying that it was null and void.

    Sheriff served as senator on the platform of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) between 1999 and 2003. He succeeded the late Mala Kachalla as governor of Borno in 2007. He was re-elected as governor in 2007. After he left office, he served as the Chairman of the ANPP Board of Trustees (BoT). He was a very popular governor. Today, many have insinuated that, if he had prevented restiveness in the state in the past, it may not have snowballed into terrorism. Many have chided his alleged intimate identification with the Boko Haram sect since he was accused of being its sponsor by the Australian hostage negotiator, Steven Davies. However, Borno was not bankrupt when he handed over. In fact, he left billions of money in the coffers of the state for his successor. For this, he has also come under attack. Many felt that, if the money had been used to provide social amenities and welfare programmes for the restless youths, perhaps, the situation would have been different in the troubled Northeast.

    When he was in the APC, Sheriff was labelled a Boko Haram sponsor. But, immediately he crossed over to the PDP, the label was removed. He was on the entourage of former President Goodluck Jonathan to Niger, where they met with President Idriss Deby to seek regional support against insurgents.

    Sheriff had shunned the temptation to defect to the PDP, despite the carrots dangled at him in the past. He was a committed ANPP leader. When the opposition parties resolved to forge a common front, which led to the birth of the APC, Sheriff’s colleagues believed that he was also reluctant. The former governor thought that he would be dwarfed by colourful politicians from other zones, who were likely to occupy central positions in the emerging organisation. When he was persuaded to join the merger, he peeped into the future. His camp encouraged him to show more commitment, stressing that he had a chance of becoming the chairman. But, having elevated personal ambition over the goal of power shift, he retraced his steps after he lost out at the congress. Sherrif defected to the PDP and campaigned for former President Gooduck Jonathan’s second term. Other defectors to the PDP included Chief Tom Ikimi, former governors of Sokoto and Kano states, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa and Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau. While Ikimi left because he was not endorsed as the chairmanship candidate, the grouse of the former governors was that the party sidelined them by making governors party leaders in their respective states.

    But, little did Sheriff guess that his influence was fading. Despite his campaigns in Borno, he could not match the goodwill of Governor Kashim Shettima. Unknown to the former governor, he was no longer the strongman of Borno politics. Kashim, who he assisted to assume the reins as his successor, had started to assert his personality. It was an irony of fate that the party leader, who boasted of assisting the former university teacher to get the ANPP ticket, lost his senatorial election in 2011. The governor’s supporters even heaved a sigh of relief, following Sheriff’s defection from the APC, saying that the siege was over. In their view, the coast was clear for the hardworking governor to wield the party together and concentrate on his developmental projects without partisan distractions.

     

    What future for PDP as opposition platform

    Sheriff is assuming the leadership of the PDP at a dull moment. Eyes were not on him as the Northeast PDP Caucus prepared for the selection. But, the former governor has a deep purse. He is reputed for financial generosity. A party source said the chieftains may have settled for him because of his financial capacity. Thus, what observers have described as his baggage was overlooked. His emergence may have attested to the fact that he is popular among the members of the PDP bloc that insisted on his candidature.

    As the party prepared for the selection, four aspirants were in contention. The aspirants – Wilberforce Juta, Alhaji Abba Gana, Alhaji Giri Lawal and Dr. Saidu Kumo – intensified their lobbying across the six geo-political zones, ahead of the NWC and NEC meeting on Tuesday. Shedding light on the meeting, PDP’s local chapter  Chairman in Osun State, Alhaji Gani Olaoluwa,  said the six zonal chapters have resolved to select Muazu’s successor from the Northeast to complete his term in the spirit of equity, fairness and justice.

    He added: “Other zones are not interested in denying the Northeast of the opportunity to select another competent chieftain to succeed Alhaji Muazu. This time, the party is being careful not to repeat the mistake of the past.

    “Therefore, the selection is the affair of the Northeast caucus. After the caucus agreed on his candidature, his name will be taken to the national body for ratification.”

    The four aspirants were nominated by their state chapters. Juta, a Second Republic governor of Gongola State, was nominated by the Adamawa State chapter. He is a founding member of the PDP. He was a member of the G-34 that formed the nucleus of the party. His candidature reportedly enjoyed the backing of other founding chieftains, including former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, who are pushing for the restoration of the original ideals of a responsive and people-oriented party. A veteran politician, Juta was a deputy governor under former Great Nigerian Peoples Party (GNPP) Governor Mohammadu Goni of Gongola State.

    Abba-Gana, a strong member of the party from Northeast, was nominated by Borno State chapter. He is a former Minister for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The engineer had rejected entreaties to defect from the party before and after the last general elections. He campaigned vigorously for the second term ambition of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Lawal, the PDP National Vice Chairman (Northeast), was nominated by Yobe State. He defected to the party from the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP). Kumo was nominated by Gombe State. However, Taraba and Bauchi states did not nominate any aspirant for the position.

    Many thought that the contest was between Juta and Gana, who are founding members.

    “The sentiment is for the restoration of the values of the original founders of the PDP. Therefore, the perception is that those who were there at the beginning are likely to return the party to its glorious past. That is why the odds may favour either Juta or Abba-Gana,” a party chieftain had said before Sheriff’s emergence.

     

    Fayose, Wike as godfathers

    But, a powerful bloc in the party was said to have rejected the aspirants. Even, when the name of Mallam Nuhu Ridadu came up, stakeholders rejected his candidature. The former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) abstained from the meeting. Up came Sheriff, backed by the powerful forces, of which Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose and his Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike, were arrowheads.

    Initially, some party chieftains from Lagos and Ekiti states wanted the Southwest to contest for the position. But, Olaoluwa said the Southwest did not contest the chairmanship because the zone has its eyes on 2018 when a new congress will hold to elect a new leadership. He added: “Since 1999, the Southwest has played a prominent role in the growth and development of the PDP. No chieftain from the Southwest has served as the National Chairman. I believe that, in the spirit of zoning, it will be our turn in the Southwest after the tenure of the current NEC expires.”

     

    The task ahead

    Sheriff has inherited more liabilities than assets. The PDP’s sphere of influence in the polity is shrinking. But, the Southeast and some parts of the Southsouth are its strongholds. In the Southeast, the PDP has succeeded in checking the incursion of the APC.

    Opinion is divided on Sheriff’s new role. The new chairman is being placed on the scale of integrity and credibility. The public perception of his personality may have implications for the PDP as an opposition platform. Not a few chieftains of the PDP were taken aback by Sheriff’s emergence. To such chieftains, the party made a wrong choice. Former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode said: “If we insist on making wrong choices about our leadership and if we keep taking people for granted, not only will we be finished as a party, but the entire country will suffer the consequences of our errors and inexplicable ways.”

    To succeed, analysts believe that Sheriff should initiate a comprehensive agenda for reconciliation and crisis resolution.

    The chairman is a new comer who has to familiarise himself with the party organs, zonal and state structures. He will have to be inducted into party tradition, ethics and ethos, which are quite different from the familiar terrains in the defunct ANPP and APC, the tendencies within the national party and crises across board.

    Following his emergence, crisis broke out. This has made reconciliation more compelling as he assumes duties. The lack of consensus during the selection of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur made the seat hotter for him. His tenure was full of tension, making him to resign.  Except Col. Ahmadu Ali (Rtd), no PDP chairman has enjoyed stability of tenure. They were either forced out or consumed by crisis. The pioneer chairman, the late Chief Solomon Lar was shoved aside by the party leader, former President Olusegun Obasanjo. His successor, Chief Barnabas Gemade, was replaced by Chief Audu Ogbeh. Both chieftains are now in the APC. In fact, Gemade cursed the party, saying that the fate that befell him will also befall his predecessors. Ogbeh was forced to resign. Also, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor ran into turbulence, which drew the curtains on his tenure. Okwesilieze Nwodo, who took over from him, had to leave unceremoniously. The Secretary, Dr. Haliru Bello, acted as the chairman. Tukur’s tenure was marred by crisis. When he was removed, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, acted as chairman. When the party was ousted from power, the agitation for Muazu’s removal filled the air.

     

    Will Sheriff survive?

    Sheriff is taking his seat at a time party chieftains are standing trials over allegations of corruption. The image of the PDP has been dented by the behaviours of its leaders, particularly those allegedly involved in the Armsgate.  Standing trial are the National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, Bello and former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido.

    Many Nigerians are angry with the PDP over the dismal performance of former President Jonathan. They believe that his ineptitude aggravated the economic problems being tackled by the Buhari administration.

    Some PDP founding members have been campaigning for a return to the party’s old vision. This vision may not be understood by the new chairman, unless he is tutored. It revolves around the sanctity of its constitutions and conventions, especially zoning and consensus building, crisis resolution, commitment to equity, fairness and justice, and service delivery to Nigerians. The PDP has not been an ideological party. Lucid manifestos are alien to it. Party supremacy is at the mercy of its leader. Party discipline is strange and at the state level, governors are lords of the manor.

     

    Can the chair bring back defectors?

    Can Sheriff lead the party to victory in 2019? Can he stem the tide of defections? Can he offer a credible opposition to the APC? Can he broker truce in crisis-ridden zones and chapters? The PDP’s fortune dimmed in the North during the last general elections. Out of 19 states, only two – Gombe and Taraba – are under the PDP. The turn of events is worrisome to a party hitherto acclaimed the largest in Africa. Ogbolafor, ones boasted that the PDP would rule the country for 60 years. But, Nigerians, with their votes on March 28 and April 14, last year, aborted the prediction. In the West, PDP is in the minority. Although it is the party in power in Ondo and Ekiti states, there are signals that the two states may slip off its grip. In Ondo, for instance, there have been defections to the APC, ahead of the governorship poll coming up later in the year.

    In the Southwest, there is no PDP zonal leadership. Since the removal of Segun Oni, former Ekiti State governor, as the zonal leader and National Vice Chairman and his erstwhile Osun State counterpart, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as National Secretary, it has been difficult to get replacements. Amid the chaos, the duo of Oni and Oyilola left for the APC.

    Today, the state chapters are enveloped in crisis. In Lagos, the PDP is polarised. The differences between former Deputy Chairman (South), Chief Olabode George, a retired Commodore and former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has not been resolved. The chapter is factionalised. While majority believes that Capt. Tunji Shelle, who has George’s backing, is the authentic chairman, those loyal to Obanikoro are queuing behind Hammid Olorunoje as the factional chairman.

    In Oyo, there are four factions. They revolve around former Minister of Power and Steel, Elder Wole Oyelese, former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, who left the party during the last general elections, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, former Minister of State for FCT and Senator Teslim Folarin, the former PDP governorship candidate.

    In Ogun, the party is ailing. The leadership crisis was carried over to the last election. There is a war of attrition between the Jubril Martins Kuye (JMK) Group and the Mandate Group led by Senator Buruji Kashamu. Also, there is a deep gulf between former Governor Gbenga Daniel and Kashamu. The morale of party members is down, except in the Ijebu/Remo areas.

    In Ekiti, where the PDP is in control, there is division. Many foremost members have defected to the ruling party. They include former party officers, legislators and commissioners. Even, those who have not defected are not seeing eye-to-eye with the governor. Recently, Fayose pronounced himself as the Leader of Opposition. He is a strong character. Following his allegation of anti-party activity against Muazu, the former chairman ran into credibility crisis. But, can the new chairman manage Fayose?

    In Ondo, the PDP has challenges. There is division, following the inconclusive harmonisation between old and new members. Scores of chieftains are defecting, citing personalisation of power and politics of exclusion by Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

    In Anambra, gladiators are at war. A former senator, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, whose election was voided by the Appeal Court, left the party to take another shot at the National Assembly under the APC platform. She lost out at the party’s primary. Two siblings – Andy and Chris Uba are at loggerheads over who actually won the party’s senatorial ticket.  There is question mark on the membership of senators Andy Uba and Stella Oduah, following the sacking of the state executive that conducted their primaries.