The Nation Newspaper

Tag: PMB

  • PMB: 43 days on, plus one Igbo question

    It’s 43 days today since President Muhammadu Buhari hurriedly left his domain for a 10-day leave. The leave became tarrying a while for test results; further time to rest and now, a full blown and indefinite medical vacation. If nothing else, we have been availed the joy of new executive terminologies, as concerns vacations.

    While we do not know how much longer our President will be away, the drama of this presidential ‘virtual’ infirmity brings unexpected twists and themes.

    Now this one is for the laughs. Let us consider quickly, the little matter of the Igbo question and the eternal whimpers of marginalisation. Those who feared that PMB had always nursed a personal animus against Ndigbo may just have another straw to grab at. Here is it: for the entire 43 days Nigeria’s president has been ominously absent, no Igbo man (or woman) can affirm or confirm his well-being or actual state of health. This is because none has been allowed to venture near his now hallowed presence.

    Here is a list of those who have been afforded that most privileged information of vouching on PMB’s status: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Chief John Oyegun, Senator Bola Saraki, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Hon. Yusuf Lasun, Malam Abba Kyari and of course, the redoubtable Mamman Daura. And on telephone from London, the President has spoken with the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the governor of Yobe State and most recently, Mr. Femi Adesina reported his telephone conversation with his boss.

    It is likely that in private capacity and at work related levels, some Igbo may have spoken or even had contact with our new London House power locus. But the politics and power equation lie on who is found around the President at this time; who is consorting and consulting with PMB right now. Of course, every call, every photo opportunity comes with a strategic undertone.

    That is power relations 101. And no Igbo man is near the centrifugal arena; he is not in the picture; he is an outsider, he is the man on the other side of the fence, in the cold waiting for second level directive or even reading the lips and studying the body language of close aides.

    It is the same logic and mindset that denied Igbo nation a seat in the National Security Council (NSC) and in the entire superstructure of the military, security, intelligence and paramilitary hub in Nigeria. If this London episode is not yet another proof of Igbo marginalisation then what is?

    Well never mind that small digression there. The issue of the day is that 43 days have raced by and we are still counting, since our President left our shores in a most unclear and indeed hazy circumstance. And certain crucial issues won’t quit tugging at our consciousness.

    First, what really is the problem with our President, what is this health issue that has kept him away for so long – incommunicado and indefinitely.

    We, the citizens who voted him to office deserve to know the exact health status of our President. It is our inalienable constitutional right. In fact, we ought to just click a button and find all the details of our President’s health records. That is today’s standard of transparency in governance. The Fidel Castro example continues to be the touchstone. Pictures of him on his sickbed was there on the cyberspace for the world to see.

    Beyond the issue of transparency and integrity, apologists would say so along as PMB handed over to the Vice-President, nothing is amiss and government is running unhindered. But this is a fallacy, a mere placebo to make us feel well. When President Umaru Yar’Adua was in the same situation – ensconced in Saudi Arabia – some party wags insisted the President could rule from anywhere in the world.

    But we must not allow stalwarts, beneficiaries and a cabal of usurpers to lead the narrative. They say the Veep (Acting President) is in charge, yet only yesterday we were told that he consults PMB on important issues. And there lies the problem. What are important matters? Is there any matter of State that is not of specific importance and significance? And if for any reason the Veep cannot reach the President, such ‘important’ matter remains in abeyance? How long would the Acting President wait on instruction from London to act?

    And by Jove, do we know who really is issuing instructions from the London end on behalf of PMB – a cousin, a personal assistant or chief of staff? APC bigwigs are right now sulking that some fellow speaking on behalf of the president in London would not let them come see their prez. Such is our national dilemma.

    If the Veep is truly in charge, can he elect to rejig the cabinet tomorrow to make for a more effective team or to suit his style? Can he reshuffle the service chiefs, and the security and intelligence brass in order to have people of his own character and temperament? In other words, is he the Commander-In-Chief when the commanders recently pledged loyalty to PMB? We wait… indefinitely!

    Again, are the President’s personal aides who are in some cases untouchables and larger-than-life answerable to the Veep? Let’s not kid ourselves, many of these are the fabled members of the cabal who manage the President and run the presidency. Make no mistake, they still hold the levers of power and they pull the strings still. By the way, these strings are located in the office of the president which is still live and alive. Our dear Veep is at best, a marionette; as long as this episode lasts, he is only re-enacting a semblance of motion and movement. No man can be number one while seated in the office of number two…

    This is the rude fact of our current situation. Thus, while many will want to pretend that all is well, we are actually in a most precarious situation right now. The country is actually in abeyance. An Igbo proverb admonishes that a man who is truly healed must discard the crutches. But here we are, dangling on double-handed stumps and we insist all is well.

    Apart from the other issue of exposing our President to all sorts of security risks out there (a desperate cabal can actually contrive to keep him there for as long as they can swing it, while they milk the treasury), we cannot continue like this. No country excels that lies to itself or lives an extended lie. Most of us are afraid to confront the truth, the crude truths of our national life today. We are loyal to our presidents instead of to our country. We revere our president at the detriment of our country. This is why our service chiefs will tell us to our face that they are loyal to Buhari and not the government or country.

    . The other day in the House of Representatives, it was ribaldry raised to an art as they quarrelled over whether the president is sick abroad or on medical vacation. But unbeknown to us, we seem to gaily commit collective regicide; this is self-immolation. If we are a thinking people, if we have a legislature, the current crisis ought to be grist for fresh laws that would peg upper age limits for presidential candidates; laws to insist on full disclosure of a candidate’s health records. This is how a nation makes progress.

     

     

    What’s the MTN-Arsenal deal worth?

    My heart breaks each time I see big corporate bodies in Nigeria dole out huge sums to English Premier League (EPL) clubs in the guise of seeking marketing buy-ins. MTN is the latest in this thing I like to call flight of fancy. Many big companies in Nigeria are shovelling millions of pounds to clubs in England and Spain while football in Nigeria suffers acute kwashiorkor.

    Here is a roll call – MTN, Glo, Nigeria Breweries, Chi Limited, Sterling Bank, to name a few. In the last few years, managers of the Nigeria Professional Football League have done a damn good job in spite of odds, to lift our football.

    They need huge corporate support; our clubs could use revenues from jersey and stadium branding among other marketing and promotional buy-ins.

    It aches the heart when one sees the profit from the beer we drink here or recharge card I buy, being shipped to Arsenal or Manchester City. You don’t carry water to the river, do you?

     

  • Our Girls; IDPs jobs; PMB silence; UBN– Grassroots CSR?

    Our Girls; IDPs jobs; PMB silence; UBN– Grassroots CSR?

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. The terrible figures 100,000+ dead and 3-5million IDPs, many migrated across Nigeria, show the enormous emotional, Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, P-TSS and economic cost of Boko Haram and its evil ‘sister’ proxy wars –Fulani herdsman-farmers and Southern Kaduna wars. According to UN, $1,000,000,000+ $1+billion is required for developmental recovery. It must guarantee ‘maximum local human IDP content’ and not use out-of-state contractors. NGOs like Red Cross must recruit local staff. Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp feeding must be monetised for family empowerment to buy from IDP-run shops and IDPs must earn salaries working in camps, for morale, morals and money to grow IDP families and the local economy. National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)’s method of dumping/distributing blankets and buckets in an IDP camp turns IDPs into beggars. IDPs must get recovery jobs. Qualified and trainable IDPs must be recruited, trained and employed. This dictum ‘THIS PROJECT MUST EMPOWER, EMPLOY, DIGNIFY IDPs’ must be for IDP unskilled, highly skilled and board room members. Beware of greedy elders and traditional rulers. Capacity building requires an IDP ‘SKILLS/DESIRED JOB AND LOCATION CENSUS’ and ‘What would YOU like to do/train as?’ Projected project job needs must be researched and publicised for IDPs to develop needed skills to avoid recruiting out-of-state ‘Fellow Nigerians’.
    Also an EFCC/ICPC driven ANTICORRUPTION MECHANISM must be set up NOW to prevent and detect over-invoicing, theft and ‘UNFULFILLED FAKE CONTRACTS’ -check NDDC. Note that the plight of IDPs is replicated ‘under every bridge’ nationwide.
    Desmond Nunugwo’s death in EFCC’s custody requires NHRC investigation as no one should die in custody from disease, medical, fear or violence.
    Nigeria’s ‘Presidential Silence’ was ill-advised and has cost Nigeria dear. The emotional cost to 150m citizens bombarded with fake ‘death-wish’ rumours was preventable. Many Nigerians stand with Buhari, though he is slow, and Nigeria’s stolen money is trickling back in billions. The financial cost of forex £5,000-50,000/head for those visiting London as an ‘Emergency Destination’, costing ‘Official Duty’ flight ticket, ESTACODE, hotels and Oxford Street visits was preventable. The cost of media, ‘How is Buhari?’ and ‘1+billion ‘comments’, were preventable. Our Presidential Silence has not been ‘Golden’ but has cost Nigeria ‘gold’, millions. Pray he lives to fight more. Www=‘A Word is Wisdom from the Wise’.
    National Assembly (NASS) should stop insulting Nigerians invited before them. Instruct MDAs on what documents it requires in this budget defence round. Public hearings are vital, but public disgrace is not. NASS’s record gives it no moral right, authority or immunity to castigate officials when its own N125b budget and stupendous SAPP, Salaries and Perks and Pensions are sequestered in deep secrecy and the stench of corrupt lingers and ‘hyper-pensions’ nauseate us. The 20+ senior staff of any MDA report to NASS and with, 100 observers, the meetings cost Nigeria millions. Stop wasting Nigeria’s time and money and agree on the vetting formula and documents. Genuine issues are welcome but civility should prevail and not a rant by NASS-ty committee chairmen. Thank God Pay-Before- Budget-Approval is not possible as all the money is in TSA- HaHa! Valentine was dry this year, abi??? No NASS member should PPP -PRACTICE POLITICAL PROSTITUTION by demanding or receiving a Yakubu-like ‘Unsolicited Valentine Gift’ or a ‘Show Me Your Love’ Valentine card stuffed with money ‘under-the-cap’ ‘currency’ or GMGs, Ghana Must Go bags to guarantee ‘rancour-free budget approval’. NASS committees, treat Nigeria’s children’s parents with the respect, dignity and decorum you demand for your election to NASS by whatever means you and your God and whistle-blowers know. SERVICON says it is a human right not to be insulted in the workplace. As a doctor I can tell you, having dissected and operated on thousands of Fellow Nigerian and foreign bodies, political and pauper, that your body and your brain are no different from the kobo-less beggar and her starving children begging around traffic lights nationwide and in your village regardless of your government bought A5 AAAAA- ATTIRE, APPELLATION, ABODE, ACCOUNTS and ARMOURED/ARMOUR-LESS JEEP and All other Perks. As leaders of ‘NIGERIA’S POLITICAL EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY’, NASS should take the ‘LIKE/INDIFFERENT/HATE TEMPERATURE’ of Nigerians and try to reverse the sickening hurt it inflicts when its members pontificate on their ‘sacrifice’ on NTA, if Nigerians are fortunate enough to have electricity to waste watching NASS in their perpetually dark country. Pray for Buhari, pray and shout for a ‘Changed NASS’.
    Union Bank@100 is good. Nigeria’s Private Sector ‘funders’ of CSR, used to ‘HQ CSR’ should count the 100 year missed opportunity to constructively, systematically and collectively transform Nigeria’s baseline – grassroots schools near their individual customer base, branches, distributorships and kiosks. Imagine the contribution to youth education of 10,000 Union Bank 100 Book School Libraries, 500,000 Zenith Bank Football, 100 MTN Science Centres, one Ecobank Aquarium, 1,000 Unilever Boy Scouts Excursion and a P&G Girl Guides Annual Camp. Need I say more?
    Tayo Aluko’s stage portrayal of first generation lawyer, British Judge Tunji Sowande, was recognised by BBC, Focus on Africa. Use Google to teach your children about Africans in the UK from slaves, Paul Robson, the West African Students Union, Crown Agents, the African clubs and the West African Route ships Elder Dempster Line MV Apapa, Accra, and Aureole.
    NB: Whistle-blow corruption and identify and expose to the public ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES for coming elections.
    NNB: Nigerian journalists search bbc.com/KomlaDumor to compete for Komla Dumor Award closing 15/3/2017.blog- www.tonymarinho.com

  • America’s ‘corrupt’ era, lessons for PMB

    Simon Cameron was a godfather during the civil war American politics. He was the lord, so to speak, of his home state Pennsylvania. His political machine held the state spellbound for decades making him both the king and kingmaker in state and federal politics.

    As a testimony to his dominance of his territory, he was a three-time senator over a cumulative 18 years; making him probably longest-serving senator in his days. In fact, he left the seat only when he had made sure that his son would succeed him.

    Orphaned early in life and with little education, he moved to Washington where he was self-trained, working as a printer, newspaperman, editor and publisher; buying and running the Republican at only 25. He later veered into business, building railroads and owning a bank in his early 30s. Having made much wealth, he joined politics, moved to Pennsylvania and began a public life that was at once remarkable and infamous.

    Cameron was notable for being corrupt and he made no bones about it. His famous quote is; ‘An honest politician is one who when bought, remains bought.’ He started out as a Democrat but soon crossed over to a smaller party from which he joined the Republican Party in 1856.

    When President Abraham Lincoln was to make him Secretary of War as part of a political deal, there was public outcry considering  Cameron’s corrupt ways. This had elicited the famous quote from Thaddeus Stevens, a Pennsylvania congressman, who in counselling Lincoln about Cameron had said; ‘’I don’t think that he would steal a red hot stove.’’

    To buttress Cameron’s odious public image he had sought a retraction from Stevens who then made the famous retort to the president, ‘’I believe I told you he would not steal a red hot stove. I will now take that back.’’

    However, because of his overwhelming influence in his state, Cameron got the job anyway but he lasted barely one year.

    He got other appointments but none lasted because his public persona was quite suffocating even in that era. Notwithstanding, he remained the kingpin of Penns politics till the end of his life.

    The original title of this piece was to be ‘’Salvaging the Buhari presidency.’’ But the above illustration from the American environment of the Lincolnian era – 1861-1865 — is to illustrate that the Nigerian situation of today may not be unlike USA of 1800. There was a civil war and institutions were still at formative stages. It would thus appear like a jungle setting in which only the fittest survived.

    It is not unlike Nigeria of today and our situation seems to deteriorate rapidly with successive governments. Then Muhammadu Buhari came along.

    Many of us had sworn by the Buhari presidency. Some of us were so sure that if this was not the ‘messiah’, it must be something quite close. We had been starved of honest, principled leadership for so long that we would have pledged our manhood to have one. One more tenure of a rudderless presidency was unthinkable.

    The Buhari presidency and his party’s change chant was refreshing to anyone who had an ounce of love for this land. However, about three to six months after inauguration, it became apparent that we had made a mistake once again in the quest to find a capable captain for our wind-tossed ship.

    It wasn’t that PMB had become less principled and honest overnight or that the fabled ghouls of Aso Rock had seized the soul of the president upon his stepping across that rarefied threshold of power. We simply found out that we were victims of our own zeal – the blind desire to install a president according to our own image.

    Most of us thought that stellar personal character, honesty of purpose and stoic lifestyle were the touchstones for successful national leadership, but alas, how mistaken, if not foolish we have turned out to be. We all must accept responsibility and indeed culpability for this debacle. We have proved to lack discernment, insight and the requisite ingredients for critical leadership selection.

    Character may indeed be key, but other variables, such as political pragmatism, efficiency, sense of urgency and a single-minded focus on results all must combine to deliver that wholesome broth of leadership needed to build a nation. PMB has been all about character in the last 20 months and his presidency has floundered, seeming to fail irretrievably if he continues on the current trajectory.

    To safe the Buhari presidency; it is bad enough that PMB is assailed by ill health but he should simply delegate and indeed devolve power as he did in his first coming. He has a vice president who can do much of the leg work and even work from the shop floor. He must retreat a little to the background and allow his cabinet run.

    Two; he must reshuffle his team quick. Apart from a couple of them like the minister of power, works and housing, most other appointees look like they still can’t find their way around the sprawling federal secretariat. There is an urgent need to press brighter minds and nimbler feet to work.

    Three; we must immediately change tactics in the current anti-graft war. Enough of Ibrahim Magu’s cops-and-robbers approach to solving a grave national malaise. It is not working and it never will work. It has indeed become counter-productive. For the umpteenth time let us re-work the system to make stealing from the treasury become nigh impossible.

    Four; some of the critical factors for driving change in the economy are still not being activated. Agriculture sector remains tepid and we still import major food and staple, such as rice, wheat, poultry, fish, milk, cooking oils and tomato paste. We must drastically cut the importation of these essential items by all means. That task force on price ought to be a task force to produce, preserve and package food.

    Five; the economy and the oil and gas sector need fresh pep. The management of our currency has been less than plucky. Oil and gas remains in the doldrums with no fresh ideas or projects in two years.

    But more debilitating is that the mindset of the rump of administration is warped. Not delivering much about two years after but continues to escape into yesterday, blaming the past government for its inability to think through the woes of the populace today.

     

    Babachir and the pro-Buhari crowd

    The other day, some compatriots led by music star, Tuface Idibia, who sought to protest the excruciating hardship that has become pervasive in the country were harangued and denied. But Tuesday, a pro-Muhammadu Buhari rally nearly marched straight into the Exco chamber until someone remembered how ridiculous an act it was.

    It was bad enough that they were allowed near the precincts of the Presidential Villa, the remarks by the SGF Babachir Lawal was most troubling.

    He said: ‘’Baba Buhari did not anticipate the problem that we are in. I am sure you all are aware. The people who caused this problem are the ones challenging the government… I tell you they will fail… in fact they have failed.

    ‘’You are aware of the economy that the president inherited, the economy in which revenues have virtually collapsed. The infrastructure is nowhere to be seen. The roads were dilapidated. The schools were dilapidated. Hospitals were abandoned…

    On and on, the same banal excuse is what we have harvested in two years but alas, even the articulation of these are vastly depreciated if not dilapidated as can be gleaned from the quote above. We must raise the game.

  • PMB, the dogs don’t like it

    SIR: A pet food company once created a new variety of dog food and rolled out a massive marketing campaign to introduce the product. Despite hiring a first-rate advertising agency, initial sales were very disappointing. The agency was fired and a new agency and a new campaign was launched. Sales continued to disappoint. If anything, they fell even further.

    In desperation, the CEO called in all of the top executives for a brainstorming session to analyse what had gone wrong with the two campaigns and how a new campaign might revive sales. The meeting went on for hours. Sophisticated statistical analysis was brought to bear on the problem.

    One VP argued that the mix of TV and print ads had been messed up. Another argued that the previous campaigns had been too subtle and had failed to feature the product with sufficient prominence. Another argued the opposite… not enough sports programming had been targeted.

    After the debate had raged for hours, the CEO  asked if anyone else had any theories that might explain the failure of the new product. Finally, one newly hired employee raised his hand and was recognized. Maybe the dogs don’t like it, maybe the dogs don’t like the food, she said.

    That was it. If the dogs don’t like the food, it didn’t matter the quality of personnel involved in its production and sophistication of advertisement, the sales would still not amount to anything.

    The only true gauge of leadership is the people’s welfare; their standard of living and quality of life. These two parameters have massively deteriorated under the Buhari administration. You don’t need a prophet or rocket scientist to know that whatever is being cooked up in Aso Rock in the last two years as “Change” has been a distasteful and unpalatable meal to Nigerians to say the least, Nigerians don’t like this kind of food.

    Nigerians need food security and also security of lives and property; simply put, to be able to eat food in peace and whilst the continuing efforts of government against Boko Haram, albeit with the Fulani herdsmen issues are acknowledged, the economy has been in shambles.

    What has happened to Nigeria’s economy today is as grievous as deducting 50% or more from everybody’s earnings, both in the public or private sectors. Prices of goods and services have doubled and some even tripled, which means one’s salary today cannot do half of what he/she could accomplish with it two years ago. This is unacceptable.

    In saner societies, this will be the best time for our leaders to sit back and re-evaluate the situation in the country vis-a-vis their capacity to deliver and decide whether they can handle the country or not; whether to continue or resign and save themselves the shame of being forced to resign by the ballot because we won’t tire to vote people out.

     

    • Dr. Usha Anenga,

    Makurdi, Benue State.

  • PMB on Onnoghen

    PMB on Onnoghen

    If President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) refuses to nominate Justice Walter Onnoghen, the only candidate recommended by the National Judicial Council (NJC), for the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), to the Senate; then he acts ultra vires his powers, as provided in section 231(1) of the 1999 constitution, as amended. The responsibility of the President in the words of the constitution is unequivocal, and it amounts to a disservice to the principles of interpretation of statutes, for his advisers to impute inferences and nuances not provided for.
    Section 231(1) states: “The appointment of a person to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate” (emphasis mine). Clearly the part in italics is mandatory. So, the NJC cannot abdicate the function to recommend a candidate, while the President cannot refuse to send a nominee to the Senate, after the recommendation. With respect, any contrary action is ultra vires the constitutional powers.
    Notably, the Senate has discretionary powers to confirm or reject a nominee. The constitution uses the word: “subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate”. So, while the recommending authority (NJC) in determining who to nominate, has discretionary powers, within the ambit of the statutory provisions; the constitutional instruction given to the President is merely administrative, and he can only exercise a form of discretion, where the recommending authority gives him more than one name.
    Whereas in Justice Onnoghen’s case, the recommending authority, the NJC, recommends to the President not more than one name, he is no better than ‘a robot’ (as has been rhetorically asked by some commentators), and he must (the word shall) send the name of such a recommended person to the Senate for the confirmation process. Those arguing that the President cannot be a mere ‘rubber stamp’ with regards to section 231(1), are merely overwhelmed by the general humongous powers of an executive president. They are unable to accept that such a powerful person can be issued a simple, humble and unassuming directive.
    Sub-section 2, re-emphasise a similar procedure for the appointment of a Justice of Supreme Court. In my humble view, any appointment outside the purview of the constitutional provisions is unlawful. Sub-section 3, gives a constitutional guideline that is applicable at the starting process. It says: “a person shall not be qualified to hold the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria or a Justice of the Supreme Court, unless he is qualified to practise as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for a period of not less than fifteen years”.
    So, the NJC cannot recommend a person who has not met that constitutional requirement, neither can the President appoint a person not recommended by the NJC. To argue otherwise is to do grave violence to the express provisions of our grundnorm, from which every public official derive legitimacy. Of note, whether the President can boisterously, unconstitutionally and egregiously disregard the express provision of the constitution, either because he is prejudiced, or annoyed that people are talking about it, or even from sheer intransigence or misrepresentation by otherwise knowledgeable advisers, is another kettle of fish.
    I can only say to those who are making subtle threats that the President could feel offended that Nigerians are pressuring him to do the right thing to stop wasting their energy. Such a blackmail will not work. The President has to be told the truth, and then he can choose whether to obey the constitution or to abuse it; after all, his predecessors, particularly President Olusegun Obasanjo, ran roughshod over the constitution many times. The consequences however include, whether we want to admit it or not, the prevailing dysfunction of our society.
    So, the truth must be told, regardless of whose ox is gored. Perhaps it is fair to ask, could the President refuse to inaugurate the National Assembly where the person duly elected as the Senate President and head of the legislature is not acceptable to him? It will be disingenuous, as some protagonists are doing now with respect to the head of the judiciary, to argue that if he has the power to inaugurate the National Assembly, then he has power to refuse to inaugurate it, all in the name of vetting the process.
    For avoidance of doubt, the power of the President in section 231(1) is purely administrative; to impute otherwise, is to grant him adjudicatory powers, and thus turn him to an appeal tribunal, over the constitutional responsibilities of the NJC. Of course, if his advisers grant him such powers, then he will be caught by the doctrine of fair hearing, which implies that before he can reject Justice Onnoghen’s nomination, he must apply the necessary principles. In my view, the section do not contemplate such unwinding process, rather it is the Senate that is imbued with the power to accept or reject the nomination by NJC; and there, by practice, the nominee will be given opportunity to be heard.
    Those arguing that the President can unilaterally, for a reason or no reason at all, disregard the NJC’s nomination, have not asked themselves whether the head of personnel can refuse to pass to the management committee for confirmation, the name of personnel, who has been duly screened and found qualified for promotion by the promotion committee? Or have they forgotten that it is a citizen’s promotion that is at stake here, albeit one having statutory flavour, as held by the Supreme Court in Olaniyan vs University of Lagos (1985) 2 NWLR Pt. 9.
    As succinctly stated by Herring CJ, in Arthur Yates & Co Pty Ltd vs. Vegetable Seeds Committee, (1945) 72 CLR 137 at 166: “It is not the English view of the law that whatever is officially done is law…. On the contrary, the principle of English law is that what is done officially must be done in accordance with the law”. For even when a President has a discretionary power, he is guided. According to Lord Halsbury, L.C., in Sharp vs. Wakefield (1891) A. C. 173, “discretion means when it is said that something is to be done according to the rules of reason and justice, not according to private opinion…. According to law and not humour…. It is to be, not arbitrary, vague and fanciful, but legal and regular.”
    Should the President have reasons why the nominee of the NJC should not be confirmed by the Senate, he has all the privileges to present such information to the Senate, which is constitutionally empowered and constituted in such a manner as to fairly determine the fate of the nominee. While we are entitled to love and hold the President in very high esteem, we are not entitled to imbue him with unconstitutional powers or expect him to act arbitrarily, just because he can get away with such act.
    As canvased by Justice Goodwin Adolphus Karibi-Whyte, in a paper titled: “The Relevance of the Judiciary in the Polity in Historical Perspective”: “A constitution is incontestably a legal document and it is the fons et erigo of all rights within the polity.”

  • Kudos to PMB on the Gambian problem

    When our late Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa who doubled as our foreign minister for a while said in October 1960 at the United Nations General Assembly plenary session that our country will protect the interest of the black man wherever he may be, people felt that this was an unrealistic ambition. Sir Abubakar, as we all know, was not given to making statements without having ruminated seriously upon it. He came to this conclusion because of the pain most African leaders felt about the humiliation of the black man in the hands of largely racist colonial governments in Africa at that time. This was also the onset of the Civil Rights movement in the USA when dogs were unleashed on blacks justly demanding to be treated as human beings. The most galling of these indignities was in Southern Africa stretching from the then Belgian Congo to the Afrikaner controlled Republic of South Africa where blacks were herded into the so-called Bantustans created to emphasize the division of black South Africans along tribal lines in an attempt to weaken the wind of change which the British Prime Minister had said was blowing through the whole of Africa which the colonial regimes must take note of so that they are not caught unprepared when the wind  would become an hurricane.

    It was in the light of this political ferment that Sir Abubakar committed Nigeria to supporting all black men struggling justly to be free. This speech from a conservative leader of the most populous Black Country whose friendship was highly valued in the Cold War years of the struggle for world supremacy between communism and capitalism must have shocked policy makers in the West.   From that time onwards till today, the foreign policy of Nigeria has not deviated from protecting the interests of the black man. Nigeria may be careful about meddling in the affairs of the historic black diaspora in north and South America and their struggle for equality. This is because our leverage on the powerful countries of the United States and Brazil is rather inconsequential. But in the Caribbean islands, Nigeria has played significant roles there particularly in its high profile diplomatic and cultural presence in such countries as Cuba, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago. The point I am making is that Nigeria has been consistent in batting for the black man as much as its economy will permit. Nigeria bore almost 35 percent of the budget of the liberation committee of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) resident in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This was apart from direct financial and military assistance to national liberation movements of various countries from those of Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. One of the first international roles of independent Nigeria was participating in UN peace-keeping in the Congo in 1961. We must not forget the burden which Nigeria happily bore in the cause of African liberation and which it continues to bear in its disproportionate budgetary support for the African Union even today.

    In recent years, there have been attempts to refocus Nigeria’s foreign policy away from political consideration to economic issues now that the continent is largely free from overt political domination. But one thing that has remained is our country’s role in the lives of black people particularly in West Africa and the continent as a whole.

    Defence of democratic regimes is now part of Nigeria’s foreign policy goals. Even during military regimes, Nigeria continued with this policy while critics said Nigeria was defending a system of government denied to its people. This embarrassing situation must have hastened the reluctant exit of the military from the seat of power in 1999.

    When “civilian” government headed by Obasanjo came to power in 1999, it was natural for it to continue to embrace the new doctrine of supporting democratic regimes in addition to defending the interests of the Blackman worldwide. This informed President Olusegun Obasanjo’s intervention in Togo, São Tomé and Principe, Guinea–Bissau, Liberia and to a certain extent in Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and Sierra Leone just to ensure through preventive diplomacy, that the region did not dissolve into avoidable fratricidal conflict as before. What informed Nigeria’s policy was trying to put out the fire in the house of your neighbours before being consumed in the conflagration when the fire spread to one’s house. In other words, the policy is not simply based on altruism but enlightened self-interest. This preventive diplomacy will continue to operate no matter who is in power in Nigeria. Of course this assumption is based on peace in Nigeria as well as a strong economy to back its foreign policy. The populace would also need to be carried along so that nobody grumbles about domestic problems being left unattended to while the country is busy pacifying other countries that may be distressed in the region.

    When the situation in The Gambia with a population of about one and a half million  people and combined armed and police force of about 2400 deteriorated following the refusal of its sit-tight President Yahya Jammeh to vacate his position, Nigeria had to step in. President Yahya Jammeh has ruled the small country sandwiched within Senegal for 22 years after overthrowing its president, Sir Dauda Jawara in a coup  d’état. A presidential election supervised by his government was lost and a new man Adama Barrow won the election. Yahyah jammeh admitted defeat for some days and later began to find excuses to remain in power. The ECOWAS leaders met in Abuja and issued an ultimatum to Jammeh to step down. Two countries were critical to this decision. These were Nigeria and Senegal. Once Buhari showed leadership in spite of the problems at home, Senegal showed resolve and the others followed. To ensure global support, Nigeria led others to secure UN Security Council support. President Buhari after three trips to negotiate with the recalcitrant Jammeh sent first a naval frigate to cruise around the coast of the country as a precursor of proposed combined military operations involving also the army and the Air Force; then he sent a detachment of Nigeria Air Force. A Hercules C130 moved about 800 troops to Senegal while Nigerian planes put pressure on the recalcitrant Jammeh by buzzing the capital of Banjul to show resolve and determination. What followed was expected. The Chief of Staff of the Gambian army, General Ousman Badjie issued a statement that his troops will not fight his West African brothers and subsequently pledged his loyalty to the new President Adama Barrow who had earlier on been sworn in in the Gambian embassy in Dakar, Senegal. By this time, the troops ready to strike had been bolstered by a token company of Malian troops. The fate of Jammeh was in the balance. He was offered asylum in Nigeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Guinea. He apparently chose finally to go to Equatorial Guinea where he shares sit-tight political consanguinity with the Equatorial Guinean President Tewedoro Macias Nguema who has been in power in the oil-rich country for decades. Buhari must ensure Jammeh signs a guarantee of non-interference in the affairs of The Gambia and Senegalese and Nigerian troops should remain in the country to ensure peace and security while removing from command positions all Jammeh’s appointees.

    Buhari has resoundingly won his first foreign policy challenge and he deserves our congratulations. I was disappointed that some members of our Senate did not rise to the occasion. The criticism of Buhari by senators Ike Ekweremadu and Chukwuka Utazi for sending troops to The Gambia without Senate approval is totally unpatriotic and uncalled for. The intent of the constitution they quoted is not to tie the hands of the president in foreign policy emergencies but to ensure that Nigeria does not declare wars without Senate approval. No war broke out in this case and the AMERICAN example which some of these people always quote permits the president to seek approval post troops’ deployment in case of crisis necessitating quick action. It is not in the interest of Nigeria to belittle the effort of the President and to deride him when celebrations are called for.

  • Whence cometh PMB’s working visit to South-east?

    SIR: President Muhammadu Buhari and his team have big goals, plans and dreams. They have said so again and again at every given opportunity that this administration will take Nigeria to the promised land.

    But when a president is hungry to succeed, like PMB has mentioned untiringly, he has to compose self to carry every region along. There isn’t a better time than now especially with the irredentist movement.

    This writer isn’t asking for a working visit and parley to dignify questionable causes rocking the Nigerian boat, but a barnstorm to discuss issues bothering well-meaning law-abiding Nigerians.

    The good people of these regions need be told by him directly if he does visit – that they are part of the Nigerian project. For reasons I can’t comprehend, many feel powerless, helpless and, have concluded that they do not belong to the project.

    Many others have been aided to follow the herd instinct by the bête noire of the President.

    I know that the task of running a country can be a harsh, but the President has no choice but to get it going and “touch base” with the people over there. The gains might not be huge, but discerning observers and posterity might judge him fairly as a statesman for all.

    The argument the president and his team shouldn’t  make is one that hinges on the fact that these regions preferred him less than the other president and candidate during the last general elections and need get their comeuppance now. That will be a fatal flaw. After elections, statesmen don’t surly the office they occupy, they don’t badge the opposite party dishonourably, they promote all-inclusive causes and assiduously work for the good of all to leave an enduring legacy.

    • The APC shouldn’t be arrogant with power the same way the PDP was once arrogant with power for 16 years until hubris met its poetic nemesis at the 2015 general elections.

    After all, no region is immune to the issues of poverty, low-income, homelessness, power, gender/ right issues, education, security and mental health issues etc., etc., and these mound of malady(ies) must be tackled in a bipartisan way to boost confidence of Nigerians so that they also can share in the sacrifices necessary for nation building.

    • Confidence building is an important tool in helping marginalized powerless people rebuild their lives and catch the national purpose bug.
    • For as long as I can remember – governments in Nigeria have continually – without fail promoted fractious policies. PMB need to buck the trend and chase policies needed to unify country. After his tour of duty, the government can at least create the environment for Nigerians to create a better future for themselves without the never-ending acrimony.

    The government should begin to look for missing pieces everywhere in the country now instead of waiting to go for electoral lavation once in four years to look for it.

     

    • Simon Abah,

    Port  Harcourt.

  • Open letter to PMB

    SIR; Year 2017 is a year to fix all the mess in the country. Our economy should be stabilised, value of the naira should improve and the sky rocketing of prices of essential commodities should be checkmated. We don’t want to hear its PDP or Jonathan’s fault in 2017 because we knew they were at fault that was why we kicked them out and brought you in via our votes to fix the fault. Hence, we don’t want to be reminded of the reason we voted you in.

    Your government should tell us what you can achieve and not what you cannot do. Also, it’s not over yet security wise, you have subdued Boko Haram but they are not yet defeated. Give our troops the necessary support to defeat them, also mobilise security operatives to other parts of the country where innocent people are being killed just as you have done in southern Kaduna. The killers should be identified and prosecuted. Corruption still exist in some government agencies, not just stealing, but also job racketeering. Children of the poor don’t know of recruitment process in agencies like Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and others not to talk of getting appointed in such places despite their qualification.

    We recall last year that an alarm was raised in various media outfits and even with supporting evidences that the CBN employed hundreds of people without advert. And the people employed were alleged to be children of the ruling elites, all these happened under your administration. No investigation was done, the appointments were not revoked. We have also heard of agencies under the Interior Ministry secretly recruiting. Sadly, these agencies are establishments that require well qualified manpower. The only credible job selection exercise was the N-Power scheme and we all know it’s targeted at the poor. Let there be equal opportunity for all. Dear President, please address all these and many more lapses recorded during your first two years. You only have this year to change your game. Next year would be occupied with 2019 election activities and much would not be expected from your government. You should act fast. You should start by weeding off non-performing ministers and other key appointees in your government. You need people who can think outside the box to fix Nigeria’s problems not those who still think within the box by blaming past administration’s for the problem of our country today.

     

     

    • Halilu Hassan,

    Zaria, Kaduna State.

  • Five Christmas hampers for PMB

    Never did Nigerians have a bleaker Christmas than this; except during the war perhaps. But that of course, would be understandable. But for the discerning, the people of this country are under fire – and this is not a mere literary expression. Raging underneath the psyche of the generality of the populace are painful psychological torments, emotional distress and mental dishevelment. The sheer weight of hopelessness – you just don’t know what tomorrow would bring – bogs down everyone regardless of tribe or tongue.

    This has impacted on Christmas, robbing it of its cheers and its sight and sounds. What a drab, dreary Christmas it has turned out to be. “Not even a grain of rice has anyone sent my way this year,” a senior journalist quipped when ribbed about Christmas hampers. But regardless, this column would package five baskets of bounteous hampers for President Muhammadu Buhari for his Yuletide enjoyment.

    Let it be noted that this is a mere recap, as most of these points have been raised here previously since PMB’s ascension last year.

    Of insular mien and economic aridity: We have learnt by now that PMB is naturally insular and devoid of much mirth and cheers; no man learns to use the left hand in old age so we live with that. But a smile here and a back-slap there could work like magic wand untying even the knottiest of national issues.

    But we ask: has this ever so inscrutable mien in anyway translated to the arid state of our economy? First, there is a mind-bending discordance in the polity but it is much more pronounced in the economy.

    We all know that the oil sector is crucial in several respects. For instance, the National Bureau of Statistics just announced that Nigeria spent about N960 billion importing petrol-fuel products in the first five months of this year. Though this figure is far lower than we did last year, the full import is that we may be spending about N2 trillion importing just petrol fuels in one year. Petrochemical products not inclusive.

    You would think that government would speedily respond to a hobbling problem like this. But up till now, there is no clear-cut policy on refineries. Only this week, Ibe Kachikwu (minister) said one thing and Maikanti Baru (NNPC) said the direct opposite concerning the refineries.

    Feckless FEC: The above point dove-tails into the second basket of hamper. This Federal Executive Council (FEC) must be the most unpurposed and ineffectual in recent history of presidential cabinets. No bright spark of light, no x-factor and one cannot find anything to cheer or commend.

    As noted here recently, 18 months was the time it took Mrs. Stella Oduah to almost conclude a massive overhaul of about 12 airports across the country. But 18 months of PMB’s administration, the aviation sector is on the verge of collapse and some of the huge projects Oduah initiated are uncompleted if not abandoned. We don’t even know who the Aviation minister is. This is just one example; it is the same in every ministry and sector. Poor and uninspiring as former President Goodluck Jonathan was, apart from Stella Oduah, he had the likes of Prof. Bath Nnaji, who was replaced by an equally up and doing Prof. Chinedu Nebo, Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui at FIRS and Dora Akunyili at the initial stage. All these people earned big wins for Jonathan in spite of himself. No such performer with PMB so far.

    Graft war as a non-starter: PMB’s determination to dredge the swamp of graft in our system is also stumped. One and a half years down the line, the method being applied has become humdrum if not stupid with not ‘bankable’ result.

    This column has shouted itself hoarse on this issue and there is no point sounding like a bad gramophone. Even the office of the Attorney-General is lacking in both intellectual and institutional capacities. One example though that bears repetition: the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation is the key to fighting official graft if equipped and empowered. If this has happened, we should have its first report now.

    The rise of a power cabal: Obviously, a cabal has emerged which has managed to sequester the president and drive the presidency. Nothing wrong in such power games, except when the cabal is unenlightened and myopic. A selfish, clannish and power-mongering cabal will only breed ill-will for the presidency and engender endless crises in the polity. Unfortunately, this is where we are now.

    INEC/election conundrum: This crucial task has already been mired by the presidency. The appointments, from the headman to the recent national commissioners, are on the face of it, unenlightened, to say the least. It is doubtful if this team has the perspicacity to reform our electoral process or even conduct credible elections. Sad.

    Something salutary though: Let us concede, though grudgingly, that there are some stirrings in the agric sector. It is still very insignificant but it is a start. There is still massive importation of food and not enough is being done to push back that scourge. We should ban importation of rice, poultry products, vegetable oil, fish, milk, in the next one year for a start and drive local production and substitutes more seriously.

     

     

    Military siege to Southeast

    Just as suspected, the dance of the ‘python’ in this festive period in Igboland has been a source of pain and sorrow. Early travellers for the Yuletide have reported most punishing military checkpoints, especially from the Onitsha head bridge. This has caused many people to stay overnight on the road. Even the Nigerian Customs Service has joined the bazaar.

    This is very provocative. Compared to Kaduna, Taraba, Zamfara, Adamawa, Nasarawa and even Benue, the states of the Southeast are very peaceful. Kaduna has been a killing-field with ethnic militia better armed than the army. One is not aware of any military operation going on in any of these places.

    Apart from ‘Operation Python Dance’, there is another ‘Operation Show of Force’ going on in Aba right now. The precedence and implications of this are far-reaching.

    But most telling is that in all of this, the military is contriving to usurp the powers and duties of the police. The police should be empowered to do its duties around the country. Period.

     

    MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.

  • What PMB needs as a leader

    SIR: In those tense and terrifying days leading up to the 2015 presidential election, Muhammadu Buhari was ridiculed, by his detractors, for having already been rejected three times by the Nigerian electorate. Well, making a fourth run for the presidency after three earlier consecutive defeats was not a mark of shame but a badge of honour. After all, it has been written that, “the greatest glory is not, in never, falling, but in the ability to come back after a fall”. His ability to rebound after each electoral defeat, and then, finally win the presidency was something of a “triumph of the will”. It was a testament to his indomitable will.

    Buhari’s strong will and incorruptibility represented refreshing contrasts to Goodluck Jonathan’s spineless and sleazy presidency, which accentuated the moral and ethical regression of the Nigerian society and its propensity for lawlessness. Lawlessness and its associated corruption is enervating and suffocating Nigeria. Until corruption is reduced to a manageable level, the country cannot take the next step forward. Therefore, the war against corruption by the Buhari administration is most apropos.

    Lamentably, in the war, his administration is swimming against the tide because it has failed to carry the country and its institutions along. Nigerians remain the same. They are as greedy, opportunistic and prone to corrupt practices as ever. Nigerian institutions remain unchanged. Even institutions, like the police and the judiciary, that should spearhead the war on corruption are lethargic, moribund and unrepentantly corrupt.

    The question then is, is Buhari a leader? This question must sound outlandish and seem redundant to many Nigerians because, to them, a president is automatically a leader. The office of the president provides a wonderful platform for leadership but if the occupant is inherently unequipped, and/or lacks the disposition for leadership, he ends up not leading.

    Like a leader, Buhari has a message in his anti-corruption crusade, but, unlike a leader, he has failed to connect with Nigerians on an emotional level. Leaders rally their followers to action by appealing to their emotions and sentiments for in politics and statecraft sentiments rule over reason. Most successful leaders were confident and versatile public speakers. The masses are stirred to action, and inspired to selflessness and sacrifice by electrifying oratory. They are roused to thinking and behaving differently, with increased willingness for self-sacrifice towards the realization of the leader’s vision, by riveting oratory. Buhari has not demonstrated a flare for oratory. Consequently, his message has not struck a responsive chord in the Nigerian minds. As such, the only weapon in his arsenal for the war against corruption is fear: fear of arrest, prosecution and imprisonment. Instructively, fear is the least effective deterrent to crime.

    The 18th Century German sociologist, Max Weber, once defined power, as, “the ability to get others acting in accordance to your will”. The renowned American diplomat, John Galbraith, distinguished between three types of power: condign, compensatory and conditioned power; every exercise of power involves one or a combination of these types of power. Condign power, which dictates obedience based on fear of punishment, he wrote, is the weakest and most ineffective form of power. Conditioned power, which gets people to comply with the dictates of power, because they have been conditioned to believe that it is the right thing to do, and so, they do it without compulsion and fear of punishment, is the most effective form of power.

    The war on corruption is laudable. It will send some corrupt government officials and their business associates to jail and deter some corrupt activities. However, until it is attended with a re-orientation of the Nigerian minds towards the law, Nigerians will remain lawless and corruption will continue to thrive. This needed re-orientation of the Nigerian minds is pivotal to the war against corruption because the effectiveness of the law to a large extent is dependent on voluntary obedience by the generality of the people. After all, “the root of constitutionalism”- the rule of law – “lies in the hearts of the people”.

     

    • Tochukwu Ezukanma,

     Lagos.