The Nation Newspaper

Tag: politics

  • I didn’t go into politics by accident, says Jim Iyke

    I didn’t go into politics by accident, says Jim Iyke

    After his recent visit to ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, at the presidential hilltop Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nollywood actor Jim Iyke who is presently in Nigeria for his political ambition under Young Democratic Party (YDP), has stated that he did not get into politics by accident.

    The actor explained this because some people felt that his visit was based on self agenda,

    “I read many comments on the wake of YDP’s meeting with H.E OBJ,” said Jim Iyke.

    “My job description as DG entails to broker platforms to engage diverse personalities with stakes in Nigeria leadership. I am a messenger and conduit. The dissemination and pulse of our dream must be conveyed inconsequential of the sect or platform of interest.

    “I endeavour to create a seamless conservation between the establishment and our ideals and vision. There’s a fine line between perception and reality. We must not allow fear and paranoia be our perception. This is what brought us to the bottomless void; voiceless, formless. Their time is in recess. Even heaven knows it!

    “Their gimmicks have long grown obsolete and redundant. Instead of standing against each other let us stand for one another. It is our greatest weapon against the status quo. The reality is what we bear as a mandate and vision. We stand for a new frontier and dispensation. The greatest disservice will be not to measure the depth of our hindsight in order to understand the challenges ahead of us. Proxy doesn’t entail association. Many students of history and leaders of thoughts will be unbiased by my argument. I am driven my passion and conviction. It’s all that has driven the propensity and pace of my pursuits.

    He continued, saying, that on leaving Atlanta to Nigeria, “My party asked me with superior reasons to leave the comfort of my home in Atlanta and serve. I obeyed. I don’t intend to regret it or sell out. My horizon is higher than immediate gain. YDP is the vehicle. The members and aspirants the driver. You, my people, the engine. One cannot do without the other. It’s collective, unanimous, and unequivocal. We shall arrive without mishaps. This is not an accident. It is God’s engineering. It’s time for sober introspection. The wills and caprices of politics must be in full practice in order to prevail. Every tool at our disposal must be utilized. A student soon becomes a tutor with the right will and gifts.”

  • Ekiti: Politics of probe panel

    Ekiti: Politics of probe panel

    Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose and his predecessor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, are locked in a battle of wits over the constitution of a seven-member Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe the latter’s administration. The battle has now shifted to the court of law. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA examines the intrigues and the roles of partisan actors in the entire saga.

    THREE years after the June 21, 2014 governorship election was won and lost, the political feud between the incumbent Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and the last occupant of the seat who is now the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, is assuming new dimension every day.

    Fayemi had conceded victory less than 24 hours after the result was announced, saying he said it was in the overall interest of the state. He said he did it to prevent his supporters and party members from resorting to violence, though he has strong reservations about the poll result. Nevertheless, his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenged the election result up to the Supreme Court.

    The relationship between Fayose and Fayemi has never been chummy. Shortly after being sworn into office, Fayose accused Fayemi of plunging the state into debt, an accusation denied by the latter. Thereafter, the governor accused him of plotting with the APC members of the Fourth House of Assembly to impeach him. Earlier this year, Fayose alleged that Fayemi was plotting with a section of the judiciary to remove him from office by revisiting the 2014 governorship poll result, an accusation which the former governor and his party said existed only in the imagination of the governor.

    As the political brickbats continued, the Fifth House of Assembly, which is made up of only Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members, alleged that N852 million Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) funds were diverted during the Fayemi administration and in pursuant of its oversight functions extended an invitation to the former governor, to come and explain what happened to the money. The lawmakers alleged that the state could no longer access funds from the UBEC, because the said N852 million could not be properly accounted for. Besides, the assemblymen alleged discrepancies and irregularities in some contracts awarded during the tenure of the former governor.

    In response, Fayemi wrote a letter to the legislators, saying he could not honour their summons, because of pressing official engagements as federal minister. He said all the information needed by the assembly on the contentious UBEC funds and contracts awarded during his tenure are documented in his official handover note to Fayose. The explanation was not satisfactory to the legislators and they issued a warrant of arrest to compel his appearance, after extending two further invitations and not achieving any positive result.

    Fayemi had filed two lawsuits in relation to the allegations of diversion of SUBEB funds. The first one was a libel suit against Fayose’s Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, and the Chairman of the assembly Committee on Information, Samuel Omotoso, over alleged libelous comments on a television programme.  The second suit was filed against the House of Assembly at a Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti, to nullify the warrant of arrest and any further action the lawmakers might take.

    The assembly at its plenary on May 11 passed a resolution empowering Fayose to set up either an Administrative Panel of Inquiry or a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate the alleged diversion of funds and contracts awarded when Fayemi was in power between 2010 and 2012. The lawmakers hinged their action on the provisions of Section 128 (2b) and Section 129 of the 1999 Constitution. They said the resort to a Panel of Inquiry was in response to Fayemi’s alleged refusal to honour the three summons extended to him and the failure of the  Inspector General of Police  to execute a warrant of arrest issued against him.

    On May 22, Fayose set up a seven-member Judicial Commission of Inquiry in line with the assembly’s resolution. A former acting Chief Judge, Justice Silas Bamidele Oyewole, was named as the chairman. Other members of the panel are Gbemiga Adaramola (Secretary), Mrs. Bolanle Awe, Idowu Ayenimo, Vincent Omodara, Blessing Oladele, Oluremi Adesoba and S.B.J. Bamise (to act as counsel to the panel).

    Adaramola is the state Director of Public Prosecution (DPP); Awe is the Secretary of the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC); Ayenimo is a Chief Magistrate in the State Judiciary; Omodara is an Executive Secretary in the State Civil Service; Oladele, a labour leader, is former Chairman of Joint Negotiating Council (JNC); while Bamise is a state counsel at the Ministry of Justice.

    The panel has six terms of reference and has three months to conclude its sitting and make recommendations to the government. Terms of reference are: to ascertain how much Ekiti State Government received as statutory allocations during the period under review and how same were disbursed; to look into the financial transactions of Ekiti State between 2010 and 2014; to ascertain the amount received on behalf of the State from UBEC; to investigate the allegations of fraud/loss of funds, including the diversion and conversion of the UBEC funds; to ascertain the amount that the Ekiti State Government took as loans during the period under review and how they were utilized; including all other issues relating to the finances of the government within the period under review and to make appropriate recommendations to the Ekiti State Government.

    Following the latest move, Fayemi has gone to court again,  seeking an injunction to restrain Fayose, the state Attorney General and members of the commission from taking any step, until the two cases initiated against the planned probe are resolved.

    In the suit, which was filed before an Ekiti State High Court by his counsel, Rafiu Balogun, Fayemi who also joined the State House of Assembly and the Speaker, averred that the chairman of the panel and other members are cronies of Fayose who cannot be trusted to be fair, unbiased and impartial in the assignment given to them.

    Fayemi said “the panel members have been appointed to act a script already prepared by their appointing authority, as touted by two aides of Fayose, Lere Olayinka and Samuel Omotoso, before the constitution of the panel”. The minister insisted that the panel was not properly constituted as the chairman, secretary and other members of the commission cannot be apolitical, neutral or unbiased because of their affinity with the governor of Ekiti state, “which therefore put the independence and impartiality of the panel into serious distrust”.

    Fayemi  is also seeking a declaration that the motion and subsequent resolution of Ekiti State House of Assembly, directing the governor (the first defendant) to set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate or probe his administration  are unlawful, illegal and ought to be declared null and void, in view of the fact the resolution was passed during the pendency of a case involving him and the Ekiti State House of Assembly and its speaker, which touched on the legality of the summons and powers of the Assembly to conduct any investigation or direct any other person or body to do so without strict compliance with the tenets of the 1999 constitution.

    He averred that the assembly acted in flagrant contravention of the principle of separation of powers and had committed a fundamental breach of its Standing Order and doctrine of subjudice by revisiting the issue of investigation of  his administration  and passing a resolution for the setting up of a judicial panel with terms and reference that would prejudice the outcome of the case between him and the House of Assembly and its speaker.

    Fayemi is also seeking a declaration that the Assembly cannot exercise its power under Section 128 of the 1999 Constitution, to direct the governor to set up the panel to investigate his administration while the House had earlier conducted its investigation and submitted its report to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) urging the anti- graft  body to further conduct discreet investigation and prosecute him and some officials of his administration.

    Other declarations being sought by Fayemi are: “That the setting up of the panel after the conclusion of its investigation by the House of Assembly to allegations of financial malpractices and the submission of same to the EFCC would amount to oppression, double jeopardy and a clear abuse of legislative power.

    “A declaration that the House of Assembly cannot exercise its constitutional right to direct or cause the Governor of Ekiti State to constitute a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate the plaintiff when the conditions precedent for the exercise of such powers, as enshrined in the constitution, have not been  fulfilled by the Assembly.”

    In addition, Fayemi is also seeking an order of the court, to nullify the resolution of the Ekiti State House of Assembly of May 10, directing the governor to constitute the panel of inquiry. He is also urging the court to grant an order to dissolve the Commission of Inquiry constituted and inaugurated by the governor, acting on the resolution of the state House of assembly, as well as an award of N500 million as general damages to be paid by the first, third and fourth respondents (i.e. the governor, Ekiti State House of Assembly and the Speaker) for the embarrassment, the odium and the public ridicule the purported resolution of the House have caused him.

    The former governor is also seeking a perpetual injunction to restrain the House of Assembly from passing similar resolution and the governor from constituting another Judicial Commission of Inquiry or Administrative Panel, because the issues relating to the finances of the his administration have been submitted before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and are pending before two courts of competent jurisdiction for adjudication.

    In the supporting affidavit he personally deposed to, Fayemi said the resolution of the House summoning him to appear before it and the subsequent one that led to the issuing of a bench warrant of arrest against him were done in bad faith. He said: “It was a calculated attempt to embarrass me and undermine the effect of my libel suit pending before the Federal Capital territory High Court in Abuja.”

    Some observers believe that Fayose is using the template of his Rivers State counterpart, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, who empanelled a similar Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe his immediate predecessor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi on how state funds were managed and on contracts awarded during the latter’s eight-year rule. With his constant fingering of Fayemi as being the arrowhead of a plot to remove him from office, it is believed that Fayose resorted to the panel to whip his predecessor into line and as a public affairs analyst puts it “to politically liquidate him”.

    Another observer is also of the view that there is no way Fayemi can get justice from the panel. He said: “The ex-governor has done the right thing by going to court before the panel commences its sitting, unlike Amaechi who did not take any legal action before Rivers panel commenced work. It’s going to be an interesting development and we will see how events unfold.”

    This is the second time an incumbent administration in Ekiti State would set up an inquiry to probe the preceding government. In January 2007, the emergency administration of former Administrator, Brig.-Gen. Adetunji Idowu Olurin (rtd), raised a seven-man panel to investigate the first administration of Fayose. The panel, which had Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba (now of the Court of Appeal), was set up to investigate violence, destruction of property human rights abuses, victimisation and summary dismissal of some public servants from office that happened during Fayose’s first tenure sat for about three months before turning in its report. But, the subsequent administration did not implement the recommendations of the Lawal panel.

    The people of Ekiti are watching the unfolding drama being generated by the politics of the probe panel with bated breath. Will it stand the test of time? Will the panel still go ahead with the cases already instituted? Does the probe have any connection with Fayemi’s future political ambition? These questions will be answered in the next few weeks.

     

  • Politics, leadership and accountability: The people’s role

    Being the address delivered by Femi Falana (SAN) at the 50th anniversary summit by Movement of Genuine Change in Ilorin to mark the creation Kwara State

    Introduction

    I congratulate the members of the Movement for Genuine Change on the occasion of the 50th year anniversary of the creation of the Kwara state. I am delighted to participate in the historic celebration by the government and people of Kwara state. Although like other states in the country Kwara state was established for the purpose of bringing the government closer to the people. But it is regrettable to note that over the years the government has been taken away from the people as a few powerful individuals have privatized the state and cornered its resources to the detriment of the people.  It is hoped that this movement will align with other progressive organisations to embark on the mobilization of the people to take their political destiny in their own hands.

     

    Political participation in politics

     

    By virtue of section 14 of the Constitution, sovereignty is said to belong to the people from whom the government shall derive its authority and legitimacy. The welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of the government while the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. Section 16 thereof stipulates that the national economy shall be managed in such a manner that the happiness and prosperity of the people will be guaranteed. But popular participation in politics has been hijacked by a few god fathers and money bags. Candidates are imposed on political parties while elections are manipulated by the ruling political parties.

    To ensure internal democracy in the political parties the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended has provided for the election of candidates through direct and transparent party primaries which shall be monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission. But the provisions of the Constitution, Electoral Act and Guidelines as well as the rules of political parties are breached with impunity by party leaders because politics has been left in the hands of  a few professional politicians. It is high time the situation was changed in the overall interest of the society. The task of changing the course of history has to be taken up by the labour movement and other progressive organisations in the country. But the required mobilisation must include the struggle for popular control and management of the national economy.

     

    The political economy of

    underdevelopment

     

    In April 2014, the Federal Government celebrated the rebasing of the Nigerian economy as the largest in Africa. As the rebasing was largely artificial the economic status of Nigeria has since been reduced due to the fall in the price of crude oil in the international market and the devaluation of the national currency. Although the Federal government was forced to admit that Nigeria was in economic recession last year the masses have always been in recession since the Structural Adjustment Programme was imposed on the nation about three decades ago.

    While the government has predicted that the economic recession would end this year the United Nations has confirmed that 20 million people in 4 countries namely Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen are at the risk of starving to death. Nigeria is also far behind many poor nations in several areas of the human development index. In the midst of excruciating poverty confronting the people the government has no concrete empowerment programme that will lead to self reliance for the masses of our people. The paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty requires and understanding of the root cause of our crisis of underdevelopment.

    The Nigerian economy is controlled by market forces in line with the dictates of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It is an economic programme which has destroyed the middle class and reduced the quality of the life of the masses. Since the Nigerian people are opposed to the devaluation of the national currency the dangerous policy has been carried out through the dubious dollarization of the economy. The dollar which exchanged for 60 kobo before the introduction of SAP in 1986 was recently sold for over N500. In spite of the forex scarcity the government has continued to promote capital flight through the importation of goods which can be produced locally.

    With the fall in the price of crude oil the government has engaged in wasting the nation’s reserves on the consumption of foreign goods by the parasitic and corrupt ruling class. As the poor are asked to tighten their belts the system has continued to bail out the rich. The over reliance on the private sector for the development of the country has ruined the economy. Indeed, the private sector is pampered by the system with loans and intervention funds, duty waivers and tax incentives running to hundreds of billions of Naira.

     

     

     

     

    When the huge loans taken from the commercial banks threatened to collapse the economy the federal government set up the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to buy them. The AMCON has found it difficult to recover loans of about N5.4 trillion owed by 50 companies in the private sector.

    Meanwhile, the Peoples’ Bank set up by the federal government in 1989 to provide loans without collaterals to indigent citizens was scrapped in 1992. The judgment of the Federal High Court that the Bank be restored has been ignored by the Federal Government 1. The APC-led government has promised to give N5,000 monthly stipend to 25 million poorest citizens. It has also embarked on a feeding programme for primary school pupils. No doubt, the school feeding programme will increase school enrolment and improve the nutrition of school kids.  If it is properly implemented these tokenistic measures will go a long way to alleviate poverty among the masses.

    It is however my submission that widows, youths and other vulnerable segments of the society cannot be self sufficient during economic recession because of the crisis of capitalism. The crisis is manifested in unemployment, poverty, infrastructural decay and insecurity of life and property. The control of the economy has been left in the invisible hands of market forces. With respect, the control of the economy by market forces is illegal as it violates section 16 of the Constitution which has imposed a duty on the government to plan the economy and take control of the commanding height of the economy.

    As a matter of fact the management of the economy by market forces is fraudulent. How can the State preach the gospel of free market and then turn round to consolidate banks? Does free market allow the State to set up AMCON to take over private companies and manage them due to the failure to pay loans? Does free market authorize the Central Bank to sell dollars to Banks and Bureau De Change operators on a weekly basis? Is it part of free market policy to sell public assets to private investors and then provide them with intervention funds to run them? Or does free market support the granting of duty waivers to the private sector? The grand mismanagement of the economy under the pretext of promoting free market should stop.

    On his arrival from his medical vacation in the United Kingdom during the first week of March this year, President Buhari confirmed that he received the best medical treatment and therefore urged Nigerians to invest in education. The federal government has to lead the way by voting substantial fund to infrastructural development as well as improved funding of health and education with emphasis on science and technology. However, the education of our children should incorporate the teaching of core values of industry, national morality and integrity in line with the provisions of section 19 of the Constitution. In view of the overbearing influence of religion on the masses the leaders of all faith based institutions should stop the practice of celebrating criminality in any manner whatsoever.

     

    Recovery of looted wealth

     

    The ongoing recovery of the nation’s looted wealth should be supported by the masses on the condition that the proceeds of the crime committed against the people by the ruling class will be channeled toward job creation and infrastructural development. However, I am not unaware that sections 20 and 21 of the EFCC Act provide that funds realized from the sale of properties of persons convicted abroad shall be paid to the coffers of the federal government and section 30 of thereof which provides that other recovered loot be paid into the federation account.

    In the first place, the recovered funds have not been traced to the Federation Account. Secondly, section 162 of the Constitution provides that the Federation shall maintain a special account called “the Federation Account” to which shall be paid all revenues collected by the Government of the Federation. It is our submission that recovered loot does not form part of the revenue collected by the Government. To that extent, it cannot be paid to the Federation Account. The recovered loot should therefore be transparently managed and spent on socioeconomic projects by the federal government.

    The Federal Government should stop releasing funds to state governments which are unable to account for the bailout fund and London/Paris club loan refund made available to them to fund the payment of salaries of workers and other development projects. The anti graft agencies have a duty to investigate and bring to book the criminal elements who are alleged to have cornered and diverted the public fund. I call on the labour unions to ensure that the fund is fully accounted for as it was meant to alleviate the suffering of the working people.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Hypocrisy over Islamic banks

     

    The move to licence Islamic banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria has generated negative reactions from a number of Christian leaders. It ought to be pointed out that the establishment of banks by religious bodies is not illegal in so far as they are not run with public funds. In fact, Christian leaders have a duty to support the establishment of free interest banks and other financial institutions. After all, it is clearly stated in Exodus 22:25 that “If you lend money to any of my people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.”

    In tackling poverty among Christians it is also decreed that “if one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Take no usury or interest from him: but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money for usury nor lend him your food for profit 2”.

    In a country where religious institutions are allowed to invest in commercial ventures there is no justifiable reason for mounting opposition to the establishment of Islamic banks which are not going to charge interests. Therefore, apart from stopping the opposition to the establishment of Islamic banks, Christian leaders should set up welfare schemes to encourage the establishment of banks that will make loans available to the poor without charging them interests. This will go a long to alleviate poverty among the poor in the congregation.

     

    Ethno-religious Violence

     

    In December 2015, 347 Shiites were massacred when armed troops opened fire on them in Zaria for allegedly causing a traffic jam which interrupted the movement of the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff.  Instead of calling the murderers to order the Kaduna state government aided and abetted them in the secret burial of the bodies of the slain Shiites in a mass grave in Mango village, near Kaduna.  As if those atrocities were not enough, the Kaduna state government proceeded to demolish the houses of the Shiites leader, Sheik Ibraheem Elzakzaky. Apart from witnessing the gruesome murder of three of their children , Elzakzaky and his wife who were subjected to horrendous brutalisation from the troops have been detained without trial since December 14, 2015. The directive of President Buhari that the criminal elements who perpetrated the orgy of violence be fished out and prosecuted is likely to be sacrificed on the alter of “peace”.

    Having lost his right eye Elzakzaky has applied to seek medical treatment abroad. But the request has been rejected by the State Security Service. In a grand display of impunity the order of the Federal High Court that the couple be released from detention and be provided with accommodation by the government which has rendered them homeless has been treated with disdain. Governor El-Rufai should be advised to direct the Attorney-General of Kaduna State to set the engine in motion for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the well known criminal elements who massacred 347 Shiites and the 204 people in Southern Kaduna. In any country which operates under the rule of law the perpetrators of violence are not treated like sacred cows.

    With respect to the incessant killing of farmers by armed herdsmen in the various parts of the country the federal government should collaborate with state governments to embark on the establishment of ranches and abattoirs in all the states of the federation. Our political class ought to learn from Botswana which is an arid land as the Kalahari desert has extended to the western part. Yet that country which is the largest producer and exporter of meat and meat products in Africa has successfully eliminated clashes between cattle rearers and farmers by establishing ranches and abattoirs.

     

    Redirecting of the Wheel of Statecraft

     

    The level of poverty in Nigeria provides a fertile ground for the recruitment of the economically ‘un-captured’ to perpetuate wanton ethno-religious violence. The National Bureau for Statistics has stated that about 70 percent of all Nigerians are poor. The solution to this is to massively invest the material resources of the country on development and employment creation. This would mean that the economy is restructured and diversified, corruption is seriously engaged, and the commitment to development is true and central. Second, there will always be individuals that would benefit from divisions and national discord or secession of the country. In this regard the security system of the State must be ready to arrest and punish this group of individuals.

    There is also the need to empower institutions. The problem with Nigeria is not the lack of institutions but the challenge has always been that the existing institutions have under-performed or have been hijacked, domesticated and used for certain group interests. Such institutions include the electoral body, police, media, judiciary, religious and ethnic based-bodies. The more these institutions are divorced from ethno-religious interests the more they champion the quest for nation building. Fourth, there is the need for rule of law. Ethnic tensions and resentments would reduce when it is collectively accepted that politics and governance would be guided by the rule of law. Some individuals should not be above the law while others are subjected to the law. The Fourth Republic has been rightly described By Mr. Tony Momoh as de-democratisation rather than democracy.

    The government has a duty to educate and mobilise the people against centrifugal forces. The proponents of dividing Nigeria have always found it easy to list the challenges facing Nigeria such as corruption, poverty, exploitation, marginalisation and infrastructure among others. Yet they have often failed to state how these realities would be engaged in the new states that they advocate. For instance, is there any critical reason to assume that there would not be exploitation and minorities in a Niger Delta state or in a Biafra? If it is true that some of the unscrupulous politicians that had benefited from the divide-and-rule politics in Nigeria, what is the certainty that they would not do the same in the new states? The ordinary Nigerians must be educated in this regard.

    Nigerians should also be mobilised against centripetal forces in a systematic way. The public must be sensitized to the dangers and consequences of balkanising the Nigerian State. What happens to federal institutions in each state? Where do the non-citizens of the new states go? How will they be catered for in their new states upon return? If they are not catered for, will it not generate another round of neo-secessionist plots in the new states? The answers to these questions should help government in its national mobilisation strategy which should state from primary to tertiary level and must permeate the informal sector. Indeed, the government and its agencies are equally guilty of sabotaging nation building through the implementation of dangerous and ill digested neo-liberal policies and programmes.

    A dangerous suggestion on nation building was made by the late strong man of Libya, Colonel Maumar Ghadaffi had advised that for there to be lasting peace in Nigeria, the country must be balkanised along ethnic and religious lines. His thinking, largely based on the Huntingtonian clash of civilisation thesis 3 that forecloses any possibility of building a collective national sentiment in a context where there is an on-going warfare and/or violence along the country’s fault lines that divides Nigeria’s Muslims and their Christian counterparts. Simply put: Ghadaffi believed that stability could only be achieved in Nigeria if the country is divided along religious line.  Although Gaddafi got it totally wrong, the task of nation building remains a challenge in Nigeria just as it was in the immediate years of independence.

     

    On the plan to sack the civilian government

     

    A few days ago, the Chief of Army Staff, General Buratai alerted the Nigerian people of the nefarious plans of a bunch desperate politicians to invite some members of the armed forces to terminate the democratic process. Although various civil society groups have warned against the dangerous plot, the media and officials of the federal government should stop playing into the hands of anti-democratic elements by giving the false impression that there is political instability in the country.  The enemies of democracy must not be allowed to exploit President Buhari’s ill health to truncate the democratic dispensation. In view of the ruination of our economy, the bastardization of our politics and the devaluation of our national morality by previous military dictators the Nigerian people must be prepared to reject the coming into power of another fake Salvation Army.

    Notwithstanding the glaring shortcomings of the fragile democratic process the people should be allowed to take advantage of the democratic structures to effect change. Our bitter experience has shown that Nigerians have opted for political change through the ballot box and not through the barrel of the gun. On their own part the political class should put their house in order and stop inciting  potential coup plotters. While the decision of the Army Chief to alert the nation of the devilish plot is appreciated the authorities should proceed to fish out the coup plotters and their civilian collaborators with a view to trying them for treasonable felony.

    In his last letter addressed to both chambers of the National Assembly, President Buhari disclosed that he was proceeding on medical vacation and that the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN would coordinate the affairs of the State pursuant to section 145 of the Constitution. When a senator questioned the letter for not expressly stating that power had been transferred to the Vice President as Acting President he was called to order by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki who promptly directed attention to section 145 of the Constitution. Notwithstanding the timely clarification made by the senate leadership a section of the media alleged that there was a deliberate plan by a cabal to prevent the Acting President Osinbajo from standing proxy for President Buhari.

     

    However, in line with the letter transmitted to the National Assembly by President the Acting President has continued to exercise the powers of the President. It was therefore embarrassing when the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed was reported to have said that the government was not sure who would sign the 2017 Appropriation Bill into law. A presidential aide categorical stated that the budget would be signed by President Buhari. Once again, the attention of the Nigerian people has been diverted from the contents of the budget. The debate is whether the signing of the budget would be carried out by the Acting President or the President whenever he returns to the country. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the President may sign the bill in his hospital bed!

     

    Having regard to our recent experience when the budget of the federal government was forged by a cabal the legal status of the 2017 Appropriation Bill ought to be clarified. I wish to state, without any fear of contradiction, that once the President has transmitted a letter to the National Assembly that he is proceeding on vacation all presidential powers are automatically transferred to the Vice President who shall be the Acting President. Therefore, until the President writes another letter to the National Assembly at the end of the vacation he cannot exercise the powers of his office. In other words, the President is not competent to sign any bill into law while he is on vacation. The Constitution did not envisage that a President who is on vacation and an Acting President who is standing proxy for him will be exercising presidential powers simultaneously. To that extent, pending the resumption of duties by President Buhari the Acting President, Professor Osinbajo is competent to sign all bills validly passed by the National Assembly.

     

    In view of the way and manner President Buhari has invoked section 145 of the Constitution no aide should embarrass him by causing unnecessary distraction over his medical vacation. Whereas the Constitution allows the President to send a letter within 21 days before sending a letter to the National Assembly he has always transmitted a letter before leaving the country. It would be recalled that when President Buhari returned to the country on February 3, 2017 he directed the Acting President to continue to rule the country as he would not resume duties until 3 days later when he would inform transmit a letter to the National Assembly. If President Buhari did not exercise powers during his vacation even though he was in the country why would he want to do so while he is on medical vacation abroad? Henceforth, the debate over the President’s medical vacation should centre on the urgent need by the federal government to equip some of our hospitals to avoid the disgraceful practice of sending the nation’s leaders abroad for medical attention.

     

    And instead of dissipating energies over the competence of an appropriation bill signed into law by the Acting President the Nigerian people should subject the 2017 budget to scrutiny. Analysis of the budget should not be limited to the national assembly as the executive branch has equally made budgetary provisions for items that cannot be justified under economic recession. In spite of the nation’s economic recession the national assembly decided to increase its 2017 budget by N149 billion. The national assembly jerked up its own budget from N115 billion to N125 billion. Out of the budget the sum of N13 billion has been earmarked for entertainment, travels and transportation by the federal legislators. Other details include do not reflect the economic reality of the country.

     

    However, the national assembly deserves commendation for publishing the details of its budget. But the resolution passed to increase the budget is illegal and unconstitutional as the exclusive power of the President to prepare and lay the budget was usurped by the national assembly. In other words, the legislators illegally prepared some aspects of the budget, laid them before themselves and passed them without any reference to the President. In order to fund the scandalous budget the federal government is shopping for a loan of $3.5 billion! I am compelled to call on the Acting President to refrain from signing the bill into law if the strange items are not expunged and removed by the national assembly.

     

    Conclusion

     

    In order to cushion the effect of the economic recession the federal government should restore the Peoples’ Bank to give loans to indigent citizens who cannot access loans in commercial banks. The Islamic Bank and others which are not going to charge interests should be established. In addition, the federal government should spend  the fund  recovered from corrupt public officers and their privies  on job creation and fixing of hospitals and schools as well as the funding of other social services.

     

    It has to be pointed out that the economy of the country cannot be transformed in favour of Nigeria on the basis of the dangerous prescriptions of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Nigerians should therefore be prepared to challenge the recycled neo-liberal managers of the economy who continue to insist on the dominance of market forces which have been discredited by the crisis of global capitalism. The Nigerian people should be organized, empowered and mobilized through their unions, associations and collectives to rebuild the country.

     

     

     

    (Footnotes)

     

    1

     

    See Femi Falana v Attorney-General of the Federation (Unreported) Suit No: FHC/L/CS/1121/2001 delivered on June 20,, 2014.

     

    2

     

    Leviticus 25: 35-3

    7

     

    3

     

    Huntington, 1996, 1993a; 1993b

     

  • ‘Why do we tolerate mediocrity in politics?’

    ‘Why do we tolerate mediocrity in politics?’

    Hon. Richard Bamisile is a former Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly and a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He speaks on 18 years of return of civil rule, the recent alarm over threat of military coup, developments in Ekiti and his aspiration to govern the state. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA met him.

    In your view, how has democracy fared since 1999?

    The democratic experience since 1999 has been a wonderful one. Military incursion into politics from 1966 was a big setback. After the military sacked the Second Republic, I returned to the United States. Eighteen years after the return of civil rule, things are better than what it used to be. In terms of development, democracy is better than what we used to have. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ruled the country for 16 years, but two years ago, Nigerians decided to elect the All Progressives Congress (APC) to form a new government. This means we are enjoying freedom of association and choice. This has proved that our votes now count and I call this blessing in disguise. It is a good development, even though we still grappling with some problems in the course of our nationhood. In the USA, they have their own skirmishes too; you will recall the Al Gore/George W. Bush debacle and don’t forget the Clinton/Trump saga at the last election. This is happening in a democracy that is over 200 years old. In Nigeria, we are learning and we are going to get there; people are getting more politically conscious and the electorates are getting more aware of opportunities to make better choices and ensure that their votes count.

    Nigerians are complaining about the cost of governance, under this  system of government …

    It is not just Nigerians who have that belief; the whole world knows that democracy is expensive and I have seen a chart to that effect. The chart compares what obtains in our country in terms of what is spent on overheads to keep the system going. In places like Canada, Singapore and the United Kingdom, things are different. In Nigeria, we have three tiers of government – federal, state and local governments. Our governors don’t allow local governments to function. Between 1999 and 2003 was the period the local government functioned best in Ekiti State, because the process that threw up the elected officials was fairly transparent. At that period, out of 16 local government councils, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) had 14 local government chairmen, while the PDP had two chairmen. But beyonde 2003, there was no governor that allowed democracy to flourish, because local government election became a mere selection process. State electoral commissions that conduct council elections are always composed of cronies appointed by governors. But when we say democracy is expensive, it is until the National Assembly works in consonance with state assemblies that we can rectify these anomalies.

    The problem is that most of the senators and representatives have governorship ambitions and they will work to kill those bills that will negatively affect their future. Talking about the money that accrue to elected officials, during my time as Speaker, our salary was just under N400,000, but emoluments and allowances are four, five or six times more than that. We had furniture allowance, wardrobe allowance and others like that, but are you telling me that somebody going to the House do not have decent clothes to wear or good furniture at home? We have to make our politics less attractive, so as to curb the do-or-die tendencies and stop the grab-by-force mentality threatening our political culture. The expensive nature of our politics is affecting the whole nation; what goes into the upkeep of National Assembly members is quite high. A situation where the Speaker (of the House of Representatives) gets constituency allowance of up to N3 billion is high.

    What is your reaction to the allegation that a military coup was being hatched?

    This is not far-fetched; we don’t allow for merit anymore in this country. We sacrifice it on zoning or quota system and other primordial sentiments. It is even creeping to other areas of our national life, including sports, most especially our football teams, where we feel that a particular zone is not represented and we must field somebody from that place, even if he is not qualified. All I can thank God for is that as bad as the PDP administration was, the Obasanjo administration succeeded in stemming the threat of a possible military takeover. The Buhari administration has curbed insurgency in the Northeast and also made possible the probe of the former National Security Adviser over how funds meant for arms purchase were expended. The Federal Government is working better to ensure that the military is well taken care of in terms of training in many parts of the world and our military officers are better exposed and most of them may not be interested in what happens at the home front. My plea is to talk to the military to continue to submit themselves to civilian authority, as it happens in other parts of the world, because the worst civilian government is better than the best military rule.

    Do you see a constitutional crisis in Ekiti, with Fayose seeking to finish his uncompleted seven months?

    In the case of Ayo Fayose, I don’t want to sound disrespectful. I listened to him during his monthly media chat, “Meet Your Governor” and I heard him saying he would go to court to challenge the non-completion of his first term which was aborted by his impeachment from office. This is a man that if you give him 20 years, he will not want to do any good and this is a ploy to divert attention from many questions Ekiti people are asking about the many infractions he has committed. I hope Nigerians have not forgotten the case of (former Governor Rashidi) Ladoja of Oyo State and how it all ended. We have three arms of government — the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature — and no one is going to arm-twist the other. If the judgment is to be delivered by the Ekiti judiciary, it will be another matter, because it is believed that the governor breathes down the neck of the state judiciary. But the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, boasts of eminent justices who cannot be intimidated and who have sound and deep knowledge of the law.

    Are you not bothered by the ever-increasing number of aspirants in the APC?

    The only challenge the party is facing is that we don’t have a sitting governor. When Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was about to leave office as Governor of Lagos State, almost all commissioners in his cabinet wanted to succeed him. I don’t entertain any fear about the number of governorship aspirants in our party; the electorate that will vote should not entertain any panic. The panic some people have is just about the process that will throw up the party’s candidate. If the process is not free, fair and credible, it is then that people will be apprehensive. When a party that was in opposition took over power at the centre, most people believe that it is an opportunity to win the state. I want you to recall what happened in Ondo State recently, because shortly after power had changed hands at the last general election at the federal level, many people believed that the APC would win the Ondo governorship election. So, some people are concerned about what the primary in Ekiti APC would throw up, but my own take is very clear. A lot of people want to be governor in Ekiti, because of what they see Ayo (Fayose) doing presently which is unacceptable to what an average Ekiti person expects. Our prayer is for the process to be free and fair; let the aspirants be up to 1,000 in number, the process that will weed them off is coming.

    What are your chances of winning the primary?

    I see myself as first among equals and I have some advantages which will speak for me at the appropriate time. I am local here, because I have been with the people in Ekiti for 16 years and even when I travel abroad, I don’t stay long there before reconnecting with my people, because politics is about the people. I know what the people want; I have my businesses here and I am an employer of labour in Ekiti; I understand the language and feel what they feel. I have worked with virtually all governors here in Ekiti in one capacity or the other. I worked with Niyi Adebayo, Fayose during his first term, Segun Oni during which I served as the Speaker and Kayode Fayemi. This has given me opportunity to know Ekiti very well; we started moving round to meet the people well over two years ago. We went to all the 177 wards and I have travelled round the wards three times and we are now on the fourth round of the tour.

     

  • Ngige insists : Igbos made bad political investment in 2015

    Ngige insists : Igbos made bad political investment in 2015

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige has said that the Igbos of the south east must begin now to prepare for 2019 General elections and avoid a repeat of the 2015 era when they made a bad investment by putting their eggs in one basket.
    The Minister who denied endorsing perceived Igbo marginalization by the Buhari government said “all reasonable politicians in the South east accept that we played bad politics in 2015, we should effectively put it behind us.”
    In a statement by his Special Assistant, Media, Nwachukwu Obidiwe, the Minister said he is not afraid to repeat what he said, adding that politics is an investment and that as far as the 2015 presidential election is concerned, Ndigbo made a very bad investment.
    He said: “We put all our eggs in one basket despite clear signs we shouldn’t. We should therefore not allow such ill-advised investment to repeat in subsequent elections.
    “My position which I passed as a caution in that interview is that Ndigbo should start to strategically position themselves for 2019 and avoid a repeat of what happened in 2015. Other zones are already strategizing and we must not be caught napping.
    “Just as all reasonable politicians in the South east accept that we played bad politics in 2015, we should effectively put it behind us. The resilient nature of the Igbo allows no room for self-pity. We have met greater challenges and surmounted them.
    “It is for this reason that I and the APC in the South East have been welcoming our leaders like Chief Jim Nwobodo, Sen. Ken Nnamani, Sen. Emma Agboti, Sen. Nkechi Nwogu, Sen. Andy Uba, Chief Chukwuemeka Nwogu- my predecessor in the Ministry of Labour, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, former Minister of Health, former Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime and host of others people who have seen the need for this.
    “However, as I said in the interview, the bad investment of the 2105 is not enough to marginalize anybody. The present administration of President Mohammadu Buhari does not look in that direction.
    “I and other APC leaders in the South East shall continue to make sure that the Igbo is fairly treated. Every piece of information is not for the pages of newspapers but I wish to re-assure that we are doing much more than eyes can see to ensure that the South East is not left behind in the distribution of infrastructures.
    “ For example, work is going on simultaneously on all the major federal roads in the South East; Enugu- Onitsha, Enugu- Umuahia-Abia-Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt -Owerri, Oba-Nnewi– Arondizuogu- Okigwe, to mention a few while Julius Berger has been mobilized for the 2nd River Niger Bridge.
    “When last did that happen in the South East? There is also the Benin-Onitsha rail line which was not originally in the Jonathan-PDP rail masterplan. We have included that.
    “By my pedigree, as the former President General of Aka-Ikenga for eight years, member of Ohaneze Strategic Committee and member, Imezi Ohaneze, I will advise that our people should cry no more over spilt milk as there is room enough to feed the cow well and get milk in better quantity and quality. That is politics for you. A word is enough for the wise.”

  • Repositioning Nigeria’s grassroots politics

    SIR: Many may have wondered why politics at the grassroots level in Nigeria is seemingly dead; only coming alive during election time. The answer is simple- we do not have a culture of grassroots political participation in the country. A quick flashback to pre-colonial times and the clamour for independence attests to this. Most of the recorded agitations by the nationalists played out on the national stage. Perhaps this was the fault of the so-called “nationalists”, a set of people bent on scoring their own political points while engendering their political ambitions/interests instead of carrying the people along.

    Now fast-forward to post-independence Nigeria. The ill effects of the absence of effective grassroots political foundation are glaring. We have a large percentage of the population who have no idea of the monumental political power they could wield. This has made it possible for our corrupt politicians to do their worst without the fear of having to answer to the very people that give them mandate. It has to stop.

    No democracy anywhere in the world can be “useful” if the people at the local levels do not get to participate in the political process as they should. I do not refer to the type that obtains here during election times whereby unscrupulous politicians successfully mobilize the electorates and buy their votes in exchange for foodstuff. I am [indeed] talking about a situation whereby the people at the grassroots levels realize the power they have in the national polity and actually wield said power both during and after election times.

    It is therefore time we all take up the task/responsibility of mobilizing Nigerians at the grassroots for democratic effectiveness. I put this responsibility on every Nigerian youth. Who could best be vested with the responsibility of repairing the broken foundations of our national polity other than the very youths who will inherit it?

    It is time we stop bemoaning the national exclusion we currently face (no thanks to gerontocracy) and actually take action towards building the future Nigeria and the very conducive political atmosphere we all wish to have. There is a huge opportunity available for us all to make impact and we should take it. Remember that politics is not all about the scramble to occupy the highest elective posts in the land.

    The question then is about how the youths could possibly influence politics at the local levels. This is an imperative question considering how the old politicians tend to strongly dominate these local places too. But then inasmuch as this is somewhat the case, it is important to also bear in mind that the kind of influence they have at the grassroots level is different from the impact and eventual influence the youths could have if they take collection action today towards changing the status quo for the better. Take for instance- the old politicians only remember the grassroots when election is three months away. They come to campaign for votes, albeit through very corrupt means. Their purpose is therefore never to expose the people to the immense political influence they could have in the polity of our nation. Instead, their purpose is to use the people as means to their own ends. This is the major difference between their agenda and the agenda I am setting for us all. Using our youthful vibrancy and all the resources readily available to us, we can permeate every nook and cranny of our localities and teach the people basic political knowledge while empowering them all the same. This does not have to be a resource-consuming agenda. It is as simple as interacting with the people within your immediate vicinity. More so, for those of us who are social media, take out time to engage your audience in political matters. It is high time the Nigerian youth desist from being politically docile. We too have a stake in Nigerian politics and must start contributing towards making it better than it is.

     

    • Emmanuel Abara Benson,

    eabarabenson@gmail.com

  • Power and Politics in Nigeria

    Power and Politics in Nigeria

    Last week, a major political event passed without Nigeria and the Yoruba political society feeling what ought to have been its tremendous impact. It was the thirtieth anniversary of the passing to glory of the late Ikenne sage, statesman, philosopher, economic genius and political visionary, Obafemi Awolowo. Unarguably the greatest Yoruba son of the last century, Awo was also without doubt one of Africa’s most intellectually talented political figures of the post-colonial era.

    The Ikenne remembrance was attended by family members and a band of fanatical devotees which included surviving disciples of the late political titan particularly the Afenifere grandees, many well wishers, stargazers and political wannabes. But it was an occasion shorn of the pomp and pageantry normally associated with political power in Nigeria.

    Although it can be argued that the Awo brand remains the supreme political talisman in the Yoruba political world, it must now be obvious that a brand does not remain the same forever in terms of power and potency. It must undergo qualitative changes in the volatile and combustible world of politics, even as it must test its strengths against emergent brands, sometimes in an oedipal struggle between fathers and children.

    Three principal reasons can be advanced for the muted remembrance of the late titan. First, as Awo retreats into remote legend with the tribe of those who have come into actual contact with him dwindling fast, it is the potency of his ideas and vision of Nigeria as a prosperous and egalitarian nation that matter most. Second is the gross politicization of the brand which has seen it worsted in the struggle for political power with more vibrant and more politically alert emergent brands. In the brutal world of Nigerian politics, loss of power often comes with loss of prestige and principality.

    Thirdly and finally, the Awo commemoration was quiet because of critical developments in the nation. For those who can see, it is obvious that a dark cloud has descended on the Nigerian political firmament. It is full of portents and sinister foreboding. For those who can read political horoscopes of impending disaster, this one is palpable in its astral malignancy. Like a band of merry somnambulists, Nigerians are sleepwalking to a major political catastrophe with eyes wide opened.

    First is the harsh reality of presidential ailment which in an abiding climate of kleptocrats and political cut-pockets has put a lid on purposeful governance and productive politics. This has in turn sparked off a nasty and barely disguised succession battle the like of which nobody has seen in this clime before. Compared to the Umaru Yar’Adua succession debacle, this one promises to be the mother of all political hostilities.

    This obsession with politics as a zero-sum game played out in the mischievous attempts by some elements in the presidency to “coordinate” and coerce Acting President Yemi Osibajo out of full presidential power and responsibility through sheer semantic brinkmanship. The whole drama speaks to the quandary of an idle and unproductive political elite which does not believe in economic self-actualization but which sees access to power as a life and death struggle for personal enrichment.

    The second development is actually more worrisome in terms of the scale and scope of its possibilities. This was the statement widely created to the Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai, that some elements in the civil and political societies were already approaching military brass hats with the possibility of calling out the troops for a military intervention. In a curious but instructive development, the British High Commission in Nigeria also weighed in frowning at the thought not to talk of the possibility of military intervention at this stage in Nigeria’s political development.

    The dour, taciturn Buratai is not known as an officer with an ambition beyond his professional purview. He enjoys widespread reputation as a courageous commander on the battlefield and off the battlefield as a serious, apolitical professional soldier. But his sudden outburst against civilian interlopers needs to be subjected to more stringent scrutiny and rigorous evaluation to establish its veracity. This is not the time to fly a kite or to throw up a red herring as a smokescreen in order to foster something dark and sinister on the nation.

    As a military phenomenon for disorganizing and reorganizing state power, coups have become globally passé, the relic of an authoritarian past in which autocratic tyrannies rule the roost. The last military coup in Nigeria took place twenty four years ago when General Abacha sacked the Shonekan travesty and installed himself as the maximum ruler of the nation. Subsequently, the close involvement of the Nigerian military institution in the political ruination of the country has cost the Army its national prestige and respectability.

    Twenty four years after, Nigeria is still grappling with the dire consequences of the annulment of the June 12 1993 Presidential election and the cost to national unity and cohesion. Despite the advent of the Fourth Republic, it is clear that all is still not well with the nation. The National Question has certainly taken a turn for the worse and rather than binding national wounds elections have actually exacerbated them and opened up national fault lines.

    Given the self-demystification of the military class, the implosion of its messianic conceits and the intellectual interrogation of its constant deployment as a power proxy by a dominant section of the Nigerian ruling class, it is strange that anybody would still be thinking of using military advantage to influence the outcome of political struggle as it has been done in the past.

    But nothing can stop the politically desperate and it is impossible to legislate against coups. In Third World countries and societies transiting to full democracies, nothing will stop a coup whose time has come or a coup that is an own goal against the run of play. Consequently and given the parlous state of the country, those who may be pushing for a coup may be pushing for the last putsch in Nigeria.

    Given the fractious state of ethnic relations and goodwill even among Nigeria’s major nationalities despite a nominal alliance between two of them, any coup day announcement irrespective of origin or bequest is likely to trigger an exit clause among the other nationalities leading to a precipitate disintegration of the nation. Nobody should quibble and equivocate about this.

    In this regard, a nation is like a human organism. Once its grievous wounds are left unattended to over a period of time, it will die a natural death. This is why the greatest nations on earth are constantly tinkering with their constitution, working towards what the Americans memorably call a more perfect union. This is why this ceaseless striving towards perfection often involves tinkering with the political alchemy of the nation itself in a way that throws up a new type of leadership such as it happened in France recently to the echoes of a glorious national catharsis.

    As it is at the moment, Nigeria reminds one of a badly wounded elephant cut to pieces but still shambling and lumbering towards an inglorious finale as it emits a fearsome rumble. The Nigerian political elite have neglected to bind the wounds of the nation or dress its suppurating gashes. Now it has gone fearfully septic and everybody is waiting for the end.

    One man who would have viewed developments with a dark frown was the late titan from Ikenne. Awolowo understood that a nation is a permanent project to be kept in a state of constant repairs. More than any other politician of his age, Awo wrote copiously about how to improve the political architecture of the Nigerian conglomerate and how to return the nation to the path of genuine federalism. He was shunned and scorned.

    But as he ponders the state of the nation from beyond, what would have puzzled Awo the more is the fact that we are back to fifty years earlier and to an event in which Awolowo himself played a significant national role as the leader of the Yoruba and as a broker and binder. In May 1977, the nation had its back to the wall and had to choose between forcible restructuring or forcible break up as insisted upon by the then Colonel Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. Awo swung it and his people in favour of a united Nigeria.

    Fifty years after and thirty years after his translation to higher glory, Awo must be wondering whether it was all worth the epic sacrifice in the light of subsequent events, particularly the rigged elections of 1979 and 1983 which terminated his own political career, the annulment of the 1993 presidential election, the death of Abiola in prison, the imposition of Obasanjo, the wastage of Bola Ige and many other Yoruba icons, and the current political melodrama involving none other than his own grandson-in law.

    But it must also be understood that for Awo, it was a hard and bitter choice, between the devil and the deep blue sea and between two sets of political predators. If Awo viewed the northern predators with disdain mixed with wary apprehension, he was even more scornful in his distaste and disapproval of the hegemonic pretensions of the eastern leaders who appeared more interested in subjugation than cooperation and cohabitation in a truly federalized nation.

    Fifty years after, the nation is back to square one and exactly the same spot with the loudest clamour for secession once again coming from the east, with the north exercising executive power and with the west acting as strategic arbiter in a political duel onto death. Perhaps on further reading and reflection, Awo could have come to the conclusion that it is not worth anybody’s while to keep a country, however rich and promising, together in a condition of modern political slavery and permanent economic servitude.

    People make history but not under the conditions and circumstances of their making. Given their own royalist antecedents, the Yoruba tend to view the feudal time-warp in the north with far more sympathy and understanding than their turbulent compatriots to the east. Yet their progressive politics and belief that history cannot be arrested makes them natural allies of their eastern co-nationals.

    In the last fifty years, the cost of this in-between and go-between political sensibility of the Yoruba people have been particularly prohibitive turning them and many of their illustrious scions to targets of hostility and canon fodders of recent Nigerian history. This cannot continue. A nation cannot exist on a foundation of political injustice and economic tyranny without something giving.

    The time has come once again for western Nigeria to play a decisive role in the destiny of the nation. Unfortunately for the people, unlike the time of Awo when one single exceptional individual had a pan-Yoruba mandate and the mantle of authority and legitimacy, there is no such thing at the moment. At the moment, the Yoruba political world is marked by rancor and infighting.

    But if a political consensus appears to be crystallizing in the horizon, it is that the Yoruba, no matter the alliance at the centre, will no longer allow themselves or their most illustrious children to be used as sacrificial lambs for the perpetuation of a depressing racket like Nigeria. Snooper is old enough in this game to know that once the Yoruba people reach a consensus, their leaders must find a way to align themselves with the dominant mood of an ancient nation. “ Since I am their leader, I must follow them”, Winston Churchill famously rued. Interesting and dangerous times are here again.

  • Aregbesola, politics in Osun and beyond

    Aregbesola, politics in Osun and beyond

    Our progenitor, the great Oranmiyan who has become a phenomenon in Yorubaland traversing the old Oyo Empire was a Prince, a King, warrior and custodian of cultural authority during his heroic days. Many centuries after he left, another symbol of peace, progress and prosperity for the Yoruba race is Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, the Governor of Osun State.

    Ever since he assumed the position of the chief executive officer in Osun, he has come under tense and heavy criticism, largely orchestrated by the opposition. However, the radiating love between him and his people (citizens, residents and electorate) remain uncompromised.

    Fundamentally, Aregbesola is a mountainous movement, better described as an unstoppable revolution. It is a promulgation of enduring legacies for today and the coming generations: these and more he professed, he has demonstrated over the years in deeds, words and actions.

    Travelling down memory lane, just thirty two months ago, the most vindictive and politically intimidating election since the advent of the Fourth Republic was conducted on August 9, 2014 in what political scientists often refer to as an over-militarized supervised ballot of  a little above 700,000  electorate where well above 70,000 security operatives stretching from masked DSS to army officers, mobile and regular policemen and several other paramilitary agencies terrorized and intimidated innocent and law abiding electorate but the Osun people rose and stood against tiring oppression, frightening influence and terrific intimidation with the broom mentality of purposeful unity, Aregbesola won clearly.

    His dexterity and natural instinct of participatory governance is legendary. He posits with enormous humility that he remains the only governor who can confidently boast of two large territories in different domains of Osun East senatorial district and Lagos West senatorial district where he can make himself available for an election if he so desires.

    Putting the issues in clear perspectives, the success story of infrastructural development under Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos State between 1999 – 2007 and beyond which epitomizes symbolic revolution in massive infrastructural development, cannot be waved away; it is documented with indelible ink in the annals of the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure at the Centre of Excellence.

    Till date, his unflinching loyalty, strength and noticeable discipleship to the Tinubu political dynasty makes him the delight of the politician and a force to reckon with in the political landscape of Lagos and beyond.

    Is Aregbesola actually a large political heavyweight in Osun? How? When? Where? Well, his mode of governance is patently unusual, reversing the old trends and bringing government in its entirety and totality closer to the governed by expressly surprising the over four million teeming populace through the constitutional and conventional roles of entrenching the depth of democratic principles with legacy projects.

    The construction of new 70 state-of-the-art educational facilities for elementary, middle and high school pupils/students, with complementary renovation of additional 1,500 classrooms. The government alone has served 200,000,000 plates of nutritious meal as at December 31, 2016 with 250,000 dished out daily under the O-Meal scheme with O – REAP (Osun Rural Enterprise and agriculture programme) a platform for peasant and mechanized farmers to translate their farm produce into profits and prosperity as the bed rock.

    Undoubtedly, the chunk of the success stories have now metamorphosed into a national template for implementation of the blueprint of APC Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government.

    The Osun Special Ambulance scheme (O – Ambulance) don’t discriminate between Fulani, Ibibio, Efik, Igbira or Oyo when discharging effectively their statutory duties of saving accident victims and offering emergency services to the residents of Osun, records show that 12,000 lives have been saved from untimely death within four years of operation.

    We cannot exhaust all existing channels to salute the doggedness, patience and understanding of the rank and file of the workforce, the labour unions for standing unceremoniously with the government in solidarity.

    The succession conspiracy theory can’t distract our government, the model of finesse for emerging and performing successors under the Tinubu dynasty is not accidental, Babatunde Raji Fasola was thrown up less than three months to the defunct Action Congress (AC) 2007 Governorship primaries, same applied to Akinwumi Ambode whose entry into the race was less than a year. The baton will be passed to a worthy apostle of the six point integral action plan of Aregbesola in due course.

    Rauf does not give in to hypocrisy or pride as erroneously analyzed in some quarters, but a firm grip of the political firmament in Osun as this was again displayed at the just concluded seven-hour all night interactive session tagged Ogbeni till Daybreak where a random sampling showed residents glued to their television sets despite the leprous and epileptic power supply.

    Conscious efforts to resuscitate the Osun economy to boost the revenue generation through the agricultural and ICT revolution is commendable, the Cocoa processing industry in Ede is back on its feet after 15years of collapse, the chocolate liquor from the firm is touching grounds in China and  Europe.

    Aregbesola is reinventing the wheels of Awo legacies, approaching the mechanism of sustainable development through agriculture, infrastructure, social intervention and education for the benefit of mankind, he is purpose driven and remarkably focused on his set goals, he cannot be distracted by rabble rousers as every available parameter by both government and private establishment clearly reveal indices, statistical figures and empirical data of progress in human capital development, poverty reduction, infrastructural development, agricultural prosperity, etc. Saboteurs of development and political scavengers should halt all moves to replace Aregbesola with retrogressive element as they are whipping a dead horse; they have lost the battle al binitio.

    • Oluremi Omowaiye, an engineer writes from Osogbo
  • Politics of NDDC projects in Akwa Ibom

    Politics of NDDC projects in Akwa Ibom

    Nkeneke Efo, an Uyo-based journalist, analyses the politics of the state of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC) projects in Akwa Ibom State.

    Nsima Ekere is just one of few Akwa Ibom indigenes to have been privileged to serve in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) at the level of Chairman, Managing Director (MD) or Executive Director (ED).

    Others who served at some of these levels before him were Ambassador Sam Edem (Chairman); Barrister Bassey Dan-Abia (Acting Chairman/Managing Director); Udo Mbosoh (ED); Eshiett (ED); Engr. Thomas Ukott (ED), amongst others.

    But Ekere’s tenure, which is just about six months old, has seen the NDDC became a song on every lip in the state, owing, principally, to the new interest generated in the project of the commission.

    It all started when the Commission under Ekere, a former Deputy Governor of the State, barely two months in office, rolled out an advertisement for tender on contract jobs available for award. About 60 were for Akwa Ibom State only and covered the areas of the Commission’s mandate: Water, health, education, power and roads. Almost all local government areas had one or two of the projects listed. This, in addition to about 37 Emergency Roads Repair jobs that were also awarded by the commission, was enough to send signals to discerning citizens that the commission was going to be pro-active in its posture towards the state.

    The road projects, especially, were awarded on roads that had long been abandoned, neglected by past government and which were in different states of disrepair, always flooded and most times, impassable. Some of the roads are Ukana Offot Street, School Roads, Udo Eduok Street, Nelson Mandela, Federal Housing Estate, Uyo among other roads in Uyo, and several others across the state.

    Not many, especially in the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which produced the Governor  Udom Emmanuel, saw the move as being political. There are speculations that Ekere, who had previously ran for the office of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, will run again in 2019, on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Emmanuel is interested in a second term.

    To the PDP, spotting Ekere early enough was fair. Sensing the direction of his Commission’s intervention in the development of the state was fairer. What to do? Politicise the intervention and set up a political ambush for the intention of the Commission in fulfilling its mandate to the people of the state, so far it stops Ekere from getting an associated boost for his perceived aspiration in 2019.

    The opportunity showed up when the state government, which had worked on one of the roads abandoned by the NDDC in Ikono Local Government Area, went to inaugurate the road. Commissioner for Works Akparawa Ephraim Inyang said the NDDC had turned the state to an abandoned project site, urging the Federal Government to probe the NDDC over the act. In quick succession, a group, Akwa Ibom Integrity Group, which many believe is funded by agents of the government, ran a 7-page advertorial in national and local newspapers calling  for the probe of the current management of the NDDC. Their petition listed 377 projects purportedly abandoned in the state.

    What the petitioners did not know was that they had stirred the hornet’s nest. Ekere, who was their subject, was not to be found in the nest as other groups joined the petitioners, but this time with a refrain demanding that the probe should rather be on  the contractors, who were mainly members of the then ruling PDP. The contractors listed in the petition were mostly ones awarded between 2007 and 2015 when the PDP held sway at the commission. The hunter thus became haunted.

    To date, outside the emergency road repair contracts, Ekere’s NDDC is yet to award contracts in the state. The process for awards is, however, on. The commissioner recanted, saying he was not calling on the government to probe the PDP contractors but for the NDDC to complete its abandoned projects.

    Some weeks after, another opportunity showed up. Minister of the Niger Delta Pastor Usani Usani was in the state to inspect projects under his ministry. The Commissioner for Works followed him round. The minister obviously irked by the quality of job by some contractors complained. The Works Commissioner’s media handlers went to town: ‘Minister berates NDDC for poor quality of jobs’, starting their stories with “the Managing Director of the NDDC, Nsima Ekere, has been berated by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani, for the poor quality of jobs by the NDDC.” It became an issue which led to the NDDC Director of Commercial and Industrial Development, Mr. Anietie Usen, a veteran journalist who served as the first Head of Corporate Affairs of the Commission, coming to Uyo to clear the misconceptions about the state, situation, quantity and quality of projects in the state.

    Inyang countered by appearing on the state owned AKBC-Radio to make further comments, including saying: “I want to appeal to the NDDC to direct their contractors working on Ewet Housing Estate roads to do a good job. They are currently putting red earth on unsuitable materials. This is below sub-standard. That road will collapse in three months. We want roads in Akwa Ibom but we want good quality roads that will last.”

    The attention of the Minister, Pastor Usani, was drawn into the crisis and he quickly sent out a release: “My attention is drawn to press posts which suggest that I hold the MD of NDDC, Nsima Ekere, responsible for poor projects delivery. Whereas I express grave disconnect for obvious observation of poor project execution, there is no wresting of attributing the case to the current management. I am conscious of the fact that my observation predates the current management which places no burden of liability on the Managing Director (Ekere).”

    Day after day, especially in local newspaper and on radio stations in the state, the debate on the NDDC projects prevail, mostly fuelled by the politics of 2019 and the political traducers of the MD, Ekere.

    My investigations to road project sites reveal that the NDDC has a very robust checkup system initiated by the current management.

    At the Federal Housing Estate, Abak Road, Uyo, where the NDDC has “cleaned up” the once desolate estate, the Managing Director of the firm handling the “clean up,” God’s Owned Projects Limited, Mr. Godwin Brownson, said “those who said NDDC does poor jobs, should come and see what we are doing. They also do not know the NDDC very well. There is a serious quality assurance scheme in the NDDC contract process. There is no way I can do any of the bits on the BEME (Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation) that NDDC project monitors and inspectors don’t come to see. Even if they were not to come, most of the contractors are conscious that they have to build a good name and therefore cannot afford to do shoddy jobs. Every NDDC contractor wants a new job and also wants to get paid. The payment process is strictly based on quality of delivery and other due process. So, no NDDC contractor can joke with the quality of work he is contracted to do.”

    “The job we are doing here is almost a complete new road, though the NDDC calls it emergency repairs. From excavating the old road surface, filling it with new laterite, stone basing, priming and asphalting, complete with new drains, it is a complete process of constructing a new road. The people of the state should be grateful to NDDC for this intervention,” Brownson added.

    Investigation shows the people are grateful. A few I spoke with said they have never had it so good with NDDC. Imaobong Effiong, who runs a restaurant in the estate, said her area was inaccessible because of the bad road and she had to close down her restaurant, but with NDDC interventions, more shops including her restaurant have reopened for business.

    To Otu Ita Toyo, former PDP State Chairman, “It is wrong to politicize the NDDC intervention. In a widely circulated piece he titled Where We There When The Vultures Gathered?, he stated: Now, if Akwa Ibom State Government draws attention to abandoned NDDC projects in the state in good faith, they are in order. Starting  from abandoned local and state projects, the state government has a duty to ensure the completion of project within her jurisdiction even when the project was instituted by United Nations. There is nothing amidst there. To our fortune, the NDDC is here doing what the agency could not begin to contemplate in the days we controlled the Presidency. Would it not be a source of joy to then complement the state government for a change. Both Governor Akpabio and Presidient Jonathan publicly acknowledged that during their time in office, the PDP Federal Government and NDDC did nothing for Akwa Ibom State. Must we encourage that situation to survive now that we have the good fortune of a son who remembers the situation back home? The unhealthy rivalry is senseless, rather there should be cooperation.

    Another former PDP chieftain, Chief Edet Mkpubre, former National Vice Chairman, Southouth, said: “All these stories of abandoned projects and blaming same on the present management of the Commission, boils down to the politics of 2019 in the state and that is regrettable. It is impossible to assess the Managing Director of NDDC in just five months.”

    Possibly conscious of this scheming against the leadership, the Commission has at every fora reiterated its commitment to ensure that projects are driven more by community needs than any other considerations and also ensure that contractors perform within the confines of best practices and quality delivery.

    In an address to the Akwa Ibom State Phase of the Stakeholders Consultative Enlightenment Programme in Uyo, Ekere had said that with the determination of the Commission’s leadership, it was incumbent on stakeholders to provide independent verification of project status within their communities, pointing out that the Commission recently launched a project monitoring and information portal that enables stakeholders to send pictures and updates of projects in progress.

    The commission has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with FOSTER, one of its development partners, to strategically translate the Commission from a contract awarding institution to a development-based institution. The MoU will ensure the development of a communication strategy that has a mechanism that allows for feedback from key stakeholders that will ensure all key stakeholders are aware of NDDC activities as well as develop a robust monitoring and evaluation strategy that will ensure projects are impactful in the lives of the host communities.

  • Nuclear weapons in politics

    In the recent time, acquisition of nuclear weapon has become popular. This is coming at a time the United Nations (UN) is stepping up its non-proliferation campaign to deter countries from acquiring the deadly weapon. Alas, acquisition of nuclear weapons has changed the narrative of warfare in the century; it has become a veritable tool to make countries become more visible.
    Since the use of atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the Americans, nuclear weapons came to the focus because of its enormous destructive power. The use of these deadly weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to the end the World War II.
    A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reaction, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. The politics and the role which nuclear weapons play in international politics and security are increasingly evolving.
    Crucially, these changes are manifesting themselves in competing ways for two different groups of countries. For wealthy and militarily powerful countries, nuclear weapons are playing a diminishing role in security planning. Conversely, some countries that lack advanced military capabilities may be coming to see nuclear weapons as increasingly important, or desirable, for their security.
    The differences between these two groups are reinforced by the fact that, over the past decade, two dictators who ended their nuclear programmes lost their regimes and also their lives. As a result, authoritarian leaders may now have interest in holding on to their nuclear ambitions. The interests of the United States (U.S.), a superpower, are advanced by its agenda to challenge any country with nuclear weapons programmes. The U.S. ends regimes and dissolves authoritarian rules.
    In this age of sophisticated warfare, countries are looking towards nuclear weaponry as guarantor of national sovereignty. The past decade has seen the development of a visible marriage between nuclear programme and leaders’ personal ambition. It is natural to assume a leader’s interest now go hand-in-hand with his nation’s agenda. What motivates many leaders want to want to acquire nuclear weapons is more personal interest than their nation’s sovereignty. If this gains more attraction, it may hamper the programmes of former U.S. President Barack Obama, who worked assiduously to halt and roll back nuclear programme, especially by Iran and North Korea.
    Nuclear politics, combined with existing challenges in both the Middle East and Asia, will force the the President Donald Trump administration to perform a difficult multilateral political, diplomatic and military task in these regions. Although little evidence supports the theory that Iran’s continuing nuclear ambitions and North Korea’s growing nuclear capability could touch off regional ‘proliferation cascades,’ both countries’ activities are likely to force the U.S. to work to assure its jittery allies in the Middle East and Asia that it will stand with them, even in the face of hostile, nuclear-armed powers.
    This pressure has already led the U.S. to respond by deepening diplomatic and political ties with regimes that feel threatened.
    In the Middle East, the U.S. will need to achieve its goals of dissuading Iran from developing nuclear programme for warfare, restraining Israel and reassuring the surrounding Arab states, even as the medium and long-term consequences of the Arab Spring and its effects on U.S. relations and influence in the region remain unclear.
    The U.S. relations with Russia will continue to be negatively influenced by the divide over the value of nuclear weapons and their role in international politics. Forces, such as Russia’s conventional military, have elevated the role of nuclear weapons in security calculus. This trend is reflected in Russia’s ongoing programme of modernising and improving its nuclear arsenal. The chief symptom of this thus far has been U.S.-Russian tensions over ballistic missile defense. It has other implications as well.
    Both Iran and North Korea are working to develop nuclear-capable ballistic missiles that could threaten U.S. allies in the Middle East and Asia. In the future, it may possibly threaten the continental U.S. itself.
    The U.S. response has been to field a continuously improving ballistic missile defence system that would shield it and its allies. Russia, unable to build a comparable system on its own, worries that a U.S. missile shield could blunt the effectiveness of its own strategic nuclear forces. Russia fears that this would upset the stable relationship that has existed between it and the U.S. for more than 50 years.
    In conclusion, based on these approaches, nuclear weapons are seen as the instrument to gain international interests. It is built based on the enormous destruction of power of nuclear weapon. This instrument is used in order to gain the objectives, which is more personal than national interest. Indeed, nuclear weapon has an important and special role in the international politics.

    Ibifiri, 400-Level International Relations, Landmark University