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Tag: POWER

  • Power to be stable by October, says Minister

    Power to be stable by October, says Minister

    The Federal Government yesterday promised that  power supply will be stable in the country by October, this year.

    The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of a meeting on power chaired by Vice President Namadi Sambo at the State House, Abuja.

    Maintaining that other issues in the electricity value chain are being addressed in the country, he said that power supply has improved in the country in the past one week due to improved gas supply.

    He also said that the Federal Government is making arrangements to ensure that the bills of electricity generating companies are promptly paid.

    He said: “The cheering news from all of these is that if you have noticed throughout the country in the past one week people have been getting much better power supply.”

    “The gas is now beginning to come back and it’s something that gives all of us a lot of joy. And we know that it will continue to grow that way even until December because now some of the facilities, maintenance, repair works on the gas equipment and so on.”

    “The gas producers have come to a place where almost all of these is being taken care of, and then the new gas we are expecting we have then trickling in right now.”

    “So that part of the shortfalls we’ve had in production up to this time, we hope that by the beginning of October, we will see a much better stabilisation of the entire power delivery system in the country.”

    He went on: “First, I would say we rejoice that for the first time in a long time we have been averaging over 4,500 MW when we include nearly 300 mw of spilling reserve which is always put there to make sure that the reliability and stability of the grid is ensured at all time.”

    “So, we are really moving forward; it may not be as rapidly as Nigerians expect but it is important to let everybody know that indeed we are advancing, we are making progress and we will continue to make progress.” He said

    On the bills of the generation companies, he said: “The generation companies have been complaining that they need to have all their bills paid.”

    “The good thing about this is that arrangements are being made to make sure that all the generation companies get their money as and when due.”

    “We are working on that. That is part of the meeting that was chaired by Mr Vice President. Next thing is how far we have come with the issue of even settling the gas question. The gas question has remained for quite a while.”

    “But very thankfully, the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources and I, the central bank governor and chairman of NERC met severally to address those issues.”

  • Ebonyi Assembly decries power outage

    Ebonyi State House of Assembly yesterday urged the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) to improve electricity supply and provide pre-paid meters to consumers.

    This followed a threat by the residents not to pay electricity bills.

    In a motion of urgent public importance moved by Oliver Nwachukwu (Abakaliki North), the lawmakers lamented that power had moved from epileptic to zero in the state in the last one month, resulting in economic and social losses.

    Nwachukwu said: “The transformation in the power sector by the Federal Government is  threatened by the activities of the EEDC, Ebonyi State District.”

    After adopting the motion, the Speaker, Chukwuma Nwazunku, directed the Clerk to communicate the resolution of the House to the relevant authorities for action.

  • Myth, power and satire in Abdullahi’s plays

    Denja Abdullahi’s Death and the King’s Grey Hair and other Plays is a classical collection of plays filled with great humor, myth and satire.

    The three plays are experimental plays. The first is in movements, and broken in to seven movements, while the second is in Acts and the third in scenes. Pretty much different from the usual Act and Scene style of play writing.

    The plots are unique as the playwrightsucceeds in crafting out the conflicts and providing good resolutions with good characterisation and dialogue that blend with the period and situation of the time.

    Death and the King’s Grey Hair is not a historical play, but a play based on an oral mythology attributed to the Jukun people of middle belt region of Nigeria. It highlights the effect of the abuse of power and total disregard for tradition. The playwright does not attempt to go in search of the facts of the story, but feels the need to weave bare myth into dramatic fiction. The play is centred on the king of the land of Shakaga, King Esutu, who defies the tradition of his people that says the throne is for ‘’young kings and short reigns’’, as kings in that land are normally given poison to drink and die to be reborn into a lion at the sprout of the first grey hair on their royal heads.

    Like it is with such typical tradition, all is not well with the people of Shakaga at the beginning of the play. The attempt of the King to wilfully defy tradition in search of absolute power and the people’s resistance to that form the conflict framework of the play. The play is noteworthy for its cultural setting.

    The playwright explains to the reader in the preface that power is “power no matter the period of time a leader rules”. King Esutu of Shakaga and the man of the cave in the ancient period are not different from the modern man, who can go to any length to remain on the throne.

    First Wiseman: We all know that it is a taboo for a king to show signs of aging in our land. Our land is a land of young kings and short reigns. But something tells me that Esutu has stayed longer on the throne than any other king we’ve had since Jigulu, our founding father (Death & the king’s grey hair, pg. 14)

    To unravel the mystery, the tribe is confronted by the tragedies as faced by Gabisi and the poison bearer. I like the poetic rendition of the character of Gabisi the poet and guardian of wordsPage 13: I am Gabisi, the poet of the ancients. Those who do not respect what is old should await the sting of my tongue. Whenever you see brave grey-haired men bent with many moons of wisdom, look for Gabisi, Gabisi is the messenger of tradition, the poet of the ancients.  

     In the second play entitled: Truce with the Devil, Abdullahi brings to the table his experiment with Marxist ideology as opposed to capitalism. Through this theatre of experiment, the playwright says it is nearly impossible to dethrone capitalism and enthrone Marxism. He uses real characters in fictional perspectives. Suleiman, a devotee and advocate of Marx and Engels is oppressed by his capitalist uncle; he gets expelled from Jarasite University as a result of his crusade for the proletarians. Like Ngugi Wa Thiongo’s I will Marry When I Want, the principle of collectivism cannot work as most people are oppressed by poverty and joblessness. Suleiman submits to capitalism because he cannot fend for his siblings and he explains to Dapo on Page 77 how he only needs to play the devil’s advocate to get what he wants.

    Suleiman: No, you got it wrong. I was seduced by reality after all those student days of sloganeering…My friend let me tell you, I have stopped living on Marxist books. Marxism is dead, Communism is crumbled.

    Fringe benefits, the third play, is written through the eyes of the playwright as a participant-observer. In this play, Abdullahi explains the social realities of life in tertiary institutions and the society at large and the benefits that accompany the job we do. Imagine if we have to go to library where books are non-existent to do a research or where the only way out is to buy handouts or take our lecturer’s order?  Imagine if the only better option for us is to go beyond the shores for a greener pasture due to the economic situation of the country.

    Abdullahi is an award-winning poet, literary essayist, cultural enthusiast and technocrat, who has many works to his credit. They include A Thousand Years of Thirst (2011); Abuja Nunyi (2008); the Talking Drum (2008) and his much celebrated narrative poetry, Mairogo: A Buffoon’s Poetic Journey Around Northern Nigeria (2001) and Themes Fall Apart but the Centre Holds (2009) a book co-edited with Joe Ushie on the 50-year Anniversary celebration of Achebe’s most acclaimed novel, Things Fall Apart in (2008). Death and The King’s Grey Hair and Other plays is his current collection of plays. I will suggest this book be recommended for Tertiary institutions, secondary schools and the theatre.

  • Kashim Billa dam: FEC approves N31.2b for power evacuation

    Kashim Billa dam: FEC approves N31.2b for power evacuation

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved N31.2 billion for the evacuation of electricity power from the Kashim Billa multipurpose dam in Taraba State.

    Minister of Information, Labaran Maku and Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil spoke to  State House correspondents at the end of FEC meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja.

    Maku said the project which involves building of transmission lines was awarded to SCC Nigeria Ltd., with 18 months completion time.

    According to him, the dam is expected to add 40 megawatts to the national grid.

    Director General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Emeka Eze, who was the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Erosion in Southeast, also submitted its report to FEC yesterday.

    According to him, all the teething problems of the 15 erosion projects in the Southeast have been addressed.

    According to him, the report was carried out last year, adding that most of the projects are near-completion and would be completed in the next two or three months.

    Maku said: “We devoted a substantial part of today’s FEC (meeting) to the review of report of the erosion control project in the Southeastern part of Nigeria.

    “As you are all aware, Mr. President, on assumption of office, promised prompt intervention in resolving some of the key erosion problems in the Southeast which is known through out this country to be the most affected when it comes to erosion.

    “Several communities in the Southeast have always been affected and Mr President had promised to handle some of these projects in order to bring relief and stop the deterioration of the environment and the destruction of their means of livelihood.”

  • Council seeks N160b yearly for power transmission

    Council seeks N160b yearly for power transmission

    The inaugurated National Council on Power (NACOP) is seeking N160 billion yearly to fund the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to achieve a cost reflective tariff.

    This is part of its recommendations during its conference last week in Abuja.

    The  council includes  stakeholders from the operators, state governments, commissioners, Federal Ministry of Power and agencies in the sector.

    According to NACOP, 75 per cent of the fund should be set aside for Capital Expenditure (CAPEX).

    The document said: “ Until such a time that a cost reflective tariff is established and 90 per cent or greater of annual earned market revenue is received, it should be ensured that annual funding provided for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) from market, appropriations sources is not less than N160billion, with 75 per cent fund earmarked for Capital Expenditure ( CAPEX.).”

    NACOP said until such a time when appropriations are required to fund the TCN, employee salary, employee benefits, and critical business infrastructure needs should be funded from appropriations on a prorata basis, based on the prior year’s earned market revenue shortage percentage.

    It set a target of 6,500Mega Watts (MW) by the end of the year.

    The council also recommended a medium term target for transmission capacity and capability of 12,000MW and 10,000MW by the end of 2016.

    NACOP also urged the development of a bankable coal to power study to minimize in coal plant development.

    The council sought the encouragement of the development of small scale power plants as embedded generations which can be increased to evacuate the 132kV for eventual ceding to distribution companies.

    It recommended that the Federal Government should encourage manufacturing of power assets and components.

    NACOP urged state governments to take stakes in Independent Power Projects ( IPPs).

    It recommended that the Federal Government should bank securitisation either through the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) or the Federal Ministry of Finance.

    The council urged state government to make land with certificates -of -occupancy readily available to potential investors as incentive.

    NACOP sought a robust development plan from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and a commercial gas rate to attract investors.

    It urged the signing of Gas Security Agreements and Gas Transportation  Agreements.

    The council sought a national policy on securing gas oil infrastructure , payment of outstanding gas debt and passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

    The Managing Director of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) , Neil Croucher, at the weekend said that the firm will inject about $200 million in five years to boost power supply and distribution in its coverage area, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger states.

    According to him, no fewer than 20 injection substations would soon be inaugurated by his company and  these would deal with the pockets of low voltage being experienced in some areas.

    The company in a statement yesterday said Croucher appealed for patience by all customers of the company, saying that due to the decrepit equipment that the AEDC inherited, it would take huge investments, which his firm is committed to, and relatively long period before significant improvement in power supply would be achieved.

    He spoke when the FCT chapter chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Dr. Wasilat Shittu, led a team of officials of the group to meet with executive members of the AEDC in Abuja.

    The AEDC and MAN agreed to collaborate towards improving power supply to the various industrial sites in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and beyond.

    According to Shittu, many industrialists in Abuja and environ had refused to connect to the national power grid to avoid the damage that frequent interruptions in power supply could cause to their equipment.

    She said, however, that with the privatisation of the power sector and the “noticeable improvement” in electricity supply in the territory, MAN was encouraged to visit the AEDC to discuss the possibility of having “stable and quality” supply of power to their industrial sites.

    “We appreciate that it’s no longer business as usual. I was a civil servant and so when I talk about business as usual I really know what it means. However, we need assurance of greater improvement in supply so that more of our members would connect to the national grid”, she said.

    Croucher listed numerous high impact projects that the utility firm was executing to ensure a boost for power supply.

  • Ahmed earmarks N600m for power

    Ahmed earmarks N600m for power

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said at the weekend that he has earmarked about N600 million as his government’s strategic effort to boost power generation.

    He was addressing members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the party’s first stakeholders meeting at the secretariat in  Ilorin.

    He said this would  ensure constant electricity supply.

  • Power, authority and justice

    WHAT ‘power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely‘ is not on my mind today, on this topic. The loss of power and authority and the attendant, concomitant effect on justice and security drive my mind as I do this global analysis. Four personalities across different continents and their fate this week rivet my attention and at times my sympathy, fear and even admiration, albeit grudgingly.

    They are first, Nouri Maliki who resigned as PM of Iraq this week after showing clearly that he had never come across the expression that an actor withdraws when the ovation is loudest. The second is Egypt’s former strong man Housni Mubarak, still alive and kicking at his trial in Egypt, where he swore this week that he did not order the killing of Egyptian demonstrators during the 2011 Cairo Street demonstrations that toppled his regime. The third is Chinese dissident Gao Zhisheng, just released from detention by the Chinese authorities but whose lawyer said his state of health is such that he is physically ‘destroyed‘ and ‘unintelligible‘.

    The fourth is the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan who congratulated the winner of last Saturday’s Osun state elections that I labelled ‘Quarantine elections‘ even though he was the one that put an Ebola like security quarantine on the state electorate in an election that his party, the PDP lost so clearly. At the back of my mind today in analysing the actions and fate of these four political figures is William Shakespeare’s timeless observation that –All the world is a stage and men and women are merely players – who have their exits and entrances. In Iraq Nouri Maliki made his exit but in a rather disgraceful manner. He had lost power and authority before resigning.

    Worse still he had lost face because his replacement had been announced by the president who appointed him on his entrance into the stage of power politics in Iraq and he had announced that he would contest his removal in court before dovishly turning in his letter of resignation. So, to Nouri Maliki the Iraqis can say good riddance and good luck to bad rubbish and they will be applauded in saying this to a man who lost power and authority as well as the sovereignty and security of Iraq to the Sunni militant insurgency Islamic state – IS – that has driven over 1.5m Iraqis out of Northern Iraq and was advancing on the capital Baghdad until US Prseident Barak Obama intervened with air raids to save fleeing thousands of Iraqi Christians and Minority Yazids who took refuge in mountains in Northern Iraq. Maliki’s successor a Shia Muslim like him – Engineer Haider al Abadi, Iraq’s Deputy Speaker has made security his priority and has announced hat he welcomes even air strikes from Iran in case the US ones were to end.

    Which was something Maliki could not say because he had lost credibility with friends and foes alike. This is not to say that Sunni Violence since the overthrow of their master Saddam Hussein was anything to write home about. The Sunnis in Iraq have behaved like blood thirsty power losers since the coming of elections and democracy gave power to the majority Shia Moslems in the first set of elections after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Indeed they are like Boko Haram in Nigeria in the way they have been killing or converting by force Christians and Kurds who were an integral and historical part of Iraq as a federation under Saddam Hussein.

    This was when the Sunnni minority held power, propped up by the Americans to create political stability in Iraq and make oil flow through the Straits of Homuz without Iran’s lurking intervention in that area. It was a similar guarantee of political stability that kept our next subject of discussion Housni Mubarak in power for so long after succeeding the late President Anwar Sadat who was assassinated by the Moslem Brotherhood in Egypt for signing the peace treaty with Israel.

    Housni Mubarak was the head of the Egyptian Air force in the October 1973 War with Israel when the Egyptians had the upper hand in attacking first and almost defeating Israel before the Israelis rallied round and encircled Egypt’s Third Army in the Sinai leading to humiliating negotiations for the survival of that army. Mubarak was thus a war hero in Egypt before he succeeded Sadat and was in power for decades organising fake elections giving him 90 % of votes cast before the Cairo Tahrir Square Street demonstrations supported by the US and Britain forced him out of power.

    He was brought to trial in Egypt in a cage even though he was sick, and his sons too – powerful ministers in their father’s government – were arraigned with him. He was lucky not to have been lynched then because his army played a wise role in kowtowing to the Street revolution and gaining the confidence of the masses then and organising an election that brought the Moslem Brotherhood to power with the election of President Mohammed Morsi whose Islamist policies angered the Egyptian masses leading to his overthrow by a popular military coup.

    Now Housni Mubarak’s earlier harsh sentences for embezzlement have been converted to three years and he may soon be free as his boys in the army are in power and army Field Marshal El Sissy is now the newly elected president of Egypt. Housni Mubarak’s fate in Egypt is that of a man who has fallen from grace to grass and who has been made to account for his misuse of power without losing his life in the process.

    He reminds me vividly of the Chinese saying – Count no man lucky until his death. I grudgingly wish Housni Mubarak and his sons the best of luck in their political trials as the wind of change nowadays blows in their direction in the land of the Pharaohs. Not that lucky however is our next leader Chinese dissident Gao Zhisheng who the Chinese have treated very badly in prison because he dared to criticise the Chinese authorities for their discriminating attitude to Christians and the Falun Gong Movement in China.

    This really is a clear case of misuse of power and miscarriage of justice. Gao according to his lawyer has been so brutally treated in prison that he has lost his teeth from the diet of cabbage and a slice of bread he was subsisting on in prison. Of course the Chinese have not extended the Mandela treatment by the Apartheid regime of S Africa to Gao.

    Mandela did exams by tuition on Robben Island and learnt the language of his jailors in prison for 27 years. Neither has he been given the Mubarak treatment of a doting Egy ptian army which observed the dictum that he who runs today lives to fight another day and was able to preserve the life of its former Commander in Chief. In the case of Mandela there is no denying that he would not be alive to become the global icon of dignity and freedom if he had been treated the way the wicked Chinese have treated Gao whose wife and children are in the US where Gao is expected to be flown to very soon on his release. I doff my hat to Gao for his courage and conviction and ask the Chinese to cover their face in shame for rusticating and dehumanising an intelligent human being such that he could not be intelligible again after being in state custody.

    That really is a disgrace to China. Lastly I salute the good people of Osun state for trooping out as advised and using their mandate to reward good performance in governance in that state. As I wrote last week quarantines such as the security ones mounted by the federal agencies in that state last week should be broken by a brave and vigilant electorate. That is how to get power and authority and enthrone justice as expected henceforth especially in Nigeria’s 2015 elections.

    Of course I congratulate the President on the sports manly way of conceding defeat and congratulating the winner in the quarantine election as he has done. I also congratulate the speed with which the Federal government has accepted the offer of a cure for the Ebola virus with the Nano Silva drug flown into the country for use after due research protocol clearance by the Health Ministry.

    This shows again that Ebola is an aberration that will go away like quarantine elections. Again I congratulate the President for his new friendly gesture which during the Osun quarantine elections was indeed no more than the friendship of the cocoyam in the midst of goats for the good people of Osun state whose will nevertheless prevailed in that quarantine election.

  • Nigeria,others to get $3b lifeline for power

    The AfricanDevelopment Bank (AfDB) has reaffirmed  its support for the advancement of the Power Africa initiative, by commiting $3 billion to electricity projects in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia and Tanzania.

    Its Group President, Donald Kaberuka, who spoke at the just concluded African Conference in US, said the six Power Africa focus countries would get the money over five years.

    This support was announced by the AfDB, as an anchor Power Africa partner on the continent, in July, last year.

    Last year, AfDB interventions amounting to over $600 million went to related projects Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania.

    Under the enhanced partnership, AfDB will collaborate on scaling up the use of off-grid and mini-grid technologie,supporting geothermal power development, and strengthening regional power trading among African countries, among others.

    Over the next year, the AfDB expects to commit about $1billion in support of energy projects in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania, the six Power Africa focus countries. Once implemented, these operations would contribute towards five to 10 per cent of the stated Power Africa goal of developing 10,000 megawatts of new power generation in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    The AfDB supports far-reaching power sector reforms and provides technical assistance, financing and guarantees for power generation, transmission and distribution projects in Africa.

    The AfDB Group – including the concessional lending window African Development Fund (ADF), to which the United States contributes – works directly with governments and private investors to advance critical reforms needed to attract public and private financing and build the capacity in Africa’s power sector. AfDB commitments to Africa’s energy sector currently total over $12 billion, and are projected to increase by $2 billion in the coming year.

    Examples of joint activities under the anchor partnership include the launch in March 2014 of the Africa Renewable Energy Fund (AREF), a fund which is expected to significantly invest in Power Africa focus countries and which is co-sponsored by the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), a multi-donor trust fund administered by the AfDB and to which the US made a $20 million multi-year contribution.

  • PDP’s desperation to remain in power is cause of impeachment, says lawmaker

    PDP’s desperation to remain in power is cause of impeachment, says lawmaker

    A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Ikorodu 2, Hon. Adebimpe Akinsola, has described the ongoing spate of impeachment in the country as an attempt by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to remain in power by all means.

    She stated this at the weekly ‘Time out with the press’ organised by Lagos Assembly correspondents for lawmakers which took place at the Assembly complex yesterday.

    Akinsola said: “It is a calculated attempt by one party to remain in power ‘by fire and by force’, and I don’t think this impeachment saga will help. It will only contribute to the problems that we have in Nigeria”.

    Asserting that democracy in any clime is better than any other form of government, the lawmaker admonished the perpetrators to stop forthwith because with the way they are going about it now, anything can happen.

    “I want Nigerians to rise up and tell the perpetrators of this evil that we need our democracy in Nigeria to succeed. This is not the type of democracy that we want. We don’t want people to impose themselves on us. If people say they don’t want you, go and examine yourself. Sit down, do an appraisal of yourself and you can be useful in any other area.

    “We cannot run the government of Nigeria as our own personal business. Nigeria belongs to all of us and every citizen of the country is entitled to vie or run for any position in Nigeria. People should not take it as their own personal business”, Akinsola said.

    She advised those engaging in impeachment “because of money or whatever” to think of their tomorrow and the future of their children and the legacy they want people to remember them with.

    “They should think of their children and what will become of their children tomorrow. If they feel that their children are abroad today and so they can do anything, they will still come back tomorrow to reap what we have sown in Nigeria. They should be careful and desist forthwith,” she said.

  • Speaking truth to power

    Speaking truth to power

    •Like Buhari, Sule, more eminent Nigerians should speak up on the state of the nation

    It is a curious coincidence that about 48 hours after Gen. (rtd) Muhammadu Buhari, a former military Head of State, issued a public statement on the combustible state of the nation, clearly targeted at President Goodluck Jonathan, he experienced a still-puzzling suicide bombing that nearly claimed his life. Shocking twin explosions in Kaduna on July 23, in which 82 people reportedly died, were further proof of the possible accuracy of Buhari’s observation in his statement titled “Pull Nigeria Back from the Brink.”

    He said: “Whether or not President Goodluck Jonathan is behind the gale of impeachments or the utilisation of the desperate tactics to suffocate the opposition and turn Nigeria into a one-party state, what cannot be denied is that they are happening under his watch, and he cannot pretend not to know, since that will be akin to hiding behind one finger.”

    Of course, he was, among other things, referring to the scandalous, self-serving ejection of Murtala Nyako, the former Adamawa State governor, by apparently teleguided state legislators on the platform of the country’s ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); and similar moves to remove the Nasarawa State governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura. Added to these are the increasing inappropriate use of the military to carry out politically motivated actions and the expanding culture of official impunity.

    It should be said that perhaps only the closed-minded would fail to consider and appreciate the logic of Buhari’s argument, irrespective of his high-profile status in the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is the main opposition party to Jonathan’s PDP. Indeed, as Buhari himself understandably emphasised, to accuse him of partisanship without weighing the merit of his view would amount to a tragic misapprehension. He explained: “Yes, there is the tendency for my statement to be misconstrued as that of a politician rather than a statesman. But I owe it as a matter of duty and honour, and in the interest of our nation, to speak out on the dangerous trajectory that our nation is heading.”

    It is enlightening that Buhari is evidently not alone in his unease about the course of events in the country and the allegedly frightful signals about its future. Worthy of note is the fact that, within the same period, Alhaji Maitama Sule, a former federal minister who is regarded as an elder statesman, disclosed that he had written to Jonathan, particularly concerning the disturbing security challenges in the North. Sule told members of the Northern Youth Development Foundation (NYDF) in Kano: “I also pointed out that if President Goodluck Jonathan doesn’t stop it, we would have disastrous consequences. The situation in the country is so bad, but I believe what we should do is to act together and tell one another the truth –  let us agree to accommodate our differences and put Nigeria above personal interest.”

    Considering the stature of Buhari and Sule, it is laudable that they spoke out. Although, it would appear that each of them pursued the matter of the country’s allegedly dangerous trajectory from different perspectives, there is no doubt that they both had the continued existence and advancement of the country as their main objectives.

    It is disappointing that the presidency’s reaction to Buhari’s statement was a characteristic stock response that left no room for the possibility of validity. The counter-statement by presidential adviser Reuben Abati accused Buhari of “unbridled political partisanship,” and described his allegations as “wild and totally unsustainable.” However, the fact that Sule represents an apparently non-partisan voice suggests that there may be some constructive truth in Buhari’s viewpoint about the bad tendencies of the administration.

    The import of these cautionary voices is that they would, hopefully, prompt more influential people to speak up and speak truth to power. But ultimately, the government should be more attentive to alternative views about its performance and avoid knee-jerk defences which, regrettably, only confirm the general impression that it is resistant to positive change.