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Tag: light

  • Following in the path of His light (1)

    Following in the path of His light (1)

    • Text: John 12:46 I have come as Light into the world, that whosoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness

    Following in the path of His light is a divine appeal from the heavens to the galaxies for whosoever has ears to hear. Prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 2:5 Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord. Following in the path of His light is a deliberate decision not to stop advancing in the path of Scriptural dictates. The Psalmist wrote that, Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path (Psalms 119:105; 130a; cf Proverbs 6:23;Joshua 1:8). It is also the means of authenticating our much vaunted Christian faith (Matthew 7:22,23). That someone bears a Christian name or wears a melancholic look does not validate being a Christian; it is not about church attendance, church titles or attendance; it is not predicated on degrees in Religious studies, Divinity or Philosophy, and neither it is about presence at church activities, it is about following Him. Christianity is not authenticated by the gifts of the spirit (1 Corinthians 13:1) but by the fruit of the spirit – love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, gentleness, and self control (Galatians 5:22,23. It is not about doing what you desire but your compliance with what is required, no matter what. In John 2:5, the mother of Jesus told them that whatever He asked you to do, do it. The Christian Faith is not about doing what you like, it is about doing what is right. It is about a righteous life and holy living. Jesus said by their fruits, you shall know them ( Matthew 7:16).

    From our text, Jesus Christ said that I have come as Light into the world, that whosoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. What Jesus said in essence was that if you are indeed my child, you must have my nature, and consequently be my ambassador of light (2 Corinthians 5:20 cf Matthew 5:14. Paul told the Church in Corinth, that, Follow my example, as a I follow in the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). If you are are walking in the path of His light, this is noticeable when you shine through good works. That is, you must be committed to good works. You must walk your talk or walk what had been preached to you or learnt. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 that, Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven. In Acts 9:36, we read about a woman named Tabitha. The woman died and when Peter got there, all the widows stood by him weeping and showing the coats and garments which Tabitha made for them. This is what you are called to do as children of God. This is your ministry and this is your mission. I pray that you will not fail God in this call in the name of Jesus Christ.

    Secondly, you must shine His light of reconciliation. The ministry committed to us, as children of God, is the ministry of reconciliation and not disintegration. All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18).You have a duty to reconcile unbelievers to Jesus Christ, you must win souls through your words and actions. You are called to reconcile families that are having issues, you must be concerned about people with cerebral palsy and the physically challenged in the society, you must show empathy to motherless children, you must be concerned about destinies that are perverted – drug addicts, prostitution, LGBTQ plus etc and you must always go low to bring others up, particularly the less privileged than you. There is indeed no time that your Christianity is tested than such a time in our nation when living is economically challenging following the rising cost of commodities.

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    Thirdly, you must shine forth the light of your goodness for the glory of God. Don’t do good for the applause of men or principally to be given award, appreciated or celebrated. Jesus said on Matthew 6: 1-4, that, …when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogue and on the streets, to be honoured by others….. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then, your father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  Also, you must shine the light by walking in His light. This is sufficient to say that you must put off the old man with its work of darkness (1 John 1:6,7). You must deal with sexual immoralities, impurity, debauchery, idolatry witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, pride, wickedness etc.

    Finally, you must put on the nature of Jesus Christ, which are visible through humility, kindness, gentleness etc. You must win souls for Christ. You must always remember that who you are, where you are, what you are and all you have are gifts from God, and you shall be held accountable. I pray that during this season of Lent, God will help you to continue to follow in the path of the light. This is what you were called to do. This is your commission and it is apt to remind you that when the labour of the laborers shall end, at a time known only by God, you are going to give account of your deeds, either good or bad (Ecclesiastes 12:14). May you not be a castaway on that day in the name of Jesus Christ.

    Prayer: Lord, please give me grace to walk right as  your child in the name of Jesus Christ.

  • Filmmakers urged to portray culture in positive light

    The need for the Nollywood filmmakers to portray the country’s culture in a positive light has been mooted. Making the call at the last edition of Yoruba Lakotun, a cultural programme, Israel Bolaji, a Lagos-Based Public Relations professional stated that this is important so as not to scare people off the culture.

    He said, “the didactic lessons of the culture should be portrayed more to the outside world than the inimical acts. The world is desirous of seeing noble contents from the Yorubas and we must produce great contents that will attract patronage by those in the Diaspora.”

    Also speaking at the event which held at Ethnic Heritage Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos, writer, Sunday Folorunso Adeniyi called on Yorubas to stop committing syntactic errors in the Yoruba language, especially with proverbs and other clichés.

    Adeniyi, who is the author of Esin Obinrin, Owu Iyagbon and other books, stated that, “Yoruba sayings have been bastardized by many people and this alteration affect the meaning of either the proverb or the cliché. In fact, many times, the meaning is lost because of the inappropriate word used. These sayings have become engrained in our daily lives that people do not know the actual saying anymore.”

    He explained that “some of these proverbs that have historical background while others are phonological. The infiltration of foreign languages into Yoruba culture is also one of the factors responsible for these syntactic errors. Yoruba writers are charged to be versed in the culture and language in order to correct these syntactic errors for posterity.”

    Another Special Guest at the edition, Otunba Lekan Ajirotutu, a Yoruba broadcaster and lecturer, said that there are a lot of people who do not understand Yoruba language and culture.

    Yoruba Lakotun is a quarterly live audience participatory programme where different creative arts are done and an interview session with a Yoruba writer. The show is hosted by Olutayo Irantiola.

  • Light in PDP’s dark tunnel?

    Light in PDP’s dark tunnel?

    Following Ahmed Makarfi and Ali Modu Sheriff’s sudden resolve during the week to cooperate with the Governor Seriake Dickson’s Reconciliation Committee’s efforts, there is renewed hope that the prolonged leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party may be resolved amicably. But Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu and Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan report that there are still many bumps on Dickson’s route. How far can he go to save PDP?

    Most observers and top stakeholders had concluded that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership crisis has deteriorated beyond political redemption.

    Considering the extreme positions of the court-backed National Chairman, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff and the Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee, Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi’s factions, concerned observers and members had dismissed any suggestion of possible peaceful resolution of the prolonged crisis, pointing out that even if the Supreme Court finally gives the expected final ruling; the faction that will eventually lose out would likely pull out and further deplete the former ruling party in Nigeria, which blossomed at its peak to emerge the biggest political party in Africa.

    That was before Thursday, March 23, 2017, when the two factions suddenly agreed to a ceasefire.

    Reports had attributed the achievement of the truce to Thursday meeting of the groups with Bayelsa State Governor and the Chairman of the party’s Reconciliation Committee, Hon. Seriake Dickson, in Abuja.

    Following comments attributed to Dickson before the meeting, which the Makarfi group interpreted as a proof that the governor had taken sides, many had expressed doubts that the Abuja meetings will not hold and that even if it does; it will not achieve any tangible result. But the first sign of a possible successful meeting was when the representatives of the warring factions arrived at the venue.

    While Sheriff, the current National Chairman, was represented by Ahmed Gulak, Bernard Mikko and Cairo Ojougboh, Makarfi, the Chairman of PDP National Caretaker Committee, was represented by Prince Dayo Adeyeye and Rt. Hon Dave Iorhemba. The Nation gathered that the first 40 minutes of the gathering was tension soaked, a situation that changed significantly towards the end of the first hour of the over two hours deliberations.

    At the end the meeting, chaired by Dickson, the communiqué signed by the representatives said, among others, that “all actors of the party should desist from making derogatory, inflammatory and divisive statements against party officials, stakeholders and members.

    “That the party should not dissipate her energy amongst itself but to focus on how to unite and be a formidable opposition capable of taking over power from the failed APC-led government.

    “That all key actors in the on-going peace process should henceforth desist from making public press statements attacking each other and statements insinuating negative acts capable of dragging the party to the mud.”

    They also agreed that ”all key actors in the PDP have agreed to work together with National Reconciliation Committee led by Governor Seriake Dickson to engender peace and genuine reconciliation.”

    The first sign of a possible ceasefire this week was when Dickson successfully held a meeting with Makarfi on Wednesday at the temporary Secretariat of the Markafi group. Before then, there have been reports of allegations and counter allegations, which deepened the crisis.

    At the meeting Dickson had said “All officials of the PDP at the state and zonal levels elected before the May 21 botched Port Harcourt election convention remain valid.

    “My committee will also meet with other key organs of the party to present the template. But let me add that this report is not cast in stone,” he said.

    In his tacit response, Makarfi not only promised to study the template but to relate with other organs of the party on the report before making any serious pronouncement.

    It would be recalled that barely a day before the meeting, Makarfi was quoted as expressing surprise at the current role being played by Dickson.

    Asked to comment on the current role of the Bayelsa State governor, Makarfi had said, “Well, I am as confused and perplexed like the majority of the PDP members, because His Excellency, Governor Seriaki Dickson, will be in the best position to know why what happened happened. I would be wrong to outrightly say he has ulterior motive, maybe exuberance on his side, whatever it is, I don’t know, but I want to remind people that this peace issue has been on for a long time. General Ali Gusau had hosted us to several meetings in order to achieve political solution, one of the highlights then, which was suggested was that, both Ali Modu Sheriff and I should go. I opined that, the problem was not just Ali Modu Sheriff and I, there are other party issues. So, for us to clear the field once and for all, I opined that, if people are to go, it must be comprehensive, not just the two of us. And my fear was when the Court of Appeal made its pronouncement that, the status quo before 21st May should be reverted to, which confirms all fears at that time. And status quo means that, all national officers of the party, not just working committee should return to their seats. I think you see it now? Any political solution that is not all encompassing will still not solve the problem… So, you will be back to square one and in the eyes of the court is that you would have carried out an illegality.”

    Makarfi made the comments while reacting to Dickson’s unexpected call for him to step down in the interest of the party.

    He made the call while speaking with newsmen on in Abuja, where he said the stage was now set for all the chieftains and elders of the party to impress it on the caretaker committee to cede its authority to the Modu Sheriff-led leadership.

    For those who knew that Dickson and most of the PDP governors had supported Makarfi, the development came as a surprise.

    Explaining, Dickson said: “When the idea of making Sheriff the National Chairman of our party was hatched, I personally kicked against it.

    “I also turned down all the overtures from Sheriff because I did not believe in him and what he did.

    “So now, my position is that we have to move forward. I am a politician of conviction, I am not a politician of convenience and I am not a typical Nigerian politician,” Dickson said.

    Pointing out that the party had “come to a threshold when the right political decision should be taken to end the prolonged crisis,” he said, “The Makarfi  led caretaker committee should remember that it was a brain child of the majority of party members including I at a convention in Port Harcourt.

    “I  and up to 80 per cent  of the population of the PDP members were for Makarfi but the unfolding events have  compelled us to adopt a political resolution instead of embarking on further bickering.

    “As politicians and democrats, we must first obey the constitution and all other instruments of civil rule and which includes obeying the judiciary,” he said.

    He also said: “ We had expected that the Court of Appeal would give us judgment, but it rather upheld Sheriff as the National Chairman of the party.

    “Whether anybody likes Sheriff’s  face or not, the Makarfi-led caretaker committee was stripped of its authority to manage the affairs of the party the day the judgment was delivered.

    “It was in the spirit to honour the court’s pronouncement that the party’s reconciliation committee that I chair submitted its report on how we shall move forward to Sheriff.

    Jonathan’s factor

    The Nation investigation shows that what happened in the Abuja meeting has its roots in former President Goodluck Jonathan and other PDP leaders’ recent moves to resolve the crisis. According to a Makarfi supporter, who pleaded not to be named, the agreement was possible because the former President and other PDP fathers have persuaded our members that a political solution will impact on the party more positively than a legal resolution. “What truce we are seeing today began the day the leader (Jonathan) changed his earlier stance of keeping away to re-unite the party. Nobody wants to pull down the house, but all that we all wanted was equity and fairness according to law and common sense,” he said.

    It would be recalled that about three weeks ago, the governors of PDP, after holding a meeting with Jonathan resolved to adopt political, instead of legal approach in resolving party’s prolonged leadership crisis. The crucial meeting was attended by the governors of Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Taraba, Cross River, Abia, Ebonyi, Gombe and Bayelsa states while Rivers State was represented by the deputy governor.

    Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, who briefed newsmen on the outcome of the forum’s meeting with Jonathan in Abuja, that Tuesday night, explained that the meeting was at the instance of Jonathan, adding that in their resolve to resolve the matter, all interests in the party would be represented.

    “He, Jonathan, is genuinely concerned about what is going on in the party, and he thought that an interactive session with the governors will go a long way to dousing tension.

    “We know that there are so many matters before the court but we believe that a political solution will go a long way to solve this matter.

    “If we believe in this party, we will all be willing and ready to pursue a political solution, which at the end of the day every interest will be well represented. That is the position of this meeting,” he said.

    Doubts, skepticism

    The resolutions notwithstanding, concerned stakeholders and observers have expressed fears that the principal players, Makarfi and Sheriff may not give up their individual pride and personal claims so as to allow real peace in the party.

    Contributing to this fear, the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) of PDP, Senator Walid Jubril, warned, while receiving the report of Dickson’s committee, that it was selfish ambition that was destroying the party, pointing out also that “Any attempt by any member to leave PDP for an unborn party is not a good decision. You cannot build a solid house and abandon it midway. We must never behave as never do well. We must resolve our compromises. We need two strong parties, PDP and other one.”

    He advised his fellow party men to consider political solution, which he described as a ‘welcome,’ approach even as the judiciary is doing its work.

    Even Dickson had to caution the two factions. While presenting the report to the revered organ of the party, the governor expressed the same sentiment when he said “We will also be failing to point out that whether we succeed or how soon we succeed will be based on the collaboration of all of us.

    “Let us leave all personal grievances and ambitions behind. This party is not about Makarfi and Sheriff alone. Let us all unite, leave egos and ambition.”

    He also revealed that Sheriff has written an undertaken not to contest for the position of National Chairman of the party at the planned convention and to allow the convention committee free hand to operate by ensuring that all party officers resign ahead of the convention.

    Close associates of the principal actors confirmed at the weekend that the factional leaders were ready to give peace a chance.

    ‘We are committed to peace in PDP’

    Reacting to the fears, associates of Sheriff and Makarfi told The Nation, during the week that their leaders are committed to real peace in PDP.

    Former National Vice Chairman of the PDP and the Deputy National Chairman of the Sheriff’s faction of the party, Dr. Cairo Ojuogboh, who represented him at the last Abuja meeting with Dickson, expressed total commitment of the National Chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, towards restoring peace in the troubled party.

    Ojuogboh, while expressing optimism that the current reconciliation effort being spearheaded by the Governor Dickson-led committee will spell peace and progress for PDP, said that Sheriff and everybody in his group are ready to work towards putting the party back on the path to lasting peace.

    While regretting that the unending leadership tussle within the opposition party has adversely affected its performance as an opposition party as well as its preparation towards returning to power as soon as possible, Ojuogboh assures Nigerians that the PDP, being a strong and well rooted political party, will not disintegrate, in spite of its many challenges.

    “Like we have said severally, it is the desire of the majority of our members nationwide that the party should be handed over to the people. I want to tell you that that is what Senator Sheriff is really interested in doing. All of us working with him believe in that assignment too and we will never be distracted in achieving that.

    “Long before now, we have announced to the whole world that the PDP National Working Committee would as soon as possible organise a national convention that would lead to the election of credible leaders of the party. And now, we have a reconciliation effort that is supporting that desire. So, we are ready to work for the return of peace to our dear party,” he said on Friday in brief chat with The Nation.

    It would be recalled the crisis came to a standstill when the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt on Feb. 17, 2017, affirmed Sheriff as the National Chairman of the party against a resolution of May, 2016 National Convention of the party that sacked the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

    In place of the NWC and National Executive Committee of the party, the convention had constituted a National Caretaker Committee headed by Sen. Ahmed Makarfi to manage the party and organise an elective national convention.

    The situation became further complicated when Sheriff challenged the development in court and got judgment, affirming him as chairman while Makarfi, supported by PDP Governors Forum and elders, including the Board of Trustee (BoT) headed to the Supreme Court for the final ruling.

    Since then, observers had said the much awaited national convention may never materialise.

    Unity convention

    But following the turn of events, more PDP members now foresee a successful elective National Convention in which new leadership and generally accepted leadership of PDP will emerge this year.  But the truce is coming even as the Supreme Court has fixed May 4 to hear the objections raised by Makarfi. This explains why some concerned stakeholders insist that the bumps on the route to peace in PDP are yet to be fully leveled.

    “Yes, our members attended the meeting with Governor Dickson. That does not mean that the matter in court has been dropped. Until that is done, we cannot really say the legal solution to the PDP crisis has been abandoned in favour of a political solution. You and I know that a political solution can never be superior to the rulings of a Supreme Court, both in the case justice and of equity,” said a Makarfi associate who said he was not asked to speak for the faction.

    Hinting on the behind-the-scene negotiations that led to the current understanding, Walid had assured Dickson that the BOT will meet with other organs of the party, “So that we can call our convention before or latest by June. “I want to assure our members that peace will return to PDP and all our differences will be resolved.”

    The Nation’s investigation by Friday shows that the successes so far achieved by the Reconciliation Committee, especially the report and the communique of the last meeting with Dickson will only serve as the take-off basis for further negotiations. It remains to be seen if what happened in Abuja on Thursday, March 23, 2017, is truly a light in the PDP’s leadership dark tunnel.

     

  • A light touch

    A light touch

    Driving the other day in the Abule-Egba axis of Lagos State, I ran into a sort of traffic snag. I was forbidden to take my usual route to Otta, and I had to negotiate a diversion. It was a laborious engagement. With the diligence of ants, vehicle trailed vehicle in an eternal slog through serpentine roads.

    Suddenly the sight ahead absorbed the driver. A flyover. The structure is a high curve towering over all, and with workers furiously at work. Ahead was a chaos of industry, of working to meet a deadline dangling like the bridge. The chaos of men, machines, engines revving, men hollering orders to others who obey with their bodies buried in white dust.

    Suddenly the vehicular ache was no longer a scandal. The architectural marvel ahead reminded one of what used to be at that same point. That is, another anarchy of horns, or cars ramming into cars and sometimes into men. It precipitated a paralysis of movement.

    The contrast of optimistic chaos against paralytic anarchy brought to mind a line I read in William Wordsworth’s immortal poem, Intimations of Immortality. “The things I have seen I now can see no more,” wrote the bard. It reads like a religious, out-of-body experience. It is, however, a sort of ecstasy of miracle from human hands.

    The flyover, now a seeming bridge between earth and sky, promises to connect people to people and place to place with a lightness of touch. It is not just the work of money. It is the triumph of thinking. How much difference one contraption can do to the lives of millions who live in that part of town!

    That is a big snapshot of the style of Nigeria’s alpha governor, Akinwunmi Ambode. His is an administration powered less by money than the force of mind. As Einstein once said, “imagination is more important than knowledge.”

    If the Abule-Egba is money, less money is about to turn gridlock into ease in Lekki merely by doing away with the onerous roundabouts. Or is it the near-miracle drive through the Third Mainland Bridge by constructing a layby on a tract of land which seemed invisible until his eyes look. Many of such are sprouting in major centres of the state.

    He will have to do that, he knows, against the ambition to turn many pot-hole ridden inner roads into mercies for cars and commuters. Last year he redeemed 114 roads. He plots 181 for 2017, and it is not to save roads for saving sake, but to link them to major arteries. That betokens more traffic and better traffic management. He is looking at many major areas, such as Agric-Isawo-Arepo Road in Ikorodu, Ajelogo-Akanimodo Road in Epe, Oshodi to Murtala Airport Road and Ketu-Alapere Inner Road Phase II.

    It is often said that administrators should restrict themselves to one passion, and if they do it well they endear themselves to now as well as after. Legacy is assured. George Bush Sr. said he wanted to be known as the education president and unleashed the phrase, “a thousand points of light.”

    The risk, often, is that things may not work for that one dream. Finance and the concourse of events may overwhelm the leader’s plans. As Richard Nixon once asserted in his autobiography, “history affects us more than we affect history.” That pushes leaders to move from one interest to others. Obama just ended his reign doing things other than health care and pulling troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. For instance, he became the enabler of the greatest environmental agreement in history, a feat Theodore Roosevelt would envy in his grave.

    So, the alpha governor is looking at other areas. One of the most cheering for me has been the launch into the arts. He is now at work on theatres across the state. This is counterintuitive. We are, by all accounts, at our philistine nadir. The arts, including drama, are places where governments pay next to no attention.

    But Governor Ambode has worked up his bona fides for such an undertaking. With his security measures, Lagos is bubbling back to night life, and theatres are an important part of it. But this is no arts as snob. Each part of Lagos will express its sensibilities. So, he is not offering the eyebrow variety, keyed to the Victoria Island brood.

    While digitalising modern-day libraries for schools, he is also rejigging the environment with a new cleaning programme that will disrupt the swagger of the accustomed and contracted firms and make the exercise more accountable.

    The Christmas period was marked by the rise of rice, or what many called LAKE rice. If that was more than a little surprising in itself, it was even more so because of what it means if we take our jobs seriously. This was just one season. The deal between Lagos and Kebbi only came to light a year earlier and we already reaped the fruits. This makes nonsense of many years of dilating over locally grown food that continues to cost us billions of dollars a month in foreign exchange.

    As he keeps working, Governor Ambode is making governance look easy because he is a creative dynamo. He knows, just as the artist Pablo Picasso said, that “everything you can imagine is real.” His imagination is becoming every Lagosian’s reality.

     

    Okowa, Okubo and $10 million mistress

    Last week, the news media online buzzed with speculations about Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa over this newspaper story about a governor that laundered $10million to a mistress who escaped with the loot. Even the APC in the state railed at Okowa, asking him to own up. The Delta State governor’s media team harped that their boss is innocent of the charge.

    This newspaper did not mention Okowa. It merely stated that the suspect is a governor in an oil-rich state in the Niger Delta.

    But I was quiet until I read a Facebook comment from one Festus Okubor, who accused me of being behind the news story, and that I was working with social media woman Olunloyo and a third person that courage fails Okubor to mention.

    Okubor was information commissioner under James Ibori and chief of staff to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan. I wondered why a person who has held such responsible positions could act so irresponsibly. One, I am not the owner of The Nation as he claims. He said: “Sam Omatseye’s paper published…” Two, on which source did he conclude that I was behind the story?

    Three, the newspaper did not mention Okowa’s name. It only said the suspect was in an oil-bearing state in the region. Is Okowa the only governor in that region?

    Four, I can authoritatively say it is not Okowa, and all the facts based on our sources point to someone else. So, how come an Okubor could accuse me of such fiction? He was an information officer of the state and he is the exact mockery of information management. He traded in fantasy in the name of sycophancy. He had served Ibori and Uduaghan, now he is grovelling to Okowa and he is even praising him for a non-existent infrastructural stride.

    He even vouched for Okowa, saying “he has no girlfriend, whether Ika or Itsekiri, anywhere in the world.” Who asked him if Okowa has a Fulani or Yoruba or Ibibio or Turkish mistress somewhere in the world? He is a serial doormat and lickspittle, and Governor Okowa should be aware of such crawlers around him.

  • Give us light in Aniocha South

    SIR: For 11 years now, residents of Aniocha South Local Govt Area of Delta State have not seen power supply to use.We have been thrown into economic, domestic and social anguish arising from lack of power supply.

    The residents of these communities live in darkness that has virtually crippled lives in the various communities in the area.

    All appeals to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) unit covering the area would appear to have fallen on deaf ears, as its officials keep telling us tales of endless patience, apparently to douse the brewing tension in the various communities.

    We therefore appeal to the authorities concerned – Hon Isaac Anwuzia, Hon Angela Nwaka, Hon Amaechi Mrakpor, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, The Hon Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Consumer Protection Council and the BEDC management to wade in relieve the residents of excruciating pain of lack of power supply.

     

    • Feyisetan Akeeb Kareem,

    Ogwashi-Ukwu, Delta State.

  • Wike needs some light

    It would appear that Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike needs some light, or perhaps more appropriately, some enlightenment. He has appointed a Special Adviser on Street and Traffic Lights, Daye Graham-Douglas. According to a September 25 report, this development followed “the installation of traffic and street lights recently along major roads in the city of Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor Local Government.”

    Why Wike considers it necessary to have an adviser especially for this purpose remains unclear, and he would need to shed some light on the special appointment for public illumination. But it is clear enough, meaning it needs no further illumination, that Wike has conveniently created a position for the purpose of filling it with one of his loyalists.

    Of course, this kind of superfluous appointment is not peculiar to Wike’s administration, and further examples can be found in abundance in many other states across the country. This is a major reason there are bloated administrations that overburden the public purse.

    There is no doubt that Wike has a lot on his plate already without the additional burden of another decorative adviser. But simply because he can make appointments, he has gone ahead to make this particular one without considering the proper use of power. In other words, it may not be far-fetched to categorise the appointment as an abuse of power. That phrase has many faces.

    To properly contextualise the superfluity, it is relevant to refer to a recent statement concerning Wike by Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole. Speaking through the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Kassim Afegbua, Oshiomhole said: “In the circle of governance, where men are truly called men, someone like Governor Wike cannot muster any courage to be called a man when he has continuously held Rivers workers in scorn without paying them their due salaries and emoluments. Even though Edo State is not economically viable as Rivers State, we do not only pay our workers’ salaries, we have since increased our workers’ minimum wages from N18, 000 to N25, 000.”

    Oshiomhole continued: “That this salary increase is happening at a time when Governor Wike is lamenting over paucity of funds, should explain in greater details our uncommon creativity and prudent management of resources. The last time we visited Rivers State, we were appalled by the plights of Rivers workers, whose lamentations Governor Wike has consistently ignored.”

    There is nothing more to add to show Wike’s poor sense of priorities, is there?

  • Light with equity

    Light with equity

    What does power have in common with superstition? Well, the following story illustrates it. Somewhere around Ikot Ekpene, a power line met a higher power. The shrine. Some staff who wanted to route the modern marvel through the community ran away. Why? The priests pursued them. They swore that if they came near with their wires and woods and technicians and their funny regalia, the shrine would invoke death and disease.

    Power pass power, as Nigerians would say. You would have expected the opposite. It makes us reflect on our history. Where were the African gods when the white man came with guns? One community after community, one god after another yielded in disgrace as the white man thrashed through and imposed a colonial rule.

    But here, in today’s Nigeria, modern still bows to ancient. The carriers of natural shock yielded to the awful prospect of spiritual electrocution. But modernity is defiant, must have its way. Not always, not with these men in Akwa Ibom whose tongues spewed out curses of the end of days. They asked for compensation first. They had it. The gods yielded not to firepower but to filthy lucre. The gods have become human.

    All the staff returned. Where ritual reigned, lines now swagger. Physical light replaces what Joseph Conrad calls, with impish disdain of African society, “the night of first ages.”

    In the same way, power supply in Nigeria has taken quite the same trajectory. We try to supply power. We stop it. When it is not corruption, it is red tape. When it is not red tape, it is gas supply. When it is not ignorance about gas supply, it is lack of accountability. When it is not lack of accountability, it is inefficiency. When it is not inefficiency, it is culture, or it is greed. A sort of chaos theory takes aim at our country that has grappled for over 50 years with how to turn on the light and keep it turned on.

    With this mesh on our hands, we are raging towards the dying of the light. So, it is true that we are groping with about 2000 megawatts of supply today when the average consumer is being asked to pay rates at the projection of 4000 megawatts. So, why the outcry? I say, why not? The Gencos and the Discos are not reconciling accounts.

    But we must start from the beginning. Gas. Without sabotage of the militants, we still don’t have enough gas. A revolution is required which will have to involve tweaking how our gas deals were configured in the past. Today, only 16 per cent of the gas goes to local consumption. The NLNG sells 38 per cent to foreign markets. About 36 per cent is a toss-up from what is called associated gas from oil wells and direct clear, but this is often frustrated because the western companies who work our wells are not interested in gas. They want only oil. That revolution of gas will stop the 10 per cent that flares interminably into our skies.

    The real issues are with the Gencos and Discos. For now, an illusion reigns about transmission. It has 5000 megawatts capacity. It is believed that it is not enough. For what we supply, it is. We have never surpassed 5,000. For Gencos, I have a lot of pity. I paid a visit to the Egbin Power Plant and saw that a lot has been invested. Before its takeover, it operated at 30 per cent. It now operates at about 87 with 1,100 megawatts. But it all depends on gas availability.

    But to get power to a high level, it has to come with small wins. Here and there, we have headaches. One, money has to be spent on bringing many of the turbines in all the power plants to high level. Many of them need money. Egbin, for instance, has invested about $400 million. Two, there are areas where legal cases have stood in the way of installations of power. Three, the various Gencos have many turbines lying fallow. Why? They need a lot of money to install them. Many of the companies that took over did not have a sense of what they were going into until they possessed, except a few like Egbin. Even at that, they did not anticipate the Naira fall.  Three, IPP also are under construction. Four, Aba Power Plant of about 141 megawatts just settled out of court, so is now under construction. Ditto to Zungeru power plant now under construction after legal row over commission claims.

    But the immediate problem is now accountability. The Discos are now being accused of not making the money received from consumers available to transmitters and Gencos. Part of it is fraud. Consumers have been charged the same rate when power was about 4000 which is the projection. Now, it is about 2000, they are charged the same. This is not fair.

    I understand the bellwether minister, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, has set up a committee for them to reconcile accounts to reflect what has been supplied. They are short-changing the consumer. It may be standing in the ability of the DISCOS to get enough power to supply to consumers. Many Nigerians are complaining that when they had an average of two hours power supply a day, they are paying about the same rate when they had six hours.

    This is a call for transparency, and the NERC should be the agency to step in and ensure that light comes with equity. This should complement the efforts of the bellwether minister to solve the supply chinks in different parts of the country.

    Another issue is the huge debts from big federal government institutions, including agencies and the military. But the Discos have been saying that the consumers are not ready for power supply. They say that it costs a lot to give power and we want to have it for cheap. They have a point. We had the same story with oil marketers. They had to withdraw and forced Nigerians to pay for fuel before we settled for it.

    Nigerians use power carelessly. Sometimes a light bulb will beam from morning to morning. Until we are ready to pay for power and turn on the light or the fan or the air-conditioner only when we need it, we shall never enjoy power. In advanced countries, they use power rationally.

    Only with consumption discipline shall we say we have conquered power.

  • Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

    Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

    These are tough times. The economy is practically in recession because the stomach feels it. Workers are starving. Inflation is in a runaway mode. There is generalised citizen disenchantment. No matter how anyone chooses to parse this moment, the harsh reality is that it is not the ideal.

    Surely, in moments like this, the party in power bears the brunt of citizens’ collective angst. After all, in seeking the support of the electorate, the ruling party had presented itself as the one with the answer to the challenges facing the nation. Even if some or most of the challenges that eventually emerge were never anticipated, the victorious party now carries the unwholesome burden of meeting them. And it must deliver against all odds.

    Still it bears reminding ourselves where we came from and what has been our citizen share of the blame of delayed action in getting our economic house in order.

    We have to go to the very beginning of the republic to revisit the values of hard work and modest lifestyle that would have served us well if we indeed let it endure. Beside taking agriculture seriously and earning decent foreign exchange from that source, we also cut our national coat according to our cloth. Leaders led by example.

    We had a parliamentary system of government that moderated the cost of governance with members of regional assemblies serving on a part-time basis. Development plans were taken seriously and educational institutions were well-positioned, with well-trained teachers, who proudly took their jobs seriously and produced marketable graduates who had no problem securing employment with businesses, industries, and public service. These laid the foundation of a thriving economy to the end of the First Republic and beyond, until the seventies.

    Many things went wrong in the late seventies to mid-eighties. Education was bastardised. Values were dethroned from our  national life. We went from a nation of hard workers to a nation of loafers looking for easy money because that was what we were oriented to. It was the era of emergency contractors and sugar daddies in starched khaki and, later, in flowing agbada and babaringa. What can go wrong? That mindset, inimical to growth and development of the nation and individuals, has never been completely rebuked or abandoned.

    The blame can go round between military and political leaders who led us astray and citizens who betrayed our values of hard work and modest lifestyle, which every ethnic nationality imbibed from its ancestors. Rather than compete healthily for the products of industry and hard work, we threw caution to the wind and engage in the rat race for wealth that we did not produce. If we engage in objective soul searching, no one can go blameless.

    When politicians canvass for votes, what demand do we make of them? Do we take them to task to explain how they expect to move the nation forward and make life better for citizens or do we ask for our share of the proceeds of corrupt enrichment as a condition for them to receive our votes? And why do we reasonably expect that they owe us anything once they ascend to power?

    This accounts for the noxious phenomena of local government chairmen simply sharing among party stalwarts their allocation of funds meant for local development. It also explains the conversion of security votes and constituency funds into personal funds. We are all implicated in the cause of our present predicament.

    Of course, we can excoriate the leadership for its weakness of the will in not resisting forcefully the temptation to accede to the indefensible demands of political activists and hangers-on. The previous administrations must accept the larger share of the blame. So must the leadership at the state and local levels across political parties. Much as corruption has been the bane of our development, there is a much more fundamental source of our present predicament.

    It is not as if we haven’t been here before. But it is shameful that every time we face the reality of our dependence on a single commodity, we fail to take the necessary corrective action that has the potential to endure and put us on the path of economic advancement. Of course, doing this takes a strong political will and an uncommon courage to do what is right and damn the political consequence. While taking such a stand may be unrewarded and, worse, punished at the polls, the positive long-term outcome can be a lasting legacy to the leaders that refuse to be guided simply by short-term political interests.

    The Action Group lost an election shortly after it introduced an epoch-making policy of freely educating children of primary school age in Western Nigeria. But which leader and which party do we keep heaping praises on 60 years after? This is a great lesson in leadership.

    The Buhari administration has vowed to rewrite our economic playbook by redirecting our national development efforts towards the non-oil sector, especially agriculture and mining. It is about time. But it will get worse before it gets better, and the unavoidable hardship will deplete our individual and collective bank of endurance and perseverance. We must remind ourselves, however, that we are simply making transfers from our credit accounts into our savings and investment portfolio for a better future. We have been through 50 years of easy money from fossil oil. It is over for good. The developed world that needed our oil has moved on either because they have struck the black gold themselves or because they now have better environment-friendly alternatives. What is important is to avoid prevarication. The signs, thus far, are mixed.

    On the one hand, the ongoing anti-corruption war has been hailed by some and castigated by others. It is normal. What is more important is that the leadership does not vacillate in the face of expected pushback. How else can it be? Those who looted didn’t expect that they would be thus exposed and required to make restitution. But if deterrence is a moral justified tool of governance, there is no alternative to having them recompense.

    On the other hand, however, those who hail the anti-corruption war and would like very much to see its culprits exposed and shamed, will also be the first to ask for the crucifixion of the administration if the economy does not improve in the near term. This is also normal. In reality, however, the anti-corruption battle and the battle for economic restructuring are two fronts of the same war, the ultimate goal of which is to make life better for the people.

    This is why the Buhari administration must engage in serious multi-tasking and retain the services of economic experts to champion the recovery efforts. The perception of a dithering approach to the exchange rate regime that appeared to have sent wrong signals to investors and slowed down foreign investment, now hurting the naira badly, is regrettable. Lost time must be regained.

    There are indications that the administration is refocusing effort in this direction. The report that the non-oil sector has provided the majority of the revenue to the coffers of the federal government in the last quarter is admirable. The discovery of ghost workers in thousands and the sealing of the pipeline that feeds them is also commendable. Such funds must be directed to investment in infrastructure.

    On top of all these, however, three areas must attract the immediate attention of the administration. First, economic diversification must be pursued with fervour. Second, the public service must be restructured and organised labour must be an integral part of this effort. Labour cannot honourably resist restructuring whose goal is higher productivity, including the generation of internal revenue for states and local governments.

    Third, toughness in the pursuit of national economic recovery must be combined with an empathetic understanding of the grievances of groups and communities, especially minority populations, which have been under-represented and under-appreciated. Respect for diverse cultures and values is the essence of cultural democracy. Pluralism is our heritage, and to see the light at the end of the tunnel, we must embrace it.

  • Let the light shine in Lagos

    It is apparent that the government of Akinwunmi Ambode is geared towards creating and ensuring that a new face of Lagos state is felt by all.  Lagosians must be thankful and grateful that most streets and communities in and around the state are beginning to show that the governor and his team are fully prepared to let electricity light illuminate all the nooks and crannies of the state.

    The state wears a new look at night, that most people, in fact, many families now want to take a stroll at night to wear off the stress of the day.  Only last week, Governor Ambode inaugurated an electricity light project for 67 communities.  These communities are within the Ibeju-Lekki axis of the state and the governor made it clear that the communities would be linked to the national grid.

    It is a clear attempt to ensure that everywhere and every facet of the state is made habitable in order to reduce the insecurity problem and other attendant consequences.  In order that this project is made plausible and very effective, the state government also promised to continue to pay the bills of the residents until the installation of meters in all homes in the 67 communities.

    Today’s Lagos is no longer the Lagos of yesteryears when darkness hounded most corners and hoodlums had easy access to most areas to perpetuate crime.  This Light Up Lagos project in the view of what the governor has to do is to build on tripod of community electrification, strengthen the usefulness of street lighting and ensure that the state is always safe and secure.

    This initiative has indeed seen the light of the day in some areas of the state.  With the full involvement of both private and public sectors, key stakeholders and an advisory committee set up by the government, it is clearly obvious that progress has been made in some key roads and streets and communities in the state.  It is not only that the lights show up continuously at night to encourage people to move about with much ease,  it is equally clear that the state government is genuinely committed to the well-being of the people.

    Just a few weeks ago, a friend of mine had a serious mechanical problem with his car on Third Mainland Bridge.  This was late in the night and there was no one in sight to render help.  However, with the help of one or two people, he was able to push the car to safety before a towing van finally came to the rescue.  This scenario played out well simply because the street lights were fully on and it was impossible for miscreants to operate in such a wonderful setting.  In those days when pitch darkness was the lot of Third Mainland Bridge and other areas, armed robbers, mischief-makers and rapists harassed people with impunity and reckless abandon.

    Governor Ambode promptly amplified his objective for this project when he stressed the fact that his administration has seen the plight of the people of the state.  To him, light symbolizes civilization and hope.  When God said at creation let there be light, He knew that with light and brightness man can exhibit love and cheerfulness.  Cheerfulness has become the sing-song of most residents now, particularly those who work late.  The level of fear of insecurity has reduced to its barest minimum.

    Go to Ikorodu area of the state and see how people walk leisurely in the evenings to savour the beauty provided by the street lights.  With the expansion of the roads and the introduction of the new BRT buses, street light have become a norm.  From 7p.m when the lights are on, till 6.30a.m when they are switched off, many people sit around the corners to either chat or stroll or busy themselves drinking and brooding over life.  There is hardly any fear of molestation.  In fact, the difference between night and day is now a bit difficult to decipher.

    Light is life and Ambode is truly giving life to the people.  One could imagine the joy and sense of Eldorado in the hearts of the residents of these 67 communities who did not see or experience light for five years.  Then suddenly there was light, a well-assured one provided by the leader of the state himself.  This is the sort of situation only leaders with deep sense of humanity can provide.  It is so heartwarming and also reinforces people’s confidence in the ability of the governor to deliver on the dividends of democracy.

    The most binding aspect of the needs of the people must always be identified by a leader who is serious about development.  Governor Ambode has fully demonstrated his readiness to carry his people along in order to continuously perfect the ingredients of development.  This was why he said: “today, we are delighted to say that these 67 communities have been connected to the national grid.  After a due assessment of the situation, we commenced work last year October.  Today it is no longer a promise; it has been realized.  It is a dream come true and these areas can feel the beauty of the government of the state.”

    To make this project come true, the government has adequately provided 33kvA high-tension lines just to serve this primary purpose.  The lines were laid from Ajah sub-station through Lekki to Eleko junction.  And from there also, a high-tension network covering over 131 kilometres spreading to the 67 communities was rehabilitated, with the provision of 86 transformers.  The cost of these have been put at N600 million.  All these were done with the singular hope that the residents themselves and other concerned people do not turn these installations into their personal property.  Hoodlums must not be seen to be the ones tampering with these meters in an attempt to sabotage government projects.

    And like Ambode clearly stated at that occasion: “Beyond fulfilling our promise to these communities, we have also demonstrated our commitment to run an all-inclusive government of which no one will be left behind.  Therefore it is expected that this project will boost the socio-economic activities in this area having suffered untold setback for over five years.”

    He went on to reiterate his readiness to look into similar problems in other areas of the state.  “I am aware that there are other places like this.  Beyond these 67 communities, we have about 34 other communities in Badagry alone with similar challenges.  And today, we are facing these problems with total commitment and resolve.”  And as it is now, before this year runs out this problem in these 34 communities will be a thing of the past.

    The infrastructure of government is gradually resurfacing in these areas to boost people’s confidence in government.  Ambode is a champion in this regard.  His love for what is good; what is pleasant to the eyes; what will give the populace a new glow and more has been his foremost forte.  This shows the mark of commitment only a committed cexecutive can display.  He knows it is time to work; it is time to push aside gimmicks and reach out to the masses.  It is time to move on with the times and then let light and brightness rule the lives of the people.

    This is what Governor Ambode has come to manifest, demonstrating it in ways only his calibre of person can really do.  Therefore let the Light Up Lagos project be allowed and encouraged to prosper for the good of all, after all, light and darkness can never meet – light is synonymous with progress.

  • A shining light flickers out

    •(Ahmed Rufa’i Ibrahim, April 2, 1950 – April 2, 2016)

    I was going to post my birthday wishes to Rufa’i Ibrahim on his Facebook page earlier in the day on April 2, then procrastinated for no particular or apparent reason. Dr Kabiru Chafe, the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) historian, then phoned from Kaduna, and we got absorbed in our usually deep exploration of Nigeria’s current dilemmas, something that I also usually engage in with Rufa’i on almost nightly basis until penultimate Thursday, March 24.

    Then his niece Faridah Mohammed interjected with a call, whose tidings I was not prepared for. In her typically diplomatic manner, she calmly announced that Uncle Rufa’i died a moment ago — exactly on his 66th birthday. I was instantly devastated and speechless, and still cannot recall how we ended the call.

    I had known the previous night that he would go into hospital for therapy the next day, and although I had noticed he had become a bit withdrawn in the days since we last spoke on March 24, nothing had indicated that this shining light was about to flicker out for good.

    Tearfully, I also announced to our mutual friend Dr Chafe the tragic news, and we briefly prayed for Rufa’i Ibrahim’s departed soul. Dr Chafe soon left me to privately grieve the sudden and sad passing of a brother who in decades past would come to be a mentor, friend and among my closest confidants. In between bursts of tears, I managed to alert relatives and friends.

    He had been diagnosed with a very rare form of skin cancer (Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma/ Leukemia Mycoma Fungerids/ Sezary) in October 2014; and after careful research, I arranged for him to receive treatment in one of only half-a-dozen dedicated global specialist centres at the University of Frankfurt Teaching Hospital in Germany. The ailment appeared to have been contained, but he then relapsed and made a second visit in December 2015.

    We all felt he was on the mend, only to relapse again soon after, and died of resulting complications at the Gwagwalada Hospital on Saturday, April 2, following brief therapeutic interventions, where he had taken himself. Up until that moment, he had carried on bravely; he was never really bed-ridden. If you phoned him and he didn’t say it, one couldn’t tell he was in any discomfort.

    An alumnus of the University of Ibadan (1971–74), where he graduated among the top in his set, and latterly Jos (1987–90), Rufa’i was a bright political scientist and lawyer, but better known as a leading radical journalist on the Nigerian Left — easily among the best of his generation. He went into journalism, first briefly at the NTA Jos and then the New Nigerian, after his one-year NYSC in Oron in the then South–East State in July 1975.

    Politically, he belonged to the leftist community that was centred and active around the now deceased historian Dr Bala Usman of ABU, Zaria, where Rufa’i was a Graduate Assistant from October 1975 to May 1976.

    Many came to refer to Rufa’i simply as Malam, following his passionate involvement as an ideologue and activist in the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP)-era politics of the now late Malam Aminu Kano and its splinter grouping around Governors Abubakar Rimi (now also deceased) and Balarabe Musa of Kano and Kaduna States respectively during the Second Republic (1979-83).

    In 1984, he was jailed for nine months without trial, or even the courtesy of a single interrogation, by the Buhari military junta for merely daring to pen a satirical column about the regime. For his sin, the Nigerian Gestapo once hurled him down into a pitch-dark dungeon where he instantly fainted, but mercifully recovered hours later.

    In the period before and after General Ibrahim Babangida’s political transition that ended in fiasco in 1992, Rufa’i joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and sought vainly to be its national spokesman. Ethno-religious politics trumped competence and principles.

    Having returned to the Daily Times from 1990-92 as Editorial Consultant, and qualified as a barrister during that time, he turned his energies to private legal practice and media consultancy to governments and non-state entities, notably, the Nasarawa State Government, the National Population Commission, and the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (Oputa Commission) until June 2007.

    After President Olusegun Obasanjo was succeeded by Umaru ‘Yar Adua in 2007, the latter earmarked Rufa’i to initiate and chair a proposed innovation in policy-making in the form of a policy and strategic think-tank for the President. Alas, this was not to be, thanks to the machinations of a youthful insider who very probably saw all this as threatening his planned power grab and ambitions.

    In 2010-11, Rufa’i led a small band of Nasarawa State citizens in a “Think-Tank”, including yours truly, to provide ideas, coherence and inspiration to what many initially saw as a joke gubernatorial pursuit by Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.

    Working largely quietly behind the scenes every weekday, and armed only with bubbling ideas and passion for change, they helped achieve what many felt was well-nigh impossible then — the defeat of an incumbent State Governor by someone on a 10-months old party platform barely known in the State — Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

    In the event, this was the only governorship contest the CPC won in the 2011 General Elections. It was testament to the thesis by the famed American anthropologist, Margaret Mead (1901-1978), about the dynamic of change when she famously wrote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

    This was Rufa’i Ibrahim’s credo, too. Wherever he went before or thereafter, whether at the New Nigerian (Kaduna), Daily Times (Lagos), The Triumph (Kano), The Guardian on Sunday (Lagos), the Nigerian Standard (Jos), The Analyst magazine (Jos), the Nasarawa Publishing Company Limited, or the Nasarawa Broadcasting Service, he left behind him indelible footprints of professionalism, integrity, personal honour, service and passionate commitment to the best Nigerian ideals.

    His boldest journalistic exploits were when he was at the Daily Times, first as Political Correspondent, then Political Analyst, and finally Chief Leader Writer & Editorial Board Chairman; and as successive founder Editor of Sunday Triumph, The Triumph, The Guardian on Sunday, and The Analyst, where he immersed himself in utterly fearless investigative journalism and commentary.

    Rufa’i Ibrahim was born into power and privilege in both the traditional and modern spheres, yet no one who ever had any dealings with him could fail to be disarmed by his humility, simplicity, integrity, patriotism, and unwavering empathy for, and commitment to, the poor and voiceless. His weekly column on Peoples Daily, the national newspaper he co-founded in 2008 and of which he was until his demise its Director and Editor-in-Chief, was aptly titled “For the Masses”.

    Originally a Kanuri from Lafia but born in Bauchi, where he spent his formative years before going several places with his high-flyer civil servant father, Rufa’i was a formidably good man, who I’ve never ever known to raise his voice against anyone and yet was fiercely committed to his high principles and convictions — personal and political.

    It’s trite to say Rufa’i Ibrahim took his final bow at a time our country so desperately needs people of his intellectual, moral and political calibre, and that his void would be hard to fill. Which was all the more sad that President Muhammadu Buhari never got round to finding him a fitting role in his presidency.

    For here was a uniquely talented and selfless individual whose love of common folks and fidelity to the ethics of community and country as well as internationalism never wavered however the temptation. He lived and died a worthy and pious life, never asking for what the people and country can do for him, but what he could do for them.

    Rufa’i was also utterly loyal to his friends, with deep and enduring bonds across ethnicity, culture and religion — as with his Abuja classmate and Nupe friend, Dr Yahaya Ndanusa; Mohammed Haruna, also Nupe from their New Nigerian days; and Professor Mvendaga Jibo, his Tiv friend from their university days.

    Up until his demise, Rufa’i and Mvendaga spoke almost daily (with the standard opening chat-line from one or the other asking, ‘What are we going to argue about today, Malam Jibo/ Rufa’i?’).

    Their families, living in different towns, also unfailingly spent Christmas and annual Muslim Sallah festivities together. So it was very touching and not at all surprising that Mvendaga, a Christian, witnessed the Muslim funeral rites of his friend Rufa’i every inch of the way to the grave.

    Rufa’i Ibrahim was buried amid tears on Sunday, April 3, in his native Lafia after funeral prayers at the Emir’s Palace square, an honour reserved only for the most deserving by the avuncular Emir of Lafia, Alhaji Isa Mustapha Agwai I. It speaks volumes about the two men that a custodian of traditionalism should so thoughtfully honour a patrician radical in this way.

     

    • Othman, a political economist, writes from Oxford, England.