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  • How I escaped assassination four times, by Osoba

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Chief Olusegun Osoba, on Sunday reflected on how he escaped assassination five times during the military regime.

    He recalled that he was a ‘marked man’ because of his objection to the annulment of the historic June 12, 1993 presidential election won by the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Chief Moshood Abiola.

    Although the eminent politician and two-time governor of Ogun State said he did not know that a price had been put on his head by the late Head of State Gen. Sani Abacha’s elite strike force, he had lived to thank God for his survival.

    Osoba, journalist, businessman and elder statesman reflected on the dark days of the military rule in his 341-paged memoir: ‘Battlelines: Adventures in Journalism and Politics,’ published by Diamond Publications Limited. The book will be presented to the public next Monday as part of activities marking his 80th birthday in Lagos.

    The veteran journalist and former Managing Director of Daily Times said little did he guess that he was also marked for liquidation after his friend, the late Dr. Alex Ibru, and his leader, the late Senator Abraham Adesanya, were shot in Lagos.

    He recalled: “I never knew my life was hanging by a thread until Sergeant Rogers revealed that I was high on the list of Nigerians targeted for death by the hit squad. I was, therefore, in total shock when I learnt of the conflict and confusion between Sergeant Rogers and Major Al-Mustapha during their interrogation by the Special Investigation Panel set up by the transitional military regime under General Abdulsalami Abubakar after Abacha’s death.

    “In the drama, well captured by TELL magazine (February 13, 2012, p. 35) Rogers’ boss, Al-Mustapha, vehemently denied ever sending him to kill anyone. An enraged Sergeant Rogers countered, insisting: “You sent me. You sent us to RUTAM House. You sent us on an assignment for the assassination of Alex Ibru, Kudirat Abiola, Segun Osoba, Bola Ige, (and) Abraham Adesanya. You sent us on these assignments.”

    “When Al-Mustapha persisted in his denial, Rogers rebuked him sharply. “I believe you should be bold enough to come out and say the truth. Why (are you) denying this? I believe you should be bold. Because you’ve been telling us that you are going to protect us, we should not worry. You should be bold enough to come out. And you are a major!” This drama was set against the backdrop of the June 12, 1993 crisis and its aftermath.”

    Osoba lamented that the polity trembled under Abacha when his killer squad went after pro-democracy crusaders and anti-annulment forces, including the late Chief Alfred Rewane, the late Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), Commodore Dan Suleiman and Lt-Gen. Alani Akinrinade, whose property were burnt by soldiers.

    Painting an awful picture of repression and intimidation, the former governor said it was confounding to him that members of the killer squad waited in front of his house for a whole day to kill him, as claimed by Sergeant Rogers.

    He added: “It was the divine hand of God at play also when, unknown to me, Rogers had trailed my car from Lagos to Sagamu interchange with intent to kill me, but was delayed at a military checkpoint, shortly after I had passed, long enough for me to vanish from their sight till I got to Abeokuta. Aside from Rogers’ failed attempt, I escaped my killers on many occasions, most of the time without even knowing that a death squad was stalking me.”

    Narrating series of attempts on his life, Osoba said: The first attempt on my life was on the night of August 23, 1994 when my house was invaded. Fortunately, members of my family had travelled out of the country. Nobody was home, except the state security agent attached to me as a former state governor.

    “Suspecting that the intruders were armed robbers, he opened fire on them. When he exhausted his ammunition, he scaled the fence and took cover in our neighbour’s compound. My gatekeeper was not so lucky. He was shot and wounded in the head. He was rushed to Royal Cross Medical Centre, Obalende, where Dr. Seyi Roberts and Dr. Doyin Okupe attended to him and saved his life.

    “It was clear to me that this was the handiwork of Abacha’s goons. There was no evidence of breaking in. They gained access with their expert security keys without damage to my bulletproof doors. They ransacked my bedroom, took my expired passport, as well as letters Chief M.K.O. Abiola had written to me from his detention. This incident happened on the eve of August 24, 1994, Abiola’s first birthday in detention, which we had planned to mark with a mass rally at Abiola’s residence in Ikeja.

    “That same August 23, 1994, Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s office was also hit and his security man, badly injured. The next day, Abacha’s thugs went to Air Commodore Dan Suleiman’s house where they attempted to burn the house down.”

    Osoba recalled that when the killer squad visited again, they burnt his house, adding that he escaped by whiskers.

    He stressed: “They struck again on September 7, 1995, when they set my house in Abeokuta on fire at about 2am. Fortunately, I don’t sleep early. I just heard a spark. By the time I rushed out of bed, the whole place was filled with smoke. My Boys Scout and leadership training programmes in Man O’War Bay during my secondary school days had taught me that when there is fire, you don’t stand erect. Instead, you crawl, to avoid inhaling carbon monoxide that could suffocate and kill. That was what saved me.

    “My bedroom was totally burnt. I lost a lot of documents, photographs and irreplaceable valuables.

    I headed straight to the Fire Brigade in Abeokuta to seek help. Providentially, I had re-equipped and modernized the Fire Brigade in 1993 when I was governor. I reaped the dividends. They contained the fire.”

    Osoba said after their failed attempts in Abeokuta, the ruthless killers came to his Dolphin Estate home in Lagos and laid siege for a whole day, adding that, unknown to them, he had gone out on a visit to his neighbours, Mr. Segun Olusanya, Chief John Akinleye and Chief Adeyi.

    He added: “If Rogers and his squad had known my habit, they would have ambushed me during one of my evening visits to my neighbours. The confession of Sergeant Rogers made the headlines in all the newspapers on January 12, 2000. The Punch screamed: “Rogers Weeps”. The National Concord reported: “Rogers Opens Up.

    “The Comet, which later morphed into The Nation, reported: “Sergeant Rogers Speaks at last: How we went in search of Porbeni, Ige, Ibru, Osoba, Adesanya on killing missions”. Whilst being cross-examined by then Lagos State Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Rogers disclosed how as a member of the Strike Force he had been assigned to assassinate four persons.

    “According to him, “They are the owner of The Guardian newspaper, Mr. Alex Ibru, Chief Segun Osoba, Mr. Bola Ige and Pa Abraham Adesanya. He (Mustapha) gave us some money through the OC MOPOL. He also gave us N25, 000 to give Danbaba for a work well done.”

    Osoba pointed out that, although Rogers did not know his Ikoyi residence, an informant, one Alhaji Lateef, who spoke Hausa fluently, gave a clear description of the house in Dolphin Estate.

    The former governor said vigilance was the watchword during the dark days, noting that his wife, Aderinsola, was also being trailed to her school and market.

    To report suspicious movements around the house, he said his wife, a former customs officer,  strategically gave permission to some tyre vulcanizers to ply their trade opposite the house to enable them report suspicious movements or activities.

    Osoba said when he went underground for almost a year, security agents from Alagbon Close, Ikoyi usually invaded his family’s privacy to ransack the building between 2 am and 3 am under the guise of looking for him.

    He said he literality fell into depression when Mustapha and others were discharged and acquitted in court, adding that he only regained his composure after the Guardian newspaper on July 31, 2013 came out with a well researched and lucid editorial, which reflected his concerns.

    Venting his anger, Osoba said: “What the judgment has done is to authenticate impunity. It reinforces the conviction that here in Nigeria, only the small man pays for his crimes. Above all, it means that all those behind the dastardly acts and litany of woes freely dispensed by the Abacha regime have finally got away, literally with murder, in a manner that calls to question the essence of government or its readiness or capacity of discharge its basic responsibility of protecting lives and property, and enforcing law and order.

    “With justice now put off over these murders and the killers still unfound, the cleansing Nigeria needs remains elusive. And the blood of the victims, still raw on the pavement of the hearts of Nigerians, cry out ever more loudly for justice.”

    Osoba disclosed that when he decided to go under, a prominent businessman, Dr. Oba Otudeko, took the risk of hiding him in his office for about six weeks. However, when he came out of hiding,  he was promptly arrested and detained at Police Force Headquarters.

    The former governor recalled that he escaped being arrested for the second time in June 1994, after he led former Edo State Governor John Odigie- Oyegun, his Anambra State counterpart, Emeka Ezeife and Dr. Doyin Okupe to Abiola at his Ikeja residence to discuss his proposed declaration as president.

    He said: “On my way back from Abiola’s Ikeja residence, my wife called me up again on my cell phone to inform me that the house had been sealed up by security operatives who were looking for me. This was around 9 pm. I quickly diverted to my father-in-law’s residence in Yaba and sent the driver away.

    Read Also: Osoba’s cold wars and last laugh

    “When I called my wife up that I had taken refuge at her father’s, she objected on the ground that it would be too easy for the government to figure it out that such a place would be my likely port of call. Thanks to her quick thinking, she suggested that I should relocate to Abule-Oja, to the home of my auntie, Princess (Mrs.) Adefunmilayo Aderinsola Oyekan-Williams.

    “How did I survive in Abule-Oja? My hostess was a lady of the old Lagos stock. Hers was an impeccably clean and well-ordered home, where everything was in the proper place. The environment spoke volumes of her background as the elder sister to the then Oba Adeyinka Oyekan II, the Oba of Lagos. Hers was an enviable pedigree of well trained Isale Eko Christian family.

    “With a well trained house-help, Mama and I were alone upstairs in her apartment. A young man and his fiancé lived downstairs. I therefore felt very secure here. An octogenarian, she treated me like a child, waking up at night to check that I was well and safe.

    Recalling how he escaped being captured for the third time, Osoba said: “The third in my series of hide-and-seek games with the Abacha Security machinery occurred one quiet Saturday morning in 1995 when my chauffeur, Peter, called me up on the intercom at home that he needed to brief me on an important security development.

    “Agitated, he informed me that he was suspicious of some strange movements around the house. He said he saw my chief detail as governor alighting on the main road and that the car from which he dropped drove past the house with some people only to return empty. I got the message that my former chief detail, an SSS operative, must have escorted some of his colleagues to identify my residence. I asked Peter to take my wife’s school bus.

    “I climbed in and lay flat on the floor and managed to escape what turned out to be an attempt to arrest me. At Ikoyi hotel I dropped off, hailed a cab and headed straight to the mainland residence of my brother-in-law, Mr. Stan Olawanle Adeyemi. This was the beginning of almost one year in self-imposed detention. Stan and Gboyega Onabanjo (Chief Bisi Onabanjo’s son) were the only persons who knew my hideout. Stan arranged a Togolese cook to cater to my needs throughout. My only means of communications was my 090 mobile phone.”

    Osoba lamented that gruesome murders outlived the military regime, stressing that eminent Nigerians, including the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, Chief Harry Marshall (March 3, 2003) Aminasori Alfred Dikibo (February 6, 2004), Funso Williams (July 27, 2006), Kunle Arojo, Dipo Dina, and the Lukotun of Ake, Chief Yomi Bamgbose, the Iyaloja of Ijebu Ode , Alhaja Alimot Shadia Elewuju, the Onimole of Lagos, Kayode Adesina,  Animashaun Age, and Gen. Muhammadu Shuwa, were assassinated after the restoration of civil rule.

  • Banks, their customers and unending legal battles

    Every year, banks and their customers engage in legal battle that can potentially cost trillions of naira in claims. ROBERT EGBE examines why the parties are fighting and what can be done to stem the threat this poses to the economy.

     

    For Justice Chuka Obiozor of the Lagos Federal High Court, it was a busy week. Between Monday and Tuesday, he heard the case between Shoreline Power Company (SPC) and Ecobank. In a ruling on Monday, he restrained SPC from interfering with the work of the Ecobank-appointed receiver-manager, Taiwo Ogbara, for the firm.

    Other defendants in the case are Orikolade Karim, Tunde Karim, Yinka Karim, Marc Hasenclever and Graeme Stout. The court restrained them from obstructing Ogbara in the discharge of his duties, pending the determination of the motion on notice.

    The judge also granted an order of interim injunction restraining the defendants or their agents from tampering with the firm’s assets covered by a Deed of All Assets Debenture of March 18, 2013 between Ecobank and Shoreline registered at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

    Justice Obiozor directed the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and his men to assist Ogbara in carrying out his duties. He also restrained all banks from honouring any mandate presented by the defendants for the withdrawal of any money in Shoreline’s account. The banks were also asked to file within 48 hours the company’s statement of account with them and to transfer such funds to any account requested by the receiver-manager.

    In a supporting affidavit to the ex-parte motion, an Ecobank employee, Donatus Onoja, said Shoreline was owing the bank N4.6 billion.

    Ecobank claimed that it wrote the firm to demand payment, adding that despite receiving the letter, the firm “neither responded nor complied or displayed any genuine willingness to fulfil its repayment obligations to the first applicant within the time prescribed.”

    Shoreline’s case is one of the hundreds between banks and their customers over debts, over-charging and sundry matters. There are also some bordering on forgery. One of such began last September. Mr Emmanuel Eferere got home on September 19 to meet a letter from the First City Monument Bank (FCMB)’s Loans Workout and Recovery Unit waiting for him.

    Marked “September 19, 2018”, the letter demanded that he pays the bank N41,714,432,32 owed by a firm, Abeycom Treasures Ventures Ltd.

    Eferere became one of the firm’s sureties for the money when he executed a “Deeds of Tripartite Legal Mortgage” in favour of FCMB, which was registered at the Land Registry, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, the letter claimed.

    The letter gave him 14 days to persuade Abeycom to settle the debt, otherwise, legal action would be taken.

    Eferere wrote back that the letter was addressed to the wrong person. He did not stand as surety for anyone or any company, including Abeycom  – an entity unknown to him – neither had he ever mortgaged any of his landed assets.

    But the second letter in October informed him that the bank had the original of his Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for his property at Ikorodu, which he allegedly pledged as security for the loan.

    The bank also blocked him from disposing of the property.

    Thus began a legal battle between him and FCMB. A fraud and forgery charge and a N100million civil suit are pending at an at an Ogba Magistrates’ Court and a Lagos High Court.

    A fractious relationship

    According to experts, the strength of the relationship between banks and their customers goes a long way to determine the industry’s success.

    But excerpts from the disclosures in Nigerian banks’ annual reports suggest that they and many of their customers are in a fractious relationship. Many banks are facing hundreds of lawsuits yearly which could cost trillions of naira in potential claims.

    For instance, a 2019 report by a financial resource company, Naira metrics, suggests that just four major banks – First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) and Zenith Bank – face potential claims of N973.05 billion from customers.

    In response, the banks set aside hundreds of millions as contingency funds to challenge the claims and initiate claims of their own. So as not to be caught flat-footed, they also make yearly contingency provisions for liabilities that may arise from lawsuits claims. These are often published in their annual reports.

    UBA

    UBA, in the ordinary course of business, is currently involved in 714 legal cases (2017: 705).

    The total amount claimed in the cases against the Group is estimated at N745.45 billion (2017: N659.17 billion).

    UBA seems to have the highest potential claims against it, out of all Nigerian banks.

    The directors having sought the advice of professional legal counsel, are of the opinion that no significant liability will crystalise from these cases beyond the provision made in the financial statements.

    Read Also: CBN asks banks to back T-bills bid with demand

    GTBank

     

    According to its 2018 annual report, GTBank, in its ordinary course of business, “is presently involved in 484 cases as a defendant (31 December 2017: 470) and 426 cases as a plaintiff (31 December 2017: 427).

    “The total amount claimed in the 484 cases against the Bank is estimated at N476.03 Billion and $39.68 Million (31 December 2017: N530.59 Billion and $132.80 Million) while the total amount claimed in the 426 cases instituted by the Bank is N111.0 Billion (31 December 2017: N110.86 Billion).”

    No mention was also made of its well-publicised multi-billion naira dispute with vehicles manufacturer, Innoson Nigeria Ltd.

    Nevertheless, the bank’s solicitors are of the view that the probable liability which may arise from the cases pending against it is not likely to exceed N91.72 Million (31 December 2017: N178.71 Million).

    “This probable liability has been fully provided for by the bank,” the report added.

     

    Zenith Bank

    The Group is presently involved in 133 suits in the ordinary course of business. The total amount claimed in the cases against the Group is estimated at N18.32 billion (31 December 2015: N11.68 billion).

    The actions are being contested and the Directors are of the opinion that none of the aforementioned cases is likely to have a material adverse effect on the Group and are not aware of any other pending or threatened claims and litigation.

    First Bank

    According to Nairametrics, FBN Holdings Plc, which includes First Bank, is a party to a number of legal actions arising out of its normal business operations “and it made provisions of N2.91 billion for contingent liabilities that may arise therefrom.”

    However, FBN Holdings’ 2018 annual report states: “The Group is a party to a number of legal actions arising out of its normal business operations.

    “The Directors having sought the advice of the professional legal counsel are of the opinion that no significant liability will crystalise from these cases beyond the provision made in the financial statements.”

    Access Bank

    The Group is a party to numerous legal actions arising out of its normal business operations.

    A provision of N614million was made for the year ended 31 December 2016.

    But, for current lawsuits, the Directors believe that based on currently available information and advice of counsel, none of the outcomes that result from such proceedings will have a material adverse effect on the financial position of the Group, either individually or in the aggregate.

    Why banks, customers are fighting

    There are several reasons why the bank-customer relationship may head south.

    Banks, for instance, are often sued by their customers, suppliers, among others, for excess bank charges, wrongful seizure of collateral, contract breaches, fraud etc.

    Sometimes, the fraud is perpetrated by a third party, but the bank or customer end up suing the other party.

    Last August, a businessman, Umegelo Emmanuel, dragged Zenith Bank before the Lagos State High Court in Igbosere after being allegedly swindled out of his N177, 500, 000 by a Chinese, whose name, was given only as Ms Muna.

    Emmanuel urged the court to compel Zenith to pay him the N177.5m.

    Emmanuel, in his statement of claim, explained that he entered into a business agreement with Muna, who has a business interest in Nigeria, for the Chinese to help him purchase some goods from her country, China.

    Emmanuel said because of his long-standing banking relationship with Zenith Bank, he insisted that Muna should provide a Zenith Bank account.

    The businessman said, as a result, the Chinese provided him with a Zenith Bank Account No: 1005689704, with an account name, Xian Fang Li.

    Emmanuel said he confirmed that the account existed before transferring the N177.5m into it.

    “But shortly after the money was paid into the account, Ms Muna refused to deliver the goods and subsequently stopped picking my calls and blocked all my access to her contact.

    “I have visited China twice in search of Ms Muna and had even reported the matter to the Chinese police and the Chinese Embassy but all my efforts to locate the said Ms Muna has proved abortive,” the businessman said.

    He averred that investigation by the police in Nigeria showed that “the utility bills presented in opening the Xiang Fang Li account were fictitious and the signature of one of the purported referees to the Xiang Fang Li account, Mr Kazeem Lawal, was conclusively found to be forged.”

    The businessman contended that the bank did not do its due diligence “to verify the true identity of the account holder, the true identity of the referees supplied during the account opening as well as the validity of the account opening documents.”

    But the bank urged the court to dismiss the businessman’s suit.

    While absolving itself of complicity in Emmanuel’s loss, Zenith Bank contended that Emmanuel did not contact it for advice on the alleged business transaction he had with Muna before paying the sum of N177.5 into the supplied account.

    “The claimant failed to request a bank guarantee of the alleged sum from or requested that the defendant issue a confirmation or a letter of comfort before dealing with both Ms Muna and Xian Fang Li.”

    The trial in the matter comes up in October.

    Customers rise against arbitrary charges

    Perhaps the most common source of disputes between banks and their customers in recent years is ‘arbitrary’ charges.

    On March 1, 2016, the President of the Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CAFON), Mrs Sola Salako, said 400,000 bank users lodged complaints against arbitrary charges by Nigerian banks between June 2015 and December 2015.

    Salako, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the rate at which bank users were complaining about excessive charges, was alarming.

    Salako said: “The protest has become expedient due to constant complain by banks’ customers over excessive charges.

    “Nigerians are known to be very tolerant. They will not complain about anything until it gets to an unbearable level.

    “When it gets to a crescendo and you go online, you see people posting their complaints over excessive bank charges,’’ she said.

    E-fraud disputes

    Evidence also suggests that as more customers embrace e-payment channels, including Point of Sale (PoS), Automated Teller Machines (ATM) cards and mobile banking Apps, cases of e-fraud, insider abuses and poor quality of service will increase, pushing some frustrated customers to seek legal redress.

    For instance, when Idongesit Harrison Umoh, Director of Idong Harrie Ltd, received a debit alert for a N100,000 transfer from one of her company’s two Diamond Bank accounts at about 3:32 pm on June 8, 2017, she was puzzled. She had not made any transfer to anyone. She opened her phone and read the message in full. The recipient was one Uzorka Onyeka, someone she did not know.

    Umoh told a Tinubu Magistrates’ Court in Lagos that she immediately ran to the Diamond Bank branch at Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, Lagos to stop the unauthorised withdrawals.

    According to her Statement of Claim, “when she got to the Defendant’s Ogunlana branch, the unauthorised withdrawals were still ongoing.

    “…While she was in the Defendant’s Ogunlana branch when she instructed the Defendant’s official to immediately block her account, the unauthorised withdrawals were still ongoing but the Defendant could not stop them.

    “…By the close of business on the 8th day of June 2017, the total sum of N2,036,000 had been fraudulently and unlawfully withdrawn from her two accounts domiciled with the Defendant.

    “The Claimant avers that the unauthorised fraudulent transactions were done with the complicity of the Defendant’s officials…”

    Diamond Bank contested Umoh’s claims.

    It averred that the claimant might have unwittingly divulged her log on information to the suspects, thinking she was communicating with the defendant, which would have made them have access to her funds.

    In its defence, “The Defendant states that the Claimant clearly informed the Defendant that before its arrival at the Defendant’s Ogunlana branch, the fraudsters had succeeded in withdrawing the said N2,036,000.00, however, Claimant was still receiving “registration code text” on its phone even whilst in the bank, which prompted the defendant to block claimant’s account and disable its web pay.

    “The defendant states that the unauthorised withdrawals were not ongoing whilst claimant was in the defendant’s branch. The claimant categorically stated that the entire sums were ‘withdrawn from its account before its arrival at the defendant’s branch.

    “The Defendant that indeed there was an unauthorised fraudulent transaction in the accounts of the Claimant, but none was done with the complicity of the Defendant’s officials. The officials of the Defendant were never involved in the fraudulent transfer of Claimant’s funds.”

    But in her judgment on July 19, 2019, Magistrate F.M. Dalley resolved the dispute in Idong Harrie’s favour and ordered the bank to pay the defendant over N1million as refund of the stolen amount and an additional N600,000 as costs of the action.

    Lessons from Innoson, GTB, Customs rift

    The Innoson Motors, GTBank and Nigerian Customs Service debacle is the messiest high profile bank-customer dispute in recent Nigerian banking history.

    According to analysts, it is an example of what a bank-customer relationship should not be.

    The outcome of the about five cases between Innoson and GTBank might result in the bank losing billions and the vehicle manufacturer’s chairman, Innocent Chukwuma, convicted for a criminal offence.

    On May 22, 2019, a Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra State refused to suspend the execution of its order obtained by Innoson against GTBank.

    The court also refused to set aside the orders it made on March 27  granting Innoson Nigeria Ltd leave to enforce the judgment, issue processes for enforcing the judgment and levying execution of the Writ of Fifa against the bank.

    The court had on March 27 granted leave to Innoson Nigeria Ltd to enforce and execute the judgment and Garnishee Order absolute made at the Ibadan Judicial Division on May 18, 2010, and July 29, 2011, respectively.

    The order was concurrently affirmed by the Court of Appeal in the judgment of February 6, 2014, and by the Supreme Court in its judgment of February 27, 2019.

    In response to the execution of the order of the court, GTB approached the court seeking orders to suspend the execution and also set aside the exparte orders made by the Court granting Innoson leave to enforce the judgment.

    In its decision, the court held that the order it made on March 27, 2019, in favor of Innoson Nigeria Ltd granting it leave to enforce the judgment and issue processes of execution of the judgment are valid and that all the steps taken to levy executions in pursuance of that order are still valid and is not vacated.

    However, the court stayed further proceedings in the matter to enable the Supreme Court to hear GTB’s newly filed motion.

    Subsequently, the matter was adjourned to October 17 for the hearing of other pending applications.

    The judgment sum against the bank, plus interest, is between N8billion and N14billion, according to Innoson.

     

    What banks, customers must do

    The Managing Consultant of SMD Consulting, Fola Oseni, narrowed the problem, particularly of arbitrary charges, to two issues: banks’ disregard for Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulations and customers’ ignorance.

    Oseni, a forensic accountant, said: “The first thing to understand before giving advice to banks and their customers on how to stem disputes between them is to know what is/are the cause(s) is of the dispute(s).”

    Oseni added: “Banks should ensure that they operate customer accounts in line with CBN Regulations, in line with the terms and conditions of the executed contract between them and the customers as well as in line with the tenets of the banker-customer relationship.”

    “On their part, customers should seek professional advice from a Forensic Accountant, most importantly when they want to go into borrowing from the banks.

    “They must monitor transactions in their accounts regularly, request from the bank their statement of account on a monthly basis and report immediately any exception in their statement of account to the bank.

    “They should also seek explanation on the exceptions from the banks and ensure that it is corrected.”

  • Southwest to roll out security plan

    The security architecture proposed by Southwest governors will be launched next month, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde said on Sunday.

    Makinde, who was speaking at a special thanksgiving service in honour of his mother, Madam Abigail Makinde, at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Yemetu, Ibadan, said his administration has a plan to launch a state-wide security system before its 100 days in office.

    The governor was quoted in statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Taiwo Adisa, as saying that Southwest states have been meeting to find lasting solutions to the security challenges in the region.

    The governor said: “I and other governors of the Southwest have met on how to launch a new security architecture before the end of August 2019. The first 100 days of this government will be on the 5th of September and before then, we will launch a new security architecture in Oyo state.”

    He was reacting to a section of the homily by the officiating cleric, Venerable Samuel Osungbeju, which harped on the rising waves of insecurity in the land.

    Read Also: Makinde’s six controversial actions

    Listing security, health, education and economy as the four key pillars of his administration, the governor said that his government would strengthen supervision and monitoring of the implementation of health and education policies.

    According to him, the government would concentrate on job creation to take jobless youths off the streets.

    He said all the listed areas would get priority attention under his watch.

    On health, he said: “I have visited Adeoyo State Hospital and I will soon be visiting other state hospitals in Igbeti, Saki, Ogbomoso, and Oyo. What I saw at Adeoyo was more of window dressing. The radiography machine has never worked since it was installed.

    “It means that the past government spent some money in the Health sector but they did not monitor the implementation. If it is only monitoring we can achieve, we would have done well for the Health sector in Oyo state.”

    Venerable Samuel Osungbeju called for love and tolerance among Nigerians adding that people should always show love to other fellow human beings.

    “No nation or State can prosper and develop without love among its people,” he said, adding that incessant maiming and killing of innocent citizens across the country called for concerted prayers and divine intervention”, the cleric said.

  • Row over account with N50 billion

    THE Federal Government has initiated a legal process for a permanent takeover of an  account, which it believes  the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is operating without its knowledge.

    The First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) account has a balance of over N53 billion as at January (2019) ending.

    In the documents filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, the Federal Government said it was exercising its powers under the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provision) Act to apply for the takeover of the account.

    Acting on behalf of the Federal Government, the Special Presidential Investigation Panel (SPIP) for the Recovery of Public Property said it stumbled on the account while “investigating a petition against a ‘slush’ funds held in a fictitious account named: NNPC/NOAC IPP Security Account, suspected to be proceeds of corrupt practices.”

    The plaintiff gave details of the account to include: bank: First Bank of Nigeria Plc; currency type: Nigerian naira; account number: 2006367288; account type: current account and account name: (NNPC/NOAC IPP Security Account.

    It stated, in a supporting affidavit deposed to by one of the plaintiff’s lawyers, Peter Abang, that the SPIP found, among others, that the:

    • account holders are unidentifiable persons and/or public officers, who disguised themselves in the name and style of NNPC/NOAC IPP Security Account, which is fictitious and did not follow any known due process in account opening.
    • account being operated with the first defendant (First Bank) is reasonably suspected to be a diversion of public funds, hidden in the account for private use of the unidentified persons operating the account.
    • first defendant, in concert with persons unknown, is at the verge of moving the entire sum into an unknown account.
    • second defendant (Nigerian Interbank Settlement System Plc) is empowered to monitor all electronic inter and intra banking transactions in Nigeria, including the account herein in issue.

    The plaintiff stated that it was empowered by the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provision) Act and the Rules of the Federal High Court, “to apply to take possession of assets suspected to be proceeds of corrupt practices, including the humongous money standing in the account referred to in paragraph 4(iv) above.

    Read Also: NNPC records N6.33b trading surplus in May

    “The plaintiff cannot have final forfeiture of the said money in the account without an order of this honourable court.”

    The plaintiff is praying the court for, among others, a “final order of forfeiture of the account”, and order directing First Bank to transfer the funds in the account to the plaintiffs, and an order of perpetual injunction restraining the bank from further operating the account.

    Both First Bank and the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NISS) have responded to the suit, denying any wrong doing.

    First Bank claimed that the account was not being used for unlawful activities and that the President exempted it from the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy. The NISS denied knowledge of all activities in the account.

    The bank, listed as the first defendant, put the balance in the account at N53, 458,725,303.62 as at January 2019.

    Explaining the status of the account, referred to a letter dated July 19, 2016 which it claimed was from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), addressed to its Managing Director, directing the bank to continue the operation of the account in compliance with the approval of the President.

    The bank said the NNPC/NOAC IPP Security Account (2006367288) “is a security account for the Joint Venture between the NNPC, Agip Oil Company Limited and Philips Oil Company (Nigeria) Limited for payments in respect of power generated to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

    It added that the account “has the approval of the President to be exempt from the Treasury Single Treasury Account (TSA).

    “The first defendant has been operating the account lawfully in view of its being exempt from TSA by virtue of the Presidential approval.

    “The balance in the account is not being dissipated as it is a security account. The forfeiture application is a breach of the President’s approval to exempt the account from TSA,” First Bank said.

    NISS, listed as the second defendant, stated that it lacked “the capacity, by virtue of its scope of operations, to monitor electronic inter and intra ‘banking transactions, but processes all inter-bank payments in order to remove potential bottlenecks associated with inter-bank funds transfer and settlement.”

    The NISS added that it “operates the Nigeria Automated Clearing System (NACS), which facilitates the electronic clearing of cheques and other paper based instruments, electronic funds transfer, Automated Direct Credits and Automated Direct Debits.”

    It stated that it “is not a money bank” and that, by its operations, it “does not have direct access to funds and does not engage in banking operations whatsoever”.

    On July 15, 2019, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu vacated an earlier interim order, made by the court, freezing the account pending the conclusion of investigation by the plaintiff.

    The hearing in the case has been fixed for October 9.

     

  • Three more hurdles set for would-be ministers

    For ministerial nominees, the battle for cabinet seats is not yet over, despite the appearance of some of them before the Senate.

    They have three more hurdles to cross before they can be confirmed minister. They are:

    • verification of credentials of each of the 43 nominees;
    • a voice vote on each nominee to determine the final decision; and
    • consideration of petitions against some of the nominees.

    The Senate has received a petition against a nominee, who is said to be a  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) financier. Some All Progressives Congress (APC) are up in arms against their opposition colleagues on the issue.

    PDP senators are, however, intensifying their lobby to allow the nominee from the Southsouth to scale the hurdles on merit because he has defected to the APC.

    Senators spent the weekend reviewing the credentials of some of the nominees.

    It was learnt that the outcome of the screening of the credentials will play a significant role in determining the confirmation of any nominee.

    It was also gathered that weighty petitions might force the Senate to disqualify nominee.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The ministerial nominees have three more hurdles to cross. These are the screening of their credentials; review/consideration of petitions against any nominee; and the final stage of the ongoing Confirmation Hearing where the fate of each nominee will be determined by voice vote.

    “We are currently reviewing the credentials of some ministerial nominees. We have noticed some discrepancies in some credentials and Curriculum Vitae of some nominees.

    “The verification of the credentials is not a thing we can do as at the time they appeared before the Committee of the Whole to gauge their views on the state of the nation.

    Read Also: Senate shelves vacation to screen ministers

    “We want to ensure conformity with Section 147(5) of the 1999 Constitution which says no person shall be appointed as a Minister of the Government of the Federation unless he is qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives.”

    Senate Leader Dr. Yahaya Abdullahi said “All Senators have the credentials of the ministerial nominees and they are screening them.”

    The Senate has received a petition against a nominee from one of the states in the Southsouth.

    The petition has pitted APC Senators against their PDP colleagues.

    A ranking APC senator said: “We have discovered that the nominee used to be a major financier of the PDP. We believe his coming into the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari will make him a mole.

    “The haste at which our PDP colleagues are lobbying for his confirmation made the whole process suspicious. We think the President should not play into the hands of the opposition.

    “Our position is that the nominee should be dropped.”

    But a PDP Senator said: “We are pleading with our APC colleagues to consider the nomination of the candidate on merit but not on partisan basis or just on mere suspicion. This nominee was once in PDP and defected to APC.”

    Section 147 (1) of the 1999 Constitution says: “There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.

    “Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President.

    “Any appointment under subsection 92) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of Section 14(3) of this Constitution.”

  • Doctors’ underemployment

    THE headline was more than a little misleading. Newspapers wrote that 40 percent of Nigerian doctors are jobless. And they attributed it to the president of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Francis Faduyile, though represented by the chairman of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) branch of the association.

    Here is the quote. “Many of them are employed by private hospitals that are not even paying them enough because of the economy. We don’t have enough doctors and the ones we have are not being utilised,” said the NMA president.

    According to news reports, he noted after their national youth service, they do not clinch a job until a year or two. This follows former health minister Chris Ngige’s assertion that Nigeria had more than enough doctors and that he was not bothered by what has been characterised as waves of brain drain of the medical profession.

    Ngige did not say they were all employed. But what the NMA president seems to have pointed out is that they are underpaid and that the major problem is not so much that 40 percent of them are underemployed as that they are underpaid.

    But the NMA president said though the doctors are not enjoying full employment, they are not enough. That is where he contrasts with the former minister. Describing Ngige’s assertion as unfortunate, he referred to an important statistic. “The World Health Organisation stated that, for optimal healthcare to be achieved, we need doctor/patient ratio of one to 600. In Nigeria, we have 40,000 doctors taking care of 200 million people.”

    One of the major statistics that has not been documented is how many doctors go to the rural areas. The majority of Nigerian patients do not live in the major or medium-size cities like Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna, Enugu or Warri. They abound in the villages and hamlets.

    It is not common for a doctor, after spending close to a decade studying, to abandon the opportunities the urban scent gives and decide to work in a hamlet clinic, where there are probably no modern drugs, equipment, or even the seduction of prosperity because they would have no power, no pipe-borne water, no good roads and other infrastructural allures of the city.

    Only a few humanitarian, selfless souls would opt for a rural redoubt many hours outside Damaturu. In the western countries, it is often the case. But they have an answer. Doctors are lured with special remunerations, far more attractive than they earn in the cities. Most of the doctors who fall for this are usually foreigners from Asia and Africa, including Nigerians referred to in the Ngige assertion.

    So, the issue is not a medical one alone. It is a challenge of development. We cannot churn out doctors without opportunities. Yet, the irony is jarring that we have many Nigerians dying daily of preventable diseases and ailments. Such problems could easily be treated if a doctor was around just to diagnose and prescribe a little and accessible solution.

    Part of the problem is that our people have given up on modern medicine, and they now seek traditional alternatives, a practiced chockfull of superstition and quackery. Medical doctors in a village may find themselves competing with a man swaddled in frowzy garments and making concoctions whose efficacy derives from the psychology of desperate optimism by patients who neither know nor trust any other world.

    Budgets after budgets, federal and states, stress rural clinics. Progress is tardy, if any. So doctors will continue to be underemployed in the cities when they can extend the power of their Hippocratic oaths to the emergencies in rural areas.

  • Women: Caged in ‘the other room’ again!

    There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women—Kofi Annan (1938-2018) former United Nations Secretary-General.

    Nigeria is not picking durable lessons from events around her, from countries whose equal-gender institutions are speeding them to achievement. We (or is it our leaders?) appear to be running with others in this global village in the race against time, yet we are rooted to the same spot, when other nations in the competition have moved on, moved on to destinations where we can’t even sight their tail lights, after squinting into the distance. One of the big factors that have winged their traction for meteoric move is the preponderant or balanced presence of their women in government at the top, not on the periphery of political office, government and bureaucracy. They invest enormously in the fair sex to enlist them for work for the state and its people, the same way they press the male into national assignment, gender no stumbling block. Their women can conquer the peak to become the head of government and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

    But in Nigeria we say we aren’t ready for a female president. Why spend on them, when at the end of the day the place of the woman is the kitchen? Our president has put our women where he believes they belong: ‘the other room’. They are baby factories. They are to be given in marriage at an early age, at the pleasure of the parents. Not for school. They are to be housewives, protected from the wear and tear of the toil of the streets. Why? Because we misunderstand the Scriptures’ portrayal of women as the ‘weaker vessel’. So why would you waste precious resources on what we have decided would be chattels in the long run? Are they not weaklings, incapable of lateral thinking?

    Weaker vessel who wouldn’t know the nuances of governance? Who wouldn’t in numerous cases outdo the menfolk if offered the opportunity to perform, with a level playing ground? Weaker vessel who would not be able to go to the moon as did the man who landed on that planet 50 years ago? Elsewhere, the people are not as backward, besotted, bewitched and befuddled as to be circumscribed in their relationship with women.

    In 2015, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formed the first gender-balanced cabinet in the country’s history. There were 15 women in the cabinet of 30. This historic feat set two scholars to work. What would be the effect of such ‘large-scale’ invasion of the masculine no-go areas by these weaker vessels? Professor Carles Muntaner of University of Toronto and his colleague, Assistant Professor Edwin Ng of University of Waterloo, wrote as part of their findings: ‘’Canada’s gender-equal cabinet vaulted the country from 20th to fifth in terms of percentage of women in ministerial positions… Also…research has shown that women in government tend to work in more collaborative and bipartisan ways and employ more democratic leadership style compared to men’s autocratic style. Women are also more effective at building coalitions and reaching consensus…When we tested government spending as a mediating factor, we found that women in government in Canada have reduced mortality rates by triggering…specific types of health-producing expenditures… Women spend more on health and education.’’

    Here in Africa, two of the continent’s fastest growing nations, Ethiopia and Rwanda, are also drawing from the inexhaustible well the womenfolk dig when they are drawn into power in their great numbers. In Ethiopia, 50% of the cabinet are women, with strategic portfolios including Defence falling into their laps in a severely patriarchal culture. In Rwanda, the 26-seat cabinet also has half of them. Its parliament is 68% so-termed weaker vessels. But in both countries the drafting of women to the frontline of political theatre has helped to push their societies to dizzying masculine heights unexplored when it was a male-centric show in the past. For instance a World Economic Forum has published a survey by the International Monetary Fund putting Ethiopia as the ‘’fastest growing economy in sub-Saharan Africa’’. This is attributed to new policies worked out by a ‘’government no longer dominated by a few to the exclusion of a productive sector’’. It’s the same fairy-tale picture in Rwanda. Paul Kagame’s government has tapped into vast resources of a critical wing of the country, women, to build a society now the envy of most of Africa after the 1994 genocidal war against the Tutsi ethnic group pulverized Rwanda.

    Socialist Cuba remains an abiding example of a country whose women have been empowered to assert their place in every area of the society, side by side with men: government, military, education, medicine, administration etc. In the 70s and 80s many Africans were alarmed to see young Cuban women soldiers and doctors storm our continent to join us in the liberation struggle in Southern Africa.

    These countries would have lost the battle for survival without the full participation of their women, as Nigeria has repeatedly lost it with its misogynist policy which has bared its fangs again in the proposed cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Why are there only seven women in a list of 43 at a time the world is realizing that society needs the full utilization of all its human capital to survive? An inhibiting and miserly 16.3%! It implies that we are still in the prehistoric age, unworthy of today and unprepared for the future where all others, including smaller nations like Rwanda and Ethiopia, are heading.

    Buhari needs to revise the list and bring in more women. The states are not faring better. For instance, in Oyo only one female has been mentioned in a14-member team sent to the lawmakers. We need far more of them to reflect our multi-gender strength and corral them for development. They will give the nation the thinking of the age that is moving those accommodating them to the real next level. The gender distortion in governance that denies our women, apolitical technocrats, youth and those with disabilities, their say in the affairs of the nation is responsible for our poor showing and inability to run Nigeria at the elemental speed necessary to liberate our people from the deprivation we have been sentenced to. Building the nation shouldn’t be in the hands of male politicians alone. You build a rickety halfway society if you leave the women and the youth out of the project. The maxim is: little returns to you if you send forth little of your vast potential into the field.

  • ‘Private sector investment in infrastructure hits N3.2tr’

    Private sector capital investment in the provision of public infrastructure in the economy under the Public- Private Partnership (PPP) is now over N3.2 trillion, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), has said.

    Its Director-General/CEO, Chidi K. C. Izuwah, who was represented   by Jide Olagunju of the Director-General’s office at a forum in the United States said Nigeria has huge infrastructure deficit, which requires foreign capital and expertise to supplement whatever resources that can be marshaled at home.

    He listed 51 projects under the commission’s  PPP arrangement, saying the projects are spread in different sectors of the economy, including seaports and marine services, power, aviation concession, telecommunication infrastructure, housing and information, as well as communication technology (national ID cards), among others.

    He saidd the concessions were valued at over N3.2 trillion, representing private sector capital investment in the provision of public infrastructure.

    Izuwah listed other PPP accomplishments, including the LekkiDeepwater Port Flag Off, FMWPH Rooftop Solar PPP, Warehouse in a Box Medical Stores, NIWA Onitsha River Port, KiriKiri Terminals I and II Modernization, Lilypond Terminal Conversion to Agro Processing and Export, IbomDeepwater Port, DadinKowa Hydro, Gurara Hydro, AKK Pipeline, Farm Mechanisation PPP and the Enyimba Economic City.

    For the LekkiDeepwater Port, he said the project has a duration of 45 years and is on a Build, Own,  Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model and the parties to the project and equity holdings are as follows:Lagos State Government 20 per cent, Nigerian Ports Authority five per cent,Tolaram (LPIHI) 75 per cent with the Lekki Port LFTZ  Enterprise serving as the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).

    He said the LekkiDeepwater Port has container terminal with 2.7million TEU per annum capacity, and is amongthe deepestports inWestAfrica  with the capacity to 16,000TEU vessels while the liquid terminal has 16.7million tonnes per annum and can handle up to 160,000 DWT vessels. Also the dry bulk terminal has capacity for 4.5million tonnes per annum and can handleupto 75,000 DWT vessels.

    The ICRC chief noted the direct economic Impactof LekkiDeepwater Port, which include 169,972 jobs creation from port operations, adding that $20 billion will be spent on salaries.

    Others are revenue to state and federal agencies from taxes, royalties and duties, which will amount to  about $201billion.

    Lekki Port will have an aggregate impact of approximately US$ 361billion on Nigerian economy over the term of concession and will offer a multiplier effect of more than 230 times of total cost.

  • Firm acquires 39.2% stake in Royal Exchange

    Royal Exchange Plc has announced the 39.25 percent acquisition in its general insurance subsidiary, Royal Exchange General Insurance Company (REGIC) by the InsuResilience Investment Fund (IIF), established by the German Development Bank (KfW) and managed by Swiss based Impact Investment Manager, BlueOrchard Finance Investment Limited (BlueOrchard).

    The acquisition, which results in a N3.6 billion injection in REGIC, is in line with the National Insurance Commission’s (NAICOM’s) directive for firms to increase their share capital in line with the new regulatory requirements.

    The Managing Director, Royal Exchange General Insurance, Mr. Benjamin Agili, made this known at the company’s Control Office/Head Office in Oshodi, Lagos.

    He said as one of the leading non-life insurance firms in the country and having a strong presence in the agric-insurance space through its partnerships with the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and some state governments, the investment by the KfW is expected to have a huge impact on the company’s presence in the agric-insurance space to enable REGIC increase its presence even further.

    He said: “With this investment, REGIC will be able to achieve its key objective of reaching out to over one million farmers within the next five years, offering the best-of-bred agric-insurance services to enable them increase their productivity, make Nigeria more self-reliant in food production, which impacts the economy with growth of our GDP and the agro-allied economy.

    “Other strategic impacts this investment will bring to the company will be in the areas of Information Technology, market expansion, as well as helping the company meet its financial inclusion targets by enabling REGIC develop new products, as well as create alternative channels of distribution to reach our various clientele, especially those who are financially excluded as a result of accessibility, availability and knowledge of insurance and how insurance can improve their well-being.’’

    Also, Chairman, Royal Exchange Plc, Mr. Kenny Ezenwani Odogwu, said REGIC has entered into strategic alliances with various stakeholders in the agricultural space to drive insurance within that sector of the economy.

    ‘’Agriculture and retail insurance, we believe, is the future of insurance and at Royal Exchange. We will continue to develop products and services to ensure that we remain relevant in this space,’’ he said.

  • Cometh the hour, goeth Rohr

    Cometh the hour, cometh the man; but not Gernot Rohr. The Super Eagles technical adviser may have done his curriculum vitae some good with Nigeria’s third place finish at the Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) finals held June 21 to July 19 in Egypt but future employers might pick holes in his cover letter.

    It would take some skill to coat the haphazard manner in which the highlight of the Franco-German’s sojourn in Africa played out. Before stints at the helm of Gabon, Niger and Burkina Faso, he managed Tunisian club Etoile Sahel.

    For all his faults, the 66-year-old could go highly recommended. In response to calls for his disengagement after meeting a semi-final target minus the flair that fans craved, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Amaju Pinnick declared that Rohr would “remain in the job. I have complete confidence in him.” In appraisal of Rohr’s managerial acumen, he would also be sent on a refresher course with top German side, Bayern Munich.

    A ‘semi-final target’ for a continental giant by manpower and resources? ‘Refresher training’ for a 66-year-old coach closer to tactical surrender than impressive triumph? The import of a record eight bronze medals, three silvers and three golds from 15 AFCON semi-final runs is clearly lost on Nigeria football officials.

    Besides official positions as expressed by Pinnick, a 50-50 chance of winning gold from the last four suggests insufficient ambition or administrative deficiency, or both. Egypt’s seven victories from 15 semi-finals, Cameroon’s five wins out of nine and Ghana’s four in 14, or current champions Algeria’s two in seven for that matter, underscore Nigeria’s position in African football.

    Sticking with Rohr, therefore, bends the mind. In return for previous support from the NFF in material and organisational terms, the handler engaged roughly the same measures at the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup and Egypt 2019 AFCON events. Despite mounting criticism of his methods, he failed to shape his squad while tugging dead wood from everywhere but the domestic league.

    Before both tournaments, he ignored the crucial task of grooming obvious option, Alex Iwobi in the creative midfield role with team talisman John Mikel Obi in the twilight. In the event, Mikel strolled to a share of the dollar rain that refreshed a parched Nigeria in the Egypt heat.

    The former Chelsea stalwart may be worth every cent of his ‘retirement package’ considering his distinguished service to the country but the ethics around his presence in Egypt remain arguable. An unofficial hiatus from the team and the 2019 AFCON qualifiers succeeded by his sudden availability and subsequent selection by an acquiescent Rohr, especially with the player’s ‘clubless’ status, fuelled critics’ assumption of racketeering in football circles.

    They fed, too, the notion of players securing international caps as bait for club contracts – an excusable venture where the player is neither ageing nor dispensable. None of the conditions applied to the AFCON 2019 version of Mikel.

    Iwobi thrived in his stead, but a more astute coach would have milked the Arsenal forward for all his ball-distributing worth. Recall, for specifics, his innate, heart-warming displays in pre-Russia 2018 friendlies. Then, as in Egypt, the player exhibited the deadly instinct that almost sank a rampant Barcelona in early UEFA Champions League heroics for the Gunners.

    The 23-year-old however needs to be calmer in possession to better spot the quick pass or hold up play for marksmen to take positions. He need not be reminded that relation and predecessor, Austin Jay Jay Okocha’s dribbling, passing, shooting and set-piece range fertilised Nigeria’s golden crop of the 90s.

    Under Rohr, it is unlikely to get better than third place in an AFCON field considered average by recent standards. Worse, he looks every inch a man sworn to his detached, predictable methods.

    Against hope, his handling of the Egypt assignment mirrored Russia. Similarly undecided in his choice of the First Eleven, he danced between three and four defenders in Russia before staging right fullback Olaoluwa Aina on the left in Egypt while central defender and erstwhile regular substitute, Chidozie Awaziem performed at right back until his injury in the 2-1 submission to Algeria in the semi-final.

    Before the AFCON, the coach failed to rejig the faltering central defence pair of William Troost-Ekong and Leon Balogun until the latter left his form on the bench at English Premier League club, Brighton and Hove Albion. Only then did AFCON 2013 winner, Kenneth Omeruo slot in beside Troost-Ekong.

    Rohr departed for Egypt with the benefit of the doubt but in the aftermath left none unconvinced about priorities misplaced after the burly, statuesque form of Odion Ighalo hugged the lone striker shirt to bit part consequence for alternatives Paul Onuachu and Victor Osimhen. For all his enterprise, de facto skipper, Ahmed Musa, also did not absolve his coach of misapplication of resources or cover himself in glory.

    As speculated following his 2018 move to Al-Nassr in a Saudi Arabia league considered less competitive, Musa lost his edge and repeatedly failed to deliver the deadly final balls of old as he registered blanks on goal while the Eagles lasted in Egypt. The winger may be due for retirement earlier than he apparently realised following his fêting of departing colleagues.

    Somewhat unfortunate on account of his tournament-leading five goals, Ighalo’s announced exit on the heels of Mikel’s on the other hand bodes well for younger replacements as long as the team handler eschews the fixation that propped Ighalo and the less-than agile trio of goalkeepers to Egypt. First choice Daniel Akpeyi failed to banish the jitters, while Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Francis Uzoho travelled from a patchy domestic league form and the European football backwater of Cyprus.

    Yet, as followers of the Nigerian league to no end clamoured, there were fitter, possibly more talented stoppers at home, not least Theophilus Afelokhai who was rated ahead of Ezenwa at Enyimba of Aba. A more grounded coach would have used the almost three years afforded Rohr thus far to blood new talents or at least integrate notable exclusions as England-based Semi Ajayi, Junior Ajayi and Kelechi Nwakali.

    Rohr’s inflexible commitment to the 4-3-3 formation may have partly informed his final team list for Egypt but an immediate casualty of the rigidity was the midfield. Hampered by the composition of the final 23 wherein four midfielders featured, compared to nine in attack and seven in defence, central defensive pair Wilfred Ndidi and Oghenekaro Etebo ran themselves into the Egyptian grass to make the collective tick.

    Towards the end, the spent Ndidi gifted fouls on the edge of the penalty box to the opposition while Etebo could have rekindled his goal-grabbing form from the Brazil 2016 Olympics in a more advanced role with, say, the 4-4-2 system.

    Approaching qualifiers for the 2021 AFCON starting November 11 at home to Benin Republic, some argue for a replacement (or recycle) from the ranks of proven Nigerian coaches. Think Austin Eguavoen and Samson Siasia as well as the late Amodu Shuaibu and Stephen Keshi for exciting world youth, Olympic football and AFCON runs in the past.

    Others mention the domestic handler’s susceptibility to the whims of big shots and player agents as cause of the undisciplined, chaotic environment witnessed before Rohr’s arrival. Again, think Eguavoen and Siasia as well as Sunday Oliseh for chances lost, regained and lost again.

    First, though, there is the small matter of Rohr’s reported contract pay off clause of one million dollars to surmount. Until a timely resolution ensues, the impression of a lack of foresight during national coach contract negotiations lingers.

    Rohr may have instilled order in a listless Super Eagles but he has run into a cul-de-sac. In a system where officials grasp the concept of accountability, coaches excuse themselves right after deplorable or failed campaigns. Cometh the hour, goeth Rohr.

     

    • Fagbemi, an author and art enthusiast writes from Lagos