The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria

  • Tukur begs defectors to return to PDP

    Tukur begs defectors to return to PDP

    National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has appealed to aggrieved members of the party who defected to other political parties to return.
    Tukur promised prospective returnees a special arrangement by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP that will assign special roles to them in the party’s reform agenda.
    He said: “For us to be one indivisible and indissoluble party ruling Nigeria since 1999, it may be necessary for me to beg our members who are aggrieved and who left the party for different strange camps to come back home. It is time to re-build Nigeria and all hands are needed to do so.
    “The umbrella is big enough to accommodate all of us. So, our members who left us should please come back into the party so we can resolve our differences and begin to move on as one people for one nation.”
    The party chairman said he accepted to lead the party not to acquire fame or fortune, but to give back to Nigeria much of what the country had offered him.
    Tukur. who spoke at his Abuja residence on the occasion of his 77th birthday, called on party members and the Nigerian people to support the transformation agenda of the Jonathan administration.
    He said the PDP would soon engage its founding fathers, elders and other stakeholders in the task of rebuilding the party through reconciliation, based on equity and justice.
    The PDP chair ruled out automatic tickets for members in the 2015 general elections, insisting that merit, record of performance and credibility of political office seekers would be the yardstick for determining access to power at all levels.
  • Tax Tribunal upholds Halliburton’s appeal against FIRS

    Tax Tribunal upholds Halliburton’s appeal against FIRS

    The Tax Appeals Tribunal sitting in Lagos yesterday upheld an appeal by Halliburton Energy Services Nigeria Ltd against the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over $167,700,000 tax assessment.
    FIRS, in a notice of assessment dated February 24, 2009, had demanded 30 per cent of $559 million being fine payable to United States authorities in lieu of “bribes” allegedly given to Nigerian officials for operations in the country within the Halliburton group.
    “Since the entire bribe would have formed part of the expenses that was charged in the tax returns of FIRS, an amount of $559 million is hereby disallowed for tax purposes.
    “The relevant assessment notice for the tax arising therefrom amounting to $167,700,000 is herewith forwarded for your prompt payment,” FIRS had said in a covering letter dated February 25, 2009.
    Delivering judgment yesterday, the tribunal, chaired by Kayode Sofola, SAN, who led other commissioners including Catherine Ajayi, Mustapaha Ibrahim, D. Gapsiso and Chinua Asuzu, set aside the assessment of FIRS.
    It said the terms of settlement and a non-prosecution agreement between the parties exempted Halliburton from the imposition of the assessment numbered PDBA 20.
    “The said assessment is defective as being speculative, a contradiction and inconsistent with the relevant tax laws.
    “While foreign companies may be liable to the imposition of tax in Nigeria, in appropriate cases, Halliburton Inc USA is not chargeable to tax in Nigeria with regard to the fine it paid to the American government in the circumstances of the case,” the tribunal held.
    The tribunal said for the tax to be imposed on the sum in question, the law must unambiguously impose the tax on the party sought to be charged with it.
    It added: “The evidence shows that the fine was imposed for the bribery of Nigerian officials. What the quantum of the bribe was is not in evidence.
    “The respondent (FIRS) speculates that the fine of $559 million or the ‘entire bribe would have formed part of the expenses that was charged in the tax returns to FIRS’. The basis for this is not clear.
    “If a fine is imposed, it would be unthinkable for such fine to be claimed as an expense to be deducted in the tax returns. The purpose of the sanction, a criminal penalty, surely is a loss imposed on the party unless there is evidence to the contrary, which there is not.
    “We find that the fine is not profit and to the contrary, is a loss. Thus, the case the respondent has presented before us is untenable.”
    Halliburton had appealed the assessment on the grounds that it was not involved in the payment of any bribes, adding that it has never claimed any related revenue expenses or deductions in any of its tax returns to the FIRS.
    The appellant said the amount of the expenses the FIRS proposed to disallow by its assessment was higher than the combined revenue from its operations in Nigeria for “the last four years.”
    “The sum of $559,000,000.00 said to have been paid to the US authorities by Halliburton Inc (USA) was not representative of the amount of any alleged bribe payment,” Halliburton said, among others.
  • Why I do Afro Electro music—2A

    Why I do Afro Electro music—2A

    When in 2003, Abia State born Emenike Anayo Anderson left the shores of Nigeria for Greece; little did he know that he would end up as an entertainer. Nine years down the line, he says that he is back with an experience to share with the Nigerian music loving audience. With a fresh genre called Afro Electro Music; a combination of traditional African and American Hip Hop R&B, 2A, as his alias goes, speaks with OVWE MEDEME about racism, music and sundry issues.

    FOR an artiste based in Greece, why did you decide to come back home?
    I am based in Greece, but I do travel around Europe and UK on tour for my shows. I decided to come back to Nigeria to introduce my style of music. I call it Afro Electro. It has a kind of hip-hop style to it. Nigerians would want to see this because the industry is growing, and Nigerians need to explore other genres. We also need to show the rest of the world that we have what it takes to be there. It is the kind of song everyone would love to listen to. It has a lot of energy and flavor into it. It is like bringing back what belongs to us to its roots.
    Tell us about your brand of music
    This has to do with a taste of electro, mixed with some kind of Nigerian flavour. It has a bit of Pidgin English, afro hip-hop and pure hip-hop.
    Is it an original concept of yours?
    It is something that we all see. It’s in the air. It is like when you feel love or peace or joy.
    Given the fact that it has a touch of pidgin to it, how acceptable is the music in Europe?
    When they listen to my music, it sounds strange to their ears,  but it makes them want to listen more and to sing it. Also we have Nigerians there who appreciate it. It is a multicultural place and there are so many languages there. Nigerian pidgin is now being spoken all over the world.
    Do you also know other contemporaries over there?
    Yes. While I was in Athens, the first artiste who came was Eedris. I performed the same night with him. Tuface was also in Thessalonica and in Athens. Other artistes like Timaya, Danfo Drivers have all been there to perform.
    How come you didn’t collaborate with any of them?
    Then, I hadn’t thought about coming to Africa because I was busy in Europe. Finally, I decided that the best thing to do would be to come back home to ensure that my music works out well.
    Most artistes who come back want to be either more popular or to expand their reach. Which of these two is the case for you?
    For me, it is for my people to see what I am coming back home with. It is not just about the fame or the reach. It is what I love doing and it goes back to when I was a kid. It is not just about the money. There are things that we need to talk about through music and that is why I came back home.
    How long have you been doing music?
    I have lived in Europe for nine years but the music started for me while I was in secondary school. I was 17 years old then. It was something I didn’t expect. My mother said to me that I was always dancing to other people’s music, why don’t I go out there and show to the world what I can do? I never knew it would be serious. While in school one day, I was playing with other students, and I suddenly started rapping. That was the first day my classmates saw that there was something in me, but I didn’t consider it serious. When I left for Europe, I decided to go back to it.
    Professionally, at what point did your career kick off?
    I decided in 2003 when I was in Greece to do music fully. I went to a club and it was very boring. Nobody was dancing. Greece is a place that is dominated by their kind of music, so they always want to listen to foreign songs, especially the lyrics. When I saw the mood of the club, I jumped on the stage and started singing and they all started dancing. We are Nigerians; we know how to make people move.
    Having taken the decision to come back home, what kind of competition do you see?
    Before coming home, I have seen that the industry is highly competitive but I know that I can fit in. I came to do my thing. I am not competing with anyone. I have come to be myself and to introduce my play to the industry. People will enjoy it.
    What is the thing that you hope will stand you out?
    While I was in Europe, I had a lot of experiences. I passed through a lot. There are so many things that happened to me that I have decided that I will tell the whole world about. Not only that, I feel love, joy and peace also. I try to bring out the things that when you listen you will agree. Nigerians are moved by sound. Most of our songs are filled with energy. Ii would spice it up and try to bring in a bit of the Nigerian thing into my music so that by the time it goes out into the market, it will be accepted.
    How much western influence is in your music?
    I spent a lot of time there and at a time their kind of music got into me, but more importantly, my music has hip-hop and the electro sound which is their thing. My kind of beat is more foreign.
    What are some of those experiences you hope to sing about?
    Most Nigerians who leave this country go out to seek better life. Nobody hides that. When I got there, I discovered the good life is not only in  Europe. There is a better life where I come from and I left it for Europe. There is a better life in Nigeria, but it is only when you get there that you will find out that you left something of value here. I call it ignorance. At that point, I tried to give myself a bit of hope. Those are the experiences which I put into my music.
    How tough was it living in Europe?
    It was really tough. I faced a lot of discrimination. But I strove hard, I was humble and ; loyal; those where the things that kept me going?
    Where you ever a victim of racism?
    Racism is normal there. I was once in a group made up of three ingrains two guys and a lady. We were travelling around, playing our songs. We got to a club and when they got the hint that we were Nigerians, they denied us audience. The name of the group was ABC. The group didn’t stand anyway.
    Do you have an album?
    The album is still in the works, but I have some singles on air. One of them is titled Uptown Rider. I’m also considering doing some collaboration with Tuface and other big artistes.
  • Kidnap…money making menace

    Kidnap…money making menace

    Kidnapping can most accurately described as the crime of unlawfully seizing and carrying away a person by force of fraud, or seizing and detaining a person against his or her will with an intent to carry that person away at a later time. The law of kidnapping can be complex to define with precision because it can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Most of State and Federal kidnapping statutes define the term ‘kidnapping’ vaguely all over the world, and usually its left for the courts to clearly define it in detail.
    The number of kidnapping cases in Nigeria has risen to a staggering level. Most of the kidnapping cases are attributed to ransom demands while others are linked to terrorist activities. The high risk potential victims of kidnapping were usually prominent members of the society from our artists and their family members but recently it was noticed that there has been a shift from that trend. In the past, kidnappings were fundamentally politically based and foreign workers within the Internal oil companies were the prime targets. Oil rebels in order to stress and highlight on their political stances and campaigns would seize unsuspecting foreigners in a bid to extort money.
    So far the main motive for most of these kidnaps has been for financial gain, and a majority of security analysts attribute the rise in kidnapping cases to the severe poverty levels in some communities especially the problem in the rise of unemployment. The most alarming fact is that if the economy in the country gets worse; we would unfortunately witness the rise in killings in kidnap cases as the kidnappers become more dangerous, daring and desperate.  The root cause of kidnapping would be unemployment. Youths should be engaged in numerous employment opportunities and be encouraged to enrol in vocational programs. It saddens me that the security situation in Nigeria today is unpredictable for there is an alarming risk of terrorism, inter- communal clashes, crime, armed robbery attacks, banditry and now a spate of kidnappings. Formerly, kidnappings were a particular threat within the Niger Delta Region but now kidnappings are synonymous all over Nigeria.
    The statistics of kidnapping in Nigeria is simply appalling. On May 31st, 2012, an Italian citizen was kidnapped in Kwara State. On January 26th, 2012, a German citizen was kidnapped in Kano and then tragically killed on May 31st, 2012. A British citizen and an Italian citizen were kidnapped in Kebbi on May 12th , 2011, and brutally murdered by their captors on March 8th, 2012.
    Red24, the AIM-listed international security advice and management company, has named the world’s ten countries in which it says the threat of being kidnapped for ransom is the greatest. Their findings would alarm most Nigerians. They are: 1. Afghanistan 2. Somalia 3. Iraq 4. Nigeria 5. Pakistan 6. Yemen 7. Venezuela 8. Mexico 9. Haiti 10. Columbia.
    Nigeria records a staggering 1,000 kidnappings for ransom cases annually. Many experts though believe that due to different incident classifications between countries and the reluctance of relatives to report incidents, for fear of retaliation by the kidnappers or because of concerns about police corruption and ineptitude; data on kidnappings can be complex to compile. However, Red24 stated that using official data in respect of Nigeria, Venezuela, Mexico and Columbia as well as piracy incidents off the Somali coast and non-governmental organization staff kidnappings in Afghanistan have discovered there was a 9% rise in kidnapping cases in 2011 compared with the previous year. Their chief executive, Maldwyn Worseley- Tonks remarked that kidnapping is a “growing, global threat.”
     The Academic Staff Union of Universities had cause to accuse the federal government of its failure to properly curb the spate of insecurity and the high rate of crime in the country. On 13th August, 2012, on a meeting with reporters at the end of its National Executive Council meeting at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, ASUU’s National President, Dr. Nasir Isa Fagge, said that, “The spate of insecurity in the country has continued unabated. On daily basis, the newsstands are awash with reports of bombings, kidnappings, assassinations, armed robberies, arson, and related acts of violence perpetuated against the Nigerian people and foreigners alike. There are also reports of spiral inflation and phenomenal increase in commodity prices leading to food insecurity and reduction in standard of living across the country. Joblessness, homelessness, and decreasing access to education and other indices of underdevelopment now characterize our national life.”
    The fact that crime is on the increase in Nigeria is not breaking news these days, but the most challenging hurdle to cross would be that of the severe unemployment plaguing our nation. Various independent and authentic studies have revealed that unemployment is responsible for the largest portion of kidnappings in Nigeria today. It is a vicious chain of unfortunate events where poverty resulting from unemployment and a badly managed economy, increases criminal activities in Nigeria. The economic growth in this country has been severely stunted by decades of corruption and mismanagement of public funds. The depressing economic climate has taken its toll on Nigerians and the social effects of unemployment in Nigeria has increased the rate of kidnappings. Our youths are being lured by criminal gangs, warlords, illegal activities and terrorists. Amidst the extreme economic deprivation, the enticement of making fast money by snatching someone’s loved one seems just too tempting to resist.
    The crimes in general are becoming alarming more violent as well.  The horrendous use of human beings or their body parts for money making rituals has become common news. It used to be that in the 1980’s, sporadically reported acts of crime were of burglars silently and stealthily entering a house while all were soundly sleeping and going away with the family Betamax video. The robbers were too “polite” to even wake, talk less of confront any member of the family. Nowadays, poor wages, detrimental living conditions and lack of proper social morals have made money making ventures such as kidnapping the popular stock in trade for misguided youths. So the million dollar question remains, how safe exactly are any of us?
    Apparently, no one is safe. We are all potential victims. The security in Nigeria can best be described as a prison of fear and uncertainty guarded by invisible walls. Even in traffic, robberies are common. People are snatched in broad daylight by kidnappers and witnesses are either too scared or cynical to try to help much less assist security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators. With kidnapping, these criminals involved resort to the cruelest, degrading and most inhumane treatment of another human being. How can this abominable trend be reversed? Employment can be generated by means of restructuring our educational system, a conducive economic environment devoid of staggering inflation, and rebranding our agricultural sector would almost certainly go a long way to discouraging youths from engaging in criminal activities. All good citizens of this country should take responsibility to an extent for the state of lawlessness in the country today; for it would be selfish and irresponsible to blame the federal government alone.   These misguided youths were once our children before they grew up to be criminals, and until we all understand that we have a high stake in Nigeria’s  future, we can only show chagrin and contempt for a worsening situation. The primary focus of the federal government and indeed all Nigerians is to empower our youths through sound educational  and vocational programs; let us as parents is to give them hope for a brighter and more solid and secure future. These fundamental  advantages I believe have already been laid by the great founding fathers of Nigeria.
    In the meantime, all Nigerians and foreigners within the country should exercise grave caution and vigilance at all times. The next breaking news about the latest kidnap victim can be anyone of us and that’s the sad reality of Nigeria today.
  • Felix Okoye memorial lecture

    Felix Okoye memorial lecture

    The Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS)
    will hold the 2012 edition of  the Dr. Felix Okoye memorial
    lecture on Tuesday, September 18, 2012.Venue is  the Ayo Ajomo Auditorium, University of Lagos.
    The lecture, with the theme, ‘Judicialism and electoral process in Nigeria: What the Supreme Court did, what the Supreme Court may do’, will be delivered by Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed.
    The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) will be the special guest of honour at the event, which will kick off by 4pm.

  • A case for one man, one gun

    I would start by declaring that I am quite aware of the sensitive nature of the issue I have chosen to write about. I am also not oblivious of the criticism it may attract from many of our countrymen who believe that since Nigeria remains a baby at 52, its citizens must necessarily be infants endowed more with infantile emotions and temperament than discretion and sound judgment.
    I am talking about the need to grant responsible and emotionally mature Nigerians access to arms to defend themselves and family members in the face of increasing inability of government to live up to its basic responsibility of protecting the lives and property of its citizens.
    While British philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, might not have had Nigeria in mind when he propounded his theory of state of nature in the 19th Century, no honest observer would dispute the fact that Nigeria today is a replica of the picture he painted of the human society before the advent of government. Life in that primitive society, he said, was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.
    To be sure, the debate on whether private arms should be legalised is not new. But at no time was the issue as germane as it has been in the past one year or thereabout, considering the numerous sources of violent attacks on innocent Nigerians. The attacks had come mainly from armed robbery and hired assassination. Now, the people are contending with insurgent groups like the Boko Haram. In many of the northern states, for instance, churches have become desolate as Christians in those states fear that they could be attacked during service as has been experienced in states like Borno, Yobe, Plateau, Niger, Kaduna, Adamawa and Kano.
    The foregoing is besides the menace constituted by thugs who are in the habit of unleashing terror on workers and owners of new building sites. The Yoruba call them omo onile. Armed with all manner of dangerous weapons, they move from one building site to another, brandishing guns and other dangerous weapons as they make illegal and unreasonable demands from the owners of such projects. There is also the menace of kidnappers; a trend that has virtually brought the states in the South East to their knees. Ten days ago, it took a combined squad of the Inspector-General of Police and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Anambra State Police Command to unveil an intimidating armoury of a kidnapping gang that had terrorised the zone for years. So massive was the armoury that the Commissioner of Police in the state said the kidnappers were capable of defeating a small army.
    Early in the week, dare-devil robbers laid siege to Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of the nation, killing no fewer than 10 people as they embarked on a shooting spree around the city after attacking a bureau de change, carting away about N150 million away. The robbers, who were said to number about eight, including two women, drove round in two SUVs. They shot at five policemen inside their patrol vehicle, killing two of them instantly while the third died in the hospital. A stray bullet was said to have hit a six-year-old girl in the eye while her grandmother was hit in the forehead as they watched television in their home.
    The Lagos incident occurred at a time that residents were beginning to think that the police in the state had finally found the winning formula against the men of the underworld. With a lot of support from the state government, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the state’s police command had taken the battle to robbers and incidents of robbery reduced remarkably. The sudden burst of robbers to the scene last Sunday, therefore, came as a shock to many. It pointed to the fact that the police are overwhelmed by the crime rate in the nation, not necessarily because they are incompetent but partly because they lack the necessary equipment. With the nation’s population standing at more than 150 million, the less than half a million policemen available in the country is a far cry from the United Nations’ recommended police strength of 222 per 100,000 people.
    The foregoing scenario has triggered the agitation for a state police in some quarters, but the fundamental question remains how states that are barely viable enough to pay their workers’ salaries would muster the funds needed to equip and maintain its own police? The only viable option we are left with, is to allow individual Nigerians to take their destiny in their own hands by making it possible for them to own their own guns and stop living at the mercy of heartless robbers, kidnappers and hired assassins.
    The fear that is often raised against this proposal is that it could lead to needless killings as temperamental individuals could open fire on their compatriots at the slightest provocation. But this line of reasoning is flawed because it presupposes that such trigger-happy fellows will get away scot-free, whereas we have laws that stipulate death sentence or life imprisonment for such an act. The average Nigerian is a passionate lover of life and would do anything to avoid an act that would lead him or her to incarceration, not to talk of being executed. The current setting in which millions of Nigerians acquire arms illegally is more dangerous because it leaves the law abiding citizens at their mercy. And because the guns in circulation are not registered, it is easier for their owners to kill and get away with it.
    The principle of one man, one gun sets up a scenario of mutually assured destruction. It inhibits the reckless use of gun, knowing full well that the man you set out to kill, his friends or neighbours could also be armed. Armed robbers operate with the brazen boldness they do because they know that the likelihood that they will be challenged during an operation is remote. An armed robber will think twice before invading another man’s house if he knows or suspects that his would-be-victim could be armed.
    Patriotic Nigerians need as many guns as they can muster to neutralise the ferocity of bloodthirsty criminals that hold the nation by the jugular. The alternative is to continue to live at their mercy because the security agencies in whose hands we have entrusted our lives and property have proved time and time again that they are incapable of standing up to them. Imagine how many lives could have been saved in Jos, Maiduguri, Adamawa, Yobe, Kaduna and Kano if ours were a country of one man, one gun. It may not provide the answer to bombs, but it is capable of inhibiting other forms of reckless killings.
  • Light from Lagos

    Light from Lagos

    An acquaintance put through a distress call to me very early in the morning about three weeks ago. It happened that officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) had impounded two trucks waiting to discharge raw materials into the premises of his company at a location in Lagos. The time of the operation was about 1.30 am. Surely, the vehicles could not have constituted an obstacle on anybody’s path at that lonely hour my friend agonized. I immediately called the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, a trained scientist, passionate progressive activist and one of the brightest minds it has been my privilege to know. To my utter surprise, Opeifa said there was absolutely nothing he could do about the matter. He was cocksure if an infraction had not been committed, the vehicles would not be impounded. The Transport Commissioner advised that I call the Managing Director of LASTMA, Engineer Babatunde Edu to have a clear idea of what actually happened. I was in a quandary since I hardly knew the LASTMA MD. Would such an obviously busy man respond to the call of an unknown member of the public? I tried my luck and called Engineer Edu’s number repeatedly without success. I was about giving up in despair after about half an hour when my phone suddenly rang. It was a surprisingly polite – Engineer Edu on the line. “I see you’ve been calling my line,” he said, “Sorry I have been attending to an emergency. Is there anything I can do for you”? I introduced myself and explained my friend’s plight pleading for his consideration and kind intervention.
    Again, I was in for another surprise. The LASTMA MD said he could not arbitrarily overrule his men who were actually on ground on the matter. He however promised to investigate and get back to me. Within an hour, Engineer Edu was back on the line: “I have established that it was not a case of broken down vehicles,” he said, “The vehicles were waiting on the highway for two other trucks to exit the premises before gaining entry to offload their own cargo. Even then, they still committed an offence by parking on the highway. The company should have planned its operations more efficiently by calling on the vehicles only when its premises was free for them to enter without causing any obstruction on the highway. But since it is not a case of broken down vehicles or deliberate obstruction, we will release the vehicles once they bring in a letter of request for our own records,” he said. Of course, I understood Engineer Edu’s point perfectly. After all, only a few years ago, Nigeria had lost one of her best television journalists, Mr. Lekan Asimi of Channels Television, when his car had rammed into a stationary vehicle right in the middle of the road late at night under the bridge at Maryland on his way home from work.
    Now, a number of things struck me about my experience with the Lagos State transport authorities on this occasion. Firstly, is the fact that even as most of us are enjoying our sleep at around 1.30 am, some traffic officials are alert at their duty posts and working hard to ensure road safety. Of course, this is not limited to the traffic sector. In a similar vein, men and vehicles of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) are ubiquitous across Lagos striving to secure lives and property day and night. Also, many of us who wake up to see our communities and highways free of refuse every morning have only the faintest idea what a yeoman’s job staff of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) in conjunction with the private sector operators in waste management do all night to keep this mega city of at least 16 million residents reasonably clean. Secondly, despite our personal relationship, it struck me that the Transport Commissioner did not arbitrarily utilise the powers of his office to order that the vehicles be released by fiat. Thirdly, the MD of LASTMA defended the integrity of his men and only ordered the release of the vehicles after thorough investigation and following due process. Fourthly, the central preoccupation of the LASTMA MD was not revenue generation through payment of the statutory fines but the operational efficiency of the offending firm to guarantee traffic safety and sanity. Of course, none of this is to say that LASTMA, like any other human organisation, does not have its own fair share of bad eggs and functional lapses.
    On further reflection, I reasoned that the commitment to the sanctity of impersonal rules and self restraint by both the Transport Commissioner and LASTMA MD was itself a reflection of the leadership values exhibited by Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) from the top. We have here a classic example of what the great inspirational writer, John Maxwell, calls ‘Leadership as Influence’. The true leader is like a city on a hill. His innate values cannot be hidden. It is not the words of the leader that counts. Rather, his spontaneous day-to-day actions reveal who the leader truly is. Only recently, Governor Fashola apprehended two military officers driving illegally on the dedicated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lane. What gave the Governor the audacity to take such a bold step? Simple. The power of moral example. The force of influence. As Governor, Fashola sits through the traffic himself rather than jump at the least opportunity on the BRT lane to hasten his movement. Even more, he has never once used the siren since his assumption of office. His argument for this is so simple yet so profound that it is baffling why most other public office holders in the country continue to abuse the siren as a misplaced status symbol.
    The blaring siren, Fashola argues, is actually an indication of abnormality and a disruption of routine and order. The ambulance rushing an accident victim to hospital. The police van speeding to the scene of a crime. The fire truck trying to beat traffic to salvage a burning building. Are we then, Fashola asks, marooned in a permanent state of abnormality as a society that sirens have become a fixed feature of our collective mental furniture? Are our public office holders permanent hostages of a disorienting siege mentality that they cannot move without sirens?
    So much has been written about Fashola’s remarkable success in the areas of environmental renewal and radical modernisation of infrastructure. Yet, I believe that his most enduring legacy will, in the final analysis, not be the concrete projects of bricks and mortar he leaves behind. Rather, it will be his consistent and deliberate efforts to inculcate in the citizenry those critical values without which a modern civilization cannot be sustained. Yes, the artefacts of physical technology are important. But more critical are the habits, attitudes, dispositions and values that constitute the soft or cultural technology that provides the supportive frame work for material civilisation. A smooth, well paved, wide, modern road is a marvel to behold. But misused by drunken, distracted, lawless drivers or even pedestrians indifferent to traffic rules, it becomes a death trap – a veritable curse.
    In a modern mega city like Lagos, the absence of strict traffic laws impartially enforced could easily mean loss of limb or life for multitudes. This no doubt informed what some perceive as the seeming draconian sanctions against traffic infractions in the newly enacted Lagos State Traffic Law. Interestingly, two of the groups most affected by the law – okada riders and the National Union of Road Transport Workers – have openly expressed support for the law. These groups intuitively grasp the great political scientist, Professor Harold Laski’s words of wisdom expressed over eight decades ago: “Liberty, therefore, is a positive thing…I shall not feel that my liberty is endangered when I am refused permission to commit murder. My creative impulses do not suffer frustration when I am bidden to drive on a given side of the road…Historic experience has evolved for us rules of convenience which promote right living. To compel obedience to them is not to make a man unfree.”  Without law and order justly enforced, a people perish. Once again, Lagos shows the light for others to find the way.
  • Eagles vow to finish off Liberia

    Eagles vow to finish off Liberia

    Several Super Eagles stars have promised to thrash Liberia next month so as to qualify for the 2013 AFCON.
    At the weekend, the Lone Star forced Nigeria to a 2-2 draw in Monrovia.
    Eagles defender Efe Ambrose told MTNFootball.com that they will finish the job of securing qualification to the Nations Cup with a big win over Liberia in Calabar.
    “We will finish the job in Calabar and book the ticket for Nations Cup. I don’t want to talk about the first leg, but I am looking forward to winning the next game to reach AFCON 2013,” Ambrose said.
    CSKA Moscow winger Ahmed Musa also told MTNFootball.com that the Eagles will clinch the ticket to South Africa 2013 in grand style by the second leg on October 13.
    He said, “The draw against Liberia was not a bad result, not what we went there for but it is better than losing,” Musa argued.
    “We are almost at the next Nations Cup and all we need is to beat them in the return leg in Calabar and book the ticket for 2013 AFCON.”
    Eagles striker Emmanuel Emenike also rated the draw in Liberia as a good result as they still have their destiny in their own hands.
    “The 2-2 draw was not a bad result for us in such a tough away game, though we wanted to beat them and we were on course for that but they eventually drew level,” the Spartak Moscow star said.
    “We have to accept the fact that there are no minnows in football again and all the African teams want to beat Nigeria. We have the ticket in our own hands.
    “We have assured President Jonathan of the Nations Cup ticket and we will get it in Calabar.”

  • Levante: Martins is strong, fast

    Super Eagles outcast, Obafemi Martins will be a good buy for Levante in the Spanish La Liga according to the club’s sporting director, Manolo Salvador.
    In an interview with the club’s official radio station on Friday, Salvador said: “He’s strong, has speed, with many movements and a good player that suits our type of game.
    “We are fortunate to have signed him. It is a pity that he cannot compete in the Europa League, but the La Liga is the most important thing,” he said.
    Speaking further, Salvador confessed that the Nigeria international suffered a lot while negotiating his switch from Rubin Kazan.
    “”From the first contact I had with Martins in Munich (Germany) two months ago, he has never given me signals that he would act on the contrary.
    “Martins was prepared from day one to come but it was not in his hands. He never talked about money. He believed better things would come when he might have joined Levante and that I value a lot,” Salvador added.
    Meanwhile, Martins arrived in Levante last night and is expected to undergo routine medical examination in the coming days, a statement on the club’s official website disclosed.
    The striker, 27, it would be recalled, joined Levante on Thursday  on a two-year contract in a free transfer after Rubin Kazan agreed to terminate his contract before its expiration date.
  • Paraguay reject Eagles

    Paraguay reject Eagles

    • Brazil, Spain too over insecurity
    • No friendlies for Keshi’s Men till 2013

    Sportinglife can reveal exclusively that the Paraguay Football Federation (PFF) have rejected a November 14 FIFA-free day friendly against Nigeria’s senior team, Super Eagles on grounds of security problems.
    SportingLife gathered that NFF’s top sponsor on such high profile games contacted the Paraguayans for the game in Abuja, using their London office chiefs. But they opted out of the tie, given the spate of violence, kidnapping, killings and other unscrupulous acts associated with the country.
    A top shot at the Glasshouse informed SportingLife in Abuja on Friday that the sponsor also talked with reigning World Cup and European Cup Champions Spain for a game in Abuja, which was subtly rejected by the Spaniards, on similar grounds of insecurity on Nigeria.
    Indeed, Brazil’s FA were the first of the three South American countries to reject the Eagles friendly.
    Consequently, it has been confirmed to SportingLife that the Eagles wouldn’t play any international friendly until after the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations slated to hold in South Africa.
    Attempts by NFF egg-heads to secure African nations to confront the Eagles in London or any venue also failed. The countries contacted declined the friendly tie on grounds that their schedules were tight.