The Nation Newspaper

Tag: progressives

  • Akande: Pathfinder of the progressives

    Elder statesman and former governor of Osun State, Pa Bisi Akande is 80 today. Idowu Ajanaku examines the life and political career of the former Interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who hails from Ila Orangun in Osun State.

    THERE are lasting lessons to learn from the driving passion, socio-economic philosophies, leadership style and the political trajectory of Chief Bisi Akande as he celebrates the elusive age of 90 today. Even as family members, faithful friends, political associates and well-wishers gather to clink glasses and toast to express their groundswell of goodwill, what truly matters  are what we can glean from his inspiring experiences, over the decades.

    Without sounding immodest and backed by empirical evidence, Akande stands tall today amongst his peers as a peerless brand of  humility, integrity, financial discipline, prudence, love for the poor,  honesty of purpose, candour and a patriotic fervour  still uncommon here in Nigeria’s effervescent political horizon. A brand, according to marketing expert  Godwin Idahosa, “ is the sum total of the relationships a company, product, service or even a person has with the customers”. It is not a mere living or breathing organism but an experience- a worthy one at that. It is a store of the values it represents. And so it is with Chief Bisi Akande.

    A glimpse at some of the instances when and where he had demonstrated the aforementioned leadership qualities would serve as an enduring guide.

     

    Scoring the firsts

    As the wise ones say, “the morning shows the day”. A true-life story with regards to Chief Bisi Akande’s political roots would amply illustrate that. He was a dutiful member of staff with the British Petroleum (BP) when the search for a worthy son of Ila –Oragun , his home town to represent their political interests began.

    For instance, he was the first son of the soil to win the Ila/Odo Otin seat to Nigerian Constituent Assembly, NCA in 1977, the first to win the Ila/Ifedayo/Boluwaduro and Boripe seat to the National Constituent Conference, CON in 1994 and the first from Ila-Oragun to win elections into any of the National Assembly. Curiously, all these happened at a time the area was not even politically strong enough to be considered a federal constituency.

    Similarly, he was also the first to serve in the cabinet of any government as Secretary to Oyo State government, 1979-1982. As fate would have it, he was to become the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, an onerous duty he combined with the sensitive task of running the affairs of the Commissioner for Local Government, between 1982 and 1983.

    And to cap the series of epochal political mandates, he also became the first indigene of Ila-Oragun to clinch the much-coveted post of the first civilian governor of Osun state and subsequently that of the Chairman, Alliance for Democracy, AD.  When political exigencies saw to the merger of the progressive parties to form the APC in 2014, Akande also stood above others to be appointed as the first Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

     

    Fighting spirit

    As Leo Tolstoy, the globally acclaimed Russian author rightly noted: “No one has ever regretted living too simply”. In spite of how far he has gone with his career — once as a teacher and later across the political spectrum — Akande, unlike several of his colleagues caught in the self-decimating ego trip, never lost the common touch with the people!

    For instance, he was said to have confronted injustice as a young tenant, in his battle to save the children of his landlord from an undeserved punishment. Such caring and compassionate attribute he must have learnt from his loving and doting parents,  as the first son of Pa Bamgbose Akande and the mother, Madam Humani Wuraola Akande (of blessed memory).

    Though the father, then a palm wine tapper from Ile-Asuda in Isedo quarters of Ila- Oragun was by all standards a well-to-do man, in those days when palm wine tapping was a lucrative business,  he grew up to imbibe the culture of humility.

     

    Integrity his watchword

    One remarkable but painful incident that tested his attitude on honesty took place  when he was teaching at Ijama Primary school in Idanre District. Being a young bachelor he rented a room in a bungalow where the landlord’s family also resided. Much unlike his peers who took delight in playing ludo or ayo game after school, he always got himself busy studying to better his life.

    On that fateful evening, the young Akande strolled outside his room into the corridor. Lo and behold, he saw his landlord chewing a piece of meat and suspiciously taking another one from the efo riro stew pot inside the family cupboard. Both exchanged greetings as if nothing unusual had transpired.

    But not long after, the landlady discovered that some pieces of meat were missing from the soup pot. As expected she summoned her two children to explain their role in what happened. They claimed innocence but their mother was not convinced. They were directed to kneel down, ready for flogging when Akande, feeling out rightly disturbed took  the bull by the horn.  Before the family members he volunteered to spill the beans-that it was the landlord, rather than the innocent children- that had committed the odious act! It was like hell was let loose. In outrage the landlord asked for Akande’s summary eviction!

    Another one came up while he was the acting Headmaster at Ijama Primary School. Back then there was the deliberate, yet fraudulent inflation of school enrolment figures if one wanted the location of a school in a new place, to his favour. But Akande was not going t be part of it. So, despite the fact that he could have been promoted to head the new school at Itese village he did not show any interest.

    It is most inspiring to note that ever since, and even finding himself in the murky waters of party politics, the Akande Brand for integrity and insisting that the right things must be done has dawn credible people to him, like bees to the honeycomb.

     

    A brand for financial discipline

    An interesting episode to shed light on this assertion in the inspiring life of Chief Bisi Akande, was once told by Mr. Wale Adebanwi, a columnist (Home Away from Home) with the Nigerian Tribune precisely on Sunday, August 15, 2004. It had to do with his astute and transparent financial managerial skills clearly exhibited during his tenure as the governor of Osun state.

    Back then, an unnamed UK-based International Donor Agency embarked on the mission to assist Nigeria out of her crisis-riddled economy. To kick-start the project the foreign organization working in partnership with the federal government chose six states, with the aim to help them manage their public finances in a much better way. Abia, Cross River, Gombe, Kebbi and Osun were the states selected for the pilot scheme.

    Incidentally, the expatriates who visited these states made Osun their last port of call. From one state to the other of the first five, they discovered, to their sadness,  that none of them was transparent with regards to their public finance management.But it was a different kettle of fish which they discovered when they visited Osun state! Lo and behold, the Akande-led state had complied with the ethos of financial management. They did not waste time therefore, to recommend the state to the donor agency for the long awaited, intended financial support. As such, his honesty and integrity marked him out as the diamond amongst the rubble.

    So outstanding was Akande in handling financial transactions that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria(2004) openly affirmed it that, “Chief Bisi Akande of Osun State is the only governor whose integrity I can vouch for”

     

    Free education policy

    Chief Bisi Akande, having been a beneficiary of the popular Free Education policy instituted by the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and driven by the love for the helplessly poor ordinary Nigerians ensured same when he was the state governor. He saw the policy as a veritable foundation on which the house of sustainable poverty alleviation could be erected.

    To enhance that, schools that would be the facilitating centres for requisite knowledge have to be built to have solid and stable structures, with well-equipped library and laboratory facilities. They should enjoy a steady supply of electric power, safe drinkable water and also accessible with good road network.

    Furthermore, the presence of well qualified and open-minded teachers is an imperative, as they would act as caring, committed, compassionate yet disciplined parents away from home. He abolished the payment of all forms of school levies-including fees and Parents Teachers (PTA) levies by primary school pupils and students.

    Within that period, 639 new classrooms equipped with furniture at a cost of N341.5million were constructed for primary schools across the three Senatorial Districts of the state. Ditto was the construction of 114 classrooms at a cost of N46.2 million for secondary schools all over the state.

    Furthermore, to quickly resolve the challenge of inadequate science teachers for the 305 secondary schools in the state, he instituted a crash programme for their training in the two Colleges of Education and two polytechnics. And to act as a stimulus for science education in the state several teachers with that background got promoted even as the government built additional 24 science Schools, Seven Technical Trade Schools in addition to the two inherited Trade Centres, all evenly spread across the state.Another gladdening feature of the boost in quality education delivery was the adequate funding of the tertiary institutions in the state, including Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomosho.

    A brilliant feather to the cap of the Akande-led administration’s impact on free education came precisely in December 2002. That was when six out of the top ten students drawn from secondary schools in the state, who took part in the Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientists (JETS) National Competition were from beneficiaries of the government’s free education policy. Interestingly, the state clinched the fourth position at the event which took place in Umuahia, Abia state.

    Indeed, the government under him spent N522.85 million from June, 1999 to November, 2002 as subsidy on education. This laudable initiative saw to the increase in enrolment, attendance and quality of education within a short period. Thank God that the products are all over the world doing Osun state, nay Nigeria proud in the comity of nations.

    Having had his tutelage under Chief Bola Ige (of blessed memory) as his Deputy and at another time as the man who took charge of the affairs of local government administration, he knew exactly what he wanted to achieve as the number one citizen of the state. From primary infrastructural development, healthcare delivery through the  provision of quality education, agriculture, housing and transportation he was strictly guided by some administrative principles.

    The first was to ensure that these projects emanated from the wishes of the benefitting communities, articulated as their most pressing needs. The second was to ascertain their cost implications, set the tone for financial accountability and prudence on the part of the contractors. The third was to make sure that the funds for all on-going projects were made available and the contractors paid upon their completion. Chief Akande made sure that almost all projects, and there were over 1,000 of them during his administration, were completed while in office.

    All said, Akande has stood out as a torch bearer in the dark and long-winding tunnel of mass poverty and ignorance. He therefore, represents that missing link between the favoured few members of the political class and of course, the long-suffering Nigerians, defining  the brand of the much sought after, yet uncommon ideal Nigerian politician the citizens have long been yearning for.

    So, as the much-awaited 2019 general elections dawn on us, enlightened Nigerian voters are enjoined to identify the Akandes amongst them and get them into positions of accountable political leadership.

     

  • Oyetola to party defectors: return to progressives

    Osun State Governor Gboyega Oyetola has urged members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who defected during the governorship primary to return to the party.

    Oyetola regretted that APC lost 49,000 votes during the governorship election, which could have given victory to the party instantly.

    The governor, who spoke in Osogbo, the state capital, at the kick-off of senatorial campaign of the APC candidate for Osun Central Senatorial District, Dr Ajibola Basiru, said: “We should forget yesterday’s crisis and work together for the victory of our party in the coming general elections.

    “Let’s forget yesterday. Our party – the APC – is in power. Osun is the home of progressives. Let’s work for the victory of our candidates for national and state Assemblies.

    “If we don’t have our party members in the National Assembly, Osun would be deprived of developmental projects. If we don’t have majority in the state Assembly, it would create problems for us to implement our policies designed to improve the living conditions of our people.”

    Impressed by the mammoth crowd, Oyetola added: “I am convinced that all our candidates will win. Our candidates are learned; you can’t compare them with candidates of other parties.”

    The paramount ruler of Osogbo, the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun, said though traditional rulers are not supposed to be partisan but “I have consulted with my colleagues and we have endorsed Dr Ajibola Basiru to represent us in the Senate in the next dispensation.”

     

  • ‘Why progressives should win Ekiti’

    ‘Why progressives should win Ekiti’

    Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant Debo Ajayi spoke with some reporters in Lagos on the party’s primary and why progressives should win the election. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE was there.

    Why are you in the race for Ekiti governor?

    Many people acknowledged the intellectuality of Ekiti State, but there is no evidence of proportionate development to match the level of intellect. I came to realize that one unique asset that Ekiti has which no government in the past had taken advantage of, is the intellectual gift of the people. We know that knowledge rules the world and if Ekiti has that knowledge why don’t we convert it to wealth creation. Why don’t we convert it to providing good governance? Having been out there, working in foreign lands, I saw development first hand. I saw what could happen when nations have visionary leaders. We have seen what good leadership had done for Lagos State, what vision had done for Lagos and we will like to see that happens in Ekiti State. One of my key inspirations is that the fate of Ekiti, being derided and deprived would have to change. Any measure of development in Ekiti will inspired the rest of Nigeria. People have come to expect too much from Ekiti which energizes me. We can transform Ekiti and show the rest of Nigeria what is possible. All the intellectual assets of Ekiti that are abound world over could be tapped into. We can rally them, provide the enabling environment for them to prosper and show the rest of Nigeria what is possible.

    So, I am interested in the position of the governor because I see the potential of using Ekiti to showcase to the rest of Nigeria good leadership. This is possible because I have the development background that prepares me to provide good leadership for Ekiti State.

    This is not the first time Nigeria would have intellectuals in position of leadership, yet nothing substantial was achieved…

    Let me emphasise that policies in every area of human endeavour and even in the corporate world need intellectualism and political skills. When you are dealing with people, you really need to have the political skills. The problem really is not about intellectualism versus political factualism. The problem in Nigeria is that the process of producing leadership is very faulty. That is really where the problem lies. The issue of assessing potential leaders on the basis of tract records, credibility is not there, rather the emphasis is money. For instance if people want to talk about Debo Ajayi running for governor, the first question people will ask is does he have the money? And that breaks my heart because that tells me that people don’t even care about the vision, plans and programme. They don’t want to know how you care about the people, but about money. I know there is need for money in politics because running advertorial, publicity and providing logistic for supporters, cost money. The end result is that the leaders we produce are leaders that perpetuate the terrible system. So, we have bad leadership producing bad followership and bad followership sustaining bad leadership. The circle goes on, but to break it, that is where you need technocrats in politics combining intellectualism and political sagacity. And that is part of what I represent, I am among people that know what they are doing, people that are propelled by their own empathy for the people. That is when we will have the real democracy. So, if you go to Ekiti today, the clamour is that they need someone fresh. They are saying they need someone with clean records, not somebody who had gathered the political experience from the past that comes under scrutiny.

    The present governor rode to power on the promise of stomach infrastructure, is the APC towing the same line?

    I want to say that stomach infrastructure actually started under the government that I served as commissioner. When people started to think beyond physical infrastructure and trying to deal with their own vulnerability, we recognize that there is need for stomach infrastructure. And if you really understand stomach infrastructure, it is nothing more than care for the immediate need of people. In other words, when you are talking about development, you have to realize that there is a transition between now and that future that you envisage. Every responsible government needs to care for the people; it is when you politicise stomach infrastructure, that you become a manipulator of the people. For example, if you go to Ekiti today, you ask them, was the expectation of stomach infrastructure actually met under Fayose? The answer you get is a resounding no. Governor Fayose popularizing the concept was to win votes but, in the actual situation, the hopes of the people were dashed. When you have financially vulnerable people the concept become so important to them, I am looking forward to providing a government that care for the people now and at the same time plan for their future. So, sustainable development is going to be very important.

    The APC has many governorship aspirants . Is this not worrisome?

    We don’t have an abnormal list of APC aspirants yet in Ekiti. So, it is not really a major concern. The list is long because it indicates that the trend is in favour of the APC. So naturally, that would attract quality aspirants to contest on the platform of the party. This of course is good for democracy. I am not particularly concerned about that, but what is really important is the process that would generate who emerges APC flag bearer. The process has to be free and fair. It has to be a credible process, so that the chances of APC will not be in endanger by having the wrong candidate. As long as the APC has the right person, that will be good for Ekiti because right now people are so disenchanted with the present administration. They are looking for credible alternative and are hoping that the right governor will come in 2018. That will set Ekiti on the course of leading the rest of the nation in terms of development. I am very positive that if things are properly done, APC will have a good chance, but God forbid if APC loses this chance, that could be the end of the progressives in Ekiti. The next governor will probably want to do everything possible to run for eight years. We are having the current one almost running for four years. That will be 12 years APC will be out of government. This is very critical to the APC, but I am absolutely confidence that will force us to get it right.

    Ekiti people probably do not want to support a government that looks too elitist. How will you fit in?

    With the level of connectivity that we have with the people and having served under Dr. Kayode Fayemi led administration, I have learnt about what is good about the administration. Therefore, we must make sure we don’t lose. I have equally kept a tab on what we need to amend and what is wrong about that administration that we have to put everything to avoid. I happened to have that privileged, so in terms of elitist which I believe is perception and how we carry people along. There is a school of thought that says if you call a round table in Ekiti of any programme to make the state better, that programme will never get done because of the intellectual debate that it will generate. That school of thought says if you know what is good, go ahead and do it, hoping that at the end of the day people will see what you have done and appreciate you for it.

    You may also get it done and people still don’t appreciate. I saw firsthand how hard you can work and people still don’t appreciate. I feel compelled to carry people along in whatever that I am going to be doing. So, if elitist, that is not going to be my style of government and I going to be involved with my people. I do that right now because I know the local joints the people meet and I assembled. There is no leader that can be effective if you are a stranger to your people.

    Fayose has anointed his deputy for Ekiti governorship position, has this not push the APC to a tight corner?

    Governor Fayose anointing his deputy is within his right. The problem is that sentiment is against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti because Fayose has not delivered on the expectation of the people. There is the overwhelming belief that anointing his deputy is a continuity of Fayose in power. This is what the people are going to dwell on in the coming election. He is entitled to do whatever he wants to do, the people are equally entitled to elect whoever they want to elect. So, what he did is not of serious concern to us.  What I have working for me, is that I am the only governorship aspirant that had prior working experience in Ekiti. I am very familiar with legacy of issues that we need to continue and familiar with the people and putting some innovative projects in place. So, as long as the APC gets it primary right, the PDP will never be a threat because it is a spent force in the state.

     

  • Progressives need progress

    Progressives need progress

    Surely, it is a sign of the times that Afro-Pop artiste Tuface is set to lead a protest march against hard times and the federal government’s alleged mismanagement of the country’s economic crisis.
    A January 31 report said: “In a video on his Facebook account, which racked up more than 21,000 views after just an hour, the singer urged his compatriots to stand up in a “peaceful and articulate manner.” “The need for urgent solutions to the challenges facing Nigerians has become very clear,” Tuface, whose real name is Innocent Ujah Idibia, said in the video. “Things are not getting better for the majority; we are still where we are, poor and desperate. I will no longer be quiet.”
    It is interesting that based on this song of bitterness, a sort of protest movement developed leading to a plan to protest on February 6 at the National Stadium, Lagos. “It’s crazy, we didn’t have a clue this would happen,” Efe Omorogbe, Tuface’s manager, reportedly said. “It was very spontaneous, we didn’t plan it.” In other words, the plan was unplanned, meaning that the planners may well have no plan.
    Interestingly, after an initial disagreement, the police and the protesters reached an agreement. Lagos State Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni said: “We had a meeting with the protesters and we explained to them why we advised against the protest. A pro-government group wants to protest that same day and we don’t want a situation where there would be friction. We also don’t want hooligans to hijack the process and injure the protesters.” He continued: “After explaining to them, they said they will go back and discuss with others. They said if they decide to go ahead, they won’t demonstrate but would assemble at a point and read their demands. That notwithstanding, we have resolved to provide security for them. It is our responsibility and we won’t shy away from it. We will ensure trouble makers do not hijack the process.”
    Obviously, this is a developing story, and there will be further developments. At this stage, the publicity has helped to highlight the scale of sourness in the public space concerning the shape of the country’s economy and the need to reshape it. There are many voices complaining about the recession and how the federal government has allegedly lost the plot.
    Indeed, there are many critics of the federal government who insist that President Muhammadu Buhari is clueless about how to redeem the rot. It is a simplistic perspective. It has been said that insight is often accompanied by sightlessness. Those who believe and claim that the Buhari administration has failed, or is failing, seem to have lost sight of the reality that the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), cannot be isolated from the administration’s performance.
    If Buhari is a failure, it cannot be said that the APC is a success. If Buhari is a success, it cannot be said that the APC is a failure. Correcting the country’s economic crisis is too critical to be left to the Buhari administration without critical input from the ruling party.
    The recent intervention by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, an APC leading light, demonstrated the necessity for the party’s involvement in the effort to rescue the country from recession. In a bold and brilliant lecture at the National Defence College (NDC), Abuja, on January 25, Tinubu declared: “We have to criticise ourselves when it is necessary, speak truth to power. We are the power; we will talk the truth to ourselves…The challenge before us is a difficult but not impossible one. If we stick to the progressive beliefs of the APC, we shall overcome these difficulties to place the economy on surer permanent footing.”
    Tinubu’s talk, titled “Strategic Leadership: My Political Experiences,” provided nuggets of political and economic wisdom that the Buhari administration would do well to absorb. Tinubu observed: “There cannot be strategic leadership without a conscious objective. Political leadership in Nigeria generally has fallen short in this regard. Leadership has been short-sighted and fixed on narrow, immediate objectives. Because of this, leadership has been more transactional than strategic in nature. It has been more focused on the retention of power and control than on the substantive results and long-term consequences of its policies and actions.” There is a point where presidential teachableness meets party guidance. There is a lot to be gained by the Buhari administration if it develops a teachable spirit.
    It is easy to see that the Buhari administration’s concentration on its anti-corruption campaign is helpful to the anti-recession campaign because the recession is not unconnected with political corruption. An alarming report by the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) last year made the point that “corruption brought Nigeria to its knees.” The report covered August 2015 to July 2016. PACAC said: “For example, it is widely believed that insecurity escalated because of the massive embezzlement of $2 billion through the Office of the National Security Adviser under the leadership of Col. Sambo Dasuki, who allegedly diverted the money appropriated to fight insurgency. The problems in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry reached the zenith with multi-billion dollars subsidy scams while President Jonathan looked the other way.”
    The most chilling aspect of this report highlights the size of stealing by some people in power during a particular period and how political corruption has so terribly short-changed the country. PACAC was quoted as saying that using World Bank rates, one-third of the N1.3trillion allegedly stolen by only 55 people in seven years could have provided 635.18 kilometres of roads, built 36 ultra-modern hospitals in each state, built and furnished 183 schools, educated 3,974 people from primary to tertiary level (at N25.2 million per child) and built 20,062 units of two-bedroom houses.
    If this level of development could have been achieved with just one-third of the allegedly stolen money, how much more could have been achieved if the entire alleged loot was used for the country’s development? Who are these alleged 55 thieves who stole so much from a 2016 estimated population of over 178.5 million? How were they able to steal as much as has been alleged? Why did they need to steal as much as has been alleged? What did they do with the alleged loot?
    So, the anti-corruption crusade is crucial. So is the recession resistance. The bottom line is that the Buhari administration and the APC should make things better for Nigerians.

  • APC leaders pleaded for my return – Osoba

    APC leaders pleaded for my return – Osoba

    Former Governor Olusegun Osoba on Tuesday said the public misconstrued what happened at his Bourdilon home, Ikoyi – Lagos, last Sunday when the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Southwest met.

    In attendance at the meeting included the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Mrs. Oluranti Adebule and former Governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo.

    Others are former interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande; APC National Vice Chairman, South West, Chief Pius Akinyelure and Senator Gbenga Obadara and ex – Deputy Governor, Prince Segun Adesegun.

    But Governor Ibikunle Amosun, his Deputy, Princess Yetunde Onanuga and leaders of the Party in Ogun State were visibly absent and no explanation given for their absence.

    Osoba who broke his silence on the matter, said while people kept saying that he hosted the Southwest leaders of APC in his home since the news of the meeting broke; the truth of the matter was that it was them that came to plead with him to return to the APC family.

    The Akirogun of Egbaland who made this known in his remarks at the public presentation of the book: Alake of Egbaland, in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, and vaguely blamed the press for the public misconception.

    The 127 page book bearing Five chapters, was authored by the foremost Egba politician and industrialist, Chief Alani Bankole, popularly called Caterpillar and was reviewed by the pioneer Vice – Chancellor of Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Prof. Olukayode Oyesiku.

    Osoba noted that the pleading by the APC leaders in Yorubaland for him to return to the progressive fold have been on and still continued, adding that two prominent traditional rulers had also lend their voices  in that direction.

    The ex – governor said the occasion of the book launch was not a time for political speech making, adding that it is better left for a later date in future.

    And in a brief encounter with the press shortly after launching the book with half a million naira, Osoba said he is a founding member of APC and would remain a progressive politician till the end of his sojourn on earth.

     

  • Senate’s pseudo progressives

    Senate’s pseudo progressives

    Hello, Mr. PP”, Opalaba bellowed into the handset in response to my enthusiastic announcement of my presence in the area. There is a history behind this exchange.

    I had once walked into Opalaba’s booby trap of tradition bashing when I accused him of not welcoming me back home. I had suggested to him, as the elders taught us, that if he didn’t consider it appropriate to stretch to me a hand of welcome, he should not expect a corresponding gesture of goodwill to him. After all, he who fails to say “welcome” has lost a right to “I am here and I hope I meet you well.”

    My friend didn’t take kindly my accusation and though I wasn’t going to let him win the debate that ensued, I thought that he had a point. Opalaba insisted that either the elders were wrong or I got the import of their teaching upside down and inside out. In his thinking, the suggestion that the person at home must first stretch a hand of welcome to the visitor or family member returning from a trip makes sense when the two are physically contiguous. It is then easy for the home-bound folk to witness the arrival of the family member or visitor. In such a situation, it is normal to expect a warm welcome back from the home bound person to which the arriving folk may respond “I hope that I find you well.”

    However, while that scenario is normal in the traditional setting, it does not feature often in contemporary setting when even within the same village, I may not know that Opalaba was away or has arrived and vice versa. It was in such a setting that I had accused Opalaba. His response was an outburst of a pent-up anger at whoever or whatever:  How am I supposed to know that you had arrived? Am I expected to have a crystal ball? It’s stupid to quote that nonsensical proverb. It doesn’t apply to this situation. In fact, it’s the reverse that applies: If you don’t announce your arrival with “e ku ile” you forfeit your right to “e ku abo.”Since that exchange, I learnt to announce my arrival.

    That was what happened last weekend and the response that I got was “Hello, Mr. PP.” To my question, “what does that mean?” Opalaba irritatingly suggested that I ought to know. “You are all pseudo progressives,” he derisively averred. “And I just pity the poor folks that you all deceived with your change mantra. Change my foot!”

    Continuing, Opalaba exploded: “What change when you cannot even defend a poor kid taken advantage of? Your legislators were quick to initiate an ethics probe of one of their members for bashing them in an interview. But when a 14-year-old was abducted and impregnated, ‘mum’ was the response from them! Now a bill seeking a law to criminalise such barbaric exploitation of the vulnerable has been dealt a death blow in the Senate. But what have you done as a columnist? ‘Mum’ is the word from you as well.”

    “By the way” Opalaba continued, do you know what’s in that bill? It is the most reasonable and modest set of legislation that any reasonable person, born of a woman, would gladly assent to if only as an honour to the vessel through which they entered the world. And to those who have daughters and sisters among them, you would expect that they would be mindful of the future that they aspire to have those poor girls and women experience and do the right thing.

    “In case you haven’t followed your senators’ legislative blunder, I have identified at least six substantive and largely innocuous features of the gender equality bill. And I would invite your good self to tell me, based on your understanding of the commonsense revolution that APC enunciated and which I believe you subscribed to, which of these is lacking in commonsense or is too radical for your comfort.

    “First, the bill requests parity for boys and girls and men and women in educational placement and school enrolment, including in the award of scholarship. Simply put, obstacles should not be placed on the path of girls or women in the matter of educational attainment. Pray, why would any sane senator oppose this? Are girls and women different species? Are they not human beings? Does their different anatomy place a curse on them? It is just so damning of the mentality of pseudo progressives who are really closeted reactionaries.

    “Second, the legislation seeks to eliminate gender stereotyping and customary prejudices that are ignorantly based on perceived inferiority or superiority of the sexes. Where roles are reserved for men and women based on such stereotypes, it does an irreparable harm to the psyche of young women and men. Indeed, our distinguished senators may not be aware or conscious of the real foundation of their votes on the bill. But they have just exposed the harm that traditional stereotyping had done to their own psyche. They grew up being fed with the rubbish about what women are and in their adult lives they refuse to independently and critically evaluate the old “idols of the tribe”, the prejudices that stand in the way of reason and rationality.

    “Third, the gender equality bill seeks to eliminate sexual and domestic violence, including rape, assault and sexual harassment. All religions preach domestic harmony. All sects preach peace. While would senators be in favour of promoting sexual violence? But you may tell me that none of them favours the promotion of violence. My question to you is “why are they against a bill that seeks to eliminate violence?”

    “Fourth, the bill that your pseudo progressive senators reject seeks to eliminate inhuman and humiliating treatment of widows. It seeks to give a widow the right to an equitable share in the inheritance of her husband’s property.And to your pseudo progressive senators, this is a mortal sin! A woman spent the whole of her life with a man more or less like a servant, bore his children, satisfied his sexual urge, nursed him when he was sick, provided the needed emotional support for his passion and ambition no matter what they are. In the end, he passed on and the woman is left in limbo. She cannot have access to his property. Relations who hated him and her while he was alive have the right to inheritance. This is the tradition that your pseudo progressive senators admire and voted to continue.

    “Fifth, the gender equality bill seeks to ensure more participation for women in politics and in positions of authority. But your pseudo progressives cannot bring themselves to an understanding of why they must empower women in this way. After all they (women) are supposed to be seen and not heard. The fact that the major prophets have special places for women in their heart doesn’t amount to anything for your reactionaries in progressive garb. Women are about half the population of the nation. But out of over a hundred senators, there are not up to 10 women. It is good reason for shame. But shamelessness is the heritage of pseudo progressives.

    “Sixth, the gender equality bill seeks to make age 18 the minimum age for marriage in the country. Of course, for pseudo progressives this is the height of provocation when they would rather catch them young. So for them it is the last straw. Indeed, I venture to hazard a guess that many of them did not bother to read the entire legislation and when this caught their attention, they just decided there and then that the entire bill must be shredded. Pity!

    “In the end, a chamber with a majority of its members in a political party that campaigned as a change agent and an advocate of commonsense revolution, threw out a progressive bill that seeks to emancipate a large segment of the population from unfair exploitation. How low can a chamber go?”

    Thus sayeth Opalaba. And from me, oro pesi je.

  • Fear of progressives in our country

    Fear of progressives in our country

    Trying to pretend that there is no wing of the northern elite that is opposed to Buhari’s candidacy and may thus be interested in sponsoring opposition to his anti-corruption policies and programmes is being deliberately myopic

    Fear of progressives or of progressive ideas by individuals and groups obsessed with reactionary or conservative ideas has been a part of human organisations from time immemorial. The tension since the beginning of human history between conservative (originally known as feudal) forces and liberty-oriented individuals (generally known as progressives) is still evident in many societies of today. For as long as there are people who identify with ideas that seek to promote and protect the interests of the people at large while there are others who remain fixed to the position that it is only the personal or class interests of the few with various forms of advantage that should dominate majority with the power to determine what benefits should be given to the masses from the common wealth in any society, there is bound to be morbid fear between the two groups. It is usually the few individuals with the advantage of power in politics, economy, and society that generally appear more afraid of those cultivating new ideas than the other way around. But in cases of successful revolutions championed by those on the side of progress, such progressives quickly learn that the fear of reactionary forces is the beginning of wisdom.

    Those who were around to witness the political history of the country and those who have had opportunities to study the country’s political journey since independence ought not to be surprised when Chief Bisi Akande made the following observation: “Most northern elites, the Nigerian oil subsidy barons and other business cartels who never liked President Buhari’s anti-corruption political stance are quickly backing-up the rebellion against the APC with strong support….While other position seekers are waiting in the wings until Buhari’s ministers are announced, a large section of the South-West sees the rebellion as a conspiracy of the north against the Yoruba.” Many persons and organisations, including the north’s apex socio-cultural organisation, the Arewa Consultative Forum, have castigated Chief Akande for making inflammatory statements and for attempting to return with this statement, despite his contributions to the building of a pan-Nigeria political party in APC, to the politics of ethnicity and religion. The ACF said authoritatively that “the era of tribal and religious politics or inciting one tribe over [sic] the other has no place in our present political focus.”

    As expected, people have lined up in the last two or so weeks behind or against Chief Akande for his statement or assessment of what went wrong with the election of National Assembly officers about a month ago. What is missing in the reactions of individuals and associations to Akande’s statement is the courage to ask pertinent questions before attacking the messenger. One of such questions should have been about whether there is a stratum of the elite in the north and other regions that is mortally opposed to Buhari’s anti-corruption stance and his ethic of change of the manner Nigeria is governed.

    Without mincing words, there are and have to be members of the elite in the north and south who are not comfortable with Buhari’s electoral victory and citizens’ mandate to him to work towards change of governance philosophy and style in the country. From the infancy of modern politics in multiethnic Nigeria during and after colonialism, there has always been a stratum of the elite class in all the regions with unmistakable aversion for modernity and change. In the 1940s for example, a strong group of traditional elite in the north unapologetically stood against calls for political independence from colonial subjugation, apparently for fear that sending British colonisers away would diminish the power and influence of the core of the north’s traditional leadership.

    Even in the west, now referred to as south-west and some sections of the south-south, there were persons who considered themselves cultural leaders who campaigned overtly and covertly against the introduction of free primary education when Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his Action Group party launched the policy of providing access to members of all social classes in the western region to acquisition of knowledge that could accelerate the process of modernisation. It was such opposition against reducing the barriers to change and equality that explained why the northern region looked away from copying the experiment in free universal education in the west after Awolowo’s progressive politicians overshadowed their conservative counterparts in the region with large support of the citizenry.

    Similarly in the second republic, conservative members of the elite in the north and the south in the NPN tried to justify the denial of access to universal education to citizens by insisting that there should be no universal education until the country was in a position to provide ‘qualitative education,’ as if access and quality were mutually exclusive. The entire country is suffering today for the denial of education to millions of children in the north when the Unity Party of Nigeria, a progressive political party, pleaded with citizens that no amount of learning was useless. Most of the young people in the army of Boko Haram terrorists today must be children or grandchildren of Nigerian citizens in the north that were denied access to modern education in the first and second republics in particular. The current push by the international community for a total approach to the problem of Boko Haram certainly includes a recognition of decades of marginalisation of the masses in a region dominated by elites with little confidence in universal education, one of the pillars of political and social reform.

    Just as there were conservatives or reform-averse individuals in the north and the south in the pre-independence era, so were there agents of reaction and reform in both sections of the country in subsequent republics. While the NPC was the dominant political group in the north at the time of the 1959 election, so was there NEPU of Malam Aminu Kano. In the second republic, the dominance of change-resisting NPN in the north was countered by a change-promoting political party also led by Aminu Kano, the PRP.  Alhaji Balarabe Musa and Abubakar Rimi won gubernatorial elections in Kaduna and Kano under the PRP.  Both agents of change then served as governors until the wheel of impeachment at the instance of the conservative wing of the northern elite removed Balarabe Musa from office. There were many intellectuals even in the southwest who believed that the UPN was not progressive enough for the problems confronting Nigeria and thus chose to register as members of the PRP. Just as the north had fire-eating enemies of change then, so did the region have change-promoting activists and intellectuals. For example, Bala Usman compared favourably with his radical counterparts in the south: Segun Osoba (the historian, not the journalist) and many others.

    Even in the third republic, the nation’s political space was divided into two: ‘a little to the right and a little to the left.’ The candidate for the right emerged from the north while the one for the left came from the south. It is only in 2015 that the candidate for the presidency on the platform of progressives is a northerner, an unmistakable member of the northern elite that Chief Akande referred to as producing most of those who sponsored the controversial election of officers in the National Assembly. Clearly Akande’s use of northern must have been in terms of geography, rather than ethnicity or religion.

    Reducing Akande’s argument about the role of conservative forces in the crusade against change (after the election of Buhari as the nation’s agent of and for change) to ethnic or religious distraction does not help matters in any way. It smacks more of intimidation of the first chairman of APC who Buhari himself has referred to as a major builder of the party. Even though northern elite in general asked for a northerner to succeed Jonathan, it is not unexpected that Buhari’s coming to power on the platform of change, reform, and improvement may not please all members of the northern and southern elite. Trying to pretend that there is no wing of the northern elite that is opposed to Buhari’s candidacy and may thus be interested in sponsoring opposition to his anti-corruption policies and programmes is being deliberately myopic.

    If our children are to have proper political education, no individual or group should deny the existence of some elites in the north and in the south and of their power or influence to scuttle the process of change, especially when power is in the hands of a progressive, whether he or she is from the north or the south. Ideological differences have always been a part of the country’s political culture and no amount of effort to occlude this fact can lead to reform. Conservatives and progressives must have the courage to identify public with their political stance, and no group should seek to benefit from the regime of change from shielded enclaves of reactionary forces in any part of the country while denying the existence of reactionary forces. Most modern countries of the world use ideology to structure their political conflict and competition for power. Majority of Nigerians opted for a progressive political party in the March/April elections and those who are behind neutralisation of the party of change need to be exposed so that citizens can take proper note.

  • April 11th: Lagosians must vote progressives

    April 11th: Lagosians must vote progressives

    SIR: From time immemorial, Lagos state has always proved itself as a progressive state by voting into office, the progressive parties like AG, UPN, AD, AC, ACN, and now APC. Even when former President Obasanjo’s PDP tsunami swept through the south west region in 2003, Lagos state remained standing and will always remain standing like the iroko tree and rock of Gibraltar in the hands of the progressives because of the dynamism, sophistication and enlightenment of the people which is part of our historical heritage and pride as a people.

    In the last eight years of building on the pathfinder trail put in place by his dogged and focused predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Babatunde Fashola has had to contend with the enormity and burden of the task of maintaining, renovating and building public infrastructures in order to actualize the Lagos of our dreams and he has done well.

    Worth mentioning is the fact that because of the economic status of Lagos in the life of the country and as a former federal capital, the progressive government of Lagos state has been responsible for not only meeting up to the needs and aspirations of Lagosians, but also cleaning up, renovating and reconstructing facilities worn out by federal government economic activities as a result of the abandonment of Lagos state, the former federal capital which responsibly deserved a special status because of its strategic importance in the life of the country but has been ignored till date.

    In the discharge of its mandate, the Lagos state government has lived up to its constitutional responsibilities to the good people of Lagos through massive construction of roads, bridges and drainages, enhancement of security of life and property through modern standard equipping of the security agencies and lighting up the roads, building of health facilities to world standards across the state, provision of innovative mass transportation system through the BRT, building of jetties and provision of its accessories for an efficient water transport system, ensuring  stress free commuting on the roads through the creation of Traffic Radio, LASTMA to ensure free flow of traffic, provision of traffic lights at strategic junctions, roads signs and lane markings to allow for safe driving, establishment of  the Lagos State Drivers Institute (LASDRI) to enhance the capacity of drivers, reducing road accidents and fatalities through restriction of okada riders from the highways, combating environmental degradation and abuse through creation of public parks, gardens and beautification of the environment via tree planting, building of affordable mass housing for the citizenry, establishment of agricultural farms, awards of bursaries and scholarships to indigent students in institutions of learning, ensuring public safety through the establishment of Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Lagos  State  Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), equipping and decentralization of the Lagos State Fire service, reinvigorating LASEMA, among several others.

    The progressive APC government in Lagos has even gone further to embark on the building of a world class road and mass light rail network to link Lagos state and Nigeria with our neighbouring West African countries through the construction of the Lagos-Badagry expressway corridor to enhance easy and free flow of goods and persons in line with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) treaty on movement of goods and persons across borders; a duty that is the statutory function of the federal government, but which it has abdicated to our collective shame.

    The massive increase in IGR by the Lagos state government today which is responsible for the endearing development strides that we have witnessed in the last 16 years and which has made the state to be less dependent on federal allocation and an envy of other states within the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as a role model of responsible governance beyond our borders was laid by an economic genius like Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode. Under his watch, the State Treasury Office (STO) revolutionized the way Lagos State finances were raised, budgeted, managed and planned. In his six years as the Lagos State accountant-general, the state’s financial performance improved visibly with the budget performing at a remarkable average of 85% annually.

    Therefore, in the light of the foregoing, one can only admonish voters in Lagos state to realize that the economic prosperity of Nigeria is tied to the economic prosperity of Lagos and now that the wind of change has brought about a new dawn at the federal level, it is only appropriate for us to tap into it and benefit from the federal presence which was our bane in the second republic and even now in the fourth republic by consolidating on the responsible and responsive governance that we have witnessed in Lagos state in the last 16 years by voting for Akinwunmi Ambode. Eko O ni ba je O!

     

    • Nelson Ekujumi,

    Surulere, Lagos

  • The progress of former progressives

    The progress of former progressives

    It is one of the great paradoxes of Nigerian history that the most vicious and venal reactionaries are often former progressives. Given the enormous damage they subsequently cause to the progressive cause, the question must now be asked as to whether they were ever progressive at all in the first instance or mere ideological choir boys chanting what they hardly understood or barely believed in.

    Some of them may even be innocent victims of political disorientation or mere wannabes looking for a political platform to actualise their legitimate ambition. Or in some extreme cases, this crisis of ideological orientation can be traced to the political equivalent of gender confusion or some more profound case of genital conflation which produces political hermaphrodites.

    As it is now being revealed in the twilight of their political career, it is even possible that a few of our progressive avatars were nominal conservatives who cheated demystification by sheer good luck. Rather than hurling insults and invectives at each other, it may be better to understudy the very notion of progressive politics in order to lay bare the structure of contradictions that power politics at any given time and place and the radical restructuring of the status quo which happens to be the hallmark of progressive politics.

    It may well be that we have all along been confusing an abiding preference for modernity and modernisation which is the default temperament of the majority of the Yoruba people as well as the template for their pre-colonial and post-colonial politics with progressive ideology which is marked by a clear and intellectually sustained preference for the radical reorganisation of the existing order.

    To say that the Yoruba are naturally progressive because of their instinctive preference for modernity and the modernisation project may well be true. But it does not exhaust the possibilities of the term. In the same individual, the same people and the same society, the conservative may well coexist and cohere with the progressive until a defining crisis forces one tendency to supplant the other. .

    As we have seen in the case of Dubai, Singapore and the Asian Tigers, it is quite possible for great modernising drives to be sustained by or anchored on conservative politics which is suspicious of the radically disruptive. Yet by creating a potent and prosperous middle class, these conservative societies have already provided the future nursery beds of radical discontent with the existing status quo.

    With the resounding victory of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in the Osun gubernatorial election, a new vista has opened up in the perpetual struggle between progressives and former progressives in the old western region of Nigeria. It was a major political rout and electoral shellacking of the Yoruba conservatives and sundry mainstream apostles of federal power.

    Yet some rabid ideologues of the right and their ethnic carrion feeder collaborators are already insinuating that having captured forty two per cent of the total votes cast, the PDP is clearly ascendant in this heartland of Yoruba progressive politics. They have conveniently forgotten that this was the same state they claimed to have legitimately ruled between 2003 and 2010 when they were dislodged by judicial justice. What happened to that majority of their imaginary hallucinations?

    In the 2011 elections, Aregbesola completely cleaned out the entire state in a brilliant display of total politics. Was it possible to proceed from nothing to this electoral substantiality?  It is obvious that this is all part of the anticipatory approval of the looming electoral heist their principal is preparing to foist on the entire nation come 2015. The PDP has been hoisted by the petard of its own lies and electoral chicaneries.

    For Aregbesola, it has been a close shave indeed, but they have not managed to touch his shrubby beard. That magical goatee should be preserved for posterity and in the interest of electoral sanity in Nigeria. Having captured the old Ondo province, had the PDP succeeded in overrunning Osun State through its blatant intimidation and electoral cajolery, it would have been a straight dash to the sea through Oyo and Ogun..

    Like his illustrious warrior forebears did in 1840 at the Jalumi battle, Aregbesola has managed to turn the tide against federal invaders. Like all those who have tried to turn Yorubaland into a theatre of war using Yoruba renegades, Jonathan will learn his lesson the hard way. By trying once again to humiliate the Yoruba people and rob them of their electoral preference, the federal authorities have roused a slumbering bear. The magnitude of Aregbesola’s victory will appear in bold relief as we slouch towards 2015. We may yet have to thank the federal authorities.

    Before taking a look at the immediate future and its portents, we have chosen to take a retrospective glance at the immediate past by republishing an article which first appeared on this page about four years ago.

  • Progressives in UK plan conference on merger in UK June 20

    The United Kingdom (UK) chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), under the umbrella of Progressives Merger Committee (UK), has expressed its readiness to discuss with other progressive groups within and outside the country to make the new progressive party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), a reality.

    The group plans to organise a conference in the UK on June 20.

    Former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; former Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau; renowned economist, Prof Pat Utomi; former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai; for Lagos State Information Commissioner Dele Alake; wife of Ekiti State governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; Dr. Garba Abari and APC governors are expected to speak at the event.

    Other guests include parliamentarians from the UK who have expertise and interest in Nigeria and Africa.

    A statement by a member of the committee, Dr. Ibrahim Emokpaire, said the conference will consolidate the outcome of the merger negotiations in Nigeria; look at the practical levels from other countries’ examples on the road map to a successful progressive governance; provide the opportunity for the progressives to showcase the credibility and seriousness as an alternative government in waiting and build international consensus around the progressives’ merger agenda.