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Tag: problem

Problem in search of definition

These are interesting times, no doubt. As if Nigerians needed some sabbatical from the daily grind that state failure has foisted on them hence their never-ending quest for basic existential issues long settled by more serious societies, the main gladiators in the restructuring debate continue to stoke the fire to keep Nigerians busy talking for the rest of the current electoral cycle. Which of course leaves one wondering whether the love for polemics or good old patriotism defined by love for fatherland it is that drives public discourse?

True, Nigerians have since been talking, torn as one would imagine, into the two opposing camps of the restructuring debate: restructurists and those opposed to it. Never mind that the divisions, hardly ever ideological or even intellectual, remain basically along opportunistic lines – and with it the deliberate blurring of issues to create maximum confusion.

Enter Atiku Abubakar. I understand why man who craves power perhaps more than life itself would want to be everything to all men; a man whose views keep changing like the British weather– all depending on time, space and audience – wanting to force the debate apparently because that seems to be the only thing left on the plate.

One thing that cannot be denied him though his clarity on a subject that his opponents have done no more than waffle.

Of course, the man couldn’t be clearer on the subject: return some items on the concurrent list to the states; yes, a reversal of the “epidemic of federal take-over of state and voluntary organisations, schools and hospitals which began in the 1970s”.

To Atiku, restructuring means tinkering with the current federal structure “so it comes closer to what our founding leaders established, in response to the very issues and challenges that led them to opt for a less centralised system.

“It means devolving more powers to the federating units with the accompanying resources. It means greater control by the federating units of the resources in their areas.

“It would mean, by implication, the reduction of the powers and roles of the federal government so that it would concentrate only on those matters that could best be handled by the centre such as defence, foreign policy, monetary and fiscal policies, immigration, customs and excise, aviation as well as setting and enforcing national standards on such matters as education, health and safety”.

He thinks these could be achieved within six months just as he believes that a good number of the measures do not actually require constitutional amendment.

Good sound bites; no? Or simply politics?

Whether the views could be described as realistic let alone workable given the formidable political strictures is open to question.How these will jell with the demands of his allies in Afenifere and the Ohaneze – two groups obviously more inclined to a more radical, geographical restructuring on the one hand, and a north sworn to anything but restructuring on the other, remains to be seen.

President Muhammadu Buhari of course thinks the restructuring talk may well be a fancy topic for busybodies. Pressed to offer his thoughts on the raging subject during an interactive session with Nigerians in France, he says: “There are too many people talking lazily about restructuring in Nigeria. Unfortunately, people are not asking them individually what do they mean by restructuring? What form do they want restructuring to take?”

“Do they want us to have something like the three regions we used to have? And now we have 36 states and the FCT. What form do they want? They are just talking loosely about restructuring…Let them define it and then we see how we can peacefully do it in the interest of Nigerians.

“They are just saying they want Nigeria restructured and they don’t have the clue of what the form the restructuring should be. So, anybody who talks to you about restructuring in Nigeria, ask him what he means and the form he wants it to take.”

Really?

A president whose party manifesto actually promised restructuring? The leader of a party under whose direction a 10-man committee was actually set up to articulate the party’s position on restructuring? And to imagine that the president still does not have a position on the document that was submitted to his party some 10 moons ago!

Ever heard of being sold a pig for a poke?

So, what is the matter with Nigeria and where does restructuring fit in? Put another way, what is the relationship between ‘good governance and the restructuring of the kind that some Nigerians have long clamoured?

For answers, we turn to Professor Ropo Sekoni, The Nation’s distinguished columnist and foremost scholar in what smacks of a masterful repudiation of Atiku’s treatise on restructuring in his piece of Sunday. By the way, the good professor is an unrepentant federalist hence his description of the Nigerian challenge as that of re-federalisation’. To him, it is “a more precise word for solving the problems militating against liberty, progress and development in the country”.

He says of “good governance” that it is “not specific to federal or unitary governance model. It is expected to exist in all democracies—be they unitary like France, Netherlands, and Singapore, or federal like Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, the United States of America, and United Arab Emirates”.

Devolution, he also said “is not specific to federalism; unitary governments do devolve or transfer powers to sub-national governments without making such system federal”. And that “promotion of privatisation of the economy” is”not a prerequisite for federalising a country. Privatisation is as visible in federal societies as it is in unitary polities”.

Re-federalisation he says refers to “the degree of freedom available to sub-national governments to have autonomy to govern itself in response to its values”.

Do I hear the chant – To thy tents oh Israel? It’s a long way – yet! See why nation-building is such a serious, never-ending business?

To get back to the word – restructuring; is anyone still mystified? No one should be. According to the dictionary, it means “to organize a company, business, or system in a new way to make it operate more effectively”; to change the jobs and responsibilities within an organization, usually in order to make the organization operate more effectively”.

Ask corporate chieftains; not only do they know what the word entails, it is something they do routinely. In the shark infested waters of business, it is the only way to survive competition. It comes basically to fine-tuning business processes to ensure optimum performance; only when applied to politics and governance does it stoke fears and panic!

So, is re-federalisation a la Sekoni or the all-purpose variant – restructuring, the cure all to Nigeria’s multiple maladies? Here is my simple answer: constitutions or the form of government to which it gives rise can only be as good as the operators make it to be. Ever witnessed a brand new car with full options being driven by an incompetent and ill-mannered driver on a multi-lane highway? That can only be a recipe for disaster. Whereas restructuring can only do so much to make things better; to make any real progress, a lot more obviously depends on the character of the leadership.

Call it the value imperative and you are damn right! As they say, it is worth the weight in gold.

November 20, 2018
Problem is with us, not them
SIR: These days, there is so much blame game going on, at home between husband and wife and in the larger society and Nigeria in particular. If only we individually take responsibility for our short-comings without looking for whom to blame, we will have a better society.

I realised that each and every one of us is to blame for the bad things happening in our society, directly by what we do or indirectly by what we failed to do.

Some people will argue about the fact that an average Nigerian is corrupt. We only complain if we have not had the opportunity to dip our hands in the coffers. Most Nigerians are hypocrites because when we scream corruption, we expect attention. Once we are ‘’settled’’, we observe table manners ‘’ do not talk while eating’.

When a teacher flogs your child in school, what do you do? Some parents will go to warn the teacher. I understand some parents write common entrance for their children. These days some kids take common entrance in primary three. Dear parents, the race is not to the swift. Stop circumventing the 6-3-3-4 system.

When your house-help corrects your children for doing something wrong, what do you do? You remind your house-help that she/he is only in your house to work not to correct your children. When your children cannot do simple house chores but watch cartoon and play video games all through, how do you expect them to be responsible when they are adults?

Some parents discriminate among their children; males don’t do this and that. Your daughters are groomed to be good wives but the sons are not groomed to be good husbands. The sons will grow up and turn their wives to beasts of burden.

When your cousin is the personal assistant to the local government chairman and you ask him for money and he tells you that he does not have, what do you do? You compare him with a janitor that works in the same LGA who has built a house. What are you?

If your sister’s husband is the personal assistant to the senior special assistant to the governor and you ask him for a job you know that you are not qualified for and he says NO. What do you do? You remind him that wickedness runs in his family and infact you regret that he is married to your sister. You are corrupt.

When as a lecturer, you harass your female students before you pass them, what are you? Some lecturers are from hell. I know because I have been a victim.

When you sexually abuse a child in your custody, what are you?

When the local government chairman or governor or president is from you tribe or state or LGA and you know he/she is messing up but choose to support them because of pecuniary gain, what are you?

The list is endless. Until we admit that ‘’the problem is with us not with them’’ our society will never be better.
- Olewunne Ogochukwu, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
November 1, 2018
Problem Has Changed Name, again?

Until very recently, few Nigerians could claim to know the body that goes by the name ANED let alone what it represents. Not anymore. Today, the body struts the space leaving the electricity little doubt about the ascent of new powerful cartel, which although cannot get their members to deliver on their mandate, insists on operating in lieu of rules. For Nigerians who had thought that they were done with the public utility monopoly that morphed from ECN to NEPA and to PCHN, they are finally, finding out that the problem has changed name literally and figuratively!

Welcome to the world of Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) – the new cartel presumably so powerful that, after wrestling the electricity consumer to the ground and sending the electricity sector regulator on a Rip Van Winkle sleep now thinks it’s time to mount the lecture circuit to teach the minister in charge of power – Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN one or two things about power – minus the art of delivery!

Ours truly is an interesting country.

Twelve years into the coming of the Power Sector Reform Act and another five years after the takeover of the unbundled entities of the defunct PCHN, we pretend to be making progress even when it is so obvious that movement is in reverse gear. Never mind the old assumptions about private capital providing catalyst for national development; the promises of new ways of getting things done, the elementary principle of value delivery that is at the heart of modern capitalism or if you like – businesses; all of these are being torn into shreds – right under our very eyes – by a body that perennially goes in search of a problem to a solution!

Not too long ago, yours truly recalls accusing the minister of being soft on his “Abiku” Discos – a charge the minister would vehemently disagree with.

Not to worry; he insisted then that the job of policing – if you like regulating – the industry, lay elsewhere. The minister was of course right – at least legally; my view then and which has since been borne out, was that the position, considering our peculiar circumstances, amounted to mere sophistry.

Not that I do not understand the dilemma of the minister. It is the dilemma of the mother of an Abiku child. With the child is said to be sworn to die, the mother nonetheless insists on splashing all the due care hoping sometimes against hope that the child might somehow find the will to live. Never mind the claim about mother’s milk of mercy being inexhaustible, there comes a time when in a fit of desperation, the supremely troubled mother tells the child to choose to either go or stay!

With the Abiku neither ready to let us alone nor allow us the peace of mind, a push-back would seem at some point inevitable. We are apparently at that moment now.

That perhaps is the sense in which yours truly understands the minister’s briefing of Monday, July 9 aptly titled “Power Sector State of Play, Next Steps and Policy Directives”. In a tone that could be considered most unusual in the circumstance, the minister, in bare knuckle manner left no one in doubt that the season of indulgence was over.

First, the minister thinks NERC, is not doing enough given the extensive regulatory powers conferred by the law “including the power in Sections 73 and 74, to amend or cancel a license if the licensee is unable to discharge the duties and obligations imposed by the license.” That reminder is, quite frankly, long overdue.

More tellingly, he thinks NERC should proceed to enforce the contract of DisCos to supply meters and act to ensure the urgent speedy supply and installation of meters with a view to eliminating estimated billing and promote efficient industry and market structures. On this, I have nothing to add.

To the Discos, he says it is time to either shape up or ship out. Again, few would contest this. The sins of the Discos are not only many, that Nigerians have been forced to endure their crippling debility from their inability to deliver service says more about our legendary resilience than anything else.

They include failure to provide prepaid meters; failure to ramp up capacity to enable them take up the available 2,000MW difference between the generated power and their distribution capacity; their penchant to play dog in the manager –threatening private entrepreneurs from entering the market to supply consumers whom they are unable to supply and their overall antagonism to other initiatives – private and public – to bridge the electricity supply gap.

For these failures, particularly the failure to match the distribution infrastructures with the pace of power generated, the generating companies (GenCos) are not only left to choke, the banking sector, the enabling arm currently asphyxiates for the same reason of the failure of the Discos to discharge their due obligations to the other players in the electricity value chain.

Yet, in the midst of these, the Discos would dare to press for territorial exclusivity or even monopoly. Never mind Section 71(6) of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) dealing with Terms and Conditions of licenses. Now, the minister reminds that nothing in the law provided for the so-called “exclusivity” nor could “monopoly” for any class of players have been envisaged. That looks like telling it as it is!

“If we take into consideration that, after five years of privatisation, there are still people and businesses who do not have power or enough power, common sense and public interest demands that we must not resist ordinary people, small businesses like shops and markets from seeking alternative sources of energy.”

“The truth is that they already have these sources of alternative energy, in small petrol and diesel generators that cost them about N100 per kilowatt hour. If the DISCOs are not resisting the generator sellers who are contributing to pollution, what is the logic of resisting small entrepreneurs bringing mini gas plants to supply a market need?”.

“Government” he said with some tone of finality, “must act, and will do so. The DisCos bought these assets with their eyes opened, and they must compete to deliver or exit”. These no doubt, are tough words.

Which of course takes us to the final question – what does ANED want? Although the minister calls the body “interloper”, I believe ANED deserves a hearing. Yes, the body has spoken – mainly about technical issues hampering service delivery, the challenges that they daily face – the same standard rote routinely dished out as rationalisation. For a body that wants to be taken seriously, there is as yet, no serious signs of concrete investment in structures and processes on the basis on which the future of their sector could be anchored.

Want to know what ANED truly wants? You guessed right; they want money – loads of it from the piggy bank. How can anyone forget the N213 billion bailout packaged by the apex bank for the sector in 2014? Or the N39 billion said to be in support of their metering plan only last year? They want more. Period.

Sure, the Problem Has (merely) Changed Hands!

July 31, 2018
E-waste a major problem, says Canon

Japanese multinational corporation, Canon Incorporation, has said electronic waste or management is a problem in Nigeria.

It however said it has developed startegise to manage the menace in the country. The original equipment manufacturer (OEM) said it is has short, medium and long-term strategies for the local market.

Canon specialises in the manufacture of imaging and optical products, including cameras, camcorders, photocopiers, steppers, computer printers and medical equipment.

According to experts, Nigeria generates over 1.1 million tons in e-waste from the consumption of local and imported electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) that have ceased to function.

The Sales and Marketing Director, Canon Central and North Africa, Mr Somesh Adukia, who spoke on the sidelines of the launch of its My Naija campaign in Lagos, he said the company has started a pilot programme in Cote d’Ivoire, adding that lessons learned from that would be replicated in Nigeria.

He said: “We are starting a pilot project in Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) market and in this market; we are looking at how the various consumables stored up in cartridges, which had been used and are actually hurting the environment.

“So, we are trying to see how we can conserve them for the future and take care of the environment. It is a pilot project started in Ivory Coast and upon its success; it would be extended to Nigeria and other markets.”

He said the firm has short-, medium- and long-term strategies for the local market, including strategies to boost job creation and transfer of knowledge to locals.

Adukia said: “The short term plan is to gain channel penetration because we feel we have good team and good set of distributors. The medium term plan is to grow beyond Lagos and expand into big cities, such as Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and so many other places. We already have two of our people in Abuja and Port Harcourt, but we are going to expand our operations in other cities.

“On a long-term basis, we want to build our brand awareness through this kind of campaign and that is why I said we are not going to have small boom and disappear and hence our campaign My Naija is going to last for at least a year.”

Adukia said there are many ways the company has helped in creating both direct and indirect jobs in the country.

“Directly, we first employed one person as the country’s manager as we opened our local office. As our business grew, we appointed six additional managers within one year. Thereafter, we appointed a local business development manager for developing the business. As our business is growing, we are employing a lot of Nigerians.

“There are a lot of jobs being created by Canon indirectly because more business means more jobs will be available in the market. We are doing a lot of marketing events and so the marketing agencies get business. I was in a road show in Computer Village and I was thrilled with the kind of promotions they were having through the agencies. They are not Canon workers but today they are getting jobs because Canon was doing this kind of marketing campaign.”

Adukia said the company plans to create employment opportunities and work in line with its corporate philosophy, which is living together for common goals.

He said the company has taken a big step towards combating its challenge of brand awareness through the My Naija launched in Lagos.

According to him, the company has been able to combat the challenges of distribution alignment and service network in the last two years, adding that the objectives of the company is to provide Nigerians the source of products.

March 6, 2018
The problem with our elections, by Durotoye

Famous motivational speaker and business strategist Fela Durotoye is very passionate about Nigeria. He believes the only time the country has had leaders was briefly after independence and that her democratic process is flawed, because it produces rulers, rather than leaders. In this interview with Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI, Durotoye traces the root of the problem and explains what can be done to change the vicious cycle of poor leadership in 2019 and beyond.

You’ve been involved in leadership trainings for some time. What’s your idea of leadership?

I believe that leadership is an ability to create and deliver a desired outcome. When you consider that for most times the desired outcome is always positive, then you can also say that a leader is anyone who has the ability to make people, places and things better. If you look at leadership from that context, you will realize that it is different from management. This because management requires authority, it requires a position and it requires an appointment, an office and a title. But leadership does not require such attributes. A leader is anyone – no matter the level, age or occupation — who has the ability to make people, places and things better. The greatest skill a leader must have is the ability to solve problems, inspire people, galvanise the people to decide on what they want to be, where they want to go and to get them focused on it.

Most Nigerians don’t look at leadership the way you have defined it…

I agree. As a matter of fact, most people we see as leaders are actually rulers; they are not leaders. Rulers are different from leaders, because rulers are people who usually require a position, authority and they usually regard everyone whom they relate with as subjects. Many times rulers typically believe that they are better than their subjects. Their job is not to make the lives of their subjects better; their job is to make their own live better. Rulers have subjects and leaders have followers. A follower is not less than a leader; a follower is anyone whose commitment, permission, endorsement and support are required by a leader to be able to actualize the vision he carries in his heart. This is what makes the relationship between a leader and a follower very special, because a leader is not greater than a follower. In many instances, a follower may be even someone who is older than the leader, richer than the leader and better positioned than the leader. Rulers by their nature enslave their subjects, but leaders on the other hand, enlighten their followers. Rulers typically impoverish their subjects, while leaders improve the lives of their followers. Rulers diminish their subjects, while leaders develop their followers. You will realize that when you are under a ruler, your live becomes bitter, but when you are under a leader, your live becomes better.

In your view, what is responsible for the present state of affairs?

In a way, what has happened to us and the society we have created is a result of the culture of rulership we have had over the years; in fact, I would say centuries. We started with traditional rulers and that wasn’t what I believe God designed for us. I believe God wanted us to have royal fathers, but instead we had traditional rulers. From there, we had colonial rulers or colonial masters. Again, they didn’t come to make our lives better; they came to take from what had — our resources. Immediately after colonial rule, we had a brief stint of true leadership; all across Africa, we saw the rise of people like Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere and Jomo Kenyatta. These are men who really had a desire to emancipate their people and to improve the lot of their people. But, not long after independence, we witnessed all over Africa, the emergence of military rule. So, you see, we’ve gotten back to rulership. We were under military rule for over four decades and thereafter we witnessed something very interesting: military rulers everywhere began to drop their khaki uniforms for civilian garments. It is still the same set of people in a different setting. In fact, it is not by accident that most of the democratic institutions or parties that military rulers used to gain power are called ruling parties.

What do you think of the present level of leadership in Nigeria?

We can only judge leadership by the results. This is very simple, we always ask year in, year out, is our life better? If our lives are better, then we are under leadership. But if our lives are worse or things are bitter for us, then we are under rulership. I don’t think it is about just the president or the governors, it is about the quality of people in positions of authority whose responsibilities it is to take decisions for the people. These include people in positions of authority at the local government level, the state level and the federal level, particularly the executive and the legislature. To be honest, the reality is staring us in the face. It means we are under rulership and we must understand that the reason we are under rulership us because there are power blocs within the major political parties who have arrogated to themselves the right to continue to lord it over the people, by deciding who should go and serve the people and who should not. Take a look at our executives and legislature at federal, state and local government levels, do you feel that you are being served or do you think you are being subdued?

Does it have something to do with the manner leaders are recruited; most times people who are not prepared for leadership are foisted on the country?

Leaders are not recruited; leaders volunteer. As long as we continue to call rulers leaders, they will continue to think that we who are their subjects are their followers and that’s not true. We’re not followers; we are subjects. We have been enslaved, we have been subdued, oppressed and depressed for so many years; generation after generation. We must understand this; the people who are ruling us are not leaders. Until we get the terminology right, we will never find emancipation for ourselves. So, if you are referring to how the people that rule us are recruited, then I would say you are right. Most of the people who are placed over us do not have our interests at heart, because their allegiance is to the people who positioned them there. Why do we have this category of people? Very simple, because the people who seek the power to continue to rule us are the ones who diminish democracy within the political party system. Therefore, they use the power of selectocracy to determine who gets the opportunity to run for elective positions and who does not. The problem is that they will never put your brightest and your best people there, because if they put a leader there, that leader will win the heart of the people and the power brokers will lose the power. So, what they do typically is to put someone that does not have the capacity to inspire the people; someone that does not have any vision for the people; who does not have a heart for the people; and who will not do anything when he gets there. At the end of the day, that person will be completely loyal to the power brokers and not the people. This is because he will realize that without the power brokers he would not have gotten there in the first place.

How do we get out of this vicious cycle?

There are two things we can do about it. One, we can get a critical mass of enlightened people who will join the existing parties as members and they will demand a change in the constitution and the framework of the internal processes of governance. That means that the parties themselves must change the way they are running their internal democracy. The point is, the only way we can go about this is to set up new political parties and those new political parties must be parties that are set up by people who do not want to run for elective positions. They should also have the courage to declare that their political parties are platforms for the emergence of the brightest and the best. Then, there must be a transparent internal democratic process, where every member of the party has a vote, like it is done in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. As you know, Barack Obama was not the favourite of the Democratic establishment; Hilary Clinton was. But, because every member of the Democratic Party has one vote, they went and voted for the person they wanted. That was how Barack Obama emerged. The same thing happened to Donald Trump in the Republican Party during the last election.

Can the trend of vote-buying during primary and general election be attributed to poverty?

Apparently, poverty is not the real problem. I am not denying the role of poverty, but I want to say two quick things about poverty. Number one, poverty is a designed outcome, a deliberate outcome that the ruling political power base use to keep people hungry, so that they can continue to give them peanuts to win their votes. Poverty will continue to ravage Nigerians and Africans, because the cost of elections is always tied to how poor the people are. If you improve the life of the people and you want to buy their votes next time, it will become too expensive. So, deliberately, elected and appointed officials who owe allegiance to the power brokers must keep the people impoverished, so that they can keep the cost of the next election low. So, as long as I keep you in poverty, I can always buy your vote.

But it is interesting that the people that are induced to vote are fewer than those that actually vote. I will give you statistics. In 2015, 98 million people were considered to be above the age of 18; 68 million of them obtained voters card and only 28 million votes were cast during the election – I said 28 million votes, not 28 million voters. This means that 40 million people refused to get involved; even though they know that they stand to get some financial gratification if they do so. That tells you that majority of Nigerians are not bought by the ruling class. So, what is the problem? Why did they refuse to vote? This is because they are inspired by any of the candidates that the ruling class has chosen for them. So, I’m not denying the fact that poverty is a factor; what I’m saying is that poverty is not the reason why we get bad governance. The real reason why we get bad governance is because those who will not collect money to vote do not vote. So, the only way we can see a difference in our lives beyond 2019 is when people who usually refuse to vote go out there and vote conscientiously for a new Nigeria and the future of their children.

What is the implication of the absence of civic education and history in our school curriculum?

The absence of these things in our school curriculum is to ensure that a new generation does not become enlightened enough to challenge the status quo. Every country that wants the lives of the next generation to be better ensures that they teach the children the mistakes of the past, so that the children can learn from it and take decisions to avert such mistakes. Only those who wish to keep the next generation in the dark will refuse to teach and empower the children. The truth is that the ruling class does not want to educate the next generation, because every time you educate someone you enlighten them and in turn empower them. That is why they send their children to the best schools abroad, but their subjects would go through the worst educational system. In the same vein, the ruling class also tries to stifle entrepreneurship and make it impossible for people to do business and succeed. One of the reasons why we are unable to have an enabling environment for business is because it is not in the interest of the ruling class. The moment businesses thrive, businessmen can use their profit to empower other people to challenge the ruling class.

Do you see this trend continuing in the next 10 or 20 years?

No, I don’t. I believe the end of rulership has come. This is because this new generation is the most empowered generation that has ever lived in Nigeria. It is a generation that has been empowered by information, by communication and by technology. Based on those three things, we are seeing that new generation is coming up that is able to have access quickly to information; that is able to share same through social media; and their voices are being heard across various continents. They are using technology to do things and solve problems, like we’ve never witnessed before. This is a generation that does not require a lot of money to be able to make a difference. There is no generation that has arisen in Nigeria that is as empowered, as motivated and as daring as the present generation.

I believe 2019 is going to be a pleasant surprise to the whole world. Please, mark my words. Every Nigerian above the age of 18 should ensure they acquire their voter’s card. They should decide not to be a bystander in 2019. They must silence every voice that says that their votes would not count. If votes did not count in 2015, former President Goodluck Jonathan would still be there today. So, don’t let anyone lie to you that votes don’t count. If you are not willing to suffer for two days – one day to get your voters card and another day to go out and vote — then you will have to endure the suffering for four years. We need good people at every level of governance; not just at the presidency or the governorship, but at all levels, including the local government, as well as the legislature.

December 15, 2017
Our Mosques, our problem

Preamble

As promised here last Friday, today’s article is supposed to be the second part of a letter addressed to Nigerian Imams in this column last week. But by professional norm in journalism it is absurd to serialize articles except by exigency. That is a major difference between a columnist who is a professional journalist and one who is not. It is hoped that the letter published in this column last friday was read and well comprehended by the Imams to whom it was addressed.

In that letter, a brief history of Islam in Nigeria was recalled to illustrate the point made in respect of some inadequacies of Qur’anic schools in Nigeria. That part had to be summarized because some of the addressed Imams, being men of knowledge are capable of understanding it, even beyond its contents both esoterically and exoterically. The supposed second part of the letter, as earlier indicated, is about our Mosques and the major problems arising from them for the Ummah.

There can be no talking of the Mosque without fundamental reference to Imams and the congregations they lead. Actually, nothing is called the Mosque without the Ummah and their Imams.

Imams and leadership training

When Prophet Muhammad (SAW) described learned scholars as the heirs to the Prophets he was referring to the Imams. This is because no genuine Muslim is supposed to be an Imam without first being a learned scholar. there is a sharp difference between a scholar and a learned scholar. The one can be self-arrogated, the other is intellectually evident.

Becoming an Imam, if due process is followed, is like becoming a judge after a period of certified experience acquired subsequent to graduating from the Law School. It is not enough to graduate from a Qur’anic school and teach the junior ones for a few years to be qualified as Imam. Lawyers go to Law School after graduating from the Universities. Doctors go for Houseman-ship after their admission into the Profession just as other professionals go for practical industrial training in their respective fields of discipline.

Apart from graduating from Qur’anic or Arabic and Islamic schools, where do our Imams train as Imams? The answer to this question is that a glaring vacuum still exists for Nigerian Muslim Ummah to fill.

One of the first problems arising from appointing Imams in Nigeria is lack of leadership training. Here in Nigeria, People are mostly made Imam only on the basis of the little they might have learnt from the Qur’an and Hadith or on the basis of heritage (i.e succeeding a father or a grandfather who had been made an imam before). The aspect of dealing with the complexity of human nature, which is the real quality that is supposed to make a person an Imam, is always over-sighted. And even after coming into office as Imam, no special training is ever organized to enable the leader know the enormity of his duty and map out the strategy with which to handle it. No written document is handed over to the new Imam to show where the last Imam stopped and where the new one should take off from. In other words, no records of activities or of achievements are available in our Mosques except by oral transmission and no blue print is prepared by a newly appointed imam. How can there be progress?

Imamate office

Whereas an Imamate office is such that requires periodic relevant courses, workshops, seminars, conferences and trainings, none of these is ever arranged to update our Imams and improve their quality. Thus, our Imams remain static in the belief that they have attained the peak of Islamic knowledge having become Imams. The danger here is that such Imams will not only refuse to see intellectual progress in any other person, they will also resort to envy and oppression since they are not aspiring to attain higher pedestal in knowledge. And in the melee, they will solicit the support of some money bags but ignorant members of their congregations who have been given titles to wrestle down their perceived rivals. This kind of situation has dismantled many large congregations with resultant effect of proliferation of Mosques even where unnecessary. Some Mosques have even come under lock and key for a long period as it has happened in many parts of south west Nigeria in recent times, thereby leaving the congregation stranded

The Prophet’s recommendation

Whereas the Prophet’s recommendation for Imamate is that one should only become an Imam when legitimately chosen and appointed, the situation in Nigeria today is the direct opposite of that recommendation. In the cause of appointing an Imam, Muslim groups gang up against Muslim groups just as families pick quarrels and hostilities against families. Yet, the claim is that they want to serve Allah.

If those fighting to become Imams knew the implication of serving in that office and reporting back to Allah, they would never have even presented themselves for the post. An Imam is the spiritual guarantor of his congregation. He takes responsibility for any spiritual misdemeanor committed by any member of that congregation before Allah.

But like any other thing Nigerian, Imamate has been grossly monetized and thus the process of putting people in that office has been seriously corrupted. That is why most of our Imams are half-baked intellectually and even bankrupt morally.

Office of Muadhdhin

Ironically, what the Prophet recommended for competition is the office of the Muadhdhin. That office was the very first ministry established by the Prophet shortly after he was appointed a Messenger of Allah. It is the Ministry of Information. The importance attached to that Ministry and the rewards accruing to the Minister in charge were such that even the Prophet sometimes wanted to play the role of a Muadhdhin. The first Minister in that office (Bilal), a liberated black slave from Abyssinia who embraced Islam had to be personally trained by the Prophet even as he was handed over to Zayd bn Thabit for thorough literacy. The purpose was to ensure that he did not misrepresent Islam or the Mosque or the Prophet in any way. That shows how important information is in Islam. But here in Nigeria, especially in the South West, no office is worse relegated than that of the Muadhdhin. It is an office which anybody at all can be asked to occupy. And in no other aspect of the Mosque is ignorance more exhibited than that of the Muadhdhin. Some Muadhdhins can hardly recite correctly the traditional call to prayer which is their very first duty. Yet, the Imams do not care to train or correct them since that office, to them, is immaterial.

Prophet Muhammad (SAW), who initiated the Ministry of Information and advised Muslims to vie for its occupation did not do so in vain. Without dissemination of adequate information, Islam would not have spread beyond Makkah. And today, the world has come to realize the effect of information dissemination in propagating an ideology or even selling a product. The Jews and the Americans can testify to this fact. Yet, that very aspect of Islam is the main victim of relegation in our Mosques. The connotation here is that you can only advertise a product you posses effectively if it has a sellable quality. Most of our Imams do not value publicity because they lack the quality with which to promote the product in their possession.

Functions of the Mosque

When the Prophet established the Mosque, he did not design it for Salat alone. He knew that Muslims would seek knowledge and therefore attached school and library to it. He knew that by the nature of Islam, Muslims would always need to clean up before offering Salat. He therefore attached toilets, baths and ablution place to the Mosque. He knew that members of his congregation would disagree and seek resolution or redress. He therefore attached court to the Mosque. He knew that some Muslims would fall sick and require medical care. He therefore attached clinic to the Mosque. He knew that there would be need to plan strategy for propagating Islam and for protecting Muslims against internal or external aggression. He therefore attached a deliberation forum to the Mosque in the name of parliament. He knew that his congregation would need a secure place to keep their money and other valuables and therefore attached a treasury (now called bank) to the Mosque. Thus, the Mosque is the center of all Islamic activities including buying and selling.

Today, all these have virtually been severed from our Mosques and that is why Nigerian Muslims are contented with just a small space to build a small Mosque where they can just offer Salat and disperse. Even in doing this no thought is ever given to any possible future increase in the population of the congregation. The result is that most of our Mosques have no space for anything other than Salat.

Imams as leaders

Imams are supposed to be leaders by the grace of Allah, not just because they lead their congregations in Salat but much more because they guide the Ummah aright and admonish them against wrongdoings. They are typically what Prophet Muhammad (SAW) called shepherds. And their congregations are their herd. But there are questions to ask here: when last did our Imams take the census of their congregations to know the gender delineation of their followers? How many people in their congregation are adult and how many are youths? How many members of their congregations are employed? How many are not employable but encouraged with training and counseling? Why are the employable ones among them not employed? How many professionals are in their congregations? Of what use are they to the Mosques? How many in their congregations are married? How many are qualified for marriage but not married? Why? How many are widows and widowers? How many are orphans or aged? How many of them are sick and hospitalized? How many have withdrawn their wards from schools either for loss of jobs or for lack of financial ability to keep them in schools? How many are indebted? How many are imprisoned and for what reasons? What role do the Mosques play in the lives of all these members of their congregations?

Except for the rich ones among them on whom they confer titles, how many have they periodically visited at home as a matter of courtesy or as a way of encouraging them to keep coming to the Mosque? How many have they counseled socially, politically, economically or matrimonially if only to help them morally or psychologically in solving their problems or in furthering their progress? If these imams drop dead today (and death can come any time) how many members of their congregations will sincerely miss the Imamate in them?. Perhaps another fundamental question may be necessary here. Do their Mosques have bank accounts?

Mosque buildings

Our Imams should know that the buildings which we call Mosques are not meant for Salat alone. Those buildings are like beehives of activities for Muslims to solve their spiritual and mundane problems through interactions with their fellow brothers and sisters as well as through the guidance of their Imams. Besides following them in observing Salat and listening to their sermons every Friday, Our imams should know that Muslims who are regular in their Mosques have a right to some material benefits if only in kind?

Material benefits

The real essence of the third pillar of Islam (Zakah) is to enable some under-privileged members of the congregation to benefit materially from the Mosque. If Zakah is not organized by the Mosques in terms of collection, distribution and administration, how will Imams be able to fulfill these obligations? Most members of the congregations are indifferent to the payment of Zakah for two reasons: (1) they do not trust the managerial abilities of their Imams to handle huge amount of money or other treasures coming through them because they have seen eagerness for wealth acquisition and avarice in most of those Imams. In other words, they believe that most of those Imams struggled to become Imams for self-enrichment. And that alone has eroded the dignity of that supposedly venerable office. (2) Most of Those Imams cannot emphasize the payment of Zakah to their congregations because they are not knowledgeable enough about zakah and minimum taxable amount of wealth (Nisab) from which Zakah is supposed to be paid. The disagreement among those imams on this has created doubt and dilemma in most of them.

Mosque without Zakah

If the above points had been made very clear to Nigerian Muslim congregations, the amount of money accruable to our Mosques from Zakah would have helped tremendously in solving most of the pecuniary problems that are throwing most poor Muslims into the field of begging. This is a further evidence that population is the main wealth of Nigerian muslims today the utilization of which is not explored for the benefit of the poor and the indigents. However, rather than studying the rules of Zakah and explaining them to their congregations, most Imams prefer to run after rich Muslims in pursuit of Zakah for themselves. They have forgotten that whatever amount they collect as Zakah is not fully meant for them but for the poor members of their congregations and projects needed by the mosque as they (Imams) too must pay Zakah as a compulsory fulfillment of an Islamic obligation.

The topic here today is not about Zakah. But touching it briefly as just done is to show how the Mosque can effectively maintain social welfare for the Ummah. And that can restore the confidence of the congregations in their Imams. The issue of Zakah will be fully addressed in this column in the near future In sha’a Llah.

That our Mosques have not lived up to expectation is not the end of story. Righting the wrong is one of the foremost characteristics of Islam. It is better to be late in doing the right thing than not doing the right thing at all. We can still start to put things right as from today.

Our Imams can start by taking the census of their congregations with a view to knowing their followers more closely. They can start by setting up committees for social welfare; for education; for health; for conflict resolution; for Zakah; for guidance and counseling; for economic growth and skill building; as well as for information and publicity. Each of these committees should have experts in the listed areas as their chairmen. And then, a central body headed by the Imam or a competent person should be put in place to oversee those committees and direct them as to what to do and how to do it. As a matter of trust and sincere commitment to the service of Allah, no Mosque should operate without a bank account which in Islamic parlance is called treasury ( Baytul Mal) which should serve as the power house of the Mosque.

Conclusion

As a Muslim community, we have lived with a system for hundreds of years without achieving the necessary objective. In the process, we have lost most of our best hands and even our best heads to the other side of the bridge. We cannot afford to surge ahead with an unprofitable attitude. We must change the system! The Muslim Ummah must be made to see why they need the Mosque as much as the Mosque needs them. Experimenting with a new system will not only put a stop to basking in the euphoria of the past, it will also engender a durable legacy for the current generation of Nigerian Muslims. Our attitudes as true Muslims must conform with the divine rules and regulations of Islam.

November 17, 2017
Finding a solution to our national problem

It is difficult for any sentient being not to have a feeling of enveloping global insecurity. What with the possibility of nuclear holocaust being threatened by Donald Trump and Kim Jon Un, the uncertainty in Europe following the Brexit vote in the U.K.; the hurricanes destroying the Caribbean and several states in the USA, the rim of fire and the earthquakes in Mexico and the perennial suffering in Africa as a result of bad governance, sit- tight rulers, economic problems and poverty occasioning ethnic conflicts.

Charity begins at home and in Nigeria we have more than our own share of conflicts and insecurity. The demand for devolution and restructuring is a manifestation of political instability. Demands for action in this respect range from calls for a return to the independence and republican constitutions of 1960 and 1963 respectively championed by opinion leaders in western Nigeria to outright secession by the so-called Biafrans in Eastern Nigeria. In the North of the country, we have heard people like Professor Ango Abdullahi apparently in moments of exasperation asking for outright independence for the North. Yet men and women of good conscience in Nigeria know we have no other country than Nigeria and in the words of the then General Muhammadu Buhari as military head of state “we must stay here and solve the problem together”.

Our problem is that rather than finding practical solutions to whatever structural inadequacies confronting our country in a win-win situation that will endure for a long time and making adjustments where and when necessary, those in power see it as losing power and all the benefits that flow from it .But the point is that it will be better to hearken to the people’s demand for devolution than allow revolution from below. Local government workers, their counterparts at state level and even some staff of federal bureaucracy and parastatals have not been paid their salaries for months, most roads and vital infrastructure are dilapidated yet we pretend all is well. With everybody blaming the federal government, this is the time for the federal government to shed some of its weight and burden to the devolved proposed regions and states. If this is done, the federal government will have breathing space and the problems of the country will not fall on the head of whoever is unlucky to be president at a given point in time. The share of honour and or blame will fall not on the federal government alone, but on all the regions to which power, responsibility and financial resources would have been transferred .How this is to be done remains the problem.

Ordinarily a constitutional conference should be convoked made up possibly of all elected persons at the Senate and House of Representatives including all governors, members of the Council of State, special interest groups like the intelligentsia, the press, labour, religious bodies, retired federal permanent secretaries, select groups of generals and former secretaries to the federal government to dialogue on the way forward. This body should be given legal status by a presidential proclamation. What I am suggesting means that I do not believe we can leave the future of Nigeria in the hands of the elected representatives alone. Whatever they agree upon must be the grundnorm on which our future constitutional architecture must be based. This can be accomplished within months and a new constitution can be put in place well before 2019 election. If the government embraces this suggestion, we can lay to rest the current agitations and while people are working on the evolution of a new constitution, government can face the task of governing. This country’s problems cannot wait while we engage in interminable disputes on the form of government and its underpinning structure. Whatever is worked out must be in consonance with our local reality and cultural environment. There is room to borrow front existing global best practices but we must not be too pedantic in the emulation of what works in other climes.

One of our major problems is the fear of non-inclusion in government by certain areas or ethnic or religious groups in the country. While I feel that this fissiparous tendency needs not remain with us for ever, yet while it remains we must take care of it. In Singapore and India, minorities’ fears are taken care of by allowing them to hold posts of presidents albeit in ceremonial positions. Thus ethnic Indians in majority Chinese Singapore and so-called harijans( untouchables) and Muslims become president in India. The idea of rotation which has been embraced informally in Nigeria could be written into the constitution just to allay the fear of power being perpetually resident in any region or religion.

Since I have been observing Canadian politics, power has oscillated between French-speaking Canadians and their English fellow citizens. Despite the fact that French speaking Canadians constitute only 28 percent of the population, they have occupied the post of prime minister more times than their English counterparts. In a well-developed economy, it will really not matter who is in or out of power. So the solution to our problems is the economy. An economy based on extraction of minerals whether liquid or hard is not sustainable. I say this to warn those who glibly say we have enough hard minerals under our soil to replace the diminishing hydrocarbon resources that we need to build our economy on the principle of self-reliance. We must produce what we eat and what we wear as well as what we need. We must move away from foreign imports and unnecessary esoteric goods that add no value to our lives. An economy based on using our hard earned foreign reserves on importing junks from India and China is not contributing to the growth of the country. Industries that produce consumer goods and that add value to our agricultural produce must receive highly favoured priority. Industrialization based not on imports substitution but on adding value to local produce and raw materials must be the new industrial paradigm. The point being made is not that we should cut off ourselves from global trade because we cannot isolate ourselves from the global economic community, but we must build on our comparative advantages in tropical produce and cheap labour to build a formidable economy that would not be subjected to the vagaries of global commodity prices manipulated by the advanced global capitalist economies. Once done, then we will have enough food in the national port to go round. Each of our constituent states or regions would also produce what it is best at. Thank God our country spreads across four geographical and vegetational belts namely mangrove swamps, rain forest , savannah and Sahel each of which if well exploited is suitable for one kind of agricultural ecology or the other. This is where we should direct our research and development effort in such a way that we can bake a national cake that we can share among ourselves while each of the states will be baking its own cakes without waiting for the national cake.

This is why we must move away from revenue allocation based on population, geographical size and so on to sharing revenue on the basis of contribution, national development, innovation, peaceful coexistence, production and productivity as well as stability of the country. It is obvious to everyone that what is at the root of our ethnic conflict is economic disequilibrium and sharing of scarce resources. These resources are in most cases not earned but are products of locational accidents of oil or other minerals being found below the ground of one ethnic group or the other. This locational accident has bred a life of laziness and indolence whereby our people have abandoned the land and are now quarrelling over commission paid by foreign oil companies. Is it not even a shame that unlike all other oil producing countries that started this oil journey with us in 1956, we are the only one who cannot fabricate the means of production and cannot even maintain the refineries built at great cost and because of our failure we are spending the proceeds of crude oil export on importing of refined petroleum products with little resources left for diversification of the economy?

Our sins of ineptitude and corruption have caught up with us because soon the hydrocarbons which have caused us so much problem over sharing will soon be rendered useless or no longer the black gold it once was because of advancing technologies and concern for the global environment. With our galloping population, we do not have the advantage of time to waste in solving our structural problems or it will be the “fire next time” in the words of James Baldwin when our young people may kill those of my generation who survive the crash of the fast approaching train of violence in the country unless we change our current political trajectory of doing nothing and politics as usual as if the rest of the world owes us a living.

Our inability as a continent to solve our problems and our remaining global laggards is already giving some right wing ideologues to think of a second era of recolonization. If this were to happen, the down trodden people under the rulership of people who had been in power for up to 30 or 40 years may actually welcome this. Nigeria owes it to the black humanity to prevent this from happening but it must not be a wish only but it must be followed by positive action. The only way we can prevent a future tragedy arising from the present chaos is to ensure that the foundational structure of our country is solid.

October 12, 2017
Way out of Nigeria’s problem, by Babalakin

The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, University of Lagos (UNILAG) Governing Council, Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN), has called for the reformation of the education sector. This, he said, would improve all sectors of the economy.

Speaking at a retreat organised by the Osun State University in Ede, Osun State, Babalakin said: “Nigeria is at a crossroad and I believe very strongly that the emancipation of our great country will be led by the reformation of the education sector. Once we get the education system on the proper footing, it will propel the other sectors of the nation and begin an unstoppable forward movement.

“It is very unfortunate that a country with a population of about 150million persons and the largest country in the whole of Africa have no tertiary institution that has any favourable rating in the world.

Various rating agencies have placed the most outstanding Nigerian university at No. 800 or below in world ranking. It is acutely hurtful that even in African, no Nigerian university is rated amongst the top 20. More saddening is that once upon a time, Nigeria had universities that were highly rated in the world. I recall watching a television programme some time ago where Pro. Olu Akinkugbe, an outstanding academic and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin and Ahmadu Bello University, stated that at a point in time, the University College Hospital, Ibadan, was rated as the fourth amongst medical institutions in the Commonwealth. The significance of this is more appreciated when we realize that Commonwealth countries included the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, India, Pakistan and Malaysia. And so ladies and gentlemen, what happened?”

Highlighting the issues affecting the education sector, Babalakin stressed that: “The first is how dowe fund the tertiary education system? A plethora of universities have sprung up in recent times. The Federal Government has created a number of universities. Almost all the states in Nigeria have their own universities. Many private concerns have also established universities. In setting up these universities, I hope that these various bodies have a fair idea of the cost of running them. According to the Academic Staff Union of Univerities (ASUU) quoting a National Universities Council (NUC) source, the average cost of achieving full accreditation for universities’ programmes in

Nigeria is $3,000 that is today above N1 million. In effect, a university with a population of, for example, 5000 students should have N1m x 5000, that is N5 billion as its resource base for running the university. Based on this calculation, it is certain that most of the universities in Nigeria are not well funded. More disturbing is the fact that it is very doubtful if the proprietors of these universities have the capacity to fund them even if they were willing to do so. We have to, as a matter of urgency, stop creating institutions that we do not have the ability to provide for.”

According to him, “universities must be funded from public and private sources. Government alone cannot fund all the expenses of creating a first rate university.

Universities cannot depend entirely on the resources of the Federal and state governments.

All stakeholders in the education sector must harness their intellectual and other resources to create sufficient funding for tertiary education.

“In order to make a university achieve the standards we seek, greater vitality must be introduced into the management of the university. Within the Nigerian laws today, majority of council members in the university are internal members, that are members chosen from within the academic personnel of the University.”

September 14, 2017
Police problem

•It is becoming clear daily that the Federal Govt alone cannot fund the force

IRONICALLY, the long arm of the law caught four policemen who were dismissed for extortion. According to a report, “the affected officials were attached to the Ijebu-Ode Division of the Ogun State Command.” The police reportedly said the dismissal was “in line with the fight against corruption.” The dismissed policemen are: Mufutau Olaosun, an inspector; Adebayo Temitope, a sergeant; Bakare Taiwo, a corporal; and Adesoye Ayokunlehin, a corporal.

Following a complaint by a member of the public, said a police bulletin, “The policemen were identified and it was discovered that they apprehended the complainant on 7th June, 2017 without any reasonable cause and extorted the sum of Fifty Thousand Naira (N50, 000) ‘Bail Money.” The bulletin continued: ”The extorted N50, 000 was subsequently recovered from these unethical policemen who were armed in plain clothes on the day of the incident.”

It is reassuring that the police followed due process in arriving at punishment for the offenders. The bulletin gave details of the process: “Necessary disciplinary measures were initiated against the erring policemen, they were found guilty as charged in an Orderly Room trial after the presentation of witnesses and exhibits. Punishment of dismissal from service was recommended by the Adjudicating officer and proceedings reviewed by the relevant Nigeria Police Force (NPF) authorities.”

Also reassuring is the information that the complainant was handed back his N50, 000 with an apology a day after he lodged the complaint. The promptness of the official response to the complaint is laudable. It is the kind of effective response expected of the police when a crime is reported.

It is also commendable that the offenders were promptly punished. The deterrent value of such punishment cannot be overemphasised, considering that extortion is a crime commonly associated with policemen across the country. It is noteworthy that two police traffic wardens were similarly dismissed in June for extorting N15, 000 from a motorist.

Police extortion is particularly unjustifiable and inexcusable because the police are supposed to enforce the law and not to break it. It amounts to tragic role subversion when policemen become extortionists.

But, could the alleged delay in payment of salaries of policemen in the last few months have been responsible for these criminal tendencies? One of the affected policemen painted a picture of what they are going through: ”As I am talking to you today, July 10, we have not received bank alerts for June salaries. How can the Inspector-General of Police expect the best from us if we are not getting our entitlement as and when due? The senior officers have alternative sources of income, but the rank and file only have their poor salaries to depend on and yet, we are expected to keep the society safe on empty bellies.”

It is true that policemen cannot function effectively on “empty bellies.” But we doubt if it is the reason some policemen engage in crime. While we do not support salary delays for any worker, not the least policemen, it cannot be sufficient justification to engage in crime. The truth is; even when salaries were paid promptly, some criminally minded policemen still extorted innocent citizens.

However, there is no question that the Nigeria Police Force urgently needs a shot in the arm. It is a positive sign of this awareness that Inspector-General Ibrahim Idris on July 11 made an insightful presentation at a public hearing on a “Bill for an Act to establish the Nigeria Police Reform Trust Fund and for other related matters.” Idris argued that “the regular budgetary allocation to run the police is sharply inadequate and requires urgent measure to address, if the force must be effective and responsive to the security needs of Nigerians in a complex and dynamic policing space…The Police Trust Fund is the answer because it would provide alternative and regular funding for the police.”

We cannot afford to neglect the police force. So, the authorities should address the police problems without delay. And, as we have always argued, we should begin to look in the direction of state police as a way out of the problem.

July 17, 2017
Prostate enlargement, urinary problems, infections and prostatitis

What is prostate enlargement:

The Prostate gland is the organ that helps in the production of simen, and it stays beneath the bladder surrounding the urethra, the tube that drains urine from the bladder, when it becomes enlarged, the Prostate can put pressure on the urethra and cause difficult urination and also leads to the following symptoms:

Weak Urine, stopping and starting while urinating, dribbling at the end of urination, straining while urinating, frequent need to urinate, increased frequency of urination at night, urgent need to urinate, not being able to empty the bladder, blood in the urine, urinary tact infection, back and lower abdominal pains.

In Africa, the rate of prostate enlargement and cancer is presently high.

Let me quickly mention that we have developed a herbal remedy that is certified by NAFDAC. The product is known as PROSTALYN herbal a quality herbal preparation that helps to normalise urination where it is excess or difficult, Prostalyn also relieves urinary retention, frequent and urinary urgency. It is important to note that prostalyn regulates P.S.A where the PSA is excessively elevated. An elevated PSA can lead to prostate cancer. Fpr cases of infections and STDs we have also developed remedies that have been certified by NAFDAC one of which is BATULIN a quality herbal preparation that fights infections, improves the blood, boosts the immune system and there for effective for general well being. Batulin is effective against symptoms such as weak erections caused by long term infections, itching, abnormal discharges, and internal body hotness.

A week ago, i had driven out of the office on my way home when i received a call from my secretary that there was an emergency. A man was brought to my office simply because he could not pass out urine naturally. He was under serious pain. I could hear the man screaming in pains even as my secretary spoke to me on phone.

Immediately i suspected that he had just been hit by prostate enlargement a health condition that can start by blocking the urine passage, causing excess urination and difficulty, as well as urinary urgency and retention. Thank God, ourherbs are ready -made. i asked my secretary to immediately open one of the already made herbal preparation for prostate enlargement which she did and the man took out of it.

Amazingly, within the next one hour after they got home, the man urinated, however i was told that the pains seized within 10 minutes after he took the herbs.

When tests was done the following day, i was proved right that his prostate is enlarged. He is presently doing well with our treatment. Once the prostate is enlarged, a lot of pressure can be placed on the leading to difficult or excess urination. Other sysmptoms that can follow are; dribbling urination, inability to empty the bladder while urinating, stopping and starting urination, abdominal and waist pain, NORMAL P.S.A is 0-4.0ug/l. Prostate specific antigen higher than 4.0 ug/L measurement is said to be elevating and should be monitored to avoid prostate cancer.

According to U.S Prostate and Cancer Research Institute, in every 6 men, 1 one person will have prostate cancer. Considering this type of researched information on prostate, i believe the issue of prostate enlargement and cancer should not be taken lightly. It is a serious issue, I write to involve urologists and other interested health professionals to try out our herbs on their patients and be able to documents fact and figures about our herbs especially, where I am convinced that human lives will besaved. In the past one year we have been able to reach

even our elites in this country who actually took our prostate herbs and confirm that indeed they are very effective. I have on records today that some science Professors from the nations University took our herbs and testified of its effectiveness. Besides, we have reached other eminent Nigerians who have testified to the originality and effectiveness of our remedy. There are other outstanding testimonies in th areas of infertility/hormonal imbalance, endometriosis, low sperm count , STDs, staph, ecoli, clamydia and other bronchial and pulmonary Infections, fibroids, prostate enlargement, hypertension, diabetes, ulcer, hepatitis, asthma, constipation and pile problems etc.

FOR TREATMENT and DELIVERY, enquiries call Dr. Paul Torty, The C.E.O of the Saints Herbals, and The Saints Medical Foundation. Phone Nos. 08037140368,08038824033,08051625888, 08038824033, AND 08083860575. Presently we are in Lagos, and Enugu, call now. Distance is no barrier wherever you are in Nigeria. Integrity, Honesty and Trust are our watchword Email: paultorty@yahoo.com.

Website: www.drpaultorty.com.

May 6, 2017