The Nation Newspaper

Tag: politics

  • Terrorism, politics and democracy

    I  do not   think it is mere  coincidence  that   on his way to Rwanda  to attend  the inauguration of Paul  Kigame  as the president of his nation  for the umpteenth  time, the Nigerian  Acting President   Yemi  Osinbajo  read  the riot act to hate  promoters in our midst while addressing the National   Security  Council   at  a summit   organised by National  Economic  Council   made  up  of state  governors   and some  ministers. He seized  the opportunity to stress  that not dealing with some trouble  makers  in time was the sort  of problem  that led  to the Rwanda genocide in which Hutus  killed  minority  but politically  dominant  Tutsis  in that horrible genocide. While  the Nigerian  scenario  for treating tribal  and ethnic loud  mouths  as terrorists   was   being midwifed, the US president,  Donald  Trump  was literally  branded  a terrorist  of sorts for blaming both sides in  a  bloody    face off   between  white  supremacists  and anti    racist   protesters  in an  American  city, Charlottesvile, that left one dead  and several  wounded. The  icing on the cake,  if   one  could  call   callous   bestiality   such,  in this week  of    bloody killing of innocent people, was the one in Barcelona where an 18 year  old teenager  drove  through a crowd  killing about  14  people and injuring over 30  others.

    Today, we look at  politics  and  the    reaction of world leaders to acts of violence  calculated to disturb the public  peace,   in which terrorism  stands at the top of the bloody  heap. We  do this not only on present and contemporary  issues and reactions of leaders to them, we also look  back  at history  to see  how such  bloody  and violent disputes  were resolved  for  the benefit of peace  and harmony  in various  societies  world  wide.  We  start  as we  have done with  Nigeria and the  daunting  task  before the Acting President as he starts  equating   hate  agitation  with  terrorism  in accordance with the Nigerian  law  and warning both real  and potential  offenders that it  can  not be business as usual,  because the law is clear  on the matter. We  look  at the predicament of  US President  Donald  Trump  as both friend and foe lambast  him  for the language  he has used while   reacting to various   terrorist  acts  recently,   including the removal  of  war  statutes   in  Virginia, which  he condemned  as distorting American  history.

    In  terms  of  history,  we  look  at  the effects of   both the first  and second world wars on both  the victors  and the vanquished  and the lessons of history  from that. We  also visit  the end of apartheid   and the   crucial  role that Nelson  Mandela played  in setting up The  Truth  and  Reconciliation Committee after  apartheid  and how  that has  affected political  stability and democracy in that nation.

    Starting with  Nigeria again  the  Acting president  reportedly  invoked   the Terrorism [Prevention ]Act  2011 – as amended – which defined  terrorism as  an  act which is deliberately done with  malice  which may seriously harm  or damage a  country or  seriously intimidate  its population. According to reports the  Acting President declared –‘  we have drawn a line against hate  speech, it will not be tolerated, it will  be taken as  an act  of terrorism   and  all  the consequences  will  follow.’ This   again  to me is what we  have been  advocating for some time now    here   and I am happy  that the government  has woken  up to its responsibilities  to protect the Nigeria nation and its people  from the   destabilizing  propaganda  hoozing from  the Expulsionists, Secessionists and Insurgents in our midst  , who speak  and `roar  with impunity and have  gotten  away  with it for some time. The  Acting President’s speech is a call  to arms against such people and is the required deterrence we have advocated in recent times that  the state must  muster  enough resolve  and clear, palpable capability  to enforce  its rule of law  at anytime  and in  any place  within its territorial  borders. That  is the meaning of territorial  integrity  and it is the state  that wields   such   power  and authority.  Not  agitators  and  trouble  makers  who act with insolence  as if they   are above  the law  as we have seen in recent times.

    Next  we look  at the perils of the US  president on the use  of language  and twitter  to react to the various terrorist acts and  protests in the US this last  week.  The  way  I see the matter, it appears   the US media  as well as the op[position Democratic Party  have simply adopted  a policy of giving a dog a bad  name in other to hang it with Donald trump’s utterances on all  issues,  so  he can  in their books  never can say any thing right.  Donald  Trump  too  has adopted a scotched  earth  policy on his opponents culminating  in his  offensive tweet  that branded  fake  news people  as –such  bad  people –meaning of course, CNN. So  really  the battle  line is drawn   between    both  sides,   but let  us look  at   what  really happened  as distinct from what ought to have been.  Which   means separating what Trump  said from what he should   have said in the views  of his attackers.

    On  the event in Charlottesville  that led to a death,Trump  condemned  racists, bigots  and hate mongers but blamed both sides  for   violence. Blaming  both  sides  earned him immediate opprobrium and contempt  from those  who felt he should not brand anti – racists in the same class as racists which white supremacists are, very  definitely. But  if both  were violent  why  should  he not blame both sides  as he did? In   addition he called the white  supremacists names like bigots  and hate mongers but  his opponents  were not assuaged  till he called their  acts repugnant which  I find less condemnatory  than the earlier ones .On   the  statue    lowering  of  a  Confederate  general   in  Virginia,  Trump  lamented  at the destruction  of the beauty  and lessons of history   and   l  think  he  was right. The American Civil  War   was  won by the North which  was against  slavery  and lost  by the South which  was pro slavery. But  the pro slavery  forces  did  not operate  in a vacuum  and had their  military    heroes acknowledged with such  statues. That is history  and the truth . Removing them  is rewriting history. Even  the   Japanese who lost in the Pacific  to the Americans still  rever their war  heroes  and Abe  Shinto , Japan’s  PM has always unrep[entantly   found time to visit the cemetery for  Japaneses  war    heroes, no matter  the objection of some Japanese  and his American friends in the White  House.

    The  Americans can  learn on how they  treat their civil  war vanquished  from two  unlikely  sources namely  South  Africa  and  Nigeria with  regard  to  the      aftermath   of   brutal   racism  and   a bloody  civil   war.   In  S Africa  Nelson  Mandela  spent 27  years incarcerated on Robben  Island  as a convicted  terrorist   who acknowledged at his trial that he planned violence to  end apartheid,  the racist  regime and ideology  of Apartheid  S Africa . After  his release  from prison Mandela was elected  president and he set  up the Truth and  Reconciliation  Committee   to  find out how and what led  to apartheid  and who did what and when,  during the period,  so  that  all involved, both racists and victims,  can forgive and forget, and S Africa  has  moved  on in peace  and harmony ever since.

    In  Nigeria  a brutal  civil war  was fought  over  the secession of  Biafra and the rebel army  surrendered  and its leader fled to exile in the  Ivory  Coast.  General  Yakubu  Gowon,  the  Nigerian Commander In  Chief  and Head  of  State  at the end of the war said that there  was no winner  or vanquished  and instituted  the three Rs  of    Reconciliation, Reconstruction   and   Rehabilitation  to  move the nation  forward in peace after the war. More  importantly  the rebel  leader was pardoned  and he made a triumphant  return to  Nigeria and its politics  ,and remained  a respected  political force  in the affairs  of the nation till his death. Even  though  there  are some dissidents trying to reinvent the theme  of the   failed   secession,  there is no doubt that they cannot reverse the onward  march of the Nigerian  nation as largely  supported by the leadership of the former  rebel enclave in the Nigerian  nation.

    Lastly,  and  on the last  two  world  wars,  reparations  and punishment of the loser, Germany,  on both occasions created the monsters  of  Hitler, Nazism, Racism  and  Anti Semitism. The  lesson  here is that there  should  be magnanimity in victory.  Just  as in  Democracy where  the majority  must  have its  way  while the minority    must  have its say.  It  cannot be the other way round. That  I presume  is what  Donald  Trump  has been trying to say with his  tweets this week  and I  think  both his nation and the whole world  can  never  be the same again.  Once  again, long live the federal Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • APC chieftain in decamps to PDP in Kano

    Alhaji El-Amin Ibrahim, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano state, has decamped to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    Ibrahim told newsmen in Kano on Saturday that his decision to cross carpet was borne out of his desire and commitment to serve people and ensure that promises made to the electorate were fulfilled.

    “All my cross carpeting has been from the ruling parties to oppositions and on three occasions I held a party to win election.

    “I am not in politics to use political office to make financial gains.

    “I am in politics to serve the people,” he said.

    The decamped, who, is popularly known as Ibrahim-little, said his decision to move to the People’s Democratic Party was borne out his conviction that APC had not been able to fulfilled the promises it made to electorate.

    NAN reports that Ibrahim-little was the former state chairman of the defunct All people’s Party (APP) as well as a gubernatorial aspirant under the platform of the party in 2003. (NAN)

  • Succession politics and limit of ignorance

    Osun West Senatorial bye-election has come and gone, not unexpectedly, with its twists and turns; sounds and bites. Victors have since July 8, been counting their blessings while losers have also been unrelenting in licking their wounds with threatening affection! On the whole, June 21, 2014 has again happened to the progressive camp in Osun State and one can only pray that appropriate lessons from whatever remains of its wacky outcome would not be wasted on the altar of ego and sycophancy. It is also believed that ingrates and renegades who have turned the misfortune brought upon the state by Isiaka Adeleke’s sudden death into a ‘Us’ versus ‘Them’ personality clash will ‘sheathe’ their swords for the good of the party and country.

    Except we want to be economical with the truth, what played out on July 8 was the opposition’s way of telling Nigerians that, given the opportunity, it can still use the weapons of rice, money and other instruments of ‘stomach infrastructure’ to spring surprises on soft targets. Unfortunately, the ruling party’s inability to keep its house in order nationally, plus economic reforms that have, for want of a better expression, been struggling to put food on the table of the common man are rubbing off on the states and may affect the party’s fortunes in future elections if concrete steps are not taken to address the situation. All Progressives Congress (APC) needs to wake up from its slumber, cut off the pretence and carry out clearance operations before it is too late.

    Nigeria is in tough times and all eyes can see it. The political turf is heating up as we gradually approach another election year and it is as if those who never wished Muhammadu Buhari and his government well have now had their prayers answered. The economy is bleeding and it seems as if the national government is satisfied with snoring on a mattress overstuffed with excuses as a way out of the socio-economic logjam. In politics, little things count. Taking refuge in short-term measures, even when they are energy-sapping or funds-demanding, go a long way in addressing the nasty tragedies, extant confusions and conceptual impressions that have been threatening the fragility of the egg called Nigeria. Behaving as if 2018 is 1000 years away, or as if 2019 will never come, will not help a ruling party that is already being derided as ‘can do better as an opposition party.’

    At a time like this, Osun comes to mind. APC must do all it takes, lawfully, to remain in power so as to prevent a reversal of the gains of the last seven years. Osun cannot withstand a repeat of the disaster of the years eaten by the locust, when our common patrimony was used to cater to the needs of some selfish few. It is common knowledge that all the gratuitous attacks, barefaced lies and hare-brained fabrications against the Rauf Aregbesola-led government are mere samples of what to expect in next year’s governorship election. To be honest with ourselves, APC’s defeat in the last bye-election was facilitated from within by the Judas Iscariot who embraced coded languages to give performance a new meaning. The challenge of change, salary quagmire, even pensioners’ palaver played secondary roles.

    With regard to 2018, all I see for the progressive in Osun is victory; and Aregbesola’s outstanding performance in office is an indication that the battle has already been won! But this is not to say that there won’t be challenges on the road to this assured victory. In any case, that’s the beauty of democracy! Anything short of that is a recipe for chaos! For instance, while no government has ever done a quarter of what this administration has done for Osun since its creation, it is rather unfortunate that Aregbesola is seen out there more as a ‘salary unpaying’ government than one that has turned the state into ‘construction site’. Sadly, too, while issues surrounding the salary challenge point in the direction of a national crisis, that some ‘food-for-the-stomach’, false democrats are insisting that Osun’s should be treated as a case in isolation is a mystery for students of political history to unravel.

    So much has been said about democracy described by Abraham Lincoln as ”the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” But if this system of government thrives in a society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges, why do Nigerians continue to suffer, irresistibly, from what Pius Adesanmi once referred to as “acute malaria”? When, for instance, Kunle Ologundudu accused Kayode Fayemi of using state funds to build mansions as well as run a private university, why did the electorate gullibly subscribe to the untruth without raising a finger? Similarly, why has Osun suddenly become the rumour capital of Nigeria and what’s being done to present issues as they are? When has it become a crime to democratically avoid the resurrection of a deadly Wike/Amaechi crisis or the replication of a ‘Tarka-me-I-Daboh-you’ Kwankwanso/Ganduje face-off in Osun? Apart from other laudable programmes undertaken by this administration, have we forgotten its noble contributions to the triumph of no fewer than 50 of our medical students in Ukraine?

    More importantly, why have some quarters not appreciated Osun’s innovative means of alleviating the plight of its workers through its salary apportionment approach? With this regime in place, only a section of workers on grade level 12 and above (that is, about 20% of the state’s total workforce) have been receiving 50% of their gross salaries based on an agreement between the government and the labour union. ”Outside that, officers on levels 8-10 receive 75 percent of their salaries while officers on levels 7 and below who constitute about 65% of the workforce receive their full pay.” Good to note also that ”all workers in the state have received their salaries up to July in line with the agreement the government has with workers.” The fulfilment of its promise to pay the outstanding as soon as the financial fortunes of the state improve can be seen in the judicious disbursement of the second tranche of the Paris Club refunds.

    Let’s come to the issue of ”the same uniform”, a policy which, in more than a manner of speaking, elicits interesting ideas that should naturally tempt one into scrutinizing some important assumptions. Ignorantly or mischievously, Aregbesola’s traducers have not only forgotten the advantages that attended its implementation, they have also gone a step further to describe it as an ‘it can only happen in Osun’ affair. For the avoidance of doubt, ”the same uniform” policy has long been in existence in countries like Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, China, Indonesia and Malaysia.

    If the aforementioned countries are examples too far to cite, what of  Ghana and Benin Republic, our next-door neighbours?

     

    • Komolafe writes in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State,

  • What is wrong with politics?

    Most mothers may still want their children to grow up to be president but don’t want them to become politicians on their way there. Many people view politics as grubby, shallow, and dirty, built on distasteful compromises and promises meant to be discarded. That is not the full story. At its heart and in its results, politics is the great moving expression of our democracy. There are knaves and fools in politics, but the arena is also filled with people motivated by high ideals and great causes who work with skill, integrity and honour”  – Karl Rove, Courage & Consequences

    The aforesaid quote typifies most folks’ approach to politics: they look forward to its positive results, good governance and prestigious offices (appointed or elected), but not the politics (heavy lifting) required. However, it is a full package: benefit and detriment. You cannot take one without the other. There cannot be good governance without good politicians and policies. Good policies are largely accepted as good politics. Essentially, without good people joining politics, you cannot have good policies. Without good policies, good governance is a mirage; a fantasy. Good people must stop complaining, they need to step up. According to Innocent Idibia (Tuface), “nobody wan die but they wan go heaven.”

    So, why is it so unfashionable to be a politician, when the only way to a better Nigeria is through good politics and policies? Can good people reform the system by staying out? This piece posits that the only way to a new and better Nigeria is through the participation of good people in politics: New generation of politicians committed to One Nigeria.

    Not a few share the anti-politics sentiments. However, some of us have realized that every time we point one finger at or blame politicians, three points back at us for doing nothing. We realized that we cannot simply wish bad governance away by closing our eyes and opening it later in a saintly Nigeria. It would not work.

    Truth be told, the arguments against partisan politics are not unfounded. We are all living witnesses to many political assassinations. Chief Bola Ige, SAN, was murdered in cold blood. Chief Harry Marshall, Chief A.K. Dokubo and Funso Williams were all brutally assassinated.  The systemic fraud does not provide comfort: aspirants being told to forget primary elections after paying for nomination forms, going through the screening process and campaigned to participate in the primary election at great cost. The financial barrier to participation is considerably prohibitive. The most expensive input, in my little experience, is time. Politics is time consuming. It takes a lot of time. Your business or professional career will suffer. The government may cripple your business. Ironically, politics requires first class organizational skill, temperament, tolerance and other interpersonal skills not usually required in the corporate world. Politics is accepted as a contact sport. A war to some and they would stop at nothing to have their way. It is a war where the opponent does not die: he or she will live after his or her defeat to fight you again. Full and unequivocal family support for politics is also often elusive. A political associate’s wife once warned her husband: “politicians will chew you up and spit you out”.  It is also a selfless and thankless pursuit, in the case of scrupulous politicians, where the masses look at you with cynicism and suspicion. Even worse, if you are young, you will be referred to as a front for different people that you have never met before. In a youth movement, most of the cynicism and attacks will come from fellow young Nigerians. A lot of service providers want to charge you more than the normal rates because they think you have a bottomless purse of money from looting the treasury. The challenges and arguments against politics are endless. But what do we do? Generally, life itself was not designed to be easy but we live and soldier on. So, it must be with politics. You may not change the world but you can and must contribute your quota to make it a better place.

    However, most Nigerians are proud to state and flaunt their non-partisan status. But you have to be partisan to good or bad governance. You cannot sit on the fence. You either believe in small or big government; in taxing the rich to assist the people or believe everyone should be left to wholly eat what they kill by enjoying their wealth without any consideration for the poor.  The intelligentsia or elites prefer political appointment to elective political positions. This may be a waste of time because you are likely going to be shooting above the head of shallow politicians, who make the ultimate decision. There is nothing intellectual about abstaining from politics only to get appointment under people that you disdain and that may never get your point. Arguably, it is also unintellectual to think you can make far reaching and sustainable impact without political clout. The other intellectuals delving into partisan politics expect to be gifted the party ticket ‘a la carte’, without grassroots politicking or mobilization. They insist that they are not politicians even though they are contesting for elective public office. Even though their names are on posters pasted around town with their full authority!!

    They want a godfather to do the heavy lifting for them, with the effect of being in government but not in power. Invariably, they find it difficult to take far reaching decisions when in office or sustain their achievement after office.  There is a problem with this approach: how do you formulate effective policies with limited interaction with the electorates? How do you market good economic policies without reaching out to the masses? What is wrong with being a politician?

    Politics of other climes are populated by their intellectual elites. Singapore was driven from a third to first world country by a first class honours law graduate of Cambridge University, late President Lee Kuan Yew.  In Nigeria, Herbert Olayinka Macaulay, Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Tafawa Balewa, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, S.A.N., Mallam Aminu Kano, Chief S.L. Akintola, Chief F.R.A. Williams, Q.C.,S.A.N., Chief Remi Fani-Kayode, Q.C.,S.A.N.(Cambridge graduate and best result in his bar finals in the whole British Commonwealth), Mr Ernest Ikoli, Chief H.O.Davies, S.A.N., Sir Kofo Abayomi, Sir Adeyemo Alakija, Chief T.O.S. Benson,S.A.N., Chief Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe, Oba Samuel Akisanya, and  Alhaji ‘Femi Okunnu, S.A.N.,C.O.N., and others were all accomplished professionals and intellectuals. The list is endless. They all contributed a lot to our independence, nation building and politics in their youth through the Nigerian Youth Movement. We need to encourage exceptionally gifted young Nigerians to join politics. We cannot move the country forward with our 10th team.

    Youth Party, a new generation political association with a centre-left ideology is committed to grooming and educating future political leaders on politics and policies through the following ideology:  Expansion of democratic space by adherence to the principles of internal democracy and open primaries; generational change in political leadership;  selfless public service(not personal, ethnic or religious); free market with independent regulation free from political interference; equal opportunity to quality  education, healthcare and social housing; reduction of wealth inequality between the rich and the poor through provision of social safety nets; social integration and mobility; one Nigeria devoid of ethnic and religious divisiveness and intolerance, and transparent political leadership and followership that eschews money politics, bribery, violence, rigging, repression and corruption.

    Not a few have informed us why our party will fail. They have told us all the reasons why they cannot be part of politics or our party. However, we take solace in the few reasons they said it may work. Most importantly, we do not want to be guilty of failure to act. We want to look at our children and grandchildren in the eye later in life and state unequivocally that we tried. No one can say that, if they were never part of the political process. They are simply one of the reasons politics remain full of undesirable politicians. In short, politics is a necessity.

     

    • Adiukwu is chairman, Youth Party.

  • Women urged to participate in politics

    Women have been urged to join the political struggle to enable them occupy their central position in the scheme of things in the country.

    The Ondo State Chairperson of the Nigeria Elements Progressive Party (NEPP), Mrs. Ibitoye Olusola, stated this at the maiden congress of the party held  in Akure, the state capital.

    At the Congress supervised by the officials of the INEC and security agents, Olusola, who was former Acting Chairperson of the party, emerged the substantive Chairperson alongside other state executive members.

    She said gone were the days when women would be taking the back seats when it comes to active politics in the country, adding that as prudent managers of resources, women are better positioned to perfectly run the affairs of the nation at all levels of governance.

    Olusola stressed that the NEPP was ready and determined to form a formidable platform in the nation’s political landscape with the aim of taking over power at all levels of governance come year 2019.

    According to her, NEPP would play a vibrant and constructive opposition in the country in the bid to wrest power both at the state and national level.

    The politician particularly appreciated the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Usman Mamman Kastina, for his efforts at developing the party and make it the best alternative political party for Nigerian masses.

    She also expressed the party’s total support for the restructuring of the country to reflect true federalism, assuring that restructuring would naturally address various agitations by different ethnic groups in the country.

  • Politics, leadership and destiny

    GIVEN the spate of speculation on the state of the health of the Nigerian president nowadays I think it is time to look at the issue of destiny and how it affects political leadership in the conduct of the affairs of state. Quite convenient and relevant in this regard is the fact that the ailing Nigerian president is on record as having lamented publicly before, why God has made him president at this time which was an indirect reference to the poor health that has dogged his presidency. That really is the import of destiny in the discussion of today’s topic. Destiny or fate is like the blind lady that depicts justice and deals it out blindly not seeing or knowing who is brought to justice as she wields her legendary sword. Today then we look at the impact of destiny on world affairs both locally in Nigeria and Africa and historically in the world at large.

    In Britain this week, we see, rather amazingly, a modern example of a drunk electorate waking up with a hangover of the Brexit referendum and trying to retrace its steps and avoid the result of implementing what it had voted for with its eyes wide open, and examine the role of its neighbor France in the matter.

    We then look at the collaboration between France and the US on the war against terrorism and the import of that for Africa. First we go back to Nigeria to look at how destiny has affected the conduct of a government that came in on a note of optimism and hope based on the victory of our sick president who had lost presidential elections thrice before being lucky to be elected massively by Nigerians in the 2015 presidential elections.

    In a way destiny has caught up with the leadership of the Nigerian government in several ways. Aside from the president whose health has prevented him from enjoying or fulfilling his mandate to clean the Augean stable of Nigerian politics, the Acting President too is a product of enduring destiny. It is an open secret that the former Governor of Lagos state Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was to be Vice President on the APC ticket but for the objection to the Muslim – Muslim ticket and it was Tinubu himself who recommended the Acting President-AP- as his replacement on the ticket as acknowledged by the AP himself. Undoubtedly the AP has acquitted himself successfully in office to the admiration of all Nigerians and in spite of the flurry of abuses hauled on him by those who accuse him of not saying the truth on the state of the health of his boss after declaring that the president will soon resume after visiting him in the UK.

    But there is no denying that as destiny has incapacitated the president in terms of health when the nation most needed him and his reputation to clean the polity, the same fate has been kinder to the AP than the two most famous Nigerian leaders from his catchment area, the South West, namely the immortal sage Obafemi Awolowo and the AP’s mentor Asiwaju Tinubu. Both leaders of the illustrious Yoruba race never made it to the presidency in which Osinbajo is the AP with such admirable unobtrusiveness and high quality level headedness. That again is the handiwork of destiny which is still unfolding as the saga of the absentee president unfolds daily in our now restive political system. In the case of France the US, the UK and the global war against terrorism and Africa, we look to history to explain the import of destiny on contemporary events in these nations this week.

    On Brexit it was speculated authoritatively this week that the French are out to make Brexit a hard realty for the UK especially as it seems the British are about to make a U- turn on the Brexit result which is a cause being championed this week by former PM Tony Blair. But the French have always had an axe to grind with the English long before Brexit and very much during the time of former French President Charles de Gaulle who did not allow Britain to join the European Community at the outset. De Gaulle’s grouse could be rooted in the innocent killing of over 1000 French sailors and the destruction of the French fleet by the British Navy in 1940 on the instruction of British War PM Winston Churchill who felt that the Vichy regime would allow Hitler the use of the French fleet against Britain in theMediterranean sector of World War 2.

    The attack happened on July 3 at Mers EL Kebr on the coast of French Algeria and resulted in the death of 1297 French servicemen, the sinking of a battle ship and the damaging of five other ships. Obviously the death of those innocent Frenchmen led to a rupture in relations between Vichy France and the UK but the tragedy convinced the US to give military and financial aid to Britain as US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt felt it showed clearly that Churchill was ready to fight Hitler to death by all means.

    This week’s French animosity on Brexit and its implementation in a hard way is therefore a reminder of an ancient feud between the two closest European nations of modern times. Lastly the relations between France and the US seems to be heading for a positive result in terms of the wiping out of ISIS and of course our Boko Haram. Collaboration with Russia on this in the Middle East especially in Syria seem destined to wipe out global terrorism or at least minimize it. Trump’s bull in the China shop diplomacy amongst the Arab states which has isolated Qatar seem to be yielding some dividend as negotiations continue to put pressure on that nation to stop supporting ISIS, Hizbollah and Hamas and to stop its hobnobbing with Iran, the nation most feared by the west for the sponsorship of global terrorism. Although two presidents of US and France are differ in the manner of the age of their spouses they have a meaningful and positive attitude in their diplomacy on fighting global terrorism.

    Trump is married to a wife old enough to be his daughter, while the French president’s wife is old enough to be his mother. Yet both leaders have jelled in the way they have taken the fight to the lion’s den of global terrorism . Trump has set the Arabs against each other from his recent visit to Saudi Arabia. Macron made a visit to Mali his first state visit and has secured funds from his government and the EU to fund a multinational armed group to fight in the Sahel and on the fringes of the Sahara from where terrorists roam and flee into the north of west Africa to wreak havoc like Boko Haram has done defiantly in our vast but poorly populated north east for a long time. One can only pray for a fruitful collaboration between these two unusual world leaders to make the world safe for all of us as they pursue their unexpected mandates based on their equally unexpected emergence on the world stage in consonance with their unusual pedigree and leadership destinies. Once again long live the federal republic of Nigeria.

  • Why professionals can’t continue to shun politics, by Emmanuel

    Why professionals can’t continue to shun politics, by Emmanuel

    •ExxonMobil Executive Director Inoyo is CIPM President

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has urged professionals in the private sector to take interest in the public service to ensure that the democratic system is strengthened.

    Emmanuel, who spoke at the investiture of Mr. Udom Inoyo as  President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos, explained that having more private sector professionals in the political system would tidy up the political process.

    “In mature democracies and economies public service attracts the best in those societies. As professionals in politics, we  can start a new conversation that is predicated on selfless service to our people and in the process show that government and governance can indeed be a force for good,” he remarked.

    Emmanuel, while comparing process in the public and private sector, said recruitment and appointment in the private sector is mostly based on merit and driven by set criteria; unlike in the public sector, where election and appointment into positions are based on a number of other complicated balancing acts.

    The governor, who revealed that in his more than two years in office, he has learnt new dynamics in human relations and management, said although it takes twice as much hard work in the public sector to manage passions that may have been shaped by zero-sum tendencies, he said what is most important is for leaders, irrespective of the criteria that threw up the members of their team, the team combination and dynamics, must still be able to lead them towards achieving set goals.

    “While this task is much easier and straightforward in the private sector considering set standards and criteria which are adhered to by all players, it is a lot more challenging in the public sector considering the multiplicity of contending considerations,” he explained, adding that this divergence in practices and approaches between the public and private sectors suggests that players in both sectors have a lot to learn from each other, and hence, the need for continuous collaboration between the two sectors.

    Emmanuel said he has directed the state’s Head of Service (HOS) to initiate the process of collaboration with the CIPM towards enhancing the professionalism, competency and capability development and certification of officers who are in administrative roles the state’s civil service. He promised to monitor the programme as well as the effectiveness of those trained and certified.

    Emmanuel, while congratulating Inoyo, assured the body that with its new president, the institute is assured of continuous adherence to professional standards and unwavering commitment to integrity- values he noted have stood the institute out as a premier training facility for professionals.

    Inoyo called for increased collaboration between the private sector and government to leap-frog human capacity development in Nigeria.

    He observed that Nigeria’s huge population is its biggest asset and to fully harness the human potential, there is need for government and the organised private sector to strengthen partnerships with a view to better manage the abundant human resources for improved productivity and profitability. “When human resources are well managed, bottom-line will be impacted”, he added.

    The new President  called for collaborative efforts among governments and other stakeholders, such as CIPM for effective human capital utilisation.

    Inoyo said: “There is need for more engagement between government and professional organisations such as CIPM towards developing human talent. The CIPM was established to regulate the practice of human resource management in Nigeria and to promote excellence in the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills by professionals thereby enhancing sustainable national development.

    Inoyo, who is executive director, Human Resources at ExxonMobil, pledged to work with the Akwa Ibom State government and other partners and stakeholders to enhance human capacity development across Nigeria.

    The immediate past president, Mr. Anthony Arabome, commended the institute’s succession process. He said over the years, the institute has taken deliberate steps to enhance an early realisation of its vision of being a foremost people management organisation.

  • All because of politics

    What is unfair can’t be fair. It is unfair that local council aspirant Bode Adeosun was forced to give up his political ambition following the kidnap of his daughter by kidnappers who demanded his withdrawal from the councillorship race as a non-negotiable condition for the release of the 20-year old kidnapee.

    Adeosun, who was an All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Ward C1B of Odi- Olowo/Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos, narrated what happened on June 20: “My daughter, Bukola, was sent on an errand with her younger sister by their mother around 9pm, but only the little sister came back saying she could not find Bukola. We subsequently went around looking for her but on our way back around 1:39am we got a call from the kidnappers confirming that Bukola is in their custody. I have also reported the matter to the Divisional Police Officer in Ilupeju. The number was hidden. My daughter would be 20 years on Saturday (June 24) and she just concluded her JAMB exams.”

    When his daughter was released three days later, Adeosun extended his narrative: “My daughter’s abductors were in constant communication with me since the day she was kidnapped. They demanded I should withdraw from the political race if I wanted my daughter back alive. I agreed with their terms and condition because I did not want any harm to befall the innocent girl…Since I am not in the position to announce my withdrawal from the race, the APC chairman in Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye LCDA did during the APC state rally held on Thursday for all party candidates in all local councils. I assumed the informant of my daughter’s abductors attended the rally. When they heard the announcement from the APC chairman in our council, they called me around 7pm to come to Ifo area of Ogun State to pick up my daughter.”

    He continued: “I pleaded with them to bring her back to the spot she was kidnapped. They hung up and called back around 12am. They said I should pick my daughter up in Danmegoro Street in Mushin. We found her blindfolded and tied with chain. She was almost passing out.”

    A report quoted a source as saying: “Immediately his daughter was released, he removed all his posters around and burnt them right in front of his house, in the full glare of everyone.” Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Adeosun has been pressurised into rethinking his political aspiration. The source also said:  “When he contested in 2002, under the umbrella of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) his house was burnt and he was forced to step down. He had stepped down on two other occasions, until the mandate was given to him now to run. But that again, has been stalled.”

    It is curious that since Adeosun was forced to forget his councillorship dream for his daughter’s sake, things have progressed as if nothing happened.  When the incident happened, a report said: “Contacted, the command’s spokesman, Olarinde Famous-Cole, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said the police were only aware of a case of missing person. He said: “The family actually reported a case of missing person at the station. They said she went to buy fish within the vicinity around 9pm, but she didn’t return. We are investigating to get more facts from the family.”

    Now that Bukola has been found, it is unclear whether the police have stopped their investigation and closed the case, despite details linking her disappearance with abduction. As things stand, this case is far from closure.

    It is condemnable that the abduction happened. It is even more condemnable that it happened for political reasons. It is unacceptable and should not be allowed to pass without a resolution that would uncover the identities of the abductors and punish them for the crime.

    It is thought-provoking that the APC has not responded to the incident, suggesting that what happened was Adeosun’s business and none of the party’s business.  If Adeosun pulled out of the contest as a result of such brutally coercive action by others interested in the same political position, it should be a matter of serious concern to the party.  Obviously, the method employed to ensure Adeosun’s exclusion had little or no respect for fair play.

    A report said: “A crowd made up of sympathisers and politicians had stormed Adeosun’s home, on Shyllon Street in Ilupeju, following the news of his daughter’s release. Adeosun described the incident as an “unforgettable experience,” saying his daughter was subjected to physical and psychological torture because of politics.”

    What happened to Adeosun’s daughter, and what happened to Adeosun himself, cannot be a positive advertisement for the APC and its claimed progressivism.  If a so-called progressive party can accommodate the unprogressive thinking that led to the unprogressive action, it calls into question the party’s definition of progressive politics.

    There is no doubt that desperadoes planned and carried out the kidnap, which says something about the quality of the party’s membership and leadership. The party’s image has been tainted by the abduction and the surrounding circumstances. The APC needs to move in a concrete way to remove the stain.

    What signal does this kidnapping send to the public, considering the possibility that whoever sponsored it and forced Adeosun to drop his councillorship dream may win the council seat at issue?  Of course, there is also the possibility that the abductors were self-sponsored, and carried out the abduction to pave the way for the election of the person they wanted. Or could the abduction have been done by outsiders, meaning people outside the APC, for the benefit of an aspirant in another party?

    Clearly, Ward C1B of Odi- Olowo/Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos is a ward of interest, and it would be interesting to see how things develop there with the approach of the July 22 local government area and local council development area elections in Lagos State.  If the APC’s candidate wins the election in the controversial ward, the winner will carry the burden of the abduction. That may well be the case too, if a candidate from a different party wins.

    It is important to get to the bottom of this curious kidnap and its various dimensions.

  • Balkanisation, unity and politics

    IN my Political Science course at the Great Ife, a visiting Professor from the University of Wisconsin taught us that once Broz Tito, the then president of Yugoslavia died, his nation would collapse. His prediction proved true. After Tito died in 1980, Yugoslavia erupted in the nineties with the Balkan Wars leading to its fragmentation into its six component parts of Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia Hercegovina , Montenegro, and Macedonia. Balkanisation is a geopolitical term used to describe the fragmentation of regions or states into fractious often hostile entities .

    Painfully then, but now with nostalgia, I witnessed the balkanization of Yugoslavia as a staff writer at Times International, a publication of Daily Times and I still recall the roles of Kofi Annan and US President Bill Clinton to prevent, albeit unsuccessfully the massacre of Croats and Slovenes by Serbs as well as the gory ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims by Serbs Commanders at Sbrebrenica. I therefore can claim to be a student of history and a witness to the bloody carnage that attended the dismemberment of Yugoslavia and it is in that capacity that I treat, no, attack indeed, the topic of today in all its ramifications.

    Let me make it clear here that I do not suffer any‘ Yugostalgia‘ well enough to wish balkanization on my country Nigeria. But let me also state equally clearly that I hear the drums of war beating ominously on the horizon of the Nigerian state, given the current strident calls for self- determination, expulsion, secession and the on going insurgency in the North East of our great nation. However, I take solace in the fact that in a turbulent world that we live in today this danger is not peculiar to Nigeria.

    Qatar, one of the smallest nations in the world, but clearly the richest, is being held by the balls by its senior Arab nation brothers namely Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and Bahrain, and is being asked to literally surrender its sovereignty or autonomy, close Aljazeera and because it has been seen to be supporting Iran and funding terrorist organisations like Hizbollah, Hamas and the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt. Of course Qatar has refused to play ball for the simple reason that no nation or person can be asked to preside over its liquidation or funeral with its eyes wide open, which really is a lesson from afar, for Nigeria and Nigerians.

    In Qatar’s case however the Arab nations were balkanized diplomatically and disunite by an American president who asked them to fight terrorism being enacted in the name of their religion by letting charity begin at home, and driving terrorists away from their midst and indeed away from the world. But the US President Donald Trump has not been particularly discriminatory against the Arabs alone with regard to fighting terrorism. He has gone on to Poland enroute the G20 meeting in Hamburg today to polarize the European Union and NATO its military alliance, by stating clearly in Warsaw the capital of Poland that what is at stake is the survival of Western civilization.

    Which then downplays his serious disagreement with the EU nations on trade, migration and climate change. If you add to this the new Donald Trump quasi – military diplomatic objective of countering N Korea’s nuisance incessant nuclear missile threats and launches, you will see that Trump is preparing the mind of the civilized world to call once and for all, the bluff of N Korea by force if necessary, and that again means war. Let me now go back to the lesson to be learnt by Nigerians from the breakdown of Yugoslavia or the attendant’ Yugostalgia‘, which is a phrase I picked up on the internet recently.

    Obviously, the rhetoric on our unity as a nation nowadays is anti – unity and fractious, as agitators on all sides call for secession, expulsion, and self – determination in the midst an intractable insurgency bloodily going on in our North East in the name of Islamic terrorism and militancy. I however wish to divide the agitation into the pro and anti unity camps. In the unity camp are the Acting President who said the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable and is backed by Ohaneze, and the NBA Chairman. In the anti unity camp is human rights very anti- military dictatorship, legal luminary Olisa Agbakoba and Massob. On the periphery are the expulsionists Arewa Youths and the Middle Belters who say they are not from the North and the Arewa cannot speak on their behalf to expel anybody including Igbos. Actually is expected of the Acting President or AP Osinbajo to say that the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable and it is in order for the NBA president to say that anti unity talk is slowing down our economic development.

    I am however aghast at Olisa Agbakoba saying that there is nothing sacrosanct about the unity of Nigeria because it came into being without consultation of Nigerians in 1914 and that self determination call by MASSOB is sanctioned by the UN and is not punishable by treason in Nigeria. I disagree with Olisa Agbakoba and state clearly that the issue at stake is political and not legal and that the politics involved is greater than the fine points of law he painstakingly elaborated on. Indeed saying that self determination is not akin to secession and is not treasonable is a fallacy as far as the political stability and security of the Nigerian state is involved. A call for secession or self determination is a call for the dismemberment of the Nigerian state and is at once a security challenge that the government must curb unless of course that government is agreeable to the dismemberment of the Nigerian nation.

    That was what Abe Lincoln did to preserve the United States during the American Civil War and that was the duty General Yakubu Gowon performed by saying – to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done -and went on to quash the Biafran rebellion in the Nigerian Civil war. That remains the duty of any Nigerian government worth its salt and that includes the Buhari government for now led by the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo. That is the security and political bottom line on these agitations which must be within the ambits of the Nigerian state and its laws to be worthy of any consideration. With regard to the contempt for the Amalgamation of 1914 it is like asking a party who was neither a wife or husband at a wedding to ask for the divorce of a marriage consummated in his absence thus exposing himself or herself to the odium of irrelevance or lack of locus or even focus. A word surely is enough for the wise. Once again, long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • Ogun: Between performance and politics

    I know a couple of people who hail from Abeokuta but have not visited the capital city in more than a decade. There are even indigenes of Ogun that have only read developments at home on the pages of newspapers but have been unable to see those monuments that have created new sights, sounds and taste across the state in the last six years. You probably need a tour guide if you are coming to Abeokuta after a long time; indeed all the city centres across the state!

    Prof. Is-aq Oloyede, former Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin and currently the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), was one of the first citizens that appraised the current administration in 2013: “From what I have seen in our state, it is very clear that we have a politician with a difference at the helm of affairs. With the on-going infrastructural revolution, many of us who are indigenes even find it difficult to locate our houses and some prominent places each time we come visiting.”

    I must confess that I was jolted to the marrow when, upon the inauguration of the current government in 2011, I had the first-hand experience of criss-crossing Abeokuta. Why should a state capital look so ancient? The roads were so narrow that they could hardly accommodate pedestrians let alone automobiles, and the houses built so close to the roads such that people rising early morning in their bedrooms could through their windows exchange handshakes with passengers on so-called motorways!

    It was, therefore, not surprising when at the inauguration of the first flyover constructed by any state government since the creation of Ogun in 1976, Dr Adedotun Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland, declared:

    “Today can be likened to the day electricity, pipe borne water and railway first came to Abeokuta. Amosun has changed the city from the status of 19th century to the 21st century.”

    And just before the end of that same year 2013, the highly revered monarch, Dr Sikiru Kayode Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebu-Ode, observed:

    “Your performance has been beyond the imagination of each and every one of us. You have been able to go round the entire Ogun State (with your infrastructural development) without just concentrating on Abeokuta and leaving the rest of us in the wilderness. You have been able to go round Abeokuta,  Ijebu, Remo, Yewa. This is a great thing that has never happened in the state.”

    Abeokuta is the capital of Ogun State and the first port of call for investors and those who need to transact business with government.  Welcoming you to the metropolis on Saturday is the sprawling flyover under construction. It confirms that development is work-in-progress. So many bridges and roads have been completed by the Amosun administration, yet so many needs to be done. Some roads are currently receiving the final layer of asphalt. Ogun State is still a huge construction site.  On January 16, 2015, former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, commented on the sterling performance of Governor Amosun:

    “In 2011, we were not together. We were together before and I did campaign against him. See what he has been able to do in the last three and a half years in the state. I cannot sacrifice performance for party. I never dreamt of having a bridge on a dry land in Ogun State in my life time. Yes, we have Ogun River, where there is a bridge. Go to Ijebu, Sagamu, Ota, what am I seeing? Bridges, not even one, two, three. So, my people, I am not talking about other elections. I have come to tell you that in order to appreciate what this personality has been able to do in the last three and a half years, let us give him our votes. What happened in 2011 was politics, and we can all see the difference between politics and personality.”

    Eminent historian and elder statesman, Prof. Anthony Asiwaju, has equally not been silent: “The Yewa people and by extension, Ogun State have never had it so good since the creation of the state. So we are thanking Senator Ibikunle Amosun for coming to our aid through the construction of a road over 107 kilometres, which cuts across four Local Government Areas in the senatorial district.”

    At the grand reception in Abeokuta on February 2, 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari, summed up his impression:

    “I express my gratitude to the Governor of Ogun State for inviting me and identifying with me on his success. He managed to disorientate me. On my commissioning in January 1963 – I was posted to Abeokuta, where Second Inventory Battalion of the Nigerian Army used to be. I said he managed to disorientate me because if you drop me anywhere in Abeokuta and ask me to find where the barracks is, I assure you I will get missing. I am pleased and happy about your success because I think that whatever I knew about Abeokuta, I have lost it. Your programmes are certainly people-oriented.”

    Apart from constructing the first overhead bridges, first 10-lane roads, first world-class model schools, first gated housing estates, the Amosun government was the first to bring into Nigeria the very latest technology of Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and made the “maximum donation” of security equipment that the then Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, confessed he had never witnessed since he had been serving as a Police officer.

    The Amosun administration was also the first to distribute 500 brand new transformers at one fell swoop across the state, first to introduce modern luxury buses and brand new taxis on Ogun highways and first to purchase, in one iconic gesture, such quantum of multi-million naira farm machinery – bulldozers, tractors, ploughs, harrows, slashers and planters.

    The current government moved Ogun State from F9 to A1 in terms of Ease of Doing Business, as reported by the World Bank 2014 Doing Business Report. So far, about 120 multi-billion naira industries have been established in Ogun in the last six years, creating thousands of direct and indirect employment for the teeming youths of the state.

    In spite of the meagre amount Ogun gets from the federation account, the Amosun government has paid above the minimum wage, and implemented it across board, thus making it the only government to achieve such a milestone in Nigeria. It is also the first to introduce a social health insurance scheme in the state, where poor pregnant women and their Under-5 children go to any of the four designated Health Care Providers (private and public) in their respective local councils with their Araya Access Cards (like ATMs) and access free health services anytime, any day, 24/7!

    Saturday, this Governor of many firsts will give her first daughter in marriage. Although he has announced to everyone that the wedding is a private affair, it is certainly impossible to dissuade residents from celebrating with the first family that has accomplished so much in the state in the last six years.

     

    • Soyombo, a media practitioner, sent this piece via densityshow@yahoo.com