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  • Way out of darkness

    Way out of darkness

    • Power ministry needs to change tact for better result

    We can understand the frustration of the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, with the deteriorating power supply in the country, especially since the beginning of this year. Up till December, 2023, power supply was getting relatively better and Nigerians could only have hoped that the improvement, no matter how incremental, would continue to get better. But they appeared to have been mistaken given the deteriorating situation of power supply nationwide.

    The situation had compelled the minister to threaten to hold individual electricity distribution companies (DisCos) responsible. As a matter of fact, the minister did not hesitate to add that licences of DisCos that are not ready to improve would be revoked, a thing the Federal Government has eventually directed the sector’s regulator, the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to do with DisCos that continue to serve darkness instead of light to their customers.

     “Moving forward, I’m committed to holding all distribution companies accountable for their performance.

    “Willful non-performance will not be tolerated, and severe consequences, including licence revocation, may be imposed,” the minister said in a statement.

    The minister is particularly unhappy with the performance of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), that he summoned to an emergency meeting on Tuesday.

     Of course, we have always known the factors responsible for the dip in power supply: damages to electricity equipment by vandals, lack of adequate gas supply, grid breakdown, low supply from generating companies (GenCos), the inability of DisCos to wheel supply from GenCos, etc.

    But the minister believed the problem had to do more with negligence, rather than sabotage. He noted, for instance, that his ministry has been exerting pressure on the GenCos to enhance their performance, resulting in a recent increase in generation to over 4000MW.

    “Despite this progress”, the minister said, “certain distribution companies are failing to adequately distribute the power supplied by TCN, while vandalism of power infrastructure exacerbates the problem in regions such as Abuja, Benin, Port Harcourt, and Ibadan.”

    It is not only ridiculous, it is equally frustrating that for many years, it has been difficult getting the DisCos to deliver optimally. Nigerians had thought that privatisation would solve the problem once and for all but they have been mistaken. Apparently, the privatisation was not well thought-out; hence the problems that have refused to disappear in the sector. 

    Read Also: Tinubu appoints Alabo George as BCDA DG

    We need to state however that threats would not solve the problem in the sector. It has never. Not even revocation of licence. The Ministry of Power has to think of ways to do things differently. As they say, you cannot do the same thing the same way and expect a different result. There should be concrete actions along the lines of the identified obstacles, with timelines on what Nigerians should expect.

    The ministry must do due diligence on all the players in the value chains —  GenCos, transmission companies (TransCos), DisCos, etc., with a view to narrowing down to where the problems are. This would enable the ministry and regulator to be able to better address the problems accordingly.

    We know it is the frustration with the state of affairs in the sector that has made some people to recommend death sentence for electricity equipment vandals. We are afraid we have always been averse to this idea of death sentence for the same reason that several progressive countries are moving away from capital punishment, especially with the irreversibility of the sentence once the convict has been executed. What happens if it was eventually discovered that judgment had been miscarried? The dead cannot be brought back to life.

    We know the pains that the nation and electricity consumers suffer due to the activities of these vandals; we nonetheless would rather go for long sentences as punishment for them.

  • FG to enforce ‘No work, No pay’ rule

    FG to enforce ‘No work, No pay’ rule

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on Wednesday said that henceforth the government will enforce the ‘No work, No pay’ rule.
    Briefing State House correspondences at the end of FEC, he said that the law is still subsisting.
    Noting that the International Labour Organization convention are subject to local laws of countries, he said that ILO also specified strict punishment for workers that go on strike, especially bordering on essential services.
    END (Details Later)
  • ‘Way out of recession’

    ‘Way out of recession’

    The atmosphere was charged as worshipers thronged the church auditorium, bearing palm fronds and singing praises to God for the opportunity to witness another Passover Feast. It was a gathering of the faithful to celebrate the risen Christ.

    This was followed by a procession from the main auditorium, even as the worshippers stooped to make their heads to touch the earth, in total submission to Almighty God who was in the beginning before the beginning began.

    During the grand finale of the 21-day annual Jesus Passover Feast (Perfection Day) of The Saints Gospel Church of Christ, also known as Hand of Fire, Igando, Lagos, people expressed happiness and hope that the resurrection of Jesus Christ will make all things come anew in their lives.

    The founder and General Overseer of the church, Pastor Jacob Shodeinde, who recounted the journey to the Passover Feast, said it is a mysterious programme ordained by God to deliver people from their problems.

    His words: “After my calling, God ordered me to go on a seven-day marathon and after that, He revealed the ordinances of the Passover Feast to me; it’s an ordinance of old.

    ”Everything started in the Tabernacle of Moses. They used palm fronds during their Passover so we pray with palm fronds to replicate the days of old. Expect that we don’t offer sacrifices with animals because Jesus was offered as a propitiation for our sins. A dead woman came back to life during the Passover Feast after the palm frond was put into her hands.

    “During the triumphant entry, the people laid down palm fronds to honour Jesus Christ as he rode into Jerusalem. It’s part of the mystery of the call.

    “In Nehemiah chapter eight, the people gathered on the street to mark the Passover. That is what we are doing today; bowing to worship the Lord who does wonders, except that we don’t offer sacrifices because Jesus was offered as a sacrifice for us. It is a Biblical mystery which we have been holding on to since 1996. We are celebrating the blood of Christ, which is the mystery of the Passover.”

    The cleric emphasised the significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the feast, saying it gives man hope that life will be better, especially at this time of recession. This, he added, was the purpose of the feast–to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus who shed his blood so that man could be free from condemnation and triumph over evil.

    “That is why we gather annually to celebrate the blood through the Passover Feast. The purpose is to deliver the people from their mountainous problems and to gather the candidates of heaven in Mount Zion. That is why testimonies can never cease here because Mount Zion is the house of the Lord.

    “Every Christian must be involved because the blood of Jesus Christ was shed for the whole world and not for a select few. That is why as Christians, we have the hope of life after death and a certainty that our faith is not in vain. We are also freed from every condemnation,” he said.

    Pastor Shodeinde, who credits God for his strength and testimonies recorded during the feast, urged Nigerians to serve Him faithfully and with sincerity of heart as it is the only way out of crisis.

    “My reliance and dependability in the blood of Jesus Christ has been my source of strength. When you have a calling and you abide by all rules guiding the call, be sure God will provide the needed strength. When the challenges came, I cried to God and he assured me I will prevail and today we are rejoicing.

    “If God has performed miracles in people’s lives, they should serve Him wholeheartedly and with sincerity of heart. The answer to Nigeria and Nigerian’s problems is Jesus Christ. He is able to set the country free if everybody surrenders totally to Him and serve Him sincerely,” he added.

    A member of the congregation, Pastor John Adeyemi, said it was through the Passover Feast that man has hope of a greater tomorrow.

    According to him, revelations about generational battles, as well as strategies to fight and win, were revealed to him during the programme.

    “Passover is the feast when I knew about battles existing in my lineage in the last 100 years and these battles were won. Every sorrow is turned to joy and every battle is conquered,” he said.

    Pastor Ayodele Afuwape said the feast is a covenant between God and founder of the ministry, adding that it’s a multi-dimensional calling and an embodiment of so many things.

    “It’s specially created by God and it’s done thrice a year–April, August and December. There is healing, deliverance, victory over the power of the enemy, blessing and recovery.

    “Personally, I’ve experienced healing. My wife developed complications during pregnancy but she was delivered of the baby safely during the feast in 1997.  My sister had fibroid but she received her deliverance during one of the programmes,” Afuwape said.

  • ‘Art makes a way for me’

    ‘Art makes a way for me’

    With Lagos and its eccentricities as his thrust, Visual artist, Emmanuel Umoren, last Tuesday opened his exhibition, Art Throb at Freedom Park, Marina, Lagos

     

    Sponsored by British Council, the exhibition forms part of the activities of the annual Lagos State Theatre Festival which closes today.

    Explaining the concept behind the exhibition, Umoren said that Art Throb is a pun referencing his love for the arts.

    “Art is something I like doing right from childhood. It is a gift. I grew up painting and drawing on the sand, even before I went to the university. When I got to the university, lecturers would tell other students in my class to emulate me,” he said.

    With most of the works done with acrylic and other mixed media, the artist admits that the exhibition is tilted towards showcasing the city of Lagos.

    “Yes, mostly, it is about my experiences in Lagos. Rush Hour for instance is about traffic. Wear And Tear and a couple of others are also about Lagos,” he said.

    The work, Wear and Tear, focuses on the transport system in Lagos.  He uses mixed media to depict a situation where the roads are unsafe for both motorists and pedestrians alike. Upturned vehicles and roads littered with vehicle parts aptly portray the impatience drivers in the former federal capital are known for.

    Why the focus on Lagos? He explains that he has been here for over twenty years and there is no better way to describe twists and turns he has experienced.

    After my National Youth Service in Sagamu, Ogun State, I had no where to stay, I knew nobody. So I walked into Lagos alone and I survived it till date. This talent always makes a way for me. As I got into Lagos, the first two companies I applied to took me, and one of them was Newswatch Communication which I later settled for. I used to do their cover illustration. That was how I came to settle down in Lagos. So the experience of jumping molue is not strange to me. I was squatting around Idimu in Egbeda. One morning, I was going to work and I fell from a bus. So the experience is what is reflected in these works,” he explains.

    Another thing viewers can glean from the body of works is that the painter is also influenced a bit by his schooling period at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in the north.

    Away from his locality, the artiste does something for people who love fashion with the piece, Fashionista. The trend in recent times is, as he explains it, for people to make bold statements with their choice of clothes. Fashionista pays tribute to the new development.

    “If you look at what people wear now, everybody is bold. Everybody breaks the norm. You can decide tomorrow to wear red shirt on a green shoe. So we are daring and breaking the norm. The work is for people who love fashion,” he said.

    In his usual style, the piece is done acrylic mixed media adorned with real jewelries and fashion apparels to drive home his point.

    Although most of the works for Art Throb are done with acrylic, he reveals that he is not limited to a particular medium.

    “I can paint with oil. I can also draw, I can cartoon and I can design. I presently work in a design company. I’m the head of a design unit in the company,” he states.

    In all, Umoren says that the exhibition should serve as an eye opener and as a challenge to young people struggling with their talents.

    “Like I said, I’m doing another job even though I majored in painting in school. And my regular job should not make me abandon the arts. So it is a challenge to young people who have forgotten where their brushes are. So it is an open door for me as a person to bring in some kind of investors and for young people to see that there is always an opportunity out there,” he further stated.

    Festival Producer for the Lagos Theatre Festival, Brenda Uphopho, said that this year’s event seeks to surpass what has been done before.

    I’m hoping that we’ll surpass that as we have created a wonderful lineup of events that will not only thrill Lagosians but will entertain and educate at the same time. We have performances from children living with disabilities to arts performances to experiential art installations and drama. So we have something for everybody. We have conventions for comic fans, gaming zones for gamers. We have a lot of stuff going on for the festival,” she said.

  • How we lost our way

    How we lost our way

    Fifty years ago, Nigeria was on edge. Like the sky before a cloudburst, civil war hovered. But now it reads like a thriller.

    Then, however, danger skulked. Soldiers hid under an inky night, bullets flew out of stealthy corners, officers intrigued as their men had their hands on the trigger, and politicians feared and retreated.

    In Ibadan, where Awo tenanted his genius for democracy and as a model for governance, things were falling apart. There were two soldiers, one a host, the other his boss. They had a night together before they said their final goodnight. They were not, in the language of Poet Dylan Thomas, going “gentle into that goodnight.”

    Aguiyi-Ironsi was the boss and head of state. He always dangled a live crocodile, mythicised as a counterfoil against the evil eye and enemy’s reptilian plot. Some said the little croc guaranteed his disappearance when intrigue darkened around him. His host, Adekunle Fajuyi, the governor of the Western Region, was playing host, ensuring that Ironsi had a good time with his cavalcade.

    But a man known as Theophilus Danjuma had other plans. He crashed the party, and eventually, Nigeria’s. Not that things were squeaky clean in the country. Pogrom had sullied the northern landscape with the Igbo and southern minorities dying like flies from machetes, pickaxes, bonfires and guns of zealots. That night set us one major foot onto the bloody puddle of a 30-month civil war that claimed millions of lives.

    That night, both host and boss were arrested by visitor Danjuma and his men. They had come to kill Ironsi and spare Fajuyi. But Fajuyi, a man of honour that he was, would not go gentle. He, too, had to die. If he were alive, the narrative would implicate him in Ironsi’s death as traitor and conspirator. Ironsi was executed and Fajuyi also killed. They could not, in Thomas’ words again, “rage, rage against the dying of the night.”

    In spite of that foul night, Ironsi, also known as Ironside, has no memorial to his name. He has not been called hero even in most historical literature. You are not a hero because other soldiers killed you. You are a hero because of the values that oozed out of your pores as you expired. Some have therefore called him a villain.

    I am not about to follow that path. Ironsi came on the scene because of the failure of the Nzeogwu-led coup of January, 1966. It was tagged an Igbo attempt to foist ethnic hegemony on the rest of the country. From being a popular effort, it turned out a tinderbox. Why did they kill non–Igbos like Balewa, Sardauna, Akintola, Omimi ejo and leave two Igbo premiers in the Midwest and Eastern regions untouched. Why did they leave out Ironsi unscathed? He was asked to try the coup plotters. He did not. If he did not, why did he promulgate Decree 34 that called for Unitarianism in a country of strict regional fidelity?

    Some have said he was naïve, and he meant well. His kinsmen dominated the civil service. Of the major universities in the country, Ibadan, Lagos and Nsukka had Igbo vice chancellors. Balewa trusted key ministries with the Igbo. They had the railways, the employment power. If that was the case, why would Nzeogwu obstruct a free-flowing system for his kinsmen?

    Some of the answers we may never have, especially since they had claimed they wanted to bring Awo out of jail to steer the nation’s affairs as the head of state. Moments like this make the call for the study of history to be restored in our educational system rather than the tentative way we have it today.

    The brilliant writer and journalist, Chuks Iloegbunam, is an authority on Ironsi. His book, Ironside, tackles some of these issues. On my regular television show on TVC on Saturday morning called The Platform, he addressed why Ironsi did not try the coup plotters. He noted that the Supreme Military Council had it in its minutes. That document has not been made public, although Hassan Katsina, Northern Region governor and an instigator of northern hate, had reportedly said so. If such a document is made public, it will do well to exculpate Ironsi from some of the charges. We will yet want to know why he temporised and made no effort, in spite of the clamour of those days, to say it himself and in clear terms.

    One irony of the day, though. Ironsi was slaughtered by Danjuma and his men for Decree 34. Yet, in the long shadow of military that lasted many years, Nigeria ran a military rule in the spirit of Decree 34 with Danjuma as a mainstay. So, were Danjuma and his fellow mutineers not hypocrites and vermin of the hegemony they accused Ironsi of? I say, yes indeed. They did not kill Ironsi because they wanted a federal system. They had an opportunity to install it. But they mounted a grey wall of hegemony. While it was wrong for Ironsi to upset the federal applecart began with the Richards Constitution, Danjuma and his cohorts only marched us to the bloodiest era of history with their night of infamy. If Ironsi was no hero, Danjuma was worse. Ambiguity clouds Ironsi’s story. T.Y. Danjuma’s stale was clear-eyed regionalist. He did not spin a patriotic yarn.

    Yet, I should say that explains the swagger of the Kaduna Mafia for most of our history. Before its decline, they were deft handlers of power. Reviled and despised by the South, they showed a subtle hand. In their appointments, policies and symbolisms, we saw northern control with ‘respect’ for the rest of the country. Not like today, where Buhari has shown little subtlety. If the Igbo triggered the pogrom because of the mistake of a few of them, they compromised the flowering of the Igbo in the country in a time of peace. That was a lesson, I think, the Kaduna Mafia learned when they held unquestioned sway until IBB bungled June 12.

    The greatest villains, though, were the January coup plotters who would not allow democracy stumble and learn. If they did not breach the system, we probably would have found a way out of the impasse. No doubt, it all began with the imbroglio of the Western Region. The NPC/NCNC alliance at the centre had choked the AG and a sense of unease had enveloped the country.

    Before the coup, the political society was looking for ways out. If the most wronged region, the West, was not thinking of secession, perhaps the East was having a good time. Yet, Nzeogwu and co. popped our innocence and, in Achebe’s words in A Man of The People, “lit the tinder of unrest in the land.”

    We cannot forget Fajuyi. Some have tried to dilute his heroics by saying he never wanted to die. I stick to his yarn of sacrifice. Professor Bolaji Akinyemi’s essay in this newspaper testifies to the man’s effacing sense of honour.

    Given unanswered questions, Ironsi may not have a national monument, nor should as yet until the clouds clear. Fajuyi’s case was that of personal honour, not national unless he represented the Yoruba at that moment. Like Awo in personal honour and infectious vision and policies as premier, Fajuyi might have externalised the Yoruba as an exemplar of cooperative elan. We may never know. Such individual acts are engrafted on souls of others. Yet, the circumstances problematise his heroism.

    At the bottom, we see how our soldiers ruined us, and how we lost our way and never returned.

  • A middle way

    A middle way

    Former Minister of Education in the Obasanjo administration, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, has once again descended scathingly on the economic policies of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. Speaking at a forum organised by the Covenant Christian Centre, Abuja, Mrs Ezekwesili accused the ascetic  General of implementing ‘opaque’ and ‘archaic’ economic principles reminiscent of the ‘command and control approach’ of his first coming as a military dictator a little over three decades ago.

    In the weighty words of Oby Ezekwesili, “During the first coming of this our new president, a command and control system was adopted. During that era, inflation spiralled. During that era, jobs were lost. During that era, the economic growth level dipped. That era wasn’t the best of eras in economic progress. What did not work in 1984 cannot possibly be a solution in a global economy that’s much more integrated…In a year we have lost the single digits inflation status we maintained in previous administrations. Mr Buhari’s distortion of the foreign exchange system has left the poor it was intended to support even worse off.” Contending that PMB’s economic policies are encouraging massive corruption, Madam Oby avers that “Enormous power is being abused as a result of opaque economic policies. Companies are suddenly finding themselves unable to produce because they are unable to access foreign exchange.”

    It is certainly most unfair for Ezekwesili to say that an administration, which has done more than any since the commencement of this dispensation in 1999 to expose, investigate and punish corruption as well as retrieve billions of stolen funds, is encouraging massive corruption. Even if it is true that some unscrupulous elements may be exploiting loop holes in Buhari’s economic policies, particularly rigid foreign exchange controls and import restrictions, to indulge in sharp practices, Ezekwesili must agree that graft is no more a cardinal and directive principle of state policy as it had become in the recent past. As a result of his famous ‘body language’, the fear of PMB has become the beginning of wisdom for public officeholders.

    True, the administration in which Ezekwesili served without blemish as Minister and a key member of its Economic Management Team, established institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to fight corruption, but Nigerians are well aware of a certain African leader (name withheld) who was elevated right from prison to his country’s apex political position with his business entirely in ruins. Yet, he left office at the end of his tenure with an expansive hilltop mansion in his home state, an extensive private presidential library built in controversial circumstances and numerous thriving business ventures. It reminds me of ‘Chichidodo’, the bird in one of Ayi Kwei Armah’s novels who hates faeces but feeds on maggots!

    Mrs Ezekwesili speaks glowingly of single digit inflation status and impressive growth rates achieved by previous administrations but are now being eroded by Buhari’s policies. But what was the impact of these statistical data on the level of poverty, inequality, unemployment, infrastructure development, industrialization or power supply? Haven’t all of these worsened over the last 16 years? Should the present administration continue with tried and failed policies of the past and yet expect a different outcome of promised change?

    Yes, the administration in which Mrs Ezekwesili served cannot be wholly held responsible for the ‘fantastically’ massive corruption that led to the industrial scale squandering of humongous oil revenues earned over the last six years. Today, the country lies prostrate because oil prices are cascading and we did not prepare for the rainy day. But then, Obasanjo’s signal failing was that he lacked the perspicacity and discernment to ensure that he was succeeded in office by a competent and fit leadership, capable of sustaining and improving on his legacy.

    It is true that the nationalistic and state-centric economic policies pursued by the Buhari/Idiagbon military administration in 1984 only worsened the crisis it inherited from the preceding Shagari administration.  Buhari stubbornly refused to accede to the International Financial Institution’s conditionalities of massive devaluation of the Naira, across the board privatisation, liberalisation of trade, removal of subsidies and deregulation of prices and interest rates. The ensuing stalemate and deepening economic crisis as well as authoritarian methods of the regime facilitated the ascendancy to power of Babangida.

    Interestingly, it is the type of IMF/World Bank-dictated neo liberal and extremist free market policies including currency devaluation that the Babangida regime succumbed to that Mrs Ezekwesili is vigorously urging PMB to adopt now. But what were the implications for the economy? Listen to the late Pa Alfred Rewane in a public letter he published on 2nd May, 1992: “In the evening of Friday, 26 September, 1986, I was at home with some friends when the Federal Military Government announced its decision to introduce the Structural Adjustment Programme and the Second-Tier Foreign Exchange Market (SFEM)…By implication, it was claimed that Nigerians had opted for a deregulated economy including a floating exchange rate regime, subject only to what was described as market forces. As my friends and I discussed the implications of the government’s announcement, I expressed the view that the devaluation of the Naira was a recipe for disaster and that within five years, the Naira would be worth less than 20 per cent of its then existing value, leading to the possible collapse of the Nigerian economy.”

    And Pa Rewane’s reason? His words: “I reminded them of a standard economic argument that devaluation of the national currency is best contemplated where the nation’s economy depends largely on the export of manufactured products for its foreign exchange earnings, and where devaluation is considered appropriate to ensure the competitiveness of its manufacturers.”

    Pa Rewane was right. President Babangida’s eminent academic economic advisers were wrong and we have been in a permanent state of unending and unfruitful structural adjustment and reforms for the last three decades. The country remains as underdeveloped and impoverished as ever relative to her rich resource endowment. Faced with non-functional domestic refineries, the imperative of importing refined petroleum, the crash in oil prices and continuous deterioration of the value of the Naira, the APC administration has been forced to deregulate the downstream sector of the oil sector with the pump price of fuel rising to N145.00 per litre from N86.50 per litre.

    This will no doubt have serious implications for mass poverty at least in the short to medium term. It thus becomes more imperative that the social protection nets for the poor provided for in the 2016 budget be effectively and efficiently implemented. Asking now why a country that has reaped gargantuan revenues from crude oil over decades has negligible domestic refining capacity can only be academic. The question is: what is the way forward towards the development and transformation of Nigeria? Surely, it cannot be that of rigid state controls and intervention in the economy as Ezekwesili rightly argues. But it can also not be the path of doctrinaire neoliberalism that throws open the Nigerian economy to the voracious sharks of the so-called free market. I think the Buhari administration’s economic management team is trying to find a pragmatic middle way that attracts the support of the international economic and investing community without jeopardising our national interest. They deserve our support.

     

    Buhari, Biafra and Niger Delta ‘avengers

    This column staunchly supports President Muhammadu Buhari’s strong and firm stand against the agitators for the breakup of the country particularly the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB). As I have said before, Buhari has a legal mandate to lead Nigeria for four years in the first instance. He does not have a mandate to preside over the breakup of the country. PMB and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo have also asserted in clear terms the determination of the Federal Government to protect oil pipelines and facilities in the Niger Delta, which have come under crippling attacks in recent times by a group that calls itself Niger Delta Avengers.

    The very essence of the state is its legitimate monopoly of the instruments and mechanisms of coercion within its sphere of jurisdiction. A state that shares this attribute with any other group is fast becoming a failed entity. However, should Buhari have renewed his warning against pro-Biafra agitators during a visit to his home state, Katsina? I don’t think so. It was tactless, insensitive and politically unwise. By now the President should have visited the South-East or met critical stakeholders and opinion leaders from the region to dialogue and win their confidence. There is no indication that the mainstream of the Igbo leadership is in support of this Biafra nonsense. Buhari should not alienate them.

    In the same vein, PMB should personally and forcefully speak up against the atrocities of herdsmen across the country the way he has done on Biafra. This is because the herdsmen are, rightly or wrongly, perceived to be Fulani like Buhari himself. PMB must not allow himself to be seen in the mould of a Fulani rather than a pan Nigerian President.

  • Bears all the way

    •Only a sound economic policy can make the NSE bounce back

    For the Nigerian equities market, these days, it doesn’t just rain, but pours – literally. At the close of trading on December 18 last year, market capitalisation stood at N9.12 trillion. During the same period in 2014, it was N11.478 trillion – a whopping 20.5 percent drop in value.

    From an average of 34,657.15 in the last quarter of 2014, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index also fell to 26,537.36 – a drop by some 23.4 percent in the same period. Respite however came last week when the index  rose to 28,642.25, a 6.59 percent gain; market capitalisation also lept to N9.851 trillion – representing 6.62 percent increase.

    We must make the point that the latest performance of bourse merely reflects a pattern that started two years ago. For instance, whereas market capitalisation stood at N13.19 trillion on January 2, 2014, it actually slipped to N9.3 trillion sometime around December 16 of that year, only to rebound a week later on December 23, 2014, when it closed at N11.4 trillion – a quantum jump by 13.6 percent. But then, as if to reflect how fluid the situation was, a few days after – that is in January 2015 – the market would suffer a relapse – shedding a massive N1.16 trillion in the first three days of trading due to political uncertainties.

    Nothing therefore in the performance would suggest anything out of the ordinary, or something entirely out of the dynamics of the macro-economy. For instance, we know that 2014 heralded the slump in global oil prices and with it the pressure and dislocation of the rather fragile macro-economy. Long before then, the challenges of crude oil production had been a recurrent one. All of these obviously had drag on effect on the capital market. Unfortunately, the situation would be exacerbated by the exit of portfolio investors owing to uncertainties and associated currency risks in the immediate aftermath of the devaluation of the naira. The fears over what the General Elections foreboded given the many gory prognostications about the nation’s future merely took things to their nadir.

    However, seven months into a new administration, the apocalyptic predictions may have come to naught; just as the tensions may have lessened considerably. Outside of those, little else, we daresay, has changed in terms of fostering an environment for the recovery of the nation’s bourse. If we expected the Buhari administration to offer the bourse a shot in the arm, it is yet to materialise in any discernible form. Of course, the needles delay by President Muhammadu Buhari to constitute his cabinet did not help matters.

    Although the President rationalised this on the basis of his need to restructure the institutions of government and to get credible hands to help deliver on his agenda, the point is that the uncertainties created in the absence of the federal cabinet did little to promote investor-confidence. The delistment of Nigeria from the JP Morgan Emerging Market Bond Index is like pouring more fuel into the fire. That development is believed to have cost the market N160 billion. So is the issue of foreign exchange restrictions said to impact negatively on the inflow of foreign capital.

    We believe that the New Year offers the Buhari administration an opportunity to chart a fresh course for the capital market. Much as a good number of the factors behind the bearish trend are beyond the Federal Government – as indeed the impact of some of the factors may have been overstated – there is certainly a lot the administration can do to improve the environment for doing business.

    The real challenge is to come up with policies which promote, rather than inhibit business – including the Nigerian capital market. Moreover, to the extent that the bourse can only be as good or vibrant as the larger economy makes it, the challenge is to make the economy work. Given the boundless opportunities in the Nigerian environment, we have no doubt that investors will troop into the country as soon as the conditions are right. That remains the nation’s number one challenge.

  • Not the way to go

    In Nigeria, people like to cause confusion where there is none. They get a kick from turning things upside down just to destabilise the polity. Their joy is in heating up the whole place so that they can benefit from the ensuing crisis. These people abound in every segment of society. Their policy is if we cannot have it no other person should. But they are found mostly in  political circles.

    There are many spoilers in our political firmament. These are political jobbers who ingratiate themselves with those in power for their own selfish end. They do not have our leaders’  interest at heart, but they create the impression that they do. A wise leader will not touch them with a 10-foot pole, but since wisdom is far from many of our leaders, they get easily carried away by such people’s antics and end up in the hall of infamy.

    Remember June 12, John Atkins, Arthur Nzeribe, Abimbola Davies, the late Justice Bassey Ikpeme  and the Association of Better Nigeria (ABN)? In 1993, the faceless Atkins,  Nzeribe, now in his wintry years,  Davies, who sprang up from nowhere then, and ABN, among others, did all they could to stop the June 12, 1993 presidential election. The late Justice Ikpeme even granted a late night  injunction barely 48 hours to the election, stopping the National Electoral Commission (NEC)  from going ahead with the exercise. Of course, the late judge and her order were ignored.  In a series of adverts, Atkins argued strongly for the postponement of the election. The Prof Humphrey Nwosu-led NEC, he claimed, was ill-prepared for the poll.

    Nzeribe argued along the same line, making it look as if he was the faceless Atkins behind those adverts. Till today, many are not convinced that it was not Nzeribe in Atkins’ skin. What they were doing was against the electoral law, but the security agencies kept quiet. They allowed Nzeribe, Davies and ABN to be because they knew that these people and ABN cannot be dancing without their drummer being at hand. The drummer was the government of the day, which from the look of things was not ready to go after trying several gimmicks in the past to truncate the transition programme.

    It banned and unbanned candidates, shifted the hand over date severally before it ran into a cul-de-sac in 1993. June 12 was the proverbial bone that got stuck in their throats – they could neither cough it out nor swallow it. Despite their scheming, the election held and the rest, as they say, is history. But some people have not learnt from that. Today, some people want to take us down that road again. They are demanding postponement of next month’s elections to enable the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) complete the distribution of the Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC).

    The PVC is a must have for eligible voters; without it they cannot vote. Of the 68.8 million registered voters, about 42.7million have received their cards, according to INEC, which spoke on the highly sensitive issue on Tuesday night. The argument of poll postponement proponents is that millions of people will be disenfranchised if the election is allowed to hold as scheduled . Their argument holds no water as INEC has assured all that it can complete the distribution of the remaining 26.1 million cards between now and February 8. ‘’And if push comes to shove, we will distribute the cards till February 13, which is the eve of the presidential election’’, said INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega, last week.

    The truth is that those calling for poll postponement are being used by some forces to do so. Some are doing it for money; others are doing it on the prompting of the government, which believes that if such people add their voice to it, it would give the clamour some sort of relevance. That is where they miss the point. Nigerians are anxious, very anxious, for the elections to hold because they are tired of the present administration. If many have their way, they would prefer that the elections  hold today.

    Nothing will make these people happy than to see the Jonathan administration go. The past six years have been hell on earth for many Nigerians despite the government’s claim of having touched their lives. In what way has the government touched people’s lives? Is it through its fiscal policies under which the naira keeps depreciating against  the dollar? Is it through the provision of critical infrastructure? Is it through stable power supply? Is it through the creation of jobs? We can go on and on. There is nothing to write home about this administration and this is  why discerning Nigerians are anxious for the elections to  come so that they can with  their own hands determine their fate.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has seen the handwriting on the wall; this is why it is tacitly backing those calling for postponement of the elections, citing many eligible voters’ inability to collect their PVCs for such indefensible demand. With what the National Security Adviser (NSA), Col Sabo Dasuki, said at Chatham House in London last week, it is clear that the PDP-led government, nay the Presidency, is not averse to a poll shift. But will INEC dance to their tune? This is where the problem lies. Those seeking  postponement do not know how to sell the idea to INEC, which is determined to get the elections done with as scheduled.

    So far, INEC has maintained its stand that the elections must hold next month come rain, come shine. But you can trust our people to go to any length to get what they want. On Tuesday, they took the fight, so to say, to INEC Headquarter in Abuja even when the issue of poll shift was not on the agenda of their meeting. All the parties except the All Progressives Congress (APC) and United Progressives Party (UPP) insisted on postponement of the poll. Their reason again was the distribution of PVCs to eligible voters before February 14. This is not an issue over which we should break bones. It is a matter that can be resolved without some people hiding under it to cause mischief.

    No doubt, INEC is facing challenges in distributing PVCs to all eligible voters. But should this be enough reason to ask for poll shift? The answer is no. What those in power should do is to come to INEC’s aid in getting these cards distributed speedily instead of using delay in their  distribution as a ploy for poll shift. Even if the elections are shifted for 90 days as Dasuki suggested in London, what is the guarantee that all eligible voters will collect their PVCs before the rescheduled poll? There is no need to shift the poll because those determined to vote will do all they can to get their PVCs as long as INEC makes good its promise to get them ready before February 8.

    Those calling for poll postponement  are not reckoning with the resolve of  Nigerians to get all-this essential card come what may as long as they are made available for collection. As I write this, I have yet to collect my PVC, but I am determined to get it whenever it is made available between now and February 8, even if I need to sleep at my polling unit or ward to pick it up. It is a sacrifice one must make in order to exercise one’s  franchise in next month’s elections. And I know that many Nigerians are ready to make that sacrifice. So, no to poll shift.

  • Which way Nigeria? 

    Thursday, November 20 marked a new high in the disdain for law and order in our society. The events on this day at the National Assembly were extremely sad. A situation where the police charged with the security of citizens and to uphold the law decides to implement the selfish interests of a few is highly depressing. Lawmakers were forcefully prevented from performing the duties for which they were elected including use of force to prevent entry into the chambers even going as far as releasing teargas on parliamentarians! This is a total disgrace to our democracy and act that must be checked immediately if this democracy is to be preserved.

    The entire incident brought back memories of the dark days of military rule and raises questions about the hope of our country under this present dispensation. If lawmakers elected to uphold the law could be so shabbily treated upon instructions from one source, then what exactly is the hope of our nation? This lawless act amongst many others reinforces the character of our present federal government as highhanded, authoritarian, and vindictive and an intimidating government that cares nothing about its people but itself.

    Under the watch of President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s democratic processes and respect for the law have been flagrantly abused over and over to the point where one begins to wonder whether our leadership understands the concept and importance of efficient structures and systems in ensuring a sustainable democracy. Lest I forget, the same adherence to the law and belief in upholding same is what birthed the Jonathan Presidency. Nigerians protested in adverse conditions –  under the scorching sun and  even defying the deadly resistance of the security forces  – to ensure that the then Vice President was installed the acting President of the nation. All this seems to have been forgotten so quickly and our nation appears to be decelerating at the speed of light into a state of anarchy.

    Boko Haram continues to fill all our hearts with fear and trepidation. Over 127,000 souls have been lost to the violence unleashed by this blood sucking sect and there appears to be no end in sight. Forty-eight traders were killed just a few days ago.  It is absolutely mind-boggling that the supposed giant of Africa has been crippled to her knees by a few thousand insurgents and made to appear like a helpless chicken that runs for cover at the sight of a barking dog. I recall vividly how in time past as a nation we supported our neighbours in Liberia, Sierra Leone and many other African countries on peace missions by lending our expertise in defence to ensure peace reigns in the lands across Africa; we were indeed our brothers keepers. It is hard to imagine what could have gone wrong so quickly. Over N3 trillion has been spent on security in the last four years with absolutely nothing to show for! This is in addition to the $1 billion that the President recently requested for earlier in the year to support the battle against terrorism in our land. It appears the more we spend the worse the situation gets. Who exactly is fighting who?  What is worrying is not the existence of the Boko Haram sect in itself because challenges are bound to occur in the life of every nation, but the fact that Nigerians have now been reduced to embarrassingly helpless onlookers whose security have now become their sole responsibility and not that of their government.  Nigerians deserve better!  Nigeria appears to have left her citizens to map out their own security strategy despite the gargantuan amounts being spent. This situation is beyond comprehension and is certainly questionable on all fronts. Or how does one explain that a nation’s defence chief announces that they know the whereabouts of our kidnapped Chibok girls and do absolutely nothing about it? Today they know their whereabouts, tomorrow they are in negotiation talks; yet five months after and still no Chibok girls. Each day we are confounded by the utterances and actions that continue to leave one exasperated with the manner of handling of our nation’s security by those who should know better.

    As insecurity continues to abound, a flagrant disregard for the law continues to deepen its roots in our land. Ekiti state PDP-led government in a laughable move recently announced the impeachment of its speaker and deputy. This impeachment however, was effected by only seven lawmakers out of 26. What have we turned ourselves into? A situation where basic arithmetic is turned into complex quadratic equations for the sole purpose of achieving selfish ambitions and flouting the law does our nation no good. This is yet another example of the incessant breakdown of law and order we continue to experience as a nation.

    Several times this same attitude has been displayed in the now public feud between the Rivers State Governor Hon. Rt. Rotimi Amaechi and President Jonathan. In several instances the Rivers Governor was denied access to the Rivers State Government House.  So also was his movement restricted on his way to Ekiti state for the final campaign of the then Governor Kayode Fayemi. These acts clearly represent an infringement of basic human rights! Yet, we all trod on as if nothing happened and another crack is hatched in the wall of our democracy.

    The recent alleged abduction and severe torture of journalists in the Niger Delta by Government Ekpemupolo alias ‘Tompolo’ is yet another example of how we continue to damage our fledgling democracy. Kidnapping is clearly a punishable act under the law, and in this case there is a clear suspect; yet we have chosen to take no action!

    Only on Friday, November 21, the DSS raided the APC office in Ikeja Lagos, carting away several amounts of data in a brazenly irresponsible act of impunity; another condemnable act and gross abuse of power clearly initiated by the sitting government. For how long will we continue to endure this before we experience a crack? Newton’s law of motion readily comes to mind here; ‘for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction’. Nigerian’s are being provoked on a daily basis and it is only a matter of time before a reaction occurs. I indeed hope that for all our sakes it is not a violent one.

    As these events continue to unfold, our economy continues to take a bashing. Our foreign reserves are at an all-time low and debt profile continues to rise with absolutely nothing to show for it except the chaos being experienced across the nation. Nigerian youths are languishing in several jails abroad, a lot of them leaving the shores of Nigeria, trying to escape from a totally hopeless situation. Desperate for survival, Nigerian youths are murdered abroad daily. What is the life of a Nigerian citizen worth?

    Poverty has never been so pervasive. Corruption is now an official state policy. The transformation agenda is a labyrinth leading to a cul-de-sac. The only people clapping are those who designed it. Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) irritatingly bombards us with delusional brandishing rhetoric of achievements of this administration. Not to worry, Nigerians are discerning enough to separate rhetoric from reality.

    Suffice to say, it is clear from several experiences that our PDP led government has lost all emotional intelligence and ability to empathize with the present situation in our land. How else do you explain pushing ahead with a re-election campaign barely 24 hours after a major bomb blast claimed the lives of our children – the supposed leader of tomorrow whose destinies have been unduly cut short? We have now become a laughing stock as we continue to operate in the realm of misplaced priorities and there seems to be no end in sight for the negative attention we continue to draw.

    Yes, I can lay claim, and proudly so, to being one of the “founding mothers” of APC but I express my concerns, irrespective of my political party. Recent events, if not checked and resisted, portend grave danger that could destroy the very fabrics of our existence.

    Our Nigeria today is certainly not the dream of our forefathers and definitely not one we should hand over to our children. We need to ensure that we set right the foundational principles of democracy. The executive, legislature and judiciarymustoperate independently and harmoniously for us to achieve great results. Posterity holds it upon us to ensure that we uphold the sanity of our nation. Our legacy as a people is built upon the good that we do and not the evil that we perpetuate.

    I would thus like to plead and admonish all our serving leaders particularly our President, Dr Jonathan to consider how posterity will judge him and the legacy that he will leave behind when he leaves office.

    The rule of the law should be sacrosanct and upholding the law should be a job forall of us.It is detrimental to the existence of any political office to flout the law; it is said that ‘he who lives by the gun dies by the gun’. If the law is raped today for your selfish ambition it is worth remembering it could be raped tomorrow for your destruction. As John F. Kennedy once said; “Our goal here is not the victory of might but the vindication of right – not peace at the expense of freedom but both peace and freedom”. I indeed hope that as a nation we shall achieve this goal.

    • Hon. Dabiri-Erewa is a member, House of Representatives

  • Dora all the way

    I have struggled with writing a befitting piece for Dora Akunyili since her cruel demise. And this is why. In less than six months that I worked closely with her in Abuja at the Ministry of Information and Communications, I was unable to come to terms with her undying believe that Nigeria was still the greatest country in the world. For her, no country had all of God’s blessings together in one piece like Nigeria. Nigeria to her had the ingredients to attain greatness. It was only a matter of time.

    If I shared her faith, I could not share her optimism about Nigeria. Where she saw greatness, I saw something different. Where she saw hope for a better country, I saw a bleak future. But no one could stop her or change her passion for Nigeria. Consummate in her endeavours and committed to achieving set goals, Dora Akunyili had no comparison. Even from a distance, one could sense her commitment and share in her dream.

    I became part of that dream as I worked with her to see how best to change the Nigerian narrative through the Great Nation, Great People mantra. If that effort came short it was not that she did not put in her all. It was due to the fact that millions of Nigerians have lost hope that Nigeria can be redeemed. Yet, I saw her many times climb down from the mountain of optimism and faith for a better country to the valley of despair and angst. It was at such moments that I saw the innermost pains of her soul.  She agonized about how key people in key positions sabotaged Nigeria instead of bandaging her up to heal.  I saw her many times working the phones at a frenetic pace to rally all she knew to make sure certain injustice was redressed or a key decision was taken. She was unstoppable even at moments when her faith confronts the stony ground and Nigeria disappoints her. Dora never disappointed Nigeria.

    Now you know a bit of why I struggled with what to write. Not because the words and poetry will fail me. No. It is simply because words mere words could not do justice to who she was, what she stood for and why there will be only one Dora.

    Her public service career though like a fairy tale has no equal. She was made for Nigeria. She was placed in places and times in our history to lift up our country and our spirits. Like a star in the dark firmament, she was the shining star never to be shut out. Her stint at NAFDAC had no equal and with that singular act, she brought the world to Nigeria. She chalked up points for Nigeria globally and redeemed our image. She lifted up the spirits of millions who realized that some good could come out of Israel. Dora became a sensation. She provided a rare excitement about a Nigeria that is possible. She gave true meaning to the fact that only through building institutions can a nation progress and serve the people. Dora herself was an institution.

    Sadly, when she positioned to build on a solid foundation of public service, the very nation she served let her down. Her bold foray into politics by seeking elective office came under uncommon challenge.  Her friends in the corridors of power deserted her. But she was one never to be put down. She once told me, “You must fight and stand for what you believe in. People will not always be kind to you, but you must be kind to yourself by staying true to yourself”.  Indeed, that was the way she lived her last years even as she sought for a place to best continue to serve Nigeria.

    Dora we will never forget. She was the Amazon. She was the leader of our team. She was an embodiment of grace, brilliance and devotion to humanity.

    When I first encountered her at an international conference in Dakar, Senegal sometime in 2007, little did I know that she would one day convince me to resign my prestigious job with the Voice of America in Washington DC to come work with her. I had no reason to leave my job. I was not in search of a job. But no one could say no to Dora.  She hardly took no for an answer. Her argument was unassailable and her plea for me to join her to make Nigeria better was un-ignorable. She was willing to seek out those that shared in her dream. And even though I moved on, she left an impression never to be forgotten. She worked hard.  Committed with focus.

    Though cut off so soon, she has left behind a legacy like no other. She would never be forgotten. Adieu Dora Akunyili. You lived and worked like no mere mortal, but mortals we all are. You have run the race faithfully and may the crown sit fittingly on your head. No better words will do as an epitaph on her grave that these words, “Here lies a soul that touched other souls and gave humanity her best”. Sun re o!

    • Dare, was Senior Special Assistant to Akunyili at the Information Ministry.