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Tag: governance

  • Ayade has raised the bar of good governance, says Idem

    Chief Victor Idem is the Managing Director, Felodem Group of Companies and Director-General, Team-Ben Political Organisation, one of the groups that worked for Prof. Ben Ayade’s emergence as governor of Cross River State. He spoke with NICHOLAS KALU in Calabar on the administration.

    There have been mixed reactions from the public on Governor Ben Ayade’s performance since he assumed office as governor.  Many feel he has not done so well. How will you rate the governor so far? 

    There may be areas they feel the governor has not looked into, but nobody can actually say he hasn’t performed since he assumed office. I can say emphatically at any level using Ayade’s 100 days in office as benchmark that no governor in Cross River State has done what he has done. In his first 100 days in office, he was able to take off his signature projects. If you go to Bakassi, the Calabar Seaport is currently ongoing, the design is complete, the site has been cleared and work is ongoing. If you go to the superhighway, more than 20km has been cleared, I am into construction, drawing a design of over 200km within three months means that the people were not sleeping, it takes a lot to design a road of that length, more than 200km superhighway, it takes more than three months, but he was able complete it within three months, that means he put the designers into terrible task, this achievement is not just limited to the design alone, he has moved into the site, clearing more than 20km, that is sincerely laudable. The garment factory is ongoing; salaries that have been a problem in the state for several months have been cleared and are currently paid before the end of each month. Another aspect is the crisis in the judiciary. Within 100 days in office, Ayade sorted out what has been hanging for over eight months; added with the load of challenges he is having running the state. What is happening is the grace of God upon the life of the governor. It is God that has given him the empowerment and wisdom. What the people have seen in his 100 days in office is just a tip of what is to come. We should leave politics and ethnicity and join hands with him to make Cross River State to attain a level of multi-national economy. Ayade has raised the benchmark of good governance in Cross River.

    Team-Ben was a strong voice during the campaigns of Senator Ben Ayade. Now that the campaigns are over, what role are you playing?

    For now, Team Ben is engaged in enlightening the populace about the people-friendly policies of the governor, his projects and his visions for the state. There are several negative forces that want to see the governor fail and who are sending negative signals to the populace. We are correcting that by the enlightenment of the public.

    Some weeks ago, we had the state general meeting where our coordinators in all the local government areas were directed to start interacting with political groups, unions and members of the public; encouraging them to be patient. They were also enlightened on the governor’s achievements and policies.

    We have printed the visions of the governor, his projects and the successes he has achieved. These have been distributed to our members, so that they can be better informed to enable them to inform the public.

    We have also established another group that is liaising with churches to pray for the governor, because I notice that some of the problems people have against this administration, are not physical and you know spiritual things have to be attacked spiritually.

    Team Ben is on the streets and in every neighbourhood across the state enlightening the public. We just moved from the verbal street enlightenment to the media. We know it’s very expensive but we are doing our best. We don’t want to keep quiet or fold our hands or go to the governor to solicit for funds. If we do that, we won’t be able to advise the governor properly when he goes wrong. We will go to the governor only when it’s advisory and necessary.

    What is your projection about Where do you see Cross River State in the next four years under Senator Ayade? 

    In the next four years, Cross River State will be an outstanding one among other states of the federation. In the next four years, you will be hearing about Cross River State on international media. The state would have been positioned as a commercial centre. It’s not just hearing the governor talk about development; let his critics pray to God to open their eyes to see where the state will be in the next four years.

    This is the first time Cross River State is having an intelligent, humble young man as governor. It is the first time the state is privileged to have a business man who is an employer of over 500 people still working under him. It is the first time Cross River State is having a man so liberal, who has an antecedent of helping the poor even before he became a Senator.

    I urge residents of the state to drop all political and ethnic differences and support the governor. I know there will be a lot of distractions but I will say to the governor “stay focused”.  The crown of leadership on him was divine and I know he will succeed.

     

  • The youth and governance

    Few days after the late General Sani Abacha seized power from the controversial contraption called the “Interim National Government” led by Chief Ernest Shonekan, a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reporter asked the late Chief MKO Abiola a tough question. I will try and paraphrase the question. “Chief Abiola, are you expecting General Abacha, after planning a coup, to call you and say Chief Abiola here is your presidency?”

    The point the reporter was trying to let Chief Abiola – who we all know won the June 12, 1993 election squarely – know was that the late general risked his life by plotting a coup to install himself in power and not to revisit the annulled election or an intention to revise the decision taken by the then Provisional Ruling Council under which he was a very senior and active member.

    In 1983, after the coup that toppled the Alhaji Shehu Shagari regime, two majors of the Nigerian Army were made Military Governors of Kaduna and Borno States respectively. The Major General Muhammadu Buhari regime appointed Majors Abubakar Umar and Abdulmumini Aminu as governors even though there were hundreds of senior officers that could have been appointed. What made the difference for these two young officers? They put their necks on the chopping block by joining the putschist and they were rewarded for the risks they took.

    At the fifth edition of “The Bola Tinubu Colloquium” held as part of activities marking the 61st birthday of the former Lagos State Governor now leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, now Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi Lamido, charged the youths present to form political movements and take their destiny in their hands.  He said they can make a huge difference by their share size.

    Tinubu, being the political strategist that he is immediately countered Sanusi. He appealed to the youths to join forces with then emerging APC which will have a firm political structure in place. “I disagree with my brother and friend Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who says youth may form their party. Politics is not economic policy where you can change a bank note. If only to merge, some people are already forging names, and trying to prevent the creation of APC (before the party was registered). You can imagine what you will go through.”

    Both Tinubu and Sanusi made credible points. After listening to youth leaders presenting eloquent positions on how Nigeria can make progress, Sanusi was convinced that the answer lies in the youths forming their own political movement which can translate to a full-fledged party later. On the other hand, Tinubu who has been in the “field” for years knows it is not as easy as it sounds.

    This was during the epic battle for the registration of the APC. Recollect that a party, the African People’s Congress with party flag and office was formed – out of the blues – to checkmate the APC. What happened to that “party” and its founders?

    The point I’m trying to make with these stories is that you must participate in a movement to benefit from victory when it comes. I say this against the backdrop of the hues and cry that has thus far followed President Buhari’s ministerial list. I remember throwing this up with some students to gauge their positons on the nominees arising from the criticisms that trailed the non-inclusion of youths in the list. Surprisingly, majority of them felt the list was in order.

    I must state categorically here that I am a firm believer of youth participation in governance, but it will be naïve for anyone to believe they can just stroll into power; it is far more complex than we think. The bottomline is this: to participate and benefit, you must be part of a struggle. There are two options available here. You either follow the Sanusi option of forming your own party or the Tinubu option of aligning with an existing party and walking your way through.

    Beyond Nigeria, the issue of youth and governance has always been a contentious one. In a March 2015 paper titled “Does a politician’s age matter for policy?” researchers Alberto Alesina, Traviss Cassidy and Ugo Troiano started with this: “In 2012, the average age of European parliamentarians was 53 years. In the US, the average age of current Members of the House of Representatives is 57 years, and the average age of current Senators is 62 years.” With this research based figures Nigerian sceptics should know that they are not alone; even those we copied democracy from are passing through the same problem.

    They added: “Motivated by the concern that aging electorates would increasingly select older politicians, the Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations advocates a right to vote from birth, exercised by parents as surrogates until the child reaches a certain age. Such a proposal reflects the conventional wisdom that a politician’s age influences policy choices. But does a policymaker’s age really matter? This is an empirical question which until recently had not been explored.”

    They concluded with this statement: “it appears that political ambition – rather than ability or patience – drives the different policy choices of older and younger politicians.” Note that theirs was a research based article.

    When it comes to governance, the key thing to note is active participation. Yes, once a while technocrats can be called upon to participate like Obasanjo and Jonathan did. But there is a huge difference between being called upon and being an active participant.

    This notwithstanding, I believe young people have great perspectives and ideas. By allowing them to voice their opinion we could be opening and moving the political world forward. This is not only good, but necessary for society. If our youth don’t engage in politics, even if it is through pressure groups, there would be many issues with our political establishments in trying to keep policy fair and sustainable for future generations.

    Partaking in social organisations is prime opportunity for a young person to get involved. But how many of them are involved in a good and conscience based cause like the “Bring Back Our Girls” movement championed by Oby Ezekwesili, Hadiza Usman and others? Yet it is through a cause of this nature that they can interact with those in power and through that understand the intricate nature of politics. They should also understand that active citizenship is equally a part of politics.

    I will recommend that our youths borrow a leaf from the United Kingdom where youth parliament is open to 11-18 year olds who wish to use their voice in creative ways in order to bring about social change. This is both exciting and informative, as well as being open to everyone. Getting involved in these sorts of schemes is necessary if they wish to engage further with politics and get a deeper understanding of its complexities. What stops a well guided youth organisation from taking this as a cause and approaching the National Assembly to get their buy in and make such possible?

    Despite the emasculation wrought by poor education, limited job opportunities, the average Nigerian youth is brimming with energy and optimism. This energy and optimism is bubbling over into enterprise, the creative sector and can be channeled for good into fighting for political change and good governance.

    It requires young men and women of unimpeachable character and vision to rise above current challenges and show that they can cause change like they did using the social media during the last elections.

    “Politics,” says American political scientist Harold Lasswell “is who gets what, when and how.” His is perhaps the best definition of politics. Let me try and explain how this works. In a hypothetical state of nature where I am all alone, my choice to climb a tree to pick apples is not a political decision. But if you are also present, and the options that exist are to work together to pick the apples, then figure out how to divide them, or to try to pick the apples surreptitiously, or to try to exert sole despotic dominion over the apples and keep the other away–then we have politics.

    This politics is complex when it involves over 180 million people and 250 tribes.

  • Integrated corporate governance as millennium model of leadership

    Integrated corporate governance as millennium model of leadership

    Profiling Corporate Governance

    Corporate Governance is a Leadership/Management course that is less about two decades old. Its modules are informed initially from three sources: Law, Economics and Organizational Theory. It is a neo-modernist instrument used principally by decision-makers.

    Decision-Making in the 21st century is made complex among other things by the ICT revolution in its mode, modem and media of information generation and transaction and delivery. These have the effect of multiplying the drivers of the market economy, and increase its operational variables. Also, decision-making process becomes more cumbersome due to obligations of ethics, profession, faith, government, or other relationships, thereby bringing the human mind under intense pressure and thus increasing the valence of error. How can these be contained, or in fact turned around?

    Lately, research by renowned neuro-scientist, Adele Diamond (UBC, Vancouver) provided decision-makers with 21st century tactics for coping with all the above. This proves that apprehension, comprehension and dissemination of information for interaction, transaction or reprocess have entered a new mode in the new millennium, but how much of these are being mainstreamed for the accompanying mass market? Or articulated by the relevant institution, the academia, to help mankind not only in theory but in real time?

    Beyond the much-touted “core” concepts of Corporate Governance (as dealt with in the 2009 CU-FISL International Conference) and which have now thrown up our latest enquiry into the subject, the latter comprises two areas: the “grey areas” (Ethics) and now the “millennial/exponential dimension” that introduced innovation. For the future promises of research these are found in NEUROSCIENCES, MINDFULNESS, MONTESSORI, et al.

     

    Contemporary Study

    It is noteworthy however that concerned institutions of the world have lately turned their attention to seriously consider Corporate Governance, often by tentative other names. The HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW (HBR) in its February, 2012 edition, vide a template of posers had sought a make-over for capitalism, titled The Capitalism Challenge. The intro of that subject is further sub-titled (as QUERY, RESPONSE and URGENCY) below:

    HBR/McKinsey (M-Prize for Innovation: THE CAPITALISM CHALLENGE

    QUERY: “Capitalism might be the greatest engine of prosperity and progress ever devised, but in recent years, individuals and communities have grown increasingly disgruntled with the implicit contract that governs the rights and responsibilities of business. The global economy and the Internet have heightened our sense of interconnectedness and sharpened our awareness that when a business focuses only on enriching investors, it implies that managers view the interests of customers, employees, communities and the fate of the planet as little more than cost trade-offs in a quarter-by-quarter game.

    RESPONSE: “It’s time to radically revise the deeply-etched beliefs about what business is for, whose interests it serves, and how it creates value. We need a new form of capitalism for the 21st century, one dedicated to the promotion of greater well-being rather than the single-minded pursuit of growth and profits; one that doesn’t sacrifice the future for the near term; one with an appropriate regard for every stakeholder; and one that holds leaders accountable for all of the consequences of their actions.In other words, we need a capitalism that is profoundly principled, fundamentally patient, and socially accountable.

    URGENCY: “This isn’t a new challenge, but it’s more urgent than ever, not just as an effort to escape reform and regulation from the outside, but to restore the public trust, to repair the moral fabric of the system, and to unleash the innovation required to tackle the world’s most pressing and important challenges.”

    (-The HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW, February, 2012)

    Deconstructing the above simply breaks up into: INTEGRATION; CORPORATE GOVERNANCE; MILLENNIUM; APPROACH and LEADERSHIP.

    Expatiating, “Integration” means reassembly into one functional or organic whole; “Corporate Governance” is simply the acceptable morality of the marketplace to which every participant in a society is subscribed; “Millennium” is that out-large phenomenon of Time that arrived on every citizen of the globe since year 2000 heralding many factors of Change to which we have all been struggling to accede or subdue for control or at least manage for our own good; “Approach” is simply methodology or system of arranging our strategies and response to all these challenges with responsibility; while “Leadership” is acting that responsibility to the joy of all, that is man and God.

    In every human society, above is what a responsible daily activity tries to achieve variously through the sectors of Education, Business, Governance, Hospitality, Faith, Sports, et al. How can they be brought altogether in one comprehensible whole…. avoiding the confusions enumerated by HBS above?

    That “lacuna” is the template of our enquiry, a foil. The solution will fill it.

    “MANAGERIALISM” HERALDING CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

    On the verge of the great depression (cross-over from late 19th century) Berle and Means gave account of economic development in the US in the early 20th century, which tended to breed a powerful class of professional managers in whose hands were concentrated unprecedented economic power that were insulated from pressure of both stockholders and the larger public. In their postulation the warnings of Berle and Means even inferred that certain tenets of the democratic foundation were under threat of eventual eclipse by this new phenomenon, and this invariably triggered a trail of intellectual inquiry.

    MOTIVE

    By “distrust” or loss of trust, Harvard in the excerpt above is querying, what is truly in the heart of (a) man? Motive is crucial to business and ethics. Therefore compliance to business conduct no matter what is specified cannot be enforced on a rule and regardless of the myriad of legislations available. A Z. Mizruchi (University of Michigan, 1976) rightly discovered in his critique of the originating suspicions of Berle and Means about the notion of “Power and Control” (Managerialism) that there are various strands of consciousness emanating from the same phenomenon that makes it virtually impossible for any school of thought, his own among the others, the sociologists school, to categorically pitch their tent with the hypothesis of Berle and Means. Without a much better idea however they had to tamely agree in the end that this new system (Managerialism, precursor to Corporate Governance) was kind of a further extension of democracy.

     

    Research, Analysis and Results

    The second half of the 20th century however was rife with novel Management ideas especially of the humanist school, a trend that gave vent to such amusing behavioral descriptions as “peoples’ capitalism”, “soulful corporation”, etc. One common factor among them was the issue of Motive which was controversialised. What would be my motivation for taking a job for instance before I find myself(re)acting in a particular way? Many studies were conducted which queried severally the basis of motivation. At the end motivational impulse was variously thought to no longer be an outright economic factor. Values could mutate, and satisfaction become derivative. Upon this result however there are two different things to test for: (i) the research question which is Motivation and (ii) the Methodology of measure. The latter is perhaps more pertinent to the SCIENCE of Corporate Governance while Motivation deals with the curriculum that makes it up. Both will add up for Delivery.

    Methodologically speaking what these series of tests and result meant was that the linear-onlymentality of deductions till that point was failing and could lead the train of discourse astray. Reliability was gone. In fact beginning from this premise the imagination of the thinkers dilated wild, some adducing that entrepreneurial motivation were no longer strictly profit-driven. This was beginning to hit at many ultra-classical economic views, but the question then was could they sustain this tempo?  Sociologists, in one of their splinter schools chose to arm themselves rather with extant theories of class and social stratification, relying on Max Webber or Karl Marx. For instance  Blau and Duncan’s view  on  Class: “defined in terms of economic resources and interest… is no longer adequate for differentiating…(those) sic in control of the large capitalistic enterprises from those subject to their control, because the controlling managers of the largest firms today (mid-20th century) are themselves employees of corporations”.

    In other words a mentality emanates from this “employee” status and there is a pattern in which its implications can multiply in the operational structure in such a way that they manifest unaligned variables. After all the on-board structure which some professional managers have to present even in the face of the 2009 economic disaster is all that the world  actually expects, not the conundrums of uninvestigated moral (or more correctly, amoral) biases that led to their decision making.

     

    Verdict

    Thus came the qualitative round-off to the multitude of tests and data applied to measure and then to draw inferences from those study and comparisons done on the relations of power within corporations and their implications on democratic development, in the second half of the 20th century; conclusion today being that the airspace have become far expanded and the options made available are multiplied so greatly as to completely overwhelm the streamline of ordinal mentalities in its mode and measures. The demise here of ‘one- subject approach’ to research problems was already hinting at the beginning of many factors that would later crystallize as corporate governance.

    The inference here is that Corporate Governance as a discipline does not only bring together relationship among human reactants in the workplace, it also atomizes the failure of the institutions that were designed to regulate or control them. Corporate Governance also measures progress not only against expectations (or deliverables) but often against certain hidden keys that may bubble up time and again to surprise the enterprise. In this wise it means that even in the academia the velvet garbs that were once draped around the one-subject approach to problem-shooting are newly found inadequate to deal with the infinite variety of choices inherent in our time and need.

    Sociologists had thought to claim their space as the discipline that was found closest to behaviourism, perhaps, but being unable to prove it (by figures and numbers) had them hitting at the blank wall inadvertently. Corporate Governance as a discipline does now make offer of a new framework for the operationalization of measured reality, as may be found for instance in the mission statement or vision statement of an organization. How each one arrives at this statement though is yet a different issue.

    However the discipline of Corporate Governance is not a benevolent hydra-headed monster, only that it has its own ethical compliance framework against which the success of an organization can be measured, just as the honourable enterprise of academics does too. They are both systems, except that in the CG system output is more than the sum of the input integers, and the system may perform without necessarily subjecting self to the internal equilibrium of that entity (recall the introduction of SPVs); there are always “grey” areas to consider. And right now the latest risqué factor has been this “exponential” dimension of the new millennium. So, whether it is Ownership or Control or whatever any other issues that may be broached all are just but mere patterns of behavior among the interacting units, all sunk in an environment which is bound to throw up certain variables in the end that they themselves cannot completely appropriate.

     

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    greenhavenfoundation@gmail.com

     

  • Expert seeks inclusive governance

    The Executive Chairman of Colenson Investments Limited, Chief Michael Olawale-Cole has charged the federal government to ensure inclusive governance.

    Cole made this call at the 31st Annual General Assembly and Awards of Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria held in Lagos.

    According to him, the need for robust and inclusive governance in Nigeria is imperative for the economy to thrive and flourish.

    The code of corporate good governance, he said, should be internalised properly institutionalised as they can show guidance.

    “In many advanced economic the codes are guides with which organisations are expected to comply or explain.”

    He noted that there may be the need to review the code of corporate governance practice of 2003 with a view to giving it greater legal backing in order to engender enforcement.

    The event brought together professionals from the 28 professional bodies, including the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria, Nigeria Society of Engineers, Nigeria Institute of Public Relation, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientist of Nigeria, among others.

  • Clerics advise Buhari on good governance

    Clerics advise Buhari on good governance

    The third session of the Second Synod of the Diocese of Idoani (Anglican Communion) held at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State has ended. It called on President Muhammadu Buhari to meet the expectations of Nigerians.
    The Diocesan Bishop, Rt Revd Bolarinde Dahunsi made the appeal while addressing the synod delegates, clerics and other dignitaries at the occasion hosted by Chief and Mrs Dapo Oshati.
    According to the cleric, Nigerians are really yearning for positive change in every sphere of life notwithstanding the myriad of challenges before the President.
    Bishop Dahunsi said: “Mr President should be mindful of the pluralistic nature of Nigeria and its secularity as preserved by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He should also appreciate the need to eschew favouritism based on religion or tribe.
    In a communiqué jointly signed by the Bishop and Synod’s Secretary, Venerable S.O. Ojowuro, it commended the peaceful conduct of the 2015 general
    elections and praised the heroic role of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan in conceding defeat to his opponent.
    The Synod enjoined President Buhari to appoint credible and worthy Nigerians into his cabinet and various political offices in order to deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians.
    It urged Nigerians to be patient with President Buhari, while assuring him of continuous support and prayer for positive turnaround of the country under his watch.
    On the anti-corruption crusade going on in the country, the Synod praised the President and sought the co-operation of all Nigerians.
    It also appealed to President Buhari to ensure that the fight against corruption is carried out without prejudice.
    The Synod decried the total neglect of the area in the distribution of necessary infrastructure such as good roads, potable water and steady power supply.
    According to the communique, the entire communities in Idoani Diocese have been put into total darkness since April, wondering whether the area is still part
    of Ondo State.
    The synod delegates commended Chief Jacob Oshati,who is the Majekobaje of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Idoani for being a pioneer host of the Synod in the Diocese.
    Meanwhile, the next council meeting of the Ondo Ecclestiastical Province will be hosted by Idoani Diocese between October 6 and 7.
    The theme of the third session of the second Synod of the Diocese was “Godliness with Contentment.”

     

  • Catholic bishops decry high cost of governance

    Catholic Bishops in Nigeria have decried high cost of governance in the country, saying it is unjustifiable.

    They lamented a situation whereby enormous sums are paid to public office holders while a large percentage of the population lives in dehumanising poverty.

    The Catholic Bishops stated these in a communiqué they issued at the end of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) which took place at the Pastoral Centre, Igwuruta, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.

    They also said that it is highly regrettable that legislators pass bills “in view of future pension benefits for themselves and members of the executive arm of government” without putting other workers into consideration.

    In the communiqué jointly signed by Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama and Most Rev. William Avenya, President and Secretary respectively of CBCN, and released yesterday in Port Harcourt, they also condemned a situation “where so many workers are not paid the recommended basic salary and where massive decay of infrastructure has put much stress on the citizens and their lives in danger,” adding that this represents a gross injustice against the poor.

    While commending the initiative of some States in cutting the cost of governance, they also called on the Federal Government (FG) and other state governments to do the same for the betterment of the country.

    In the 10- point communiqué which Kaigama who is also the Archbishop of Jos and Avenya, the Bishop of Gboko signed on behalf of their colleagues, they noted that the Nigerian economy is in distress at the moment, thus making it difficult for many families to have their basic needs while unemployment, which they said is now beyond control, has made many citizens, especially the younger ones, to migrate locally and to other countries.

    In the course of this migration, they said, the people are exposed to inhuman conditions and other forms of immorality and criminality, thus making many young promising lives to be “wasted on our streets, in the deserts of some African countries and on the shores of Europe.”

    This, they said, is why they appreciate the desire of the government to re-invest in the agricultural sector and to seek other alternatives to oil and gas “which have fared very badly in recent past.”

    Continuing, they stated that “it is a welcome development that the present government has made the fight against corruption and insurgency central to its programme”, affirming that “the war against corruption is not just a battle for virtue and righteousness in our land but a fight for the soul and substance of our nation.”

    They further urged all Nigerians to transcend ethnic, religious, regional affiliations and sentiments and join hands in fighting against this malaise “in order that we may recover our wasted opportunities.

    While congratulating Nigerians on the peaceful 2015 general election, they also praised the Nigerian government and all security agencies on the achievements recorded so far in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency, noting that this has made it possible for the refugees and internally displaced persons to be returning to their homes gradually.

    On same sex-union, they expressed deep concern on the rising wave of this and used the opportunity to reiterate their “unreserved condemnation of all acts of homosexuality as sinful and opposed to the natural law of creation.”

    They therefore called on government to continue to resist the attempt by some external governments and agencies to impose an acceptance of same sex-sex unions and maintained that “persons with these orientations should be assisted pastorally, spiritually and psychologically, with respect for their dignity as human persons created in the image and likeness of God.”

  • Social media and good governance

    What has social media got to do with good governance and sustainable democratic culture in the country?

    This was the question I spoke on at a seminar organised by some former student union leaders in University of Lagos last Thursday.

    At a time the social media is increasingly coming under attacks due to abuse of the use of the platforms, its role can easily be dismissed.

    However, if carefully examined, social media has undoubtedly become a major tool for sourcing and sharing information. The excesses by some users notwithstanding, Facebook, Twitter and others have, indeed, been and will continue to be useful in ensuring good governance and sustainable democratic cultures globally.

    In the last sixteen years since the return to civil rule, the need for good governance and sustainable democratic culture has continued to be an issue of concern to ensure that the people get the dividends of democracy.

    There has been the cry for good governance in view of the inability of governments at various levels to meet the expectations of the people and wanton abuses of the rule of law.

    I need to state that good governance should be enacted at the level of student unions, campus associations and university administration. While some of us are very good at making demands on political office holders to live up to expectations, we are not able to show that we can do same in the groups we lead.

    I am always ashamed when I see some Aluta branded vehicles driving against traffic or when I read reports of corruption in union activities.

    Hitherto, the traditional media had been saddled with the responsibility of holding the government accountable to the people. The print and broadcast media as gatekeepers of information had been playing this crucial role.

    However, the coming of the new media has made it possible for not only the traditional media to be the main source of information exchange.

    With social media, which according to wikipedia are computer-mediated tools, everybody, including those in government and the citizens are now able to create, share or exchange information, ideas, and pictures/videos in virtual communities and networks.

    Unlike before when the government had a major control on information dissemination through ownership of some media organisations and was subjected to monitoring by only few traditional media, it is now virtually answerable to every citizen that has one social media account or another.

    Through major social media accounts, government activities are now subjected to more intense scrutiny with instant feedbacks from the people.

    It is not unusual these days for the traditional media to be forced to report issues it had earlier ignored when the social media continue to focus on them.

    For youths who make more use of the social media, they need to realise that the platforms are no longer useful for only social interaction, but for engaging governments and officials in the quest for good governance.

    Social media is power in their hands which they must not fail to use, but must do responsibly. The platforms make it possible to hold the government accountable in many ways and not allow the officials get away with false claims.

    Government agencies and officials who have social media account must realise that social media is a two-way communication and not only a channel for sending out information.

    They must be ready to respond to comments directed at them as promptly as possible through trained staff who should have access to up-to-date information.

  • Ipinmisho: I ‘ll tackle failure of governance

    Ipinmisho: I ‘ll tackle failure of governance

    Former Director-General of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Otunba Olanrewaju Ipinmisho is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State. He explains his mission in politics to Assistant Editor GBADE OGUNWALE.

    What is your plan for Kogi State?

    The greatest problem we have in Kogi is that Kogi has not been fortunate to have a leader that can even diagnose and is willing to address the problems. You have somebody that all he understands about life is competition with people all over the place, materially. Not competition in developing his people. Those are the kind of characters that have been in charge of my state. Characters that have the hospital shut down for close to a year, schools shut down; first term, second term and third term. No examination and they say Your Excellency and you are just smiling. What does Excellency mean in governance when everything that is in governance is failing and they call you Excellency in the retinue of officers and you are excited. Indices of administration are not there and you say you are Excellency. This is my worry. I kept lamenting like this until I got the inspiration that stop this lamentation. What does it take to be a governor that I have not been given? I talked to myself that I don’t have money and he said no, there are people without money that have gotten there.

    Go and do your survey, there is no other state in Nigeria in which poverty is so thoroughly symbolised. There is no state in Nigeria as at today that ranked with Kogi in poverty.

    There are over 20 aspirants in the APC. Is the list not outrageous?

    With what I have told you, if you have less than 20, you won’t take us seriously. If this fire is burning the way I am telling you, if it is true, don’t you think we should even have more? Everybody is feeling what I am telling you, I do not blame them because they find it difficult to trust anybody anymore. Wada came in as a very humble, smiling governor. But we can see what he is doing now. So, this is the reason and it is not their fault. Sometimes we meet and think, what if I concede to this man, based on what he used to be before he got there. He was doing his small business and people thought maybe this is the man. So it is not their fault. I was even expecting more people to come up but at the end of the day, when we continue to meet, we will come to the conclusion, that okay, let’s have a gentleman agreement that this is what I was contesting to do. I have seen it in your own papers, if you are sincere with this, I am ready to concede to you because there is no way we will have more than one governor on January 27. We are 27 people from the same party, the list is not outrageous. I know people from all over the place.

    I have also travelled all over the state, East, West and Central and I have seen that all the 17 years of PDP governance in Kogi has endangered the people of  the East more than the other two parts of Kogi. The poverty is even more apparent in the East and at the end of the day, I discovered that there just a little above one percent from the east, centre and the west that have been sitting atop Kogi and insisting that the people must remain poor. There has been no governor in Kogi that did not have active participants from the other parts. So, when people shout this power shift without considering that it has to shift to an individual that has the capacity, that has the fear of God, that is gentlemanly enough to respect the right of the people. It has to be someone that is focused enough, that understands the norms and problems of the people and that is willing and ready to deliver. Unless we get the right person, will be back to square one.

    The East Senatorial District is always producing the governor. Is your party considering power shift this time around?

    Let me tell you, if you check the statistics at the last election, it was highly revealing. The figures that were being used to declare those results of those days were not there. The reality has dawned on us and that is why some of the politicians will do whatever they can to make sure that this card reader thing does not work in the November election. So, I want the federal government to be at alert. Now that we are having election in Kogi, whatever it takes to have the card reader to work must be done. The people from the east, the Igalas are not desperate. The average person from the Igala part are not desperate for the position. I have them in my committee, they are not desperate because they cannot justify what their leaders have done holding unto power for these number of years. All they get is blame and blame for the woes of Kogi as an Igala man. They know that the various governors have not impacted on their lives. So go and find out and you will discover that it is a myth to think that Igala man wants to retain the governorship. They are asking what they have done with it. Let it go to the west, let it go to the central. Maybe we will be better taken care of. So, the figures are not there upon which they did all that fraud. I have also told you also that an average Igala man has not been a beneficiary of this holding unto power by the East since the advent of democracy in Nigeria.

    What is your chance as an aspirant?

    I will like you to also understand that there were masters of the game in APC when Buhari emerged. It is not politics now, it is the life of our people. You have been a general in the field of politics and people cannot see how it has impacted on their lives. You have only bought houses in Asokoro and Maitama and your children have also started buying houses in Abuja. They are not interested in the years of experience as a politician because if being  a politician means enrich yourself and your family at the expense of the life of an average Kohi man, they are not interested. They want to give this new man a trial because in my own little resources, they have seen what I have done in my home within my own little earnings and they believe if I control the state treasury, I will do more.

  • Transparency, corruption and governance

    Given  the charming disposition, body  language  and warm smiles on our President‘s face as he receives reports from Federal Permanent Secretaries delegations in  Abuja recently, there  is no doubt  that he is  more at ease with civil  servants in governance  than politicians. That  to  me is an obvious  fact and has nothing to do  with the fact that he has not chosen his cabinet yet. Given his background and the fact that he served as a military  head of state before you  can  say  that is to  be  expected.

    For  a man  with a proven reputation for integrity  you  can even  concede that given the financial  mess he found on the ground on being elected he would  rather know the true state  of affairs  from the Permanent  Secretaries who as the Chief Administrative Officers in the Ministries are  also the bona  fide Chief  Executive  Officers in our public  service. The  danger  however  is that this  same set  of  Permanent  Secretaries  served the last government  that looted our treasury  very  diligently  and  cannot  like  Pontius  Pilate  was  their hands clean  of the looting  and rape of our  economy which the last  administration did  so  maliciously  and  majestically. Even  with  great impunity  as if tomorrow  will never come and detection  of such abysmal  crimes will never arise.

    My  contention  here is that transparency  is an inherent part  of the fight against corruption  and the present bunch  of Permanent  Secretaries  are just  incapable  of  it. Their  reports  should ipso  facto  be taken with  a pinch of salt by the president as they  cannot claim ignorance  of the various breaches of due processes that resulted  in the abysmal looting of our treasury. This has so much astounded  and  astonished  the president that he had  to cry out on the magnitude of the embezzlement  for all Nigerians to know and to assure them that he will not do much else until the culprits  have  been apprehended  and brought  to book. A    decision  which  has the approbation of all  Nigerians except the  looters,  their cronies, stooges and  beneficiaries  of their  atrocities.

    Ironically   and  unbelievably,  a  public  servant  like these permanent  secretaries blazed  a trail on transparency in public service  in  Nigeria this last week  and that person is a Nigerian. That person is  Amina  Zakari  the Acting Chairman  of  INEC, a lady  after my heart,  with  no romance intended,  but who by her revelations on the last 2015 elections  was a lesson  in vintage transparency   of   the type our president should look  out for  and reward  in his  lofty   and famous  tussle with corruption  in  our polity.  Zakari,  under attack  by the opposition PDP  not  to be confirmed as INEC boss  for  being purportedly  a relation of the president  went about her duty with great   aplomb  and candor.  She    announced that as at  now even after  the last 2015   elections, 10 m  voters  cards  have  not been collected by  registered  voters.  Which confirms  that INEC  disenfranchised 10 m  Nigerians  for  no just  cause   even  after  the postponement   and the Jega  affirmed  state  of readiness. This  fact  was  never revealed  by her former  boss  and  her  known    penchant for   truth  and frankness   must  have dissuaded her former  boss from recommending her as his    successor, as  he   chose someone else  before the  president  announced Zakari’s  name and Jega’s  choice  had  to go into limbo.

    Now  Zakari  has defined her  relationship with the president and debunked the in law issue. She  even  announced that some  44, 000 voters cards were  not delivered  at  all.  That  to  me is transparency  in the face of all odds and  regardless  of whose ox  is gored  including herself as INEC  boss. It  is such  a person that  all Nigerians should wish  to conduct  elections knowing that she  will say  the truth on the state of readiness  to conduct a free and fair elections and  receive wide  credibility in saying so.  That  really  is the catalyst   for  a real  democracy  as elections  are the engine  room of  any  viable and vibrant  democracy.

    Transparency  was on display  too at our legislature  this last week  but  it was  of a very disturbing type. The news  was that  our  Senators  and Representatives have shared N12.9bn in two months whereas  they  have not passed any bill  since they  opened  shop on June 9  and shocked  the nation  and the majority  party in the nation and legislature with a bizarre leadership election which the Police has now confirmed was   enacted  with  bent house rules. According to media reports the  109  Senators  got  N 36.4 m  each  and  the 360  members  of the House  of  Representatives  got N25m  each. While  one can commend  the legislators  for being transparent  in making their allowances  and emoluments  public one  cannot  but recoil in disgust  and annoyance  at  the huge amount  the legislators  are  paying  themselves. It  is even  more odious to recall  that they have rejected  a plea  by a Committee they set up in house  to review these same emoluments down wards. This  is a legislature that over the years have acquired  the dubious reputation of holding the executive by the jugular  over its  constitutional  duty of approving the budget. The  Nigerian legislature is noted  for asking the executive to jack up its budget to accommodate the  allowances of legislators and add it to the budget before approving. Whereas the duty of a worthwhile and really honorable  house is to cut national and budget costs  to  have a productive  and salutary  deficit. I  am  sure that when the budget is presented the legislators  will still  repeat the same chicanery  in spite  of what they have done just two  months  into their  tenure.

    It  is  necessary  to let  the legislators  know  that they are the elected representatives  of  the  Nigerian  nation and  people  to whom  they  are  accountable  every time and day  and not just at election time. Nigerians  are  hurting and are pained  by  the huge  and unrealistic amounts  our legislators are paying  themselves as if they live on the moon  and are not fellow Nigerians like those unfortunate enough to have elected them but whose   trust  they have now  betrayed by the amounts  they are paying themselves  for elective offices.

    They  should  know that they  do  not live in a vacuum and that their  present disposition is bound  to have serious repercussion given the present socio economic living conditions  of those  who elected them which are  quite harrowing as most live on subsistence  level. Meaning most  Nigerians live from  hand  to  mouth  and cannot comprehend why those they have just elected  can be earning over N20m  in  just   two  months after being elected to make laws which they  have  not found time to make. Certainly  the legislators  need to know that with such  emoluments in the midst  of so much  suffering they are virtually  getting away with  murder. For  how long they can do that is a matter  of conjecture and I  will  illustrate   from a childhood cartoon, with what  a Red  Indian Chief  told an American Officer in charge of the Indian Reservation Camp where the Officer  was  stealing the meat meant for the Indians and  giving them rotten meat instead. The Indian Chief  told the officer named Lang. ‘Believe  me Lang, my patience  grows thin. This rotten  carrion I  will  not  give to a dog. If  my people should  rise against  you in their  anger, it  were better that you and your kind had  never  been born. ‘A word  I think  is enough  for the  wise on this high legislators allowances and emoluments.   Again, long  live the Federal  Republic  of Nigeria.

  • ‘Reduce cost of governance’

    ‘Reduce cost of governance’

    A university lecturer, Dr. Chris Ekong, has urged Federal, state and local governments to reduce the cost of governance.

    The don regretted the high cost of running governments in Nigeria.

    He said it was the major causes of the country’s underdevelopment.

    Dr. Ekong, a lecturer in the Economics Department of the University of Uyo, spoke yesterday at Eket, Akwa Ibom State, at the Annual Feast of Barracuda 2015 Lecture, with the theme: Reducing cost of governance as s panacea for strengthening the Nigerian economy.