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Tag: hypocrisy

  • Hypocrisy of our expectations and the leadership question

    Hypocrisy of our expectations and the leadership question

    There are people within the leadership value chain that I call the “focal-point leaders”. Examples of focal point leaders include: The President, the Governors, the Chief Judge of the Federation, the Senate President, the Local Government Chairman, etc. These are leaders sitting at the top echelon of leadership, driving governance. But the focal point leaders can only drive effective, efficient, and impactful governance with the support of other leaders across the strata of leadership – vertical and horizontal, and those are the other critical leaders within the “leadership value chain”. If there is a failure within that leadership value chain, whereas the focal point leader may not have the leverage of the value chain to ensure/ enforce that which needs to be done, then that focal point leader will fail, no matter how intelligent, good-intentioned, or powerful he/ she is.

    I totally agree that; every administration must own its performance. People vigorously campaign for elections, promising milk and honey and all manner of things to citizens; especially with special reference to the 4th Republic, only for those politicians to turn around with excuses after winning the election, blaming their inability to perform on the previous administrations (at Federal and State levels). I also agree that going forward as citizens, we should not accept lame excuses from leaders that fail. But while we refuse to accept excuses from leaders who fail, we should also have the circumspection of recognizing that the rot did not start with the administration that is complaining. Indeed, the rot is longstanding. Therefore, we should have the introspection to manage the process of holding the leaders accountable to ensure that incumbent administrations at Federal and State levels, take the necessary steps to turn around the political and socioeconomic situation of the country. Of course, it should be without a doubt that continuously keeping leaders on their toes is what will ensure that politicians effectively deliver their mandates. Indeed, to whom much is given, much is expected.

    Furthermore, the optics of governance are also very crucial in managing the expectations of citizens. Therefore, It is very important that leaders within the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary Arms of government; at Federal and subnational levels must demonstrate quintessential and pragmatic leadership. They must show that they are part of the State or Country that they lead; or part of the problem they are trying to solve. Consequently, they, their families, and allies must also demonstrate in their actions that they are not living in a bubble. They should empathize with the people and show the citizenry that they are living with the people in practical reality and not in virtual reality. Only when leaders are quintessential, practical, and empathetic that there be the synergy of visions and objectives between the leaders and citizens. However, sometimes even when the focal point leader (for example the President or Governor) provides quintessential and pragmatic leadership; the Ministers, Commissioners, or other officials within the leadership value chain behave differently (or even sometime irresponsibly) without consequences; this situation presents different optics that are in parallel to what the focal leadership is saying or doing. This type of situation causes problems, especially when there are no consequences for people who misbehave within the leadership value chain. An example is when leaders, whether at the ministerial level or other levels, live lavishly as if we are not living with over 165 million Nigerians who are multidimensionally poor. Now, that is part of the bigger problem! I saw a video trending the other day wherein a known politician was displaying piled up stacks bundles of money (cash) arranged on a table in the midst of the multi-dimensional poverty that the majority of his constituents are facing, I am sure that thousands of them did not eat that day. This audacity of irresponsibility puts the government in a bad light and makes it difficult for citizens to believe or respect the government and its good and well-meaning leaders and officials.

    Conversely, the citizens have not really helped themselves or the leaders of the leadership process with our actions, inactions of hypocrisies. For example, when a President refuses to do a jamboree to share people’s free money, he becomes a bad man. When a Governor refuses to loot money to share around to he/she people, he becomes a bad man/ woman. So, a society that celebrates criminality with chieftaincy titles, and honorary doctorate degrees is not a society that is ready for change. It is also not a society that is ready to hire the right leaders, because the actions of the people are such a society will continue to promote corruption and criminality. A society where corrupt people are at once at the first line in the church, at the first line in the mosque, or at the high table of events, should not expect any positive change. This is because you cannot eat your cake and have it! A corrupt people will not allow a good leader to do the needful. Hence, how do you expect society to change for the better? How do you expect the recruitment process to be right when you, the people, are the ones celebrating the corrupt ones, whether as their parents, as their family, or as their society? Indeed, a lot of the religious leaders and the traditional leaders are also in cahoots, and they are part of the leadership value chain. But, as citizens, conveniently point our accusing fingers at the political leaders. The political leaders are part of the society, and unless we continue to refuse to partake in the ills they do, then we have lost the moral right to challenge what they do.

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    Therefore, dear Nigerians, we should start looking at things from a broader perspective, building up to the 2027 general elections to recognize that just deciding to choose any person as a leader does not make our problems go away. We should also know that we also have roles to play. First of all, what are our priorities? What are our values as individuals, as families, as communities, and as societies? Then we can take it up a notch higher to start addressing the recruitment process of our leaders, then move on to demand accountability and performance

    The Paradox of Corruption

    The biggest inhibitor of the delivery of good governance over the years in Nigeria is corruption which is as a result of the erosion of our values. This long-standing issue did not start from 1999 but indeed has been embedded in our societies for over 60 years – things have just been getting worse. To be able to address the issue of corruption, we need to dimension the issue of corruption and how deep it has pervaded Nigeria.

    Historical perspectives:

    •In 1947, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, wrote that “Corruption is the greatest defect of the Native Court system.” He complained that not only did judges take bribes, people used their connections to enrich themselves and avoid punishment for their crimes. Does that sound familiar?

     •In 1950, the late Sir Abubukar Tafawa, wrote that, “The twin curses of bribery and corruption pervade every rank and department of Government” … Does that also sound familiar?

     •I also gathered that in the 1950s, the word ‘awoof’ was already being used to describe how civil servants used their positions to enrich themselves.

     Therefore, from the above references, we can note that corruption is a long-standing issue in Nigeria. Even if the leaders at the top are good and capable, they cannot be able to force people within the leadership value chain to deliver, maybe by virtue of the system of governance or essentially due to what I call the “conspiracy of corruption.  Using the Civil Service as an instance; if the Civil Service is not in sync with the focal point leader, that leader is what I call an “entrapped leader”. Unless such a leader takes drastic steps, he/ she will be “restrained” by the conspiracy of the Establishment/ vested interests, which can trickle down to the society at large.

    In my humble view, the root cause of the national development problems in Nigeria is not just the failure of the leaders at the top. Part of the issue of bad leadership in Nigeria is what I term the failure of the “leadership value chain”. For example, if along the layers of the Civil Service, you have corrupt leaders, whether they are Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Directors, etc. who collaborate to circumvent the system, the system will fail, and consequently the leader will fail, because he will ultimately become what I call, “an entrapped leader”.

    First published February 21, 2025 

  • Hypocrisy of elite expectations

    Hypocrisy of elite expectations

    Selective activism

    As we are rounding up the year 2024 and preparing for the year 2025, I wish to share some points on how I think we should view and participate in governance in 2025 and beyond, especially the elites of this country.

     Some key policy decisions taken in 2024 by President Bola Tinubu, triggered regional, and national concerns, debates, and/ or controversies; and in some cases, rightly so. However, some of those decisions, or reform proposals have exposed the hypocrisy of the elites of this Country with regard to where they stand on germane issues that affect the masses or generality of the citizenry of Nigeria. In most cases, the hue and cries are louder or sustained, only if those decisions or reforms affect the elites and their families. They are not really concerned or do not demonstrate the same level of emotions and sensitivities with regard to issues that only impact the masses of this country. 

    By “elites”, I mean the middle-class citizens, who are mostly educated, gainfully employed, and part of the governance and leadership structure of Nigeria in the Civil Service, Public Service, and Private sector. We are mostly employees or employers of labor as professionals, traditional leaders, religious leaders, businessmen/women, entrepreneurs, academics, craftsmen, etc.

    Except for a few, we, the elites have been failing the masses of this Country by not really taking tangible actions that add value to our political processes. We mainly engage in “armchair “criticisms and cynicisms. Some of the questions are what are the contributions and sacrifices we are making to better the political process? What solutions are we offering and how are we part of the solutions? Only when things affect our relatively comfortable lives do we try to gaslight the situation and make it look as if “we are all in it together” with the poor citizens? During elections, about 80% of the people who go to vote are the masses. The majority of elites don’t vote because we don’t want the sun or the rain to beat us or we don’t want to get involved, and yet we expect Nigeria to be better. Those are some of the things that I call the “hypocrisy of our expectations”. 

    When policies or reforms majorly affect the masses, the elites only engage in mostly either rhetoric, political statements, or playing to the gallery, i.e. the elites are not persistent, and assertive on things that largely affect the masses. This behavior of the majority of Nigerian elites (which is similar to elitist behaviors in other societies and countries) has been the bane of our growth and development as a nation since independence – 64 years ago. The worrisome thing is that we are making things worse; from our collusion in wanton corruption to our deliberate or inadvertent contribution to the political, social, and economic retrogression of Nigeria – either by our actions or inactions. 

    A few instances of the hypocrisy of Nigerian elites that happened in 2024 include: The push back by some northern elites against the Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms proposal presented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the National Assembly for legislation; which in my view is the view of a lot of Nigerians is an excellent reform proposal. Interestingly some northern elites in collaboration with some northern governors are leading the “selective activism” by deciding to wear the toga of activism; metaphorically carrying placards of protests against the Tax reform proposal; claiming that it is “anti-poor” and “not good for our people”. Rather than consult, engage, debate, and negotiate the Bill for the betterment of their people in particular and Nigeria in general; some northern elites are attempting to “kill” the Bill with some political leaders saying that the Bill is “dead on arrival”. Some northern elites have gone as far as giving the Bill, religious, regional, and ethnic connotations to stir up sentiments amongst the masses, including saying that the Bill is anti-Islam, \the poor and the vulnerable will be taxed, etc. – claims that are not true. I was rather expecting constructive engagements and criticisms based on facts and substance. 

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    Indeed, we have seen clearly in many other instances how the elites of this country only choose to speak on matters that impact or concern them and their families. Apart from the tax reform, some government decisions that further exposed the hypocrisy of the elites of this country with regard to governance, include the alleged attempt to move the Headquarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from Abuja (Northern Nigeria) to Lagos, and the ongoing claims of “forced retrenchment” of some staff of CBN – with claims that it is an attempt to force some staff that are from some sections of Nigeria out of the CBN. Actually, the CBN has confirmed that the exercise is based on exit package offers for staff that will accept to voluntarily resign – an initiative to downsize an over-bloated CBN. The hue and cry by the elites in the instances stated, whether from northern or southern Nigeria, claiming that the government is not acting in the best interest of the masses, are smoke screens to “protect” their interests, and not the masses. How many of the CBN staff are actually children of the 65 multi-dimensional Nationally poor Nigerians – whether they are from northern or southern Nigeria? How many of them are children of the masses? I even heard that in some cases the elites don’t want their children to be transferred out of the CBN Headquarters in Abuja. I am from the North, and I am an apostle of meritocracy, fairness, and equity. I believe that if we continue to operate with this “feeding bottle” attitude, we are not going anywhere. How many children of the masses are working in those “elitist” federal government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies? Therefore, it is only in the type of the aforementioned cases that you hear, we the Nigerian elites shouting or crying out.

     If we, the elites of the Country, put the level of fervor, gusto, and determination that we put into fighting for our children who are working in CBN, etc. to pursue good governance and demand accountability for the masses, then we would be in a better position as a nation. If we are able to apply the same sentiments, commitment, and gusto with regard to general unemployment and the generation of employment not only at the federal level but also at sub-national – Nigeria would be far ahead in terms of unity, growth, and development. Indeed, we all know that there is a limit to how many civil servants can be employed by the federal government. We have 36 states and the FCT. The majority of the population works at the state level and especially the private sector. How are the elites advocating for or pushing the agenda for government at federal and subnational levels to deliver good governance and create employment, such that people do not even have to pursue civil service jobs? The creation of employment in the public and private sectors through value creation, wealth creation, creating enabling socio-economic environments, etc. How are the elites doing that? And that is why I talk about the hypocrisy of our expectations.

    The elite and conspiracy of corruption

    Most of the elites of this country have been serially failing the people of this country, even worse than the politicians. And why am I saying so? Because, we constitute the powerhouse of governance in Nigeria, whether as Presidents, Governors, Federal ministers, Chairmen of Boards, or Managing Directors. Chief Executive Officers, Board members (in public and private sector), Permanent Secretaries, Commissioners, Directors, etc.; we are all members of the “Elite” strata of Nigeria We have been privileged and so Blessed by Almighty God that most of us that have been privileged to be in those positions (currently or in the past) have either become in cahoots with the vested interest to further plunder resources or cripple the economy of Nigeria; and become the key drivers of the corruption value chain. And yet we conveniently blame Presidents or Governors or “politicians” at our convenience. What a shame!

    Interestingly, for every politician that commits graft, you will find about 10 elites that enable, facilitate, and protect corruption. Sadly, most of those corrupt elites are so crafty, that most of the time, they end up escaping justice. When the elites do not have religious, tribal, ethnic, or regional sentiments when they share money or political positions, or when some of them engage in corrupt practices. They are mostly united in the conspiracy of corruption.

    I look forward to a polity in Nigeria in 2025, where the elites will actually do their jobs. Therefore, I will use this opportunity also to ask the masses to start calling out the elites, in addition to calling out the political class. Because most of the elites have been the master manipulators of our polity. They have been in cahoots with the political class, while it is convenient for them to pretend to be with the masses when it suits them, which is very unfortunate, to say the least.

     The elite of Nigeria should not be “happy passive consumers of good governance”. We have to be active and deliver our own part of our responsibility in Nigeria.

  • ‘Using EFCC against me is hypocrisy’

    Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose yesterday faulted the Federal Government for using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to alert the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to prevent his escape at the end of his tenure.

    The governor said the move amounted to hypocrisy on the party of the government to place him on a watch list when he had written to the anti-graft agency of his intension to submit himself at the expiration of his tenure in October.

    He described the alleged alert as an opportunity for Federal agencies to loot the treasury in the name of investigating him.

    In a statement yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, by his Special Assistant of Public Communication and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor said the planned crackdown was an act of irresponsibility by the Federal Government under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    According to him, Fayose promised to turn himself in to the EFCC for investigation on October 16, as he promised, and that the watch-list was needless.

  • Senator Sani and the hypocrisy in us

    When Shehu Sani, a sitting Senator from Kaduna State, confirmed the stories making the rounds about the huge pay members of the National Assembly collect monthly, I knew straightaway that he had put his foot in it.

    The hoopla that followed was understandable. From the man’s colleagues in the NASS, it seemed like the man had spilled the beans, something akin to being a traitor, to be immediately ostracised, though not by all of his colleagues but by most of them.

    I bear in mind that another colleague of his, Ben Bruce from Bayelsa State, had also once complained that they were almost being choked to bursting by the humongous amount of taxpayers’ money they take home every month.

    Why Shehu, and Ben before him, had not rejected the huge pay had been explained in a most succinct and realistic manner by the human rights activist/senator. But I know the explanation won’t wash with most citizens who, if the truth must be told, are themselves culpable in the crazy situation that brought about the pay-out idea.

    Why should one person whose productivity is annoyingly irreconcilable to the amount of salary he earns, be allowed to continue bleeding the nation to death this way, when many of his more productive compatriots all over the place are being paid pittance?

    But, then, why not? Aren’t we, by our general behavioural pattern, responsible for the situation that could bring a set of people together to allocate a huge chunk of the nation’s finances to a negligible fraction of the population?

    Once you become an honourable member of the house or a senator or a governor or a commissioner or council chairman or even board member, you have had it in this country.

    No matter how much you are paid, you must now take care of the everyday need of every of your constituents – from paying for the ante and post natal treatment of other people’s wives, to the sponsorship of their children’s education, etc, etc.

    And you dare not turn down their requests for financial assistance anytime they approach you, lest you become their target of immolation and demolition.

    The insatiable greed of our people is inexplicable as it is indefensible and for this country to be brought back from the brink, our needs as a people must be moderated such that a stop will be put to the unending demands on our public office holders.

    While on that, isn’t it about time the federal government looked into the possibility of introducing some social system that can help ameliorate the grinding poverty in the land. I have an idea. Statistics of how many we are in this country and how much money is available to the country can help in determining whether certain social measures can be put in place to ease the pains of the people.

    A negligible percent is swimming in stupendous and questionable wealth and affluence while too many wallow in abject poverty and I suggest that if a deliberate policy is not instituted to bridge this widening gap, it is a matter of time before the have-nots revolt to make no room for the haves’ to enjoy their riches or loot. When that happens, the innocent will suffer along with the guilty!

    Truth is that we are not yet organised, to put in place the kind of social system in the UK where the jobless earn some free money every week from government – and are even provided free or subsided housing, to boot. We aren’t organised and disciplined enough to embrace such social system yet; but we can device a deliberate policy of state that can make our citizens aspire to such attainment.

    In Botswana, I believe life is not as brutish as it is here, in spite of the enormous human, vegetable and mineral resources available to our country. Otherwise a course-mate of mine would not be longing to return home to Botswana soon after our final papers while the rest of us were thinking of staying back in the UK to hug the jobs that were not readily available in our own country.

    If a citizen of a smaller African country can be so confident and proud of his country that he was convinced there was no better attraction in the U.K. to make him remain there after his studies, why can’t our rulers institute a social system that will us equally as proud?

    If the outlandish allowances and other perquisites of office are moderated to conform with decency as they obtain elsewhere, and the excesses thus saved are deployed to the amelioration of the poverty ravaging our people, we will be well on the way to preventing the unimaginable social upheaval that may consume this nation in a future that is closing in.

     

    Tinubu: The generous ‘general’

    No politician, after Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Alhaji Lateef Jakande, has captured
    people’s imagination and admiration as does Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Asiwaju of Lagos and the Jagaban Borgu.
    He is petite in stature but the fertility of his brain and the positive and noble uses to which he has deployed it to the betterment of humanity and the advancement of society, is so gargantuan that few, if any in the political terrain, can stand up to his famed attributes.
    His attributes, many ennobling, can take thousands of words to itemise but they will suffice here, to capture, in a sentence: “The man with a large heart”. This large-heartedness has been proven and applauded beyond the shores of this country; and abused by not a few, majority of who are beneficiaries of his humanity. But that shouldn’t be a bother to the birthday boy of the week, who turned 66 this Thursday.
    I’m anxious friends and foes make up, as no one knows when the judgement day will knock, but one thing is certain, generosity is a shield against evil; and the Asiwaju should continuously thank Allah for making him a “Generous General”, whose generosity has been his greatest armour against too many buffetings. I joy million others to wish him a pleasant celebration.

  • Mugabe and hypocrisy of the West

    Mugabe and hypocrisy of the West

    SIR: You don’t need to consult a diviner to know that Robert Mugabe, former guerrilla fighter turned prime minister, and then president of Zimbabwe is a bungler and bunglers bungle everything that is good. Look to the economy which is in despondency and you will see a man who has failed at everything.

    Many people see him as an African hero; I do not. Isn’t this the same Mugabe who couldn’t work with Joshua Nkomo only because Nkomo’s ethnic background (Ndebele tribe) was enough grounds for suspicion from the get-go? And yet same leader could not work with Emmerson Mnangagwa his Vice President both of whom are from Zimbabwe’s majority Shona ethnic group.

    * I pray Zimbabwe’s doesn’t turn to another South Sudan experience. * * After a while, we may begin to see a power tussle thanks to Mugabe’s style of rule for close to four decades. Aren’t we all privy to the ego-driven mentality of African leaders? Besides, from antecedents, don’t the oppressed ultimately become an oppressor?

    * I honestly think it’s better to let Mugabe go, his presence as ruler has done more harm than good to Zimbabwe. Coercive rule in our day is no more in vogue.

    How come the West began to moralize on the constitutionality of not toppling Mugabe? How surprising! Isn’t it possible that the West encouraged the coup from behind the scenes?

    Cases abound of the complicity of western countries in the affairs of many countries. Remember the parliamentary elections in Algeria on December 26, 1991. The first multi-party elections since independence, which were cancelled by a military coup? The military expressed reservations that the Islamic Salvation Front was certain to win majority of seats and form an Islamic state. Didn’t the West condemn the coup for its sake just to show that they care? But they gloated when the military had its way, their original design.

    Did Mohammed Morsi not win a democratic elections in Egypt but was toppled by Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who suspended the constitution and is today the president of Egypt? Did the West bat an eyelid? Were western leaders comfortable with Mohammed Morsi?

    Don’t take the West seriously on Robert Mugabe for he is their bête noire. I wish African leaders can solve African problems but when will that time come?, , , ,

     

    • Simon Abah,

    Abuja.

  • Fraud and hypocrisy called restructuring

    SIR: Every sincere and well-meaning Nigerian knows that the nation is in dire need of “restructuring” to reduce the powers, responsibilities and resources that are concentrated in the central government, and reallocate same to other levels of government, especially local governments that have become almost irrelevant because they can no longer provide even the basic needs of the local and majority people at the grassroots. Restructuring is equally capable of ensuring the viability and independence of component units of the federation and as well, promote healthy competition in resource development for the overall good of the people.

    The call for restructuring from various individuals, groups and sections of the country has become very intense. This call is propelled by what many members of the governing class championing the cause term as “injustice, marginalization and domination” of one group or section of the country by the other.

    Many people have become more concerned about restructuring than the viability of the economy of the country and ultimately, the well-being of all Nigerians. This restructuring is spoken about as if it will automatically address the challenges confronting the nation.

    I wonder what exactly is happening now that has not been part of our life that is increasing the urge for restructuring. From time immemorial, nearly all sections and groups in Nigeria have seen themselves to be marginalized or cheated in the allocation of resources in the country. For instance, the Governor of Niger State (as he then was), Babangida Aliyu while inaugurating the Advisory Council of Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation in Abuja in February 2012 opined that the underdevelopment and poverty in Northern Nigeria is due to the poor allocations the 19 states in the region receive from the federation account.  He equally saw the 13% derivation allotted to oil-producing states to be cheating the northerners.

    On the contrary, the renowned Prof. Itse Sagay, now the chairman of the anti-corruption advisory committee under the Buhari- led government remarked in 2012 that Northern Nigeria does not contribute anything to the national purse but succeeded in manipulating political power to corner oil blocks to the disadvantage of the south and called on southerners to come together to fight intellectually for the anomaly in the uneven allocation of oil blocks in the country.

    From the foregoing, it is clear that no section of Nigeria is satisfied with what it gets as its share of the nation’s cake. Northern leaders are accused of manipulating the political process to allocate more resources to the North. Yet, the region is worst hit by poverty and lack, illiteracy, and underdevelopment in almost all ramifications in comparison to southern region of the country. The south on its part that has been accused of taking much of the nation’s resources through the 13% derivation allocation to oil producing states as well as the off-shore/on-shore dichotomy is very much dissatisfied with what it gets and is clamouring for resource control. What then are we restructuring? Who is satisfied? Who is not marginalized?

    Many of those who have suddenly woken up to realize that the nation need to be restructured are politicians who have probably been displaced from the scheme of affairs or looking for a springboard to gain support to prosecute their political aspirations in 2019.

    They have deliberately refused to tell Nigerians how restructuring will end poverty, unemployment and inequality in the nation. They have refused to tell Nigerians if it will end the excessive greed and plunging of the nation’s resources by the governing elite; if it will bring food to the table of the common man. If it will end the exclusive reservation of jobs for the children of the privileged few in the society.

    Until all these questions are answered, the call for the restructuring of the nation is nothing but fraud and hypocrisy. This is a mere ploy by the governing elites to divert the attention of Nigerians from the nation’s common wealth they have misappropriated and continue to misappropriate at the expense of power generation and supply, railway development, agricultural development, supply of portable water, and ultimately, a sustained improvement in the living conditions of Nigerians.

    The call for restructuring is nothing but an in-house fight among the governing elites to create more opportunities for themselves and perpetuate themselves in power. It is not a call for the good of the common man, but a call for the common man to wrestle power and hand it over to them.

    Let the governing elites clamouring for restructuring be more transparent in managing the resources allocated to their regions and states.

     

    • Azige, Louis Machue,

    Lafia, Nassarawa State.

  • Hypocrisy of “Good Governance”

    SIR: The demands and nature of effective governance seems to have either eluded our political leaders and other political stakeholders or has been swept under the carpet by same. Oh yes!

    History and the present times have presented and are still presenting to us – rulers that have achieved ground breaking feats in reawakening dead economies, successfully banning dehumanizing systems and laws, fighting to the last grasp of breathe for the freedom of their people and so on and so forth.

    Nelson Mandela; Abraham Lincoln; Mahatma Gandhi; Fidel Castro, to our wonderful National warriors of the independence era; Nnamdi Azikwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa and the likes.

    Our lot as a nation has over the years, been downgraded and polluted by leaders who construct borehole in a community, two blocks of manageable classrooms, upgrade dead road to a span of about 100km and patch the rest, spray money while on political patrol, and media outlets who will dish out encomiums on them.

    The way these petty and normal projects are hyped by some media outlets and the populace is of great distress particularly when leaders all over the world are undertaking national and world-shaking projects (artificial archipelago’s/islands, world class tourism in Dubai despite the abundance of crude oil in the UAE). One can go on and on and keep drawing samples from ages and present time about how many world leaders have been nationalistic in their outlook towards development.

    The Nigerian government, rather than channel resources into the economy are rather being ‘internationalistic’  in their outlook towards development; enriching developed and fast developing nations while infrastructures in their own country are in a state of disrepair.

    This undesirable situation is buttressed by the findings of the recently organized symposium on corruption in Nigeria and Africa generally, held in Abuja. Key speakers include the Acting President Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Prof Itse Sagay (leader of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption) and other notable Nigerians. They examined the report of the Thabo Mbeki-led panel where it was discovered that more money was leaving the shores of Africa from the proceeds of corruption to developed nations and the larger percentage of this proceeds of crime are from Nigeria.

    I think it will be better if our hyped and over- hyped political actors take a turn around and turn this nation into a world attraction that it ought to be rather than executing five-kobo/10naira projects and giving a sigh of relief that they have done their best. To whom much is giving, much is expected.

     

    • Bolaji Olaniba

    Lokoja, Kogi State.

  • Hypocrisy of the West

    •Nigeria must define its interest in response to West’s objection to its coal-for-power initiative

    What is good for the goose is good for the gander” is a popular aphorism. But it does not seem the Western countries believe in this saying, going by Nigeria’s finance minister, Kemi Adeosun’s claim  that the countries are blocking Nigeria’s attempt to provide stable electricity supply to Nigerians. According to the minister, who spoke at a panel discussion at the International Monetary Fund (IMF)/ World Bank meeting in Washington DC, the Western nations and their multilateral institutions are denying the country and other African countries of using coal to generate electricity.

    Adeosun pointed out the hypocrisy in the opposition to our use of coal thus: “Am going to point fingers at multilateral institutions and the west, a good example is the coal-fired power plant, we in Nigeria have coal but we have power problem, yet we’ve been blocked because it is not green, there is some hypocrisy because we have the entire western industrialisation built on coal energy, that is the competitive advantage that they have been using, now Africa wants to use coal and suddenly they are saying oh! You have to use solar and the wind (renewable energy) which are the most expensive, after polluting the environment for hundreds of years and now that Africa wants to use coal they deny us.”

    We wonder why the finance minister is surprised that this is happening. But rather than throw up our hands in frustration, Nigeria should challenge those bent on developing at Africa’s expense. We all know that electricity is key to any developmental effort. Nigeria has been battling poor power supply for decades and now that the country wants to tackle the problem from all fronts, taking advantage of every available mix possible in the energy drive, we are being blocked by some countries. This is unfair.

    As the finance minister rightly pointed out at the occasion, these are the same countries that built their industrial base on coal energy now pontificating to Africa that coal is not environment friendly. Yet, it is not that Nigeria is trying to do the abominable: South Africa has 93% of coal electricity generation, Poland (87%), China (79%), Australia (78%), Kazakhstan (75%), India (65%), Israel (58%), Morocco (51%) and USA (45%).

    It was only in May that Britain was without electricity from coal since the world’s first centralised public coal-fired generator opened at Holborn Viaduct in London, in 1882, according to the Carbon Brief website which reports on climate science and energy policy. In 2015, 44% of Germany’s electricity production was generated from coal. So, what are we talking about?

    It is not that we do not appreciate the fact that coal is about the dirtiest source of electricity generation. But it is also about the cheapest, which probably explains its widespread use in Europe which dubbed it affectionately as “the king coal” when it was used to power the electricity plants then.

    Nigeria and indeed Africa has to let the countries and multilateral agencies opposed to our desire to use coal as part of our electricity generation mix know that we have so much right to our environment as much as they are entitled to theirs. They cannot now tell us not to use what they had used to generate power for more than one decade, and which has benefited them immensely.

    Western countries cannot tell us to keep the rain forest which they had defiled over the years, without giving us an incentive in return. This might include helping us to develop our solar and wind energy which are more environment-friendly but are not within the reach of many developing countries.

    Our position is that we should start the (coal) project first and then talk later. The Federal Government must define our national interest. If the West is not receptive to our idea, we can turn to the East. After all, as they say in international relations, “there are no permanent friends or permanent foes; but permanent interest”.

  • Recession, hypocrisy and grandstanding in Abuja

    Recession, hypocrisy and grandstanding in Abuja

    A recession is a terrible thing to waste. Beyond the pains, the economic downturn offers this nation and its people an opportunity to take hard but necessary decisions that were impossible in times of plenty.

    This period is especially unique because the political leadership at the centre has exhibited the will to confront the vampires who have sucked the nation dry for ages. They may not be doing a perfect job, but they are having a go at it.

    Now, necessity is forcing everyone to focus on how to get out of our bind.

    Everywhere you look, families and companies are cutting back to cope. Luxuries and extravagancies are being slashed from budgets. Many middle class homes are suddenly discovering that it is impossible to keep up with the Joneses when the naira is exchanging at almost N500 to the dollar.

    Banks and telecommunications companies, for long the picture of ruddy financial health, have been ruthlessly shedding staff as they struggle to stay afloat.

    In government, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, at his presentation of the ‘Change Begins With Me’ initiative to the corporate world in Lagos during the week unveiled a long list of perks and privileges that have been cut by the Executive Branch because of the recession.

    You may dismiss their inability of ministers to buy new cars – following the example of President Muhammed Buhari – as tokenism, but every kobo counts at a time like this.

    Across the road at the National Assembly we’ve heard the leadership making all the sympathetic and politically-correct noises about how ‘things are tough’ and Nigerians are suffering. For our own good, the lawmakers have even shipped a slew of bills to the Executive which, ostensibly, contain the silver bullet that would terminate the recession.

    But not for our caring lawmakers any nod at even the smallest of tokens to show that they, too, are willing to sacrifice at a time like this.

    One of the priority projects for the senators in the last one year was the purchase of SUVs befitting their status as federal lawmakers. Never mind that some of them had just received loans to buy brand new cars. They justified the request for additional cars saying the fresh ones would be for official assignments.

    In the face of public outrage the senators struggled unconvincingly to  justify the timing of such huge financial outlay. But exhibiting the typical disdain of the average Nigerian office holder for public opinion, they went ahead after a fashion.

    Not all senators ended up getting the new SUVs – only the presiding officers. Additionally, one senator from each of the 36 states also benefitted using the yardstick of rating.

    But that is small beer compared to what Nigerians have always moaned about, that our federal lawmakers – unjustifiably – are among the highest paid on planet earth. Even with the economy on all fours they retain that dubious ranking!

    The influential British magazine The Economist in a report two years ago estimated that Nigerian legislators ranked only below their Australian counterparts in their global survey – taking in annual salaries of between $150,000 and $190,000 per annum depending on exchange rates for 180 days of sitting.

    By comparison their counterparts in Britain receive $105,400 yearly, United States ($174,000), France ($85,900), South Africa ($104,000), Kenya ($74,500), Saudi Arabia ($64,000) and Brazil ($157,600).

    The report then makes the damning assessment that the average legislators’ pay is more than 50 times Nigeria‘s GDP per capita – and that, in a country where millions live on less than two dollars daily and the value of the minimum wage is now roughly $40 a month.

    The foregoing is not to demonise the lawmakers but to point out that a bicameral legislature is a luxury for a country in Nigeria’s shape – and the recession is a wonderful opportunity to do something about it.

    In April this year, Senegal scrapped the Senate to save money. Egypt did the same thing in 2013. In the last 20 years several other countries have done so.

    But that is not likely to happen in a hurry here because our commitment to cutting waste and make savings in Abuja begins and ends with our lips.

    Sometimes when I come across some Facebook campaign trying to interest Nigerians in a drive to ‘Scrap the Senate,’ I picture people banging their heads fruitlessly against the wall.

    For the Senate to disappear, there would need to be a constitutional amendment. This bunch of politicians who have secured a lucrative and prestigious retirement in the upper chamber are not in a hurry to commit political suicide.

    But imagine how much this country would shed with a unicameral system. According to BudgIT, between 2011 and 2014, the National Assembly received N150 billion yearly. This fell to N120 billion in the 2015 budget. The study shows that between 1999 and last year, allocations to the National Assembly amounted to N1.26 trillion.

    As I said earlier, our lawmakers are so concerned about the recession that they have sent a bunch of bills to Buhari which they believe would turn things around. You don’t have to be clairvoyant to know that none of the bills prescribes downsizing the legislature. At least, the Executive made an effort by pruning the number of ministries.

    In fact, the constitutional amendment process currently on in the National Assembly rather than looking for ways to divert funds to proper development projects, is focused on vanity items like creating new states, reshaping executive tenure and removal of immunity clauses.

    Late in the week news broke of the decision of the House and Senate to invite Buhari to address them on what he’s doing about the recession. While they are at it, they should equally brief the president on what they are shaving off their bloated financial package to help the country out.

    Anything short of that would  amount to hypocritical posturing on the part of our ‘caring’ lawmakers.

    In defence of Mama Peace

    Nigerians are an interesting lot – but never more so than in this season of recession and rocky change. Now, depending on which side of the political divide we find ourselves, we defend the indefensible and rationalise that which is beyond the pale.

    Take for instance the current bid by former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, to unlock about $22.5 million dollars which she claims belongs to her. She was not in the picture when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) secured a court order freezing the suspicious funds traced to some companies.

    The firms in question have since pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. Out of the blues, Mrs. Jonathan shows up laying claim to the huge sums.

    Confronted with searching questions as to how she earned the foreign exchange, we were suddenly informed the monies belonged to her mother. Don’t ask whether the old woman owned an oil bloc.

    In her defence, a rent-a-crowd protest took place in Yenagoa on Thursday led by the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) during which the ‘protesters’ argued for release of the frozen funds.

    Some of the ‘protesters’ reasoned this way: “Patience Jonathan is not the only First Lady in this country. A wife to former Deputy Governor, Governor, Vice President and President … are you expecting her to be a poor woman?”

    The fact is there’s no constitutional recognition for the office of the First Lady so there can be no official earnings accruing to a non-existing position. Secondly, her husband, no matter how generous his earnings in the office he occupied were, was never paid so lavishly in dollars to enable his spouse accumulate so much.

    It is only in Nigeria that the richest people are those in government. President Barack Obama is not among the richest persons in the US. The wealthiest people in America, Britain and across the West are entrepreneurs, entertainers, sportsmen and professionals among others.

    With these ‘youthful’ defenders of the indefensible reasoning this way, we should be greatly troubled about the future of the country.

  • Hypocrisy of a confidence vote

    SIR: The charade of passing vote of confidence on the Senate leadership in time of crises is not new in this our imperfect democratic journey. The only new thing about Tuesday’s vote of confidence passed on the Senate President by the 84 “Sin-nators” as reported in all the major news outlets is the timing of the desperate act by the troubled Senate President. The aim of this dishonourable vote of confidence by the allies of Senator Saraki only confirmed the widely-held belief that the man is really afraid of facing the courts. This is why he is trying every trick to further dramatise his conviction in order to shy away from facing the court to clear his name.

    If Saraki is very sure of his innocence, then why is he employing dirty tricks to politiciseda straight-forward issue of going to the court to clear his name? After all, they say the truth can and will always set you free.

    The way and manner Saraki responded to the issue even from the onset raises some concerns. How he started jumping from one court to the other looking for all kinds of frivolous injunctions and ex parte orders to stop his trial is a clear pointer that the man is indeed afraid of facing the court. We must not forget the fact that it is only when Saraki was finally boxed into a judicial wilderness with no hope of getting any compromised ex parte order to evade his trial that he reluctantly submitted himself to the court.

    Senator Bukola Saraki needs to understand that those hide and seek drama will not take away the fact that he is an accused and will remain as one, unless he summons the courage to unconditionally face the 13-count charges at the Code Of Conduct Tribunal. He should know that all the noise and sponsored propaganda will not convince the many sceptics in the court of public opinion who are really interested to see the Senate President prove his innocence in a more civilised and decent way.

    As far as the justice system is concerned, the timing of a trial is immaterial and inconsequential because the timing won’t make the crime lesser or obsolete. Neither will it make the criminal a saint or innocent.

    Additionally, hiring of jobless youths to come and barricade the entrance of the National Assembly chanting solidarity songs in support of any masquerade will only add more fuel of ethnicity to the problem. Likewise, hiring trailer loads of Senior Advocates won’t do the trick either.

    There is an urgent need for our people to begin to differentiate between legal victory, political victory and moral victory which to me should be more paramount in this very particular case. Despite the fact that politicians in this part of the world don’t give a damn about morality in politics, the moral liability of their actions or in actions will forever remain indelible in the minds of the people.

    What really upsets is the way that some supposedly enlightened individuals are using the warped logic of the timing of the trial to pick holes in a purely criminal matter. If our supposedly educated elites can stoop this low just to sabotage our justice system, then one can be excused to think that any crime that was not detected for a number of years can be jettisoned by the authorities for fear of being accused of political vendetta or witch-hunt. How disingenuous can this line of thinking be?

    People must be made to understand and appreciate the bigger picture which is the interest of our poor country, if we are truly serious about saving this country from the clutches of bad leadership and wanton corruption. The current vigour injected into the anticorruption war by President Muhammad Buhari must be supported by all well-meaning Nigerians in order to build a happy, peaceful and prosperous Nigeria.

     

    • Aminu Abdu,

     Azare, Bauchi State