The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Much ado

  • Much ado in Kwara about incoming First Lady

    THE newly elected governor of Kwara State, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazak, is facing another battle after his hard-fought victory in the recently concluded governorship election in the state. The people of the state, particularly in Ilorin, the state capital, are up in arms against the governor-elect over his decision to foist a Christian on them as the state’s First Lady.

    The people in the predominantly Muslim city are venting their bottled-up emotion after previously enduring the Christian wives of AbdulRazak’s predecessors, Dr. Bukola Saraki and the incumbent Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, as the state’s First Lady. The people are now wondering if they would ever have a governor with a Muslim wife as the First Lady.

    But AbdulRazak’s wife herself has moved to douse the people’s anxiety. Not one to lose the prestigious office of the First Lady for religious reasons, she has started wearing the hijab, a piece of dress peculiar to Muslim women.

    The move, Sentry gathered, was meant to send a message to the aggrieved people about her readiness to identify with Islam or even adopt the religion if she must.

  • Much ado about medical tourism (II)

    Domestic medical tourism –as in seeking medical care across states- has never been the problem. Nigerians have never had issues with people traveling anywhere within the country to seek medical help. And so inter-state medical tourists may do so anywhere within the country whether in search of orthodox or un-orthodox medicine. In fact those in search of un-orthodox medicine, whether they travel within or outside the country, hardly count for those we censure for medical tourism abroad. And so for all we care, the fetish ones among us may travel to see some babalawo in nearby Togo or some marabou in faraway Senegal, but they dare not go to Europe, America, Asia or the Middle East for orthodox medical help or else they share in the national guilt if not of warranting then of condoning the sorry state of our medical system. The same way that we see parents (whether those culpably rich or those vicariously struggling) who send their children abroad to study, as guilty of promoting ‘educational tourism’ and thus sharing in the national guilt of warranting or condoning the sorry state of our educational system. We seem to suggest, ridiculously, that parents are free of liability from the collective national guilt only if they keep their children at home to suffer the consequences of the educational system that we have warranted or condoned. The same way we see medical doctors who flee for greener pasture abroad as responsible for our ‘Brain Drain’ situation; because we believe that they should remain at home so that we can salvage the situation together. Just as we blame teachers, who hawk their intellectual wares abroad.

    And so it is medical tourism ‘abroad’ –for orthodox medicine- that is the chief culprit whenever we bemoan the sorry state of our medical system. Without a legislation outlawing it, we have still managed to make it repugnant to good conscience. We insist that even people who are critically ill must be patriotic enough to stay at home and make do with the ‘available’ –even if not qualitative- medical care. We seem always to pore on the idyllic, but we do not appear to have the courage to reflect on the realistic. We want our abducted school girls rescued but we have made negotiating with Boko Haram repugnant to our ‘patriotic’ sense. We collectively –even if hypocritically- condemn bargaining privately with kidnappers, but now almost every victim-family of kidnap, secretly bargains with and pays kidnappers to recover their loved ones. Because we do not trust our law enforcement agencies; just as we shy away from litigation, because we do not trust the justice system; just as parents seek quality education abroad for their children because they do not trust the system at home; just as teachers and doctors seek better paying jobs abroad because they cannot rely on the system at home to pay a living wage; and just as patients (both the rich and the struggling) are forced to seek quality or available medical care abroad, because they do not trust the systems at home to provide either.

    My good friend Mike Ejiofor, the retired DSS Director now-turned public analyst on security matters, is more than an existential ‘witness’ in the reality check that practical experience affords over idyllic opinionation. He is in fact an ‘exhibit’. For long Ejiofor had been an advocate of ‘no negotiation with kidnappers’. But not after he was kidnapped to a forest somewhere between Ekiti and Kogi states. Thereafter he recanted, and now publicly preach a new, realistic evangel: ‘obey thy captors, negotiate’! When the odds are stacked against, even the ‘almighty’ America negotiates.  But on an ironic side note, I did not have the luxury to negotiate my freedom while in Abacha’s gulag and under the care of Mike Ejiofor, then the service’s Director of Operations. But concerning the prison that my beloved wife’s critical medical condition had put me recently, at least I had the luxury to decide I would rather be not ‘patriotic’ than submit her life to the uncertain vagaries of our dilapidated medical system. I took her to the Iranian Hospital in Dubai –one of many such partnerships between Dubai and other countries with advanced medical knowhow. And as the Hausas would say ‘wanka yaa biya kudin sabulu’ –the result was worth the trouble.

    There I learned that gallbladder stones or ‘gallstones’ -unlike their pathogenic cousins (kidney stones) which are formed mostly from overconcentration of calcium and uric acid- are formed from bile deposits containing undissolved cholesterol or excess bilirubin –an intermediate product of the breakdown of haemoglobin in the liver. My wife’s resulted from the former. Gallstones range in size from as small as a grain of sand to as large as a golf ball. My wife’s 11 removed stones were each the size of a pebble. Gallstones are common in most people but may become complicated only in those disposed to risk factors like being: female, over 40, overweight, sedentary, diabetic or high-cholesterol-eating. My wife insists she was a victim only of gender. And although they may stray from time to time, into the bile duct to the bowel to be passed as stool, gallstones may also get stuck in the duct and cause inflammation of the gallbladder, blockade of the bile duct or of the pancreatic duct or may even cause gallbladder cancer. My wife’s had done all these except become cancerous because thanks to the operation, that possibility has been permanently eliminated. Tests to diagnose gallstones and to generate images of their locations and sizes preparatory to their removal include but may not be limited to: abdominal ultrasound, Computerized Tomography (CT) scan and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Gallstones can be removed either by the traditional ‘open surgery’ system which opens an eight to 10 inch incision on the abdomen for surgeons in the theatre to grapple with the elements as would a butcher at the abattoir, or they may be removed by the now avant-garde method of laparoscopy, a ‘minimally invasive’ method (termed ‘keyhole surgery’) with three tiny, half-inched holes on the abdomen by which surgical tools including a camera are inserted and manipulated on a screen to conduct the operation. This surgery, as even I can testify, has shorter recovery time and ‘better quality-of-life-outcome’ than the ‘open surgery’ method and patients are almost immediately discharged and in no time may resume their normal life. And unlike ‘open surgery’, laparoscopy has 99% success rate when conducted by the appropriate medical personnel and under the right condition.

     

    Postscript

    Research has shown that many medical tourists who go to the United States ‘seek advanced and sophisticated procedures that are either unavailable or rationed in their countries’. And yes, there may be filthy rich persons who regale in the luxury or glamour of medical tourism abroad, but for majority of health seekers globally, it is not because they swim in superfluous riches; rather a great number of them are forced by circumstances -the search either for ‘available’ or sometimes even ‘affordable’ medicare. Yet many go looking for particular medical remedies which may be scarce because they are expensive (so that even the superbly rich must go looking for them), or they may go in search of ‘affordable’ remedies where the ‘available’ ones are prohibitive. Which is not to suggest that ‘availability’ and ‘affordability’ alone are endnotes to the fundamental raison d’être for medical tourism outside of one’s country. Because where a particular medical remedy is both available and affordable, it may still not be qualitative. Or it may even be more expensive at the domestic level than abroad. Again where there is just one quality remedy available, those who can afford it may still search for options from among many competing quality remedies.

    But truth is: the right to seek medical remedy abroad belongs to all who can afford it; except those who had a chance but woefully failed to make it available to all of us. This I learnt from many of my Facebook friends particularly Tunde Asaju, who vehemently disagreed that I am one of those who should share in the collective guilt of the current state of our medical system.

     

    • Concluded.

  • Much ado about ‘medical tourism’(I)

    We had just ended a terribly mournful week with the third-day Fidda’u prayer for my wife’s just-departed cousin, Isyaku S. Turke who was run over by a trailer as he drove along Zaria-Kano road. It was such a tragic loss for both family and the community. Isyaku was, in our little downtown Limawa area of Minna, a byword for youthful excellence, both in character and in learning. At his graveside, the community was unanimous that even by the nearest guess of its memory it had known no other youth that was, as Shakespeare would say, “the theme of honor’s tongue”, or one among the groove of his peers ‘the straightest plant’. My wife had been the most obsessed, in the family, with her cousin’s excellent reputation as the spotless, unblemished one. She had in fact sometimes flaunted it with what I thought was a bit of righteous arrogance. And it was the reason that just as her dotting father had chosen to raise this son of his step-brother conferring on him the primogenital right of a first-born, she too had elevated him above mere filial consanguinity. He was known to be such sibling alter ego and soul mate of hers that even his biological parents admitted she was the more deserving of condolence over his loss than they who begot him. Such was the relationship between my wife and her cousin that when, a day after the third day prayer, she took terribly ill and had to be hospitalized under emergency condition, virtually every superstitious voice in and outside the family said that she was metaphysically reacting to the sudden death of her beloved cousin. They said that Isyaku’s death was the mysterious pathogen to her sudden dis-eased physiological condition. If I was given to such irrational nonsense, rather than be in a hospital, we probably would’ve been on ‘medical tourism’ to some far-flung forested location, squatting  before some cowries-tossing, divining witchdoctor, seeking solution to a medical condition that science has long provided remedy for.

    By the way although it did not take a ‘specialist hospital’ to diagnose the presence of ‘stones’ in what doctors said was my wife’s now deteriorating gall bladder, the irony was that it was a ‘specialist hospital’, namely IBB’s, that turned down our emergency referral from a smaller, non-specialist area hospital which, at least, had managed to diagnose the condition, even though it could not go further than that. For ‘three days and three nights’ my wife was under the worst imaginable abdominal pain and her body had in fact abused virtually all of the best known pain relievers that doctors could administer. She had writhed and wriggled in excruciating pangs and at some point I was alarmed she had started invoking the heavens to rather take her life. No caring husband can bear to see his loving wife in this helpless situation. My wife was crying so miserably I now saw why Shakespeare wrote the famous lines: “no philosopher can endure the toothache patiently”. What she needed urgently doctors said, was a surgery to remove what turned out much later to be eleven tiger nut-size ‘stones’ from a damaged ‘gallbladder’ that lies beneath the liver and around which thousands of supper sensitive nerves connect which conduct pain to the brain at the faintest of touches. It was the reason my wife could hardly eat all these three days because the littlest intestinal weight created by the ingestion of food was just enough to trigger a 24-hour bout of pangs. And so after our rejection by the ‘IBB Specialist Hospital’ on grounds of incapacity, or as they said because of the lack of a ‘General Surgeon’ I was pleasantly surprised that we were now referred -not to Abuja, Kano or Lagos- but to the state’s General Hospital in the same Minna. The hope, ironically, was that the state’s General Hospital just might have a ‘General Surgeon’ even though its big-for-nothing ‘Specialist Hospital’ shamelessly hadn’t.

    Soon I got the hang of it all; namely that it takes virtually just a single ‘General Surgeon’ for a hospital to be capacitated to handle the removal of gallbladder stones, and that conversely even a hundred ordinary surgeons in a hospital will not be sufficient therefore to capacitate a hospital for that special operation. And so one cannot but wonder how many ‘gallbladder stone’ patients may have lost their lives from operations conducted by ordinary surgeons who are not sufficiently trained to open up such delicate, nerves-complicated, liver-threatening pancreatic zone in the human body. Hell, you wonder how many such patients may have had their lives wasted even by stark, lone-ranging non-surgeons whose only license to tear and suture peoples’ stomachs is that they own private hospitals and have the complement of a few nurses. But before we go into the crimes that doctors commit, maybe we should ask: who is a ‘Surgeon General’ –different from an ordinary surgeon? I have heard the phrase ‘Surgeon General’ since I was in college. He is the chief spokesperson on public health for the United States Government. At least his anti-smoking voice one still recalls either on the back of cigarette packs or in audio-visual ads which once gave advertising an ethical face: ‘The Surgeon General warns that cigarette smoking is dangerous to health’. And later the anti-smoking ad even got a lot more lurid. It said: ‘The Surgeon General warns that cigarette smokers are liable to die young’. This much I had always known about the ‘Surgeon General’. But about the ‘General Surgeon’ I must confess I knew nothing. It had to take my wife’s recent medical condition to know that there is a ‘General Surgeon’ different from a ‘surgeon’.

    A ‘General Surgeon’, unlike a ‘surgeon’, they say is ‘a physician who has been educated and trained in the diagnosis and pre-operative, operative and post-operative management of patients’. He is, in a nutshell, a specialist in the area of surgery whereas an ordinary surgeon is not. But neither ‘IBB Specialist Hospital’ nor the State’s General Hospital, nor even any privately-owned one in Minna had a ‘General Surgeon’. Further checks also revealed that not even the famed Federal Medical Centre FMC in Bida, nor anywhere in the whole of Niger State for that matter, had one. We now had to choose between the ‘National Hospital’ in Abuja (which factually or fictionally they say, has a dispiriting reputation uniquely its own as a medical destination that critically ill patients go to and don’t return) or the ‘Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital’ in Gwagwalada where the few doctors who vouchsafed an opinion about, did not also inspire any redeeming hope for my wife’s medical salvation. In fact, from what I heard, I probably would’ve preferred the National Hospital in Abuja to the Specialist one in Gwagwalada. At last we were now left virtually with a Hobson’s Choice; namely to go to the ABU Teaching Hospital in Shika, Zaria whose only distinguishing credentials many doctors said is that it is better than both the National and the Specialist hospitals in the federal capital. And concerning the many big time private hospitals that now mushroom the Nigerian medical space, it was a tale either of cut throat charges or of poorly conducted operations (with all the attendant consequences) –or even both. It was at this point that the idea of seeking remedy outside the shores of Nigeria began to rear its obnoxious head in our permutation. And it was then I realize that I was about to commit the unwritten offence of ‘medical tourism’.

     

    • To be continued

  • Much ado about electoral laws

    No one needs an opinion poll survey to conclude that majority of Nigerians want their country to practice democratic form of governance. Our colonial master, the British and our founding fathers nudged us into this direction and despite many years of military rule, Nigerians’ enthusiasm for democracy remains undiminished. However, what is not clear to any observer ofthe political scene is whether Nigerians have the temperament to practice democratic system of governance, if one evaluates critically the numerous problems and confusion that usually attend the conduct of elections in the country. The holding of periodic elections in a participatory democracy like ours to elect people to political offices is an essential and indispensable pillar of democracy. Unlike what happens in other older democracies, conduct of elections in Nigeria since independence is like the coming of Armageddon with attendant panic and social dislocation. During election time the country is usually locked down as if there is no tomorrow for the country.

    The just concluded elections in Nigeria had been characterized by all sorts of imaginable malpractices.  The elections led to bloodshed and mayhem and it is on record that 35 people were reportedly killed during the presidential and national elections and about 55 people lost their lives during the gubernatorial and state assembly elections. The sanctity of these elections were also compromised as there were reported cases of vote buying, snatching of ballot boxes and ballot papers, thuggery, fraud, card reader malfunctioning and theft, falsification  of results, militarization of electoral processes, and obvious partiality of electoral umpires.

    The trauma usually associated with the conduct of elections in our country lowers our esteem in the comity of nations especially in Africa where many countries look up to Nigeria for leadership. It is a pity that some countries with emerging democracies in Africa such as Ghana, Republic of Benin, South Africa, Rwanda and Senegal conduct their elections with more civility and authenticity than us. We cannot claim to be a truly democratic country if the conduct of elections in our country is mostly characterized by mayhem and rancour. It is untenable to attribute the problems we have in the conduct of our elections to our population, after all, in India with almost 900 million electorate the conduct of elections does not usually lead to the type of acrimony and confusion we experience here during election period. Soon, from April 11 to May 14 this year (almost a month), the people of India will go to poll to elect their members of parliament. It will be instructive to observe the level of violence that would be experienced in this election and compare it with our own where less than 30 million people participated.

    In view of recurrent palpable malpractices associated with elections in Nigeria, many well-meaning Nigerians have called for a drastic review of our electoral laws. The present electoral laws being used to conduct elections in the country are the electoral laws of 2010.  The amendments to these laws allowed the development of Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and the use of smart card readers first used in the 2015 elections. An amendment to these laws was passed on March 30, 2017 and it is known as Electoral Act no. 6, 2010 (Amendment) Bill 2017. The Act empowers INEC to adopt electronic system of voting in subsequent elections in Nigeria, but these laws are yet to be put into practice. Many Nigerians supported this electoral act because of its emphasis on the adoption of electronic system of voting. However, in the recent write-up in this newspaper, it was shown clearly that the system of electronic voting failed in many countries like Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Finland and France that are more technologically advanced than Nigeria.

    Since 2003, some elements of technological innovations in the conduct of elections in Nigeria have been introduced. Although these innovations have impacted positively on the ways elections are now conducted in the country, they have not been able to curb numerous malpractices connected with our elections. One can therefore conclude that wholesale introduction of electronic system of voting may not be the panacea for curbing all the malpractices associated with our elections. I therefore made bold to say that the country would never have free, fair and credible elections as long as politics in the country is a ‘do or die’ affair in which huge financial resources and prestige are devoted to politics. Election to any elective office from the local government level to that of the presidency in the country ensures unbridled access to government money, power, prestige and all the good things of life. Politics which should be an instrument for service to the people has now unfortunately been turned to instrument for the acquisition of obscene wealth in our country unlike in most other climes where people go to politics to make name and serve humanity. As long as politics is viewed as a lucrative profession by many people in Nigeria, it will be difficult for us to get out of the woods in the conduct of elections. In the colonial era and during the first republic, when politics was more or less practiced on part time basis, there was less heat and social dislocation than we have now. The earlier we demystify politics in terms of the humongous salaries and allowances being paid to political office holders the better for the sanctity of our elections.

    Another factor militating against peaceful and authentic elections in our country has to do with our level of discipline. It is not a new thing to say that the generality of Nigerians are not disciplined. We break laws with impunity in this country and that is why our otherwise beautiful country is riddled with indiscipline, corruption, lawlessness and all sorts of aberrations. Even though many people in and out of the country believe that Nigeria has one of the most robust electoral laws of any of the emerging democracies, unfortunately these laws could not achieve the desired results because they are broken with impunity. Some of the electoral umpires who should be impartial also lack the discipline required for their assignments, while the security agencies whose personnel should be disciplined because of their callings throw their discipline to the winds in order to be political partisans when supervising the conduct of elections.

    There is too much ado about electoral reforms which will include emphasis on electronic voting but little attention is paid to the improvement of some aspects of our lives that have been shown to be obstacles to peaceful conduct of elections in our country. We need to reform ourselves and also the way we remunerate holders of political offices at both the executive and legislative levels.

     

    • Prof Lucas writes from Old Bodija, Ibadan.

  • Much ado about secularism (II)

    Going by the dictionary definition of secularism as ‘concern with temporal, worldly matters’ to the exclusion of ‘religion’, a nation therefore cannot be said to be secular merely because either by law or by choice it has succeeded in subordinating all forms of organized religion to the whims and caprices of the state. Nor is a nation non-secular only because its constitution expressly provides for the right of the individual to freedom of religion, belief and conscience. This guarantee already exists extra-constitutionally as a fundamental right of all humans –to, among a hoard of very many other rights, decide for themselves, the sacred from the profane. Thus the secular or non-secular credentials of a nation are not to be gleaned only from the express provisions of her constitution disavowing or endorsing religion as state policy, but it can also manifest in that nation being able to maintain sectarian neutrality -or what experts described as ‘a principled distance’- from all forms of organized religion, notwithstanding her constitution expressly disavows or endorses religion as a fundamental policy of state. Thus a practical separation of state from religion is the veritable hallmark of secularism, and about which we have seen in my previous submission that there is hardly any good example in Europe or in the Americas.

    Nigeria’s constitution neither expressly admits that the Nigerian state is secular nor has it expressly admitted that it is not. And so as it will not be sufficient to argue that Nigeria is non-secular merely because Section 38 of her constitution guarantees freedom of religion, or that Section 42 prohibits discrimination against citizens on the basis of their beliefs or the circumstances of their birth, by the same token it will not be sufficient to adjudge Nigeria secular only because Section 10 of the constitution expressly prohibits the adoption of any organized religion as a state religion, or because the constitution has not expressly disavowed secularism as a policy of state. But even as the constitution in many areas appears to radiate secular sentiments, in yet many others, it can be said also that it exudes practically non-secular tendencies. For one the constitution is essentially faith-blind in its conferment of right to citizens to aspire to or be appointed to public office. It does not demand that those who seek public office must fulfil any faith-based requirements before they can do so. This is in addition to the fact that the constitution has provided for the restriction or even derogation of the religious rights of citizens whenever to do so is in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of others.

    Nonetheless, the problem of Nigeria’s secular status or her non-secular credentials is not so much in what the constitution has expressly provided for as it is in what it has opted to be cautiously or inadvertently vague or silent about. Section 10 which prohibit the adoption of any organized faith as state religion, merely infer the secular intention of the constitution. It does not categorically say that secularism will be the guiding principle of state. Again sections 38 and 42 which, respectively guarantee freedom of religion and prohibits discrimination on that ground, may infer non-secular intention but they have not categorically proclaim Nigeria a non-secular state.

    Many experts say that it is this constitutional vagueness occasioned by the centrality of religion in the lives of most Nigerians, and the mutual competition between the two dominant religions in the country, namely Islam and Christianity, that are responsible for the ambivalent secular-cum-sectarian approach especially to matters of state. We claim to be secular but we are not about to let go the sectarian privileges that we enjoy ironically from a state that is supposed to have no affiliation whatsoever with organized religion. And as the constitution remains vague on the precise relationship of state and organized religion, so has the judicial arm too, for tactical reason, remained not forthcoming with a precise definition of the secular or non-secular status of the Nigerian state. As many times as Christian rights activists had challenged especially the penal jurisdiction of the Shariah courts –as provided under sections 268 and 277 of the constitution- as much times too had the judicial arm tactfully avoided the issue by throwing out such cases on the grounds of absence of locus. The courts, it appears, know too well the implication of ruling carelessly on such sensitive matters because it may open the floodgate of judicial recrimination and counter-recrimination between adherents of the two major religions who, each enjoy one form of sectarian right or privilege over the other.

    As Christians say that Islam has been adopted as a de facto state religion in most Muslim-majority states of the north and that the annual tradition of using state resources to fund pilgrimages to Mecca, plus the presence of ajami Arabic on Nigeria’s currency and on some military insignias compromise the nation’s secular status, Muslims too complain that the entire legal and political system of administration in the country are essentially Judeo-Christian in nature and thus obviates the need to split hairs over whether Nigeria is secular or not. In fact, they insist that Nigeria is not only NOT secular, but that it is more Judeo-Christian in body and in spirit than even the North can be said to be Islamic. They cite the two weekly work-free days (Saturday and Sunday) declared for public officers in deference to Judeo-Christian tradition and argue that Christians enjoy more sectarian rights and privileges under the Nigerian constitution than the Muslims who have to go to work even on Fridays. And they say that with four annual ‘holy’ days, namely Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, the Christians also enjoy more annual holidays recognized by law than the Muslims do with only three, namely Eid-el-Fitr, Eid-el-Kabir and Eid-el-Maulud.

    And just this week MURIC, a Muslims rights organization has complained that January 1 too is no less Judeo-Christian than the rest of the Christian ‘holy’ days are and that it should cease to be recognized as a work-free day unless the first day of the Islamic calendar too is accorded similar status. In truth, although the first of January originated from a Christian day of feast –according to the Encarta Encyclopaedia- it has since transcended that narrow sectarian significance to become a universal ‘occasion for spirited celebration and the making of personal resolution’. And so not many Muslims it appears are in synch with the MURIC demand for the reason, as one FaceBooker, Ahmed Musa Hussaini said, that “Muslims don’t just claim a right because Christians and other non-Muslim groups are enjoying that right…. Muslims do not begrudge other faiths on account of their own rights. All religions have their own peculiarities; have their own social and cultural aspirations… “

    Thus in this case, MURIC appears now to be as intolerant as some hard line, secular-minded Christians have always been whenever they contest the right of Muslims to be expressive about their faith both in body and in spirit and in private and in public, because the fundamental doctrinal obligation of their faith is that Islam must be practiced as a way of life at home, in the work place, in the market arena, in the school, etc. It is in this context, most Muslims insist, that especially the questions of wearing of the hijab in public schools and the involvement of governments of Muslim-majority states in the building of mosques and the sponsorship of Hajj, must be appreciated. They argue that if the majority of the people who vote in a government and are therefore entitled to a ‘way’, are okay with it, it cannot be any less democratic –provided also that the minority who subscribe to other faiths are not denied other sectarian rights or privileges peculiar to their own unique forms of worship.

     

    • To be continued…

  • Much ado about Osinbajo’s pitch

    As next year’s presidential race gathers momentum, political parties are intensifying their mobilisation. Idowu Abiodun examines the signicance of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s admonition to the Southwest to vote wisely.

    On the campaign swing, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo just made a pitch that rattled many; and sent not a few drooling.

    Talking at the palace of the Alaafin, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, Iku Baba Yeye, the Vice President let it out that if the Yoruba worked very hard for a Muhammadu Buhari presidential encore, they just might be paving the way for a Yoruba presidency by 2023!

    That pitch has sent not a few foaming in the mouth; and sizzling with ethnic tar — surely, a sitting Vice President ought to be a Nigerian nationalist, and not a sectional campaigner?

    It’s the classic Nigerian national hypocrisy — any reference to Nigerian federating units must be viewed as the most unpardonable national high crime!  But then, what makes Nigeria a federation?  Obasanjo’s holy plasticity of being Nigerian without first being a Yoruba man?

    Obasanjo!  Ironically, the Ebora Owu is why I don’t personally agree with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on the prospect of a Yoruba presidency by 2023.

    Obasanjo is the most annoying pretender, an irredeemable narcissist, an unfazed megalomaniac and an unrepentant prodigal, when the matter is Yoruba interest; with his annoying illogic, which fires his umpteenth grandstanding, that other people’s gains must be a Yoruba loss; so long as he takes personal glory, to claim he loves Nigeria more than any other person, living, dead or even unborn.

    Still, Obasanjo is a Yoruba man, and he only quit the Presidency in 2007.  I sincerely feel other ethnics from Nigeria’s South, should get it, after the Buhari encore.

    Read also: All set for APC presidential campaign kick-off in Uyo

    But then, that’s only an analyst’s view — an analyst’s view that may be logical; and almost everything considered, appears fair and equitable.  Still, when you factor in the dynamics of politics, that might not tell all of the story.

    Indeed, in the all-crucial point of equity, even that logic could sound rather naive in the brutal context of real-politik, where everyone invests their best to grab power, in a federation with a history of fierce contestations for power.

    So, logic and real-politik considered, the Vice Presdent’s pitch would appear not out of order, since his message, viewed less emotively, was really strong on equity, with absolutely no compromise to other ethnics’ right to treading that same path: work very hard for the re-election of the present order and get your due.  It just might be your swiftest path to the Nigerian presidency!

    That, in my view, is as valid a counsel for a putative Yoruba presidency, as it is for a putative Igbo, or even an Ijaw, Itsekiri, Edo, Efik, or any of the slew of southern minorities for that matter — if they play their politics right; and build the requisite pan-Nigerian coalition to deliver on that not illegitimate dream.

    In any case, before you slay the Vice President for applying practical equity to a possible Yoruba bid for a post-Buhari Nigerian presidency, why not juxtapose John Nwodo, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo president’s comments on Nigeria’s future power path, from the Igbo perspective?

    Chief Nwodo was quoted to have said Nigeria would never surmount its present challenges — or something along that sentiment — until an Igboman became president.

    Now, what was that?  A brag?  A dire prophecy?  Or just an explosive bluff, based on nothing but empty exceptionalism?  Empty exceptionalism, because what especial or exclusive trait does an Igbo person have, for being Igbo, that other ethnics don’t have, so much so that only an Igbo president would, open sesame, redeem Nigeria from all its past and present troubles?

    With all due respect to the Ohanaeze chair, that statement is hardly logical.  But, it doesn’t make it any less democratic.  Indeed, in a federal Nigeria, the more passionate folks get about their ethnic pride, the better it perhaps is for everyone, if that pride powers everyone to put their best into the Nigerian project.

    Which is why whereas on the logical plain you can fault the Ohanaeze chief, on the passionate path, you can’t.  His passion may have got the better of his reason — since such bluff could prove a tad annoying to other Nigerians outside the Igbo stock, and therefore short-circuit his message.  But who cares?  He pitches his people.  That is hardly a crime: to wish the best for your own, in a federal territory abuzz with power contestation.

    At the end, it all depends on how you want to play your politics, the coalition you want to build and the goals you have in sight.

    That is why the Vice President’s pitch, at Oyo, the heartland of the Yoruba homeland, should not be taken beyond the context of an electioneering pitch.  The sociology of federalism demands you voice different pitches to different regions, since local dreams and aspirations are never the same, even if all reside within the territory of a federal Nigeria.

    So, let everyone work hard toward their own power aspirations, no matter where the eventual beneficiary comes from. What rather matters is that in power, a government’s policy should not be skewed towards or against anyone.  With equity and fairness, it wouldn’t matter where the president comes from.

    Obasanjo enjoyed the Yoruba presidential slot.  But, Yoruba land tasted — perhaps most of — the pestilence of his presidency.  Aside from his scorched earth military invasion to rein in both Odi (Bayelsa State) and Zaki Biam (Benue State), where a few felons rudely challenged the might of the state, and landed their respective communities in hot soup, the Southwest, perhaps more than any other, felt the full weight of Obasanjo’s empty rhetoric.

    Examples?  “Lagos is a jungle” — that, he proudly and arrogantly declared.  But for a forward-looking Tinubu governorship that did extensive urban renewal in infrastructure, made possible by a rare but brilliant financial re-engineering,  Lagos — and by extension the Nigerian economy — would by now have ground to a halt.

    Add to that Obasanjo’s cruel seizure of the Lagos council funds; his South West regimental politics and do-or-die electoral temper, that climaxed in the grand heist masquerading as election in 2007; the wanton neglect of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, just to mention a few, and you’d see why presidential nativity could, in fact, be a blight.

    Juxtapose that to the Buhari era developmental policies, physical and social, with its nationwide spread, despite the opposition’s ruthless media propaganda to spin the contrary.  There is no part of the country that has not got its fair share.

    In strictly business terms, while the president has been chief executive officer (CEO) driving policies, the Vice President has been the chief implementor, as chief operations officer (COO); and as he goes on his blitz, the latest being the Tradermoni micro loans, the boisterous reception nationwide shows a pan-Nigerian fairness and equity, in pro-poor policy and other policy deliveries.

    Vice President Osinbajo has been a vibrant implementing agent, of the PMB government’s equal opportunity investment, in the most vulnerable among Nigeria’s hard working masses.

    That has clearly established his sense of fairness, equity and justice, where it matters most.  Telling his people, to put their votes where it would be most beneficial for them as a collective, is legit electioneering pitch, that can’t negate those golden traits.

     

  • Much ado over Electoral Act

    Opposition is jittery, says Fed Govt
    Override Buhari’s veto, Agbakoba tells
    National Assembly

    The row over President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to sign the Electoral  Law Amendment Bill  deepened yesterday,

    The government said the opposition was jittery over the matter; former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) urged the National Assembly to override the President’s veto.

    Senator Joseph Waku also backed an override of the veto, but Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura said the President acted in good faith.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would have been implementing the law if the President had signed it.

    At a briefing in Abuja, Information and Culture Minister Alhaji Lai Mohammed  said Buhari did not sign the Bill because  he wants the best for Nigeria.”

    According to him, there is no substance in the complaints over timing or otherwise on  when the  President should react to a bill.

    Besides, he  accused the opposition of being behind fake news to derail the 2019 elections.

    The Minister said: “On the issue of the bill, our President has already communicated to the National Assembly on why he is not signing that bill. And I think if I remember, one of the reasons why he will not sign it now is that signing that bill at this point in time would create confusion and will not make for clarity.

    “I don’t think I want to say more than this. We are actually waiting for the response of the National Assembly on this matter. We also pointed to certain errors which we felt the National Assembly should look into and we await further reaction from the  National Assembly..

    “There’s actually no reason for the President not to sign the Electoral Bill, if he is not convinced that signing it would only jeopardise free and fair election. His refusal to sign is simply because he wants the best for Nigeria.

    He picked holes in the opposition’s claim  that Buhari declined to sign the bill as part of a plan to rig the elections.

    “The opposition is jittery. Already, they have rejected the outcome of the elections. They’ve asked the INEC chairman to resign, they’ve asked the present Inspector General of Police (IG) to resign. They are just preparing excuses for their eventual loss.

    “There is absolutely no substance in the timing or otherwise on the President reacting to the bill because you need to study very carefully, consult very widely before you assent to a bill or before you respond to a proposed bill.”

    The President and his team, Muhammed said, had always been painstaking in studying bills passed by the National Assembly before signing them into law.

    He said: “It is a credit to Mr. President that he would even take the comments of the relevant ministers when a bill like this is being proposed. An electoral bill is so crucial to the life of a nation that time and effort must not be spared in assuring we do the right thing.

    “In drafting, what you think is just common mistakes and errors could make a whole lot of difference.

    “If you put ‘and’ instead of ‘or’ it may change the entire character of the legislation. I remember in my Law School days, during drafting attention is put on every word. But the main reason I hold on to as to why the President said he is not going to sign this bill is that it will create uncertainty in the Electoral Act.

    ” Yes there has been a lot of reactions from all, but I think the President has the prerogative to look at the bill, consult with all the authorities, and make known his views to the National assembly. Yes, there should be a lot of cordiality between the NASS and the Federal Government.”

    He said the President was only sticking to the principle of separation of powers.

    “But at the same time, each arm should guard very jealously its independence and its mandate. And I think this is exactly what the President has done in this matter,” he said.

    On the implications of not signing the bill, Mohammed urged the nation to await the of the National Assembly’s decision.

    He said:  “I think the constitution is very clear on this matter. The President has returned the Bill to the National Assembly; I think we should just wait for development from the National Assembly. I think it is too premature now to start testing what is going to happen.”

    Asked what the government will do if the National Assembly overrides the President’s veto, the Minister said: “Let’s wait for that to happen.”

    The opposition he alleged, was sponsoring fake news  because it has run out of ideas on how to prosecute the 2019 polls.

    The minister  said: Going back to the issue of fake news, I think the biggest weapon in the arsenal of the opposition today is fake news. We also have it on good authority that the opposition has hired technology companies to actually turn out fake news to look probable but all being fake news.

    “One said that I said that the President could no longer speak and understand fully his  Fulfulde  because of the surgery he underwent in London that affected his ability to speak the language. “Another version of the fake news on the same table as those who manufactured the clone theory. It is absolutely false, untrue.

    “What bothers me is that it isn’t going to stop. And in the days and weeks ahead leading up to the 2019 elections we will hear more incredulous fake news. And this is simply because the opposition has run out of ideas.

    “They know that they cannot debate issues and have resorted to fabricating fake news.  As a matter of fact, we have it on good authority that it is the only weapon left in their arsenal and they will use it devastatingly.

    “My charge to the media is that they should not always accept these fake news without questioning. I think there are some basic checks that the media should undertake. If it is said that he made a statement, where did he make the statement? When did he make it?

    “Is there any video or audio proof that he did? Unfortunately we are in an era of very serious epidemic and that epidemic today is fake news.

    “I am glad that as far back as 2017 we raised this alarm. In fact, we dedicated a whole national council on information summit to address this issue. And on the 11th of July, I became so concerned that we launched a national campaign against fake news, as if we knew it was going to be the single most potent weapon in the arsenal of the opposition. Clearly we should expect more of this in the days and weeks ahead.”

    “Override Buhari’s veto”

     

    In a December 10 letter addressed to Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Agbakoba said the President’s reason  for not signing the bill were not tenable.

    The letter, copied all National Assembly members, is entitled: “Overriding the Presidential decline to assent  to 2018 Electoral Act.”

    Agbakoba said the major amendment to the 2018 Electoral Act related to electronic technology for the conduct of next year’s elections.

    He said in order to remove the constraints that will impact the credibility of future elections, the Electoral Act 2010 was amended by the 2018 Bill, to formalise the legal basis of the smart cards which were  already in use for elections by INEC anyway.

    The letter reads: “The decision of the President to withhold Assent in respect of a bill to enact a law to amend the Electoral Act makes no sense.

    “The final draft bill considered by the National Assembly was agreed with the President, precisely to avoid challenges, such as now occurred.

    “The President states that part of the reasons he has withheld assent is to avoid confusion as to the applicable legal framework for the 2019 elections and the administrative capacity of INEC to cope with the new Electoral Act, as it is all too close to the 2019 elections.

    “Distinguished and Honourable members will recall that the major amendment to the 2018 Electoral Act relates to electronic technology for the conduct of the 2019 elections.

    “The 2015 elections were partly conducted by INEC, using smart cards (card readers) but the Supreme Court held that smart cards are not allowed, not been included in the Electoral Act 2010.

    “The 2015 elections were also partly conducted by INEC using incident forms; in effect smart cards and incident forms were both used to conduct 2015 elections.

    “Distinguished and Honourable members of the National Assembly will recall that there was a lot of controversy about the use of incident forms as it enabled non-accredited persons to vote, questioning the credibility of the elections.

    “In order to remove constraints that will impact the credibility of future elections, such as 2019, the Electoral Act 2010, was amended by the 2018 Bill, to formalise the legal basis of the smart cards which were already in use for elections by INEC anyway.

    “It will be recalled that the Supreme Court declared use of smart cards as contrary to the Electoral Act 2010, so the 2018 amendment is intended to give INEC a legal basis to use smart cards and electronic technology.

    “The 2018 Bill also introduced the extremely important procedure of transmitting results of votes from polling units by electronic means.

    “Electronic transmission will remove rigging and enhance the credibility of the vote count.

    “INEC says it is familiar with the amendments contained in the 2018 Electoral Bill.

    “INEC has used smart cards at all elections from 2015. INEC has submitted an election budget which provides for smart cards and transmission equipment.

    “The President claims that part of the reasons for withholding assent is that INEC will not have enough time to become familiar with the 2018 Bill and that a new Act will generate confusion.

    “This is simply incorrect and flies in the face of INEC’s announcement that it will not use incident forms or manual voting in 2019 elections.

    “In other words, INEC is ready to deploy electronic technology for 2019 elections, and only requires that the Electoral Act provides a legal framework.

    “The 2018 Amendments will help to improve the credibility of our elections and also give legal basis for INEC to deploy electronic technology in 2019 elections, following doubts cast by the Supreme Court about the legality of the use of card readers because it was not provided in the old Electoral Act of 2010.

    “Distinguished and Honourable members of the National Assembly, are please please urged to override Mr. President and enact 2018 Electoral Act.”

    Waku, the Pro-Chancellor and governing council Chairman of the Federal University of Technonology, Akure, called for an override  of the veto so that the bill would become law and provide a road map towards credible, transparent, free and fair conduct of the forthcoming elections.

    “The National assembly has the constitutional backing to override the powers of a sitting president who is refusing to sign an important law except it is telling Nigerians that it lacks the two third majority for that action”, he said.

    Waku said Benue people would resist any move to rig next year’s general elections, adding that gone are the days when  ballot boxes snatching was the norm.

     

    President ‘acted in good faith’

     

    Al-Makura said the would always do what is right and not be swayed by sentiments.

    Speaking with reporters after submitting the report of his reconciliation committee to the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole in Abuja, Al-Makura said President believed in social justice, adding that he (Buhari) declined to sign the bill in good faith.

    He said: “I believe he is best placed than anybody in this country to determine what is good for every individual in this country. Reason being, he is the only person in the political arena that has gotten the mandate across the 36 states of the federation, he is the  person that is constitutionally placed to determine what is best for the people of this country.

    “If you look at his pedigree and how he has come along since his first attempt in 1983, he is somebody with the heart of the common man. He is the person with the mien and disposition that doesn’t discriminate against helpless Nigerians.

    “I believe in his values, given his ethos, given his pedigree. His reason for declining to sign the Electoral Act bill sent to him is in good faith and Nigerians should consider it as such.”

    Senate Committee on Local Content Chairman Senator Solomon Adeola APC, Lagos West), rejected the clamour to override  the President’s veto.

    According to him, those making the call did not have the interest of Nigeria and the safety and sanctity  of the 2019 election at heart.

    Adeola said he would oppose  such move in the Senate, which  reconvenes tomorrow, because  ” it is counterproductive at this late hour to the crucial 2019 elections beginning in February next year”.

    “As a senator and a Nigerian, I cannot be part of any move to override the President’s veto on the Electoral Bill. The President clearly stated his reasons for the veto and I think they are cogent enough to be accepted by all in the national interest. And good enough the President is not totally foreclosing the need to amend the Act as he clearly stated that such process can take place after the 2019 Elections in the 9th National Assembly,” he said.

    Read also: CBN, EFCC to punish forex policy violators

    Our stand, by INEC

     

    Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman Rotimi Oyekanmi said that commission could still conduct the forthcoming  elections under the expert law.

    He said: “As far as the commission is concerned, there is no legal lacuna. If the President had assented to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, the commission would have proceeded with only the aspects that can be implemented before the 2019 general elections. It would have been impossible, for instance, to implement 100 percent electronic voting because of the time frame.”

    He said INEC conducted a free, fair and transparent election with the 2010 Electoral law in 2015 and the result has continued to receive accolade within and outside the country.

    “But now that the President has refused assent, the commission will conduct the general elections based on the 2010 Electoral Law (as amended). Remember, the much applauded 2015 general elections were conducted under the existing electoral law. The upcoming polls will also be conducted in the same manner. To be sure, the commission long ago began preparations for the elections based on the existing law and it was the legal document we relied on to issue the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2019 General Elections back in January this year. Therefore, there is nothing to worry about. All INEC requires is for all political parties taking part in the elections to play according to the rules and everything will be fine,” he said.

    Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President Rev. Samson Ayokunle urged the executive and legislature to close ranksover  the issue.

    He said: “The executive and need to work together. When there is a crisis between them like this what they need to do is to put themselves together as partners in progress.

    “There should be mutual understanding between them because they cannot afford to play with the future of Nigerians in the 2019 elections. Everything that should be done must be done to make sure that the 2019 election are free and fair.”

     

     

     

     

  • Much ado about proposed passenger service charge hike

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has announced an upward review in Passenger Service Charge (PSC) from January 1, 2019. But aviation unions, airlines and stakeholders are divided over the proposal. Some argue that the planned hike is necessary because of the rising cost of infrastructure maintenance at airports; others are demanding wider consultation before the increase. Aviation Correspondent KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR reports.

    Even before the proposed Passenger Service Charge (PSC) hike takes effect on January 1, 2019, a groundswell of opposition is trailing the proposal. Those  against it include passengers, airlines, aviation unions and others in the sector.

    Some of them, who spoke with The Nation, insist that the plan is  ill-conceived; that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) must first improve the quality of passenger services before any hike.

    Spokesman of one of the domestic airlines, who pleaded anonymity, said the proposed hike amounted to gross insensitivity on FAAN’s part. To him, an upward review of PSC is unnecessary at this time when many domestic airlines are contending with drop in passenger traffic.

    His words: “I hope FAAN is not thinking in that direction, (increase in PSC), because it will be the height of insensitivity. Though passengers are the people paying the charge, but people keep blaming airlines for what they currently charge as fares. Why do we enjoy lying to ourselves? Would people not fly before we talk of paying PSC?”

    The domestic airline’s spokesman has an ally in Mr. Apagun Olu, an industry player. Olu did not mince words when he said the proposed hike was wrong-footed.

    He said the authority should focus on how to make its terminal world class instead of embarking on an increase in PSC, adding that the authority should concentrate on raising the service bar before dabbling into a needless tariff increase.

    Similarly, an aviation security consultant and Managing Director of Centurion Securities Limited, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retd), said FAAN should put the proposed review of PSC on hold since the government plans to concession some airport terminals.

    He said it would be appropriate for would-be concessionaires to determine the new rates for PSC.

    Ojikutu said: “I agree that PSC needed to be increased if FAAN will remain in the management of the airports. But, if there are plans to concession the airports soon, FAAN should not carry out any increase. If it does, it would not stop whoever takes the concessions to also increase the charge thereby amounting to double charge.”

    The PSC, The Nation learnt, is usually factored into tickets for domestic and international travels. Currently, FAAN charges N1,000 per passenger on domestic tickets, whereas international tickets attract $50 per passenger.

    The charge is payable by passengers who travel through the 26 airports managed by FAAN. It is collected by airlines upon purchase of tickets and is paid to FAAN upon completion of the flight.

    The charge covers the cost of maintaining common areas in terminals, providing passenger information, maintaining security and ensuring that customers use the airport in comfort and with confidence.

    It was last reviewed eight years ago, precisely in 2011, when the local currency was more than twice the current value and cost of operation was far lower than what obtains currently. This means that a review is long overdue.

    But, attempts by FAAN to effect a review of the charge has obviously not gone down well with stakeholders in the aviation sector, including passengers, airlines and aviation unions.

    The aggrieved stakeholders, The Nation learnt, have refused to be swayed even after the General Manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, explained that the authority has yet to arrive at a new charge; that it was still consulting with relevant stakeholders on the matter.

     

    Three aviation unions support proposed increase

    The endorsement of the proposed increment by three aviation unions has also not cowed the opposition. For instance, the General Secretary of National Union of Pensioners (NUP), FAAN Branch, Comrade Emeka Njoku, was said to have thrown his weight behind the proposed increase in PSC.

    Njoku told reporters in his Lagos office, during the week, that the review was over- due in view of the various projects being executed by FAAN, citing, for instance, the acquisition and maintenance of current infrastructure at airports across the country.

    He stated that infrastructure maintenance was becoming increasingly difficult and that the only way to survive was for FAAN to adjust upwards its charges to reflect the current value and cost of operation.

    Comrade Njoku specifically called for the full commercialisation of FAAN to enable it increase its revenue profile without interference from any quarters. This, he said, will enable the authority render better services to the public.

    According to him, lack of funds was slowing down FAAN’s activities. Besides, the organisation was saddled with a lot of wage bills, including the maintenance of airports and payment of pensions.

    Listen to the unionist: “Equipments are becoming obsolete and they need replacement. This can only be done with funds, which is not readily available.”

    He also argued that airport concession being canvassed in some quarters was not the solution to FAAN’s problems. Rather, the organisation, he said, should be allowed to get loan from banks to develop airports across the country for better services.

    The National Secretary of Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu, agrees with Njoku. He said running cost had gone up so, there was nothing wrong in reviewing the charges to allow FAAN provide quality services.

    Saidu said the proposed increment was justified after eight years of the last review. He stressed that things have changed in the last eight years.

    The ANAP scribe noted, for instance, that inflation through these years has drastically affected the cost of doing business. ”Airlines and other airport users have reviewed their charges severally within these periods,” he said.

    Continuing, he pointed out: “We have four new terminals built to international standards. The PSC tariff fixed eight years ago will not be suitable for these new terminals because of new technology, maintenance and other related costs.”

    Besides, passenger traffic, Saidu emphasised, has grown by more than 65 per cent between 2011 and now. According to him, the effect of the increased traffic on airport facilities should be taken into consideration.

    However, despite justifying the proposed tariff hike, Saidu added a caveat. He warned that the upward review of PSC should not be too high, as this could force a drop in passenger traffic.

    While also warning that airlines might be forced to increase airfare if the PSC was raised too high, Saidu appealed to passengers not to panic over the move, as air travel remained the safest.

    The National President of National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Comrade Ben Nnabue, also justified the planned increase. He said safety and efficiency are expensive to maintain so, FAAN must adjust its charges in order to survive.

    “For FAAN to maintain airport facilities to world class standards, there is need to increase charges. Most of the fittings in those airports were imported,” he said, noting that since the last increment eight years ago, the value of foreign currencies has increased while cost of electricity generation and diesel has risen.

    Citing the recent transformation at airports across the country, the Publisher of Aviation Safety Magazine, Alhaji Umar Abdulyekeen, said an increase was justified. He, however, said the increment should be done in a manner that will favour all the parties.

    “FAAN is right, but they should consider the people and the economy, because FAAN might have sacrificed a lot of things but it should be with a percentage that will go down well with all the stakeholders,” Abdulyekeen said.

    Sound arguments, no doubt. But those opposed to the move are not convinced. For instance, the National President of National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), Mr. Bernard Bankole, said FAAN needed to justify the PSC it has collected through airlines by fixing decadent operational facilities at the airports.

    He also said the authority should focus on how to make the airport functional and attractive rather than seeking ways to earn more revenues.

     

    Foreign airlines kick

    The Association of Foreign Airlines Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN) President, Mr. Kingsley Nwokoma, said recently that relevant aviation authorities including FAAN should do whatever they could to reduce charges at Lagos Airport.

    He said multiple charges were discouraging foreign carriers from operating in Nigeria, adding that infrastructure at the airport were not commensurate with charges paid.

    Nwokoma’s words: “The operating environment here is expensive, even when compared to Accra. There are lots of multiple charges that needed to be looked into and reviewed.

    “I believe you have to take it one step at a time. If you take it one step and the charges are friendly, more people will come. But if the charges are not friendly, people will look into other climes.

    “We have the population, which is good, but it also has to do with what you have in your pocket. Airport facilities generally should be upgraded. There is a lot to be done. It has to be systematic. We need to improve infrastructure; we need to make sure that the multiple charges are no more there.

    “If the airlines are paying so much here on, maybe landing, parking and all associated fares, it means it would go back to the charges. So, we need to look at all the multiple charges. We need to review all our charges. We need to improve infrastructure, look at other countries and try to be close to the world standard.”

    Domestic carriers also

    Speaking in a recent interview, the Chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Nogie Meggison, said there was nothing unusual about aviation authorities’ plan to review charges, but they must subject it to stakeholders’ review in line with the provisions of rule making of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

    The AON chairman said this should be the rule whenever government intends to review charges including Ticket Sales Charge (TSC), en-route navigational charges and PSC.

    He listed other charges to include charter sales charge, aircraft inspection fees, simulator inspection fees, landing charges, parking charges, terminal navigational charge, fuel surcharge, airport space rent, electricity charges and apron pass, ramp access charges etc.

    The Civil Aviation Act of 2006 (Part 18.12.3) requires that the NCAA regulates civil aviation and the charges imposed by civil aviation authorities and agencies. Such charges, Meggison said, ought to be approved and reviewed periodically in consultation with stakeholders.

    The NCAA policy, Meggison said, was not being adhered to as airlines are saddled with charges without any form of consultation whatsoever.

     

    IATA’s position

    Over the years, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on the Nigerian Government to consider ways of reviewing airport charges and taxes that will stimulate activities.

    Its Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Alexander De Juniac, said: “Governments need to evaluate the pros and cons of different models, taking into account the interests of all stakeholders, including airlines and customers.

    “The most important thing is that airports meet the needs of customers and airport infrastructure users at a fair price. And to do that, user consultation must be an integral part of the consideration process.”

    The IATA chief said governments needed to protect consumers’ interests by establishing robust regulatory safeguards to ensure cost efficiency in charges and improvements in investments and service levels.

    His perspective seems to have made the back and forth arguments on the proposed hike in PSC unnecessary. However, how FAAN will take his wise counsel in arriving at a new charge after consulting with relevant stakeholders on the matter remains to be seen as the proposed next  January 1 take-off date for a new PSC draws near.

  • Much ado about EIU, HSBC report

    On the death of an elephant, expect to see all manners of knives at work. Much has certainly been made of the unflattering, or if you like, the doomsday prognosis on the state of the economy and the nation in general by two international bodies – the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) – the research unit of The Economist magazine and HSBC, the multinational banking and financial services company. Aside their shared believe that the Buhari administration is not doing nearly enough to address the problems facing the economy, also united by the duo is their conviction that the 2019 elections would prove momentous for the struggling economy.

    Says the EIU: “Nigeria’s leadership will struggle to deal with a range of challenges to political and economic stability. Campaigning ahead of the 2019 elections will complicate the situation as politicians focus on shoring up support (and undermining opponents) rather than more prudent policy reforms. Economic growth will be constrained by the weak policy environment and dire infrastructure provision. The prospects for 2020-22 are slightly stronger, with elections out of the way and oil prices strengthening”.

    The report ended with a dire prediction that President Muhammadu Buhari will not win next year’s election.

    HSBC on its part pushes things further: “A second term for Mr. Buhari raises the risk of limited economic progress and further fiscal deterioration, prolonging the stagnation of his first term, particularly if there is no move towards completing reform of the exchange rate system or fiscal adjustments that diversify government revenues away from oil.”

    “Economic growth remains sluggish and reliant on the rebound in oil output while the non-oil economy, which accounts for about 90 per cent of GDP, continues to languish with many service sectors still mired in contraction.

    “Joblessness continues to rise, up almost three-fold in three years to 19 per cent in Q3 2017, pushing the number in poverty to 87 million. “Meanwhile, current account improvements may have pivoted on higher oil prices, but they also derive from on-going import restrictions and limited FX access for many sectors of the economy.”

    Now, if you consider the ‘garbage’ (I choose to describe it so) – so patently self-serving and needlessly condescending – packaged as economic outlook as outrageous and offensive; just as galling must be the attempt by the duo to insert themselves into the nation’s domestic affairs going by their subtle hints at regime change – no matter that some of the premises are grounded on incontrovertible facts.

    Of course, the economy is still in the woods. And there can be no denying that. Thanks to global rise in crude prices, oil retains its status as a major driver and with it the potentials for future instability. In the absence of the vital infrastructure required to leapfrog the economy in record time, what we have is an economy locked in the cyclic mode all depending on the direction of the swing!

    Clearly, there can be no better testimonial than those supplied by members of the organised private sector (OPS) as reported by this newspaper on Sunday. First is the one from former Director General of the Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), and consultant to the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), John Isemede:”The country cannot be said to have exited recession with the figures being released for the economic performance of the first quarter (Q1), which recorded growth of 1.95 percent, and the second quarter (Q2) is 1.5 percent”.  To him, the economy could”go into depression this time around, if right recovery policies are not put in place and properly managed.”

    “The real sector” he further said, “is still wrestling with serious productivity challenges arising from the constraint of infrastructure, particularly power and logistics. It is imperative that efforts are geared towards investment and policies focusing on improving logistics and enhancing the power sector. The manufacturing sector also slowed from 3.39 percent in Q1 to 0.68 percent in Q2 as a result of massive infrastructural deficit, and logistic challenges”.

    He says “The Apapa gridlock, access and cost of credit, weak purchasing power, multiple taxation amongst others are points to ponder.”

    To Frank Jacobs President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN): “Technically, Nigeria has exited recession, but the economy… is still vulnerable. The macroeconomic indices and structural reforms need urgent attention to contain vulnerability and support sustainable private sector-led growth.”

    Or the equally insightful view of the chairman, Policy Committee of MAN, Engineer Reginald Odiah: “Nigeria is just lucky that oil price is on the increase; otherwise, manufacturing is consistently dwindling. If you look closely at it, most businesses have closed down. I am not seeing clear policy direction and political will to bring the country out completely out of recession completely. The government is just focusing more attention on the 2019 general election. We just need to make one more mistake and the country would plunge back into deep recession.”

    In the same vein, it does not require special grace to acknowledge the number of things that the administration has done to jumpstart the economy. Notably among these are the array of fiscal reforms that have boosted the treasury while also blocking all avenues for the endemic wastes and corruption that hitherto hobbled and undermined the nation’s fiscal processes.  We have also seen a lot of investment in rail transportation which of course promises to be a game changer whenever they finally come on stream. To these we can add the ongoing rehabilitation of road infrastructure, investment in hydro-power.

    By far the most credible charge is that the current administration could do far more than it is currently doing to turn the tide. First is the reality of mass unemployment with its continuing potentials for social dislocation. Second is the snail-paced attempt at infrastructural renewal at a time of unprecedented infrastructure deficit. Most hobbling of course is the lack of clarity in policies and programme.

    The real problem as I see it is that the Buhari administration has neither found the hunger for development on the scale that matches our current realities nor shown firm resolve to undertake extraordinary measures to avert the looming socio-economic cataclysm. For a country with a population growth rate of 2.7 percent to be doing 1.9 percent in GDP growth is the surest way to court disaster.  Put simply, Nigerians haven’t quite seen the scale of change envisaged when, three years ago, they threw out the incompetent PDP administration.

  • Much ado about defection

    Sir: The defections from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party in the National Assembly as well as some states of the federation has left the masses confused given that some of the excuses given were part of, if not all the excuses supplied in 2014 when the struggle to wrest power from the then ruling PDP was considered ‘imperative’ by some of the current defectors.

    An average politician has the desire to gain the control of government as the primary aim whether for truly bettering the lots of the citizens or their selfish interests. However, inability of the citizens to determine from a number of politicians those whose aims can also accommodate the alleviation of their suffering sometimes predisposes them to wrong choices that can further make them vulnerable.

    I see the following tips as useful to arming the populace with the discernment needed to make right choices in the 2019 elections:

    First, the current mass defections could further worsen the North-South divide given the fear of the northern hegemony that could arise in the event of PDP victory in 2019. The reason being that a northerner is likely to be PDP presidential flag bearer next year. By implication, the informal arrangement of power rotation between the North and the South will be defeated, especially if the PDP candidate further records success in the 2023 presidential election. Given that scenario, southerners will be the real losers should they join the defection bandwagon as the much desired apex political office will be occupied by their northern counterparts for 12 years at a stretch.

    In the circumstance, it would seem wiser for them to either remain in APC to support the re-election bid of the current president or insist on featuring a candidate of southern extraction by PDP – a wish that may not see the light of the day considering the current degree of desperation to counter the current president with his kinsman.

    Again, however right defection is defined, the public should understand that defectors are usually found wanting in virtues such as direction, patience and accountability for a virtuous mind maintains constancy regardless of the challenges threatening their survival.

    The case of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, could be referenced here to support the weight of virtues on political association. The sage could possibly have dumped the Action Group for the ruling party in the First Republic with a view to escaping his trial over treason or gaining access to political spoils at the centre rather than the opposition role he chose to play. It is the lack of such virtues that creates a room for unsuitable elements to hobnob in our political space; hence the continued enthronement of incapable hands that cannot guarantee not only food but security of lives. It should be remembered that there was this kind of exodus movement prior to the 2015 general elections with the golden promises. Jubilation over such political tactics as defection is worthless in the sense that such move further insults the public sensibilities by the elite who do appeal to the masses’ emotions in only their trying times rather than being genuinely concerned with the wanton killings and other plight of the masses in the country that could have been cited by them as the basis for defection.      

     

    • George Oludare Ibikunle,

    Ibadan.