The Nation Newspaper

Tag: silence

  • Graveyard silence

    I grew up at a time of academic vibrancy; this was an era when some of the best known critics of military rule were academics. During the robust IMF/WB debate on the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the General Ibrahim Babangida regime in the 1980s, our scholars were at the forefront in providing alternatives to the regime’s “no alternative to SAP.”

    They used all available means to get their messages across by providing credible alternatives on how to jumpstart the economy. Newspapers were filled with incisive articles, position papers, seminar reports, communiques etc highlighting what need to be done. Both scholars from the right and left freely aired their opinion.

    If you’re part of my generation you’ll definitely question what went wrong. Why the graveyard silence from our academics on critical issues of national concern? Even the once fiery and articulate Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is somewhat silent these days. If – in the past – you’ve read communiqués from ASUU meetings on national issues you will appreciate the point I am trying to pass across. Sadly, we only get to hear them when reminding the government it is reneging on agreements reached and they would soon proceed on strike.

    In the past, there was no way you can silence the likes of late Prof Eskor Toyo, the highly revered University of Calabar Marxist economist. Same with the late Dr. Yusuf Bala Usman, a world class historian from ABU, late Prof Claude Ake, a notable political economist from UNIPORT, late Prof JF Ade Ajayi, Prof Bade Onimode, another Marxist economist and a host of other fiery scholars.

    Their grasps of issues were almost incontrovertible. Picking up some of their works any day will show you our problems did not start today. But they never remained silent. Some works like those of the late Toyo were hand written because of inability to publish! Now that we are in a recession, our ivory towers are as silent as the graveyard.

    I am concerned because we live in a rapidly changing world and it appears our varsities are being left behind – some say we have already been left behind. Over the past couple of decades, ‘globalisation’ and the emergence of the ‘knowledge economy’ have given rise to new economic, social, political and cultural challenges to which nations, regions and higher education systems and institutions are responding.

    It is widely assumed that in the context of these new challenges specific knowledge, competencies and skills – often referred to as ‘human capital’ – come to play an increasingly important role in developmental efforts, as do research, innovation and technological development. Knowledge production, accumulation, transfer and application have become major factors in socio-economic development and are increasingly at the core of national development strategies of serious nations for gaining competitive advantages in the global knowledge economy.

    Varsities are expected to be playing a key role in delivering the knowledge requirements for development. Research has – for example – suggested a strong nexus between higher education participation rates and levels of development. While the higher education participation rates in many high-income countries are well over 50%, in sub-Saharan Africa they are in most cases below 5%.

    Furthermore, there is increasing evidence that high levels of education in general – and of higher education in particular – are essential for the design and productive use of new technologies, while they also provide the foundations for a nation’s innovative capacity, and contribute more than any other social institution to the development of civil society.

    Nations like India and China are aware of this. It is not by accident that the Chinese and Indian economies have displayed unprecedented levels of sustained growth since the early 1990s. China embarked on a knowledge-based growth track by attracting massive foreign direct investment and then building indigenous knowledge capacity through huge investments in education and research. India has succeeded by making the best use of its elite education institutions and exploiting international information technology-related opportunities, in part through the deft use of knowledge assets.

    Why the emphasis on varsities we may ask? A bit of perspective is needed here to give us a bird’s eye view. Following independence, universities in Nigeria – and Africa generally – were expected to be key contributors to the human resource needs. There was a particular focus on the development of human resources for the civil service and the public professions. This was to address the acute shortages in these areas that were the result of the gross underdevelopment of universities under colonialism, and the departure of colonial administrators and professionals following independence.

    The importance of the university was further underscored by the now-famous ‘Accra declaration’ that all universities must be ‘development universities.’ It was agreed that this was such an important task that the university could not be left to academics alone; it was also the responsibility of governments to steer universities in the development direction.

    Despite the rhetoric about the ‘development university,’ almost all African governments did little to promote the development role of universities. In part this was because many of these governments had not developed a coherent development model. In addition, many had become increasingly embroiled in internal power struggles, and the external politics of the Cold War and funding agencies such as the World Bank.

    The new normal was interference by government, rather than steering varsities. This was compounded as Nigeria and most countries witnessed series of military coups and counter coups. Universities became sites of contestation – partially around the development model, and partially around lack of delivery, which included inadequate funding for the institutions. The result? Governments, other stakeholders and academics became sceptical, if not suspicious, of the university’s role in national development. This led to a notion that higher education was a ‘luxury ancillary’ – nice to have, but not necessary – in part, because it was difficult to see what contribution universities were making to development; in part, because of prolonged economic crises and the high costs associated with higher education.

    The World Bank did not help matters when it came out with its infamous ‘rate of return to investments in education’ study. It concluded that development efforts in Africa should be refocused to concentrate on primary education! This clearly became evident in the dramatic decreases in per capita spending on higher education in Africa:

    Unlike the approach in China and India emphasising higher education and primary and secondary education simultaneously in their development strategies, the World Bank strategy in Africa delinked universities from development. In addition, it led to development policies that had negative consequences for African nations and their sustainable development potential.

    Neglect of higher education led to the disestablishment of research centres, medical schools, agricultural centres, telecommunication and technological development, business training centres, vocational schools and other areas in the higher education sector, which are critical to the development of African societies and their economies.

    However, during the 1990s and early 2000s, some influential voices started calling for the revitalisation of the African university and for linking higher education to development. The World Bank itself, influenced by Prof Manuel Castells’ path-breaking paper, ‘The University System: Engine of development in the new world economy,’ made a detour and started embracing the role of higher education in the knowledge economy and for development  in the developing world.

    To this end, it sponsored a study on ‘Higher Education and Economic Development in Africa’ by Harvard University scholars David Bloom, David Canning, and Kevin Chan. They challenged the belief that tertiary education has little role in promoting economic growth. To them, investing in tertiary education may accelerate technological diffusion, which would decrease knowledge gaps and help reduce poverty in the region.

    It’s time for our academics to wake up and break the silence.

  • Lobi Stars observe a minute silence for late John George

    Lobi Stars observe a minute silence for late John George

    A minute silence was observed in honour of  late John George during Sunday’s match day 13 Nigeria Professional Football League game between Lobi Stars and Niger Tornadoes at the Aper Aku Stadium, Makurdi yesterday.

    George died on Thursday after a brief illness in Kaduna.

    George, a defensive midfielder, was on loan at Lobi Stars FC of Makurdi from Mighty Jets FC of Jos and he was a regular member of the team.

    The Team manager, Barnabas Imenger told SportingLife that the entire team is still in shock over George’s death.

    He said that the club is in touch with his family in order to give him a  befitting burial.

    “The entire team is in shock and disbelief as well as mourning over his death. We are in touch with his family and the club’s vice chairman, Mike Idoko has already directed to liase with his family for a smooth burial. A minute silence was observed in his honour before kick off in our game against Niger Tornadoes,” Imenger told SportingLife.

    George’s last game was a 2-2 home draw between Lobi Stars and Kano Pillars last month and had obtained permission from the club to return to Kaduna to treat a recurring bout of malaria, a trip he never returned from.

     

  • Sport stakeholders Conspiracy of Silence

    I have watched with keen interest the unfolding drama within the sport industry and with specific reference to the existence or extinction of the National Sports Commission. I did mention some weeks back that there is a grand design to scrap this commission as part of the on-going restructuring and mergers of Ministries and some government agencies

    However, I will like to say that as a passionate and committed professional that has sworn to uphold the sanctity and enhance the development of sport sector in Nigeria this move is a great concern to me. The fact is that those clamouring for the total eradication of the sport commission do not really in my view understand the role of the commission as it relates to sport development in a country like Nigeria.

    I have said it times without numbers that sport if and when properly harnessed can generate more jobs than the telecom industry and create more revenue like the oil industry. Sport economy when activated grows and endures beyond the activators. It is one sector that we have not been able to tap into in the past years and rather than enhance what is on ground attempts are on to kill it totally.

    I remain the voice of one crying out in the wilderness like John the Baptist make way for the survival and activation of sport economy in Nigeria this can come to pass when we have the right legislation backing the right institution and also the right people appointed to drive the right process towards unlocking the economy of sport in Nigeria

    While we may say that this happenings seems to be going unnoticed I will be quick to mention that I perceive that there is a conspiracy of silence from all critical sport stakeholders in the fight for the survival of this industry in Nigeria. I have not heard nor read the position of the Guild of Sport Editors about the eradication of the sports commission, I have also not seen the NAPHER-SD making their position known on the same subject matter and I have not seen Sport Writers Association making a serious case on this matter – (I may be wrong).

    It has not been made a national discuss on sport programmes either on radio or television yet we see people going on with their business as though all is well. Sport veterans are not lending their voice neither have I heard any professional sport athletes association making a statement on this action of outright eradication of our industry.

    I don’t want to believe that all the stakeholders in sports including the Presidents of all Sport Federations in Nigeria are unaware of the effect that sport will suffer in terms of its structure and activities in the nearest future.

    Let me clearly say this that in the advancement of policies relating to sports, certain standard criterion are to be considered part of which should be the viability of the subject matter and its sustainability. If I agree to certain extent that the action is viable based on certain current indices the next question will be how sustainable can this be for sport in the years to come.

    May we all see the importance in sport as an economic power house that is tired to the apron of non- activation. We need to seriously look at this and consider it a fundamental issue that needs to be visited and government attention drawn to it as well as a comprehensive Threat Analysis done to show the effect or otherwise should this take effect.

    Sport is a massive industry, sport business cuts across boarders it is a leveller of some sort it enhances economic prosperity of a nation, it serves as a catalyst to new economic frontiers for a nation, in some cases it is among the major contributors to a countries annual GDP. Given all these and the fact that sport is unique may I submit by saying that all sport stakeholders should stop their collective CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE and work towards the activation of the sport industry in Nigeria.

     

  • Armsgate and Jonathan’s silence

    Gradually, the monumental betrayal of trust, looting and financial recklessness in some dealings of the  immediate past administration is becoming clearer vindicating some Nigerians who consistently raised alarm that PDP-led federal government were only out for the selfish interests of their members. With unrestrained passion, the privileged men who had access to our common patrimony shared funds meant for the fight against insurgency that has left us in tears, pains and unforgettable memories.

    Though, no one has been convicted in the misappropriation of about N32 billion meant for procurement of arms involving the immediate past National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki andothers, with the rather incongruous, unfathomable and outright ridiculous revelations coming from saga, it is trite to say that a lot more may have happened. It is rather regrettable that at a time the nation was battling and is still battling with terrorism, funds meant for procurement of arms were being diverted to mundane, selfish, and the rather ridiculous purposes. At a time, when bloods were being spilled daily and properties destroyed in the land, some men who were entrusted in providing leadership were busy scheming on ways of benefitting from the ‘blood money’.

    On the battle front, soldiers were complaining that the insurgents had superior weapons; some persons had the impression that they were merely making excuses judging by the huge budgetary provisions for security. At the end, the soldiers were slammed with various charges and convicted for mutiny. The manner and purposes for which the funds were disbursed calls for serious concerns. The Office of the National Security Adviser has become so powerful and influential that any matter is considered a threat to the security of the nation. Save for latest moves, the soldiers would have been summarily executed.

    Besides, by the way these slush funds were disbursed clearly violates Public Procurement Act. With the allegations, it seemed that whoever was close to the office could come up with one proposal or the other and get his slice of the cake. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allege that Raymond Dokpesi, ex-while Chairman of Daar Communications got a hefty N2.1 ostensibly to convince Nigerians through media and publicity on the need to re-elect President Goodluck Jonathan. Nduka Obaigbena, publisher of Thisday newspapers collected N120 million for some newspapers for damage to their vehicles and newspapers by some security agents.

    We are told that about N10 billion were shared to PDP delegates during the last presidential primaries in which former President Goodluck Jonathan was unanimously chosen. Some funds were said to have been doled out to ‘spiritualists’, some to acquire choice properties. At the moment, the EFCC it was learnt is still investigating.

    In all these revelations, Sambo Dasuki seems to be at the centre of the scandal. But he has been quoted as saying that he couldn’t have released those funds without the approval of the big boss. Even if President Goodluck Jonathan’s name is not mentioned in the saga, it will still make sense that he comes out and tell Nigerians why under his supervision such monumental scandal occurred. Dasuki certainly worked under the president. It will be unthinkable that such disbursements were made without the authorization of the president. If at all this is the case, then certainly, there may have been more sordid deals.

    It defies any reasonable logic that Dr. Jonathan has remained studiously silent on the allegations. Could it be that he is taking his time to study the situation before coming out with explanations. Or could it be that he is waiting for invitation by the EFCC before he can be able to speak to the people especially his esteemed supporters who in their imaginations will think he cannot be party to such betrayal of trust?

    On the other hand, since some persons have been invited by the EFCC for clarifications on their roles in the scandal, will extending the invitation to Dr. Jonathan be against their operations? Some say that the EFCC may have to get clearance from President Muhammadu Buhari before such an action can be undertaken. If this is the case, then President Buhari’s courage will certainly be under watch.

    The sharing of the arms money is clearly a betrayal of trust and violation of human rights in a way. While the nation was earnestly seeking for an end to the massacre in the land, those entrusted in the onerous task of motivating our troops were busy devising means of diverting funds. Unfortunately, their ambition was to stay onto power for another four years. Perhaps, the change of government was timely to stop further acts of misdeeds.

    At a time when the government plans to borrow hugely to finance the 2016 budget, it is trite that some looted funds are recovered and used for developmental purposes. And President Jonathan needs to help out in the conclusion of this case.

     

    • Ibeku, public affairs commentator writes from Ibadan, Oyo State.
  • Jonathan’s silence

    Jonathan’s silence

    •In view of the deluge of allegations involving corruption in his era, the former president owes it to Nigerians to explain his role

    In the past month, Nigerians have been besieged by a surge of sleaze. The panel, led by Air Vice Marshal John Ode, has unearthed stories of alleged corruption in high places.  It has revolved around the office of the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, involving about several billions of naira.

    The narrative has evolved as a theatre of accusations and recriminations, about full-throated defences, protestations of innocence, explanations hiding under veils of technicalities, half-confessions overcast by shadows of regret, epistolary flourishes marked by aggressive assertions and the bandying about of figures.

    Whether during arrests, or through supine visages in court or defiant poses on newspaper pages or electronic media, the persons involved in this still unfolding drama have further desecrated the cathedral vista of government office. They have brought the dignity of public service down to a farce of thieving.

    Many persons were on the take. Many contracts defied the minimal rules of civilised transactions. The money disbursed in the name of national security fulfilled any imaginary purpose from online fantasy to religious ecstasy.

    What is baffling in this cacophony of iniquity is the inscrutable silence of the principal actor in the regime: ex-President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. To be fair to the former Nigerian leader, he uttered a rebuttal on the onset of the allegations.

    Hear him: “I did not award any $2 billion contract for the procurement of weapons. Where did the money come from?” he asked at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in the United States. Showing how he felt about the welter of allegations, he said, “Sometimes I feel sad when people mention these figures.”

    President Jonathan also adverted to figures cited by the President Buhari Muhammadu administration after a visit to the U.S barely a month after he assumed office.  “When the president paid official visit to the US, there were some figures that were mentioned that I don’t believe.” He referred to “$150 billion American money” reported to be missing, adding rhetorically, “and Americans will not know where it is?” He felt the allegations were not pelted at his administration.

    This was November 19, 2015. In the flush of the first few days of the allegations, ex-NSA Dasuki also presented an exterior of innocence and victimisation. He issued a statement that seemed sturdy and beyond reproach. He said he was made NSA on June 22, 2012 while the allegations dated from March 2012. He explained that “all contracts and accruing payments were with the approval of the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces. Once the President approved, the NSA paid.” He added that “there was due process for every purchase in line with regulations guiding arms procurement for the armed forces.”

    He noted further that “Nigerians should note that all the services generated the types of equipment needed, sourced for suppliers most times and after consideration by the Office of the NSA, the President will approve application for payment.”

    He boasted that “I am ready for trial on all the allegations in order to prove to Nigerians that I did nothing untoward.”

    Weeks after though, the picture seems to have changed. Its web has enveloped quite a few politicians, business men, the media, etc. Confessions have erupted from the lips of some of those who collected money direct from the Office of the NSA. For instance, the former chairman of the African Independent Television, or AIT, confessed to collecting the sum of N2.1 billion. His son defended the contract by saying former President Jonathan and former Vice President Namadi Sambo were present at the moment of approval. Was that what the NSA characterised as due process? Another absurd part of the story was the confession and revelation that N4.6 billion was disbursed to a former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, for religious purpose. The president of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN, Nduka Obaigbena, confessed to receiving N670 million as compensation for newspapers that suffered damages when the military impounded their products last year, and also for the bombing of his office building in Abuja by Boko Haram insurgents in 2012.

    Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, a former minister of state for finance, said he dished out N100 million each  to leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) across the country, but the drama spun into an absurd light when some denied, including Bode George. George said the sum was inflated while Jim Nwobodo knew about the disbursement not from Yuguda but from party chairman Adamu Muazu. He claimed that when it fell on his laps, it was N500 million and he distributed it to the five governors of the southeast.

    We cannot ignore former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and her confession. She wrote that the sum of $322 million was approved by President Jonathan before she conveyed the princely sum to Dasuki for the war on terror. The minister who claimed a regime above board has not explained how the sum was disbursed and why she raised no eyebrows while our soldiers starved and died in spite of the large allocation.

    What this shows is that this is no more a fairy tale series of allegations. From the confessions, it is clear money passed from the office of the NSA, and princely sums at that. It refutes the NSA’s claims that they were unleashed on the war on terror, given the purposes for which some of the money was disbursed. Why, for instance, would a former governor collect N4.6 billion for spiritual reasons?

    It is also questionable if these sums passed through the due process. Where were the certificates of incorporations of the companies, particulars of directors, tax clearance certificates from 2011, letters of award of contracts, invoice of supplies or services, evidence of payment so far and outstanding balances, personal income tax clearance certificates of directors, etc.?

    The presences of party bigwigs in this unfolding narrative revealed that national security may have been the bogey man for this liberal shower of corruption. Is it true as some of the confessions have implied that national security was a guise to funnel slush funds for political campaigns?

    What this betrays is a fundamental cankerworm in our body politic, and this is not restricted to the PDP. The perception of public funds as the entitlement of the power-that-be has turned our patrimony into a battleground. Any party or person in power uses the advantage of public funds to energise political campaign, pay off loyalty and overwhelm the opposition.

    Now, the former president denied the allegations at the beginning, probably hoping the matter would die like a suffocated cat. But since the damning revelations, outcries of condemnation and sighs of disgust in the civil society, the principal player of the era, President Jonathan, needs to come clean about what he knows. If he knew nothing, then he was not in charge. But how could such huge sums of money move out of the government coffers without the knowledge of the chief accounting officer in government?

    When he said he did not “believe” it, did he mean it was a lie or he wondered if it was true. If a former president spoke in such terms of ambiguous indignation, we have reason to wonder how he governed the country in about six years.

    That is why he ought to unveil a methodical defence of all the allegations, even if the president is not willing to put him in the dock.

  • Silence and sound about corruption

    Nobody needs to be extraordinarily bright to know that the Senate has become a source of noise designed to silence citizens who are enthusiastic about the war against corruption. 

    Vice President Osinbajo chose this year’s Anti-Corruption Day to appeal to citizens to opt for sound over silence regarding matters of corruption in particular and change in general. The appeal is to ensure that the war on corruption is won by the society at large, rather than just by President Buhari and his team and to prevent noise makers opposed to the emphasis on identifying and punishing thieves of state from seizing the nation’s political narrative from those committed to fighting corruption. Making the war on corruption a national task may require a roadmap by the government that citizens can intellectually and emotionally identify with, apart from pre-election identification of voters with the manifesto to dismantle the culture of corruption and impunity that has almost impoverished majority of the population.

    Nobody needs to be extraordinarily bright to know that the Senate has become a source of noise designed to silence citizens who are enthusiastic about the war against corruption. For senators who got elected largely on account of Buhari and APC for change to suddenly become obsessed with legislating against citizens willing to carry the message of enough is enough to venal political office holders and public servants must worry lovers of good governance. As if by design, senators on a war path with advocates of freedom of speech seem to have distracted many citizens from the real job at hand. Instead of being encouraged to speak against corruption by members of the party elected to fight corruption, the country’s opinion leaders have been sucked into a struggle against senators who have sworn to kill free speech by labelling complaints against corruption as frivolous criticism. The noise by authors of anti-frivolity bill has increased what appears like silence on the part of warriors against corruption.

    The Vice President’s call for citizen democracy is appropriate. Citizen journalism, facilitated globally by social media and other advances in communication technology, is a major factor in the enhancement of participatory democracy in the modern world. The impression given by the chairman of the House of Representatives’ Media and Publicity Committee, just as the myopia of senators on the side of a new law to gag citizens, seems to have no tolerance for citizen journalism. Freedom of speech does not exist just for professional journalists; it is constitutionally guaranteed for all citizens.

    But to the mind of the house chairman of media and publicity, the legislature owns freedom of expression which it can give to whomsoever it wants whenever it finds it convenient to do so: As chairman House Committee on Media, I must say that we cannot close space for free speech. We would like to ensure that there is free speech. And the only thing we try to enjoin is that journalists, who are trained, who know the ethics of journalism, should also join the social media activity so that we can differentiate between the grains and the chaff. I think that is most essential, but we should not leave it for just those who think they can just post anything. Ideally, I think it is very important that we allow free speech. With time, we will get to the level that we can regulate. For now, I think Nigerians will rely on them. We came on the platter of change and it was this social media that brought us to power and we are making effective changes on that; I think we should live with that. Ideally, I think it is very important that we allow free speech. With time, we will get to the level that we can regulate.

    Like Bala Ibn Na’Allah, the mind behind the bill to gag the media and citizens, Abdulrazak Namdas is a member of APC. The signals emanating from the ruling party in Abuja are enough to silence the average citizen. With two leading members of President Buhari’s party of change–Na’Allah feeling compelled to end citizen’s participation in modern democratic governance through citizen journalism via the social media and Namdas’ readiness to wait for a more appropriate time to regulate basic human rights, it should not be surprising that citizens are not as vocal as they were during the pre-election campaign for change. Conflicting signals from the ruling party are capable of confusing well-meaning citizens. If a party that rode to power on the promise of change and with the support of the social media operated largely by citizens from all professions now feels emboldened to gag those who use the media to blow whistles about bad governance, appeals from those in charge of the levers of power should be made to members of the ruling party to show consistent commitment to democracy and desist from threatening vocal citizens with primitive laws.

    It is futile to set out to regulate citizens’ use of modern communication technology to make comments about how they are governed. Social media has added value to democratic spirit and culture all over the world. Indeed, social media has expanded citizens’ rights to hold and express opinions without hindrance and interference. Beyond the traditional role of the journalist as watchdog in democracies, social media has made it possible for citizens (ultimate owners of sovereignty) to also function as watchdogs. Na’Allah’s quick move to enact a law to muzzle the media and Namdas’ willingness to postpone creating a law to exclude non-journalists from exchanging ideas on the social media point to the same unease of APC lawmakers with democratisation of the process of signification. Reduction of the power of mediation between sender and receiver of messages characteristic of traditional media and increasing empowerment of citizens to contribute to political communication is an inevitable aspect of modern democracy. The research wing of the ruling party needs to re-educate lawmakers about the futility of any government opting to control or regulate the use of social media and the internet. What needs to be regulated or controlled is the propensity of rulers to use power to control citizens rather than to enrich them. With the internet and social media, there is no more hiding place for political or business leaders who operate or plan to act unethically. All politicians and citizens are already well protected by existing laws against treason, defamation, and libel.

    The president himself can also help to encourage citizens who want to support the anti-corruption drive and other projects that can bring positive change to the country. Citizens need to know more about the soft war against corruption. Citizens deserve to know more than mere presidential declaration that thieves of state are already returning money to the nation’s coffers. It is salutary that President Buhari had discussed openly with Nigerians in Iran the efforts of his government to make corrupt individuals return some of their loot. But there are many concerns on the minds of citizens at home. For example, citizens are eager to know how much the government has collected from corrupt men and women; percentage of what is returned to what is stolen; who are the individuals being given the special advantage of corruption amnesty (as opposed to those bound to face open trial); and what agency is in charge of warehousing of returned loot?

    There is no doubt that it is, in the final analysis, only citizens that can assist any party in power to succeed in bringing change to a polity, more so one that had been hobbled for decades by venality of people in power. But such citizens need to be convinced by those in the legislature and the executive that the party in power is ready ‘to play ball.’ APC lawmakers’ eagerness to regulate free speech and the executive’s preference to be general (rather than specific) in talking about proceeds from an informal corruption amnesty to selected persons are likely to create doubts in the minds of vocal pro-change citizens. Citizens who voted for President Buhari and his party in preference to the PDP that has been in power for sixteen years had shown that they are ready for the sacrifice needed to bring change. It is the people citizens had voted into power that have to reassure voters that they too are ready for the inconvenience that a Change Manifesto can create for lawmakers and those in other arms of government.

  • Eagles call up: I’ll silence my critics -Abdullahi Shehu

    União da Madeira’s Abdullahi Shehu has said his invitation to the Super Eagles is a dream come true, adding that he had always harbored the ambition of playing under coach Sunday Oliseh.

    There were raised eyebrows in some quarters over the invitation of Shehu, with suggestions that his call – up was fast-tracked especially as the midfielder has found playing opportunities difficult to come by in the Primeira Liga in the young season.

    But the former Kano Pillars star hopes to silence his critics next month and is hoping to get on the pitch in the friendlies against Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.

    “I’m really happy over the invitation for the friendlies next month, ” Abdullahi Shehu said to allnigeriasoccer.com.

    “I can’t wait to get started playing under Oliseh, it has always been my dream and I’m ready to fight for my place.

    “I’m very sure the Super Eagles will win all the matches and I hope I will be in both games against DRC and Cameroon.”

    It may be wrong to call Abdullahi Shehu a rookie Super Eagles invitee, having travelled to the United States with the national team for a pre – World Cup friendly against Mexico but he was one of the five players that didn’t get match time.

    “I was in the list of players for the friendly against Mexico last year in the USA but I did not play,” said Shehu.

    The 22 – year – old Abdullahi Shehu represented the Flying Eagles at the 2013 FIFA Under 20 World Cup before starring for the Super Eagles at the African Nations Championship the following year.

  • When silence is a minus

    What may explain why two striking cultural reasons for celebration at this time have not been exploited for publicity and tourism-related purposes, particularly by the Osun State government, the Federal Government, the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) and culture-friendly companies? 2015 is the year Susanne Wenger, the celebrated Austrian artist and Yoruba-culture champion, would have turned 100 on July 4. The year also marks the 10th anniversary of the Osun-Osogbo Grove’s recognition as a World Heritage Site.

    It is ironic that there is a negative silence about these cultural milestones in the country. In other words, beyond the routinal celebration of the Osun-Osogbo Festival scheduled to close noisily in the Osun-Osogbo Grove on August 21, it is constructive to make some noise about Wenger’s centenary and the grove’s first decade as an internationally recognised heritage site. The major corporate sponsors of the  2015 Osun-Osogbo Festival have positive reasons to be part of such a special celebration as well : “telecom giant MTN; Nigerian Breweries, using one of the company’s beer brands, Goldberg; Grand Oak Limited, brewers of Seaman’s Aromatic Schnapps; Kasapreko Limited, producers of Alomo Bitters.”

    It is noteworthy that since May there has been a string of cultural activities abroad in celebration of Wenger’s centenary. “We are pleased to announce the exhibition schedule in the year of the 100th anniversary of Susanne Wenger at the Susanne Wenger Foundation in Krems and other locations,” said a programme released by the Austria-based organisation.  “There will be shown oil paintings, batiks, drawings, photographs of the Sacred Groves and previously not seen works of art… On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Susanne Wenger, Doyin Olosun and Sangodare Gbadegesin Ajala from ‘Susanne Wenger family’ will be present at the opening…There will be guided tours and workshops…The exhibition will be accompanied by the publication SUSANNE WENGER : Artist, Priestess, Adventuress…Special exhibition at the Nigerian Embassy, Vienna, Austria, September 28-30.”

    Remarkably, in connection with Wenger, this is not the first time cultural forces outside the country have demonstrated a more impressive appreciation of its cultural treasures than the locals. For instance, ahead of Wenger’s milestone 90th birthday in 2005, the Arts Center, Krems, Austria, from June 20 to October 24, 2004, staged a commemorative exhibition of  “some 60 of her most important works,” including batiks, paintings and architecture. The theme of this show was: Susanne Wenger: At a holy river in Africa.  The Susanne Wenger Archives, Austria, supported it. Wenger enriched the show with her presence. It was one of her rare trips outside Osogbo.

    It is a puzzling paradox and food for thought that such rich Wenger memorabilia are outside the country where she lived for almost 60 years before her death in Osogbo in 2009 aged 93. Imagine my shock when she told me, during an exclusive interview in her twilight, that the Susanne Wenger Foundation, Krems, Austria, had already “collected all what they can get hold of, what I did and what is said about me.” She said: “I have agreed with Krems. They have better reasons to be interested than our people here. Our people here have nothing against me, but they have no reason why they should back what I do, what I say.”

    It is a testimony to Wenger’s cultural celebrity that the Federal Government in 2008 honoured her with a decoration, Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR).  Osogbo, land of the mystic River Osun, in present-day Osun State, provided the milieu for what Wenger described as her “complete immersion;” and she controversially became a priestess of Yoruba indigenous religion and an informal guardian of its ritual grounds, which was reflected in her local moniker, Adunni Olorisa, underlining her remarkable devotion to the Yoruba pantheon.

    She was famous as the arrowhead of the inventive New Sacred Art group and for her selfless dedication to the preservation of the sacred Osun-Osogbo Grove, listed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) shortly after her 90th birthday in July 2005 – this was an interesting coincidence and the icing on the cake for Wenger. Recognised for natural and cultural reasons, the Osun-Osogbo Grove is the second of two UNESCO-branded sites in Nigeria, coming after the Sukur Cultural Landscape in Adamawa State, which attained the distinction in 1999.

    Long before it became correct to be environment-friendly, Wenger had championed a crusade for the conservation of nature in the Osun-Osogbo Grove, albeit based on a religious premise and her conviction that it was the abode of the gods. Inspired by her philosophy that “Art is ritual”, she created a stunning range of majestic “architectural sculptures” in the grove as symbols of reverence, working with talented locals.

    It is to her credit that, following her long-drawn-out battle with various interest groups that failed to see the need to guard the grove, the political authorities in Nigeria eventually saw her point and stepped in to protect the space; and then, UNESCO followed. The Osun- Osogbo Grove is the site of Nigeria’s star tourist attraction, the Osun-Osogbo Festival, celebrated in honour of a river goddess. It is a pre-eminent cultural festival and draws a high number of visitors domestically and internationally.

    The evidently grand conjuncture of Susanne Wenger’s centenary, the Osun-Osogbo Grove’s World-Heritage-Site anniversary and the 2015 Osun-Osogbo Festival deserves to be specially celebrated in Nigeria by Nigerians. It is timely that a Nigerian publishing company, Grasshill Books, is promoting a new book on Wenger, which is expected to be released to mark the 2015 World Tourism Day on September 27.

    A statement by the publisher said: “We are pleased to announce the publication of a new book, Alive In The Sacred Grove – Susanne Wenger from a Nigerian view, which will fill a vacuum that has existed for years.” The author, Femi Macaulay, was quoted as saying: “What I set out to do is unprecedented. In concept and execution, this new book on Susanne Wenger is unparalleled because it is written from a Nigerian perspective and with a Nigerian flavour… At the time I discussed my plan with Wenger, she responded positively, saying, ‘I bless your work and your good intentions’.”

    Describing the work, Macaulay also said: “This unique well-researched Wenger portrait offers a fresh experience of her. It consists of an extensive up-to-date close-up profile and exclusive interviews that I had with her. It explores not only her extraordinary life but also her thinking on Yoruba culture and tradition, especially at the transitional stage of her life. It is enriched with expressive pictures of Wenger and some of her eye-catching sculptures in the grove, as well as other important images related to her gripping story. It is a modest way of paying a well- deserved tribute to a loyal vessel of Yoruba divinities; her legacy is undeniable. The book also beams the spotlight on the Osun-Osogbo Grove and the Osun-Osogbo Festival.”

    Hopefully, this new book will enjoy support from culture-friendly quarters and be appreciated as a way of breaking the silence that is anti-culture and anti-tourism.

  • Jega’s silence on Akwa Ibom State is killing

    My first physical encounter with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega was on Saturday December 6, 2013 at Ugbegun in Esan Central Local Government Area of Edo State during the burial of former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Festus Iyayi, who was murdered by the reckless convoy of the Governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada.

    I had relocated to Edo State for about a week to join other activists, comrades and public-spirited compatriots from within and outside the country to give our slain brother in the struggle “a befitting burial”.

    Throughout his stay during the interment, Prof. Jega neither uttered a word nor exuded emotions except the occasions he exchanged pleasantries with other sympathisers who came to greet him. As I observed Mr. Jega closely, I could see a well cultured, quiet and decorous personage that does not easily give in to the vicissitudes of life. My admiration for him soared afterwards.

    It was therefore not eccentric to me when he exuded equanimity on Tuesday, 31st March, 2015 when Mr. Godson Orubebe sought to undermine his hard earned reputation with his thoughtless, shameful and baseless allegations of bias and compromise during the collation of the presidential election results at the International Conference Center, Abuja.

    With the successful conduct of the presidential election on 28 March, 2015 which has been applauded by Nigerians and the international community, the reputation of Prof. Jega has further improved. However, I’m very worried that the respect presently being accorded the INEC Chairman may be short-lived owing to his worrisome disposition towards the evident, widely reported and verifiable compromise of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Akwa Ibom State led by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Austin Okojie.

    It is sickening that despite the public outrage that has continued to trail the fraudulent conduct of the presidential and National Assembly elections in Akwa Ibom State, the INEC Chairman has not deem it pertinent to respond, even laconically, to the concerns and grievances expressed by residents of the State, political parties, the media, election observers and other Nigerians. One is tempted to ask whether the INEC Chairman has a special interest in Akwa Ibom State?

    It is on record that petitions has been sent to the INEC Chairman by interested persons, particularly by one of the leading political parties in the State, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in respect of the March 28 elections in Akwa Ibom State. Yet, there is no indication at the moment that the leadership of INEC has given a fair hearing to the petitioners.

    While it is true that politicians do make baseless allegations against the staffs of the Commission for political gains, it is not true that there are no bad eggs in the Commission. According to the results of the presidential election in the State as presented during the declaration of results by the State Collation Officer, Prof. James Ekpoke, Akwa Ibom State has 1, 644, 481 registered voters. Of this number, 1, 074, 070 voters were said to had been accredited while 1, 017, 064 reportedly voted. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was said to have scored 953, 304 votes while the All Progressives Congress (APC) allegedly scored 58, 411 votes.

    For God sake, where on planet earth did INEC get such alarming figures? Certainly not from the same Akwa Ibom State that no elections properly so-called took place. It is note worthy that the results of the March 28 elections were not announced at the State level until about 10 am of Tuesday, 31st March, 2015. Also, Prof. Jega had to stand down the announcement of the results by the State Collation Officer owing to discrepancy in the summation of the results until the figures were reconciled.

    During the March 28 elections, eligible voters were denied their franchise due to the willful and premeditated refusal by the INEC to release sensitive election materials, especially result sheets, to its ad hoc staffs. In most polling units, voters waited endlessly for the arrival of ballot papers and result sheets to no avail. In some places, elections actually took place but there were no result sheets to record same. In other places, known appointees of the State government went about with police and military escorts harassing voters and hijacking materials with reckless abandon.

    The rigging was so badly and carelessly done that result sheets were not even supplied at the polling unit of the APC gubernatorial candidate in the State, Mr. Umana Okon Umana in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area. It took protest by the candidate for the result sheets to be brought allegedly from the home of a former legislator from the area. The story was the same in most parts of the State.

    Surprisingly, the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission led by its Chairman, Prof. Jega has not deem it proper to react or investigate these documented, cogent and verifiable facts and evidence of massive fraud, rigging and subversion of the electoral process. At the moment, the State is literally in flames owing to the fear that the embattled State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Austin Okojie whose actions and inactions smacks of partisanship will still be the one to oversee the forthcoming gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections in the State.

    Late in the night on Sunday 5th April, 2015 information went viral on social media that the gubernatorial candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel was having a meeting with INEC Returning Officers in the entire State. The nocturnal meeting was leaked by one of the Returning Officers (a lecturer) who attended the meeting. An Akwa Ibom State Correspondent of one of the national newspapers has confirmed to this writer that he drove passed the Babangida Avenue where the meeting allegedly took place and that he saw hundreds of vehicles and people at two places. These are serious allegations that shouldn’t be treated with kid gloves by the Chairman of INEC. The State Resident Electoral Commissioner cannot be trusted to conduct credible polls on April 11 in the State.

    This is the same REC that refused to accredit local journalists in the State claiming that they were working for the opposition. It took three days of vigil at the State INEC Headquarters by the insistent local journalists before the REC bowed to pressure and accredited them. So why is Prof. Jega still silent and unconcerned about the despicable, volatile and precarious situation in Akwa Ibom State? Is it that Akwa Ibom State is not significant to warrant a decisive action by the INEC Chairman?

    I humbly advice Prof. Jega to make sweeping changes in the commission before the April 11 gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly elections in the country. It is only right and expedient for the INEC Chairman to redeploy REC’S and other senior staffs of the commission from States that the March 28 polls were marred by irregularities and controversies. Anything short of this may spell doom for our nascent democracy and may greatly bastardize the reputation of the Commission.

    The media, human rights community, local and international observers should take note and follow closely the troubling situation in Akwa Ibom State. Prof. Jega should rise above any primordial consideration and defend the integrity of INEC and the electoral process in Akwa Ibom State.

    The time to act is now!

    • Inibehe Effiong is the Convener of the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (COHRD).