The screening of ministerial nominees by the Senate has come and gone but the dust it raised may take some time to settle. The announcement of ministerial nominations is always greeted with public excitement. And the case was not different this time round too, for obvious reasons. The President needs ministers to help him in running the affairs of the country. When the ministers are in place, it is generally believed the full complement of the Executive is formed for the business of governance to begin in earnest. This is why the nation was eager about the composition of the next Federal Executive Council. President Muhammadu Buhari eventually forwarded the names of his nominees to the Senate for screening and approval last week. The public anxiety continued until last week Tuesday when the list was unveiled at the Senate plenary by Senate President Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan.

The following day, the Senate began the screening after earlier deciding to postpone its recess for the exercise. The prompt commencement of the legislative process by the Senate under the leadership of Senator Lawan is remarkable. It showed the senators were willing to defer their holiday for what they considered a national assignment. And the way they went about it was a clear departure from the past wherein nominees were made to go through some undefined pre-screening rituals before being invited to the Red Chamber for formal screening.

Rather than applaud the Senate for that, a well-known parliamentary practice of giving recognition to former lawmakers, who by virtue of being in parliament before without abusing their integrity had fulfilled the condition for their appointment ab initio, started generating controversy. Eight nominees, out of the 43 on the list, took their turns on Day One. Uchechukwu Ogah, a nominee from Abia State, was the first to be invited into the chamber for screening. For almost one hour, the senators feasted on him. Then former Benue State Governor George Akume, who previously was also Minority Leader of the Senate, took his turn. Standing on his feet looking at Akume in his white babariga as he mounted the podium, the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, cleared his throat and said: “I rose for only one purpose to ensure that tradition, that convention be respected in perpetuity so that no question here, other than ‘take a bow and go’ propagated by a few of our colleagues, be maintained.” The privilege was accorded Akume as a former two-term senator.

Akume’s case is interesting. Between 2007 and 2015, he not only had his seat well marked, as others, in the Senate, he also took part in the screening of nominees of the President more than twice. “I rise to support that he should be asked to take a bow and go, given his length of service in this chamber,” said Distinguished Senator Omo-Agege. It was obvious the DSP spoke the minds of his other colleagues. The President of the Senate then came point-blank on the issue: “Let me also remind us that it is a tradition here to give this privilege, this concession to senators who served in this chamber or in the House of Representatives or indeed the State Houses of Assembly. This tradition must continue despite the fact that some people do not understand it and we need to educate them.” It is a tradition inherited from previous Senate, which evidently underscores the importance the lawmakers attach to the institution of the parliament such that if one has discharged himself or herself creditably there, he would do even better in other areas notably in the executive branch.

Not knowing the import of that parliamentary practice and one of prerequisites for ministerial nomination, which equates it with the condition for qualification for membership of the House of Representatives, some Nigerians, among them commentators and columnists, queried the essence of the screening if all that a nominee would do at the Senate is to bow and take his leave. I admit that asking these former lawmakers some questions may refresh the memories of their new colleagues and indeed Nigerians about the character and competence they had earlier demonstrated in parliament. It may also be a needless exercise because the former lawmakers had abinitio met the condition for their nominations.

Ita Enang, Special Adviser on Senate Matters to President Buhari, who was formerly in the House of Representatives and Senate and indeed in charge of Rules and Business, first in the House and later in the Senate for several years, put this issue succinctly. According to him, the practice of “take a bow and go” is not new and not peculiar to the Nigerian Senate. “It is a tradition that started in the United Kingdom and the United States parliament and has become a parliamentary tradition everywhere.” Enang knows his onions and knows well the rules guiding confirmation hearings. If that practice deserves a review as some honestly canvass, I think the Senate will not hesitate do so accordingly. The point, however, is some of those who criticised the practice and erroneously called the upper chamber and its leadership all kinds of names would wish to be at the receiving end of that privilege if previously in parliament and now appeared on the ministerial list.

But before we go for tinkering with that established practice, it is important to know the intention of the law in assigning the all-important confirmation of ministers and other key appointments of the president to the Senate. In carrying out that task, the Nigerian Constitution asks the Senate to ensure the president complies with certain provisions. For ministerial nomination, Chapter 6 Part 1 Section 147 is very apposite here.

Subsection (2) of this section states: “Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President. Subsection (3): Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of Section 14 (3) of the Constitution;- provided that in giving effect to the provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each State, who shall be an indigene of such State. Subsection (5): No person shall be appointed as a Minister of the Government of the Federation unless he is qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives.”

I consider the scrupulous application of these criteria as the real purpose of the confirmation screening. The same critics of the just-concluded process would have accused the Senate of over-reaching itself if it had done more than prescribed by the law. Proper screening would have been more helpful though if the President had provided the Senate the portfolios of the would-be ministers in which case the Senate would assess their competence and appropriateness against the portfolios assigned them. Again, ministerial nomination is the prerogative of the President and the Constitution does not mandate him to assign portfolio to nominees forwarded to the Senate. As such no one can blame President Buhari.

This is where those who equate Senate screening to a job interview miss the point. For a job interview, the candidate knows what to prepare for and the interviewers the questions relevant to specific jobs. In this case, neither the nominees nor the Senators know the portfolios the president intends for the nominees. Unless they speculate based on the educational or professional experience of a nominee, all the senators can do with those they did not know or those that had not passed through their institution previously is ask general questions that may give little insight about them and how they may perform as ministers.

Awoniyi is the Special Adviser on Media to the President of the Senate.

The second coming of Dr Kayode Fayemi as governor in Ekiti state is divine. Even before he made public his intention to contest for the governorship, he had been inundiated with pleas and calls from Ekiti indigenes at home and on diaspora, pleading with him to come and liberate the state from ruins it has been plunged into due to maladministration of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP being piloted by Mr Ayodele Fayose, generally perceived as arrogant and greedy.

It is no surprise that Dr Fayemi coasted home not in a turbulent political water, but in a well deserved and reserved victory befitting a dogged fighter and a friend of the oppressed. With his four cardinal objectives, all of which bother on restoration of the tenets that Ekiti people are known for and making life meaningful for the populace, it is no surprise that he hit the ground immediately, he was sworn in as the duly elected governor of the state.

Parents will not forget easily the immediate executive order which abolished payment of any form of fees in government owned primary and secondary schools. His predecessor had imposed levies even on pupils in private schools in the state for four years.

The state Universal Basic Education Board, (SUBEB) which has being in comatose for four years due to the refusal of the immediate past government to tread on same pedestal with the federal government is now fully back after Dr Fayemi approved the payment of counterpart funds which qualified the state to assess from UBEC grants. Experienced hands have been put in charge of the day to day running of state SUBEB.

The elderly persons in the state can now feel the impact of the administration even as they await what it has in stock for them. Dr Fayemi had promised them the reintroduction of social benefits for them as he did during the first term.
Each of them under the social security was collecting N5, 000 monthly. Under the scheme, unemployed youths are empowered with some of them, about 20 thousand engaged as peace corps.

To ensure an all embracing government that carries along all, no matter their disposition, Dr Fayemi ensures that supporters of his opponent during last year’s primary of the APC are being accommodated with appointments. He has also extended the call to members of opposition parties to team up with him to move the state forward.

The outgoing members of the state house of assembly will not easily forget the magnanimity of Dr Fayemi. Immediately he came in, he ordered the immediate payment of backlog of salaries owed them by Fayose administration which treated them as his side kicks for four years. Not only that, for the four years of Fayose, the lawmakers travelled only once to Ikogosi and got N6,000 each for their trouble.
They just returned from south Africa few days ago, a journey facilitated and supported by Dr Fayemi who never treat them as opposition members.

The senior citizens in the state are happier now with monthly alert for their pensions and government gesture to set aside the sum of N100 million monthly to offset arrears of their gratuities, which the last administration politicized for four years.

In the area of provision of infrastructure, Dr Fayemi knows where the shoe pinches. New Iyin road construction is the first to receive his blessing. The contractor has been mobilized to site, while the World Bank assisted water and sanitation project which will see parts of the state capital and other towns in the state enjoying uninterrupted water supply has been flagged off.

Agriculture too is one of the focal point of the administration. With the appointment of Aides to assist him in addressing needy areas in agriculture and to ensure that grants and equipments get to real farmers in the state.

By law and extension, Dr Fayemi’s administration has the power to check the books of his predecessor as the practice in States, but in order not to be derailed from his set targets, the administration has hired an experienced firm of auditors to carry out forensic analysis of the finance of the state, to put the records in perspective, while moving on with his people-oriented projects.

With his administration putting in place experienced hands to assist in achieving the set goals, Dr Fayemi has put his hand on the truck and he is not looking back.
In his words during a recent retreat tagged “Restoring Ekiti Values: From Promise to Reality.” He enjoined his appointees to be creative. The governor declared that “the government needs a lot of resources for the plethora of responsibilities on its shoulders and we must thrive outside the box and come up with creative ways set goals.”

This shows the determination of Dr Fayemi to banish poverty from the life of the Ekiti people whom he cherish so much. No wonder, majority of his fellow governors from both leading political parties prefer and lobby him to lead them as the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum.

Sam Oluwalana is SSA (Media) on Party Matters to Governor Kayode Fayemi

Dear President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, Ramadan Kareem. May Almighty Allah guide and be with you, especially at this time with the affairs of our nation Nigeria.
Democracy thrives on a vibrant and viral opposition. I have wondered if the word opposition is an appropriate word to use given that I really do not see those with alternate views as being in opposition. I prefer to see them as partners in progress on the way to getting the country to achieve its destined lofty heights.

Mr. President, the actions and utterances of your aides, especially Minister Lai Mohammed, are tantamount to stifling the opposition. As if the latter’s comments are not unfortunate enough, one just needs to look at the other organizations within the Executive like the EFCC and ICPC, among others, to become curious as to how come, suddenly, under your watch, the main victims of their activities are opposition figures and persons perceived to be close to them.

Your Excellency, whereas I personally love and wish that you bequeath a corruption free country to us as your legacy, I must add that within the period that should come under review in this fight, it is embarrassing to give the impression that none of those in cahoot with you and your government are guilty, if not more, of the same corrupt enrichment and abuse of office that your agents seem so fixated on. The impression every discerning Nigerian gets is that your anti-corruption torch light mainly exposes the main figures of the opposition as the only ones deep in this national malaise.

Mr President, I get the fact that the opposition can come with some form of irritation, but with great respect, this comes with the responsibilities you carry as a civilian president and I hope you understand that it is a great achievement that, like Obasanjo, Like Buhari, you both are the only ones that it has pleased God to grant the grace of serving both as head of state and as president.

I write you this open letter that you might not allow anyone to destroy your legacy or allow them to caste you in the mould of dictators, the likes that, for all of history, sit in a very condemnable place. Unfortunately, history is usually mild on incompetence in leadership, but for those who allow themselves to be painted with the tar of despot, history is never kind and the mess is left for their children and descendants. Now, why should you allow that to be the lot of your people given that deep down, I know you are not a wicked person; you are just firm and perhaps set in your ways as to how to sharpen up this country and its mostly indisciplined citizens.

I honestly don’t want you to allow the extremely incompetent Lai Mohammed, who in my opinion, mismanaged the goodwill with which you came into office in 2015, to destroy whatever is left. I, though in opposition, have wondered why you tolerated them until such a point that your perception audit ebbed so low. I would never know why, but I wish to tell you that the narrative about opposition being responsible for security crisis and treason coming in one press release is extremely dangerous to the country, to opposition elements, but most especially, to you and your reputation!

That is a line that they ought not to cross. I want to suggest that the right approach would be to name specific individuals that credible intelligence fingers in this. To do otherwise is to become the victim of a Frustration-Aggression-Displacement Theory, which posits that once a person is frustrated, mostly as a result of not being able to achieve a task (mostly caused by incompetence) that aggression is what follows and this also is mostly misdirected. In this case, rather than direct it at those you have saddled with the responsibilities of doing a job, sir, you are directing it at the opposition and it is made most unacceptable when they now insinuate that your main opponent in the 2019 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, GCON, is in anyway involved.

This is a dangerous precedence that must stop immediately. We have, as Nigerians, enough challenges at nation building that we do not need to rip the country in halves. You just need to look at the numbers as presented presently to see that between those who were returned for you and those allocated to Atiku, our country is truly divided, a division that runs through the tribal cleavages, the religious tendencies, the social classifications. Indeed, our country is divided.

I believe that once the presidential election tribunal is done with its duty and all is settled, whoever is finally adjudged to have won will need to do a whole lot of work to bring the country together. Statements like those made by Lai Mohammed, your Minister of Information, are most unacceptable and unfortunate.

Mr President, as you are in the holy land of Mecca for prayers during this most holy month of Ramadan, I plead with you to present our country Nigeria before Almighty Allah in supplication and may it please Allah to count you amongst the rightly guided leaders when all is done and dusted. Be assured of my highest regards.

Citizen Segun Showunmi,
Spokesperson,
Atiku Abubakar, GCON.

Just two days before the Ethiopian Airline flight crashed and ended the lives of 157 people, I was teaching a Tutorial Class of Year 2, Media Studies, where we discussed the ‘Algorithm Culture’ and how it’s shaping communication in the social media era.

As I observe the outpouring of grief for the loss in that crash of Professor Pius Adesanmi, one of Nigeria’s brightest young minds, I understand the need to honour the soul of the departed, but the lessons I taught in that Tutorial class will also be useful for Prof’s numerous online friends.

The course, of which I am taking a Tutorial Class, ‘Texts, Processes of Reception and Audiences,’ encourages the students to critically reflect on theories and debates about audiences as well as their relationship with the media. In the social media era, concepts like algorithm and how it shapes the network publics, communication and relational power are central to the students understanding of media audiences.

So, for this particular week, our discussion centred on how algorithm, the computer programming that helps social media to filter, rank and organize the content we see each time we log on, as well as data mining, have become key to the business model of the likes of Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft.

The mastery of the algorithm culture or this commodification of personal information, has prompted comparisons of these companies to the oil companies, which once dominated the global economy and big date to the new oil.

Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft achieve profits by selling targeted advertisements,  based on algorithms tracking users interests and behaviours. They maintain their dominant positions by engaging in constant, real-time surveillance of users. If you’re observant, you would have experienced this one way or the other as adverts for items you checked out on a shopping site suddenly pop up on another even when you have exited and closed the first site.

They commodify users’ digital labour or online activities, such as checking an item on a shopping site, and status updates by selling ad space through algorithmic auctions.

In trying to make sense of the air crash and the outpouring of grief on social media, I am also trying to reconcile the tension between online visibility and privacy. It’s never going to be a straightforward thing for me. I understand Prof. was highly visible on social media, was mentoring a lot of people and therefore, many are struggling to accept that he’s gone. Regardless, I am also struggling with questions: ‘when are we going to allow his family the quiet space to mourn him?’ does the constant reminders, as friends share his old posts help or harm his family’s healing process?’

I probably would not be thinking this way but for new levels of awareness of how social media works. Until now, social media platforms were just new channels of communication but coming into these new levels of awareness, I understand that being visible through social media can both complicate and enrich our lives.

Social media networking sites like Facebook and social media technologies like Twitter offer new ways of engagement that have collapsed the walls of privacy, sometimes with terrible consequences. Henry Jenkins captures it well when he says, ‘when people take media into their own hands, the results can be wonderfully creative; they can also be bad news for all involved.’

For me, herein lies the irony. The thought that we would be willing to trade off a slice of our privacy for a chance to make ourselves ‘visible.’ The culture of sharing that is one of the tenets of the convergent media environment may be fraught with minefields, but Manuel Castells’point, that, ‘In our society, the protocols of communication are not based on a sharing of culture but on the culture of sharing’ is useful here.

The new environment has given us ‘power’ to determine what we create, remix, share, anytime we want and with those we choose. True, in the social media environment, ‘the media are no longer what just what we watch, listen to or read – the media are now what we do.’ Oh! How we enjoy the newfound freedom, to do away with the middleman and reach out in our network. Never mind that I once performed a similar role in a newspaper.

From what I know now, the argument that ‘when people assume you share everything, they don’t ask about what you don’t share,’ for me, sounds frightening even in the algorithm culture.

A tribute for Prof., published in the Washington Post, quotes him as having written the following epitaph in 2013 following a challenge from Nigerian writer Cima Nwokolo: “Here lies Pius Adesanmi who tried as much as he could to put his talent in the service of humanity and flew away home one bright morning when his work was over.” So, no doubt, he served humanity and was a citizen of the world, but the ‘framing’ of the event of his death in such a tragic way may just be more harmful to his immediate family far more than anyone has cared to think.

Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I strongly think we might be helping Profs. Immediate family more by remembering them in our private prayers, rather than trying to outdo ourselves with the sharing of photos, images, and videos that are likely to re-open wounds.

True, in the age of social media, tragedy, and controversy travel fast. It’s why people would rather do live videos of an accident scene rather than help out or of fisticuffs rather than playing the peacemaker. Two of the five main reasons why people share what they share on social media focus on the self. When we choose what we share, we’re either trying to define ourselves online or doing it just for self-fulfillment. Either way, we’re being selfish. The other three reasons are, to support a cause, to stay connected to friends and to bring valuable content to others.

With or without those photos, images, and videos that are being shared online, Professor Adesanmi would continue to be remembered by young academics, writers and many others he inspired across the African continent. Each time they lived life as proud Africans, committed to merit rather than the mediocrity he spent a lot of time criticizing, they’re paying tribute to him. I think that’s what we should aim for – work in our small corners to build a Nigeria and Africa like the one he preached in his lifetime.

Olaniyan is a journalist, media communication expert and teacher

“I am at an age now where I should be confident that, should anything happen to me and I quit this realm eternally, somebody like you would go out of your way to find Tise and worry about her welfare,” Pius Adesanmi wrote in a mail to a friend when he slipped in the snow and hurt his ankle in January 2017. The day he was to die, he put up a final picture, a warm smile and a note to the world from Psalms 139, that he was being held by God’s right hand. Perhaps he knew what we did not.

To one, a biological father; to others a son; to some, a friend and colleague;  but to all, a shining light!

If there is one name on the lips of many Nigerians, a name that weighs down the tongue with peculiar grief, a name that warms the heart with humour from memories past, and pain of an unthinkable demise, a name that we will only now encounter its embodiment in dreams and the world yonder, that name will be Pius Adebayo Adesanmi.

Once American, now Canadian, but forever Nigerian. Adesanmi was a Nigerian-born Canadian professor, writer, literary critic, satirist, and columnist. Before his death, he simply referred to himself as a teacher, though everyone knew he was like many literary giants before him, as a prophet.

A ROCK OF LIMESTONE IN KOGI; A POOL OF OIL IN ONDO

Born in Isanlu, Yagba east local government area of modern-day Kogi state, Adesanmi also identified specifically with Ondo state. Why? The enigma was born in the early seventies, at a time when Isanlu was in the western region, and then Ondo state.

Kogi was created by a decree of Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, head of state, in 1991, during Adesanmi’s final year at the University of Ilorin. Safe to say he had a majority of his teenage years in Ondo. Rather than take a switch, he identified as both Ondo and Kogi.

The academic is a resource to his town, nation, and the world at large — call him a rock of rare limestone in Kogi, or a pool of crude oil in Ondo, you will just be understating how much of a resource he was to the world.

THE MAKING OF A STAR

Adesanmi got into the University of Ilorin, after graduating from Titcombe College Egbe, in modern-day Kogi, in 1987. He went on to bag a first-class degree in French studies and Literature by 1992.

From Ilorin, he went to the University of Ibadan, where he got his Masters in French in 1998, and became a bright light among the literary gem that made Ibadan at the time. Adesanmi learnt from the likes of Femi Osofisan, Niyi Osundare, Wole Soyinka, just to name a few.

He went on to pursue a Ph.D. in French Studies from the University of British Columbia and was certified a doctor of philosophy in 2002. From 2002 to 2005 he was an assistant professor of Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University, USA. As a brilliant scholar, he was quickly accorded the American green card.

Adesanmi joined Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada in 2006 as a professor of Literature and African studies. He was previously a Fellow of the French Institute for Research in Africa (IFRA) from 1993 to 1997, as well as of the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) in 1998 and 2000.

MULTIPLE AWARD-WINNING SCHOLAR

Paying tribute to him after his death, Lola Shoneyin, an award-winning writer and friend of the professor, said when she and Adesanmi were were in their 20s, they promised themselves they would be important writers who travelled the world.

“My siamese twin, Pius Adesanmai, was an overachiever,” Shoneyin said.

As a highly sought after writer and speaker, Adesanmi won numerous awards in his lifetime, including the inaugural Penguin Prize for African Writing in the Non-Fiction category for his book ‘You’re Not a Country, Africa’.

He also won a 2017 Canada Bureau of International Education Leadership Award; and the Association of Nigerian Authors’ Poetry prize for his poetry collection, ‘The Wayfarer and Other Poems.’

His literary works include Naija No Dey Carry Last (2015); You’re Not A Country, Africa (2011); Wayfarer & other poems (2001), Youth, Street Culture, and Urban Violence in Africa (1997) and articles too many to list.

MOMENTS WITH TISE, MAMA ADESANMI

Adesanmi would often, on social media, talk about Tise, his 7-year-old daughter, and Mama Adesanmi, his aged mother. Despite his busy schedule, he had time for family, friends and strangers alike.

He would narrate stories from Tise’s earlier years and how Mama Adesanmi kept him abreast of happenings in Kogi. In 2016, when Tise went “paper yes” in school, it took Adesanmi reading a letter to understand that his super smart daughter meant “paperless”.

“‘Oh, Tise, the letter from your teacher says you are going paperless!’”

“‘Yes, Daddy, paper yes! Is that not what I have been saying?’”

“She gives me the chastising look that tells me I’m a slow learner. She runs away, screaming the excitement of her new “paper yes” world all over the house.”

CUSTODIAN OF CULTURE WHO MADE LITTLE THINGS COUNT

Despite spending years in the diaspora, and even acquiring Canadian citizenship, Adesanmi never lost touch with his root; the culture, language, beliefs and little things like sounds and superstition. He prides himself as a cultural scholar, and it was evident in his works. For one, he had written about how he had an argument with Tise, on how a Nigerian hiss should sound.

“Me: (to myself): It is not your fault that you think your Canadian hiss is civilized and what you are calling Yoruba chooo is bush. You have never been at the receiving end of a full cultural blast of the real thing from your grandmother or any of the women in Isanlu. That is why you are calling this Canadian sound you are making a hiss. When I take you to Nigeria, we will stop over in Ibadan for the Ibadan variant; then you will receive the Ogbomoso variant before you get the full Isanlu blast of ose. You will return to Ottawa with your definition of hissing culturally rearranged,” he had written.

Adesanmi lived and died for Nigeria, for Africa.

In one of his articles titled “You Have Never Been A Citizen Of Nigeria”, he talked of how he yearned for the Nigerian delicacy, as his taste but would not succumb to the Canadian version available to him.

“Sometimes in this freaking life of a diasporan, your taste buds can go rogue and suddenly develop a yearning for things available only in Nigeria. Oyinbo people imagine they have popcorn. They coat it in caramel or butter or maple syrup.

“I laugh. In all the countries I have been to in this world, there is nothing like Nigerianpopcornn. And the ranking of Nigerian popcorn, there is nothing like guguru oloyin sold in Garage Offa or Gaa Akanbi area in Ilorin. And that is precisely what I am craving, trapped in snow in far away Ottawa, Canada.”

In another article titled ‘An Archeology of Nigeria’, Adesanmi said he was writing Nigeria’s story to serve as a reference point for archaeologists in the future.

“I write basically these days for the purposes of archaeology. A thousand years from now, archaeologists would be interested in how some people called Nigerians lived in the 20th and let centuries. If they dig and excavate, I am hoping that fragments of my writing survive to point them to the fact that not all of them accepted to live as slaves of the most irresponsible rulers of their era.”

TEACHER

Beyond the classroom, Adesanmi was a teacher to many—even from a distance. He had a circle of many young Africans he mentored. Apart from his work as a teacher in Carleton, he curated the African Doctoral Lounge— a meeting and networking space for African doctoral students, African post-doctoral fellows, early career and mid-career faculty.

On his Twitter bio, he described himself with just one word, “teacher”. Many people learned a lot from his Ted talks, Twitter and Facebook posts, and columns. He was ordinarily extraordinary, an easy switch from an academic to a comedian.

This moment, he is talking about the intricacies of politics and governance, and the lecture he had with his students on neo-colonialism and in the next piece, he is talking about his palm wine tapper in Isanlu. He was free like air.

THE NIGERIAN WHO GAVE UP HIS AMERICAN GREEN CARD

In one of his interventions on Nigeria’s 53rd independence anniversary, Adesanmi narrated how he gave up his American green card, reputed as one of the most respected travel documents in the world.

In his speech, “Broda Nigeria, bros naija,” hosted by Tunde Bakare, pastor of the Latter Rain Church and convener of the Save Nigeria Group, Adesanmi employed giving up his American green card as a metaphor in narrating the soul of Nigeria and the United States, and how the elite can earn the respect of Nigeria again.

HE DRIBBLED DEATH WITH DEXTERITY

Adesanmi dribbled death in July and came out as a victor. But never again. He was involved in a ghastly auto crash that nearly claimed his life on Ilorin-Ibadan expressway. The accident left him bedridden for months and when he bounced back on his feet, he started writing series of articles he titled “Injury Time with Pius”.

The professor spoke and wrote on variety of issues including governance, education, philosophy and life. Little did we know he meant what he was saying when he titled his final series of writing “injury time”.

Now the ultimate referee has blown the whistle, and his injury time is over. His sunset at prime, when the Ethiopian Airlines jet he boarded to Kenya crashed six minutes after take-off. Like the timing of the crash, many have described Adesanmi’s death as too early. When rumour of his death started spreading, many went to his social media handles to call out to him, begging him to debunk the speculations. But not this time. The king of boys was gone.

ADESANMI ‘SAW GOD BEFORE DEATH’

If perhaps, there is any joy in death for most people, it is the belief that they get to see God when they die. But Adesanmi “saw God’s face” before he died. Writing on his near-death experience in the 2018 accident, the scholar said he witnessed the manifestation of God in his life through the people that scampered around to ensure that he survived the ill-fated incident.

“I saw God’s face in this experience. I am not talking about an outer body experience. I am saying that God does not come down to help us. He already made us in his image so His face is the face of the women and men whose undying, unconditional and unalloyed love he uses to expand and enrich the meaning of blood and family in our lives,” he wrote.

He was already making a detailed recount of his experience in a book he may have titled “Serpent’s Son, You May Set Forth at Dusk”.

“This is the last I’ll post about this accident until the book is published. I need to return to the political trenches because we still have a country to rescue from the vultures,” he had said.

Like the Yoruba man will say, Iku a pa eni a npe, Iku a pa eni toun pe ni –– Death killed the one we mourn, and takes the ones who mourn; death takes us all. Only last year was he filling the condolence register of a colleague who died. Today his register is being filled, home and abroad.

IN OUR HEARTS LIE PIUS ADESANMI

In his birthday message posted on Facebook on February 28, the professor said he felt “God spared me because He has decided that 2019 will be the year of drip drip drip of good news in my life”.

“I’ve written so many “eniyan l’aso mi” updates after moments like this. I’d sound like a broken record deploying that trope yet again. So, I am just going to say thank you for making my day memorable yesterday. Like I said, this birthday holds a special significance because I wasn’t meant to see it.

“Nearly a year later, I still wake up in the dead of night, shivering and shaking because of nightmares, of reliving the scene that nearly took me, of remembering those who didn’t make it. So, I thank you for all your kind words yesterday, whether here, in my inboxes, phone, on your own Walls.

“My spirit tells me that God spared me because He has decided that 2019 will be the year of drip drip drip of good news in my life. And the year of drip drip drip of good news in your lives too. May we all be here to celebrate the drip drip drip of good news in our lives,” he wrote.

Despite his hope for and belief in life, many have wondered if Adesanmi saw his death coming. In his last post on Facebook, Adesanmi posted a picture of himself seated with a Canadian passport and boarding pass in his hand.

He captioned the picture thus; “If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me – Psalm 139:9-10”.

As a writer, teacher, and prophet, Adesanmi predicted many of Nigeria’s reality, long before they happened. Even much more than that, he prophesied his own death more too many times. In August 2013, nearly six years before his death, he wrote his own epitaph:

“Here lies Pius Adesanmi who tried as much as he could to put his talent in the service of humanity and flew away home one bright morning when his work was over.”

Fly safe, pro(f)phet.

As the final results of last week’s presidential poll were released, three broad groups emerged: Those genuinely surprised that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, lost; those in pretentious denial of his defeat; and those in a quandary because they hoped to profit from a stalemate.

The first group comprise those who expected that the electoral math would be significantly affected by the farmer-herdsmen clashes in the Middle Belt; the fragile economic recovery and job losses; the widespread feeling of a captive government; and, finally, the shambolic party primaries.

Atiku in Adamawa. Credit: Facebook

The opposition, actively supported by a few vocal religious leaders and a section of the business elite, hammered the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on these points throughout the campaign that it seemed February 23 would deliver the final nail in President Muhammadu Buhari’s political coffin.

If the leadership of the APC was sufficiently threatened by the potential pitfalls ahead, it didn’t show it. On the contrary, the public faces of the party’s three most dangerous politicians – Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi and Adams Oshiomhole – kept stoking the fires.

In what must have come as a rude shock to those genuinely surprised by Buhari’s reelection, however, he lost only marginally to Atiku in Benue with 7,587 votes and, for the first time, won in Nasarawa, a traditional stronghold of the opposition. He lost in the North Central by 104,239 votes (less than one per cent of the votes he scored in 2015), but it was his second-best performance in five races so far, defying the Armageddon predicted.

Why? In a contest in which the two leading candidates were Hausa-Fulani, the whispering campaign in many religious circles that the Hausa-Fulani is the worst evil that has befallen the region since Satan, didn’t seem to make much sense. Voters probably decided that Buhari was the lesser of two evils, ignoring clerics who had begged them, on their knees, to vote otherwise.

Also, the demographic changes in the region may have strengthened the Hausa-Fulani population and significantly improved its voting power. In Kwara, Abuja took the three-and-a-half-year-old war with Senate President Bukola Saraki to his doorstep in Ilorin, stoking a catastrophic “Otoge” rebellion against the Saraki dynasty; while in Makurdi, voters didn’t seem sufficiently impressed with Governor Samuel Ortom’s identity politics to give Buhari the resounding rejection the governor campaigned for.

Those in pretentious denial of Atiku’s defeat have a different problem. They built a castle of myths and could not bear to see their fancies crumble. One of such myths was that the perception of Atiku as a corrupt politician and the PDP as a crooked party would not stick.

It’s not their fault. In some respects, the poor choices of Buhari’s government in the last four years created a situation where some said they would rather have a corrupt government than an incompetent one.

But this moral equivalence is superficial. As I said in a piece entitled, “Buhari v. Atiku: The inconvenient truth,” published on February 15, trust was at stake and on that score, Atiku did not lose on Saturday: “He already lost in 2006 when he fell out spectacularly with Obasanjo and suffered a Humpty Dumpty’s fall. The sum of the ongoing feverish endorsements and lobbying, the extravagant claims of momentum and the fantasy electoral maps would be insufficient to stitch his candidacy together forever again. He’s done.”

And there, hopefully, goes the myth that Nigerians care less about corruption than they do about competence.

Yet the deniers will not stop there. Given how poorly Buhari is perceived in the South East, it was expected that he would probably perform worse than he did in 2015, when he got 198,248 votes in the five South Eastern states. Atiku was expected to bury Buhari in a tsunami of Igbo vote.

I had warned in an article on January 1, entitled, “2019: Facts, fiction, myths, and what matters”, that the myth of a Buhari electoral disaster in the South East was exaggerated. But deniers turned a deaf ear especially after Atiku picked former Governor Peter Obi as running mate. It was comfort medicine for the elite to ignore the facts, but ordinary Igbo people know that even their own kith and kin in Abuja have not served them better in the last 20 years.

Governors control the purse strings of the parties and have significant influence on where and how the votes go. It’s true that Buhari has not overcome the perception of Igbo prejudice. But in the last four years, he has managed to deepen his alliances with a number of governors and influencers in the South East. The result is an improvement in his performance from 198,248 in 2015 to 403,242 this year, when a spectacular defeat was widely predicted.

There, is also, of course, the myth of the influential retired army generals. Following former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s endorsement of Atiku, it was taken for granted that from then on, Atiku was president-in-waiting; which was, in fact, how Obasanjo addressed him, and he was not laughing.

The political graveyard is littered with the remains of former top political officers that Obasanjo has fallen out with, former President Goodluck Jonathan being the most recent casualty. So, when Obasanjo and Buhari fell out, with General T.Y. Danjuma, former military president Ibrahim Babangida and Aliyu Gusau all lining up behind the Otta chicken farmer, it seemed Buhari’s fate was sealed.

Deniers who indulged themselves in this expired tale refused to see the writing on the wall. Obasanjo has had his moment, but he obviously didn’t know when it ended. Nigeria is sick and tired of a self-appointed oracle who thinks it’s his business to tell us who should lead us and when.

Not only that, Obasanjo also thinks it’s his prerogative to decide how long every president must stay in office, and then goes on to judge the next man by a measure of success which he did not achieve in his 11 years of being in charge.

Deniers may continue to worship at Obasanjo’s shrine, but voters who have seen through his decades of hypocrisy and opportunism decided it was time to send the world’s most restless busybody former president on forced retirement.

Obasanjo also belongs to the third group – those who hoped to profit from a stalemate in Saturday’s election. Whatever he may have said about Atiku publicly or told him privately, it’s doubtful if Obasanjo loves Atiku more than he loves Buhari. How could he seriously believe that Atiku would win after damaging his former deputy consistently for 13 years only to seduce him with endorsement three months to a major election?

In any case, how will an Atiku presidency benefit an Obasanjo who puts himself first, centre and last? The profiteer from and mastermind of many stalemates was probably hoping for another stalemate over which he could have become the arbiter in deciding who takes over next on his own terms. But that was not to be.

Whatever Obasanjo could not get from Buhari who he once described as “smart, educated and experienced”, Atiku would have had to sell Nigeria to provide it, a transaction that voters right down to Obasanjo’s polling unit, rejected outright.

Atiku has fought a good fight. No challenger has come so close in the last five election cycles in Nigeria. He should have called it a day before the final results were announced, instead of indulging the judicial wing of the stalemate army, a wing that is currently in fortuitous disarray.

One lesson Jonathan taught Nigeria is that you don’t have to win to be victorious. And it was just like yesterday when one unexpected phone call from him to Buhari put the critics, the deniers and the stalemate army out of business.

Atiku missed that chance. And it could prove worse than his defeat.

Ishiekwene is Publisher/Editor-in-chief of The Interview magazine

At about 2.35 am on Saturday, February 16, 2019, the Chairman of Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mamood Yakubu, announced the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled to commence at 8.00 am on that day. He set a new date, February 23 and March 9, 2019, for the two main elections. Nigerians from all walks of life felt justifiably disappointed and angry.

At a well-attended stakeholders’ forum at 2.00 pm the same day, the INEC chairman attributed the postponement of the election to logistic challenges which made it impossible for the Commission to deliver requisite election materials to all parts of the country to enable elections commence at the same time in all parts of the country. This, he said necessitated postponement of the election.

In spite of his persuasive presentation, most Nigerians took the explanations of the INEC chairman with a pinch of salt. They wondered why the Commission had to wait for six hours before the commencement of polls to discover the logistic challenges facing it.

At an emergency caucus meeting in Abuja on February 18, 2019, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) unleashed a flurry of unsubstantiated allegations against the Commission. The APC National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole alleged that INEC shared information relating to the postponed election with the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP). On his part, former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Godswill Akpabio who defected from PDP to APC in August 2018 alleged that the REC for Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Mike Igini was working hand in hand with the Government of the state. The two party chiefs failed to produce any iota of evidence to support their weighty allegations.

President Muhammadu Buhari questioned the credibility of INEC and threatened that the electoral body would have to explain its “incompetence”. More ominously, he said among other things: “I am going to warn anybody who decides to snatch ballot boxes or lead thugs to disturb it (elections) may be that would be the last unlawful action he would take.
This call to extra-judicial killings and jungle justice by the President of a democratic state was roundly criticized by all well-meaning citizens.

In the afternoon of the same day, the Department of State Services (DSS) invited Professor Ibeanu, INEC Commissioner in charge of logistics and four other officals of the Commission for questioning. Some persons reportedly invaded Professor Ibeanu’s home in Enugu. Unknown persons also broke into his car and removed valuable personal equipment including laptops and iPADs. APC supporters also staged protests demanding removal of RECs for Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Rivers States.

Keen observers of the Nigerian political turf place the reactions of APC leaders to shift in the election date within a pattern of cowing the electorate as well as intimidating and arm-twisting the Commission to dance to the tune of the ruling party. In the circumstance, the Commission faces a daunting moral burden to maintain the requisite level of impartiality in executing its onerous task, which is even more challenging than the logistic nightmares that prompted the initial postponement of the election.

Therefore, the most critical factor that would make or mar the credibility of the 2019 elections is the moral status or impartiality of the electoral umpire.
The challenge of democracy
The June 12, 1993 truncated polls shows the extent to which military tyrants could go to thwart democratic ideals to serve their devious political objectives at the cost of severe human suffering which they inflict on the populace to achieve their anti-democratic ambitions. It also shows that democratic values can only be defended through the determined action of civil society, not the presumed voluntary goodness of military tyrants.

June 12, 1993 presidential election also cleared the air that a Nigerian could be trusted to be firm and fair. Prof. Nwosu, Chairman of the defunct NEC and his team performed creditably. He did not share the company of those who brought shame and dishonour to Nigerian intellectuals as the ready handmade of devils in Nigerian politics. His performance is abundant evidence that Nigeria does not lack men of honour and integrity as is generally presumed. It is proof of the fact that some Nigerians still have courage enough to embrace and hold on to the truth despite threats by merchants of violence.

The presidential election rescheduled for February 23 and March 9, 2019, presents Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and his team with the grimmest challenge of their lives. There is no doubt that they face intense pressure from the cabal that is currently running Nigeria including agents planted in the Commission by the cabal. Like Prof. Nwosu in 1993, Prof. Yakubu must choose whether to satisfy transient hustlers for power and go down in history as the man who let the country down in its hour of great need. He is also free to face the odds with courage and maintain a solid personal integrity in defence of democracy. By so doing, he stands to write his name in gold in Nigeria’s electoral and political history.

Biose, a former university teacher and human rights activist, is the National Coordinator, Team Niger Delta for Atiku/Obi

Soyinka,

Our attention has been drawn to the trending news that the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen has been charged before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, based on a petition submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau on Wednesday the 9th of January, 2019, and is to be arraigned before the Tribunal on Monday , the 14th January, 2019.

The prosecutorial decision that has been taken by the Executive Branch of Government ( FGN / FRN) is a very grave one. It is unprecedented in the political history of Nigeria. Let us go down memory lane. During  the blistering General Murtala Muhammed Military Regime, in 1975,  there were massive purges in the Judiciary as well as in the public service. Many public servants were removed “ with immediate effect” .

During the purges , a sitting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Chief Justice Teslim Olawale Elias was removed as the CJN. But he was not subjected to a criminal trial. He later went on to serve as the President of the World Court.

In the life of the Buhari Presidency, the leadership of the National Assembly, the First arm of government , has been subjected to, at least, two criminal trials( Senate Rules forgery case and CCT False Asset Declaration Case). Following those charges and trial is now this charge and planned arraignment of a serving Chief Justice of Nigeria, the head of the Judiciary , the third arm of government.

Being a weighty issue, therefore , one would have imagined that the decision to put the CJN on trial with frenetic speed , following the petition against the CJN, was weighed very carefully.

The general election is 35 days away. The CJN, the Supreme Court and the NJC will play certain statutory roles, post the elections. And even as these events unfold, these judicial authorities are playing some adjudicatory and administrative roles regarding the determination of pre-election matters ( appeals ) arising from contentious party primaries.

The CJN is also the head of the Judiciary. Putting him on trial while he is in office, certainly, will impact the Nigerian Judiciary negatively. The portrayal here inevitably will be that the Nigerian Judiciary is so corrupt that its head is put on trial. This depiction is not fair to many judicial officers whose integrity is solid and who are free of corrupt practices.

The CJN is, in the eye of the law, presumed innocent, until he is proved and found guilty. Being charged at all, however, implicates his right to fair hearing, as many will start arguing that he should step down from office. In other words, once charged and arraigned , the likelihood is that calls will be made for him to vacate office , albeit temporarily, for integrity reasons. If, in the end, he is found not guilty, irreparable damage would have been done to his reputation and the integrity of the Judiciary.

The most important reason why the CJN ought not to have been charged before the CCT, let alone being prepared for arraignment is because the charge is illegal and unconstitutional. In NGANJIWA V. F. R.N, 2018, 4NWLR, Part 1609, Page 301, at page 339, para. G-page 352, para. E, the Court of Appeal ( Lagos Division) held that no serving judge in Nigeria can be investigated or tried in a court of law , without first being removed from the Bench.

A petition first must have been written against the judge , and he must have faced an administrative disciplinary process of the NJC for an alleged violation of the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers, found guilty, recommended, by the NJC,for removal from office  , and removed from office by the Executive arm of government. In short , only dismissed judicial officers can be investigated and prosecuted by the anti corruption agencies .

That decision is being appealed by the EFCC at the Supreme Court .
The position we took when that decision was handed down was that the judgment had no constitutional basis . Judges, ( unlike the President, Vice President, Governor and Deputy Governor) enjoys no immunity from against investigation , arrest and prosecution, while they are in service.

They do not enjoy executive immunity , and are not covered by Section 308 of the Constitution. The Court, therefore, cannot grant to the judiciary an immunity the Constitution does not vest in it. The concept of judicial immunity only covers the exercise of the judicial powers of a judge and his jurisdiction. No civil action or criminal action may be taken against him in respect of his judicial work or decisions , but he is not shielded from criminal culpability if he commits a criminal offence while he is in office .

The NGANJIWA Decision, however, remains the law in Nigeria today. Nigeria is a constitutional democracy under the rule of law. By virtue of Section 287 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, the judgment is binding on all authorities and persons in Nigeria , including the Executive Branch of Government at the “ Federal “ level , the Office of the Attorney- General of the Federation, the CCB and CCT.

We support the fight against corruption in the public sector and in the Judiciary in particular. But this fight must be done in scrupulous conformity with the rule of law .

In the light of the foregoing , we call on the President of Nigeria to direct that the charges filed against the CJN be withdrawn forthwith for its incompetence, even as the Administration continues to explore other legitimate and constitutional means to continue its fight against corrupt practices in our public life .
The allegations against the CJN may be grave , but justice cannot be served by resorting to patent illegalities.

As we approach the final stages of the campaign for the presidential elections, I am compelled to write this article in the hope that it captures the attention of some or all the aspirants, other politicians and decision makers in the next administration. The article is neither partisan, nor intended to favour one political party above the others.

I have seen a few manifestos where 1 or 2 aspirants have made privatisation a central plank of their economic strategy. Privatisation is not a bad thing in itself, but it must be executed at the right place and the right time. Let us look at some of the advantages of privatisation, which are:

– To generate income for the treasury;
– To enhance prosperity and foster enterprise democracy;
– To enable the government to discard liabilities and loss making ventures, thereby saving costs for the treasury;
– To improve cost-effectiveness and efficiency of a business / firm;
– Improvement in services for customers, making them more accessible and joined up;
– To reduce the impact of organisational fragmentation and minimise the impact of any perverse incentives that result from it; and
– In some cases, to facilitate capital injection into the business.

As attractive as these are, privatisation of state assets is not what Nigeria needs now and should not feature in the priority list of any credible economic strategy. For starters, what proportion of Nigerians will prioritise shareholding above job security, shelter and providing for their families at this point in time? Privatisation at this point can only benefit a tiny minority, who we cannot even be sure have the nation’s interests at heart. Asset stripping comes to my mind straightaway when I hear or read about privatisation in the Nigerian context. Examples elsewhere suggest that the new owners will simply carve up the business, focus on the viable aspects of it and discard the liabilities. The end result being that the Nigerian customers will end up being short-changed and customer service will be worse than before.

To understand this better, one needs to fully appreciate the intricacies of private finance initiatives. It may come as a surprise to hear that hardly any shrewd businessman or woman uses their own capital for any business endeavour, including the acquisition of shares in a company. All of them, without exception, and in an attempt to evade bankruptcy against their personal assets, go to lenders, who in turn carry out their due diligence by undertaking a viability assessment. In the UK, most banks and lending institutions require at least 30% profit margin as a safety net on top of capital repayment and interest.

The reason why I am elaborating this is to provide an understanding of the main drivers of privatisation – greed and profiteering. So if in error you mistakenly believe that the injection of private capital into a failing parastatal is the way forward, think again. Those who acquire shares and their lenders only have one thing on their mind – efficiency savings, which in turn leads to excessive profit, increase in share value and handsome returns on their investment. To hell with efficiency and improvement in service delivery to customers. In truth, privatisation at the wrong time and under the wrong circumstances actually worsen customer service and entrench the sharp divide between the rich on one hand and the impoverished, the dispossessed and the marginalised in the society on the other.

There are several examples of where privatisation has gone wrong. British Rail is a very good case in point. The delivery of train services by several franchises is far worse now than at anytime in history, so much so that some people are now openly advocating the re-nationalisation of the rail industry. Who is willing to hedge a bet that this won’t happen the way things are going?

The centrepiece of Nigeria’s economic strategy has to be INFRASTRUCTURE PROVISION in transport system, power supply and information & communication technology (ICT). Where is housing, health and education provisions you may ask? My conviction is that, although they are not less important, their efficient and effective delivery hinge upon adequate transport system (housing), adequate power supply and ICT for health and education facilities. If we are being honest, there is no Nigerian institution with enough gravitas to fund mega infrastructure projects. Therefore, the sources of funding have to be from either the IMF, The World Bank, from government bonds issues, from private capital & direct investment or a combination of all of them.

Whatever side of the political divide you belong, and unless you are disingenuous, you will agree that the present government has made great strides in infrastructure provision and enhance the nation’s infrastructure base. Notwithstanding, this is nowhere near enough. A country like ours, which has experienced several decades of neglect ought to have at least 80% of its gross budgetary allocation for capital expenditure dedicated, ring fenced and committed to infrastructure provision and improvement if we are to be taken seriously. Investors will not flock to these shores, as long as the basic infrastructure is moribund and belong to the 20th century.

I know of some business opportunities that have been squandered and I myself have been a victim of such unfortunate circumstance. My backers and I were about to enter into a joint venture with a university to build a 75-bed hostel within their campus. This, we later discovered would require us bearing the costs of new access road and an electricity sub-station (transformer as they’re referred to in Nigeria). The cost is so exorbitant that it effectively killed the deal. Such infrastructure are readily available and taken for granted in other countries. I am sure that mine is not the only sad episode as countless others are out there who have been frustrated and taken their business elsewhere. I certainly consider it as a blessing in disguise. It wasn’t meant to be.

I do not need to extol the benefits of adequate infrastructure provision. Aside from easing the burden of doing business, they galvanise all other sectors of the economy into action and create thousands of new jobs directly and indirectly.

Infrastructure funding cost does not need to be borne by the government alone. Housebuilding is one of the most lucrative ventures in Nigeria. Housebuilders themselves are acutely aware of the added value of adequate infrastructure provisions to land values and house prices and I suspect that many of them won’t mind giving a slice of this uplift in value if at the end of it things are better. In this respect, the government should introduce a Residential Infrastructure Levy (RIL), which will be payments made on completion of construction into a ring fenced treasury account solely for the enhancement and provision of infrastructure. If it is expedient and provided it does not undermine viability, a business equivalent could be established and called Non-Residential Infrastructure Levy (NRIL).

Another aspect that the incoming administration needs to focus on is the creation of a new environment for enterprise to flourish. By this I mean – easing the burden of business set up and eliminating bureaucracy and corruption. In the UK for example, you can register a business and open a business bank account in one day. To this end, it is suggested that the government of the day set up a National Enterprise Promotion Council (NEPC) tasked with facilitating business start-ups. NEPC will have representatives in key financial hotspots of the world – Europe, USA, Middle East, Far East etc. They will hold regular exhibitions at home and abroad to drive inward investment and their mantra would be NIGERIA IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS. If necessary, tax holidays can be dangled in front of potential investors and the provisions in the Indigenisation legislation that requires Nigerian indigenes’ ownership of a certain proportion of business enterprise can be waived in respect of foreign investment unconnected to the exploitation of our natural resources. This need not be a permanent measure.

Finally, any government must endeavour to tackle the elephant in the room – corruption with everything at its disposal. Corruption is the single most important inhibitor to attracting inward investment to Nigeria. Many world leaders and officials from reputable international lending institutions have consistently highlighted this. Well- meaning and patriotic Nigerians know that there is some truth in this and should not be offended. Instead, the incoming administration should take up the challenge and confront it with a patriotic zeal. I personally consider the eradication of corruption and the injustice arising from and associated with it as the greatest challenge of our time.

Thank you for your time in reading this.

Duyile, a Certified Built Environment professional, writes from the UK

By Ajibike Onajin

The world’s attention has been focused on the European Union as it struggles to cope with a growing migrant crisis that has overwhelmed key members, redefined internal politics and posed a real threat to EU cohesion. A recent YouGov poll* showed ‘immigration’ and ‘terrorism’ to be consistently the top two issues for voters in virtually all EU states.

Member States have been unanimous in realising that finding enduring solutions to this quagmire cannot be delayed given the continuing exodus from Africa to southern European borders. Whilst many of the migrants have originated from Syria and Afghanistan due to the ongoing wars in that region, hundreds of thousands of people more have also streamed in from Sub-Saharan Africa including Eritrea, Somalia, Nigeria, Ghana and The Gambia.

Political unrest, economic instability and general deprivation have driven sub Saharan migrants who arrive in Libya through tortuous desert routes before facing an even more dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean in flimsy, overcrowded vessels to Europe. In recent years, Nigeria has topped the list of African migrants to Europe.

Indeed, data released by the International Organization for Migration shows that at the end of December 2016, out of 387,739 arrivals to Europe that almost half,173,000, were from Nigeria. The consequences of all this is that EU nations are now caught between living up to their well espoused principles, which guarantee humane treatment of refugees, especially those fleeing persecution and wars, and avoiding the increased pressure on resources as well as risk of antagonizing voters, who are now increasingly leaning towards nationalist, right wing politics.

Disagreements have also broken out amongst EU members over how to take and share responsibility for the growing numbers of migrants which leaders are trying to resolve. Some of the proposals being put forward include “controlled” migrant processing centers outside of Europe, with North Africa earmarked as a staging post to thwart activities of people-smugglers ferrying migrants from sub-Saharan Africa through Libya across the Mediterranean into Europe.

However, what would work better in my view is solid EU interventions in migrants’ countries of origin to ensure better conditions and reduce peoples propensity to emigrate. Nigeria of course should be the starting point since it is obvious that if the flow of migrants from that country alone is reduced, the net migration to Europe at least from the West African region would also abate significantly and alleviate the EU current headaches. As it is, Nigeria is experiencing its worst economic performance in decades under the ‘baba go-slow’ Buhari administration which has shed 10 million jobs in just 3 years and with many people, even if they have a job, being unable to feed their families as the prices of staples have shot up.

The feeling in the country is that Buhari has to go, but it is clear that he will do everything in his power to keep his hand on the reins of power and as the incumbent, has many advantages which perhaps his predecessor were less willing to adopt. Every day we hear reports that underage voters are issued with Permanent Voter Cards in the north of the country and foreigners from Niger, enticed to sign up so they can vote in February 2019. The EU can help ensure free and fair elections by bringing their Election Observation Mission into Nigeria now to oversee the work of the Independent National Election Commission to ensure it is genuinely living up to the first word in its name.

The EU can also identify and support an alternative leadership, which I believe can only be delivered by the only candidate that can successfully challenge President Buhari in next year’s general elections. That candidate is Atiku Abubakar, a man who brings to the table years of experience as an administrator, businessman and astute politician with a wide network of friends and associates from across the country. Indeed, his economic agenda points the way forward for the future of Nigeria where citizens would be proud to stay and build by taking advantage of new opportunities in the economic space.

Atiku’s agenda includes bold new measures to tackle the power crisis -the biggest drag on Nigeria economy – including development of multiple green field mini-grid transmission systems and bringing private sector entities to participle in the network.   He also plans full diversification of energy sources to include, wide, solar, hydro, nuclear and natural gas.

The former vice-president is also looking to address the perennial problems of northern Nigeria, such as access to education,which has bred extreme poverty, youth unemployment, social unrest, insurgency and terrorism as well as rebuilding the economy in the region. He also has a stimulus plan to facilitate growth in critical sectors such as agriculture and small and medium enterprises, while special funds are being envisioned to support innovation, skills development and job creation in the non-oil sector by positioning Nigeria as the key outsourcing centre in Africa.

What this indicates is that leaders with a clear idea of how to get Nigeria out of her current situation, foster socio-economic growth and development are not in short supply but a flawed electoral system, dodgy census figures, misuse of state resources and the sundry peculiarities of the Nigerian system conspire to perpetuate the status quo. The EU must bring its weight to bear in facilitating a free, fair and credible poll, as well as ensuring that it is not compromised in the conduct of the election.

Ajibike Onajin writes from London

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, thanks for the deluge of messages and phone calls last week after reading my memo to our dear President. I doubt if any article of mine ever generated such amazing interest from the rich and poor, educated and not so educated, alike. The closest to it would be the letter I wrote to our wonderful First Lady of yore, Dame Patient Jonathan at the peak of PDP rascality.

For the sake of those still wondering why I wrote so passionately, and objectively, in my last column, let me say it loud and clear, that memo was an apologia to Nigerians. I had promised to write whenever I’m finally convinced that the APC government has irredeemably flopped like its predecessor PDP. I wish to emphasise that as much as I wish that a miracle can still happen in the next 12 months or so to come before the general election, I’m sorry to inform you that the signs are ominous. The lackadaisical attitude of APC, and in particular, President Buhari, has become unbearably palpable. They are looking like a Party and President on a suicide mission. They keep making mistakes after mistakes, and blunders after blunders.

There was no better time to rescue itself from the kamikaze slide than during the mass funeral in Benue State two days ago. What should have been a special occasion for national rebirth and reformation was frittered away by the sheer arrogance of the ruling class. What should have been a day of national mourning was treated with such recalcitrance, and possible disdain. It is difficult not to see or feel that this government is a victim of some witchcraft and hypnotism. A government that rode into power on the supersonic jet of goodwill of the people is barely struggling to survive a swim in the gutter of ill-wind. It is more like it has embarked on a predictable slide down a giant abyss, as by its very demeanour and offhanded posture it insults and belittles those very same people that it relied upon for the much vaunted change it promised but has found difficult to deliver. In many, albeit different ways, we seem to have gone back to the arrant impunity of the Jonathan era. What exactly is wrong? Anyway.

Pardon my digression, but the recent devastating and sad events in Benue State in which some herdsmen went berserk and attacked innocent indigenes of that State deserves condemnation of these terrorists by every Nigerian. I join others in offering my condolences to the families of all those who died in the unfortunate incidents. May the souls of the departed rest in peace. I commiserate with those injured and affected by the dastardly rampage. The time has come for President Buhari to act swiftly and decisively to curb this menace which has the potential to tear our country apart, despite the strenuous and vociferous protestations by the President about our unity being non-negotiable.

Now to the matter at hand. A few people suggested last week that I was working for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, probably because of our recent meeting and also partly because he is the main candidate who has declared his interest, and that is why I wrote that memo to President Muhammadu Buhari. Let me say with all the emphasis at my command that I’m not working for anybody. I’m too independent to be used by anybody. The time has not come for me to jump into the game. I have my eyes on a few bright guys of Nigeria but what if they don’t get the ticket? And what happens if we have Buhari and Atiku as frontrunners in the next election? You may wish to know who between the two I will support. When I’m faced with such option, I will not shy away from declaring my position publicly. I’m not the kind that would hide my support. When Chief Olu Falae contested against Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, I supported Falae, as a matter of personal principle. He did not have cash to throw around and I even spent my meagre income to travel to Vienna to try and persuade that cerebral gentleman, of blessed memories, Dr Rilwan Lukman, who was the kingpin at OPEC headquarters in Austria, to run as Falae’s Vice-President. Though the arrangement fell through, I still returned home to support Falae. Only one person can win at a time.

I never supported any PDP candidate in their sixteen years in power though I admired a few of their action-packed Governors. The last election that catapulted them out of power finally convinced me that behaviourally and ideologically, the difference between APC and PDP was between six and half dozen. There was no way APC would have emerged triumphantly without the epic support of the PDP dissenters. Anyone can say whatever they like today, I was an eye-witness, and active participant, in the making of that spellbinding, suspense movie. Amaechi, Saraki, Kwankwaso, Atiku, Wamako, Tambuwal, and others from the PDP made so much difference when they added their weight to those of the godfathers from the other Parties that formed the APC conglomerate.

My decision to support APC, though never a member of the Party till this day, was primarily to get rid of the PDP fiefdom that was stylishly manifesting and bourgeoning into a veritable catastrophe for the country. Two, to stop the profligacy that had characterised the government of the day. I have met some key actors who said President Goodluck Jonathan was never a corrupt man personally but he lacked the strong will to challenge his thieving acolytes. That was the major weakness that guillotined his regime. Most reluctantly for some of us, Buhari became an option and a stopgap. Anyone who followed my support for President Buhari would have seen how I regularly referred to him as the Mandela option. I didn’t expect him to become a permanent feature. I’ve always believed that anyone above the age of 65 is a high-risk option, and I said this about Buhari during our Presidential race in 2011.

However, since the last Presidential election was a straight fight between Jonathan and Buhari, the choice was totally limited. Many of those who supported Buhari also considered his anti-corruption credentials though, in retrospect, I believe we downplayed his anti-democratic records and proclivity. I still have no doubt that he’s one of the most honest Nigerians alive today, although like Jonathan he seems to be surrounded by people in respect of who that is difficult to say.

It is likely that age, as well as the reality and practicality of how he attained power, have jointly humbled and mellowed his almost sacramental vows against corruption. It would be tantamount to monumental hypocrisy and superlative ingratitude to bite the fingers that fed one in our hour of acute need. It has become critically obvious that what has confronted Buhari in power was never what he anticipated or bargained for. This is why I advised him last week to bow out with whatever honour he has left, instead of squandering everything away. If he stubbornly contests the next election, he would be forced to compromise and capitulate on a number of things. He would have no choice than to play the erstwhile PDP card, by opening the vaults of the Central Bank of Nigeria to political vultures who are not known to be patient or merciful in respect of primordial interests. That was my honest and candid appeal to Baba out of genuine concern for his future and legacy. Let us, at least, continue to dream that we have one selfless and incorruptible leader in Nigeria.

The truth, is that my preference would be for younger candidates in both major Parties and my criteria would be as follows. The candidate must be well educated. Nigeria has produced more than enough graduates from every part of the country for us to be continuously and endlessly led by near-illiterates. The candidate should have managed people and resources, whether in a private or public capacity or both. The candidate is expected to be seriously exposed to modern trends. Ability to communicate well would be appreciated since he would have to interact with world leaders. I want a Nigerian candidate and not a sectional leader. Anyone who cannot feel at home in any part of Nigeria is not fit to lead our otherwise great nation. Anyone still relying on zoning, quota and Federal character to become anything in Nigeria is certainly an enemy of progress. We must consider the brightest people from every part. There are enough people in Nigeria who fit this bill. We can’t simply say that we cannot find one such person. Our search should in reality be moving on to finding the very best of the best. Once we find our Leader and his deputy then we should not care too much about engaging others, including foreigners, who are the best at infrastructure and facility building of the type we so desire and need. Dubai is not solely managed by Emirati citizens. The UK allows foreigners to manage critical sectors, including the economy, a good example being the Bank of England (their Central Bank) headed by a Canadian, Mark Joseph Carney.

I will not totally disqualify exceptional elders who have distinguished themselves under most of my above criteria lest I fall victim of the same bigotry I’ve been preaching against. Some elders are more reasonable, less corrupt, more business-savvy, more exposed to international standards, more efficient, less cantankerous, more focussed, and more visionary than our so-called youths. We have since come full cycle by trying sinners and saints but we have not yet succeeded in having great and big thinkers. We cannot, and must not, continue to delude ourselves that we can find saints from anywhere to lead us. What we need, as a matter of urgency and desperation are competent performers from wherever we can seek and find them. By now, we should be tired of exchanging the baton of backwardness and mediocrity every four years. Like joke, like joke, nothing spectacular has happened to us for decades now while smaller countries across Africa are marching forward confidently and admirably. Our own leaders seem to be very comfortable in our squalid, desolate and unsavoury conditions. No qualms. No urgency. No new ideas to copy, borrow or buy. We are permanently stagnant and sanguine about our perpetual state of inertia.

The next election should be a turning point. We can no longer afford to play politics of ethnicity, money and religion. I reiterate that we must search frantically, extensively and productively for the best. The world would leave us very far behind at the rate we are going. We are already desperately behind and trying to play catch up. We do not need to lose more ground. I’m appealing to everyone who loves Nigeria to free Nigeria from the bondage of oppression, suppression, ethnic jingoism, religious fanaticism, terrorism, Satanism, and all forms of retrogression. 2019 cannot, and should not, be business as usual. It should be our year of true liberation and independence. Yes. The time has come to assemble our proven performers in a government of national unity. Nigeria cannot be handed over, or handled anymore by professional politicians who have no other business or job they do, and who merely see their stay in government as an opportunity for self-aggrandisement, and unashamed and unabashed looting of our collective wealth. Rather we want Nigerian leaders who are committed and passionate about their country.

Our chosen leaders must be willing to sacrifice their all to ensure and enhance the comfort of their fellow citizens by providing the simple basics of life. Nigerians have never been a demanding people. We merely want education for our children, decent wages for our hard labour, good health care, electricity, water, food, security and above all peace. For now, every single one of these matters evade and elude us notwithstanding our vote for change! The President and his Vice President must provide evidence of what they have done and accomplished in their lives. Merit, productivity, passion and vison must be our watchword. Irrelevant considerations, like religion, ethnicity or even gender, have no place in this equation.

May Nigeria be victorious.

By Crusoe Osagie

From Kaduna to Rivers and Benue states as well as other parts of the country, the stories of woe over the senseless killing of Nigerians abound.

While the issues are not exactly the same, there is however a common narrative about the alleged failure of the governors of the affected states in arresting the issues at their early stage before they snowballed into full-blown crises.

Crisis management experts contend that the best strategy to preventing crisis, irrespective of the scale, is the proactive approach. It is cost effective and less likely to lead to the loss of lives and property.

The brewing tension in the quiet town of Okpella, in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, a solid minerals bearing community could become the hot bed for killings and counter killings if urgent steps are not taken.

Newspaper men have had their share of the ‘fight’ with the advertorials and counter advertorials on the ownership of the Obu mine site located in Okpella, that have dominated the pages of newspapers in the past weeks, sponsored by both Dangote and BUA, both cement manufacturing companies.

The lingering legal tussle between Dangote and BUA International Limited, is being followed keenly by stakeholders in the solid minerals sector and other stakeholders.

Beyond the court hall where the Obu case is being adjudicated upon, the growing tension in Okpella could claim several lives, more so with the posture of one of the parties to the case, BUA International Limited.

Worried by the failure of BUA to abide by a simple Stop Work Order and the likely consequences, the Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, with officials and personnel of various security agencies effected the arrest of staff of BUA Cement after shutting down the mine site, to prevent any crisis.

Followers of the BUA-Dangote case commend governor Obaseki’s action, more so considering security intelligence that BUA is raising a militia as part of a grand plan to adopt extra-judicial means to continue mining activity on the Obu mine site.

However, a few hired commentators on the issue have blamed Governor Obaseki’s action. Understandably, the commentators are paid and do not appreciate the bigger picture and the obligation of a state governor to his people in a matter that could throw the community into a theatre of war.

In Benue State, Governor Samuel Ortom is in the eye of the storm as Benue people protest the alleged killing of their people by suspected Fulani Herdsmen.

No excuse or defence is acceptable to the people who have lost their relatives to the mayhem. Ortom is now being called all sorts of names over the issue. Some have even asked for his resignation. They say he is not proactive and cannot protect his people. Perhaps Ortom may have taken some proactive steps which were rebuffed by his detractors.

All his efforts to prevent anarchy, whatever those efforts may have been, which might have been resisted and ridiculed are now completely drowned in the cries of distress that followed the killing of several Benue people.

In Edo State, Governor Obaseki is now taking proactive steps to protect his people and prevent the state from becoming another killing field and people are coming up with various conspiracy theories and wild guesses and are ignoring the real issue, which is the sanctity and safety of human life.

To cast aspersions on Obaseki for his proactive efforts to protect the lives of his people in Okpella is senseless to say the least.

Governor Obaseki is resolute about fulfilling his obligation to protect Edo people and will not be swayed by the cacophony of voices, knowing that he is the one that will be blamed should there be mayhem in Okpella tomorrow.

So the governor is not listening to side talks, as he has said times without number that no amount of money is worth the life of any Edo man or woman.

Many Benue and Rivers State people blame their governors who are the chief security officers of their respective states and no matter how long the blame game lasts, the dead are gone. No amount of blame trade will bring them back.

Obaseki has resolved to ensure that this is not the fate of Edo people in Okpella or elsewhere in Edo State.

Very likely, if the issues that led to the various crises mentioned above were tackled by the governor and all the people without prejudice, at the early stage, the senseless killings might have been avoided.

Osagie is the Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Media and Communication Strategy

By Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu

Senator Emmanuel Paulker may have played the devil’s advocate when he raised a motion for an abridgment o the tenure of the incumbent board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). In raising argument seeking to put an end to the tenure of the board led by Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba, Paulker, one of the senators representing Bayelsa state, argued that the board’s tenure ought to have ended on the grounds that it was a continuation of the Sen. Bassey Henshaw-led board.

In his argument, leadership of the board ought to now revert to Bayelsa state given that the Act establishing the NDDC did provide for a rotation of its leadership among the nine NDDC states.

Paulker may have intended to make a case for his home state of Bayelsa, but in doing so, he stirred a nest and needlessly troubled some water. He would have been saved the hassle if he had been made aware of a legal opinion by the Attorney-General of the Federation which interpreted the actual meaning of cessation of membership of the board of NDDC, and vacancy, as intended by Section 3(1) of the NDDC Establishment Act.

In the mind of Paulker, the NDDC board ceases to exist on grounds that it was a continuation of the previous board which was sacked by the incumbent government in 2015.

Upon that argument, Paulker argued that vacancy now exists in the leadership of NDDC.

But in the legal opinion of the AGF, titled Re: Clarification on the Tenure of the Governing Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), signed by Solicitor General of the Federation, Dayo Apata, and dated October 11, 2017, it was stated that no vacancy exists in the leadership of the NDDC, as yet, as the incumbent tenure had a fresh mandate upon inauguration and ought to serve for four years. Paragraph 2(h) of the letter conveying the opinion marked LE.104/S.1/NDDC.01/25 stated specifically that “…the inauguration of the present NDDC board is a fresh tenure as contemplated by section 3(1), that is, a term of four years which is subject to renewal”.

In interpreting the NDDC Act, the AGF argued that “the proper interpretation of vacancy under Section 5(2) of the NDDC Act going by the ejus dem generis rule is to consider the instances where a board member can be said to have ceased to hold office as provided for under Section 5(1) (a-f) of the NDDC Act. Vacancy as used under Section 5(2) is a general term whose meaning can only come from the specific items listed under Section 5(1). Therefore, a vacancy that requires the appointment of a successor to complete an unexpired term can only occur if the six instances provided for under the Act occur”.

For emphasis, the six instances referred to, as conditions for cessation of membership of the NDDC board include bankruptcy, suspension, conviction, unsound mind, misconduct and resignation. None of these applied to members of the erstwhile NDDC board. What applied to the previous board was dissolution by the federal government. In the mind of the law, dissolution means termination and this indicates an end to the life; in this case, the life of the board. An end to the life of a board also interprets to end of tenure thus empowering any new appointments as having a life of its own, and, on a fresh mandate.

To this end, the AGF specifically argued that “dissolution of the Board cannot be categorized as a vacancy under the Act. Dissolution signifies total extinguishment of the Board, it simply ceases to exist, and therefore there cannot be any remainder of any term which as successor is expected to complete. There has to be fresh composition of the board for a fresh term of four years”.

This was the crux of the argument in the legal interpretation of Section 5(3), signed by Apata, Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, which was procedurally upheld by then Acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation, to whom it was addressed. Perhaps, the Senate would not have been led into taking up that motion had Sen. Paulker taken cognizance of the details of the AGF’s interpretation which was premised on Section 5(3), the same section of the NDDC Act upon which Sen. Paulker based his contest.

Sen. Paulker presented his case before the senate in a manner suggesting that the Ndoma-Egba board is a usurping board. That information, as misleading as it was, was capable of rendering the work of the Commission, and also scare off international development partners, whose renewed interest in the NDDC is spurred by the openness and transparent conduct of business of the commission in the pursuit of its core mandate.

It is interesting that the Dr. Bukola Saraki-led senate has realized that there may have been wrongful information passed on to it leading to its entertainment of the Paulker motion and has moved to remedy the situation. Senate’s new move re-assures international development partners of the NDDC of the commitment of the upper legislative chamber to uphold the provisions of the NDDC Act, which itself is an act of parliament. This, the Senate has done by referring the matter to its committee on Niger Delta for review. In doing so, the Senate President said the matter will be resolved in a “gentlemen discussion”.

Commenting on Senate’s action, Senator Ahmed Lawan, who is Senate Majority Leader said “I want to appeal to all of us here that since we have a new SGF (Secretary to the Government of the Federation) who wants to work with us, in the spirit of this season and interest showed by the SGF, that he wants to deal with the issue, I will advise and move that we ask our Committee on NDDC to liaise with the Office of the SGF to look into the real issues so that we can deal with them”. This senatorial position comes in light of the understanding that the AGF interpretation of Section 5(3) of the NDDC Act is appropriate and renders Sen. Paulker’s motion a nullity. That also may be an added fillip to enable the board make a difference.

*Uchegbu, a journalist writes from Lagos

By Jubril Oladipupo

The well-publicised spat between the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu and the Group Managing Director of the state oil company, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Dr Maikanti Baru, is perhaps the greatest challenge so far to the much-vaunted credibility of the Buhari administration.

Having swept to power largely on the self-imposed mandate of fighting corruption – a well entrenched national malaise that has contributed more than its fair share to the sorry state of affairs in which we wallow as a nation – Buhari is, of course, is expected to walk the talk.

However, having been regaled with tales of billions of dollars disappearing from NNPC accounts in the last days of Goodluck Jonathan’s kleptocratic regime; the still unfolding Diezanigate; millions of dollars found in judges bedrooms, high rise apartments and even soak away pits, not a few see the NNPC saga as just another on a long list of scandals for the press to make a meal of until others take its place on the headlines, such that it is soon forgotten.

One must concede that the apparent in-fighting among those who control NNPC, the nation’s cash-cow tainted by a long held perception as the bastion of corruption of Nigeria, only reinforce the views of a larger section of the informed public that this makes a strong case for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, which prescribes full commercialisation of the NNPC and whittling down of overarching powers concentrated in the minister of petroleum, among others.

Yes, Kachikwu has raised largely governance issues relating to reporting lines and approvals in his memo. Baru’s defence has been solid, (based on legalese, some argue) but he appears to be right in that the NNPC Act gives the petroleum minister, not the minister of state, the final say in approval of contracts and other key decisions.

Ordinarily, this should not be the sort of issue that should distract from the task of refocusing the national oil company in the direction of improving its efficiency, especially in terms of fuel distribution, refining capacity, creative funding options for its operations and maximising value for crude off take but the NNPC is no ordinary corporation, and these are no ordinary times.

Regardless, the leakage of the minister’s ‘petition’ suggests less-than-noble intentions as future events might confirm.

As things stand, the pressure on Buhari to deliver on promises made during his 12 year campaign to be president cannot be higher. Mr President has lost ground due to an economy buffeted by low oil, prices, his downtime abroad, rising calls for restructuring, the inability to deliver much on power, social services and a string of others. He is being labelled as pro-North.

Even the anti-corruption war, which some consider as his signature programme, has itself come under fire as skewed and ineffective.

Even at that, the corruption issue and Buhari’s efforts at engaging this monster locally and with the help of our international partners remain his strongest point yet, as many corrupt elements have laid low or gone off the radar for fear of a date with the EFCC.

This is why as the preparations for the 2019 elections start to gather momentum with names of potential contenders starting to surface and sundry declarations that the President Buhari is not on a beeline for an automatic ticket from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, it is becoming obvious that the easiest way to deny Buhari another term is to rubbish any credibility he has built so far.

For sure, the anti-corruption war is a lonely road. Many perceive that in all sincerity, Buhari himself and his vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo are the only travellers.

In line with this, it can be deduced from some of the very recent articles in newspapers, that the seemingly unravelling NNPC saga, is deliberately to weaken the Presidency through threats of impeachment over “phantom” governance issues, much less fraud. The public should be wary that this has all the hallmarks of a bid by opportunists to leverage on an impending “public” hearing on NNPC transactions, to attempt a “takeover” of NNPC, with a view to funding a strong challenge for the presidency in 2019.

So the issue at hand is not Kachikwu or Baru, It is not even the NNPC, it is Buhari and 2019.

There can be no arguing that Nigerians have a right to deliver a verdict on Buhari at the coming polls, but certain forces, which he himself may not realise, are preparing to deal him the wrong hand.

They can be found in state houses, at the upper echelons of the legislature and among the bitter men of yesterday who are simply not happy that the gravy train has stopped running.

The NNPC matter is trap and the way Buhari handles this may ultimately seal his fate, either way.

Feelers from certain quarters indicate that the President is being pressured to descend on the NNPC management despite its defence that it was acting well with the provisions of the NNPC Act and the Public Procurement Act. So how can Buhari sack a management that he signed off on its decisions? Did he not read his files?

On the other hand, Mr Kachikwu has become a bone in Buhari’s throat as they say. Firing him would equally damage any claim to his own integrity, for how do you punish a senior official for “blowing the whistle” as it were.

Nigerians and our foreign “friends” are watching closely as the whole saga unfolds. If Buhari fails to read in between the lines and falls into the trap sprung by the “jackals and hyenas” that have put him on the spot, he might just need a few more lessons on Nigeria’s curious brand of politics.

Oladipupo, sent this article from Lagos

KILLER GENERATOR FUMES

Generator fumes have killed thousands of people in their homes in this country yet we do not seem to have a firm grip on the problem. But we know why the problem perennially exists – unavailability of regular power supply in the land. The result is citizens are forced to self-help no matter how dangerous and hazardous the chosen alternative might be, so long as it holds the golden promise of a few candelas of light for any length of time. The ‘peace’ it brings supersedes all else, personal safety aside.
It affects us all, citizens of all walks of life. So the danger to life and limb is equally spread and ever present wherever there is a running generator, irrespective of the size of the machine. And the handier or more portable it is, the nearer home the danger to the user(s) because in essence, size determines where it is installed or located, thereby increasing the inherent health and safety risk exposures to the user(s). That aside, D-I-Y installation by owners tends to accentuate or further compromise the safety of man and equipment.
Think about portable generators installed in home enclosures such as balconies, porches, foyers, stairwells, verandas, or bedrooms; running all night with windows firmly shut. Where do you think the exhaust fumes escape to? Nowhere, that is where. In such instances, the noxious fumes accumulate in such enclosures to be routinely inhaled by home occupants with disastrous consequences as frequently reported in national press. These incidents occur with alarming regularity round the country such that one would have expected that local, state and federal authorities would be up in arms by now but there is so little to show in that direction just yet. This perhaps suggests that the authorities are yet to see these repetitive ugly occurrences as a problem deserving of priority action or solution. It, therefore, is something that should worry most, if not all of us that the various tiers of government appear to be sleeping on the job as far as generator-related public safety is concerned.
So where does leave us? I would think it leads us right back to self help insofar as taking the appropriate steps to assure generator user’s safety and health. Therefore, the next time you plan on setting up a portable generator, get professional help to make sure it is properly and safely installed. Shun D-I-Y or quack ‘electrical engineers’ who can’t tell why the Earth or Neutral cores are necessary to complete a safe circuit. Do not be deceived by the pompous assertion that ‘that is how we have always done it’. It can be patently unsafe for you and your family to listen to such foolish talk. If it’s unsafe, QUIT TRYING.
Do not put your family and yourself in harm’s way for any ‘good reasons’. It never ever does any good, it never has. And many households have found only too late that though portable generators generally appear to be good servants but can be in actual fact, very bad masters. The key thing is that the associated operational safety issues leave everyone in close proximity to them while running severely exposed. However, all hope is not lost since those associated operational safety issues can be controlled, significantly reduced or completely eliminated by seeking the right professional advice or input at the installation and running phases to ensure that very little is overlooked by way of safe operational considerations. Starting up or refueling activities can present quite some tricky challenges which, if not correctly handled, could spell major troubles. It is therefore highly recommended that users avoid refueling portable generators while still running otherwise any inadvertent error can result in a serious fire/explosion with massive consequences for life, nearby assets and the environment. Also, do not forget to make a point of avoiding rogue electricians or poorly trained allied tradesmen, unskilled and/or uncertified electrical service providers. Their interface with you and your machine can sometimes prove to be as extremely toxic as the exhaust fumes from the generator itself. Keep them at a safe distance as a first step toward insulating yourself and family from self inflicted portable generator troubles. Do not pinch your pennies when buying professional services only for you to end up losing more than dollars in the end. It is hardly worth the time and space.
Whatever you do, choose wisely to STAY SAFE. That is all that matters when it comes to managing your portable generator at home, in the office or anywhere else it might be required. And since the DISCOS aren’t about to turn on the music loud enough and soon enough it does seem like you, me and the good neighbor next door have no other choice than to stick to our portable generators like tomorrow is not another day, or may never come. But while at it, do NOT let that old saying about necessity being the mother of invention, sway you into taking the road fork on the SAFETY ROAD because more often than not, safety errors are unforgiving. That’s just so you remember that there is no viable substitute for getting it right first time, especially when it comes to matters in which you’re least competent like installing a portable generator.
Harriman Isa Oyofo is a Health, Safety and Environment specialist based in Warri, Delta States

Just like play, the crisis of the Action Group reared its ugly head at the party’s annual convention held in Jos, Plateau State in January 1962. It was at the convention that the general secretary of the party, Chief Ayotunde Rosiji (1917-2000) resigned and Mr. Samuel Goomsu Ikoku (1912-1997) took over as the chief scribe. Chief Anthony Eromosele Enahoro (1923-2010) became the deputy leader of the party at that convention. Mr. Ikoku had earlier defeated his father, Dr. Alvan Ikoku by 59 votes in the Eastern Nigeria House of Assembly election. The eighth convention of the Action Group was held in the African Sports Club in Jos, with Chief Ajibola Idowu Ige (1930-2001) elected as publicity secretary of the party, and Professor Samuel Adepoju Aluko (1929-2012), Prof Hezekiah Adedunmola Oluwafemi Oluwasanmi (1919-1983), Professor Victor Adenuga Oyenuga (1917-2010), Chief Arthur Edward Prest (1906-1976), Professor H.E. Ajose, Dr. Sanya Dojo Onabamiro (1913-1985) and Professor Akinlawon Ladipo Mabogunje,in attendance. At the convention, the then leader of the party, Chief Obafemi Awolowo (1909-1987) was on one side, while the premier of the Western Region at that time, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola (1912-1966) on another side. The crisis snowballed into a major national crisis, the consequences of which we still face today.

On May 29, 1962, the then prime minister, the right honourable Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966) summoned an emergency meeting of the Federal House of Representatives which was then the federal parliament in Lagos, during which he moved a motion on the Action Group crisis. The full motion is hereby reproduced and the reply of the then opposition leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo to it. The motion reads thus: “I rise to move the Resolution standing in my name which reads as follows: ‘That in pursuance of section sixty-five of the constitution of the Federation, it is hereby declared that a state of public emergency exists in Western Region and that this resolution shall remain in force until the end of the month of December, nineteen hundred and sixty-two.

“Members know the reasons why parliament has reassembled today. For the past week or so there has been no properly constituted Government in Western Nigeria. I would like to recapitulate briefly the events which have led to this impasse and in doing so I would like to emphasise that the Federal Government had been motivated solely by the desire to ensure that peace, order and tranquility are maintained throughout parts of the Federation.

“A political crisis developed within the Action Group which was the party in control of the Government of Western Nigeria. Following the crisis the National Executive of the party deposed Chief Akintola as Deputy Leader and asked him to resign his appointment as Premier of Western Nigeria. On the 20th of May, the Premier advised the Governor of Western Nigeria that in view of the political crisis which had been developed in the Region and of the rival claims of the two factions to a majority support of the electorate in the Region His Excellency should exercise his powers under section 31 of Part III of the Constitution of Western Nigeria to dissolve the Legislative House of the Region. The Governor refused.

“On the same day the Premier asked the Speaker, for the same reasons, to convene the Western House of Assembly for Wednesday, May 23rd to consider and pass a Motion for a vote of confidence in the Government of Western Nigeria but the Speaker also refused. The following day the Governor purported to exercise the powers vested in him by section 33(10) of the constitution of Western Nigeria set out in the Fourth Schedule to the Nigeria Constitution Order-in-Council 1960 and purported to remove Chief Akintola from his office as Premier of Western Nigeria with effect from the 21st of May. Chief Akintola thereupon filed a Motion in the High Court challenging the power of the Governor to remove him from office in the manner he did. The matter is still before the court for determination.

“The Governor, nevertheless, proceeded to exercise the powers in normal circumstances vested in him by section 33(1) of the Constitution of Western Nigeria by purporting to appoint Chief D.S. Adegbenro to be Premier of Western Nigeria with effect from the 21st of May. A meeting of the Western House of Assembly was summoned for the 25th of May.

“As Members know, two unsuccessful attempts were made on that day to hold meetings of the Western House of Assembly; the first one ended in a violent uproar and disorder. The police had no alternative but to use tear gas to disperse all Members, but before then the House had become a shambles. I was then approached by one side to the dispute to allow the Nigeria Police to guard the Chamber of the Western House of Assembly so that another meeting could be held, this time, in the House of Chiefs which was to be used as the House of Assembly. The other side almost immediately warned that it would be unwise and risky to allow such further meeting to be held. Before the attempt to hold a second meeting I felt impelled to issue the following release: “The two factions in the Action Group have contacted the Prime Minister regarding the holding of another meeting of the Western Nigeria House of Assembly today. The Prime Minister cannot stop the meeting from taking place but because of the fight which has broken out in the House this morning if the parties decided to hold a meeting of the House of Assembly they may do so. It must be on the strict understanding that there will be no police protection within the Chamber. If, however, any party insists on being afforded police protection within the Chamber the police may be so present, but the Federal Government will not accept any decision reached as a result of such proceedings in the Chamber. If in spite of all the efforts of the Police there should be an outbreak of violence or any disorder, the Police have authority to clear the Chamber and lock it up.”

“Shortly after the release had been issued, I received a further report from the Inspector-General of Police that an attempt had been made to hold a meeting under Nigeria Police protection but that it has resulted in a far greater uproar and commotion than the earlier one. The Police therefore cleared the Chamber and locked it up.

foraminifera

“In the afternoon of the same day, May 25th, the Council of Ministers met to discuss the situation. The same evening I made a nation-wide broadcast explaining the position of the Federal Government in the matter, and in the course of any broadcast, I made the following observation:

“No responsible Government of the Federation could allow an explosive situation such as that which now exists in Western Nigeria to continue without taking adequate measures to ensure that there is an early return to the Region of peace, order and good Government.”

“I said a few moments ago that the past week or so there does not appear to have been any validly constituted Government in Western Nigeria. In the light of the violent incidents on May 25th which badly shattered both Houses of Assembly, it is difficult to see how the public affairs of the Western Region could possibly be carried on in an atmosphere of warring factions of a party in power so sadly rent asunder in the old world struggle that will ultimately do nobody any good inside and outside Western Nigeria. This is the background against which I ask honourable members to assess the situation and to authorise the Government of the Federation to take appropriate measures in accordance with the provisions of our constitution.

“Allegation of conspiracy have been made against the Federal Government, that it had planned the whole crisis in order to take over the Western Nigeria Government. It has also been said in certain quarters that this parliament would be abusing its powers were it to declare a state of emergency because the sad and unfortunate occurrences had not extended.

“Nothing could be rather from the truth. We are surely not responsible for the chain of events that led to the party and personal wrangles and the attempted by-passing of the Western Legislature and to the mutual dismissal and counter dismissal between the Governor and Premier. The question at issue is whether in the absence of a duly constituted Government in Western Nigeria, the Federal Government have no responsibility for ensuring peace, order and good government in that region. The main purpose of this Resolution is to seek Parliament’s approval for measures which the Federal Government proposes to adopt in order to ensure an early return to Western Nigeria of peace, order and good government.

“I ask all Nigerians to co-operate and support the Federal Government at this momentous turning point in our national history. It is not yet two years since we began the adventurous but arduous task of nation building. The eyes of the whole world are upon us, particularly now when we, a responsible and friendly people, are seeking to exercise our development plans and to increase the happiness and prosperity of our people.

“I solemnly assure you that the power we shall soon be forced to assume will be exercised in as humane and democratic a manner as the circumstances will permit and that as soon as reasonably may be, the Federal Government will actively promote and encourage a situation in which an early return to the normal process of Parliamentary Government could be guaranteed for all classes of people of Western Nigeria. I beg to move.”

The prime minister’s motion was seconded by the federal minister of finance, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, representing Warri constituency.

Some faceless but powerful persons recently launched a campaign of calumny against the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, FRC, and in particular, its Executive Secretary/CEO, Jim Obazee. Their aim is to rubbish the integrity of Obazee and put FRC into disrepute.

“No problem is insurmountable. With a little courage, teamwork and determination a person can overcome anything.” B. Dodge.