The Nation Newspaper

Tag: reality

  • Balotelli does not live in reality, says Prandelli

    The former Italy boss claims the striker must learn from his past experiences and feels Serie A sides are getting their priorities wrong

    Former Italy coach Cesare Prandelli believes AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli lives in his own world “far away from reality” – though he insists he is not a bad person.

    Balotelli netted the winner in Italy’s 2-1 World Cup win over England, but failed to make an impact in the defeats against Costa Rica and Uruguay and was heavily criticised for those performances as the Azzurri crashed out of the group stage.

    “Balotelli is a good guy, really. He is not a bad person,” Prandelli told Corriere della Sera.

    “But he lives in a dimension that is far away from reality.

    “That doesn’t say anything, though. He is only 24 years old and has the possibility to build on this experience.”

    Prandelli then went on to stress that Italy’s biggest problem is that clubs care about their own interests more than those of the national team, whereas world champions Germany benefit from an entirely different mindset.

  • Ijaw reality show

    Not exactly an escapologist, Ebikeme Clark’s extrication from captivity nevertheless had a dramatic colour. Seized on April 2 in Kiagbodo community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, the son of the vocal Ijaw leader and unapologetic partisan of President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Edwin Clark, unexpectedly reconnected with society five days after, saying, “My abductors apologised for keeping me. They gave me N5, 000 for transportation when I was released.”

    It was a rather disappointing anti-climax to an episode that had promised pyrotechnics. Earlier, reacting to the abduction and the N50 million ransom demand of the kidnappers, counsel to the elder Clark, Mr. Dickson Bekederemo was quoted as saying, “ If anything happens to him, they know the Ijaw custom very well: it is life for life. We’ll go after them, it’s declaration of war. They and their families will know no peace.” Whether this was bare braggadocio would perhaps never be established as Ebikeme’s release silenced the drumbeats of war and despoliation. It is also speculative whether this picture of doom persuaded the abductors to rethink.

    However, an intriguing development has continued to fuel supplementary speculation, particularly about the actual circumstances or behind-the scenes activities that secured freedom for the captive. In a thought-provoking counter-statement to the claims of the family, the police and the state administration to the effect that no one paid a kobo to soothe the kidnappers, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) alleged that this was a well-dressed lie. The group said it “has confirmed that the kidnap was actually a clever orchestrated fraud masterminded by Ebikeme who stage-managed his own abduction.” Reinforcing the damaging allegation, it added, “A ransom of N500 million was paid by the Delta State government from its security vote and was shared among all those involved in this scam.”

    It is instructive that MEND offered a motive for the claimed confidence trick, suggesting that it might just know what it is talking about. According to the alternative narrative, “It is rather unfortunate that in a desperate bid for relevance and extra funds to maintain a private jet, certain unscrupulous persons, including the police, will conspire to deceive Nigerians with a phantom abduction, release of the so-called hostage, influence over kidnappers and arrest of suspects and denying the payment of ransom, which has already been shared.”

    Given the gravity of these accusations and the elasticity of belief required to accommodate them, in addition to the implications for the group’s veracity, disclosure of identities and other damning details would have been useful for clarification purposes. Not surprisingly, therefore, the haziness was exploited for defence. Speaking for the state administration, Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Ovouzourie Macaulay rubbished the allegation of payment of N500 million as ransom, and described it as “very foolish.” According to him, “For anyone who knows how government runs and the logistics of that volume of fund movement, it is impossible. There were only two working days during the period.” This was a clearly simplistic response because the accusation referred to “security vote”, which suggests funds outside the scope of official accountability and bureaucratic process. What this means is that if the government is indeed innocent, it simply cannot be because of the reason advanced by its spokesperson.

    Perhaps the most potent counter-point to the payment claim is a straightforward question: Why would the state government allegedly pay N500 million to kidnappers who had demanded N50 million? However, beyond this telling poser, it is significant to ask how MEND arrived at the figure, and to wonder whether it has qualms about selling and spreading falsehood.

    Another point to ponder is the fact that Chief Clark introduced an interesting dimension as he blamed his son’s seizure on MEND leader Henry Okah and his brother, Charles. It is certainly not sufficient to finger Henry who is serving a jail term in South Africa for the October 2010 bombing at Eagle Square in Abuja, and Charles who is facing trial in Nigeria on related charges; and linking them with the kidnap would need more than mere declaration. Is it possible that the allegation against the brothers is the elder Clark’s method of expressing his bitterness at MEND’s unflattering accusations, especially the idea that he arranged the abduction with his son?

    The picture painted by Ebikeme, who reportedly drew the attention of journalists to his head injuries, is striking for its revelatory aspects. By his account, “ They were ordered by their leader, Tompolo, to free me.” He explained that a call from Tompolo’s deputy, Boro Opudu, led to his release, which must be a testimony to the powerful influence of the duo. It is apt to wonder whether the kidnappers succumbed to the sheer force of intimidation. Or is it that Tompolo, a well-known and supposedly reformed ex-militia leader who has controversially made a fortune from government security contracts, offered to compensate the abductors?

    It is noteworthy that the police have arrested six people in connection with the kidnap and Commissioner of Police Ikechukwu Aduba said four other members of the gang were at large. According to him, “The suspects have all made confessional statements giving details of their individual and collective roles in the kidnapping.” He described the gang members as “extremely dangerous, ruthless schemers and bloodthirsty.” Against this background, if the suspects are actually culpable, getting them to let their victim go, apparently so easily and effortlessly, must rank as a miracle of sorts.

    It is enlightening to reflect on Ebikeme’s recollection of his experience in the den of lions. He said: “When they were talking, some talked about being excluded from the amnesty programme. Again, some believe that the political class has failed them and they have to get money by force from the politicians. They are actually against politicians; they hate politicians.” He added that they also complained about the fact that the political leaders “always talk in millions”, which is unattainable in their own context.

    In the end, beyond the appearances and illusions that seem to be the defining qualities of this specific kidnap case, the political situation and public condition are at the heart of the matter. Potential kidnappers are perhaps born everyday across the country, and it is in the interest of the political leaders in particular and their friends to understand that they and their loved ones are endangered by their inexcusable omissions.

  • A word for reality shows organisers

    A word for reality shows organisers

    I have been an ardent fan of almost all the television reality shows in the past five years. I must congratulate the organisers on bringing up programmes to harness the potential and creativity of the youth. The shows have made many young Nigerians to detest crimes, ridding the nation of juvenile delinquency.

    In the manner the youth are engaged, it takes their minds off mischief. Against such background, I believe the beneficiaries will forever be indebted to reality show producers for giving them the opportunity to discover their God-given talents. For this I say, thumps up!However, my purpose of writing this article is not merely to praise the promoters of reality shows for rewarding youths, but to inform them how some Nigerians feel about their programmes. The manner the shows’ organisers lavish money in the name of rewarding people they consider to have talents for music is alarming and uncalled for.

    Though I am not trying to say that these young talented youths do not deserve the financial reward, but there are areas of our national life that are dead and need to be revamped. The TV reality shows promoters, as private sector, can come in here to reach out to more youths.

    The mind blowing millions spent in rewarding the successful youths in their programmes can be invested in productive ventures. The Nation, on October 1, published a story that told how leather factories in Kano have become moribund. Of course, we do not need a soothsayer to tell us that the agricultural sector is also dying. As such, I urge the reality shows’ promoters to also use throw their money in revitalising these sectors. At the end, Nigerians would be happy and there would be huge profit from the investment.

    It may interest them to know that if they contribute in turning around the fortunes of critical sector of our economy, the citizens of this country would not forget them. They should imagine a situation where they revitalise an industry or create one and thousands of youths are employed, this would have extended their love to a larger population compare with when they just reward two or five people in the so-called TV reality shows.

    Again, the shows have continued to encourage youths to dwell in the fantasies of being the next superstars. Consequently, every youth wants to be a musician, an actor or actress, a super model and so on. I am not insinuating that these vocations are not noble or legitimate but it appears that the number of youths who want to be entertainers is increasing.

    Regrettably, no Nigerian youth wants to be like our revered Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka or the late Prof Chinua Achebe, Prof Akachi Ezeigbo, Chimamanda Adichie, Prof Zaynab Alkali just to mention a few. If anyone thinks that I exaggerate, he can go to secondary schools and ask pupils what they wish to be in future. He would be surprised that 75 per cent of them would wish to be musician or movie actor. I am not trying to say everybody must be in the academia. Yes, there must be variety because God created variety and variety is the spice of life. But priority must be given to other sectors if national and human developments are wanted in Nigeria.

    We are regularly informed that reading culture has waned in Nigeria. Why will it not be when we reward youths with millions the way TV reality shows’ promoters do, knowing clearly that Nigerian youths like shortcut and faster means to rich and fame.

     

    How do you expect young people to read books or develop their minds when their mates are out there making millions in a two-week or a month TV reality shows?

    Let it not be seen that this article is an attack on potential celebrities and superstars. I am only against the idea of giving them millions of naira just because they took part in what does not necessarily add values to the life of the common man. As a life-time student of economics, I know that it is good to appreciate people who patronise us, but if it must be done, then it should be with a moderate amount.

    How can you reward a youthful contestant with N10 million and expect him to go back to school? Is it not better to use such fund to build a health care centre in one of the rural areas? That is the real meaning of corporate social responsibility.

    The truth must always be told no matter bitter or who gets hurt. I wish you could do this for us. For the earlier we control this reality show extravagance, the better for our national and human developments.

     

    •Uchechukwu, 100-Level Food Science and Technology, ABSU

  • Reality of Rice Revolution

    Four decades of Nigeria’s food balance sheet history were filled with rhetoric, regrets and rots arising from a decline in local food production profile while the food import bill was on the rise. Rice, a food commodity, initially occasionally consumed by households, mostly ceremonially, soon became a daily household staple, a first choice at public gatherings and a common food item in our growing fast food outlets. What governments and individual consumers have failed to reckon with, over the years, was the insidious destruction the growing appetite for rice has caused to Nigeria’s economy, especially when two-third of the rice consumed is imported.

    Nigerians seem either unaware or nonchalant on the health, security and economic implications of such importation. Foremost, no exporting country will keep old stocks in store while exporting fresh harvests. As such, the first-in first-out principle of stocking food applies, wherein such nations push out stocks of five years and above as exports, while retaining new harvests. The health implication to importing nations can be better imagined, especially when the quality of old stocks may have deteriorated, or when we consider the impact of storage chemicals on consumers, where such chemicals are used, or when the nutritional values have deteriorated due to long years of storage.

    Secondly, the security of any food-importing nation is questionable due to the vulnerability associated with economic and environmental shocks, shortage of supplies and deprivation of local farming population who become jobless and constitute social threat to their own country. The economic implication, not only derives from the security (social) implication, but also complicates it. What is gain to the exporting nation is a commensurate loss to the importing nation. This needs some elaboration.

    The annual foreign exchange outflow goes to enrich the producer and exporter nations. Farmers in importing nations are deprived of incentives to produce in a competitive way. Thus, a vibrant farming population is discouraged and displaced from farming.

    To the discerning, an annual expenditure of $11 billion on food importation is alarming enough, with rice importation alone constituting about N365 billion ($2.4 billion or one-fifth of total annual food import bill), meaning that nearly N1 billion has been spent daily for rice importation for so many years. For how long then can we, as a country, afford to tie our food needs to importation, with a population growing at a geometrical rate? At what point should we stop, ponder and change the rising and seemingly irreversible but undesirable trend that is digging a big hole in our national treasury?

    Under the Transformation Agenda of the Jonathan administration, it was decided that Nigeria, as a nation, cannot afford to continue to toe this line ever so blindly. This paved the way for the rice transformation agenda, an intervention that led – within the past two years – to a massive reduction in Nigeria’s dependence on rice importation. The flood of 2012 became a blessing in disguise as it served as a springboard for possibility thinking, involving the inputs of local and international experts assembled by the Minister of Agriculture to think through on how to produce massively to make up for whatever food shortage was occasioned by the flood.

    Ten states of northern Nigeria were systematically and methodically selected for the dry season incentivised irrigated rice production, a project that committed 264,000 hectares of farmland to dry season rice production, yielding about 1.1 million metric tons of rice within five months, keeping the farmers busy at a time of the year they were traditionally idle, and putting more money into their pockets. The experiment arising from the flood of last year, has led to a policy direction of entrenching the dry season rice farming into Nigeria’s agricultural calendar, now to do massive production in 20 states, going forward.

    The dry season intervention, being the first of such an attempt, arose out of the panic scenario that was painted by many economic analysts after the flood. It was an emergency response then, with limited time to plan and execute, a chosen line of decision, taken instead of succumbing to self-serving suggestions coming from traders who would rather that Nigeria imported food to make up for perceived losses arising from the flood. If 10 states, on an experimental and emergency basis (as it were), could produce about a third of what is yearly imported, and done in response to a disaster, then let us think of what more states would produce under a deliberately planned and systematically implemented programme.

    It is premature for any pundit in the comfort of an office to cast aspersion on the agricultural transformation programme implemented in rural communities simply because it has not done a magic, or because its results are not felt everywhere yet. The confounding variables in agriculture are more complex, more complicated and more far-reaching in implications than in other sectors.

    Let us think about it: we are talking about agriculture, operating under harsh logistic environment, supporting resource-poor farmers, tilling the ground, reaching farming population in remote areas, dealing with unpredictable weather, building trust, persuading the financial institutions to play in the sector they hitherto avoided and regarded as risk-prone, and restoring confidence in doubting farming population who have been used to years of deceit from previous governments, government interventions and government officials.

    The journey to make Nigeria a global powerhouse in food production is ongoing. The results achieved in just two years give a signal of progress and a cause to cheer. The flood plains of River Niger, just outside Lokoja, have been there for years, unutilised, until Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State, working with the federal government’s team, turned the area to a massive rice-growing field during the past dry season.

    Large-scale commercial rice producers are already expanding their production of rice locally. Fourteen large-scale integrated rice mills have been established by the private sector in just two years, producing international quality long-grained parboiled rice. Arising from the recent dry season rice production, local large-scale millers now have access to locally-produced raw paddy as could be attested to in Bakolori scheme in Zamfara State, Argungu plains in Kebbi, Wamakko or Tambuwal local governments in Sokoto State, the Eko Rice, coming from Kebbi paddy fields in Suru, exposing the futility of requests for waivers to import rice, which President Jonathan turned down.

    Taraba is another state worth mentioning, wherein a single investor, working with a cluster of out-growers, embarked on large-scale rice production on 30,000 hectares. Working with state indigenes, Dominion Rice Farm is embarking on what promises to bridge about 15 per cent of imported rice through a local production.  Olam, another private firm, is expanding its rice cultivation by 6, 000 hectares for the same reason. And just last month, a Nigerian investor commissioned Quarra Rice in Kwara State, a mill with capacity of 30,000 metric tons per annum, with commercial rice farms on thousands of hectares.

    To further build the resilience of our food system, the government has completed a total of 10 new silos for strategic food reserves within one year, expanding Nigeria’s silo capacity by 400 per cent. These silos are now being provided under concessions to the private sector, for the establishment of world-class agricultural commodity exchanges.

    Times have changed. Considering the dynamics in Nigerian agriculture, especially in the past two years, the jinx has been broken. Nigeria will soon be free from rice imports and will produce, not just enough for local consumption, but will have excess to store and even export! Nigerians need to be patient and see the positive side of the changes taking place on the fields, translating to improved rural economies, rising volume of locally-produced rice stock and freeing our economy from the stranglehold of decades of import-dependency.

     

    • Dr. Oyeleye is Special Assistant, Media & Strategy to Agriculture and Rural Devt. Minister.

  • Our new reality

    Our new reality

    With two well-timed knockouts on the nation’s anti-corruption pretence all within one week, the hapless citizens of this country may have finally been let into the innards of the goodluck seduction. Of course, you know what I’m talking about; the sensational pardon granted Messrs Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, Shettima Bulama and Chichi Ashwe by the President Goodluck Jonathan.

    To cap it all was the icing on the presidential infamy; weekend’s N6 billion cash haul at fund raising event of Jonathan’s church in Lagos.

    To imagine that it was not nearly a month that I wrote on this page about winning as both addictive and intoxicating, and how this President, once coy mistress of power has since mastered the intricate game of decoy. Today, those who doubted the President’s resolve to cart all the trophies home, or his determination to carve the field of play in his own image only needs to to look at the streams of trophies rolling in. Unfortunately, it seems that the nation has a lot less to worry about the president’s trophies now as his infinite capacity to bruise the nation’s psyche, something that must be seen as doubly troubling.

    Troubling because the nation is being reminded yet again, that those invested with the authority of state have very little appreciation of right and wrong, and the notion of office as public trust.

    To start with, it is doubtful that anyone was fooled by the federal character appearance of the pardon largesse. As we have since seen, not only was the Presidency less than elegant in bunching of “goats” with “sheep”, its officials have since given the game away: its all about the the self-styled Governor-General of the Ijaw nation! And it may well be connected to the politics of 2015! To make things beautiful and plausible, the issue has been reduced to the novel arithmetic of crude: the net difference between 700,000 and 2.4 million barrels of crude daily more than equal a DSP pardon!

    It seems to me however that this particular pardon undermines the very basis of the punishment. This is the the point missed by those who maintain the legality of the president’s action. Yes, Alams and company have paid for their crimes. Assets said to be proceeds of their crimes have been forfeited to the state. So what? The question is what lessons are we sending to potential, albeit privileged criminals, if not that a presidential pardon can undo all things?

    Now, I move on to the presidential fund-raiser for the St Stephen’s Anglican Deanery and Youth Development Centre, Otuoke, the President’s home town, held at the high brow Civic Centre, Victoria Island Lagos at the weekend. It was a classic in presidential extortion – and that is to put things mildly.

    What is a deanery and youth development centre that would attract N6 billion cash haul in a single fund-raiser? That obviously sets a new limit in financial obscenity, a new low in public morality. No doubt, the President was merely following a trail earlier blazed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo when he coralled the nation’s captains of industry to donate into his Presidential Library Project.

    Just like the Obasanjo donor, it was the list of familiar faces: assortment of friends of those in power, the league of government contractors, the club of influence pedlers and their likes.

    Prince Arthur Eze alone is said to have donated N1.8 billion. How much did the business tycoon pay as income tax in the last three years? The Board of Inland Revenue should be interested in finding out.

    Jonathan’s Man Friday, Godswill Akpabio would not be overshadowed; he doled out N230 million on behalf of the PDP governors forum. Liyel Imoke, who only recently came back from medical vacation also chipped in N100 million also on behalf of his South-south governors.

    Whose money? Tax payers money in the service of the president’s private project. And all of this in a moment of executive impunity.

    While I don’t claim to know what a church in a village stands to benefit from a N6 billion youth centre, a village which the President himself conceded that his children may not even live, it seems to me that the project speaks only to the vanity of the presidential office. Here, it does not even make things better that God’s name is being dragged into an exercise that speaks both of the vanity of men and the pervasive stench of corruption in the land.

    Again, the president may have done no wrong; indeed, it seems inevitable that we are going to be regaled with the defence of the shameful fundraiser. We are sure going to be told of how God loves a cheerful giver, how the amount donated are for worthy causes.

    It does not matter. The hapless Otuoke folks would have something of a memoriam for their beloved son’s sojourn in presidential office, however, it takes nothing from the immorality of it all.

    Of course, the nation has a lot to worry about. Today, hunger stalks in the land, the Boko Haram is on rampage in the North-east and the North-central; the power situation has since relapsed.

    While those in the corridors of power celebrate shadows, the ordinary folks in the street lives with the reality of denial. But these come nowhere the daily assault to what they know as public morality, their sense of right and wrong.

    That, courtesy of GEJ, is the new reality we have to live with.

     

  • Yoruba marginalisation: Myth or reality?

    Yoruba marginalisation: Myth or reality?

    Elders and leaders of the Southwest geo- political zone have been complaining of glaring marginalisation of the Yoruba in today’s Nigeria. In this report, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, takes a fresh look at the claims

    It started like a subtle complaint. Not many people gave it a thought. But in no time it assumed the dimension of an agitation. That was when Nigerians started paying attention to what was then an emerging issue. Today, the issue of Yoruba marginalisation is nothing short of a burning national issue with more and more people lending voice to the raging debate.

    First, it was the Afenifere Renewal Group that formally called for discussion on the issue a few months ago. A few days after that, a group of older Yoruba professionals and politicians, held a press conference and reeled out details of efforts by the Jonathan regime to neglect and relegate Yoruba interests to the back burner of Nigeria’s socio-economic process.

    Shortly after that, a delegation from the zone visited President Goodluck Jonathan to complain about non-inclusion of Yoruba politicians in top-notch positions in his government. Though the delegation met with the President, it was not clear what was achieved with the trip as the allegation of a systematic marginalisation of the Southwest continued long after the team returned home.

    Checks by The Nation revealed that the alleged relegation of the Yoruba is not just about the composition of the federal government. Concerns are also being raised about how the region is left out of appointments in several agencies at the federal level.

    Comrade Soji Korodo of the Oodua Liberation Movement (OLM) said. “A situation where the total appointment for the entire Southwest falls short of those of a certain states speaks of either a deliberate effort to ignite ethnic resentment or a glaring outcome of total collapse of coordination in the machinery and records of government.

    “Available data indicates that the Yoruba have lost more than half of their appointive positions since former President Olusegun Obasanjo left office. This is why we are alleging that this is a deliberate attempt to shortchange us for reasons best known to the people perpetrating this.

    “Obviously, the situation is not due to lack of qualified and experienced men and women of integrity in their numbers and quality across all spheres of human endeavour in the Southwest.”

    However, there are others who saw nothing in the allegation of being marginalised, as claimed by Yoruba leaders. According to this school of thought, the situation is not as bad as ARG painted it.

    “It is bad sportsmanship for the Southwest to claim it is being marginalised now. This is a zone that was in the presidency for eight years just a couple of years ago. Aside the presidency, the Yoruba occupied several other juicy positions for years. Nigeria is not for one tribe and it should be understandable that these things will move round all the federating units. That is the principle of rotation. That is what is keeping us together as a nation,” Sanni Abba Yerima, a chieftain of the Northern Union said.

    Yerima, who was quick to remind the Southwest that the position of Speaker was zoned to the region by the ruling party but was lost because the zone voted for the opposition party, added that the issue of marginalisation is being championed by politicians who failed in their bid to corner certain positions in the current dispensation.

    But for a fact, no Yoruba man occupies any of the top six political positions in the country. This forms a major grouse of those promoting the allegation that the region has been shut out of the nation’s power corridor. These top six positions and how they are currently distributed are as follows:

    President (Southsouth); Vice President (Northwest); Senate President (Northcentral); Speaker (Northwest); Deputy Senate President (Southeast) and Deputy Speaker (Southeast)

    It is also instructive to know that currently, the Chief Justice of Nigeria is from the Northwest; Secretary to the Government of the Federation ( SGF), Southeast; Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Northeast; Chief of Staff to the President (COS-P), Southsouth; Chairman Federal Civil Service Commission, Southeast; Chairman Police Service Commission, Southsouth; National Security Adviser (NSA), Northwest. Non of these is a Yoruba.

    “It is so bad that there is no Yoruba person in the CJN succession radar for the next ten years,” a judiciary source said.

    Findings by The Nation also revealed that there is no Yoruba man among the chairmen of the 10 key federal agencies listed in section 153 of the constitution. These bodies include Code of Conduct Bureau (Northeast) and the  Federal Character Commission(North central)

    The others are Federal Civil Service Commission( Southeast); Independent National Electoral Commission( Northwest); Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission(Southeast); Independent Corrupt Practices and Allied Offences Commission( Southsouth); Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(Northeast)

    This was the situation when some Yoruba elders met recently in the rocky city of Ibadan, Oyo State, to once again take another look at the place of their race in the nation’s political configuration. And by the time they were through, it was no longer easy to believe that the issue of Yoruba marginalisation is being raised by a few politicians.

    At the end of the February 7, 2013 meeting, the gathering, which had eminent sons and daughters of Yorubaland across party and religious divides, unanimously submitted that the people of Southwestern Nigeria have been shortchanged in the scheme of things politically.

    In what can best be described as a collective lamentation of woe, the leaders rose with a demand that what they described as the socio-political marginalisation of the Yoruba race should stop forthwith.

    The current situation was worrisome for the elderly men and women that gathered that day. The leaders, under the auspice of the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF), buttressed their position with examples of how the race has been less favoured in the sharing of leadership positions at the federal level, especially in the current dispensation where, according to them, a Yoruba man was not considered good enough to occupy any of the first 10 leadership positions in the country.

    The gathering also lamented how the Yoruba race has allegedly been sidelined in the distribution of appointments into Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs of the federal government.

    Leading lights of the race who were part of the Ibadan declaration included Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi, Senator Bode Olajumoke, Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, Senator Mojisoluwa Akinfenwa, Senator Femi Okurounmu, Chief Tokunbo Ajasin, Chief Olu Falae, Sen. Tony Adefuye and Dr. Kunle Olajide.

    Others were; Chief Charles Ekundayo, Chief Akin Omojola, Alhaji Rasak Folunso Chief Yemi Falade, Mr. Tola Noibi, Chief Biola Ogundokun, Chief Dipo Jimilehin; Prof. Adenike Grange, Chief Biola Ogundokun, Chief Dipo Jimilehin; Chief Akin Omojola, among others.

    According to Professor Grange, the pedigrees as well as the important positions held previously and currently by those at the meeting served as reminders of a once glorious past of a race that was always in the forefront of the socio-political development of the country.

    Speaking to The Nation on the issue, Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi, who convened the Ibadan meeting, regretted that the marginalisation of the Southwest geo-political zone in the distribution of political positions was an attempt to relegate the zone in the federation.

    “There is no argument about whether we are being marginalised or not. It is a fact with evidences all over the place for us all to see. What we are witnessing now is very painful, particularly for people of my age. And this is happening because some of us are very selfish because we do things only because of money.

    “Take a good look and show me a Yoruba man in any of the apex positions like the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker, House of Representatives, Chief Justice of the Federation, Deputy Senate President, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Acting President, Court of Appeal, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief of Staff to the President, National Security Adviser and Head of Service of the Federation.

    “You will find none and we say we jointly own the country. It has never been this bad. The degree of marginalisation of the Southwest zone borders on attempts to excise the zone out of the federation,” the retired Anglican Bishop of Akure Diocese said.

    But the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe, said the political leadership of the Southwest is to blame for the marginalisation of Yoruba people, not President Jonathan.

    “The issue of marginalisation of the Southwest was a political misadventure and political accident, brought about by the Yoruba themselves. If you would recollect, the Yoruba were supposed to produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives, which is the number four position in Nigeria.”

    “But due to the political mishandling of the leadership of the Yoruba and also the sabotage of the Yoruba people by the Yoruba leadership, I am talking about the people in the political party now, the Yoruba people in the opposition conspired against the Yoruba people and allowed the position to be taken away. That is the beginning of marginalisation.

    “You see, when people sit down to share what is not enough and you don’t have anybody to speak for you, there is a problem,”  he said.

    However, Senator Femi Okunrunmu, chieftain of the Yoruba Unity Forum wants the issue of Yoruba marginalisation to be taken very seriously in the interest of the country. He is of the opinion that the President should promptly address the matter.

    “We met with Jonathan to complain about the marginalisation of Yoruba, but he has not done anything about it. So, we have decided to pay him another visit. We have already made our intention known to the Presidency. We are now waiting for the President to give us an appointment.

    “We have the details of the situation which we intend to present to the President. It is as if the Southwest has been excised from the country. If you look at all the top political positions and appointments in the country, it is not hard to see that Southwest has been marginalised in this administration.

    “Check from number one, which is the President, to number 15, you won’t find a Yoruba person there. Look at the people controlling the economy, the finance minister, the Central Bank Governor, no Yoruba person is there. The first lawyers in this country were Yoruba. Today, Yoruba are marginalised in the judiciary. In the National Assembly, the Senate and the House of Representatives: Yoruba people are not in leadership position. It is bad. It’s as if Yoruba are not wanted,” he said.

    Speaking in the same vein, another prominent Yoruba leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, said the present arrangement is very unfair to the Southwest. He added that even in the distribution of projects like the repair of federal roads in the country, the Southwest is being marginalised.

    ‘While others would be enjoying roads built with money from our national treasury, we, in the Southwest will have to pay for the repairs of the federal roads in our region as our own federal roads are given out to concessionaires who would collect toll from users.

    “The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway concession is an example. That is unfair. Why are there not roads under concession in the North, Southeast and Southsouth? Yoruba people have been marginalised,” he said.

    “While Okurounmu and people like him continue to wait on Jonathan to address the alleged undue shortchanging of the Yoruba in the scheme of things today, the agitation for an immediate solution continues among several other groups and individuals who daily remember the glorious days gone by when the region held its own in the comity of federating units in the country.

     

     

  • Burkina Faso coach: Match-fixing a reality

    Burkina Faso coach: Match-fixing a reality

    Burkina Faso coach Paul Put, whose own career was blighted by his involvement in a match-fixing scandal in Belgium in 2005, says the problem has always existed in soccer and little can be done.

    The Belgian has made progress in his bid to rehabilitate his reputation by taking the unfancied side to the African Nations Cup semi-finals but his murky past has become a focus in the build-up since the release of Europol’s report this week detailing widespread European match-fixing.

    “Match-fixing has always existed in football. If you look in cycling, at Lance Armstrong, it’s always him who is pointed at but everybody was taking drugs.

    “When I played football I saw a lot of things. I don’t think you can change it. It’s unfortunate but I think in every sport you have to face those things,” he said.

    Put and players from his club Lierse were paid to throw matches in the 2004-2005 season, generating betting gains on Belgian soccer in China in what became known as the Ye scandal after the Chinese businessman Ye Zhe-yun, who Belgian police said was at the centre of the affair.

    Put said he had fixed two matches while in charge at Lierse in 2005. He said his family had been threatened and feels he was a scapegoat.

    “You have to see what’s going on in football. There are a lot of big international players who are involved in match-fixing,” he said.

    “I think it was worse in the past. It was a very hard time for myself and my family and my friends. If they point at you and you are the only one, it is hard. I was threatened by the mafia. My child was not safe. They threatened me with weapons and things like that.”

    Put was banned from soccer for three years. “It’s not nice to talk about these things but this is the reality. I’ve been fighting, fighting, working, working, day and night and at least I now I have satisfaction,” he added.

    “Now everybody in Belgium is turning and calling me, radio programmes, television programmes but I’m still the same Paul Put as before.”

    Put said he had been forced into throwing matches. “Fixing games is a big word. The team at that moment had nothing. It was in a very bad condition. There was no hope, no money, nothing. It was not by our will,” he said.

  • Making rural telephony a reality

    Making rural telephony a reality

    Over a decade ago, the Federal Government embarked on rural telephony, a brainchild of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). After contracts were awarded for the project, the government suspended its implementation. With telecoms operators’ reluctance to roll-out services in rural areas, the need has risen for a rethink of the project, writes LUCAS AJANAKU.

     

    When she left Lagos for Obuno Village, near Igbo Ukwu in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State to celebrate the Yuletide, Omeihe Oluoma promised her friends and colleagues in school to keep in touch with them through the telephone.

    An undergraduate of Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Lagos, Oluoma was shocked when she got to the village and could neither make nor receive calls. “When I was leaving Lagos, I was full of excitement that I was going to spend the Yuletide with my people. I took my mobile phone along and made sure I did not forget the charger in Lagos. Since I was not going to be available, I felt I could keep in touch with my friends and colleagues in school both in Lagos and outside it. So, I made sure I had enough ‘credit’ on my phone,” she recalled.

    She was, however, disappointed when she got home, because she reach her friends.

    “After trying several times to make calls without success, I checked the screen of my mobile phone and discovered that there was no network signal at all on the phone. I asked my cousin who had earlier arrived ahead of me what the matter was. He was the one that told me that telephone services in the community still remain a luxury. He directed me to an uncompleted two-storey building where people queued up to make calls at a particular point where an operator’s network signal strayed into the community,” she said, adding that it was a nasty experience.

    Peter Okechukwu (not real name), a Lagos-based computer engineering technician based at Computer Village, Ikeja, had a similar experience to share. Like Oluoma, he had left Lagos for the Yuletide and had travelled with his three mobile phones. An indigene of Ikpa Eluama Village, Osina Town in Ideato Local Government Area of Imo State, he was shocked to find out that more than 10 years after the ‘telecoms’ revolution,’ his community was still living in the backwaters of civilisation.

    “I use virtually all the GSM service providers. When I got to the village, only one of the service providers was relatively constant. The others were flippant and very unreliable. As a matter of fact, the network signals of two of them (MTN and Etisalat) were only available about 1.00am. So, if any Short Message Service (SMS) was sent to you in the day, it will be delivered about that ungodly hour of the day (1.00am),” he said.

    According to him, MTN recently installed a Base Transmission Station (BTS) in the village, adding that the ability of MTN customers to enjoy the facility is contingent upon the contiguity of the customer to the Base Transmission Station (BTS). “You must walk close to the BTS before you can access the services of the firm. It is strange but it is just the truth,” he said.

    Even in Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria, some communities are either not served at all, or under-served. Olympic Agboola, a resident of Ajasa Community, a Lagos suburb, says telephone services in his community has been irregular. “It is magic to us in this community. Sometimes, there will be no signal at all. I think the capacity is still not sufficient. There is need for more investment on infrastructure,” he said.

    The experience of Oluoma, Okechukwu and Agboola are, but a few of what several thousands of rural dwellers pass through. For them, the telecoms revolution meant nothing as it has failed to bridge the digital divide.

    Nigeria is, no doubt, a huge country. According to recent figures from the National Population Commission (NPC), the country’s population stands at 167 million. It is against this backdrop and refusal of operators to invest in providing infrastructure to rural communities that the rural telephony initiative of the Federal Government becomes imperative.

    According to figures from the NCC, subscriber figures hit the 109 million mark at the twilight of last year. Majority of these subscribers live in the urban areas, while a huge number of the rural populace remains underserved, or not at all. Therefore, the next frontier for expansion is obviously the rural areas where there are still more than 58 million willing but unconnected potential subscribers.

    Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Eugene Juwah, said between 2001 and mid-2012, investment inflow into the nation’s telecoms industry increased from $.5million to over $25 billion.

    According to experts, community telephony will encourage the growth of the agricultural, extractive and manufacturing industries in the rural areas.

    Minister of Agriculture, Akinwumi Adesina, said the ministry is partnering with the Ministry of Communications Technology to make about 10 million mobile phones available to rural farmers in the country to boost food production. Through this initiative, tractors, fertiliser, seeds and other farming inputs will be transmitted to the farmers through an e-wallet.

    Launched in 2001, the first phase of the project was to cover 218 local government areas and provide over 636,256 Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) lines in all the council areas to bridge the digital divide.

    The project was divided into three phases, and was estimated to cost $200 million. Key Communications Limited, Suburban Broadband Limited, Voicewares Network Limited, Gicell Wireless Limited and Hezonic Limited, were involved in the project, while the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning the project was signed with a Chinese firm.

    The implementation of the project would have complemented the ITU’s initiative to connect the world with technology by 2015. According to ITU, the Connect the World (Connecting the Unconnected) project by 2015 aims to mobilise human, financial, and technical resources for the implementation of the connectivity targets of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the Regional Initiatives, adopted by member states at the ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference.

    The project was finally suspended in 2011. Aside the suspended rural telephony initiative, an intervention, like the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), established by the Communications Act of 2003, is geared towards promoting and facilitating ICT infrastructure in rural and under-served areas across the nation. It is expected to promote private sector investments, encourage competition, and give priority to self-sustaining programmes and projects. The USPF gets funding from the contribution of mobile operators who contribute 2.5 per cent of their profit to enable access to rural communities. With this kind of initiative, it is baffling why a large number of villages in the nation were yet to benefit from any form of telephony access.

    But the trend has been for telecoms operators and investors to put a higher rate of investments in the urban areas and a lower margin in the rural areas. To bridge this gap, telecommunications and Internet services need to be deployed more to the rural areas, since it’s certain that the next phase of the telecoms communications growth will come from the rural areas.

    Director, Regulatory Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Ibrahim Dikko, struck the right chord recently when he challenged the Federal Government to look for ways of funding the provision of telecoms infrastructure to rural areas as members of his constituency would not do that because of low returns on such investment

    “The government would have to find ways to subsidise rural infrastructure build, because operators most times, invest in areas that they consider commercially viable,” Dikko said.

    The Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has urged the government to synergise with telecoms operators to resuscitate the moribund National Rural Telephony Project.

    Its President, Lanre Ajayi, said this was necessary since the government had been unable to implement the project while the rural communities had yet to feel the impact of the phenomenal growth in the telecoms sector.

    “The Federal Government should support telecommunications providers to reach the under-reached and unserved areas through the USPF. In the implementation of rural telephony, government should provide operators stable power supply, accessible roads and improved security of telecoms infrastructures.

    “Opening up the rural communities through integration into the national telephone networks will enhance exploitation of the economic potential of the communities and improve the standard of living of the rural dwellers,” Ajayi said.

    MTN, had in 2010, launched a rural telephony initiative in partnership with equipment vendor, Huawei, in Lagos. How this initiative has improved telephone penetration in the country is not clear.

  • In reality, 2013 presages 2015

    In reality, 2013 presages 2015

    There are laws governing war, as there are laws governing peace. It is the tragedy of modern Nigeria that its rulers can hardly tell the difference between the two, straining as they often do, perhaps for private convenience, to juxtapose one set of laws with another and, in the consequent moral haze engendered by their laxity, interchangeably applying the two sets of laws without any scruple and across all boundaries. Last year was an illustrious one for Nigeria for many reasons. This year will be an even more eventful one for all patriots, considering that we have in effect set up a country where officials, elected and appointed, have schooled themselves both by theory and practice to undermine the law or apply it selectively. This year, we will keep the form of democracy, but deny its substance. We will continue to make laws for orderly government, but circumvent them at will. We will struggle to regulate and grow the economy, but opt for intuitive rather than scientific methods. And, trust us, we will embrace religion the more, but neither our dogmatism nor our fervency will produce a concomitant benevolence of spirit or ethical rectitude indispensable to the growth and regulation of stable and peaceful societies.

    In particular, a few issues will loom very large this year much more than others, and the following two years will be shaped by how we respond to them. One of these issues is Election 2015, which the President Goodluck Jonathan government has ingratiatingly suggested is too early both to discuss and to manoeuvre over. But neither he nor his opponents will take the counsel of discretionary patience. The debate over whether Jonathan is qualified to contest in 2015 or not was smothered a long time ago. That debate will not reoccur. Nor will the question of his ethnic origins as a factor in electoral contest and performance rear its head, in spite of the fulminations of Chief Olisa Metuh, the emotive and impressionable Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Publicity Secretary.

    The dynamics of elections may be changing in Nigeria, with performers being rewarded with a second term, but that change is slow, tedious and unreliable. In any case, while the change is discernible in some states, at the federal level, particularly as it relates to the executive arm, that change is imperceptible. Indeed, it seems that at the executive level, a different set of dynamics is at play in the consideration of who is elected president. I have read analyses suggesting Jonathan is undeserving of a second term on account of his poor performance. Roads have not been built or maintained; hospitals have been left derelict; and schools are nondescript or in some cases even mothballed. Policies have not been as vigorous as under the imposing and bellicose Chief Olusegun Obasanjo government. And Jonathan himself has neither been inspiring nor surefooted. In consideration of these elements, many analysts and general commentators, including the scientifically disputatious and the jobholding aggrieved, have tentatively suggested the president is in danger of losing a second term.

    However, Jonathan’s re-election will have little to do with his performance as with the internal dynamics of his party, the PDP. He knows this, and his opponents within the party understand this. So, too, do the governors. They all know that once the party can somewhat close ranks and select a standard-bearer, the election is as good as won. This is why there will be fierce jostling and jousting within the party to either consolidate control of party structure or hijack it, as the Adamawa State example is indicating with dire consequences for everyone in the party. This year is, therefore, the time to take implacable control of party structures nationwide, and keep it impregnable until the next election, whatever it takes. Jonathan will worry about who controls the national PDP, and he will ensure it is not the governors, no matter what the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC) do. And he has Obasanjo’s presidency to learn from, including all the subterfuges and Machiavellian tactics of the former president.

    More importantly, in spite of saying 2013 is too early to begin politicking, Jonathan and his opponents know this year is probably the most conducive to do all the fighting and machinations. Next year will be devoted to reconciliation. Their chances of a clean fight and healthy reconciliation will be bolstered by their idiosyncratic obsession to control and share the country’s wealth. Once they have fought and settled, victory in the elections will be a question of each governor ensuring his state is delivered to the PDP column, either in comprehensive whole or in significant part. There will of course be compromises and consensuses; and there will even be cohabitations and plain unethical trade-offs. But in the end, especially judging by the dispiriting inability of the electorate to make enlightened choices, performance will hardly matter. It is not that it will not matter at all; the problem is that it may not matter in such significant quantity as to affect the outcome of the elections.

    The ongoing misunderstanding within the PDP will not snowball into fragmentation. There is too much at stake for all the disputants to endanger their collective future. If Obasanjo played hardball in Ogun in the last election, it was because he knew he would not, indeed could not, be affected by the outcome of the 2011 governorship poll. He knew that whoever won was likely to court him anyway, and could not afford to be as irreverent or suicidal as the then Governor Gbenga Daniel. In the current situation within the national PDP, Obasanjo will close ranks with his mentees in the party if the party’s grip on power at the centre should be threatened. And that threat can only materialise if the opposition unites and understands how to beat the behemoth. Emphasising PDP’s poor performance at the centre may be helpful, but it will not be sufficient to unhorse it. As recent elections in France, Russia and the United States have shown, a candidate or party must have the ability to appeal to the electorate’s emotions, and take advantage of certain shifting and indefinable properties on the ground that have shaped or are still shaping domestic politics. The paradox of politics in Nigeria is that a candidate’s performance must be extraordinarily good for him to use his records to win votes, but has to be extraordinarily bad for him to lose election. Most politicians, including Jonathan, straddle that delicate divide.

    Both Jonathan and Obasanjo know what is at stake. They will put a halt to their brinkmanship at the appropriate time. While the former will push matters to the limit to see how far he can go without upsetting the apple cart, the latter will pull on the party tethers to see how much concession he can wring for himself, lather his image and, as an extra, rub the noses of his enemies in the dirt. It is left for the opposition to recognise that while divisions within the PDP in the state could conduce to some electoral triumphs, that sort of division would be hard to find or exploit at the national level. In addition, the intense struggle to fill the vacant PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) position will end anticlimactically in favour of Jonathan. Neither Obasanjo nor the late Yar’Adua conceded the position to any powerful interest but their stooges. Even the much-hyped expectation of destructive internal schism in the PDP will not happen soon except the party loses a major election.

    But the PDP can indeed lose a major election. What is more, if Nigeria’s democracy is to endure and wax strong, the ruling party should lose the next poll. For instance, the party’s electoral potency could be vitiated if elections are compressed into one day. Compression will ensure there will be no room for bandwagon, or for a losing party to catch its breath and readjust its strategies mid-way into the polling. A one-day election will have salutary effect on the system, create a level playing field for all political parties, and lessen the potential for violence. It would in fact be immoral for any party to oppose the Independent National Electoral Commission’s suggestion for all the 2015 elections to be compressed into a single day.

    There is a sense in which all politicians recognise that 2013 presages 2015. The internecine feuds within the PDP can be likened to a shift in the earth’s tectonic plates. There will be metaphorical tsunamis, quakes, landslides and general geomorphological disturbances; but after brief hiatuses, the party will cool down and normality will be restored. The opposition, which is expected to merge and present a common front against the behemoth, must be ready to fight the PDP at its strongest. They must not base their calculations on a weak PDP. If the ruling party weakens, that should be regarded merely as a fortuitous event, a celestial chance to drive the knife deeper into its ribs. The last general election was probably the best time to unseat the ruling party, assuming key members of the opposition had not naively thought they could take on the giant without a strong alliance. I shudder to think what fate awaits the country and its young democracy if the ruling party, which has proved inefficient and immature in managing Nigeria’s human and material resources, should retain its hold on power for 20 years in a row.

  • Federal government so detached from reality

    Federal government so detached from reality

    As an indication of just how far down on the realty scale the government has descended, huge contracts have just either been approved or budgeted for in the 2013 budget. Among these are N2 billion additional fund for the construction of the vice president’s residence in Abuja, N2.2bn for the construction of a ‘befitting’ banquet hall in the presidential villa, billions more for the maintenance of the about 10 aircraft in the presidential fleet, and stupendous amounts for the official accommodation of the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives. There are other hefty allocations for all sorts of sundry matters including meals, cutleries, entertainment, etc.

    Asked why the VP’s residence was a priority, the Federal Capital City (FCT) minister made this remarkably indifferent explanation: “The Vice-President is staying in a guest house meant for visiting heads of state. It is not right, it is not befitting for the Vice-President…The Vice-President has no accommodation; certainly you will agree with me that it is unbecoming for any government not to provide accommodation for its Vice-President. We will now embark on the construction of a befitting residence for the vice-president.” The minister, you will notice, wasn’t talking of necessity in these dire economic times; he was talking of what is befitting and what is not befitting. It’s the same rationalisation everywhere in government. The Aviation minister, for instance, is also preoccupied with building airports that can compete with the best in the world. Have they been able to run and maintain the ones they inherited as best as they should?

    The Goodluck Jonathan government is not just spending billions without rhyme or reason; I am beginning to suspect that the government has run berserk. Only last week, the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, disclosed that some 50 oil firms fraudulently collected N232bn from the government. Only N29bn has been recovered so far through debt swap. Were the gatekeepers sleeping when the crime was being committed; or was it sheer criminal collusion by government officials? In the midst of this horrendous mismanagement and wasteful spending, the president has not spoken with the gravitas the situation calls for. Instead, he has announced that eventually fuel subsidy would have to be removed completely. Neither he nor his ministers could tell us accurately the volume of fuel we consume, how they computed the subsidy, and why they think the economy can survive the social and economic dislocations the subsidy removal would precipitate.

    The Jonathan government has not provided fresh ideas on how the country can best manage its resources, develop the economic and political paradigms that are efficient and best suited to our needs, and energise the system to succor the rising number of poor people who cannot afford to pay for shelter and healthcare, educate their children, and enjoy a decent standard of living. More people are unemployed today than at any time in our history, are cripplingly less skilled, more criminally minded, and die much younger than their counterparts in most other African countries. In brief, Nigeria fares very badly in every social or economic indicator. What plans does the government have to remake the country and its people? Practically none. Instead, the government continues to embark on a spending spree so violently opposed to the reality of the moment, and almost without a care for the future, that it is a miracle order has not completely broken down.

    Sadly, as democrats, we will have to cope with this sorry situation for the next two years and more. There is little anyone can do to redirect the government. It believes it has the brightest ideas and the best men and women to run the affairs of the country. Whatever we say will simply bounce off their thick skins. The best we can hope for is to wait for the next polls and vote in rational and realistic leaders who have workable ideas for re-engineering the country. Meanwhile, we must also hope that the damage this band of indifferent and financially reckless politicians will do to the system will not be irredeemable. Indeed, I am not sure we can survive a wrong choice after 2015.