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Tag: REVOLUTION

  • We need revolution of belief – Emeritus Prof. Falola

    We need revolution of belief – Emeritus Prof. Falola

    An Emeritus Professor, Toyin Falola of the University of Texas, Austin, USA, has called for revolution of the mindset and thoughts of Nigerians about how things are going, if any change must be achieved.

    Falola said the revolution, which he described as the way forward and path of transformation for the country must be in the form of rethinking the entire political processes, the nature of the followership, and the value system. 

    Noting that the current political system is not working. 

    The Don said it is unfortunate that most people who want to go into politics want to behave like those who are there now, stressing that the country cannot continue like that.

    Falola spoke while fiedling questions from reports shortly after delivering the Ayo Olukotun Memorial Lecture at the Lead City University, Ibadan.

    He spoke on the lecture titled: “Ayo Olukotun and the Nigerian Nation. The lecture held under the Chairmanship of a former Minister for Health and a former member of the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, Senator Olorunnibe Mamora at the Adeline Hall of the University.

    Scholars of international repute including Prof Femi Osofisan, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, LCU, Prof Jide Owoeye and his wife, Mrs Taiwo, the Vice Chancellor, LCU, Prof Kabiru Adeyemo who was represented by the Deputy VC (Management and Social Science), Prof Omolara Campbell were some of the dignitaries who attended the lecture.

    Wife of the late scholar, Mrs Stella and son, Temitope were also in attendance.

    This is as the Scholar also called for what he called restructuring of values in the staead of clamour for political restructing.

    Justifying the call, Prof Falola said there is need for everyone to agree that the current politicial system and form of government is not working or at least working for a few people.

    He said, “But the way forward is a path of transformation. It’s a path of revolution. There must be a belief that, one, this democracy is not working. It’s only working for a few people.

    “Two, that there are no dividends of democracy. And how do we spread the dividends of democracy? And third, the extent to which the politicians have disappointed us. Should we continue to place our hopes on them? And my answer is no, we should not.

    “The revolution has to do with rethinking the entire political process, rethinking the nature of the followership, rethinking the value system. Because they are not working. People who want to go into politics want to behave like those who are there now. And we cannot continue like that.

    “And the sad news is, the next generation will be full of Yahoo! Yahoo! boys. And that will wreak more havoc to the nation.

    “Well, I support the restructuring of values. Because if you restructure politics and you don’t restructure values, you are wasting your time. So that’s where my support is.”

    Read Also: ‘Biofuels can serve as catalyst for Nigeria’s industrial revolution’

    Asked of the system of government to be adopted, if according to him that democracy is not working, the scholar said there are countries of the world dnot practicing democracy as a sytem of government, yet doing well, saying “China doesn’t follow democracy. It works. It’s the second power in the world. It’s not democratic.

    “How do you distribute power in a way that you satisfy different generations? How do you put people in power that they are not interested in stealing money? How do you put development on the agenda? So our definition of democracy must involve solving solutions. It cannot follow the Western liberal definition that once we vote for you, we fold our arms. There is no democracy if our people cannot put food on their table. There is no democracy if there are no hospitals. No democracy if the school system is not good.” 

    He challenged the youth to take a cue from the late Prof. Olukotun. he lamented that, years after his death, many of the things the late scholar wrote and published about in his many articles, including insecurity, poor infrastructure, epileptic power supply among others things are still very much around, despite government efforts. 

    He warned the youths not to emulate corrupt politicnas saying, “Don’t be like the current politicians. If your mission is to be like them, then please, please, don’t destroy us further.”

    Speaking on the topic of the lecture, the Emeritus scholar said, “Olukotun’s role is the role of the journalist, public intellectual, talking about the nation, saying this is what is wrong with the nation. This is how we have to fix it. And throughout his life, he was identifying what is wrong with the nation. We have to continue with that. 

    “Our politics is not working well. Education system is not working well. Many people under 30 want to leave the country. They don’t want to live in Nigeria anymore. That is the truth. They want to leave the country. And we have to say, if we leave the country, who will develop the country? So, we have to rethink this nation. And see how it can work.”

    Also speaking Senator Mamora said it was important for people to rethink their involvement in politics and ensure only qualified and capable people are entrusted with power.

    He said, “You cannot give what you don’t have. We need to get serious and really know who and who we are putting forward to represent us, because the most important thing, particularly in the legislative houses, is representation. So, we just need good people.

    “If you don’t put good people in terms of everything, education, background, and all that, it’s what you put in, it’s garbage in garbage out. So, that’s just the thing. And there are a lot of people, in this business of governance who really do not qualify.

    “Don’t forget, we also have issues of values. Values have been totally desecrated in our society. That’s why people just get there and just grab, grab business without really delivering the services to the people. So, it’s important that we begin to take interest. When you know in your area that a particular person is going to become a misfit, then, as the popular saying goes, if you see something, say something.”

  • Why Nigeria may never have a revolution

    When there were uprisings in Sudan and Algeria earlier this year that led to discontinuations of their respective leaderships, some Nigerians were transfixed on their TV screens and other media platforms as the events unfolded salivating on when such would happen in their motherland. Because of the several dysfunctions that Nigerians have had to endure almost endlessly, the calls for a revolution have never ceased.

    Nigeria has actually come close to what may be termed revolutions in the past if one considers the demonstrations against the annulment of the June 12, 1993 elections or the #OccupyNigeria rallies in January 2012 following the removal of subsidy in the pump price of petrol. But all these didn’t result in the immediate change in the existing political order.

    Monday August 5, was revved up to be another opportunity for a revolution after former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, had spent the week leading to this date to rally Nigerians on social media for this nationwide protest. Pre-emptively, Sowore was arrested by the security agents a few days to the D-Day either making the protests lose its fangs or granting cheap publicity to the #RevolutionNow protests that might have otherwise gone unnoticed (depending on which side of the argument one stands).

    So, what made #RevolutionNow go with the ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ like the others before it? Was it the phraseology that security operatives misinterpreted as treason? Could the organizers have been more strategic and covert instead of going viral on social media? Was it the character of the pioneers? Or was it an idea whose time had not come?

    Come to think of it, how could the mascot of the movement that couldn’t garner 50,000 votes along with his factionalized party, in February in his failed bid for the presidency after campaigning for months, hope to unite more than 50 million Nigerians behind him within weeks without countrywide travels?

    If one overlooks the Lilliputian leadership the what would have been Orange Beret revolution were subject to, the fact that he was a losing candidate in a recent election, gives the impression of a bad loser trying to grab power through the back door. One will only draw parallels with the more recent #OccupyNigeria that was led by a losing vice-presidential candidate in the previous election and mainly supported by members of the opposition. Sure, Nigerians want urgent change but they are sometimes suspicious of arrowheads that couldn’t get their mandates through legitimate polls.

    A flip back into history at the students’ protests in Prague that led to the Velvet Revolution or the petty cart pusher who set himself ablaze in Tunisia enflaming the Arab Spring, revolutions usually begin from unlikely sources and not familiar faces. Similitude to the Yellow Vests protests earlier this year in France before there was an intervention. In fact, revolutions don’t begin as revolutions; they often evolve from strings of remonstrations of dissatisfactions with the status quo and not necessarily an attempt to change government.

    One of the viral videos on social media prompting Nigerians to go to the streets cited the ongoing series of Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests led by students and a few others. Well, comparing Nigeria with other nations may be unrealistic. Those nations in context are mainly homogenous unlike the heterogeneous settings here where the cleavages of religion, ethnicity and politics are getting thicker.

    If one now adds the widening difference of economic inequality which makes the target of any revolt undefined between the political office holder and an innocent member of the elite who’s sincerely acquired wealth irritates the proletarian. Another thing poverty does is that it makes the foot soldiers for any revolution cheaply compromised easily bungling the thought. Is it the largely illiterate Nigerian that is often accused for being ignorant of issues while voting that will grasp the true essence of a revolution?

    Plus, increasing levels of insecurity, kidnapping, banditry and financial crimes, the level of mistrust in the society can’t be higher. Today, the average Nigerian feels so unsafe listening to strangers or going to uncharted territory. Novel monetary upliftment proposals introduced are received with a lot of suspicions as Nigerians have been defrauded in Ponzi multilevel marketing schemes, sweepstakes, uncertain trades, false prophets, fake drugs and other financial crimes. Therefore, any revolutionist must not only be seen to be genuine but be indeed transparent. Even the police don’t trust the army.

    With the scars of the civil war still tattooed on the fabrics of our national consciousness and the hitherto prosperous and peaceful Libya and Syria which are now war-torn because of mismanaged revolutions, Nigerians are shrewdly circumspect. Besides our proclivity to prayers, Nigerians have found checking out of the country in droves as another escape dimming the lights on a collective struggle for emancipation.

    Although we have seen the successes of encouraging campaigns like #EndSARS that resulted in positive shifts, there have being some pockets of revolutions in the mode of insurgencies, militancy, separatism and even crimes which are informal (but unhealthy) ways of getting at the authorities

    One more thing that has made those revolutionary states different from Nigeria is that they were primarily authoritarian or illiberal democracies. To be fair, Nigeria has never had the ignominy of tolerating an individual or being without an alternative government for over three decades at a stretch which was characteristic of those nations. If coups didn’t give Nigerians a breath of fresh air, periodic elections that come in predictive and foreseeable futures give Nigerians opportunities to change any unwanted administration.

    And Nigerian democracy is multi-partied, caste and poly-branched that singling out any ruling party, executive or legislature at whatever tier is practically impossible. Everybody is involved one way or the other. You can’t accuse the president or National Assembly and excuse the governor or state assembly.

    Another thing is that our republic is institutionalized with various funnels of checks, balances, rewards and punishments. The various arms of government, opposition parties, impeachments, recalls, media, civil societies, trade unions and other democratic instruments are what we should continue to strengthen for the nation of our dreams.

    • Okunfolami writes from Festac, Lagos.

     

  • The revolution that never was

    Give it to him. Omoyele Sowore, founder of the African Action Congress (AAC), has a way of drawing attention to himself. The SaharaReporters publisher is also good at forcing the hand of government. When a few weeks ago, he unveiled his plan for what he called #RevolutionNow protests, the former students leader set tongues wagging. Not a few asked: “What is Sowore up to this time?” As a veteran of many battles, he knew what he was doing, but many in government did not.

    In his characteristic manner, he wanted to draw the government out and he succeeded in his mission. I had hoped that the government would just look the other way and allow him and his co-travellers to hold their rallies in the 21 cities they were billed for. Rather than do that, state security officers went to smoke him out of his hotel room in the wee hours of Saturday. Really, you do not talk of revolution and expect the security agencies not to act. But they should have known better.

    Sowore may have used the word “revolution”, but going by his antecedents,  he is the last person that will seek a forceful change of government, which is the meaning of revolution. What did he have in mind when he spoke of #RevolutionNow protests? The protests in the slogan should have given the game away. But the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) read it differently. They saw a revolutionary in the making and quickly moved to stop him before he could ‘’overawe’’ the government! The intention of the champions of #RevolutionNow was not to unseat the government.

    Their plan was to draw attention to the shortcomings of the government more than two months after its second coming. Those in power read ulterior motives into Sowore’s move because he contested the February 23 election and lost to President Muhammadu Buhari. So, the thinking in government was that an election loser could not be up to anything good with such a plan. It was then decided that he must be stopped before he caused trouble. Sowore, like many of his compatriots have had it up to their throats with the government, but one thing is for sure, they will never seek to ‘’overawe’’ the President.

    Losing an election should not be used as an excuse to  stop a contestant from criticising the government. To seek to use that to stop people from speaking out against the government will amount to denying them their right to freedom of expression, thought and good governance. The government does not have the monopoly of wisdom. It needs ideas from others, especially the opposition for the good governance of the country. Speaking out against the government is not a crime and it must not be made to look like one. Sowore may have assumed too much with his slogan #RevolutionNow.

    By that slogan, he was not out to lead a revolution; he was only using it to remind the people of the need to hold the government accountable. He knows that you cannot talk of a revolution with a sitting government in place, except the people are so resolved to push it out. The people may be disenchanted with the present administration, but they know they can only change it at the polls and not on the streets marching. For now, revolution is not the way to go and that may be why, the #RevolutionNow protests ended before it even started on Monday.

    If only the security agencies had bide their time, they would have seen that the much expected #RevolutionNow was only full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Declaring it as treason, as Inspector-General Mohammed Adamu did, even before the day of the event, was a panicky measure. To compound things, the DSS arrested Sowore. At the end of the day, they may spoil an otherwise good case by their hasty actions. They should have allowed Sowore and his people be and let the citizenry determine the fate of the AAC founder as they did at the February 23 presidential poll. They have held Sowore for over 48 hours now, without bringing any charge against him. If he should go to court to enforce his right, chances are that he may win. In the course of writing this on Tuesday, DSS went to court to seek an order to keep him in custody for 90 days.

    The security agencies should not assume that they can think for the people. Nigerians are no fools. They can no longer be led by the nose. They know when to take to the streets and those who can lead them out. More important, they know the cause they should support and the one they should not be part of. Sowore has called for his revolution and seen the answer. The people spoke loud and clear – revolution is not the way to go. The people, and not the police with their guns, stopped the protests on Monday. If the people had turned out in large number for the protests, the police would have been overwhelmed. No amount of shooting and teargas would have stopped such a people.

    By the way, we should draw a line between revolution and protest. There is nothing wrong in protesting against government, but revolution is a different ball game. If a revolution fails, the consequences are dire for its champions. But has Sowore committed any offence under the present circumstance because of his call for #RevolutionNow protests? Was it a call for revolution or for protests? It was more a call for protests and not for the taking up of arms against the government. The government should rest this matter now and release Sowore and others arrested on Monday.

  • Revolution will transform Africa’

    The Global Pastor of City of Faith Ministries, Prophet (Dr.) Evans Oppong has declared Africa will not always be the Dark Continent it is derisively called.

    A looming mental and spiritual revolution, he said, will transform the continent to an enviable height.

    He spoke ahead of the supernatural visitation conference of the church, which ends today in Lagos.

    Oppong said: “I am passionate about revolutionising our generation through knowledge. We therefore focus on initiatives, innovation, invention and discoveries that would bring about positive change.”

    On what awaits Nigeria and Africa, by extension, he said: “There is going to be a great awakening in Nigeria. I see an uprising and it is going to commence from the younger generation.

    “It will come from different sectors that include the religious sector and the political sector. People with pure and authentic heart and sincere spirit are going to be raised and this will end the crises of Nigeria. I see greater days ahead.”

    On his ministerial exploits, he said: “God has used me to give accurate prophecies to Heads of States, leaders and most times national prophecies.

    “I have always been involved with ministry from high school. However, I have been a Mathematics and business teacher at the high school, lectures Economics and Business Studies at the colleges in London and am into different businesses,” he stated.

    Good leaders, he said, “live for posterity and not prosperity and they should know that they have a responsibility of changing what they came to meet by their predecessors  and not conforming to them”.

  • Revolution consuming own children

    Help! Help!  There is “civil war” in Christendom Nigeria — but not over the straight and narrow path that leads to salvation, but over the wide and merry ways that lead to perdition!

    The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) is at war with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), over a congratulatory visit to President Muhammadu Buhari, on his re-election.

    The legalistic NCEF described the visit as “shocking”, since the election is “sub judice”; as Abubakar Atiku, and a coterie of the defeated, had headed for the courts, to challenge PMB’s victory.

    But CAN countered, insisting it only followed the Biblical injunction to respect and pray for leaders without ceasing.  Besides, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had duly returned the President, he is  the winner — at least for now — in the eye of the law; and in the eye of common sense.

    Then, CAN brought out the big guns: on what plank is NCEF challenging CAN — CAN, the apex Nigerian Christian body that stands solidly on law; and is draped in the legitimacy of the authentic representatives of Nigerian Christians, against an impostor NCEF, that had allegedly been “disbanded”, yet persists as a busybody, screeching all over?

    It’s a savage tragedy of two Christian bodies.  They have lost their bearing.  But they dance naked in the market!

    On this particular case, however, CAN would appear to stand on more solid grounds.  Access to the seat of power is its by right, as a pressure group looking out for Christian rights, in a multi-religious but mutually suspicious country.  So, it has every right to visit the seat of power, and make legitimate demands on behalf of its members.

    Besides, by the often NCEF ridiculous posturing, it wouldn’t have been beyond the excitable “elders” in its ranks to howl and scream and screech “Islamisation!”, if it looked around and didn’t see CAN, on a day the equivalent Muslim body visited the President.

    On this one, CAN can hardly be faulted.  NCEF intervention, rippling with bad grace, only underscores NCEF’s rising notoriety for extremism, when Christ Himself, the holy fount of Christianity, preached love and temperance, even when dealing with enemies.

    Still, despite CAN’s proper step this time round, the NCEF griping betrays panic at a collapsing conspiracy, against the powers-that-be — again, a wild and reckless spiral into the wide and merry way, that can only call CAN’s and NCEF’s professed Christianity into question, even among right-thinking Christians themselves.

    Every church boasts of as many members as there are political sympathies and persuasions.  So, why would any priest begin to mount partisan pressure on its congregants, to vote or not vote, at the risk of a spiritual curse?

    That can’t be defended by any tenet of Christianity.  Yet, many top shots of CAN reportedly did that without shame, in the build-up to the 2019 elections.  So, if NCEF gripes at CAN’s congratulatory move, you should know where it was coming from!

    On the part of NCEF, the thought of “Islamisation” is, to it, not unlike waving a red flag at a rampaging bull!  But which kind of elders, particularly of Christian hue, would appear driven more by permanent anger, if not outright impulse?

    NCEF, from its doomsday releases, would thunder and rave over the “killing of Christians” by alleged “Islamising” militia,  real or imagined.  Yet, when the Christian killers wing — retaliatory or free-wheeling — pounce on other innocent souls from the other faith, NCEF becomes mealy-mouthed.

    Is it then the Nigerian age of Crusaders and Saracens, the Middle Age band of boogie-seekers, who claimed to wage war for the God of their faith, as if God the Almighty needs PDP anyone to fight for Him?

    Since the advent of the PMB presidency, Christendom Nigeria has derailed, and is busy bounding and blundering on the wide and merry way.  That is expressway to perdition it must retrace forthwith.

    If it did, NCEF would not get fixated over faith tension; and CAN won’t waste its time over who or who doesn’t get political appointments.

    Both should rather concentrate on the moral cleanliness and spiritual depth of their members, such that whoever gets the opportunity to serve in any public position, would be a Christian lodestar and pride to the rest of the polity.

    But alas!

  • Nigeria’s pension revolution

    Nigeria’s pension revolution

    The story of pensioners’ agony in the country seems endless; changing almost every time. From queuing under the sun and going through all sorts of dehumanising treatment, it is a tale of woes. But, lately, there seems to be a new dawn; they are now being treated with respect and dignity like those in developed countries. In this report, Omobola Tolu-Kusimo looks at what has changed in the pension industry and the impact on pensioners.

    In an air conditioned hall filled to capacity were men and women dressed elegantly in various traditional attires. The venue was 3 Bees Event, beside HS-Petroleum (Sweet Sensation), Ketu, Lagos. The hall’s ambience was like a typical party, but it was not. It was a verification exercise organised by the Federal Government through the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) for public sector pensioners.

    One after the other, the senior citizens  were served popular Nigerian delicacy Jollof-rice with grilled chicken and water by PTAD officials while they got verified. Seated quietly, the pensioners moved calmly following several steps in order to be added to the database. The PTAD staffers assisted them to fill required forms, check their documents for corrections and authenticity, while finger prints, pictures and contact information were collated. PTAD will later transfer the information on the forms to its electronic database. The documents were scanned, linked to pensioner biometrics and archived. Things have never been this rosy for the senior citizens. It was, indeed, a worthwhile experience for them.

    Before

    In the past the nation’s pension administration was a mess. The mess emanated from the public sector scheme, which is the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) or Pay As You Go (PAYG). Under the old system, pension was guaranteed by the government, but it became unsustainable due to lack of adequate and timely budgetary provisions and increases in salaries and pensions.

    It was crisis-ridden and bedeviled with zero-funding, unco-ordinated and fragmented Defined Benefit (DB). The management, at the time, was characterised by poor records of eligible beneficiaries, deficit in pension liabilities to the tune of N.6 trillion,  fraud and non-uniformity in pension arrangements in  the public and private sectors were rife.

    The private sector schemes, which were largely akin to the Provident Fund Schemes, was characterised by low coverage and compliance ratio due to lack of effective regulation and supervision.  This resulted in complete paradigm shift from DBS as operated by both the public and private sectors to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

    As a result of the disorderly pension system, especially in the public sector, many pensioners never get paid their pensions and gratuities decades after retirement.  Those  who were paid and were on monthly pension were removed from the payroll under the previous Heads of Service while many were never included in the database.

    Despite serving the country for decades, the senior citizens were maltreated by government officials, who were to verify them for pension payment. They made them queue under the scorching sun and got them drenched during the rainy season. Some of them collapsed and died after queuing for long hours.

    Giving a historical perspective on pension  problem in the country, Executive Director, Centre For Pension Rights Advocacy, Ivor Takor, said the plight of Nigerian pensioners could be viewed from two eras: pre-pension reform and post- pension reform.

    Takor, who is also a former board member of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), in a paper made available to journalists, said the first public sector pension scheme in Nigeria was the Pension Ordinance of 1951, with retroactive effect from January 1, 1946.

    He said: “The law provided public servants with both pension and gratuity. Pensions Decrees 102 and 103 of 1979 were enacted for civil servants and the military respectively, with retroactive effect from April 1974. These decrees, which were later referred to as the Pension Act 1990 and the Armed Forces Pension Act, 1990 respectively, remained the operative laws on public service (Federal, states and local governments) and military pension in Nigeria until they were repealed by the Pension Reform Act 2004, which was later replaced by the Pension Reform Act 2014.

    “The National Provident Fund (NPF), which was established in 1961, was the first formal pension scheme in the private sector. It was largely a saving scheme providing a one-off lump sum benefits. The Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), established in 1993, took over from the NPF and commenced business in July 1994.”

    He lamented that Nigerian pensioners have had a raw deal and continued to suffer in the hands of employers, who were expected to protect them against old age poverty and destitution. “Employers, in the first place, based on contractual agreements, have a legal and moral obligation to protect workers against old age destitution and poverty,” he argued.

    Reform era

    The Federal Government embarked on pension reform and enacted the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004, which established the CPS and PenCom. Its implementation thereafter has made pension administration, management and regulation to be considerably streamlined.

    The Act further established the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorates (PTAD) for greater efficiency and accountability in the pension administration under the DBS.

    Today, the story of pensioners in the country has changed. To enable payment to all genuine pensioners, the PTAD commenced verification exercise in the six geo-political zones of the country.  So far, they have met pensioners in almost all the  states of the federation to verify them.

    The PTAD in its quest to treat pensioners with dignity for serving their fatherland during their active years visited hospitals and homes to verify those who are sick and weak.

    Restoring hope

    PTAD Executive Secretary, Mrs Sharon Ikeazor, said the Directorate has over 250, 000 pensioners in its database, adding that it has embarked on a lot of transformation programme to ensure that the story of pensioners in the country changed.

    She said the agency has been improving its services to pensioners and would continue to serve them well, adding that the workers also have a new orientation that makes it possible for them to treat the pensioners with respect.

    “Pensioners no longer have to come to Abuja when they have complaints, but can rather make use of the Lagos office. This is because we have strengthened the office to have the capacity to attend promptly to them. We are going to meet pensioners in all the states of the federation to verify them. We have been going to the hospitals to verify those who are sick and visit the homes of those who are weak and cannot go out of their houses. The pensioners don’t believe it and sometimes, they burst into tears and say you mean government can come to us and I said why can’t government come to you. There was a 99-year-old woman, who came out but we collected her address that we will be coming to her house for future verifications and told her not to stress herself.

    “I told my staff that they must have a conscience and treat pensioners with respect. Because one day they will also become a retiree. I asked them if they will  like to be treated with disdain. They have aged parents too. My orientation with them is working and they are treating retirees well. We have not even taken them abroad for training, but their attitude to work has been very good. Part of the things that I do to monitor and motivate them is that I go with them to places where they are carrying out the verification exercise and I tell them that if I can do it, why can’t they do it too. When they went to Maiduguri, I was there with them. I drove to Damaturu and the pensioners were crying because they were shocked to see me come to them.

    “I would also sometimes enter the call center and pick up phones myself. I sit in my office and watch my CCTV. I do these things to ensure that they are in their best behaviour. When I came into office, I discovered that some of the workers appointment were not confirmed. I embarked on staff audit and worked with the Head of Service to confirm their appointments, especially some of the directors and this further motivated them to work. They now take their job very seriously and they are passionate about it,”she said.

    Speaking further on the objectives of the Directorate, she said PTAD was established in August 2013 to oversee the administration of pensions under the DBS for pensioners not transiting to the CPS in compliance with the provisions for the PRA 2004, which recommended the establishment of an independent pension department for the public service of the federation. It operates four pension departments: The Civil Pension Department (CSPD), Police Pension Department (PPD), Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department (CIPPD) and Treasury Funded Parastatals Pension Department (PAPD).

    Before PTAD was established, pension administration in Nigeria had fallen into disrepute amidst allegations of misappropriation of funds, maladministration, corruption. There were numerous pensioners complaints that bothered on issues such as non-payment of monthly pensions after retirement, short payment of pensions and gratuity, removal of names on pension payment voucher, non-payment of harmonised pension arrears, irregular payment of Federal pensions and non-receipt of pension after retirement, among other problems. In a bid to correct these anomalies as well as streamline the payment of pensions and gratuities of pensioners under its mandate, the PTAD commenced a nationwide verification of pensioners under the DBS to “maintaining a comprehensive database of pensioners in its jurisdiction” as it is mandated in the PRA 2004.

    She said it is on record that PTAD did not inherit credible pensioners’ database, despite the many verification exercises conducted by the defunct pension offices. There was, therefore, an urgent need to verify all pensioners under the DBS to enable PTAD resolve their complaints. The verification of pensioners is therefore, aimed at the establishment of an accurate, credible and digitised database of pensioners under the DBS and eliminate duplication of payments and ghost pensioners.

    “It also include regularising abnormalties such as over payments and under payments, obtaining relevant work records to ensure accurate computation of pension payment and updating the records of the next of kins (NoKs) for payment of benefit and entitlements. The essence of digitising the employment records and biometrics of pensioners is to create a permanent database of their records and ensure that pensioners are not asked to come out again for such detailed exercise,”she added.

    Pensioners react

    Mrs Roselyn Adeniyi, who retired in 2006, said she retired as a chief matron. She lamented that she has not received any pension or gratuity since she retired and had done series of verifications. “The last one I did was in 2011, but nothing came out of it. But I am convinced that I will get my pension soon going by the arrangement by PTAD. I love the way this verification is going on smoothly, but I pray that the money will be given to me before I die. My appeal is to President Muhammadu Buhari to approve money so that I will be paid,” she said.

    Another retiree, Mr George Odororo, said he retired in April 1999 from Lagos State Civil Service. “It has been a wonderful and commendable arrangement compared to previous verifications,” he said.

    For Mrs Mariam Abdullahi, the story is different. According to her,  she retired in 1992 and she has been getting her  pension regularly. “I am here to do the regular verification. The organisation this time is very good, better than what we have gone through in the past. We were expecting that it will be as tedious as our former experience. But I am happy and enjoying the exercise. They are taking care of us. I came to the centre at about 9:00am and I went through the process in two hours.”

    But Mr Samuel Adetuga, who retired in 2001 said has not received any pension payment. “I have received gratuity, but no pension. I have done several verifications. My message to the President is that as he is putting effort to see that we are paid, he should follow it up so that those government officials and other connivers that are stealing our money will not have the opportunity to do it again,” he said.

  • Ogun rice revolution

    Thursday, December, 21 was another red-letter day in Ogun State. In one iconic gesture, unprecedented in the annals of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, the governor of Ogun State, unveiled the MITROS Rice Processing Factory and MITROS Rice.

    Against the backdrop of the role rice plays in the lives of the overwhelming majority of Nigerians and that close to one trillion naira of our money is expended annually on importation of the commodity, one cannot but agree with Amosun that the inauguration of MITROS Rice Mill and MITROS Rice was a “watershed”. This water should now flow over the arable land across the country with rice pyramids levitating in every nook and cranny till the nation achieves zero rice importation.

    Rice is like water in Nigeria. To appropriate the inimitable Fela Anikulapo Kuti, “Raisi, e no get enemy!” (Rice has no enemy). Tell me one house where rice is not a staple food and I will tell you no such home exists in Nigeria. It’s quite possible, but I’m yet to encounter a child who does not like rice. Fried, jollof or white, rice it is for millions of Nigerians!

    How rice became a staple food, attained a larger than life image in our country, is outside the scope of this exercise. It suffices to emphasize that a situation where humongous part of our scarce forex is expended on importation of rice is not sustainable.

    The current Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, once lamented the culture of rice importation: “We cannot afford $5m a day for rice shipments in this country. It has gone on for 40 years. And I assure you that it is our reckless policy of importation that has brought Nigeria down to where she is now. Those who keep talking of imports either do not mean Nigeria well or simply refuse to recognise the fact that we cannot afford the imports.”

    It is even more embarrassing that we import this staple from the strategic reserves of developing countries. Most of the imports are of doubtful nutritional value with some of the grains having been stored for upward of ten years. Why should Nigeria with unemployment problem continue to create millions of jobs for other countries through mindless imports? Why should we continue to put pressure on our foreign exchange by expending two billion dollars ($2 billion) yearly on rice importation? Can’t we eat what we grow? Can’t we grow what we eat? What about the vast hectares of God-given arable land to this country?

    President Muhammadu Buhari would no longer stomach the abnormal situation, hence the setting up of Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) on November 17, 2015 and later Presidential Task Force on Agricultural Commodities and Production. Governor Amosun as well recoils at this gargantuan amount of money used to fund the economies of other nations, hence his commitment to break the jinx and ensure we plant, process and package what we consume.

    According to Amosun, “Our past efforts at tackling poverty in all ramifications will amount to nothing if concerted efforts are not taken to ensure food security to people at all income levels. This is why today is a significant day, not just for Ogun State, but for Nigeria as well. The MITROS Rice Mill, the first of its kind in Ogun State, will create jobs for our farmers. From now on they will no longer need to travel far and wide in search of milling facilities.”

    The MITROS Rice, especially the popular Ofada rice, is of better quality, hygienic and fresh in comparison to imports of contentious nutritional value. The MITROS rice, apart from creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs, costs less than the imported ones and has been bagged for the benefit of every segment of the society – 1kg, 5kg, 10kg, 25kg and 50kg.

    Today, Ogun State joins the proud league of rice-producing states in Nigeria, and MITROS Rice becomes part and parcel of the unfolding story of Nigeria’s rice revolution. The journey of a thousand miles, it is said, begins with a single step. Today, we take that step, confident that the journey ahead of us will yield results and impact our people beyond our most ambitious expectations. We will be keen learners, and strive to get better with each passing day, and each planting season. And, we are extending our hand of partnership to the private sector; we welcome you to take the lead in this agricultural revolution that is unfolding in Ogun State.

    The Amosun administration has now blazed a trail in rice revolution. Big (and small businesses) should now take advantage of the enabling environment created by the current government by investing massively in rice plantation, processing and packaging in Ogun State.

    The Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, said the apex bank would give credit facility to farmers at five per cent interest rate as part of the Muhammadu Buhari government’s strategy to increase food production and self-sufficiency in the country.

    We congratulate Senator Ibikunle Amosun for another feather in his cap. President Muhammadu Buhari deserves all plaudits for walking the talk in agriculture. Things can only get better in Ogun State and Nigeria at large.

    • Soyombo, media aide to the Ogun State Governor, sent this piece via densityshow@yahoo.com
  • Obaseki leading agriculture revolution in Edo

    Obaseki leading agriculture revolution in Edo

    Governor Godwin Obaseki is leveraging on agriculture, as against relying solely on federal allocations to drive the fortunes of Edo State, and the result is showing, reports Francis Amadi.

    With 1.1 million hectares of cultivable land and a teeming young population, Edo State is undoubtedly one of the few states in the country with huge potential for agriculture. Also, the state has a landmass of about 19,187Km2 of which about 70 percent is cultivatable.

    There is thus no doubt why the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration has taken keen interest in harnessing the vast agro potential of the state. Data showed that the agriculture accounts for about 40 per cent of the state’s revenue.

    Contending with the vagaries of unstable oil prices in the global market as with other states, the Edo  State government is latching onto agriculture to diversify the local economy, attain food sufficiency and drive its job creation plans.

    This grand plan includes calculated and far-reaching reforms that will attract and protect investments to boost production of oil palm, cassava, maize, yam, rubber, cocoa, rice, vegetables, aquaculture and livestock. A striking feature of Obaseki’s plan for agriculture is the partnership he is facilitating among private investors, government agencies and other stakeholders in the agricultural value chain.

    Chairman, PRESCO Plc., Felix Nwabuko, whose company is a major investor in agriculture in Edo State, believes that Edo provides a conducive investment for agriculture. He notes that in Nigeria, agriculture is still bedeviled by myriad of challenges, such as lack of access to finance, land acquisition, infrastructure, community clashes amongst others.

    Speaking during the recent Alaghodaro Investment Summit, he said: “All of these have serious impact on agribusiness. Some of the issues that exist include climatic variations, which Edo State is thankfully not susceptible to.”

    These stakeholders include but not limited to, the Tolaram Group and DUFIL Plc, as off-takers for produce, the Agricultural Development Project, as trainers and extension workers; the Edo Fertiliser Plant and Chemical Company Limited operated on Public-Private partnership by WACOT Limited for supply of inputs such as fertiliser; Benin-Owena River Basin Authority for irrigation; farmers’ groups, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for guarantees to de-risk investment.

    The arrangement is primed to run on a value-chain model that will ensure every stakeholder gets needed support to invest in the state and earn competitive returns on their investment.

    Aside assuring a financially robust state, the agricultural tsunami sweeping across the state will provide employment to the ever-booming youthful Edo population. It would also drive up the state’s self-sufficiency in food production, even as the state already has robust base for producing cash crops, especially oil palm.

    And with the return of Libyan returnees to the state, the government is channeling their energy towards agriculture. The state governor has provided them with 100 hectares of land for agriculture and a N150 million seed fund to fast track their mainstreaming into the agricultural value chain in the state.

    Preparing the ground and de-risking investment

    And putting his words to action, Governor Godwin Obaseki on August 10, inaugurated a 15-man Governor’s Council on Agriculture.

    The decision to draw up the team is to ensure the state produces top-notch human resources to power the agricultural revolution of the present administration.

    The state has shown commitment to this by leveraging a number of initiatives that change the way agriculture is perceived by investors, youths and women, who, according to the World Bank, are a critical stakeholder in agriculture in Nigeria, as they contribute to the bulk of the farming workforce.

    To ensure investments flow into agriculture in the state is secured,  Obaseki recently earmarked N500 million Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) to de-risk investments. The state is in partnership with the CBN on the management of the fund. This will ensure that those investing in Edo access finance easily as the structure is already in place to support their investments.

     

    Fertiliser for higher yields and the wonder at Sobe

    As one of his initial steps to ensure that farmers get the needed inputs for farming, Obaseki revamped the moribund Edo Fertiliser Plant and Chemical Company Limited in Auchi and set up a private public partnership with WACOT Limited to manage the facility.

    The move, aside the obvious benefit of providing fertilisers, speaks of the governor’s commitment to ensure that the right structures are in place to guarantee farmers of inputs.

    Speaking at the commissioning of the plant, the governor said: “The aim of revitalising this plant is to make the state self-sufficient in food production and enable farmers get fertiliser at affordable prices. We in Edo State are determined to make food available in the country.”

    He noted that the facility will feed neighbouring states such as Kogi, Delta, Ondo and Anambra among others, with its products, as it was the only blending plant in the region.

    The state government also has a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with Saro Agro Sciences Limited to run a 450-hectare maize farm to accelerate the mainstream-ing of agriculture in the state’s economy. This is a part of a larger plan to cultivate 5000 hectares of farmland across the state, with youths leading the drive as agriprenuers.

    The governor said that his administration adopted the PPP business model so that the youths for whom the programme was created can leverage on the expertise of major players in the agricultural sector and grow into big players themselves.

    Rasheed Sarumi of SARO Agro Services said his company was working to actualise the state government’s vision to create jobs and engage youths through agriculture, adding, “We are using market-led approach to agriculture in Edo State. The arrangement is that we would buy what the people produce and we are to provide them with inputs and training.

    “Each of the youth outgrowers, will own a five-hectare farm and employ 50 others. We intend to process maize into feeds in Edo State. Though we are starting with maize, we are moving to other crops.”

     

    Agriculture: Key to  job creation, economic diversification agenda

    Governor Obaseki’s promise of creating 200, 000 jobs in the state will be largely hinged on optimal exploitation of the  state’s huge agricultural resources.

    “Today is the first step towards actualising the 200,000 jobs promised by my administration,” the governor said while inaugurating the 1,000 hectares of cleared field for maize production in Sobe Farm Settlement of Owan West Local Government of the state in April.

    “If we invest in agriculture, we can do more than 200,000 jobs in Edo and Nigeria as a whole.”

    Access to arable land is one of the primary determinants of a thriving agricultural sector.

    The Obaseki administration is watering the ground already to ease access to lands across the state. In October, the Edo Governor said his administration was targeting at least of 250,000 hectares of land for cultivation in the next two years.

    “The importance of embracing agriculture as an administration via focusing on food security, large scale farming, and access to land, information and improved seedlings cannot be over emphasised. Agriculture is now scientific and mechanisation will help us compete in the agricultural market,” the governor said at the 13th Esan Economic Empowerment Workshop organised by the Association of Esan Professionals at Uromi, Esan North East Local Government Area of the state.

     

    The Gelegele Seaport exportation takes new turn

    Transportation is one key area that can sway the economy to the right direction if well managed.

    That’s why the Edo State Government is putting the right measures to build the Gegegele Seaport. According to the governor, the seaport will serve as a point where “goods can be efficiently moved to various states and distributed across the country.”

    The state is undertaking the right legal framework that will see the dream become reality. Obaseki had also set up and received a report from a committee drafted to design modalities for the project expected to stimulate exportation of agricultural produce.

     

    Plucking the low-hanging fruits first

    Edo State is blessed with agriculture research institutes and one of such is the Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) close to Benin City.

    Years back, the state was renowned for its  palm oil production and the Obaseki government has taken steps since inauguration to rejig the sub-sector and make palm oil the new crude in the state. And he is building strategic partnership with relevant stakeholders to tap into that.

    In September, Governor Obaseki travelled to far-away Indonesia where he met with officials of the Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute in Medan.

    The governor’s visit was to deepen strategic agricultural ties with the Asian nation. Indonesia which was said to have gotten palm seedlings from NIFOR is the world’s largest exporter of palm oil with the agricultural sector the country’s most valuable export sector.

    In 2014, Indonesia’s palm oil production was 33.5 million tonnes. The product also makes up 11 per cent of export earnings of $5.7billion in the country.

    These, among others, were what prompted Obaseki to visit the nation and as he rightly captured then, “ with the present pace of research in the agricultural sector, oil palm can replace crude oil as a major source of food, industrial materials and energy.”

    But Indonesia was just one of the three countries that the governor visited. In fact, the first fruits of one of the visits – to Singapore – resulted in a $50 million investment windfall for the state.

    The money which will be plucked into the state’s oil palm and cassava production , an initiative that is expected to create about 50,000 jobs, is in partnership with Tolaram Group

    Aside the financial gains, the governor also liaised with a group of industrialists.There,he sold agribusiness investment opportunities in the state.

  • The JAMB revolution

    The JAMB revolution

    “You can never change things in a society by fighting the existing reality.
    To change something, you can only build a new model that can render the existing model obsolete’’.

    Preamble

    Readers of this column are implored to read the above quotation once again and they will better understand what the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is currently doing in Nigeria for Nigeria’s progress.

    The changes that had caused human progress in history were often never compatible with the existing perennial traditions of those humans because of the revolutionary tendencies of those changes. Whether in the primordial or contemporary time, revolution has effectively proved to be the main determinant of human progress as it occasionally becomes inevitable in human life. The only alternative to it is stagnation. A society without revolution, no matter how randomly it may be, will surely be stagnant.

     

    History of JAMB

    When the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) was established 40 years ago (1977), it came as a revolution which the then existing tradition of seeking university admission through concessional examination first tried to resist. At that time, only about six full-fledged universities were in existence in Nigeria. They were called ‘First Generation Universities’. The six Universities were Ahmadu Bello University, University of Benin, University of Ibadan, University of Ife, University of Lagos and University of Nigeria, Nsuka. Nevertheless, the first UTME conducted by JAMB took place in 1978.

    Before the establishment of JAMB, university admission seekers either gained admission directly through Advanced Level of General Certificate of Education (GCE A/L) or through concessional entrance examination which could qualified them for admission into Preliminary Level.

    However, with a sudden surge in the population of admission seekers, JAMB was established to ensure a uniform national standard of university education. It was meant to serve as a higher regulatory body for the conduct of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) just as the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) served at the secondary school level. The Board was established during the regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo as Military Head of State.

     

    Stakeholders’ meeting

    About three weeks ago, November 15, JAMB called a national critical stakeholders’ meeting on Plans and Modalities for Sale and Registration of 2018 UTME application forms. The attendants of the meeting included some members of National Assembly, representatives of educational institutions, regulatory agencies, CBT Centres (public and private), parents otherwise known as NAPTAN, secondary school teachers otherwise known as ANCOPSS as well as students, the labour unions, Civil Societies and the Media.

     

    Review of 2017 UTME

    Before discussions on the plan for 2018 UTME began, a review of 2017 UTME was thoroughly done by the participants. It was a sort of public assessment of the 39th UTME conducted by JAMB since its establishment.

     

    Noted points

    In that assessment, the following points were pointed out and noted: ePINs were sold through Banks and partner Institutions JAMB implemented a central ePIN vending system Other channels employed for the same purpose included Switches like Remitta & Interswitch  Registration was essentially for a period of one month  (with additional two weeks which the House of Representative proposed and approved as extension).

     

    Observation

    During the deliberations, the following observations were made in respect of 2017 UTME:

    Extortion from candidates during profile/email creation at cyber cafes Illegal sale of eBrochure & eSyllabus CDs to candidates when those materials were meant to be free Illegal collection of gate fee at CBT Centres Illegal sale of Reading Text Usage of CBT centre emails & Telephone numbers for candidates CBT Extortion of candidates – charging fees above the approved rate Subletting Access Codes to cyber cafes Going outside the approved locations to register candidates, on & off line Duplicating biometric capturing to candidates and thereby encouraging Multiple Registration.

     

    The 2018 UTME procedure

    The following guidelines were unanimously adopted and approved by the stakeholders: Prospective candidates can start registration from their homes through the use of their cell phones to prevent extortion     www.jamb.gov.ng Prospective candidates are expected to have visited the JAMB website ahead of registration to study and understand the 2018 ebrochure.

     

    Registration process

    Prospective candidates may create their profiles by writing their Surnames, First Name and Middle Name in that order (where applicable). Such profile should not exceed 38 characters with two spaces between names to make 40 characters in all using the following code to 55019. And this should be sent to JAMB. In doing this, one cell number (mobile number) can be used by one candidate only Thereafter, a confirmation code of 10 characters will be received by the candidate on the same telephone number which will be used to procure the ePIN.

     

    Profile self help

    In case of mistake in or loss of data in the process of profiling, the following process should be followed to correct the error: To correct a mistake in candidate’s name, candidates should resend a text message (from the registered number) to “CORRECT the spelling of surname or middle name or first name. Such message should be sent to 55019.

    To retrieve a lost confirmation code, candidate should resend a text message (from the registered number)  to the same code (55019).

    JAMBS’ ePIN Selling Points and the details of the procedure for payment should be checked on JAMB’s Website.

     

    Comment

    At no time in the history of JAMB have stakeholders been involved in the process of UTME as it is now being done by the current administration in that Board. This is an indication that the real revolutionary motive of JAMB is becoming more manifest than ever before.

  • Over 12m farmers join rice, wheat revolution, says Buhari

    Over 12m farmers join rice, wheat revolution, says Buhari

    Over 12.2 million farmers have joined the rice and wheat initiative of the Federal Government, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.

    Buhari added that the administration’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, which is already a success would gradually move  the country to self-sufficiency in major grains.

    The President spoke at the 25th edition of the Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA) Ceremony held in Lagos on Wednesday.

    Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the success of the agric revolution has turned thousands of rice farmers into millionaires and drastically reduced rice importation.

    ‘’Apart from the successes we have achieved in tackling insecurity and fighting corruption, perhaps our most remarkable progress has been in the area of agriculture. Quietly but steadily, our agriculture revolution is bearing fruits.

    ‘’According to the Rice Exporters of Thailand, rice imports from Thailand fell from 644,131 tons in Sept 2015 to 20,000 tons in Sept. 2017, representing a 95 per cent drop,’’Buhari said.

    He noted that self-sufficiency in rice is so important because it is the most widely consumed staple in Nigeria, and also because Nigeria’s daily expenditure on rice for over three decades stood at $5 million.

    The president said Nigeria is also doing well in Millet, Sorghum and Maize cultivation, adding: ‘’We are now the second largest producer of sorghum after the US, the third in millet after India and our breweries are now enjoying local sourcing of those commodities.

    “For maize, we are producing 10 million tons while we need about 13 million tons for both human and animal nutrition.’’

    The President also said Nigeria is world’s leader in yam and cassava production and that efforts are being made to restore and improve on the country’s ranking in cocoa production, where it has fallen from 2nd to 7th position.

    ‘’We are also investing in a new line of tree crops targeting local and foreign end users and we are certain to earn foreign exchange. These are shea butter, palm trees, coconut, mangoes, bananas and plantains, kenaf and sisal hemp, castor and pineapple, among others.

    “Overall, our ambition is that agriculture should rise from 25 per cent to 40 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) so that we can banish poverty and overcome our economic anxiety,’’ president Buhari said.

    He hailed the NMMA, which he called the preeminent media excellence award, and said the Nigeria media has done well over the years hence it deserves to be celebrated.