The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria’s problems

  • ‘Nigeria’s problems, solutions documented, but leaders don’t read’

    Nigerian leaders would be more aware of the country’s problems and solutions, if only they would read the newspapers. This was the submission of Mr. Kayode Akintemi, a broadcaster and Managing Director of Plus TV.

    Speaking at the Science Media Award organised by the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS), Friday night at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Akintemi said reading through the 22 entries submitted for the awards, he was impressed by the depth of work by journalists to raise awareness about challenges in the country and how to solve them.

    Unfortunately, he lamented that political leaders would be oblivious to them because they do not read.

    “I went through all 22 entries and as I read through the reports, it opened my eyes to the kind of situation we live in Nigeria.  It made me realise that our leaders do not read.  Because all of our problems are clearly stated in the papers and the solutions are there,” he said.

    In her keynote address, Caroline Southey, Editor of Conversation Africa, a website that gets academics to write about science in layman’s language, praised Nigerian journalists for pursuing and staying with issues affecting the society.

    The South African said the ingredients of good science stories are – asking unexpected questions about familiar issues that affect society, investigating them and telling the story in a compelling way.  She said past winning entries had these three ingredients.

    “There are many more examples from the body of work submitted to the NAS awards over the past eight years. All the winners have the same special qualities: unexpected questions, hard, dogged reporting, and good story-telling capabilities.

    “All show what journalism can look like at its finest. It is not gimmicky. And it is not the sort of work that has you rubbing shoulders with the rich, the famous, the notorious, or sharing Instagram images. But it’s brave because it involves identifying where the shoe pinches, and then embedding yourself in communities to get first-hand accounts of what people feel. What they think. What’s actually happening….

    “The joy of it all is when there is impact. And you shift the dial. And you can see the consequences of your endeavours.  This is why the work you do as journalists writing about science and health matters so much. Why it warrants special recognition. Why you should be proud of the profession you’ve chosen. And the brilliant work that you are doing,” she said.

    President, NAS, Prof Mosto Onuoha, said the winners that emerged were unanimously selected independently by the judges because of their consistency.

    He thanked journalists for writing science stories despite the difficulties associated with doing investigative stories, including lack of funding.

    He said the Academy also wished to do more but was limited by funds. He therefore thanked Vitafoam for bankrolling the competition without expecting tangible returns on investment.

    On his part, Group Managing Director Vitafoam, Mr Taiwo Adeniyi, said as a firm that depends on science for its products, Vitafoam would support any initiative that promotes science.

    “We see it as an avenue to educate minds and get people interested in science.  Countries that move ahead, their bedrock is science.  So when we see an organisation rewarding innovation, we want to support such.  It is part of our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives to give back to society,” he said.

    Calling on organisations to support investigative journalism, last year’s winner of the Science Journalist of the Year (print), Mrs. Hannah Ojo Ajakaye said her story would not have been possible if she had not got an international grant to carry out her investigations.

    She said, “Companies should hold workshops for journalists to learn to do compelling science stories.  They should provide grants for investigative stories.  The story that won me the award last year would not have been possible without a grant from the international organisation.”

    Mr. Isaac Anyaogu of Business Day won the Science Journalist of the Year Award for Print; while Mrs Nkoli Omhoudu of AIT won the award for Broadcast.  The Runners up were Mrs Omolara Afolayan of TVC News (broadcast) and Mr Afeez Hanafi of Punch newspaper (Print).  The winners of each category got N200,000, while the runners up got N50,000.  All four winners also got N50,000 voucher from Vitafoam.

  • We are part of Nigeria’s problems

    SIR: In the past, I used to ask myself, “What has Nigeria done for me?”

    But these days, there is usually guilt when that thought intrudes. There is now the thought of, “What have I done for Nigeria?”

    I have come to understand that I have been a part of the Nigeria problem. I have been more interested in taking from the country than in giving to it. I have been fiercer in criticising the country than in delivering solutions to its challenges. And I have expressed more passion for sentimental nothings than for real issues.

    The bigger problem is that there are many of us citizens who are more interested, like me, in taking from the country than in giving to it, and who are imbued with ethnic and sectional passion. But I hope Santa Claus helps deliver this memo to many Nigerians like me.

    Nation-building is not about building infrastructure. It is not about allocating projects to a section of the country to appease them. It is not about giving people from a certain ethnic stock federal appointments to pacify a region or group of people. It is not about distribution of state resources, even though that is inclusive.

    It is about the people coming into a peaceful accord with one another; treating one another fairly; respecting one another’s views, religion, beliefs, culture and political leanings. It is about the people understanding their differences and protecting the other’s right to be different.

    It is true; leadership plays a pivotal role in fostering unity and in nation-building. But leadership will fail if the people are unwilling to build the nation.  That an Igbo man calls a Hausa man “aboki” is symptomatic of latent resentment; that a Hausa man calls an Igbo man “Nyamiri” is also symptomatic of the same.

    What can the government do in this case? It is up to citizens to build that country they desire. And it starts by ending stereotypes, needless conspiracy theories and imaginary plots.  It also starts by giving – thoughts, time, and energy – to Nigeria.

    In conclusion, the government should consider framing a policy to encourage inter-ethnic marriage. The government should be intentional about this.  Marriage is an adhesive; it will help in bonding families and cementing ethnic ties.

    In the old world, kings often give their daughters in marriage to other kingdoms to hold the peace and to solidify international relationships.

    This may appear simplistic; but I do not think anyone will want to take up arms against his in-laws.

    I will be better for Nigeria.

     

    • Fredrick Nwabufo, fredricknwabufo@yahoo.com

  • Buhari: I’ll not complain again about Nigeria’s problems 

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday promised that he will no longer complain about the problems his administration met at its inception.

    According to him, lamenting Nigeria’s history of corruption and mismanagement of resources has not helped his administration much.

    The President spoke during his interaction with Nigerians at the Kraków Holiday Inn , Poland, an event put together by Abike Dabiri, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and  Diaspora, as part of his engagements on the sidelines of the global summit on Climate Change taking place in Poland.

    Instead of complaining, Buhari said, he will face the challenges head on.

    His words:  “We inherited so many problems. Actually, l have said l will not complain because l asked for it. I tried to become President three times and l lost , but l was lucky the fourth time, l became one, so l can’t complain”

    “Who asked me to do it again? Three times l ended up in the Supreme Court. The third time, l said, ‘God dey’ and the fourth time, God and technology, using the Permanent Voters Card and the Card Readers, they couldn’t rig the elections; so l won.”

    Buhari also expressed delight at the resilience of Nigerians in Poland, which he said had helped them maintain good relationship with their host communities despite such cases of hostilities and racial discrimination.

    The President had earlier been briefed about the challenges Nigerians face in Poland as well as their relative good behavior despite the hostility and discriminations by some of their hosts.

    The President had told his audience that he will attempt to respond to the questions raised by them, even though they might not be satisfied with his responses.

    “You may not be satisfied with my answers, but l will be very sincere with you, as l keep trying to do with all our people where ever they are,” he said.

    On security, Buhari said he had always taken it as his No 1 priority, because of the understanding that any investments drive will be useless without first securing the environment.

    “It just makes sense. You have to secure our country or even the institutions or environment to manage it properly. If they are not secured, you are wasting your time. So, security has always been our number one priority.”

    “Those in the Northeast will tell you that before we came, the so called Boko Haram used to hold about 17 local governments; now, physically , they are not holding any local government. So they have resulted to real guerilla tactics of hit and run.

    “They mobilise, hit targets and then disappear again because they know the area more than the soldiers that are defending them. Our soldiers, are from Port Harcourt, Lagos, Sokoto, but they are locally there and know the terrain more than the soldiers.

    He lamented that “it is not easy financing the war against terror”.

    Earlier, the Nigerian Ambassador to Poland , Eric Adagogo Bell-Gam, in his welcome remarks, had said that some Nigerians in Poland were stable professionally.

    He also noted that there were many Nigerians studying in Poland because of the relative cheap nature and quality of the country’s educational system.

    The ambassador lamented however, that Nigerians were like other non- Polish citizens, subjects of racial discrimination, as according to him, “ there is a very high problem of animosity, dislike for foreigners”

    “Even in Nigeria, we have this spectacular problem if getting visas from their embassy there. I used to ask them, you want to improve relationships with Nigeria, yet you don’t want our people to come. How do we improve?

    “From my perspective, l do not know about others, l found them a little bit less friendly to us than my encounters in other parts of the world where l have been lucky to serve.”

    Despite these, however, Nigerians in Poland, he said, “have been able to persevere, like the strong spirited people that they are, in spite of all the provocations, sometimes unwarranted, but l must say that a lot of our people here are living above board. Nigerians here have made us proud.”

    Among the Nigerians who met President Buhari were Adekunle Ayoola, a produce merchant promoting Nigeria agricultural produce in Europe; Larry Ugwu, an artist and curator, who has lived in Poland for 40 years and contributed to promoting Nigerian cultural heritage in the Polish society; Anthony Egwuatu, a Gynaecologist, who has lived in the country for 30 years, Olomofe Larry, a human rights activist, who has fought for justice for fellow Nigerians in the host country, among several others.

    With the President were Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Yahaya Bello and Abubakar Sani Bello of Enugu, Kogi and Niger states.

    Others on his entourage include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, and the Minister of Environment, Ibrahim Jibrin. National Security Adviser, Babagana Mongonu was also there.

  • Students proffer solution to Nigeria’s problems

    Postgraduate students of Diplomacy and Strategic Studies, in conjunction with Department of History and Strategic Studies, University of Lagos (UNILAG), penultimate Saturday organised a lecture to proffer solution to problems facing the country.

    The symposium, tagged: “On Contemporary Africa’s Political and Developmental Challenges” was organised by ”Think Thank” group 2017/2018 Master’s students of Diplomacy and Strategic Studies at the Faculty of Arts Boardroom, UNILAG.

    The keynote speaker, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, said he could not find a road map towards an autonomous African political system.

    He said: It is not that one does not know what a genuine African political system will look like. One does not reinvent the wheel. It will have to be based on genuine, free and transparent elections, free from external interference. The unanswered issue is how one gets there. The major player is the world system which finds the natural resources of Africa too precious to be left for Africa to manage.”

    Akinyemi decried the influence of godfatherism in politics, describing it as hindrance to development and why youth leaders had failed to implement classroom knowledge to solve issues.

    He lamented that Nigeria is behind many countries, adding that it takes a genuine visionary leader with great developmental programmes to develop the country.

    “Free and fair elections, have genuine leaders with developmental programmes of where we want to grow, they all know this, but how do we get there that is what I don’t know.

  • Alaafin charges politicians to find solutions to Nigeria’s problems

    The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba [Dr.] Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi 111, has called on politicians to eschew primordial sentiments and be more pragmatic in finding solutions to the myriad problems confronting the country.

    He said national growth and development depend largely on the good sense of justice, moral worth and responsibility, conscientiousness, devotion to duty, selflessness, probity and honesty exhibited by the leaders and the led.

    Oba Adeyemi gave the admonition yesterday when a presidential hopeful on the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party [PDP], Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, paid him a courtesy visit in his ancient palace in Oyo town.

    He said, “it is assumed that a nation’s value system is sacred and

    could extend beyond that nation’s boundaries. All nations are supposed to be proud of their value systems, just as a person is proud of his or her upbringing and character and would try to impress that behaviour and beliefs on others. Basic values are traditional and historic, reflecting aspects of the experience that each nation went through since its inception as a national unity.”

    The Alaafin noted that politicians must close ranks, logically brainstorm, and arrive at an in-depth and coherent understanding of the contending state-building issues in the country, which he identified as the fear of the predominance of one state over another, over-concentration of powers, lack of consensus politics and government based on a community of interests, absence of truly integrative national political parties, non establishment of the

    principle of public accountability for office holders; and inequitable

    system of revenue allocation.

    Earlier, Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State and serving senator, lauded the intellectual sagacity and contributions of the Alaafin to national peace and stability, and described traditional institution as part of the working tools that could make democracy and development sustainable and be consolidated.

     

     

  • Nigeria’s problems need spiritual solutions —Cleric

    The challenges facing Nigeria can only get lasting solutions through spiritual warfare and not political alignment and realignment.

    What Nigeria needs now is for all religious bodies in Nigeria, both Muslim and Christian, to come together and fight a common enemy by engaging in spiritual warfare.

    Making this assertion in Lagos today, Rev. Matthew B. Cyrus of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Jedidah Kingdom, insisted that only spiritual solutions can check what he called demonic forces masquerading as  herdsmen/farmers conflict, ritual killings, kidnapping and so on.

    Rev. Cyrus, who claimed to have been on the prayer mountain since May, said President Muhammed Buhari should declare a one-day holiday to enable Christians and Muslims to fast and pray for the rejuvenation and transformation of the country.

    He said: “God told me He was ready to solve Nigeria’s problems the way He solved the problems of Children of Israel during the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah.”

    Rev Cyrus said God told him that current alignment and realignment in the country’s political firmament was a good omen, adding that “there can be no peace in the country as long as darkness and light dwell together”.

    He said Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges would be a thing of the past as soon as the spiritual solutions were applied in its totality.

  • Ex-deputy governor: restructuring’ll solve Nigeria’s problems

    Ex-deputy governor: restructuring’ll solve Nigeria’s problems

    A former deputy governor in Ogun State, Adegbenga Kaka, yesterday called for the restructuring of Nigeria as the only panacea to the challenges confronting the country.

    Kaka, who represented Ogun East in the Upper Chamber from 2011 to 2015, made the call while speaking with reporters in Sagamu.

    Kaka was the Deputy Governor of Ogun from 1991 to 1993 when Chief Olusegun Osoba was the governor.

    Kaka spoke on the sidelines of the donation of food items to the pupils of School for Children with Special Needs by a philanthropic group, “ASK 65’’.

    It was in commemoration of the 70th birthday of Alhaji Yusuf Ashiru, a member of the group.

    He said there was need for decentralisation of the Police for effective and efficient security of the citizenry.

    Kaka, however, decried the wanton killings of innocent Nigerians in some parts of the country.

    He described the development as “sheer negligence’’, urging the Federal Government to urgently address the insecurity challenge facing the country with all seriousness.

    “It is rather unfortunate that the killing is being sustained.

    “In a sane country, even during civil war or even in the international war, they will account for every lost soul at the battlefield.

  • Is restructuring the answer to Nigeria’s problems?

    Is restructuring the answer to Nigeria’s problems?

    Many politicians and civil society groups are intensifying their agitation for the restructuring of the polity to reflect true federalism. Against the background of the upsurge in the agitation, Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI takes a look at what the idea entails.

    IT was former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that brought back restructuring in the country’s political lexicon, last year during the public presentation of a book entitled We Are All Biafrans by Chido Onumah. At the event, the chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said the structure of the country is heavily defective, as it does not provide the enabling environment for growth and progress among the 36 component states of the federation. Atiku, who spoke against the backdrop of renewed agitations by militants in the Niger Delta and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), said the solution to the country’s problem is restructuring.

    Since then the clamour for restructuring has refused to go away. Last Wednesday during the launching of a book by former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd) restructuring was the main topic of discussion. This was because Akinrinade has been consistent over the years that restructuring is the answer to Nigeria’s problems. The auditorium of the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), venue of the event, was filled to capacity by his friends, associates, family members and admirers who came from far and near for the launching of Alani Akinrinade: My Dialogue With Nigeria, a compendium of interviews, speeches and lectures by the retired General over the years. At the occasion, many of them could not resist talking about restructuring, as a way to support Akinrinade’s views.

    The following day, associates of the late Obafemi Awolowo met in Ikenne, the home town of the late sage in Ogun State and demanded for the restructuring of the country, to stem the gradual slide into disintegration. The associates who regrouped for the maiden edition of the Awo Conversations declared that it had become imperative to reduce the overbearing influence of the Federal Government and devolve more powers to the constituent states.

    Indeed, there appears to be an upsurge in the clamour for restructuring. The Southwest which has always been in the forefront for the agitation for restructuring is still insisting on it. Speaker after speaker at the book launch backed Akinrinade’s call for the restructuring, saying it will bring about the real change the country needs. Among those who renewed the call are the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; governors of Osun and Ondo states, Mr Rauf Aregbesola and Chief Rotimi Akeredolu; and Mr. Ray Ekpu.

    Explaining why Nigeria needs to be restructured, Akinrinade said only merchants of doom would advise President Muhammadu Buhari that restructuring will give birth to disintegration. He said his family has been urging him to put his experiences in a book and commended those who made the publication and its presentation a success, saying: “I hope that this contribution will halt the journey of our country to perdition.” He added that his initial efforts at putting his memoir together were consumed by fire during the NADECO struggle.

    Ekpu, the former Newswatch magazine Editor-in-Chief, also said restructuring would not lead to disintegration of Nigeria. He said restructuring is an idea whose time has come. He said: “Mr President should not listen to those saying that restructuring will lead to the country’s disintegration; it will not. A lot of Nigerians really believe in Nigeria. Restructuring will bring a great positive change to this country. This will make the President of Nigeria a great hero.’’

    Tinubu, who was represented by his media aide, Mr. Tunde Rahman, said he remains an advocate of restructuring. His words: “I believe and support restructuring. I also remain a true advocate of restructuring and true federalism and I will not be found wanting when and where the issue of restructuring is being discussed.”

    Governor Akeredolu said the time has come for proper restructuring of Nigeria. His words: “I share the view that there is need for decentralisation of Nigeria; I believe in it and I believe the time has come for proper restructuring in this country. I would argue it anywhere, any time and I will support it. I also believe strongly that we have to work out a master plan on restructuring and we have to discontinue just talking about it.”

    Governor Aregbesola said he is saddened by the poor efforts Nigeria is making at building a federation, saying the police must be restructured as a first step, even within the existing awkward federal structure. The governor who described himself as a federalist said Nigeria is the only federation where the police and the entire internal security arrangement are unitary. He said: “Why must the Commissioner for Police in a state report only to the Inspector General of Police? Why should the CP not take orders from the zonal commanders? It is an unconventional arrangement.”

    At the Ikenne event, renowned historian, Professor Banji Akintoye, who was the lead discussant, bemoaned the lopsided composition of the Nigerian federation which, he noted, had compounded her socio-economic and political problems. The event was organised for youths from different ethnic nationalities, as part of the activities to commemorate the 30th posthumous birthday of the late sage.

    Aside from Akintoye, other speakers at the event include Awolowo’s former Private Secretary, Odia Ofeimun, Afenifere chieftain, Adebanjo, Prof. Oladipo Akikugbe, Senator Anthony Adefuye, Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu and Hon. Joshua Oyebanji, who represented the Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly.

    Many prominent Nigerians have at one time or the other added their voices to the growing clamour for restructuring. This include: former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon; Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka; former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku; former Kaduna State Governor and leader of the Conference of Nigerian political Parties (CNPP), Balarabe Musa; and Second Republic Vice President, Alex Ekwueme.

    The current upsurge in the clamour for restructuring has been blamed on what analysts describe as the poor governance style of the Buhari administration. The administration has incurred the wrath of the other regions of the country, because of the lopsided appointments in favour of the North and its perceived failure to deliver on most of its campaign promises.

    Major socio-cultural organisations in the South, such as the Afenifere and the Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, also believe that it has become imperative to restructure the dysfunctional and poorly designed political structures of the country. While these groups and individuals are aggressively pressing their positions and prescribing how Nigeria’s political structure and power vested on each layer of authority should be, their northern counterparts, such as the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Arewa Elders Forum (AEF) are singing a discordant tune.

    The North seems to be the only region not comfortable with the growing demand for restructuring. Conservative northerners are suspicious of concepts like true or fiscal federalism, resource control, regionalism, weak centre, state police, and a new revenue sharing formula, saying it is a prelude to the breaking up of the country. They say the country’s problems have nothing to do with her political structure and allocation of powers, but poor leadership and corruption.

    What does restructuring really entail? Proponents of restructuring say it does not mean that a Yoruba man in Bauchi has to return to the Southwest nor that the Hausa man in Onitsha has to return to the North. In the words of a socio-political commentator, Christian Udechukwu: “Nigeria will be like the European Union where citizens are able to exercise the freedom to live, work and play where they choose without prejudice.

    “The proposed restructuring of Nigeria is to enable all of the six regions to decide on and have full control of matters of health, education, industrial development policy, power, agriculture, transport infrastructure, local policing, revenue mobilisation, mining, investment guarantees, local taxes and then leave the Federal Government in Abuja to decide only matters like defence, foreign affairs, immigration, international cooperation, national security and others. No more free money from Abuja to the three tiers of government for unaccountable expenditure.

    “Any region that wants to employ only their best and brightest to govern them can do so; and those who want rascals and illiterates in government can have them. Regions will be free and have power to name, shame and punish the criminals amongst them without recourse to ethnicity, religion and party politics at the centre in Abuja.  People can insist on local laws and order enforcement to protect their lives and property.”

    Udechukwu said regions that want 100 states and 1000 local governments can create them if it has money to pay for such big bureaucracy.  He added: “They can no longer rely on free money from oil and gas. Each region will have to be productive, innovative and creative for a secure future for its people. This is very simple. If this form of restructuring were to happen, then people will become more prudent and thoughtful in their daily choices.

    Is restructuring really the answer to Nigeria’s developmental problems?

    A lecturer in the Political Science Department, Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State, Dr. Godwin Dappa, said restructuring would be good for Nigeria, if it is done in the right way. He said Nigerians always come up with good ideas, but the problem has implementation. His words: “I think restructuring would be good, if we get it right. To a large, we do not have the political will to commit ourselves to what it entails. It has to do with total change, adjustment and revitalisation of governance structures.

    “We are still battling with the hangovers of our colonial experience. As we speak, we are fighting corruption, but nepotism, one of the greatest aspects of corruption, is on the upsurge. For instance, at the recent Department of State Security (DSS) recruitment, 51 out of the 479 new recruits are Katsina State, where most states in the South has between five and 12 slots. This is perhaps because the DSS Director-General Alhaji Lawal Daura and President Buhari are from Katsina. Rivers State has five slots, Akwa Ibom five, Edo six, Lagos seven, Delta eight, and Kano State 25. Indeed, 331 of the newly commissioned officers are from the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), while less than half of the total intakes were from states in the southern part of the country. This is lopsided; what criteria were used?

    “The agitation for restructuring is becoming strident now because the Nigerian populace is beginning to see that the existing structures are one-sided; the formation structures, the state structures and the government and politics structures are one-sided. Take a hard look at the service chiefs, from the police, to the army, immigration, civil defence and what have you, they are all headed by northerners.

    “If we restructure now, it will not be sincere enough, because we are not yet practicing the art and science of democracy; we are not yet there. Even some of the people from the Southsouth and Southeast that is agitating, as soon as they are called upon and settled, they would say ‘yes sir’ and join the continuity bandwagon.”

    A human rights activist and the Southeast Zonal Secretary, the Campaign for Democracy (CD), Dr. Jerry Chukwuokolo, equally believes that the current agitation for restructuring would not see the light of day. He said: “It is very unnatural for anybody that has certain advantages to let go, especially when such people have caliphate mentality of subjugation. This is the case in Nigeria. But where people think of equality, in terms of sharing the commonwealth, restructuring would have been the best for Nigeria.

    “The way it is, the caliphate has rejected the idea of restructuring and they hold all the aces, particularly the armed forces, which is the feudal instrument of subjugation. But, it won’t work; at a point in time the bubble will bust. There is nowhere it is recorded in history that a group of people can continue to subjugate others forever. If people are following what is going on, they would know that the game is up.

    “You can see the context in which I say I don’t support restructuring; otherwise, it would have been the best thing that would happen to Nigeria.”

    In his piece last Sunday, titled How Democratic is the 199 Constitution? newspaper columnist, Ropo Sekoni, said it is trite to say that the 1999 Constitution has become an albatross around the neck of the nation and the nationalities that constitute it. He said many citizens in the last two decades have been calling for restructuring in the belief that the 1999 Constitution had de-federalised the country in a way that makes it unstable and economically stagnant.

    He said: “Now that the country is at its lowest ebb economically is a good time to pay attention to those calling for re-federalisation of the polity and economy. Reading ulterior motives into every call for restoration of federalism will only amount to distraction from the real problem…”

     

  • Don’t accuse PDP, Sani tells El-Rufai, other PDP defectors

    Don’t accuse PDP, Sani tells El-Rufai, other PDP defectors

    Sen. Shehu Sani (APC Kaduna Central) said Gov. El-Rufai of Kaduna State had no justification to blame the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for Nigeria’s problems.

    Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday, Sani said all defectors from PDP were part of the party and should not absolve themselves of blame.

    He said that the governor was a PDP beneficiary for 14 years out of the 16 years of the part’s reign and as such could not claim to be innocent.

    He added that the Kaduna state governor came to limelight through the PDP from 1999 until 2014 when he joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “If you google El-Rufai, you will see him from 1999 but if you google Shehu Sani, you will see him from 1989.

    “So you can see. He was brought to limelight by virtue of being in the politics of the PDP.

    “I laughed at him when he said `the PDP has destroyed Nigeria for 16 years’ while he enjoyed 14 years out of the 16.

    “For somebody who has spent 14 out of the 16 years, you cannot say he’s a repented man in two years.

    “If you repent in two years, it has to take time to reach people who have never been sinners, like me.

    “I have never eaten from the PDP nor have I ever been under their umbrella.

    “But he was part and parcel of it for this period of time,” he said.

    He said that the APC was a convergence of forces from other political parties, adding that some of the people who came to the APC still had their PDP mentality.

    Sani insisted that the defectors should also carry all attributes of change and not act like they are still in the PDP.

    According to him, it is not unusual to have people with PDP mentality still entrenched in the APC.

    “They do not want criticism, they do not want contrary opinions, but that is what drove them from that very party.

    “When they moved out of the PDP, what they said is that they were denied the right to express themselves on the way the party should be run.

    “Nigerians have a very sadly short memory: We forget people who were part and parcel of the destruction of this country simply because they change political parties and then they become saints.

    “It is good when you repent, but we should remind you each time you try to insult our intelligence, to tell us that you are clean and every other person is dirty.’’

    Sani said that the governor was not making life easy for the common people in Kaduna state.

    According to Sani, when the APC took over from the PDP, Kaduna people had expected to witness changes, but rather than change, the government brought policies that imposed hardship on them.

    He said that the governor had been out of Kaduna for too long and so did not understand the pains and aspirations of the people.

    “Since El-Rufai took over power, he has kept on unleashing one programme after another that further made things difficult for the people.

    “We are still within the APC but right now, the problem has gone beyond me and him.

    “It also involves stakeholders in the state: the party is divided.

    There are people who have invested heavily in the party, they are marginalised, not carried along and a seeming new group has emerged challenging his dominance and authority in the party.

    He added that El-Rufai should treat people who contributed to the victory of the party in Kaduna as equals to ensure peace and reconciliations.

    He added that the governor should also recognise the poor and refrain from policies that would further impoverish them.

    He urged the governor to stop all unwarranted demolition in the state, especially when the land allegedly encroached into belonged to the Federal Government and beyond his jurisdiction.

  • Nwankwo’s misdiagnosis of Nigeria’s problems

    Nwankwo’s misdiagnosis of Nigeria’s problems

    Last week I reproduced a shortened version of the keynote address I delivered in July 2012 on the occasion of the 4thMedia Lecture Series of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, Lagos, under the title “Food for thought from 2012.” The address itself was headlined”Media and civil liberties when the cloud of fear gathers”.

    I reproduced it believing that it contained lessons for the media about the way it has been reporting – more like one-sided misreporting – the much-ballyhooed herdsmen/farmers clash. At least one reader, Aladetohun Moyosore, seemed to agree with me through his text, but offered one more food for thought which, he said, was from an inside story in The Nation, also of May 4, which quoted the Oloro of Oroland in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba Abdul Rafiu Oyelara, as saying: ”The herdsmen boasted that they have people in government who will rescue them. These days herdsmen carry AK47 guns.”

    Moyosore’s question then was “Who arms them with AK47 and who are their sponsors in government?”

    Many a newspaper pundit and southern politician apparently believe there is a clear and simple answer; the northern elite is the chief, if not the sole, villain.

    Funke Egbemode, managing director ofTelegraph and an accomplished satirist, said as much in her back page column of Sunday Sun (May 1) entitled “The farmer and his Fulani herdsman”.

    Using the literary devise of dialogue, she had a fictitious farmer in the South ask his presumably marauding Fulani neighbour why his cows are no longer content to eat northern grass. “Does the southern grass have sugar?”, the farmer asked, obviously tongue-in-cheek.

    Fulani: The grass is greener here.

    Farmer: No. You just need to get out from under the thumbs of your slave owners who send you into the wilds so their children can ride brand new cars and eat chocolate on imported sofa in air-conditioned houses.”

    What Egbemode was clearly saying through the mouth of her fictitious farmer was that the problem with this country is the North’s feudal system. However, if hers was a satirical dig at the northern elite, Tatalo Alamu, the well-regarded columnist at The Nation on Sunday made the same point with a direct hit. “While the northern master-class send their children to the best school in the world and enjoy luxury of the latest western consumer goods,” he said in his column also of May 1,”the underclass are the herdsmen who are armed to roam the length and breadth of the nation tending their cows.”

    This theory of northern feudalism as the problem with Nigeria looks appealing given the region’s dominance of Nigeria’s politics since independence nearly 56 years ago. Certainly it is popular in the South. However, on closer examination, few explanations of Nigeria’s problems can be more simplistic and untenable.

    Worse, fewer still are more dangerous as a basis for finding solutions to these problems.Take, for example, the claim by Yinka Odumakin, the voluble spokesman for Afenifere, in an interview in Sunday Vanguard (May 1), that the attacks by alleged Fulani herdsmen have never taken place in the overwhelmingly Hausa/Fulani Northwest geo-political zone.

    He made this claim while condemning a press conference by the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum and the Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kassim Shettima, during which the governor cautioned Nigerians against profiling Fulani herdsmen and blaming all recent farmer/herdsman clashes on them. For simply stating the universally accepted truism that it is wrong to visit the crime of anyone on his entire ethnic group, religion or race, Odumakin said the governors should all “bury their heads in shame.”

    “If,” Odumakin added, “the attackers are not Fulani herdsmen, where have they struck in the Northwest? Why are their activities only in the Middle-Belt and in the South? That is the question these northern governors should answer.”

    Their answer would simply be that either the Afenifere spokesman had been away from Nigeria, at least since 2011, or he had chosen all this while not to be bothered about news, lots of news, in our media, old and new, about how cattle rustling and the wholesale sacking of communities had become endemic in the entire North all these years.

    However, if Odumakin’s claim is untenable and dangerous for the unity and harmony of this country, it is mere child’s play compared to a 4224-word article in saharareporters.com by the septuagenarian, Dr. Arthur Nwankwo, whose self-portrait on his own blog says he is “a publisher, award winning author, political scientist, historian and chairman of Fourth Dimension Publishing Company, the largest publishing company in sub-Saharan Africa with over 1,500 titles.”

    For a self-proclaimed political scientist and an historian it was truly amazing how he could take so much liberty with facts and stand logic on its head as he did in his article which he gave the rather sensational title: “The National Grazing Reserve Bill And Islamisation Of Nigeria: Matters Arising.”

    Against all evidence that there is no such bill before the National Assembly, Nwankwo went ahead full blast to try to make a straw man out of President Muhammadu Buhari the easier to destroy him. Of course, Nwankwo is only one of so many Nigerians who have come out to condemn the bill – and with it the president as its alleged sponsor – but the gentleman stands virtually alone as someone who has chosen to denounce both bill and its alleged sponsor with a pretence to the vigour scholarship requires.

    The bill, he claimed, was a deliberate attempt by Buhari,”to take our lands and hand them over to the Fulani cattlemen since it is only the Fulani that rear cattle in Nigeria.” Not only that, Buhari, he said, was also intent on Islamising Nigeria through the bill, presumably because all Fulani are Muslims.

    First, for someone who lays claim to scholarship you would expect him to respect the dictum that he who asserts must prove. He says there is a bill before the National Assembly and in spite of the denial by the spokesman for the Senate which he praised, he still refuses to let the fact get in the way of his decision to attack Buhari and his religion and region.

    Yet all he needed to do to save himself the embarrassment of looking like a Don Quixote attacking non-existent windmills was to go to the website of the National Assembly where he would have found out that the bill in question was initiated by Senator Zainab Kure who lost her seat in the last election and the bill, in any case, died after its second reading long before the end of the Seventh Senate.

    Second, for someone who claims to be a political scientist and a historian, it is truly amazing that he can assert that only the Fulani rear cattle in Nigeria and also assume that there are no Fulani Christians anywhere who would resist any attempt by anyone to Islamise Nigeria.

    Again, even for a layman it is truly incredible that anyone can claim with absolute certainty, as Nwankwo did in his article, that Boko Haram is a “Fulani-dominated insurgent group.” I’d thought every Nigerian knew Boko Haram was essentially a Kanuri phenomenon and that historically the older Borno Empire and the bigger Sokoto Caliphate have been rivals.

    Because he’d obviously made up his mind to attack Buhari and his religion and region regardless of the facts and of logic, it was not surprising Nwankwo would succeed only in making a laughing stock of himself before any intelligent and reasonable person.

    “The whole essence of Islam”, he said in his article,”is Jihad or simply put terrorism.” I would’ve thought such a piece of demagoguery was beneath anyone who lays claim to scholarship. For, Jihad, as any scholar of Islam and Arabic knows, simply means “struggle” and it has more to do with the struggle with one’s inner demons than converting people to Islam at sword point.

    After all, as the Qur’an says in Chapter 2 Verse 256, “There is no compulsion in religion…” The same Qur’an also makes it abundantly clear to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in chapter after chapter, verse after verse, that what is incumbent on him, or on any prophet for that matter, is merely to deliver God’s message; that his is not guardianship over humanity.

    Of course the Holy Book, as Nwankwo said from several quotations, does enjoin Muslims to fight unbelievers. In doing so, however, it is merely in the good company of most other religions, especially those, like Christianity and Judaism, that lay claim to universality. Even then nowhere in the Qur’an, as Nwankwo claimed in quoting Chapter 4:89, did God say “Those who reject Islam must be killed”!

    It does say Muslims should fight and kill those who reject their religion, as he quotes from the verse. But then if he was honest with himself he would also have quoted from the very next verse which says a Muslim must desist from fighting a non-Muslim who does not persecute him and, instead, is willing to live with him in peace.

    What is true of Nwankwo’s quotation of Qur’an 4:89 was also true of all his other quotations from the Holy Book; he either misquoted them or did so deliberately out of context.

    Because, like so many other Nigerians, Nwankwo has misdiagnosed Nigeria’s problems, it is not surprising that he has come up with the wrong prescription for their cure.

    Next week, God willing, we shall examine his cure.