The Nation Newspaper

Tag: limit

  • The limit of desperation

    The limit of desperation

    After losing the ballot box battle, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the February 25 poll, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, shifted his election war dispute to the temple of justice.

    After kissing the dust at the tribunal, the Wazirin Adamawa, apparently afraid of another round of drubbing, employed propaganda to sway gullible hangers-on that have no inkling about the modus operandi of the legal system or chose to ignore it on his voyage of self-delusion.

    What will be examined at the Supreme Court is neither public opinion nor the sentiments of armchair critics recruited for television showmanship. The apex court has never been swayed by the befuddled tirades of beer parlour denizens that relish falsity as facticity.

    The jurists at the apex court, just like the tribunal judges, will rely, not on street protest or mob action, or gangsterism in social media, but on law, reason, logic, judicial precedents, and the sanctity of truth.

    The court will not give an ear to any campaign of calumny, blackmail, threat, and intimidation of respondents and judges. Ultimately, the rule of law and due process will not be sacrificed on the altar of sentiments.

    If Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President of Nigeria and veteran presidential candidate, was a lawyer, he would not have organised the Thursday press conference. He would have just focused on the imminent legal fireworks at the Supreme Court, which is the final arbiter in the historic presidential litigation.

    But the PDP candidate, who lost to his long-standing friend and better rival, President Bola Tinubu, is a politician. The feeling is that the eminent politician has opted for the court of public opinion, knowing that his appeal has a slim chance of survival. This is debatable.

    The aim might be that if the PDP finally loses the case to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the President’s image should be dented by exposing him to ridicule and disrepute.

    This is the general illusion of hope by Asiwaju’s confused opponents who, in the process of dragging his name through the mud, are most likely to be smeared by the attendant dirt. They are most likely to face the penalty of throwing their conscience overboard in their desperate journey for power.

    Indeed, the public was incited against the President over a phantom certificate scandal, but without success. Atiku, in his desperation, sought comradeship with an agitated Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his embattled New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) counterpart, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to join his expedition to pull down the President.

    It appears that the Atiku voyage is focused mainly on either getting the Presidency through judicial declaration or forcing Tinubu to forfeit his legitimate mandate. If the labour unions’ joint strike had not been averted, perhaps, the PDP candidate would have also drafted the workers into the gamble.

    But Obi appears the wiser now. He distanced himself instantly from the stealth for a nebulous conspiracy, saying he does not see Atiku as his role model.

    Is it not illogical that Atiku is now asking Obi and Kwankwaso to join him to win power after the election has been concluded, after turning his back on them during the electioneering?

    Why did he not rally opposition platforms to fight APC at the poll? How could he have even done that when he could not reconcile with PDP’s aggrieved G-5 governors who were boys when he and Iyorcha Ayu were PDP founding fathers?

    Yet, the latest disclosure during the woeful press conference was the capture of the Southwest states of Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, and Ekiti by the PDP-led Federal Government under Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku. Twenty years later, Atiku is saying he deserves approbation for aborting the extension of that rigging to Lagos State, where Tinubu was governor.

    It took the Southwest several years to recover from the political earthquake of 2003 masterminded by OBJ. But, should it not be instructive to Atiku that Tinubu, the last man standing, took off from that tragic period in a journey of two decades that culminated in defeating the Wazirin Adamawa and the PDP at the February 25 presidential poll, despite starting earlier in what has now paled into shadow-chasing, right from the aborted Third Republic?

    Atiku reiterated his opposition to a Muslim-Muslim ticket. But in 1993, as a Muslim, was he not among those being considered for running mate to the late Chief Moshood Abiola, the presidential candidate of the defunct Social Democratic Party (PDP), before the Aare Onakakanfo, also a Muslim, opted for another Muslim, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe, following pressure from governors?

    Today, attention has shifted from who won the recent presidential poll and why the election was won and lost to whether Tinubu has a certificate or not. It is an afterthought, which is meant to divert attention from the shame of defeat, despite the bravado, pomposity, and arrogance of a leader who grossly failed to put his house in order ahead of the election.

    Read Also: Stop impeachment moves against Akeredolu’s Deputy, APC orders Assembly

    Atiku has succeeded in stirring controversy, but it is futile since the effort is not likely to pave the way for the return of his party to Aso Villa.

    The entire enterprise is laughable. The drama will lead to nowhere. In a breath, Atiku cried foul, saying Tinubu did not have a certificate. In another dimension, he alleged forgery without trying to plead or prove any allegation of forgery in his petition. He is running from pillar to post, whipping up sentiments and indulging in self-deception.

    Did Tinubu submit a fake or forged certificate to the umpire? The Chicago State University (CSU) in the United States said he never did. The school even affirmed under oath that Tinubu attended and graduated from the institution. Another important fact that the Atiku forces are not ready to admit is that the school does not handle replacements for lost certificates.

     The poser: can Tinubu forge a certificate he already has? Can a person forge the academic records he possesses? In the deposition by the CSU, there was nowhere it said the certificate presented to INEC by Tinubu was fake. Remarkably, the institution insisted under oath that the President graduated with honours, in flying colours. Also, CSU never denied that replacements for lost certificates are done by vendors, not by the university.

    Indeed, Atiku and his gang of political jesters embarked on a mere academic exercise. Isn’t what the main opposition brandishing amounting to “after discovery information?” Atiku never presented a certificate forgery allegation in his petition at the tribunal. Can he now add what was not part of his case at the tribunal at the Supreme Court?

    The assessment or verification is beyond the ken and comprehension of laymen. Only legal experts, particularly the honourable jurists, can resolve the legal riddle.

    Atiku, even if he denies labouring in vain, has found out a number of facts that can nevertheless, be twisted by PDP supporters.

    Tinubu was admitted into the university as a male student. The testimony of his schoolmate, Adeniji, is incontrovertible. But, the diploma, which is the bone of contention, does not add value because it is a ceremonial document.

    Before he was admitted,  he sat  for a qualifying examination. Throughout, he was on the Dean’s Honours’ List. Tinubu was even a campus politician. He ran for the office of President of Accounting Association.

    Also, once the certificate is collected, it is no more in the file of the school. The university is only in possession of diplomas of those who have not collected theirs. It is also significant to note that when graduates come back to ask for the replacement of lost diplomas, vendors that are the third party handle such matters and not the university.

    Also, what the university adds value to is the transcript and not the diploma that Atiku was chasing.

    Whichever way the pendulum of justice swings at the Supreme Court, it is doubtful if Atiku would be able to maintain the same level of affinity with President Tinubu and so many other Nigerians as he used to before embarking on his desperate voyage for power. His current outing has exposed him as a sportsman without sportsmanship. There should be a limit to desperation – for power, for wealth, for anything in life, however coveted.

  • Minimum wage: There’s limit to our patience, says Wabba

    Minimum wage: There’s limit to our patience, says Wabba

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said the  understanding being exhibited by  workers on the minimum wage issue should not be taken for granted.

    In an interview with The Nation, he said: “There’s limit to the patience and understanding the workers can have on the issue of minimum wage,” warning that labour might be forced to react if the issue was not urgently addressed.

    He said: “It is good for workers to express their fears on the issue of minimum wage, but it’s also good for leaders to be up and doing. For us in Organised Labour, it is an issue that we think that is long overdue and we have gotten commitment from all levels, including the National Assembly that this sue is addressed once and for all.

    “You can even see that in the last one month, an action has been taken, the Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila proposed a bill to the effect that the issue of the review of minimum wage should be a provision of the law, because you are aware that in 2011, what we had was a tripartite agreement that after five years, the minimum wage will be reviewed.

    “But they have even gone one step further by saying that it should not only end up in the tripartite agreement, it should be a product of law. And I think that all of them in the National Assembly, whom we have interfaced with, are ready to do the needful, including if there is supplementary budget today, that they are ready to give it accelerated hearing.

    “Therefore, those fears are real, but we are working assiduously from our perspective to ensure that those issues are addressed.  It is an issue that you need to bring to the attention of the governors, employers, government and Organised Labour. And you know businesses are for profits and anything that will take a dime out of their profits, they are ready to do everything possible to delay it. We are mindful of that. It’s not the first time we are treading this path, you remember in 2010, it was also the same process.

    “But I think when the die is cast, all of us will then know that certainly, when the workers are pushed to the wall, there is a limit to patience and understanding. Certainly, a hungry person, however you explain to him, there is no basis how he will understand. So, we are looking at reality.”

    Wabba said it was clear that N18,000 in the context of the economic reality could not take anyone for a week.

    “ I assure you that we, on this side, will play our role very importantly so that we take into consideration some of the issues that our members have brought to our attention. But I think the important thing is that the process must start and we must see to the fact that this process must have a time-line where we can end it. We shouldn’t allow those workers to die first before the fruit of their labour will manifest,” he said.

    On child labour , Wabba said there is a tripartite committee working to review the law, adding that the Nigeria law is not consistent with the ILO convention on child labour.

    “There is the need to get that law reviewed because you can’t work outside the law, especially when it is a convention.

    “And, especially the age that is being referred to as a child, our old law back at home is not actually consistent with the ILO convention. But as I speak with you, I think we are through with that law.

    ‘’We are working assiduously with the National Assembly. They are supposed to have had a public hearing on that law but because of the fact that at the last ILC meeting, we agreed that the law should be recovered from the NASS, the tripod should do a review and then send it back to the National Assembly for enactment. So, progress has been made,” Wabba said.

  • Limit of power play

    •It’s time for the Federal Government to take another look at the confab report

    Three years after the report of the National Conference convoked by the former President Goodluck Jonathan was submitted to the presidency, the resolutions have continued to generate interest across the country.  Prominent members of the conference have insisted that the resolutions hold the key to peace, progress and unity in the land.

    However, the executive branch of government, following the change of baton in 2015, has vowed to have nothing to do with the conference report, dismissing it as worthless. No sooner did President Muhammadu Buhari replace Dr. Jonathan than he declared that he had not as much as taken a look at the report.

    Now that both houses of the National Assembly have decided to re-examine and debate the report, the presidency should reconsider its stance on the matter. It is obvious that we have come to a point in our national history when we ought to consider all suggestions on the way to move the country forward.

    It is a fact that 492 Nigerians met, sponsored and funded by the government, to deliberate on how to douse the tension in the land, as well as boost economic productivity. We agree with the delegates that the efforts should not be wasted.

    It is noteworthy that the resolution to adopt the report as a working document in the process of reviewing the constitution was unanimously adopted by the House of Representatives. At the Senate, a similar motion titled, “The need for national unity and peaceful co-existence” was passed. To underscore its importance, it was moved by the senate leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, and co-sponsored by all other 106 senators.

    The message was not lost on Nigerians and ought not to be lost on the executive. We support the federal legislators’ demand for an official copy of the report and hereby call on Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to forward it forthwith. The national question cannot be resolved by holding on to petty jealousy, ego and institutional rivalry. Both the legislators and the President were elected by the electorate to work together for the public good.

    Having gone through the resolutions by the Justice Idris Lagbo-Kutigi-led conference; we are convinced that some of them are far-reaching enough to be considered in the national interest. The resolutions which were unanimously adopted include the decision to restructure the country politically and fiscally. It was decided to whittle down the powers accorded the Federal Government and strengthen the federating units. To this end, it was realised that more money be allocated the states, slicing down allocation to the centre from the Federation Account from 52% to 42%. It is obvious that distribution of power in the Nigerian federation is antitethical to the principles of federalism and this accounts to a large extent for the mutual suspicion and rivalry among the ethnic groups, and the unbridled struggle by groups and individuals to control the centre.

    Of course there are other resolutions by the conference that we consider irrational and illogical. It is difficult, for instance, to understand what could have informed the decision to recommend creation of more states. Clearly, the existing 36 states are struggling to pay their bills, and many Nigerians, in view of this, are even calling for a politically difficult-to-implement decision, to adopt the six geo-political zones as federating units.

    But, we insist that this should not stand in the way of kick-starting a conversation on the report. While we realise that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was vociferous in its opposition in holding the conference, now that it is in government, it should be sufficiently broad-minded to accept the fact that government is a continuum.

    The Nigerian federation is today at the cross-roads; a closed mind would not help the cause of national development. The acting president should forward the document to the legislators without delay.

  • FRC urges compliance with FRC Act on debt limit

    The Acting Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Victor Muruako, has advised the Federal Government to set a debt limit for the three tiers of government to serve as guide for loan procurement.

    He gave the advice when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.

    According to him, the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007 provides for the urgent need to set the debt limit of the three tiers of government.

    Muruako said that the Federal Government had not complied with Section 42 of the FRA, 2007.

    The said section provides for the president to set overall limits or debt ceilings for the amount of consolidated debt of the Federal and State Governments, subject to approval of the National Assembly.

    “Most governments operate with the information that they are still borrowing within the limit, although we have not exceeded the standard.

  • Limit of ethical revolutions

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday,September 8,launched the National reorientation campaign ‘Change Begins With Me’. It was a call ‘for attitudinal change in both our private and public life if we are to attain ‘a better society we will all be proud of.’ The new initiative according to government is a response to some of the problems bedeviling our nation which include ‘cultism, vandalisation of pipelines and other oil facilities corruption by public officials, thuggery and vote-stealing during elections,’ all of which government believes is responsible for ‘the total breakdown of our core values over the years’. John Odigie-Oyegun, the APC chairman while felicitating with Muslim faithful over the Eid el-Kabir season last Sunday also appealed to Nigerians “to be part of this campaign which according to him “will institutionalise the best practice and time-honoured values of honesty, hard work, patriotism, abhorrence of corruption, accountability and integrity in our everyday life,”as part of government bold move to repair our value system that has been badly eroded over the years’.

    I sympathise with President Buhari. There is no doubt that the author of ‘Nigerians have no other place to call their own’ wants the best for our nation. As the hope of Nigerians, impoverished through 16 years of mindless looting of our national resources by the political class, some of whom in some Asian nations would have been publicly executed for their crime against our nation, failure is not an alternative. I am sure the new modification to his change mantra which now insists the promised change will now start with the people, will not affect his rating by Nigerians who see him as a messiah sent to right the wrongs of the past. These high expectations of Nigerians, I think has however placed additional challenges on Buhari who can no more afford the luxury of his predecessors that failed to properly articulate our crisis of nationhood.

    From insight, we now know such wrong diagnoses was what led to the inauguration of President Shehu  Shagari’s ‘Ethical Revolution’ which did not stop his National Party of Nigeria(NPN) from wrecking the buoyant economy he inherited from Obasanjo in 1979 within four years through gluttonous consumption of foreign goods especially the ‘Akinloye brand’ of Champagne,  Babangida’s MAMSER, which turned out to be an ingenious strategy for institutionalisation of corruption by a self-styled ‘evil genius’,  Obasanjo’s Heart of Africa Foundation, and the Dora Akunyili’s directionless ‘rebranding Nigeria’ under Yar’Adua which did not stop  PDP men who publicly insisted on recouping  the funds expended on election  from aborting Obasanjo’s initiatives  in the energy sector and modernization of the rail system. The above initiatives along the President’s own 1994‘War Against Indiscipline’ (WAI) never achieved the advertised objectives because they were all directed against symptoms rather than the cause.

    Our crisis of nationhood requires political solution and not ethical revolution. Playing the ostrich by pretending otherwise is responsible for our economic crisis, infrastructural decay, and the collapse of the education and health sectors as a result of sabotage by those who have no faith in the nation. As it is often said, no true born deliberately sets out to destroy his father’s house. The question we should therefore ask ourselves is why the political class and the military elite have become the greatest threat to the survival of the nation. Why would elected lawmakers award themselves humongous salaries, embark on profligacy even in the midst of economic hardship, engage budget-padding to raise funds to buy personal estates in Abuja, convert our inherited patrimony to personal use, short-change the nation by supervising the sales of national assets that cost tax payers $100b for less than $1b, etc. – actions which they all know are injurious to the health of the nation.

    The answer is lack of faith in the nation by the political class. Unfortunately for us as a nation, not even the military, once the symbol of our unity  which first lost its innocence in January and July 1966 when it became an army of warring NCNC and NPC, an ‘army of anything is possible’ under Babangida and Abacha between 1985-1998,  an army that unilaterally tampered with the 1999 constitution and imposed Obasanjo as President, and an army where by 2014,  Generals shared allocations budgeted for procurement of arms to fight insurgency to acquire choice properties for themselves in Abuja while condemning their priceless assets – fighters to their untimely death, can be said to have faith in Nigeria. In other words, with the betrayal of the nation by the political class and the military elite, the nation became an orphan.  And unlike the long established nation-states of Europe where the hegemonic class, the owners of the state protect their states because of their stakes, what we have are parasites who do not give a damn whether the state collapses or not.  Awo likens the Nigeria state to a cow held down and milked by a privileged few to the detriment of everyone else in the society.

    All we have done in the last 50 years has been to focus on the symptoms of our crisis of nationhood, deploying such palliatives as NYSC, Unity Schools, quota system of admission to federal institutions and recruitment into the federal Civil Service and federal allocation of revenue generated by others resulting in disenchantment of restive segments of the society. We have also tried to play the ostrich by periodic resort to appeal to ethical revolutions which only served as diversionary tactics to allow the political class and the military that have lost faith in the nation to continue pillaging our resources. If 50 years in the journey to nationhood, we still cannot find our direction, we should at least have an idea of where we are coming from.

    Our founding fathers realised that beyond protection of life and property, people will freely trade their freedom and liberty only to states that can also protect their culture and values. As a compromise, they settled for three regions and later four each with its own collection of minorities  even though Awo according to Trevor Clark, Tafawa Balewabiographer, would have preferred a federation based not on “four regions but on ten major ethnic groups made up as follows:  13.6m Hausa and Fulani,(within which there were 32 northern minorities) 13m Yoruba, 7.8m Igbos,(within which there were 9 eastern minorities) 3.2m Efiks and Ibibio, 2.9m Kanuri, 1.5m Tivs, 0.9m Ijaws, 0.9m Edos, 0.6m Urhobos and 0.5m Nupes , as a reflection of our pluralism”.

    We cannot change inherited customs and beliefs. An attempt to forcefully do this through Ahmadu Bello’s 1964  and  Obasanjo’s 2003  ‘mainstreaming’ led to election rigging, violence, massive corruption and militancy. We are  a nation of many nationalities where everyone group want its own nation within the greater Nigerian nation-state where they will have control over their own lives, language, values and customs and resources . A state that chooses to remain tyrannical faces crisis of political participation and crisis of legitimacy as our country has witnessed over the years.

    There is a limit to ethical revolution. If we are genuinely desirous of finding a solution to our crisis of nationhood, we have the template of India, a more heterogeneous society to adapt with some modifications.

  • Banks seek N10,000 withdrawal limit

    Banks seek N10,000 withdrawal limit

    •Deposit declines by N1.029tr

    A proposal to limit the over the counter cash withdrawal by bank customers to N10,000 has been tabled before the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The Sub-committee on Payments Systems and Infrastructure of the Bankers Committee last week sent the proposal to the CBN.

    The proposal was presented at the committee’s meeting but it is not clear whether it was considered.

    The CBN is expected to “give feedback on the request”.

    Deposits taken by banks declined by N1.029 trillion between April 2015 and April 2016, a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) report has said.

    Besides, more customers are finding their loans difficult to service, the report said.

    A report presented by CBN Deputy Governor (Economic Policy) Dr. Sarah Alade to last week’s Bankers’ Committee meeting in Abuja attributed the reduction in deposits to the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

    She said the poor loan servicing resulted in the increase of non- performing loans (NPLs) to a ratio of 10.1 per cent over and above the CBN prudential limit of five per cent as at end April.

    The CBN Deputy Governor also told members of the Committee that total deposits in the banks declined by N1.029 trillion from April 2015 to April 2016. According to her, ”the decrease in deposits were largely due to the introduction of the Treasury Single Account in the system.”

    According to Dr. Alade, “the sudden rise in NPLs was attributed to the outcome of the risk assets examination of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) conducted in December 2015 and the sustained low price of crude oil, supply constraints at the FOREX market as well as other macroeconomic conditions impacted negatively on the quality of bank loans.”

    Her report to the Committee noted that the development had led to a decline in banks’ total assets; the volume of credits granted by them and even the degree of deposits generated by them, which in turn ultimately led to a decline in banks earnings as well as income from interest and non-interest investments.

    The TSA policy, which directed all Ministries Department and Agencies to move government funds to the CBN began in September, last year.

    Dr Alade had reported that “audited profit before tax for the period ended April 2016 decreased by 10.8 per cent or N24 billion from N222 billion for the period ended April 2015 to N198 billion in the period ended April 2016”.  “Also, the ROA and ROE were 2.17 per cent and 16.17 per cent in February 2016 compared with 2.42 per cent and 19.39 per cent in the corresponding period of 2015.”

    She added: “The decline was driven by a decrease in both interest and non interest income, which declined by 6 per cent or N50 billion and N54 per cent or N259 billion respectively. Industry total assets ( April’15) – N27.588 trillion,  ( April ’16)- N27.434 trillion, showing a decrease of N158 billion or 0.6per cent. Gross Credit (April 0.3 per cent  ’15) – N13.403 trillion; ( April ’16) – N13.362 trillion , showing a decrease of N41 billion or 0.3 per cent; Total deposits ( April ’15) – N18. 544 trillion, ( April’ 16)- N17.516 trillion  showing a decrease of N1.029 trillion or 5.5 per cent , decreases were due largely to TSA”

    Alade also reported that the economic downturn has impacted negatively on the foreign reserves management. The foreign reserve declined by more than $5 billion from $31.20 billion in July 2015 to $26.05 billion on May 19.

    On a bright note, however, the CBN Deputy Governor reported that the banks’ Capital Adequacy and Liquidity Ratios remained strong and far above prudential limits.

    According to her, “the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of the banking industry, which was still above the prudential minimum of 10 per cent and 15 per cent for banks with national and international authorisation respectively as at April 2016 stood at 16.5 per cent compared with 17.0 per cent as at April 2015. The CAR deteriorated between April 2015 and April 2016 due to decline in the total qualifying capital (caused by regulatory deductions, retirement of Tier 2 Capital, impairment etc) and increase in the total risk weighted assets.

    Dr. Alade added that “the trend of industry liquidity ratio shows that the industry operated far above the minimum requirement of 30 per cent”.  “As at April 2016, the industry liquidity ration stood at 46.3 per cent compared with 39.78 per cent as at April 2015.” The report reassured of the soundness of the banks.

    The Sub-committee of the Bankers’ Committee on Payments Systems and Infrastructure has also recommended to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for approval to limit across the counter withdrawals to N10,000. The CBN is expected to “give feedback on the request”.

    Also at the meeting, the CBN reported to the Committee “on the outcome of its meeting with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to address issues around reallocation of dormant phone numbers to other users”.

  • A premier’s limit of sanity

    A premier’s limit of sanity

    There are good men in every land; the tree of life has many branches and roots; let not the topmost twig presume to think that it alone has sprung from the mother earth; we did not choose our races by ourselves; Jews, Muslims, Christians, all alike are men; let me hope I have found in you a man”.     Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

     

    Preamble

    Once awhile, ‘The Message’ column does go panoramic, especially when confusion is about to set in through the deluge of issues and choice becomes a problem.

    This is one of such occasions. Only few people understand that Islam is the entire life of a Muslim and there is no separation between ‘what belongs to God and ‘what belongs to Caesar’.

    In Islam, both Caesar and whatever belongs to him are for God, the supreme Provider of all things.

     

    Decency and insanity

    In a decent environment sanity has no definition. It is insanity that rather requires definition because it comes in various hues and degrees.

    A lunatic who strips naked and dances in a market place to the applause of onlookers often sees himself as a hero.

    The extent of his lunacy only becomes known to him when he is publicly offered a decent dress to cover his nakedness or to replace the rags he wears.

    When such a lunatic is imbued with (legitimate or illegitimate) power he becomes a megalomaniac.

    That is the parable of a Southwest ‘Premier’ who is generally known for barking incessantly towards all directions like a rabid dog.

    His ceaseless menstruation through the mouth has publicly labeled him as a sarcastic entertainer in his lunatic theater. If as a father or rather, a grandfather, who, as an ‘Emperor’,  is supposed to be a model for his children and grand children, can behave like a rabid dog what should be expected of his children and grandchildren?

    Because of obvious insanity, this megalomaniac treated like a ‘Premier’ cannot think of the consequences or implications of his delirious actions. And unfortunately, no one among his associates seems to be courageous enough to call him to order.

     

    Pity for the sane

    The pity in this case is not as such for the megalomaniac but for the sane ones around him who accept his leadership and are clapping for him in his deteriorating delirium. Evidently, it is not everyone who wears dresses in public that is sane.

    By their utterances, actions and body languages, lunatics are known. For the past one year or thereabout, this delirious ‘Premier’ has continuously engaged in a lunatic drama somersaulting from furrow to furrow while enjoying the sarcastic ovation he gets from those who are unfortunately entertained by his delirious performance in house.

    Judging by this ‘Premier’s drama and the clapping of his sadistic lieutenants, one begins to wonder if the sane majority in his state have lost their traditional courage and will.

    As that state is rapidly being turned into a psychiatric asylum the need for the services of psychiatrists seems to have become a matter of sine qua non. Leaving a rabid dog to itself while it keeps harassing neighbours may not be a reasonable option after all. And if not checked in time, the rabid dog may turn against its owner as an untamable nuisance.

     

    Allegation of ‘Islamisation’

    We were told last week that President Muhammadu Buhari was planning to Islamise Nigeria. Evidence: he went to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah.

    The allegation came, as usual, from a shameless source that is attributable only to public self-ridicule. For ignorant people the only means of seeking relevance is to randomly roar to the public with blackmail or self-adulation typical of megalomaniacs.

    Let those who understand the language of this delirious ‘Premier’ tell him that Islam is a divine religion with five fundamental pillars.  The last of those pillars is called Hajj which is obligatory on any Muslim that can afford it once in a lifetime.

    A close affiliate of that pillar is called Umrah otherwise known as lesser Hajj. For Muslims, both are pilgrimages performed in divinely ordained sanctuaries at a place once known as Hijaz (but now called Saudi Arabia). While Hajj has a specifically ordained month in the year, Umrah can be performed as many times as allowed by law in a year. The official visa issued for both is that of pilgrimage and not tourism.

    It is therefore a religious right of any Muslim to perform Hajj or Umrah as the case may be without any fear of being barked at by any rabid dog. Thus, by performing Umrah recently, President Muhammad Buhari only exercised his legitimate/religious right without infringing on the right of any other person or that of his nation.

     

    Jonathan’s ‘Pilgrimage’

    President Buhari’s predecessor, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, travelled twice to Israel for the same purpose while he held sway as President.

    At that time no Nigerian Muslim was so reckless and so fanatical to allege Jonathan’s intended Christianisation of Nigeria. Therefore, alleging that President Buhari wanted to Islamise Nigeria, just because he performed Umrah, is a way of publicly exhibiting a symptom of delirium.

    Such a symptom urgently requires a psychiatric attention before the situation of the patient in question goes beyond cure. Politics is one thing. Religion is another. Each has a peculiar elasticity with its own limit. Anybody who aims at using the one as a means of achieving the other in Nigeria is surely a lunatic who should be domiciled in an asylum.

    Besides, the use of such words as ‘Islamisation’ and ‘maginalisation’ (which words are Nigerian coinage that cannot be found in English dictionary) either as a blackmail or a sectarian attack, has become as obsolete and anachronistic in Nigeria as the users.

    It is rather unfortunate that a state once venerated as a haven of knowledge can now wallow so helplessly under the leadership of a blatantly ignorant nonentity just because of the so-called ‘stomach infrastructure’ in the name of politics.

     

    The Role of ‘The Message’

    Ordinarily, ‘The Message’, as a religious column, does not concern itself with the murky water of Nigerian politics. But when some inconsequential ruffians want to swim in that murky water under the guise of religion to the detriment of peace and harmony in the society, it becomes the role of this column to rein in the bull, if only by raising alarm, before it enters the china shop.

    Islam is like a surging train which the barking of three trillion dogs cannot halt. In other words, this divine religion is the sun which randomly evaporates the excess water lodged in the earth to cause rain at the necessary time for the survival of all living organisms.

    Whenever the sun bulges out of its orbit, no star dares to come out in a show of presence. Thus, any denial of the existence of the sun by any blind person can only be at the personal peril of that person. It is characteristic of megalomaniacs to oversight the transiency of their power tenure and to assume that power is far too elastic to have a limit.

    As Muslims who understand Islam theoretically and practically, we neither hate any counterpart religion nor haul any hateful utterances to adherents of other faiths. We believe that anybody who lives in a glass house must not throw stones out of discipline preached by our religion.

    Some supposed leaders in the society who open their mouths anyhow to spark religious provocation are the clandestine originators of constant religious strife in the country. We hope the interpreters of the delirious governor will be able to convey this message meaningfully to their ailing boss. One fact is clear according to an Arab proverb however: “a serf will remain servitude even if he is crowned as a king”.

    Meanwhile, we thank God that President Buhari’s own reason for seizing the opportunity of his official visit to some Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah was to offer special prayer for his country and not for winning election for self. Whoever prays for Nigeria prays for the people of Nigeria. And whenever the people of Nigeria pray for such a person it will be automatically accepted by Allah.

     

    The sacked female lawyer

    Nigeria is typical cinema house where all types of films are watched. But the more you look, the less you see. The more you listen the less you hear. Those are the norms.

    Some years back, the typical lamentation was that about 70 per cent of reported news in Nigeria was sad. Today, there are no more lamentations because virtually all the reported news in Nigeria about Nigerians are invariably sad. And Nigerians seem to have grown very thick skins with which to cope with them.

    A few days ago, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Nasarawa State chapter, threatened to shut down the government . Why? A female worker in the Ministry of Justice, Miss Raqayyat Tijjani Usman (a lawyer), was allegedly sacked by the governor.

    She was said to have made a disparaging remark on Facebook on the governing style of Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura.

    When the governor was informed about the incident, he requested for a print out copy of the posting and got it. Thereafter, he reportedly sent for the young woman in her mid 20s whom he promised a sack letter in the presence of some of his commissioners and other top government officials.

    Ruqayyat, a daughter of a former commissioner in the state, had posted the following remark on Facebook: “I can see some political thugs protesting and not professionals; are we going down this way? I weep for my state.”

     

    Ruqayyat’s reaction

    That was her reaction to a seeming botched civil servants’ demonstration over the death of a staff who died of Lassa fever, which she (Ruqayyat) thought was not well handled by the government.

    The posting allegedly angered the governor so much that he summoned Ruqayyat to his office and ordered her sack with effect from February 25, 2016.

    The governor’s decisive action was sequel to the woman’s apology and that of her father. But the governor refused to look back.

    Well, it takes two to tango. As a civil servant, the young woman ought to have known that externalising any criticism against her employer could entail some unpalatable consequences.

    You cannot publicly criticise the policies in the formulation in which you play a role. She ought to have passed such a criticism to her immediate boss in a subtle, civil service language through an internal memo for onward submission to the governor if necessary.

    Nigeria is not yet such a mature nation where an employee can confront his or her boss in the civil service with such a blunt criticism, human rights or no human rights.

    Playing the ‘New School’ toga to the gallery may be taken for an audacious affront, especially when men of the old school are still in charge.

     

    The governor’s power wielding

    As for Governor Almakura, using a sledge hammer to kill an ant in this kind of case may be too much of power wielding amounting to highhandedness.

    The youth of today are quite different from those of the past decades. That is how they were brought up in the name of civilisation. At least, His Excellency knows how his children address him at home despite being the governor.

    That the young woman was sacked by such fiat without query, without warning, is like sitting in judgment on one’s own case, a euphemism for injustice.

    Employment at any level of the government is not a favour. It is a right for those who are qualified. His Excellency can imagine if Ruqayyat were to be his daughter and another governor gives her such a raw deal.

    The governor should note here that a state is not an empire and no governor should behave like an emperor in a democratic setting as we have now in Nigeria. Nothing can be taken for granted.

    Today’s sacked civil servant may become tomorrow’s governor at a time when today’s governor may have become powerless. The episode of how Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau became the governor of Kano is not yet lost on us.

    Governance must go along not only with human face but also with human heart. Our actions of today are stories of tomorrow. We need to tread softly.

     

    The Nasarawa’s NLC

    In a scenario like this, the role of the NLC in a state where there is a trade dispute affecting a worker or two, the first point of call for the NLC should not have been that of bellicosity.

    Sometimes, mediation strategy works faster and better than belligerence. Thus, the NLC will do well to restore the job of the young female lawyer by resolving the matter amicably rather than further provoking the governor by threatening ‘to shut down the state’.

    We should all work towards lifting the state and not collapsing it as no one can benefit from a collapsed state. God bless us all.

  • Stretch the limit

    A good house (heart) to or for let? Yes, that is exactly what Ada needs right now. Her rent (love) expired about five months ago and ever since she has been having nightmares about eviction. In the past few weeks, she has been combing the neighborhood in search for a new house (heart). The old one was really clumsy, bogus and unattractive. Now, what she desires is a real house or better still a home. In the process of searching for this dream house, our dear friend came across all kinds of apartments. The good, the bad, as well as the ugly.

    While some did not fit into her choice, others were exciting, cost a fortune and were actually too good to be real. The most interesting find was a bungalow with lawns and gardens. It looked cute, cosy and charming. Something you may describe as the best bargain because the price was also right. It didn’t take her time to settle for the haven, but somehow just while she was about to sign the agreement (dotted lines), something told her to have a second visit.

    Unlike the first time she visited the place, it was a rainy day. Everywhere and everything was wet. To her utmost surprise, the house looked different. Perhaps, she was in the wrong place. No, she wasn’t. Here she realised that the house was not what the agent (matchmaker) presented to her. Oh my God! This is a wrong bargain, how could she have fallen in love with this trash at first sight?

    Luckily, there was no guide and she got the opportunity to scrutinise the house herself. Her findings broke the heart. Everything was upset down. The roof was leaking seriously; the walls she saw earlier on had changed. It was wallpaper and it was now drenched with the rain and looking horrible. The door handle, she fell in love with, had been removed and there were so many other gaps.

    It was all a ruse. Now, she must begin the search all over again. This isn’t a house not to talk of a home. Like the house search, getting a heart that you like is not as easy as a lot of people think it is. It is better to double check to be sure that what you are clutching, clinging onto or desiring is not emotional garbage. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you may still get trapped in the emotional web of falsehood. When you get to this emotional crossroads, there is no point pretending that you do not feel the pain.

    The truth of the matter is that the pain is real. To move on, it is therefore better to address it, look for alternatives and refocus. Not so fast though. You also need to be very careful at this point because you may end up running with another wolf. Wolves hanging round for desperate minds and hearts. The best therapy, however, is to take a step at a time, no need to rush. Running from the emotional pillar to post reminds you of the book ‘Waiting for Godot’ by Samuel Beckett.  The journey to nowhere is more painful and worse than the first pain. Even if all you desire at the hurting stage is about ending the pain, you must look before leaping. If you are careless, there is tendency to leap from the emotional frying pan into fire.

    A better emotional bargain is likely to happen when you have come through the process, seen and analysed the odds and you are ready to conquer a better heart. Tears? Yes, they are an essential part of the process; it doesn’t matter if it is the crocodile’s or dove’s variety. It purges the heart and the soul searching process gives you new directions. Getting on a steady platform is better when you allow yourself to express all of the feelings instead of suppressing and denying the fact that it is all over.

    It is important to appreciate the fact that pain that cannot be cured or changed must be endured. If you take this to other levels and compare notes with other leaking hearts, you would discover that you are not alone. A lot of hearts have been broken, yet what matters most is how you rate yourself as well as the extent of the damage. You can take it to another level and compare your heart with a broken mug. The mug can be a beautiful souvenir (heart), a gift that is precious and now it has been broken to pieces like the typical chinaware. Like humpty dumpty, you are never going to fix the pieces together again.

    Conversely, if the mug (heart) in question cracks a little, then you can still salvage the treasure and grudgingly take a sip (love) or two from it once in a while. Consolation here is that it is not totally lost. Sadly, it is only a matter of time. That crack is going to get bigger and nobody is going to keep it in your possession when the time comes. At that point, yawning hearts (the dustbin) would gladly accept. A new mug? No, not another mug. What you need is a cup made with steel; something that you would be sure would stand the test of the emotional time.

  • CeBIH confirms $50,000 annual ATM withdrawal limit

    CeBIH confirms $50,000 annual ATM withdrawal limit

    The Committee of e-Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH) yesterday confirmed Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) $50,000 annual limit on Automated Teller Machine (ATM) overseas.

    In a statement, CeBIH Chair, Tunde Kuponiyi, said the limit on international spend does not apply to local transactions or cash withdrawals from ATM terminals across the country.

    “This is to confirm that the newly introduced limit by the Central Bank of Nigeria is applicable only to holders of Naira denominated cards who use their cards for cash withdrawals abroad. For such customers, the CBN has imposed a limit of $300 per day and an annual limit of $50,000 on such customers.”

    He said the limit for withdrawal of naira is set by the individual banks in line with such lender’s corporate operative procedure, pointing out that the limits are not applicable to Point of Sale (PoS) and online purchases. He urged  bank customers to confirm what the limits are in their various banks.

    The apex bank slashed the naira debit cardholders’ spending overseas from $150,000 to $50,000 per annum.

    It also announced plans to reduce naira debit cardholders’ spending abroad due to inadequate foreign exchange to pay for rising amount of cardholders’ overseas spending.

    In a circular dated April 13 and entitled: ‘Usage of naira denominated cards overseas,’ the apex bank asked dealers and the general public to take note of the development.

  • Monarchs seek 65-year age limit for politicians

    Monarchs seek 65-year age limit for politicians

    Traditional rulers in Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State have suggested that the age for all political aspirants be pegged at 65 years.

    They said anyone above the age should resign from politics and support younger aspirants.

    The monarchs were reacting to the senatorial ambition of Governor Martin Elechi and the governorship aspiration of his in-law, Senator Chris Nwankwo.

    They noted that there would be purposeful and credible leadership  when young persons become involved in politics.

    The monarchs decried the number of politicians  above 65 years and jostling to go to the National Assembly or some other positions.

    They regretted that the state had not had good representation in the last couple of years.

    Their spokesperson Igwe Gabriel Ngele, who is the traditional ruler of Oriuzor autonomous community in the local government, spoke when a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Chief Obinna Ogba, solicited their support for his senatorial ambition.

    The monarch urged old politicians to stay at home and advise young people.

    He said: “I advocate that politicians above the age of 65 years should resign from active politics, come back home and advise the younger ones who are more vibrant and have the zeal to make impact. The older politicians still live in the past; they are not in tune with the current realities of life. Their representation at the National Assembly has been a total failure.

    “What would a 70-year-old man be looking for at the National Assembly? The world is changing and younger persons are now assuming political positions. The future of the country lies in their hands. What we should do is to render fatherly advice to them and not to be jostling for positions with them. At my age, what would I still be looking for at the National Assembly when my children are already men with children?”