The Nation Newspaper

Tag: leadership

  • Group plans leadership skill for 300 youths

    Group plans leadership skill for 300 youths

    As the Ramadan fasting period approaches, a Muslim group, Bodija Muslim Youth Forum (BOMYOM), has been inaugurated in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital to promote Islamic virtues and to engage 300 youths in intensive studies.

    The group will also collaborate with other organisations to serve Muslim youths and enhance capacity building, among others.

    The chairman of BOMYOM, Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Balogun said theý focus of the group is to ensure that Muslim youths regain their glory and excellence, adding that membership of the group is open for any Muslim youth from the secondary school age.

    “It is obvious that the youth of any country constitute the chunk of the population. Nigeria is no exception as the youth; especially the Muslim youths constitute the large majority in the society. Thus, the Bodija Estates and its Environs Muslim Community (BEEMC) though it wise not to neglect this important segment of the Ummah and the future leaders.

    “So, creation of BOMYOF for the youth in the community and its environs was in line with local, national and global practices. It is to fill the vacuum and cater for the spiritual, social, economic and moral development of the youth,” Balogun said.

    According to him, the challenges that need to be confronted by Muslim communities are very real. He said they include lack or absence of islamically marriageable partners, bad partnering, lack of opportunities and jobs.

    He further said illiteracy, lack of true Islamic knowledge, poor education systems, countering violent extremism, and lack of empowering programmes for women, call for urgent attention.

    Part of the activities to be used to address this anomalies by the group include “organisation of extra mural classes aimed at helping the younger ones in their academic pursuit and other vocational training.

    ”As part of our family-centered core value, we intend to have series of marriage counseling and networking, family picnic and other forms of halal social interaction, recruiting, training and developing the leadership skills of Muslim youths to conduct peer education and advocacy, developing trainings for staff and community members to enhance programmes that address the needs of Muslim youths and increasing awareness of the issues affecting Muslim youths on local, national and international levels.”

    Prof. Ayo Hammed, a Lecturer in the Department of Guidance and Counseling, University of Ibadan, urged stakeholders to engage youths productively towards building a safer and more just society.

    While delivering a lecture entitled “Challenges Facing the Muslim Youths in the 21st Century,” Hammed said stakeholders should join hands in strengthening the youth, while also engaging them in policies, programmes and decision-making.

    He stressed the need for investment in the youth during the childhood and adolescent stages, adding that it was the time life-long patterns of behaviour begins.

  • From Balewa to Buhari: A nation thirsty for good leadership

    From Balewa to Buhari: A nation thirsty for good leadership

    In almost 55 years, Nigeria has witnessed 14 administrations. Eight of them were military regimes. One was an interim contraption; a mixed grill of soldiers and their civilian collaborators. Five were civilian governments. Today, the sixth civilian government, which is the 15th administration headed by Muhammadu Buhari, will start to lead the country in a new journey into the future.

    Buhari was the military Head of State between 1984 and 1985. Before him was Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, who also returned to power 20 years after he left as the Head of State.

    The slow pace of development in Africa’s most populous country underscores, in part, the failure of indigenous leadership. Nigeria was projected to become a potential middle-level world power in the seventies, owing its vast natural endowment and other potentials. But, when its leaders failed to lay a strong foundation for a united nation, the country was threatened by disintegration. Nigeria has not become an economic miracle. Even the national question has remained unresolved. It has a great future ahead of it. But, only a dynamic leadership can take fulfill its dream.

    At independence, the Prime Minister was the late Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Then, the country practiced parliamentary system. Barely six years after, the military displaced legitimate authorities. The First Republic was the era of the pathfinders who doubled as ethnic champions. The big three-Alhaji Ahmadu Bello (North), Chief Obafemi Awolowo (West) and Dr. Nnamidi Azikiwe (East)-coordinated that ethnic battle for relevance. They managed to agree on some basic federal principles. Although there were crises and tensions triggered by the hot battle for federal power, it was evident that, in an atmosphere of true federalism, the three, later four, regions were ready to develop at their pace, and within the limit of their resources.

    However, the period was characterised by corruption, avarice, nepotism and rigging of elections, especially in the wild wild West. The ring leader of the coup plotters, Major. Chukwuemeka Nzeogwu, attempted to topple the Balewa Government. The project was hijacked by senior officers who later departed from the vision of the supposedly military modernisers. When Balewa was killed, soldiers of Northern origin were not happy. They sworn to avenge the blood of Bello and Balewa at a later date.

    Gen. Thomas Aguity-Ironsi, the General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army, became the Head of State in 1966. But, six months after, he was assassinated by ‘Northern’ soldiers. Ironsi came to office unprepared. He was not sensitive to the prevailing conditions and the differences among the regions, which have been aggravated by the first coup. The Head of State abolised the regions, thereby stifling the doctrine of theoretical autonomy. His unification decree was offensive to the political leaders. In fact, for six months, Ironsi could not set up a proper cabinet. He was killed at Ibadan by the gang of Theophilus Danjuma and Murtala Muhammed. Also assassinated was his host, Co,. Adekunle Fajuyi, the military governor of Western State.

    The Army chief, Colonel (later General) Yakubu Gowon, assumed the reins. He spent nine years in office. Gowon did not anticipate the leadership responsibilities suddenly entrusted on his shoulders. His emergence, as claimed by the military governor of Eastern State, Col. Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disrupted the seniority and succession pattern in the military. Brig. Babafemi Ogundipe, he insisted, should have succeeded Ironsi, instead of Jack. Also, there was pogrom in the North, with many Igbos as casualties. As the ego war between Gowon and Ojukwu persisted, Ojukwu plunged the country into war by declaring the East as the Republic of Biafra. For 30 months, the nation was at war with itself.

    After winning the war, Gowon refused to set up a transition programme. Many top government officials have become so corrupt. In 1975, Gen. Murtala Muhammed toppled Gowon in a bloodless coup.  Murtala stepped on toes. He was a man in a hurry. He thread the populist path, setting up a transition programme and waging war against corruption. On February 13, 1976, he was killed in a coup led by Col. Bukar Dimka. The Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo became the new Head of State. On October 1, 1979, he voluntarily handed over to President Shehu Shagari.

    Nigeria practiced presidential system between 1979 and 1983. The civilians did not learn from their mistakes during previous 13 year-interregnum. They became more reckless in the Second Republic. When Awolowo warned Shagari that the ship of state was about to hit the rock, he was ignored. The economy was crumbling. Service delivery was poor. But, on December 31, 1983, the military sacked the administration. The first four years of presidential system became history. Buhari became the Head of State.

    Buhari and his deputy, Gen. Tunde Idiagbon, the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, wanted to clear the Augean table. They waged war against graft in high places. All forms of indiscipline were not condoned. It was a government of financial accountability. Foreign debts were paid. Loopholes were bridged. But, the human rights record of the administration was poor.

    In August 1985, Buhari was displaced in a palace coup by the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. The military President was in power for eight years. The General dribbled the country throughout his regime. It was another eight years of political, economic and social experimentation which produced no meaningful result. He set up a transition programme. A free and fair election was conducted. A winner, the late Chief Moshood Abiola, emerged. But, the exercise was criminally annulled. Despite the money wasted on the exercise, the military President subverted the project.

    Babangida was succeeded after stepping aside by the Head of Interim Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan. He did not understand the setting. He was a nominal Commander-in-Chief. But, barely three months later, the Minister of Defence, Gen. Sani Abacha, shoved him aside and pronounced himself as the Head of State.

    However, Abacha, who had wanted to transmute into a civilian President, died in 1998. He had waged the most cruelest war against democracy. The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, became the Head of State. He hurriedly handed over to Chief Obasanjo in 1999.

    Obasanjo ruled like a soldier that he is. He brooked no opposition. Court orders were worthless. In his first term, he tried to lay an effective foundation. He initiated a new anti-corruption course, setting up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Matters Commission (ICPC). The two organs were later used to witch hunt political opponents. Electricity could not be fixed. Roads still remained death traps. Refineries could not be revived. Rigging became pervasive.

    Obasanjo was succeeded by the late Alhaji Sheu Yar’Adua in 2007. He was slowed down by illness. He died before the expiration of his tenure. His deputy, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, became the President. Today, he will bow out of office after six years in the saddle.

    Jonathan will go down, not as a giant of history, but as a leader who could not live to the billing of leadership. Indeed, he was not adequately prepared for the massive task. Despite his high academic qualification, he could not make much difference.

    The Bayelsa State-born politician was deputy governor under former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. He was the beneficiary of his boss’ impeachment. He was governor for a brief period before he became Yar’Adua’s running mate. When Yar’Adua was incapacitated by illness, he was liberated from the cabal and made the Acting President by Nigerians in accordance with the constitution. At work was the doctrine of necessity. Later, Dr. Jonathan succeeded his boss as the President.

    In 2011, he contested his first election. As a candidate of the ruling party from a minority ethnic group, he elicited sympathy. He described himself as a shoeless boy from Otuoke, assuring that he will serve the poor. He defeated Buhari at the poll. But, there was a huge gap between expectation and reality afterwards.  The challenges overwhelmed the President.

    He ignored public outcry and demand for their sack. Nigerians started to have negative perception about the administration.

    The ruling party was in crisis. The President could not wield it together. The Nigerian Governors’ Forum was in crisis. He took sides. For months, university, polytechnic and college teachers were on strike. Infrastructure battle stopped. During campaigns, the President’s men went to rallies with generators. Electricity was beyond reach. Corruption was on the increase. The President clarified that stealing was different from corruption. Irked by his style of leadership, former All Progressives Congress (APC) Interim Chairman Chief Bisi Akande described him as a kindergarten President. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said Dr. Jonathan was clueless.

    As 16 years of PDP’s rule will terminate today, eyes are on the new APC government. Will Buhari maintain a clean break from the past and reposition the country for excellence? Time will tell.

  • Senator Tinubu counsels pupils on leadership

    Senator Tinubu counsels pupils on leadership

    The management of Dansol High School, Ikeja in Lagos has held its sixth annual leadership lecture of the school. The lecture with the theme: Becoming 21st Century leaders of value and integrity, gave tips on good leadership. The event was held last Saturday.

    The school hall venue of the event was filled to capacity. It also featured events such as cultural activities, beauty pageant and award presentation.

    The guest speaker,Senator  Oluremi Tinubu, who spoke on: The need for Godly leadership in 21st century, admonished the pupils on the kind of lifestyle they must adopt to become leaders of value and integrity. According to Mrs Tinubu, sound leadership skills do not necessarily have to be innate, but can also be learned.

    “One of the myths surrounding leadership is that it is determined by distinctive dispositional characteristics. However, it is important to note that leadership also develops through hard work and careful observation”, she said.

    Challenges of leadership is the perception of weakness among female folk, which to Tinubu, is not true because the feminine race is strong and capable of delivering. She, therefore, urged the female folk to not limit their achievements as a result of gender reasons.

    “Females are built so strong yet we think we are weak; we have to find that inbuilt energy. Stop pushing women backward, we can do more,” Senator Tinubu added.

    She also urged the students to start developing themselves from their present stage.

    “You cannot learn everything in the tertiary institution. For the fact that you are the architect of your life and fortune, you must try to develop yourself. Develop yourself with things around you. The essence of this programme is to prepare you for leadership position in future and enable you to plan ahead of your ambition.”

    A cultural troupe thereafter mounted the podium and thrilled the audience to endless applause. Senator Tinubu was honoured with Dansol Leadership award while Miss Ifeatu Nwosu in Junior Secondary School (JSS) 3 was also given an award for being an epitome of wisdom for 2014/ 2015 session.

    Also speaking, Special Adviser (media) to Senator Tinubu, Mr Maxwell Adegbenro said such forum would expose pupils to good leadership traits early in life, adding that this would ultimately benefit Nigeria in future.

    Principal of the school, Mr Esan Oladapo, told reporters the rationale behind the annual event. He said: “We see our students as future leaders and yearly we get people that are doing well in the society to come over and talk to them. We believe that they will be able to learn one or two things from their personal life. Mrs Tinubu’s speech today has really inspired them.”

    Also present at the event were Hon Lola Akande, Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa (Secretary to Ogun State Government), Mr Tunde Akinmiju and parents.

  • Leadership lessons from S.M.I.L.E

    Leadership lessons from S.M.I.L.E

    The Strategy for Mentoring Initiative and Leadership Empowerment (SMILE) has conducted its graduation for students of its Leadership and Mentoring Programme. As expected, the focus was on building strategic leadership for the youth for a better nation. SEUN AKIOYE reports

    In the last four years, Mrs. Bimpe Bamgbose-Martins an Associate member of the Chattered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), United Kingdom and the Managing Director of a construction firm, Matokins Nigeria Limited, has been doing something many people would say is out of sync with her education and career.

    With a degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan, Bamgbose-Martins found her true calling when she came in contact with the teachings and mentoring of the late international coach, motivational speaker and Pastor, Myles Monroe. On her return from the mentorship programme she began to put into action all the lessons from Monroe by establishing a unique institution that would provide leadership empowerment and life skills for Nigerians.

    Her idea is a paradigm shift from the self help mentors who may have bastardised the meaning of leadership for self gains and recognition. Her method is aimed at releasing potential into the new generation of young people that can be trained and mentored to become successful leaders. For this she got the total support of her mentor whom she fondly called “papa”. According to Monroe, “SMILE is introducing a new phenomenon with the theme of self replacement.”

    One of the important people to buy into this idea early is the First Lady of Lagos State, Dame Abimbola Fashola who according to Bamgbose-Martins is “a woman of exemplary character” and “who has been a pillar of strength for me personally, since the inception of SMILE four years ago and from whom I continue to glean wisdom and inspiration.”

    The Quest for Leadership

    The founding of SMILE is to play a strategic role in the quest for building the next generation of leaders in Nigeria. According to Bamgbose-Martins, the school offers “tailored made programme to meet every leadership needs of every major strata of our society.”

    SMILE’s unique selling point is the “release of self” and the empowerment and mentoring of the next generation of leaders in the country. During the launch in April 2011, Dame Abimbola Fashola said mentoring and leadership empowerment remains the key to success for any society.

    “Mentoring and leadership empowerment remains the most powerful tools to positively impact the next generation of leaders. The younger generation needs to be guided, inspired, encouraged and taught to imbibe the essential ingredients of success which includes hard work, right attitude, moral values, determination, perseverance, passion and can –do-spirit among several others.”

    Monroe agreed with the First Lady. At the ceremony he told the pioneer students how discovering and developing leadership in young people will produce the next generation of leaders in Africa which is badly lacking on the continent.

    “One of the obligations of leadership is to transfer what you have in you to the next generation, make yourselves unnecessary by giving out all you have, success without succession is failure,” Monroe said.

    Since then, SMILE has gone ahead to train many Nigerians who have submitted themselves to its training and mentoring under the different platforms it offered like the one year leadership and mentoring course for graduates and young professionals to provide a platform for them to acquire knowledge, develop skills, competencies and values that will empower them to excel and become effective leaders. There is also the Change Agent programme designed for underserved young people especially in secondary schools.

    The SMILE programmes, four years after its inception have already produced visible change agents who are making a difference in their different spheres of influence. The organisation also recently made some significant changes to its strategy to make room for more youth involvement by “providing more platforms and opportunities for young people to organize and drive our events.”

    New interventions to the programme include: ICT training for underserved youths, internship programme for secondary school leavers to help them build skills, gain valuable work experience that would keep them engaged while they seek admission into higher institutions, scholarship programmes to provide opportunities and financial support for indigent students with great potential and school educational outreach programmes to inspire students in different public schools to aspire for greater heights in their academics and life.

    This vision is already bearing fruit as some of the youth have gone ahead to become skillful in many areas. For instance, 17-year-old Lekan Adepoju, a secondary school leaver who is currently seeking admission into a higher institution was responsible for putting together all the technical details about the organisation and the videos.

    The release of leaders

    The graduation ceremony for 28 graduates of the 2014/2015 batch of the One Year Leadership course was a milestone in the fact that it was coming a year after the tragic death of the mentor of the institution, Monroe, in the Bahamas.  Monroe had always been present at every graduation to inspire and encourage the students but this year, his spirit seems to loom large over the auditorium as video clips of his past messages to the students were shown.

    SMILE-03Bamgbose –Martin acknowledge the fact that S.M.I.L.E may not have come into being without the support of Monroe. “Today is a particularly significant day for us at S.M.I.L.E as it marks the first set of graduations after the passing of our founding father, late Dr. Myles Munroe without whom S.M.I.l.E may not have come into existence as this organisation was birthed under his teaching and grew immensely under his direct supervision.”

    The theme for this year’s event was “Youth as agents of national transformation” underscores the crucial role youths can play in the development of the nation especially in the new era in Nigeria.

    The guest of honour, Dame Fashola was lavish in her praise for the founder and the strides she had made in four years. She also revealed some ‘pleasant truths’ about the founder. “SMILE calls me her mentor but I beg to disagree, we share ideas and same convictions that this country must change, that is what gave birth to SMILE,” she said.

    She had some words for the graduating students too. “What you have gone through is to become a better person and you must key into that change philosophy.” However she also noted that the students didn’t appreciate some of those who were mentioned to have made great strides in the society. “I expected that you will give a standing ovation to the teenagers who have put all these programmes together,” she told the students who later redeemed themselves with much standing ovation, Mrs. Fashola said “Now, you are standing up too much, you are embarrassing me.”

    Mrs. Fashola has been one of the pillars of support and inspiration for the programme and she made a solemn pledge to stay involved. This is no mean commitment as many of the students also find her involvement a source of inspiration. “I will not miss anything SMILE calls me to for anything in the world,” she said.

    Some of the sponsors of the organisation were there to offer a token of their advice to the graduating students. Akeem Ogunniran, Managing Director, UAC properties Ltd spoke about the power of dreams which is exemplified in the fact that the biggest brands in the world today were started by young people. Annul Bathia, Director Corporate Social Responsibility of Chi Nigeria Ltd also spoke about the power of focus while Niyi Adesanya, the founder of 5th Gear Consulting, also a leadership and motivational organisation promised gifts to the top three graduating students and promised to also be involved with SMILE.

    •Mrs. Abimbola Fashola
    •Mrs. Abimbola Fashola

    Part of the highlight was the presentation certificates to the students by Mrs. Fashola and the presentation of 100 books to five public schools in Lagos. The books donated by UBA Foundation went to schools where SMILE is already working and mentoring young people including, Omole Senior Grammar School, Mende Senior Grammar School, Ikosi Senior High School, Government Senior Model College and Baptist Senior secondary school.

    Also two 300 level University of Lagos students who have been great mentors to their peers were rewarded.

    So how has the programme impacted on the lives of the students? Femi Adeyemi who got an award for his mentorship of secondary school students during the programme said his life cannot be the same again. “This programme is unique and it has impacted me a lot, I have developed unique leadership qualities and from here I will go and do greater things,” he said.

    Bosede Bello, a school teacher and graduating student agreed. “There is no way I can be the same, this programme has changed my life.” Though not alive to hear these testimonies, this was the plan and goal of Monroe when he partnered with Bamgbose-Martins to establish SMILE four years ago.

    Monroe: “I am confident Nigeria is in good hands because SMILE exists.”

  • ‘Don’t distract APC leadership in Delta’

    Ebiakpo Ezebiri is the Financial Secretary of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) in Delta State. He is also the Director of Youths, O’teg4Governor Campaign Organisation. In this interview with Bolaji Ogundele he warns trouble makers to stop disturbing APC leadership in Delta State. Excerpts

    What is your overview of the recently held 2015 general elections?

    Nigerians were really tired of the way the PDP had run the country in the last 16 years; so people were already yearning for change. No one should really be amazed by the outcome, which eventually produced General Muhammadu Buhari as winner; that was actually the feeling Nigerians expressed in their votes. He is the one Nigerians want to lead them out of the current situation PDP has led them into. That’s what Nigerians want; he won because he is popular with the people.

    He won, but you can’t still say he was accepted by all, take a look at the results from the South-East and South-South. What do you think is responsible for this?

    Actually you could not have expected that Buhari would have performed at the same level with Goodluck in the South-South, this is Jonathan’s home base and his people will ordinarily want to side with him. Besides that, you and I know that the results of the elections from this region were orchestrated to favour Jonathan because he’s from this region. I am an Ijaw man and it was very difficult to even come out to declare you are an APC member in this state because the whole South-South was like their son was in the race and nobody from the opposition should come out to say anything against Goodluck Jonathan’s candidature, but we were of the opinion that the position of our people about the contest was wrong, that the better man should win and we in the APC were of the opinion that if we put our best into it we should be able to rake in substantial votes for our candidate, even if it would not be enough to claim the victory here. We didn’t think we could win the region for Buhari because it was obvious that Jonathan is from this place, it would be a very difficult task. Majority of the people here; the women, the youths and other stakeholders, already had their minds set that Goodluck is their brother and their son and they would vote for him. That’s what happened.

    In your state, Delta, how do you summerise the election here?

    Delta State is made of different ethnic groups and there were bargains that had been reached, but at the end of the day the results from this state were planned, rigged and not the true figures that came out from the various units and wards. For instance, in Burutu Local Government Area, you know that votes as high as 73,000 can never be realistic, if you are saying votes as high as thirty something thousand that looks close to the true picture, but seventy something thousand is outrageous. So, when you take a good look at it, you will discover that the election in Delta State was rigged in favour of President Goodluck Jonathan. Though we are saying that if they had conducted a free and fair election in this state, President Jonathan would still win because he’s from this place, but the figures they brought out weren’t in accordance with what transpired in this state from the various polling units. We know very well that the elections were rigged in this state, if not the results would have been more reasonable; something like 35,000 and not all those 70,000 and 75,000 that they came out with.

    You just claimed now that the elections were rigged and you have headed to the tribunal, I mean for the governorship. What are the chances of your party at the tribunal?

    For the governorship case I know very well that we will be victorious because, like I said earlier, the elections were rigged; there was no election in Delta State that was conducted in line with the INEC’s guidelines. INEC’s guidelines clearly stated that we must use the card readers and if you look at the elections, you will realise that the card readers were not used. These people just gathered themselves, went somewhere and started writing results, coming out with such figures as high as 73,000 votes from Burutu, seventy something thousand from Warri South-West, fifty something thousand from Ika and so on. Where are these people? Did the card readers capture the number of people they had in those results? No. INEC placed newspaper advertorials to the effect that card readers must be used and if at the end of the day there are places where card readers failed to work, such elections should be carried over to the next day. We were fully relying on this directive, but to our surprise, INEC compromised and the elections were rigged massively and figures of about 700,000 was awarded to Okowa, more than 100,000 was awarded to Great Ogboru and Olorogun O’tega Emerhor was given just above 90,000. This is wrong because in Delta State, we have more than 150,000 registered members of the APC in Delta state; are they now saying that even our own members could not vote for us? That’s to tell you that the results were a pre-planned arrangement; they created those results.

    Let us talk about something more critical to your party in the state; the crisis bugging it. Is it in the party’s corporate interest to be enmeshed in this sort of internal crisis at this point?

    It is very difficult to wake someone pretending to be asleep than one who is sleeping indeed. When someone is asleep, you can easily wake him, but when someone is awake, but is pretending to be asleep, to wake him will be a task because he’s been awake all along. The crisis you see there is planned by a group of persons who are not even in APC; they are just friends of one leader or the other in Abuja and Lagos and they feel they can just come to Delta State to exploit their friendship.

    What is going on in Delta State is that a congress was held, which produced the ward, local government and state executive councils. Elections were held that produced all of us as state officers, but some persons were not comfortable with this and some of those persons came out to even challenge it in court. I don’t know why they are fighting structures that people have built, but as far as I know, O’tega is the leader of this party in Delta State; he’s the person who singlehandedly financed this party from ward to local government and state congresses. He has been financing the party and has been there to finance and see to it that the party is well run from day one to date, nobody came out.

    Since O’tega started financing this party, all these so-called APC leaders flying up and down now did not show up; I am just surprised to be hearing some people saying they are the leaders of this party. Like I told you, I have been in this party, as an opposition party, from 1999 till date. I’ve been a councillor under APP; I have contested House of Assembly three times; I have contested local government chairmanship once; I have worked with General Muhammadu Buhari; supported him from 2003 to 2007 to 2011 and now in 2015. As far as I know, Buhari is the kind of leader Nigeria needs. All these people are now claiming to be members or leaders of APC in Delta because Buhari has won; for instance, look at Ayiri, who just decamped from PDP yesterday, calling for the scrapping of the amnesty programme. Between me and you, was Ayiri a member of APC before the presidential election? It was after Buhari had won that he claimed to have decamped to APC. These people are just there for their personal benefits and not for the interest of the party. These are the group of people causing problems at the top; they don’t know the status of their state and they cannot come to organise the party in their various local governments or wards; they are just there in Abuja, causing problems, saying there’s no APC in Delta State. It means if there is no APC in Delta State, you too are not in Delta State. Some of them only know how to speak on Channels TV in Lagos, they don’t come home. Can Pat Utomi tell people that he was in this state as at when the presidential and governorship elections were held?

    As far as I’m concerned, there’s no problem with the party in Delta State; the only thing we want is let O’tega be the leader of this party in the state to be known by all of us and let us all rally round him so that we can prepare properly against 2019. Let them not distract the leadership of the party.

  • Labour leader decries poor leadership

    The state chairman, Public Service Negotiating Council (PSNC), Comrade Chris Okoro has attributed poor leadership in the state chapter of the union as the greatest challenge which workers in the state experience.

    Speaking with reporters in Umuahia, Comrade Okoro, who is among the four

    contestants for the state NLC chairmanship position regretted that despite the fact that the state governor, Chief Theodore Orji has continued to demonstrate his love for workers, that union leaders have failed to reciprocate his good gesture.

    Comrade Okoro said the leadership of the union has failed the expectation of the entire workers’ union with their lackadaisical attitude in the affairs that concern workers in the state, stressing that it is not in the best interest of workers.

    He said: “Despite the good gesture of Governor Orji to things that concern workers in the state, the leadership of labour is so poor; the leadership has not been meeting the expectations of workers of the state.”

    The state PSNC boss revealed that his position as chairman of the council with eight affiliate unions is limited. He further emphasised that the major responsibility of any trade union such as the NLC is to ensure that its members receive their privileges and rights from the government.

    Comrade Okoro said: “The conditions of service of Abia State workers are very encouraging. The salary of workers in the state is the highest in the Southeast. I am a trained labour activists, I know that another major challenge which workers experience is the dwindling respects for civil servants in the state.”

    On reasons behind his interest for the position of the labour leadership in the state, Comrade Okoro gave insight into what he wants to achieve, which include improving workers’ welfare, expectations and bring back the glory of NLC in which has been lost years back.

    On his assessment of labour in the state, he identified poor leadership administration as the cause of workers’ nightmare. He promised to use his experience as a state

    chairman, PSNC and Principle Secretary and Allied Union to better the welfare of workers if elected.

    He said the NLC as an umbrella body of Nigerian workers, is expected to protect workers’ interest in the state, even as he blamed the situation of workers to lack of visionary leadership in managing the affairs of the union.

  • New leadership challenge

    With outgoing President Jonathan expected to take a break from partisan politics for the time being and thereafter assuming a statesmanship status, chieftains of the PDP are now condemned to embark on intense soul searching and introspection with the aim of refocusing the party for the challenges.

    Two posers would suffice. First, can a newly repackaged PDP happen in a vacuum and without boasting of a leader with the guts, stature and resources to unite party members and chart the way forward? Can this new leader be disciplined enough to sacrifice self comfort at critical moments for the overall good of the party? Who is this new leader that would reposition a badly fractured, fragmented and demoralised party capable of reclaiming the Presidency in 2019? Some of the names that readily come to mind amongst PDP chieftains include:

    Anthony Anenih

    Fondly called ‘The Leader” by his political disciples, Chief Anthony Anenih is well respected and versed in the art and nuances of politics. His deep knowledge of Nigeria’s political terrain comes with loads of experience.

    Currently, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the PDP, the Edo State-born politician dabbled into politics following his retirement from the Police in the early 80’s.

    In the run-up to the 1983 general elections, Anenih, as the State Chairman of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the former Bendel State (now Edo and Delta States), allegedly led the line in partnership with his party’s governorship candidate, Chief Samuel Ogbemudia, to send the ruling Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) from the Dennis Osadebey Government House.

    From this moment till today, the almost 80 years old politician has remained a constant fixture in the country’s political terrain, and in the process building a controversial reputation that has attracted praises and flaks in equal measures.

    It was, however, in the Third Republic that Anenih assumed a nationwide household name in politics following his emergence as the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), one of the two political parties founded by the then military government.

    His alleged trade-off of his party’s victory in the 1993 presidential election won by late Chief MKO Abiola, which led to the formation of an Interim National Government (ING), was described by not a few Nigerians as a sore point in the political career of the man, also fondly called ‘Mr. Fix It,’ a name given Anenih on account of his adroit style of solving otherwise complex political issues.

    And from 1999 till now, the story of the PDP would not be complete without Anenih featuring prominently in it. From being the Minister of Works to emerging as the Chairman, BoT, Anenih has virtually seen it all in the party.

    Factors against him

    Though well respected by the rank and file of the party, Anenih’s advanced age (he is 79), many political pundits say, could work against the party both in the short and long term.

    Another school of thought is also skeptical of Anenih’s ability to command absolute loyalty from top party members, many of who believe he is one of those culpable in the precarious state PDP has found itself today.

    Adamu Muazu

    A former governor of Bauchi State for two consecutive terms (1999-2007), Adamu Muazu’s emergence as the PDP National Chairman early last year sure calmed frayed nerves after months of plots by aggrieved party members, particularly some state governors, to remove Muazu’s predecessor, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

    Fondly called the ‘Game Changer,’ a name that came about following the initial positive effect his coming on board had on the party, not a few had thought Muazu would lead the party to victory in the March 28 presidential election. But that was not to be. With PDP’s loss of the polls, Muazu has gone down in history as the man who led the party to defeat for the first time since 1999.

    The former governor’s administrative acumen is also being called to question. The acrimonious PDP primaries across all levels, with many aspirants feeling shortchanged is being cited as one instance where Muazu failed to make any headway.

    Also the alleged cold war between President Goodluck Jonathan and Muazu in the weeks leading to the general elections is also another factor that could work against the latter in the onerous task of repositioning the party before the 2019 general elections.

    David Mark

    As the Senate President for a record eight years, David Mark, who is returning to the National Assembly, also for a record 5th term, is being touted as one of the few PDP stalwarts with the requisite experience and guts to restructure the party into meeting the challenges of an uncertain future.

    Having skillfully managed the varying, albeit complex political tendencies in the Senate for eight years, Mark has won plaudits from friends and foes alike, but question still linger if he would be able to win the trust and command the loyalty of party members across the six geo-political zones with little or no controversy.

    Also, his recent statement that he would not leave the PDP in these trying times may have endeared him to members of the party across board. But whether this would be enough to earn him the leadership position of the party remains to be seen.

    Anyim Pius Anyim

    Eight years after a self imposed sabbatical from politics, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim bounced back into reckoning following his appointment as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) in 2011 by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    A former Senate President, Anyim was one of the arrowheads of the president’s re-election campaign. His office, it was gathered, allegedly coordinated the activities of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN).

    Described by close associates as one politician with the guile and adroitness to lead the party in the next dispensation, it remains to be seen if Anyim will command the respect of the big guns in the PDP when the chips are down.

    Godswill Akpabio

    Beside his acknowledged achievements as governor of Akwa Ibom State in the last eight years, Akpabio’s profile went several notches higher after his election as the Chairman, PDP Governors Forum (PDPGF).

    But did Akpabio succeed in using the PDPGF to advance the fortunes of his party or the re-election ambition of the president? Absolutely not, many political pundits will say readily.

    So, the search remains ongoing, even as no one will doubt the possibility of any of these mentioned PDP leaders rising up to disprove bookmakers by successfully taking up the challenge. There is also the possibility that a new leader, who many may not have given any chance, may emerge to unite the PDP members across the country and help rebuild the party.

  • MWUN bemoans NLC leadership crisis

    MWUN bemoans NLC leadership crisis

    The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has bemoaned the leadership crisis rocking the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) following disagreement over the outcome of the March 12, 2015 rescheduled delegates elections in Abuja.

    The union in a statement by its President-General, Comrade Emmanuel Tony Nted, said it is unacceptable and very shameful that the desperation of some individuals had reduced the NLC to a laughing stock both locally and internationally.

    The union said that it had been vindicated, pointing out that its President-General on the eve of the re-scheduled election, withdrew his candidacy from the NLC presidential race because the election had been reduced to ethnic, tribal and sectional contest by those who wished the labour movement no good.

    The union pledged its neutrality in the NLC leadership crisis, stating that the union leadership is not going to take side with any of the factions but remain neutral until the crisis is resolved.

    According to a statement from the union, the organised labour movement has today been taken over by thugs and individuals who do not merit to be addressed as comrades, stressing that there were allegations of manipulations of the electoral process to favour some individuals yet the leadership of the congress are just going about as if nothing happened.

    The statement added that these shameful acts were things not associated with labour in general and NLC in particular. It therefore, queried the moral justification of the organised labour movement in the country to criticise politicians when they fail to organise credible, free and fair elections.

    The Maritime workers alleged that the labour movement now have thugs and individuals parading themselves as labour leaders and the NLC leadership, stressing that this is very sad, unfortunate and shameful.

    The union urged well meaning stakeholders who meant well for the labour movement to wade into the crisis with a view to resolving it.

  • Buhari and leadership burden

    President Goodluck Jonathan assumed the presidency in 2011 with overwhelming votes mostly in the three geo-political regions of the southsouth, southeast and the southwest. The singsong, most specifically in the latter zone then, was that they voted for Goodluck Jonathan and not his Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP). The satisfaction that greeted the Jonathan presidential victory among those who voted for him was so palpable that it mattered very little—if at all—that some states recorded more votes for Jonathan than the actual number of registered voters.

    The electorate then, particularly those from the southern political divide, decided against Muhammadu Buhari largely because of the resentment they had haboured for so long about the hegemonic predilection of the northern dichotomy whence the General comes. Conversely, they saw Goodluck Jonathan as not belonging to the ruinous political class that had held them helplessly in the jugular for so long.

    So, when he told them his story about not having any shoes growing up during the campaign trail, it was as if that was the breath of fresh air they had been waiting to inhale. That statement further cemented his ‘outsider’ perception among voters and Jonathan’s fate as the next president of the republic was sealed.

    The ‘outsider’ status of Jonathan was also the proof-positive that the Nigerian electorates needed that their new and ‘unblemished’ president would fundamentally re-arrange the polity for sustainable growth and development, thereby giving them a new lease on life. They reasoned that he would be unencumbered and not tied to the apron strings of the deciders of who gets power in the country—military or civilian. But they misjudged; and very badly too.

    General Muhammadu Buhari, on the other hand, though not a stranger to these ‘kingmakers’, derived much, if not his entire support base from a critical mass of the poor from the north. The collective political class from both the north and the south had to be at the barricade against Buhari because, in their enlightened self-interests, a clueless and meek Jonathan was better than an unpredictable, no-nonsense Buhari who could turn off the spigot of the ‘milk and honey’ and haul them into jail because the taciturn general does not share their character traits of sleaze, primitive acquisition and plundering of the common patrimony.

    Thus, Buhari is a part of the political class without being a part of the political class. He seemed irredeemably sandwiched between a rock and a hard place. There is perhaps no time in the country’s history in which so much was expected of a chief of state—military or civilian—by the Nigerian populace than the March 28 polls that crowned Gen. Mohammadu Buhari as the president of the next political dispensation starting in May 29. While the bestowal of presidential victory to Jonathan in 2011 by the electorates was largely due to sentiments, Buhari’s assumption of the highest political seat in the land was brought about by the acute awareness of the same electorates that real change must take place in all aspects of national life, no thanks to Boko Haram that has become very significant non-state actors with a considerable chunk of the nation’s territory under their holsters, corruption of monumental proportion and an economy on a free fall, among others—all this on Jonathan’s watch. Thus, the crisis of expectation among both candidates is that while the electorates expected that Jonathan would do something upon becoming the president in 2011, the Nigerian electorates this time around are demanding that Gen. Buhari must do something about their collective national despair.

    Now that Buhari’s unflinching quest to situate Nigeria among the comity of nations, bound by universally acceptable moral and judicial precepts has finally been realized through the ballot box, it is extremely important that the next governing party and Buhari’s impending administration keep their eyes on this one-of-a-kind social contract with the Nigerian people. Just as the world was keenly interested in the election that gave him victory, the global community would also be watching Buhari’s every step from here on to see if we’re really serious about our desire to not only add values to ourselves and improve our living standards but positively contribute to humanity at large.

    Buhari’s emergence was unusual. Therefore, his government should be unusual if it must meet the people’s expectations in the shortest time possible as well as the long run. The Buhari government must find innovative and inventive ways to governance for the arduous tasks ahead. Once elected, Buhari is automatically conferred with the free rein and the latitude to construct his cabinet as he sees fit. Being made to work with people with very little or no antecedents of job accomplishments could be counter-productive and may be a recipe for failure.

    Just as Buhari’s win is akin to inheriting a house whose pillars are so weak that some low level wind gust could collapse the edifice anytime, so also is there a tremendous opportunity to build a new house with concretes that, although may be unfamiliar to the inhabitants, but guarantees a stronger house that will stand the test of time well into the future. Perhaps a good starting point of the Buhari government will be to put all but one or two of the presidential fleet of airplanes on the auction block immediately after it is sworn in and drastically reduce the workforce of the presidency.

    By this, the Nigerian people would get the signal that there would not be any sacred cow when it comes to confronting waste and the hydra-headed corruption monster. Reducing the size of the incoming presidency will not only save a considerable amount of money that is no longer available, no thanks to an epileptic economy that may not regain full consciousness anytime soon, but significantly reduce the recurrent expenditure which has always been the bane of growth in the polity.

    By extension, corruption will automatically reduce in this first tier of government bureaucracy. In the age of high and extreme automation, it makes no sense to retain, say, ten personnel when four would do the job just as effective. The Buhari/Osinbajo presidency should be so compact but highly effective that it should be able to fit in a suitcase.

    The mid-term approach in this fight against corruption and waste is for the Buhari transition committee to ask for the Steve Oronsaye’s committee report that has reportedly enunciated how the entire federal bureaucracy (MDAs) can be streamlined before that report grows some wings for swift implementation. The long-term component is the devolution of more powers to the states—which may not be more than two years—to be brought to fruition. When powers are devolved into the federating units, developments become fast-paced.

    States and their citizens will be able to make choices whether they want bloated bureaucracies or real growth. General Muhammadu Buhari may be the only one that knows the real reason(s)—except what was publicly stated—why he refused to give up after the first, second or third attempt, the least that Nigerians can do is to support the incoming administration to take this badly abused country to the enviable heights that she truly deserve. The challenges are no doubt daunting. But the opportunities, ironically, are also fantastic and the timing cannot be more auspicious.

    • Odere is a media practitioner.

  • Club gets leadership

    Campus Ambassadors of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State have dazzled members of the university community with their high sense of coordination when they held their general assembly, where a new executive was appointed to coordinate the activities of the club for another session.

    The executive is led by Lade Adeneye, a final year student of Pure and Applied Biology.

    The Royal Ambassador of the club, Sheriff Bolarinwa, congratulated members of the executive, urging students to support the new administration for effective running of the club. He said: “The emergence of the new officers was in line with due process; this is why members must support them. If they fail, every member of the club has failed.”

    The outgoing president, Ibrahim Olalekan, expressed appreciation to members for their support, noting that his administration was successful because of students’ cooperation.

    Lade promised to build on the success recorded by his predecessor, adding that he would uphold the values of the club.

    A pamphlet titled: For Nigeria’s sake was shared to the audience. The paper urged the students to look beyond ethnicity and religious sentiment before they cast vote in the coming general election.