JUNE 12, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R 001

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TR N
UT H
& RE A S O

EDITORIAL BOARD
Chairman
Olusegun Adeniyi

Members
Kayode Komolafe
Chidi Amuta
Peter Ishaka
Waziri Adio
Gimba Kakanda
Aisha Shuaibu
Kashim Ibrahim-Imam
Monday Ekpe
Sonny Aragba-Akpore
Yemi Adamolekun
Bolaji Adebiyi
Sanyade Okoli
Okey Ikechukwu
Paul Nwabuikwu
On 20th April 2022, THISDAY Editorial Board hosted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Professor Mahmud Yakubu
Ndubuisi Francis to a confidential briefing in Abuja on the state of democracy in Nigeria and the preparedness of the commission for the 2023 general election. The
Benneth Oghifo group photograph after the session.
Mahmud Jega
Johnson Olawumi

Thisday Newspapers Limited

Editor-In-Chief/Chairman
Nduka Obaigbena

Group Executive Directors

A Festival of Ideas

A
Eniola Bello,
Kayode Komolafe,
side the claim that the Boko Haram insurgency and the 'Chibok girls' abduction crisis were ‘psychologically
Israel Iwegbu, programed’ to bring down his government and recounting how and why he made the famous
Ijeoma Nwogwugwu, telephone call to Muhammadu Buhari shortly before all the 2015 presidential election results were
Emmanuel Efeni tallied, President Goodluck Jonathan provided little insight about his stewardship in the book, ‘My
Transition Hours’. But there are two profound paragraphs about power and its holders, especially
Divisional Directors within the context of Nigeria that should resonate. “There is nothing wrong in seeking power. I
have learnt from political ascendancy in the sixteen years that I served from Deputy Governor to
Shaka Momodu, President that power is a shield, for those who wields it and for the people it serves,” Jonathan wrote.
Peter Iwegbu, “I understand that power will protect you and enable you protect your charges. It will provide a
Anthony Ogedengbe shade from the blistering heat of the sun. When it is raining you can use it as an umbrella to protect yourself and the people
you are meant to serve. And when you come to a river, you can convert it to a vessel that will help you and those who you
Deputy Divisional Director lead to cross.”
Going by the current situation in Nigeria, one can easily conclude that power has been turned into a shield only for those
Ojogun Victor Danboyi
who wield it and members of their family. That is the meaning of what we have seen in the past few weeks in the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC), the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and in other fringe parties. With our country
Snr. Associate Director challenged on practically all fronts, what is on display is a desperation for power that are not necessarily in pursuit of public good.
Eric Ojeh However, as a newspaper committed to the quest for a better society, we cannot surrender to pessimism. We need ideas
on how to tackle our myriads of problems. With the emergence of presidential candidates for the leading and fringe political
Associate Director parties, we must begin to engage them on policies and programmes. To that end, THISDAY editorial Board comprising 19 men
and women from diverse backgrounds has decided on a special intervention today.
Patrick Eimiuhi Ordinarily THISDAY editorial members bring their wide-ranging areas of expertise to bear in taking collective positions on
critical issues of the day. But as we mark another ‘Democracy Day’, and the last lap of the Muhammadu Buhari administration,
Controllers we have decided to continue the tradition we started on 1st October 2011 when we presented to readers the diversity of voices
Abimbola Taiwo, that disappear in the anonymity of editorial opinions published on the pages of THISDAY, Sunday to Friday.
Uchenna Dibiagwu, OKEY IKECHUKWU goes down memory lane to reflect on what happened on June 12, 1993, and the fallouts not only for
the country but also for certain individuals. WAZIRI ADIO reminds Nigerians and our leaders of the subsidy question that
Nduka Moseri
we have refused to answer. MAHMUD JEGA reports on the intrigues that played out in the ruling All Progressives Congress
(APC) over the nomination of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the presidential candidate while posing 12 questions. PAUL
Director, Printing Production NWABUIKWU’s disquisition is on the lack of ideology in our politics, and the implications for governance in the country.
Chuks Onwudinjo GIMBA KAKANDA reflects on the challenge once thrown to Nigerians by the late Mr Tony Momoh, throwing stones in the
process. BENNETH OGHIFO raises critical questions about climate change that should begin to agitate the minds of Tinubu,
To Send Email: former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Mr Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) and other presidential contenders. BOLAJI
ADEBIYI x-rays the seven years in power of President Buhari with damning conclusions on the promised ‘Change’. SONNY
First Name.surname@Thisdaylive.com ARAGBA-AKPORE makes a strong case for financial inclusion in the country, and where presidential hopefuls should direct
their attention. KAYODE KOMOLAFE laments that “moral capital is a vanishing virtue” in today’s Nigeria. JOHNSON
OLAWUMI, a retired Major General, brings his professional experience to bear in looking at security and the 2023 general
election. CHIDI AMUTA examines the foibles of our current democratic experiment. SANYADE OKOLI argues that “for
Nigeria to enjoy positive outcomes, its people must first act differently”. The intervention of MONDAY EKPE is on young
Nigerians, once charaterised as ‘lazy youth’ by President Buhari, but who continue to show resilience. AISHA SHUAIBU
examines sports development in Nigeria and the opportunities being missed. NDUBUISI FRANCIS is concerned about the
killings in the Southeast and offers ideas on the way out. And finally, I recall a piece first published 21 years ago on the role
of journalists and that of the people in a democracy. While journalists must report, the ultimate decision about who is elected
to various office is with the voters.
Meanwhile, in the first special edition of this festival of ideas 11 years ago, I shared an anecdote about Michael Gartner who
in 1997 won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing and wrote the book, ‘Outrage, Passion and Uncommon Sense’. Gartner
reportedly told an interviewer “You’ve got to believe in something. There are a lot of things I believe in and strongly. And
you’ve got to care about what you’re writing or,” he then added in laughter, “it reads like an editorial.”
Well, what we offer you today are a window into the minds whose contributions shape the positions we take on diverse
issues as we continue the quest for a Nigeria that works for all. We hope you enjoy them.
- OLUSEGUN ADENIYI
002
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OKEY IKECHUKWU With three decades of hands-on experience in the university system, the media and government at the highest levels, Ikechukwu, mni, is the Executive
Director of Development Specs Academy, an internationally certified management consultancy and training partner of several institutions and organizations. Ikechukwu was, at
various times, Lecturer at the University of Lagos, Acting Editorial Page Editor, and acting chairman of the editorial board of The Guardian Newspapers. He holds a doctorate
degree in philosophy from the University of Lagos.
'On June 12 We Stand'
T
he endorsement was overwhelming, unanimous almost.
The presidential candidate and his running mate were
Muslims, but that did not bother anyone. The electoral
body put up an impressive performance, in preparing
for the elections. The voters put up their best behaviour
on the day of election. Electoral materials arrived on
time. Queued up voters exercised their franchise and
went away in excitement. The results, announced or
not, were obvious. Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola was going to
become the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by popular
choice, after Gen Ibrahim Babangida.
Then, a malodourous stench began to seep out of the entire national
project. It was subtle at first. The source, or reasons, were unclear. But
there it was: A spectre of sorts. It had no real identity and substance. Or,
so it seemed at first. Then, to everyone’s horror, it began to gain solidity.
Yes! Why wouldn’t the electoral body announce the obvious results?
Minutes turned to hours. Hours turned to days. Then an announcement!
An annulment! Horror!
It put the nation in a mood that is best captured in the Lamentations
of David in the Bible thus: “The beauty of Israel is slain upon the high
places. How art the mighty fallen? Tell it not in Garth, publish it not
in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the philistines rejoice…
exalt”. For Nigeria, it was this: “The proof that Nigerians can rally and
speak with one voice, in response to someone they consider their own,
irrespective of ethnic roots and religious loyalties, is murdered by an
ethnocentric cabal that has inflicted a desperate stranglehold on the nation.”
But, unlike the biblical David, who called on his people not to voice
the great calamity, to avoid ridicule by perceived enemies who never
wished them well, Nigerians were urged to go to town. “On June 12 we
stand” became the most popular war cry all over the country in 1993,
immediately after the annulment of that near-flawless election. Sections of
the elite, traders and tradesmen/women, workers, business owners, and
many retired military officers spoke up and acted up. The international
community was invited to say “no” to such travesty.
Then, and very sadly, this national battle cry, born of true patriotism
and a sense of brotherhood among Nigerians, began to wane in a section
of the country. A disengagement from one Nigeria, not from Abiola, was
fanned and made to crystalize even further. The federation created by
Abiola began to recede. The strikes, sit-at-homes and protests achieved
nothing. A nation had just been buried.
Then came a not-very-surprising wonder: Many who were initially
standing on June 12 out of genuine conviction began to lose their initial
enthusiasm for various reasons. Some moved from “On June 12 we stand”
to “On June 12 we sit”. Many who were standing on June 12, including
those who had moved from standing to sitting, joined a new, “On June
twelve we feed” group. “On June 12, and from June 12 shenanigans,
we get our daily bread” was born.
But that was after General Sani Abacha had displaced the Interim
National Government (ING) put in place by Babangida. Abacha met
three categories of June Twelvers, namely: (1) Those who stuck to their
guns on the need to announce the results and declare Abiola President
Elect and (2) Others, including Abiola himself, who were in league with
Abacha on his coup on the naïve understanding that the foxy soldier
would hand them political power after displacing the ING. If only there
was a law against delusions and reckless dreaming!
Abacha had come to stay.
Abacha invited many credible individuals including Mr. Alex Ibru,
Publisher of the then phenomenal Flagship of print journalism in Nigeria,
The Guardian, to join his government as a Minister. Typically, the publisher
and gentleman, who had exceptional regard for the newspaper’s Editorial
Board and its members, brought up the matter for consideration and
counsel. It was a unanimous “Do not do it, sir”. But Abacha was his
friend who, more than once, reportedly opposed Babangida’s alleged
attempts to close The Guardian. An alleged open altercation between the
two soldiers at an Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) meeting, where
Babangida was said to have angrily wondered aloud why Abacha was
always protecting the newspaper, was said to have ended with Abacha
banging the table and declaring: “Because Alex is my friend”.
The friendship and, more importantly, the need to demonstrate The
Guardian’s driving aspiration for a better society, through his active
involvement in shaping the fortunes of the federal Republic of Nigeria,
was a compelling reason for him. Worse still, there was the blackmail of
not announcing a cabinet until he accepted the offer. Thus, that Mr. Ibru
was the person partly holding up his full constitution of a government.
It was a personal decision the publisher had to make. So, notwithstanding
the clearly stated reservations of The Guardian Editorial Board about what
the involvement could do to his reputation, he said he would accept the
appointment. He added that he had never failed in anything he did,
and that we were all the watch dogs that would not allow him to falter.
As Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Ibru was soon assigned the special
task of liaising with civil society, especially NADECO, one of the foremost
BY OKEY IKECHUKWU
Late Abiola
Late Bashir Tofa
Ibrahim Babangida
The message for us
all, and especially for
president Muhammadu
Buhari who is now the
chief imperator of our
democracy is this: Act
in the national interest.
Respect the will of the
people. Restore genuine
democracy and help our
people to regain the
faith they once had in
the Federal Republic of
Nigeria. The faith they
demonstrated on June
12, 1993!
JUNE 12, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R
pro-June 12 organizations. Abacha was aghast at the continued public
pronouncements of some NADECO chieftains. He could neither understand
the advertised grief of some of them, nor make sense of their claim to
superior sense of patriotism. So, the Minister of Internal Affairs was given
the additional, private, task of finding out what the gripe was about.
Then he went to report this back to Abacha: (1) Some of them said that
you did not consult them in making your ministerial appointments; (2) A
specific prominent NADECO member is fuming that he has been bearing
the cost of his transportation and accommodation on all the occasions he
has come to Abuja at your behest and that of your government; and (3)
There is a general feeling of exclusion by some members who expected
certain appointments, or at least the request to recommend people for
certain position. For the reporting minister, the private question he had
for himself was “So where is the NADECO fighting for the restoration
of June 12?”
His faith in so many things about the future of the pro-democracy
struggle was badly shaken.
Abacha, on his part, was outraged at the feedback. He explained much
to his friend and minister, summing it all up by an indignant declaration
that he was disgusted by the lies. Most shocking for the soldier, for instance,
was the report about a chieftain who he, Abacha, always personally made
generous provisions for, claiming that he footed his own bills. This and
probably similar experiences on several fronts may have helped to shape
Abacha’s supreme contempt for certain aspects of civil society activism,
and perhaps civil society in general.
Mr. Ibru narrated this to us in his Abuja residence and then explained
why I was incorporated into a small group of five individuals created for
in-depth State-of-the-Nation analysis, from the angle of power politics.
This meant a weekly, overnight trip to Abuja, during which a lot that
was going on in government were X-rayed and put in perspective, as
objectively as possible.
Then came one very important edition of this meeting, just before
Abacha shut down The Guardian. The issue before the nation at the
time was whether Abiola should be released and given his mandate as
elected president. A title editor from The Guardian stable was also invited
to this meeting, so that a little spin to the political permutations of the
hour might pressure Abacha’s hand into pressing the release button for
Abiola. It was probably a mistaken gamble.
At this said meeting, the minister narrated how they met earlier in
the day and resolved that there was no point keeping Abiola. That the
man should be released forthwith and modalities put in place for healing
the national wounds inflicted by the annulment. He said that the plane
to take him to Lagos within hours of the meeting was arranged, to
end the ugly post-June 12 drama restore faith in the armed forces. He
mentioned, in particular, the arguments of General Chris Alli and Rear
Admiral Madueke, who he said were simply set on ending everything
by putting Abiola in office.
But there was a snag. Abacha was unwell, did not preside over the
meeting and so had to be briefed about the unanimous decision. Another
snag was said to have surfaced when they arrived the Commander-in-
Chief’s residence. He would not come down from his room, nor receive
the Chief of General Staff, Lt General Oladipo Diya, upstairs as he often
did. He communicated with the latter via the intercom. After listening
to Diya's narrative, Abacha reportedly told him that he had just taken
an injection and that they should all meet and talk about it by 12 noon
of the next day.
This did not go well with Major General Alli. The matter was
straightforward, he was reported to have said. There was already a
unanimous decision for Abacha to nod into execution. As he reportedly
stormed out, he made his colleagues aware that he would not miss
his scheduled 7am trip to Lagos because of the new and, in his view,
unnecessary, delay and ceremony.
It was a downcast and somewhat perplexed Ibru that was telling
us all this. A media intervention on the battle between the hawks and
the doves in Aso Rock might do the magic, especially as the SGF was
averse to the proposal.
When he noticed that I said nothing after his long narrative, and especially
also because everyone else in the small group had spoken, he wondered
aloud about my pensive silence. I simply said: “Sir, you may have to
consider the possibility that the days of Alli, Madueke and some others
with this advertised disposition, are numbered in this government”. I
pointed out that a simple television announcement can easily see anyone
out of the government and out of service in a military regime.
The later closure of The Guardian, the rumours that later filtered out
about Abiola’s aborted freedom, and the bitter rage of Abacha over alleged
“betrayal” by a friend he later began to jokingly address as the NADECO
in his government all had their basis in real events.
The message for us all, and especially for president Muhammadu
Buhari who is now the chief imperator of our democracy is this: Act
in the national interest. Respect the will of the people. Restore genuine
democracy and help our people to regain the faith they once had in the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. The faith they demonstrated on June 12, 1993!
JUNE 12, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R
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GIMBA KAKANDA Founder of DMC, an Abuja-based communication and strategy consulting firm, Gimba Kakanda is a notable public affairs analyst, media and foreign
policy consultant and author. He is a regular contributor for Aljazeera and several Nigerian publications, including Daily Trust. Kakanda holds a master’s degree in
International Relations from the London School of Economics (LSE) and is an alumnus of the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program.
If We Gather the Stones...
A
s one of the frontline salesmen of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), the former
Minister of Information, the late Prince Tony
Momoh set the tone for President Muhammadu
Buhari’s government. A few months through
Buhari’s first term, and amused by the mass
hysteria of the time, he made a frightening
appeal to Nigerians. “At the end of the day,
if Buhari doesn’t perform, stone us,” he said. He was convinced that
the man he marketed aggressively across the country as the answer
to the people’s prayer was “going to perform.”
When Buhari returned to seek votes for another four-year term,
Momoh insisted the government’s performance had not reached the
point of provoking the violence he once requested to keep them on their
toes, and that critics of the government merely had “vested interest.”
He manufactured a series of excuses to justify the shortcomings of
the government, and then underlined the expanding membership size
of the ruling party, which was a measure of palpable sycophancy by
political opportunists, as proof of the government’s popularity.
Momoh’s partisan allegiance to the APC was unfaltering till his
death in 2021. But his appeal for violent intervention as a method of
measuring Buhari’s performance, which he restated in various interviews,
underlined the audacity of the political class in their dealings with
the public. The party stalwart must have studied the psychology of
Nigerians and found as unlikely the scenarios of such violence in
a society where victims of poor governance submit themselves as
willing foot-soldiers of their oppressors in elective and appointive
offices. President Buhari and his cabinet stand out for their characteristic
commitment to refusing to take expressed responsibility for national
tragedies under their watch, and wherever they do, they are merely
bowing to sustained public outrage.
Less than a year to the end of Buhari’s terms in office, Nigeria is far
from the dreamland promised when the late Momoh began to paint
the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as villains of the Nigerian story.
At the time of writing this, Nigerian public universities have been shut
down by the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
for about four months, Nigerians are enduring fuel scarcity at filling
stations, diesel scarcity and price hikes have disrupted operations and
costs of businesses, the national grid has collapsed (again!), passengers
abducted during the March attack on Abuja - Kaduna train are still
in captivity, and the politicians tasked with fixing the problems are
competing to outspend and outsmart one another in procuring delegates
to emerge as presidential flag-bearer of the ruling party in the 2023
presidential elections.
If Nigerians were to take up Momoh’s challenge, the rains of stones
that would fall on Nigerian politicians would have been fatal. Mr. Rotimi
Amaechi, until recently Buhari’s Minister of Transportation, would
have been engaging in something other than running for President.
He would have probably been nursing his wounds and struggling
to explain to Nigerians not just why the train was bombed, but the
reason some of the passengers are still in captivity.
Were Nigerians to take up Momoh’s challenge, the Minister of
Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who had theorized solutions to
end ASUU strikes in his days as an influential armchair critic, would
have long left office and embarked on a quiet life in hiding. Nigeria
has endured four long strikes since Buhari took charge, and about
seventeen months of Nigerian students’ academic calendar have been
wasted under his watch. The wasted months are enough for earning
two master’s degrees abroad.
President Buhari doubles as the nation’s Minister of Petroleum Resources
and is responsible for the energy crises rippling across the country,
including the politics of fuel subsidy. Nobody has come forward to take
responsibility for this nationwide hardship. Not even Timipre Sylva,
the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. Mr. Farouk Ahmed, the
chairman of the newly created Nigerian Midstream and Downstream
Petroleum Regulatory Authority, an agency tasked with overseeing
the local value chain of the product, is also enjoying his time in office.
The fourth of them is Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). None is at
any risk of losing their job.
Nigeria’s descent into near anarchy is also a tragedy for which those
in charge of the nation’s security have escaped the wrath popularized
by Momoh. Their rush to fawn over the regime while national security
suffers has allowed them to get away with their excesses. Buhari’s
first set of service chiefs—Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi
Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval
Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal
BY GIMBA KAKANDA
The late Tony Momoh
Momoh’s partisan
allegiance to the APC
was unfaltering till
his death in 2021.
But his appeal for
violent intervention
as a method of
measuring Buhari’s
performance, which
he restated in various
interviews, underlined
the audacity of
the political class
in their dealings
with the public.
The party stalwart
must have studied
the psychology of
Nigerians and found
as unlikely the
scenarios of such
violence in a society
where victims of poor
governance submit
themselves as willing
foot-soldiers of their
oppressors in elective
and appointive
offices.
003
Sadique Abubakar—were underwhelming and, despite the sustained
outrage to have the overstayed quartet sacked over their glaring failure
to protect the country, the President was indifferent. Of course, nobody
could even flirt with the idea of stoning them. At least, not after what
happened in Zaria in the very year Buhari was elected.
On 12th December 2015, the Nigerian Army cracked down on
the Gyellesu neighborhood of Zaria after an unflattering encounter
between the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai,
and members of the Shiite group, Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN).
The consequent carnage shocked the world. About 350 members of the
Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky-led group, which was the official estimate,
were killed during the two-day siege. It was Buhari’s first opportunity
to demonstrate his admission to being a “reformed democrat” during
his campaign less than a year earlier.
That chance to show Nigerians his sensitivity to human rights came
during his inaugural media chat. Reminded of that mass murder in
Zaria, he asked the interviewer why the Shiites would touch the chest
of a military officer, playing down the real tragedy—extrajudicial
killings of hundreds of the very citizens he was sworn into office
to protect. The President was more hurt by the reported disrespect
for the institution that produced him even when the panel set up to
investigate the killings was yet to submit its findings.
That incident could have been the first window to remind the APC
government of Mr. Momoh’s case on their behalf, but the sectarian
hatred of the Shiites in the Muslim North eroded such sympathy. The
victims were left at the mercy of trigger-happy policemen who shot
at them to disrupt their protests for justice. The horror el-Zakzaky
and family endured until their acquittal last year by a Kaduna High
Court was far from the promise that propelled Buhari to power.
Nobody has paid for that crime. The judicial commission of inquiry
into the massacre indicted the Army officers who authorized it,
recommending their prosecution but Buratai ended up as the hero
of the story. This blood-stained legacy earned him a high position
as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Benin Republic when he vacated
the office six years after overseeing the disintegration of Nigeria’s
internal security.
Like Buratai, Buhari’s ministers seem sure that there are no
consequences for their performance in office. This was also the
story of his first tenure. Aside from the Minister of Agriculture,
Sabo Nanono, and his counterpart in the Ministry of Power, Saleh
Mamman, none of them has had a reason to fear cabinet reshuffle
or compete to stay in office despite the documented corruption
scandals that trail them. The President’s serial indifference even
provoked the House of Representatives last April. Alarmed by the
escalating security crises in the country, for which nobody had been
held responsible, the lawmakers called for a state of emergency on
the nation’s security and the sacking or resignation of the National
Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (rtd.), and
the Minister of Defence, Major-General Bashir Magashi (rtd.). The
lawyers were also quick to admit that they had not done enough
in their oversight of the executive arm.
The peak of Buhari’s sheer disregard for the people is the announcement
of state pardon of 159 prisoners by the National Council of State, among
whom were former Governors Jolly Nyame and Joshua Dariye, who
had been jailed for stealing billions of Naira during their stewardships
as Governors of Taraba and Plateau States, respectively. The symbolism
of such a decision was haunting because their conviction came at a
huge cost, and it took the prosecutors about thirteen years to secure
the justice.
Even for the half-finished trials initiated by the Buhari-led government,
which are mostly interventions triggered by media coverage and public
outrage, the eventual lack of definite verdicts seems like systemic cover-
ups or soft-landing. Since the former EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu, was
relieved of his command over allegations of corruption, the findings
of the investigative panel set up to assess his stewardship are yet to
be made known. Instead of a verdict, he was promoted to the rank
of Assistant Inspector-General of the Police.
This was also the story of Hadiza Bala-Usman, who was suspended as
the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority over allegations
of corruption only for the same government that relieved her of that
plum office to say, after a long silence, that she wasn’t guilty of the
charges. This has also played out in the case of DCP Abba Kyari. This
impunity is the norm. The chaos that’s consuming the country is the
invention of this culture of letting transgressors get away with their
crimes and the indifference of the public officials. If Nigerians had
taken up Momoh’s challenge, there wouldn’t have been a country
left to run halfway through Buhari’s government.
004
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WAZIRI ADIO Until recently the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Executive Secretary, Adio had stints as THISDAY editor-at-large, special adviser to
the senate president, communication specialist at UNDP etc. He obtained his first degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos, a master's in journalism from
Columbia University and another master's in public administration from Harvard University, where he was, at different times, a Fellow of the Neiman Foundation for Journalism,
and an Edward S. Mason Fellow in public policy and management.
The Subsidy Around Our Neck
I
n the collective high generated by the drama of the
election season, many critical issues get shunted
out of view. One of them is the continuing and life-
threatening bleeding from fuel subsidy. A few days
ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected
that Nigeria’s fuel subsidy bill for 2022 may hit N6
trillion. That will be 50% higher than the budgeted N4
trillion, itself a dizzying record. The IMF projection
did not generate the customary sighs in many circles. Few, even
among those furiously campaigning for the highest office in the
land, appeared shocked or agitated enough to say enough of this
unremitting leakage.
If they were bothered, they did not show it. At least, none
of them used that disturbing projection to focus or refocus the
mind of the country on a lingering problem shouting for collective
leadership. None outlined a reasonable policy response for saving
our increasingly ailing economy from this destructive national
addiction. And you can safely bet that the real contenders in the
2023 elections will expertly dance around the issue during the
campaigns and debates. The stubborn fact is that fuel subsidy
removal remains a politically sensitive issue, and most of our
politicians are adept at either avoiding controversies or in just
pandering to the public.
However, neither avoidance nor pandering will pause the problem
or make it disappear. And the longer we dither, the more difficult
it will be to address the increasingly suffocating subsidy challenge
in an orderly manner. While we need to acknowledge that this is a
hot-button issue and reassure those who have solid concerns about
subsidy removal, it is better we take action before the decision
is forced on us. Publicly available data indicates that Nigeria is
only some inches away from a financial rock-bottom. Continuing
on this carefree trajectory will make the crash inevitable. And if
that happens, the room to fashion a minimally-painful response
to subsidy removal will be non-existent. The best time to act was
yesterday. The next is now.
All the arguments for and against fuel subsidy are well known.
We have been on this endless debate, if it can be termed a debate,
for more than three decades. Despite the weight of evidence about
how fuel subsidy is an ineffective poverty alleviation or wealth
redistribution mechanism, how its benefits are mostly captured by
the elites and urban dwellers at the expense of the poor, how it
fuels corruption and smuggling and how it is a major and growing
burden on public finances and it crowds out public investments
in areas that benefit the poor and the economy at large, attempts
to remove fuel subsidy are stoutly resisted or even approached
by the government either half-heartedly with trepidation. This is
because there are entrenched mindsets and narratives that sustain
the everlasting thirst for fuel subsidy in Nigeria.
It will amount to a waste of precious time to continue to recite
the arguments that have not convinced most Nigerians, including
some highly-placed government officials. The most compelling
and the only useful argument is that the country simply can no
longer afford the subsidy bill. There is no way of sugar-coating
this: the nation’s finances are in anything but sound health. To put
it grimly, our public finance is already on life-support. Imagine a
patient in such a critical stage still bleeding uncontrollably. The
haemorrhaging needs to stop first for the patient to stand any
chance of survival. For Nigeria’s public finances to stand a chance,
leakages such as petrol subsidy need to be blocked first and the
savings channelled to more productive uses.
A quick look at publicly available data. According to information
from the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, total
revenue retained by the Federal Government (FG) in 11 months
in 2021 was N4.3 trillion. From this, total revenue retained by
the FG can be extrapolated to N4.7 trillion. Out of this, N4.2
trillion was used to service debts. Assuming that this was the
full figure for the full year; that meant that at least 89% of FG’s
retained revenue went into debt servicing. Or put differently, for
every N100 revenue retained by the FG, N89 was used to service
debt while only N11 out of the N100 was available for non-debt
recurrent expenditure, statutory allocations and capital budget.
It is apparent that to pay salaries and other personnel expenses, to
BY WAZIRI ADIO
Kristalina Georgieva... IMF Chief
Timipre Sylva
While we need to
acknowledge that
this is a hot-button
issue and reassure
those who have solid
concerns about subsidy
removal, it is better we
take action before the
decision is forced on us.
Publicly available data
indicates that Nigeria is
only some inches away
from a financial rock-
bottom. Continuing on
this carefree trajectory
will make the crash
inevitable. And if that
happens, the room to
fashion a minimally-
painful response to
subsidy removal will
be non-existent. The
best time to act was
yesterday. The next is
now.
JUNE 12, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R
provide for overhead, to build rail, roads and other infrastructure,
the country has to resort to borrowing, which not only increases
the debt stock but also increases the amount that will be needed
for future debt servicing. If the pattern continues, we may get to
a point where the FG may need to borrow to even service debts.
And the FG is in a much better place than most of the states.
If we continue on the current road, we may also need to borrow
to fund our appetite for cheap petrol, and at that point something
has to give. The FG budgeted N4 trillion for petrol subsidy in the
amended N17.3 trillion 2022 Appropriation Act. This means that
if the appropriated amount and IMF’s N6 trillion projection are
taken into consideration, fuel subsidy for 2022 will range between
23% and 35% of FG’s budget. That is the budget for just one
item, an item without any discernible contribution to human or
economic development.
For more context, the FG budgeted N7.1 trillion for recurrent
and N5.4 trillion for capital expenditures in 2022. Even when these
two are unlikely to be fully funded, the amount budgeted for
subsidy is 56% of recurrent and 74% of capital expenditures and the
IMF projection for subsidy represents 84% and 111% of budgeted
recurrent and capital expenditures respectively. Since subsidy will
fall under the recurrent budget, this means that between N56 and
N84 of every N100 budgeted by FG for recurrent expenditure will
go to petrol subsidy alone. And while the recurrent budget will
not be released in full, the subsidy component definitely will.
Also, when compared to the N4.7 trillion extrapolated as FG’s
retained revenue for 2021, the N4 trillion budgeted for subsidy
in 2022 and the N6 trillion projected by IMF amount to 85% and
127% respectively. The point must be made that the Federation, and
not just the FG, bears the petrol subsidy burden. So, comparison
to FG’s budget is for illustrative purposes, and it is an important
illustrative point since the FG will bear most of the burden anyway.
And as a percentage of the nominal gross domestic product of
N176 trillion for 2021, the subsidy budget for 2022 amounts to
2.4% of GDP and the IMF subsidy projection represents 3.6% of
GDP. That’s just fuel subsidy alone. If all these data points do
not give us a serious reason for pause, then nothing else will.
Already, Nigeria is at a curious pass where current high oil
prices resulting largely from the ongoing war in Ukraine are not
translating to increase in our foreign reserves, improving the value
of our national currency or increasing government revenue. This
is precisely because, the higher the price of oil, the higher the
subsidy element as Nigeria imports all the petrol that it consumes.
The revenues and the dollars that high oil prices should give,
high fuel subsidy costs dutifully take. For three consecutive
months, the national oil company has made zero remittance to
the Federation, and this is likely to continue for a while. Fuel
subsidy is a major reason behind this conundrum. While other
oil producing countries are making the bank because of high oil
prices, Nigeria can only boast of shortfalls, not windfalls, while
battling negative consequences of the war.
Without a doubt, petrol subsidy has become an ever-tightening
noose around our neck. We need to throw it off. Otherwise, it
will suffocate us. However, the fact that fuel subsidy removal is a
necessary thing does not mean that it will be easy to do or that it
would not be stoutly resisted or that some would not make political
capital out of it. It will always be a contentious piece of reform.
Whether we get back to fuel subsidy removal after the general
election or at the beginning of the next administration, we need a
thoughtful, practical and strategic reform package. Such a package
should include: strategic communication designed to secure the
buy-in of key stakeholders and effectively counter the entrenched
narratives supporting fuel subsidies; earmarking of a portion of
the potential savings from fuel subsidy for targeted and visible
investments in health, education, transportation, and other areas
that will directly benefit the poor and produce tangible human and
economic benefits; and a leadership ready to withstand popular
and political backlash and ensure diligent execution of the different
phases of the reform.
Removing fuel subsidy won’t be an easy duel. But it is a
frantic battle for health, for air. One that must be fought and
won. Otherwise,…
JUNE 12, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Special Edition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
PAUL NWABUIKWU A pioneer THISDAY Editorial Board member, Paul Nwabuikwu, who has also served on The Guardian’s Editorial Board, is a respected public intellectual
with decades of experience in journalism, advertising, and public communication. A winner of the DAME Awards for Informed Commentary, Nwabuikwu served twice as Special
Adviser to former Finance Minister and current DG, World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Nwabuikwu holds a first degree in Mass Communication from the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka and MBA from the University of Jos.
What Do the Parties Stand For?
“Ideologies are associated with power structures. Politicians
seek power. Their ideology and the social, economic and political
circumstances of the time influence what they do with that power
when they have achieved it. Indeed, it is impossible to separate the
two. This applies even to those who deny having an ideology. The use
of power always takes place in a framework of ideology” — Kevin
Harrison and Tony Boyd, University of Manchester
O
n its official website, in the ‘Who We Are’ section, the
ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) introduces
itself to the world as “a political party in Nigeria,
formed on 6 February 2013 in anticipation of the 2015
elections”. It adds: “APC candidate Muhammadu
Buhari won the presidential election by almost
2.6 million votes. Incumbent President Goodluck
Jonathan conceded defeat on 31 March. This was
the first time in Nigeria’s political history that an opposition political party
unseated a governing party in a general election...”
The section goes further to explain that APC is “the result of a merger
of Nigeria’s three biggest opposition parties – the Action Congress of
Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All
Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) – and a faction of the All Progressives
Grand Alliance (APGA)…”
On its own website, in the ‘About Us’ column, the main opposition
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) declares that it “was launched at a
colourful ceremony at the International Conference Centre Abuja on
August 31, 1998”. It goes ahead to state that “The Party had Dr. Alex
Ekwueme as Chairman of the Steering Committee while Professor Jerry
Gana was the Secretary...”
PDP, like APC also indulges in some boasting about its glorious origin
back in 1998: “In the Local Government Polls, the PDP won 471 out of
the 774 LGAs and won in 28 of the 36 states and the FCT. Thus, the
ground work for the emergence of the PDP as the most popular and
largest political party in the history of Nigeria was achieved. The party
not only had presence in every locality, it also was ahead of its competitors
in the thrust of campaigns.”
It is interesting that Nigeria’s two most important political parties, based
on information they have provided on their most critical public forum,
define themselves in historical, almost bureaucratic terms rather than as
platforms for mobilizing Nigerians along ideological lines in pursuit of
specific national objectives. The omission is a Freudian slip of significant
implications and reveals an important gap at the heart of Nigerian democracy.
As Harrison and Boyd posited in the statement quoted in the introduction,
an ideological framework is not a luxury; it is or should be at the heart
of the vision and interventions of political parties.
To be fair, the PDP says elsewhere on its website that it is committed to
“the principle of participatory democracy that lays emphasis on the welfare
of our people” and “the principles of social justice and the equality of
opportunities for all citizens” as well as “the principles of accountability
and transparency in order to restore confidence in the institutions of
government, discipline and leadership by example as basis for public
life and personal integrity as an important moral value in the conduct
of public affairs” etc. But the objectives are so woolly and generalized
that they are far from distinct characteristics. For instance, is there any
political party that is not in favour of “discipline and leadership by example
as basis for public live and personal integrity…?” Which one is against
accountability and transparency?”
The bottom line is that the APC and PDP websites unwittingly reveal
a lack of an ideological anchor and compass in Nigerian democracy and
politics. And this is not peculiar to the two main parties. Others are just
as indistinguishable and banal in their efforts to define themselves in the
midst of a motley of other parties which are, essentially, rickety contraptions
hurriedly put together for the purpose of winning elections. Of course there
is nothing wrong with the functional objective of chasing victory at the
polls. Elections are, after all, all about seeking and acquiring power to take
a country in a certain direction. But when the ideological underpinning of a
political party is either non-existent or observed in the breach, directionless
governance is inevitable. The state of the country speaks volumes.
The weak ideological foundation of our democracy is also responsible for
the seasonal nature of politics in Nigeria. Our political parties in Nigeria,
like small mammals in temperate climates, hibernate during winter, only to
emerge when they are assured of food (resources) during electoral cycles.
Outside that window, they are largely inert and unproductive and the
negative consequences for the country are obvious. Unlike their predecessors
especially during the First Republic, today’s political parties have not
invested much time and effort to define distinct paths and animating
visions that can serve as beacons to guide their policy choices, interventions
and prescriptions in a way that would inspire and mobilize Nigerians.
Even though ethnic and regional politics were a major factor in First
Republic parties, they also had strong ideological content, understandably
because in the thick of the Cold War, politics, institutional and personal,
was defined in robust ideological terms. Democratic socialism was the
official ideology of the Action Group. NCNC was a centrist “big tent”
BY PAUL NWABUIKWU
Abdullahi Adamu... APC Chairman
Iyorchia Ayu... PDP Chairman
It is interesting that
Nigeria’s two most
important political
parties, based on
information they
have provided on
their most critical
public forum, define
themselves in
historical, almost
bureaucratic
terms rather than
as platforms for
mobilizing Nigerians
along ideological lines
in pursuit of specific
national objectives.
The omission is
a Freudian slip
of significant
implications and
reveals an important
gap at the heart of
Nigerian democracy.
005
nationalist party with a strong focus on social justice. The Northern People’s
Congress did not define itself in distinct ideological terms but its regional
and conservative pan-northern focus was very clear. The United Middle
Belt Congress was the voice of northern minorities in the Northern Nigeria
parliament. And so on. Cross regional alliances, like the AG-UMBC one,
were based both on common interest.
An interesting anecdote: Dynamic Party, founded by the late Professor
Chike Obi, the famous mathematician and political activist, was inspired
by Turkish nationalist icon, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Obi called his political
philosophy Kemalism and named one of his sons, former AMCON MD
Mustapha Chike-Obi after Ataturk.
There is a popular misconception that ideology is not important
because we have been living in a post-ideological world since the fall
of the Soviet Union and, by implication, the triumph of capitalism. But
this is a simplistic and quite inaccurate conclusion. During the Cold War,
ideological positions, literally and metaphorically, were defined in stark
terms and most of the world was lined up behind the empires representing
the two competing ideologies: the Soviet Union and the United States. But
like Francis Fukuyama’s “end of history” postulation, the post ideological
world has turned out to be a figment in the imagination of ivory tower
intellectuals.
Ideology did not die, it has only mutated into new forms and, as the
rise of powerful socialists like Bernie Sanders in the United States has
demonstrated, the contradictions and unresolved injustices in America
have breathed new life into non capitalist ideological options. In other
parts of the world, the rise of right-wing extremism (often linked with
racism and white supremacy) and the ongoing process of mainstreaming
feminism into policy in many countries are all expressions of the relevance
of ideology in a changing world. As one of the most vital units of liberal
democracy, a political party needs to be defined by a clearly defined
ideology which will determine the priorities captured in its manifesto
and the policy preferences it chooses to tackle in response to the many
challenges that have turned Nigeria into a serially underperforming
country.
In the light of the foregoing, the weak ideological foundation of Nigerian
political parties is a hole in the heart of Nigerian democracy that requires
urgent attention. The popular view that the problem is not absence of
ideology but an unprincipled and bankrupt political class is only partly
true. While character is definitely an issue in Nigerian politics, ideology
exacerbates the challenge but without a clear philosophical blueprint as
a guide, even the principled are placed in a difficult position.
Consider this scenario. You are a decent Nigerian who aspires to support
your community by, say, championing building more schools with highly
subsidized fees for indigent youths whose parents cannot afford the current
schools. So you join a political party with this one objective at the top of
your priorities. Your plan is to become a local government chairman so
that you will have the opportunity to redirect funds which are largely
wasted by the incumbent chairman, his godfather and cronies. You take
all necessary steps to achieve your objectives but your efforts are frustrated
by your rivals who deploy bribe, threats of violence and ethnic solidarity
to ensure that your dreams for your people come to naught.
You explore remedial measures to no avail. Your dream of uplifting the
youths in your community through education still burn fiercely in your
heart. You are determined to give back, to transform lives and destinies.
What are your options? Give up because you are a principled politician
who does not believe in decamping to another platform like the many
unprincipled politicians who jump from party to party like drunk hyperactive
monkeys? Or do you consider the option of moving to another party
because your dream to contribute is paramount?
In a political system anchored on ideology-driven parties, the option of
decamping will be less attractive because you became a member of your
current party out of conviction rather than convenience or because your
brother is a big man in the party. As a result you are more likely to be
patient to exploring all legitimate avenues to fight the negative forces on
the path of your dream. Since you have bought into the party’s vision
for achieving a better and more just society, you may not mind being in
the political wilderness for a while in the company of those who share
the same vision.
If on the hand, you have no ideological investment in the party, “principles”
may not be enough to make you hang around at the expense of your
passionate personal aspiration. This hypothetical but quite relatable scenario
explains the practical implications of a political system with weak ideological
foundations and the attendant profound negative consequences for our
politics.
Ideology, whether defined broadly or in “heavy” doctrinaire terms, is a
critical component of a viable political system. In retrospect, even Babangida’s
shoehorned “a little to the left and a little to the right” prescription on
which the historic June 12, 1993 election was conducted is much better
than the current state of affairs. It provided clarity, albeit a forced one and
Moshood Abiola’s populist Social Democratic Party won the election with
the campaign theme “Goodbye to Poverty”.
Today, wake up a party “chieftain” at 2am and ask him to say what
his “great party” stands for in clear ideological terms. Chances are that
he would start sweating.
006
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Special Edition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
MAHMUD JEGA Following his stint as a lecturer in Biological Sciences at his alma mater, the Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, Jega has practiced journalism non-stop for more
than three decades. For a total 13 years, he was Managing Editor, Editor, Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board Chairman of Daily Trust Newspapers. Prior to that, Jega was
Editor, New Nigerian Newspapers, Editor of The Sentinel magazine, Kaduna and Assistant Editor, Citizen magazine.
Twelve Tricky Questions for Tinubu
T
welve tricky questions immediately came to my
mind arising from the ruling All Progressives
Congress (APC) special convention which
ended on Wednesday afternoon with the
nomination of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
Jagaban Borgu, as its flagbearer in next year’s
presidential election.
Was current party leader, President
Muhammadu Buhari, happy with the outcome of APC’s convention?
Buhari never publicly endorsed Tinubu during the latter’s long
campaign to succeed him, but then, nor did he endorse anyone
else. The party’s national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu reportedly
told members of APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) that
Buhari wanted Senate President Ahmad Lawan as flagbearer.
The NWC members were said to have immediately rejected the
proposition which Buhari later denied. At the convention ground,
social media made much of Buhari’s gloomy appearance, even
though the president is never known as a jovial politician. We will
see how active a role Buhari will play in the upcoming campaign
to retain the presidency in APC’s hands next year.
Can any of the losers cause trouble? The man who could cause
the most trouble was Tinubu himself, so by nominating him, APC
avoided a major split. However, some of the losers demonstrated
that they have impressive support. While Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo’s regionally scattered votes may not cause trouble, the
concentrated votes of former Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi
and those of former Niger Delta Minister, Akpabio could do so.
One solution is for Buhari to hurry up and restore Amaechi and
Akpabio to their plum cabinet positions.
Can Tinubu stand the rigours of the upcoming campaign? Days
before the convention, his mental and political alertness seemed to
fail him when he issued an angry tirade against Buhari, for which
both the presidency and the party chairman had to respond. His
physical state also received some question when Tinubu nearly
slipped on the rails at the convention ground, and also when he
had trouble turning the page in his written speech. Yet, Tinubu
had endured a punishing political and social schedule over the
years, attending a myriad of functions. He might well cope with
this one.
How will Tinubu as flagbearer relate with his party’s NWC,
the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) and most importantly,
Abdullahi Adamu? Most NWC members were on the same page
with APC governors, that a candidate should come from the South.
Not surprising because almost all the NWC members except the
chairman were chosen by state governors. Most APC governors,
too, supported Tinubu and they should have no problems with
him. Besides, he needs their firm support in the race ahead. It is
with Adamu that Tinubu may have problems. Adamu is a die-hard
Buhari supporter who publicly chastised Tinubu for criticizing the
president in his Abeokuta speech and even threatened to sanction
him, besides flying the Lawan consensus candidate kite. Still, the
two men must cooperate if APC is to run a successful campaign.
Who will Tinubu pick as running mate? This is the trickiest
question that Tinubu has to answer within days of his nomination.
APC cannot submit his name to INEC without a running mate.
Nigeria is usually thought of, especially by foreign writers,
as consisting of a “Muslim North” and a “Christian South.”
Those of us who live here know that such categorization is an
oversimplification. Tinubu is a Southern Muslim. Ordinarily he
should pick a Northern Christian as his running mate, but that
could antagonize voters in APC’s key Northwest and Northeast
bases. Tinubu strategists could think twice since he is running
against a Northern Muslim, Atiku Abubakar. If he nominates
a Northern Muslim as running mate, it could solidify APC’s
base of support but the Christian community would be up in
JUNE 12, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R
BY MAHMUD JEGA
revolt at such a “Muslim/Muslim” ticket. This is trickier than
a crossword puzzle.
What will it take to pacify Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who
finished a distant third at the APC special convention? First, he
must be protected from taunts by Tinubu men, that the defeat
confirmed that he betrayed his political godfather. The best way
to pacify Osinbajo is for Buhari to resign, say, immediately after
next year’s election and allow the VP to complete the lame duck
tenure. At least he will be counted among the men who ruled
Nigeria, but that is farfetched.
What happens to the many men who “betrayed” Tinubu? In
Tinubu...APC presidential candidate the last 23 years, Asiwaju promoted the political careers of many
people and brought them to limelight. Many of them have since
deserted his political camp. By withdrawing from the race at the
last minute and throwing his weight behind Tinubu, Ekiti State
Governor Kayode Fayemi made a most dramatic reconciliation.
Some other former Tinubu protégés did not stand in his corner
during this contest. They include Babatunde Raji Fashola, Rauf
Aregbesola and Akinwunmi Ambode. They may become the Buba
Galadimas of a President Tinubu tenure.
What happens to Who will believe Pastor Tunde Bakare’s prophecies again? Before
he quit as General Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly in order
the many men who to pursue his ambition, he prophesied that he would be the 16th
“betrayed” Tinubu? President of Nigeria (the count includes military rulers). When
he got zero votes at the convention, many people thought he
In the last 23 years, did not see that coming; so probably no one will again go to
Asiwaju promoted him for a prophesy.
What booby-traps lie ahead in Tinubu’s path? He has been
the political careers dogged by many scandals during his political career that has
of many people lasted three decades, so opponents and critics will still dig up
some things in order to trip him. Someone could produce witness
and brought them testimony that Tinubu did not attend Government College Ibadan,
to limelight. Many University of Chicago or even Illinois State University. Someone
could “leak” a report on his health status. Someone will allege that
of them have he is older than 70. Yet another social media post will question his
since deserted his parentage. Expect someone to dig up old corruption allegations
against Asiwaju.
political camp. By How will Tinubu square up to Atiku Abubakar? For starters,
withdrawing from the two men are old political friends but this time, they must
fight to the finish since only one person can become president at
the race at the last a time. The two men have very similar personal credentials. Both
minute and throwing are within the early 70s age bracket. Both men are very wealthy.
Neither of them is seen as an intellectual. Both are seen more as
his weight behind businessmen than as public servants. Both men have held high
Tinubu, Ekiti State political office since 1999. Both are liberal minded with respect
to ethnicity, region and religion. Both men have been accused of
Governor Kayode corruption and business-as-usual temperament. And both men
Fayemi made a have nursed inordinate ambitions to be President.
Will a Tinubu presidency end Yoruba Nation agitation? Right now,
most dramatic his nomination has calmed agitators, especially in the Southwest.
reconciliation. Some It’s now clear that there is no “Northern plot” to retain power,
as Afenifere leader Ayo Adebanjo so loudly claimed. But Tinubu
other former Tinubu still has to win the main election. If he loses to PDP’s Atiku
protégés did not Abubakar, charges of a Northern plot could surface again. If he
wins, even a returnee Sunday Igboho will not be able to revive
stand in his corner agitation for a “Yoruba Nation.”
during this contest. Will it correspondingly fire up IPOB agitation? That a Southwesterner
grabbed APC’s presidential ticket after Northern APC leaders
ceded it to the South is likely to heighten, instead of lessen,
Southeastern grief and could accelerate IPOB violence. Some people
had earlier called on Yoruba leaders to “emulate Northern gesture”
and cede the ticket to the Southeast. A Tinubu presidency could
postpone an Igbo presidency by up to 16 years, hence the need
for delicate handling.
If anyone can answer these tricky questions, Jagaban Borgu can.
JUNE 12, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Special Edition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
JOHNSON OLAWUMI Retired Major General of the Nigerian Army and former Director General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Olawumi held several strategic appointments
at the service, defence and public levels. Olawumi obtained a first degree in Mathematics from the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) from
the University of Ilorin and a Masters in Defence Studies from the Kings College, London. He is an alumnus of the National Defence College, Abuja, and a proud winner of the
presidential award for best graduating participant.
Security and the 2023 General Election
W
ith the emergence of presidential candidates
for the 2023 Elections, one issue that will
certainly be in the front burner as campaigns
by political parties commence is security. That
has been the pattern since the 2015 general
election for obvious reasons. In Nigeria today,
the level of insecurity is both alarming and
atrocious. It is an incontrovertible fact that
the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan made appreciable
progress in the management of our economy. But he lost his re-election
the security challenge that has for more than a decade confronted Nigeria.
Even though President Muhammadu Buhari was elected to tackle the
problem, Nigerians no safer today than they were seven years ago. As the
lawyers will say, ‘res ipsa loquitur’; the fact speaks for itself. Despite the
promises made on security in 2015 and 2019, and the claims of enormous
spending on defence in the last seven years, Nigeria remains largely
unsafe for its citizens.
While some significant progress has been made since 2015, facts on
the ground suggest that we are still a troubled nation. There is so much
violence today across Nigeria and in different shades: Kidnappings, ritual
killings, abductions, herders and settlers’ conflicts, attacks on security
agents, cultism, and other forms of criminalities. Indeed, never in our
history has it been so unsafe and insecure to travel from one state to
the other. And when one considers the quantum of promises made to
staunch this barrage of insecurity, with a retired military General in the
saddle, Nigerians must be worried and apprehensive of who and what
the manifestos of those aspiring to lead from May 2023 will be.
This time around, the voters must not be deceived with such vague
and catchy promise of ‘I will lead from the front’ when it comes to selling
their agenda on security. As the political parties hit the field, Nigerians
must be mindful of the words of Teresa Heinz that “political campaigns
are the graveyard of real ideas, and the birthplace of empty promises.”
Snooping through several security debates and commentaries in recent
times, not a few discerning minds will search for so long to identify where
exactly lies the issues and problems in making Nigeria safe and secure.
Statutorily, many of the security challenges that are prevalent in Nigeria
today falls within the responsibilities of the police to deal with. Over the
years, persistent neglect of the police coupled with its perennial misuse
have combined to derail and debauch its capacity to meet the security
demands of the people. The increasing jumble of violence across the
country further calls to question the capability of the police to carry out
its functions effectively. The fact is that policing has virtually collapsed in
Nigeria today. How best can one justify this than the ominous fact that
the military is at present deployed in 34 of the 36 states in the country,
saddled with tasks that ordinarily should be performed by the Police. That
many Nigerians have lost confidence in the police is no longer in doubt
but that is a major challenge. For anyone aspiring to lead this country
now, a complete reform of the police must be prime in his agenda, and
this must be a focal issue in his campaign.
Questions must be asked about how such a politician intends to restore
confidence of the people in the police, and his plans for retraining, provision
of equipment and general welfare of the men. The pendent issue of
state police deserves intense conversation, and the people must draw
commitment for its implementation. Whatever may be the constitutional
impediments against the use of state police could be urgently straightened
and perhaps a pilot test in one state in each of the geopolitical zones could
provide an assessment of its effectiveness or otherwise.
It is common knowledge that violence and criminalities have continued
to fester due to the seamless access to weapons from across our borders
as well as unhindered movement of criminals in and out of the country.
Officially, Nigeria is said to have 84 approved land border control points
but with over 1,400 illegal border points. The fact, however, is that the
entire stretch along the Northern boundaries with Benin Republic, Niger,
Chad, and Cameroon are all potential crossing points for illegal arms
dealers and other criminals due to the dry Sahel vegetation and open
Savannah terrain. Security experts have continuously warned that unless
the issue of border security is addressed, the success expected in the fight
against banditry would at best remain a mirage.
As the presidential hopefuls keep reeling out vague and abstract
promises (some unimaginable), Nigerians must take them to task on
the prime issue of border security. In the words of the former American
President, Donald Trump, ‘when you undermine border security, you
are undermining human rights and human dignity’ and ‘a nation that
cannot secure its border is not a nation’. The next administration must
dig deep and examine models adopted elsewhere around the world
in keeping their borders safe. It must engage Nigerians especially the
security agencies on whether we need a separate border protection force
and how our border security framework could be more technologically
driven and dependent.
Nigeria’s large landmass of about 923,768 square kilometres presents
it with a great opportunity for agriculture, mining, and several other
human activities. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO), Nigeria currently uses only half of its 71 million hectares
BY JOHNSON OLAWUMI
IGP Usman Alkali
Bashir Salihi Magashi... Minister of
Defence
Never in our history
has it been so unsafe
and insecure to travel
from one state to the
other. And when one
considers the quantum
of promises made to
staunch this barrage
of insecurity, with a
retired military General
in the saddle, Nigerians
must be worried
and apprehensive of
who and what the
manifestos of those
aspiring to lead from
May 2023 will be. This
time around, the voters
must not be deceived
with such vague and
catchy promise of ‘I will
lead from the front’
when it comes to selling
their agenda on security.
007
of available farmland, and even at that not efficiently. The implication
is that the country is burdened with large areas of ungoverned spaces
which provide breeding grounds for armed bandits, international criminal
gangs, terrorist organisations and undocumented immigrants to incubate
and thrive. The recent upsurge in security challenge has brought attention
to the opportunities that these ungoverned areas offer to insurgents and
bandits in the Sambisa Forest in Borno State, Kuyambana and Ajja Forests
in Zamfara, Birnin Kogo Forest in Katsina and Guma Forest in Nasarawa
State.
Having large mass of ungoverned areas in the hands of armed bandits
is a precursor to becoming a failed state, hence government, at all levels
must assert its authority and firm control on all forests and rural areas.
The existing capability of the forest guards needs to be strengthened so
it could effectively provide first layer of security under an integrated
approach that would see the police and other security agencies providing
swift backup response. Nigerians must demand for the plans and strategies
to convert the vulnerability of these forests into opportunity for growth
and development.
Meanwhile, if a capability gap assessment is to be carried out today
on the capacity of the military and other security agencies, one aspect
that will draw concern is the combat efficiency of the military especially
manpower and equipment. Using the data from the International Institute
of Strategic Studies, Nigeria with a population of nearly 200 million people
has a total active military personnel of about 190,000. The reality of this
figure becomes clear if it is juxtaposed against figures from countries with
population and security threats like that of Nigeria. For instance, Pakistan
with a population of about 230 million people has a military manpower
strength of 1,495,000 personnel out of which about 700,000 are in active
service. In Africa, Egypt with a population of nearly 105 million people
has about 450,000 active military personnel.
It is indeed noteworthy that while Nigeria does not keep a reserve
force, both Pakistan and Egypt maintain reserve force of about 550,000
and 479,000, respectively. The low manpower strength of the military
presents no small challenge to the prosecution of its operations. This
fact was stated recently by the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, who
admitted that ‘the Nigeria’s military is understaffed to tackle the various
security challenges facing the country’. It therefore remains abstruse why
President Buhari given his military background has not given serious
consideration to increasing the manpower strength of the military. This
is an area of concern for the presidential candidates as they outline their
agenda for resolving our security logjam. They must realise that even
during the Nigerian civil war, the manpower strength of the military was
rapidly increased from about 85,000 at the start of hostilities to nearly
250,000 by the end of the war in 1970.
If there is any aspect of the military that has seen massive investment
in the past five years, and for which President Buhari could be scored
high, it must be in the acquisition of weapons and equipment. From
the US, Europe, China, Russia, South Africa, and the Middle East, the
government-to-government policy has worked. President Buhari has
used his goodwill to attract defence aids, procurements, and procurement
assurance even from previously hostile supplier nations to bolster our
military capability. But these efforts have at best merely improved the
abysmally low combat efficiency marginally, due to long years of neglect.
Whoever succeeds President Buhari must be prepared to shore up
the military combat efficiency so that the current gains are not reversed.
The funding of the military deserves an improvement. In 2021, Nigeria’s
defence spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood
at 0.63 percent. That was quite low compared to many other countries in
its league such as Pakistan (4.0 percent), Algeria (6.7 percent), Colombia
(3.4 percent), Egypt (1.2) percent and South Africa (1.1) percent. At this
stage of our development, Nigeria needs to reposition its defence industry
as it is the guarantee for sustained equipment availability. The country
needs a leadership that could drive and galvanise the revolution in defence
manufacturing sector.
Nigeria’s high rate of unemployment provides the propellant that fuels
the spate of insecurity in a country where endemic corruption continues
to create a wide gap between the opulent rich and the impecunious
poor. With a pervasive sense of hopelessness caused by increasing rate
of unemployment, it is no surprise that the large youth population has
become a veritable breeding and recruitment ground for criminalities.
Since the advent of the Buhari administration, unemployment rate has
taken a leap from 12.48 percent in 2016 to about 19.7 percent in 2020.
In a recent report by the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi
Adeshina lamented the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria stating
that 40 percent of Nigerian youths are unemployed. As the contestants
mount the campaign podium, Nigerians must demand their strategies to
reverse the trend through innovative ideas to create employment.
Whoever wins the 2023 presidential election already has his job cut
out for him. But the electorates must take political parties to task on
funding initiatives to drive their usual promises. Until they do this, they
will continue to succumb to the vagaries of politicians who in the words
of Nikita Khrushchev ‘promise to build bridges even when there are no
rivers.’
008
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Special Edition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
CHIDI AMUTA With more than 30 years in reportorial and management journalism, Amuta has held senior editorial positions as foundation Member, Editorial Board, The Guardian;
Chairman, Editorial Board and Editorial Adviser, The Daily Times Group and, until 1999, Chief Executive, The Post Express. Amuta holds a First Class Honours degree and a
Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where he taught Literature and Communications Strategies for ten years before moving
to the University of Port Harcourt.
Democracy in the Wilderness
H
istory seems to have a way of playing Nigerians a
curious trick. Twelve months to the 2015 presidential
elections, the test then facing our democracy was
that of a peaceful transition to another elected
government. That transition needed to reflect the
consensus of popular assessment of the outgoing
government. The unifying anthem and collective
political wish of most Nigerians then was simple:
Change. It was a two-fold change. Democracy needed to validate the wishes
of the majority of Nigerians who wanted anything else but the Goodluck
Jonathan style. Secondly, the nation needed to transit from one elected
government to another in a manner that would neither be disruptive nor
threaten its strategic stability.
These twin larger objectives were achieved. The Jonathan administration
was roundly defeated and chased off. Nigeria survived and witnessed
a peaceful transfer of power to a new administration under a different
party. The prospects of democracy surviving and taking roots in Nigeria
were vastly improved, if only the incoming administration listened to the
inner yearnings of the people. Therefore, the political burden of the then
incoming administration of Muhammadu Buhari was well cut out.
The successful 2015 election and the painless transition did not automatically
confer on Nigeria the status of a working democracy. It merely improved
the chances of advancing the frontiers of democracy through a government
that worked for the people. The nation needed to quickly progress from
the routine rituals of periodic elections to building a democratic culture
among the populace. The right to vote and be voted for needed to be
complemented by an entitlement to the rights and freedoms that people
in a democracy are entitled to. Most importantly, the social and economic
conditions that enable the growth of democracy needed to be rapidly
improved.
In tandem, the electoral system needed to be upgraded to ensure that
future elections were not only freer and fairer but also more credible. Even
more overwhelming was the challenge of instituting a governance structure
that would guarantee a national environment in which Nigerians would
enjoy the full benefits of living in a democracy. People needed to be safe
and secure. People needed to be free to pursue the dream of a better life
in the hope that it is an achievable goal in a life time. Those were the
hopes and aspirations embedded in the support and mandate accorded
Mr. Buhari in 2015.
Now again in 2022, less than a year to the end of the current administration,
history seems to have put on a garb of cruel irony. Nigerians are once again
face to face with an even more tragic and desperate unifying imperative.
Today, seven years after the triumph of “CHANGE”, an administration that
was ushered in by a wave of democratic euphoria has burdened the nation
with depressing legacies that place obstacles to the growth of democracy.
Politics and governance under Buhari’s APC have divided a once united
nation into factions, regions, sects and creedal enclaves. Those we elected
into power and office have splintered the nation along all known lines. The
most basic freedom of democracy, the freedom to move around the country
has been abridged by the fear of death in the hands of agents of violence.
The hope of a more frugal economic management of the nation’s resources
has been replaced by a more rapacious culture of corruption and waste.
In seven years, a new debt burden has been ratcheted with debt service
obligations threatening to gulp 100% of revenue. An unprecedented level
of poverty has seen over 100 million Nigerians migrate into a new republic
of the poor. A rapid decline of the core social services of education and
health has seen public schools, colleges and universities shut down for
months on end for want of better conditions of work. A mass exodus of
Nigerian doctors and nurses to Europe, the United States and the Arab
world has left most public hospitals unmanned in critical care areas. As
we speak, no one remembers when last any Nigerian public university
was open for teaching and learning as the umbrella union of university
teachers has been on strike than at work for years.
Yet, despite these threats and limitations, there is a new consensus among
Nigerians. Our travails may be divergent. Our anguish may be coming
from different sources. The intensity of our cries may be different. But
our plea that is powering the 2023 presidential election drive is the same
loud and familiar one. It is the oft repeated anthem of peoples who have
witnessed holocausts, genocides and similar such collective tragedies and
historic misfortunes. Today, most Nigerians are heading towards the 2023
elections with a common refrain of that familiar note: NEVER AGAIN!
After seven years of Mr. Buhari’s bumbling rule, the quest for a new
leader is driven by a singular wish never again to allow the Buhari model of
leadership happen ever again in Nigeria. The historic irony of this moment
is that Mr. Buhari, a man granted the most generous political amnesty in
BY CHIDI AMUTA
Jonathan...former president
Now again in
2022, less than
a year to the end
of the current
administration,
history seems to
have put on a garb of
cruel irony. Nigerians
are once again face
to face with an even
more tragic and
desperate unifying
imperative. Today,
seven years after the
triumph of ‘CHANGE’,
an administration
that was ushered
in by a wave of
democratic euphoria
has burdened
the nation with
depressing legacies
that place obstacles
to the growth of
democracy.
MONDAY, JUNE 6, 2022 • T H I S D AY
Nigerian history and trusted to deliver a better nation seven years again
has ended up as the poster man of degenerate governance and abysmal
statesmanship.
While historians and commentators are bracing to deliver an inevitably
blistering assessment of the Buhari presidential tenure, we can simplify
the interim assessment by looking at the fortunes of democracy itself in
the last seven years.
No doubt the ritual of periodic elections has been observed routinely in
the last seven years. To a great extent, the regularity of these elections and
the reliance on them to furnish successive governments for various levels
of government in Nigeria would qualify Nigeria as one of the world’s
functioning democracies. To our credit, after over two decades of electoral
democracy, the great majority of Nigerians have come to a consensus that
democracy remains the only viable means of renewing political leadership
and pushing for changes in the character and quality of government in
the country.
Accordingly, aside from seasonal general elections, stand-alone off-season
state governorship elections have been held in Ondo, Edo, Anambra
states and the Federal Capital Territory with commendable outcomes and
commendably tolerable levels of credibility. The Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) has continued to fine- tune the processes
and procedures of our elections, revising laws and technicalities in line with
changing circumstances. Limited applications of new technologies like the
use of biometric identification and recognition of voters through the use
of electronic voter’s cards, card readers and the B-VAC technology have
reduced the old reliance on manual fault riddled procedures. Acrimonies
resulting from human errors and deliberate mischief have drastically been
reduced. In these isolated state elections, the delivery time for results has
vastly improved even if errors resulting from the manual tabulation and
transmission of results have persisted in some place.
The full first term general election in 2019 was arguably an improvement
on the 2015 election. Inter party competition between the major parties,
the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) remained as keen as ever. However, electoral felonies such as under
age registration and voting, occasional ballot switching and the flagrant
compromise of electoral officials and vote buying were widespread while
laws and regimes of sanctions against electoral offences remained weak and
ineffectual. A nation that celebrates tribunals for seeking electoral redress for
untidy elections remains timid when it comes to setting up and activating
electoral offences tribunals to punish electoral malpractices.
A most embarrassing feature of the electoral system that became
rather pronounced under Buhari is the rather frequent recourse to the
judiciary to settle electoral disputes. In a number of cases such as the
Supreme Court judgment on the Imo State governorship election case
that toppled Governor Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP and replaced him
with Hope Uzodinma of the APC, it became a matter of grave public
concern that the Supreme Court may have over reached itself. Judges
usurped the functions of INEC by engaging in the mundane task of
vote tallying! It became common for the Nigerian public to doubt the
integrity of both the meddlesome courts and their suspicious judges on
the one hand and indeed the entire electoral system itself. The numbing
public question was essentially this: why hold elections involving millions
of voters if the final electoral verdict would be left in the hands of a
handful of judges who were probably in their chambers or asleep while
the elections were taking place?
The existence of a viable nation is the minimum precondition for the
existence and survival of democracy. The best democratic edifice will collapse
and evaporate in the absence of a stable nation. When the institutions of
state are threatened by the forces of anarchy and insecurity, a pretension
to democratic observance becomes a hollow ritual. As the authors of How
Democracies Die, have observed, threats to the state can become tools in
the hands of an elected authoritarian leader who feels threatened by strict
democratic conformity. Under Mr. Buhari, the Nigerian state has come
under historic assault most of it simulated or even deliberate. Arguably,
the systemic insecurity that has wracked Nigeria in the last seven years
would seem to be partly simulated. With Mr. Buhari came certain unusual
types of insecurity. The emboldening of the killer herdsmen who continue
to ravage parts of the country is by no means accidental. Similarly, the
spread of jihadist terrorism into a national menace that began in the Sahelian
segments of the nation and has now spread to the North West, North
Central and parts of the Federal Capital Territory would seem to have taken
advantage of a more friendly regime in Abuja. The coincidence between
the emergence of these novel sources of insecurity and the tenure of the
Continued on page XX
JUNE 12, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Special Edition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
BENNETT OGHIFO Trained in news writing by Reuters Foundation at Rhodes University, Grahams Town, South Africa, Bennett Eyituoyo Oghifo holds a bachelor's degree in English
and master's in public administration from the University of Benin and a Post Graduate Diploma in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos. Oghifo is a fellow of
Leadership for Environment and Development, (LEAD International), a global network supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, and a member of Africa Association of Science
Journalists.
Atiku, Tinubu and Climate Change
N
ow that the candidates of all the political parties
contesting in next year’s election have emerged,
it is imperative to gauge their knowledge of
how climate change will influence the national
economy in the years ahead and what policies
they have to navigate a non-fossil fuel world
of the future, as energy transition takes centre
stage. Without prejudice to the candidates of the
other parties, we believe that the main opposition Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) presidential flagbearer, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Asiwaju
Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) should have
their agenda ready on how to tackle this problem. The world has agreed
to gradually phase out fossil, the fulcrum of Nigeria’s economy. Our gas
is still fossil fuel, though cleaner, but how much time can the government
buy for it to be used to power the nation’s economy?
Today, there are fears of widening poverty ratio, forced migration and
all forms of social ills and conflicts, particularly in border communities and
watersheds, among others. This will definitely happen unless whoever
emerges president understands the dynamics of global policies on the
environment and climate change to enable him institute deliberate local
policies that will be in lockstep. Of course, with assistance from wealthy
nations.
As determined by scientists, the earth’s temperature is rising, causing
global warming with resultant dire and extreme weather events that are
a direct threat to human existence. Humanity, has since the first Climate
Change Convention in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, been searching for ways
to keep the earth’s temperature down to make it harmless. The first
breakthrough was in Paris in 2015 when it was agreed that nation’s
should state their nationally determined contributions to keep global
temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius. The 1.5 °C target is the goal of the
Paris Agreement, which calls for countries to take concerted climate action
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit global warming.
Nigeria, like other African countries, submitted its nationally determined
contributions and this is what our emerging president and legislators
must follow closely.
President Muhammadu Buhari alluded to the fact that there are imminent
consequences if the nation’s leadership fails on good environmental governance
when he addressed the 16th African Union Extra-ordinary Session of the
Assembly of Heads of State and Government on Humanitarian Crises
in African and Pledging Conference that was held in Malabo, Equatorial
Guinea, recently. The envisaged humanitarian crises President Buhari and
other African leaders are alluding to are already a reality on the continent.
For instance, global warming, according to scientists, is responsible for rising
levels in sea level/waters, in some countries, shrinking of rivers and lakes.
Democracy in the Wilderness (Cont'd)
Buhari presidency is a bit uncomfortable.
For whatever reason, an insecure Nigeria cannot be democracy friendly.
People who live in a democracy are first and foremost supposed to be
free people. Once the freedom of movement is abridged, then it imposes
limitations to the idea of nation space. The mobility of persons also connotes
the mobility of labour and capital and the other factors of production.
A nation space constrained against the free movement of persons and
productive forces can neither be a democratic nor a prosperous space
To that extent, the inability of the Buhari administration to contain the
nationwide insecurity has been the greatest disservice to the growth and
development of Nigeria’s democracy. The cost of securing the various
elections held in this period has been a major concern. Each of the stand-
alone governorship elections held in the last seven years has assumed the
appearance of a martial parade of security forces and warlike hardware.
The Anambra Governorship election of 2021 was garrisoned by 34,587
police personnel. Add Department of State security personnel, Soldiers,
Civil Defense and other agencies personnel. All these for no more than
2.5 million registered voters. Similarly, the last governorship election in
Ondo State was garrisoned by 33,780 policemen. The Edo governorship
election of 2020 had a police shield of 31,000 personnel.
This is roughly the extent to which the spread of insecurity across the
nation has converted democratic elections to controlled garrison exercises.
Ultimately, these elections may indeed have been fair and fairly credible but
they were not free exercise undertaken by free citizens in an atmosphere
free from fear and intimidation.
BY BENNETT OGHIFO
Atiku...PDP presidential candidate
Today, there are fears of
widening poverty ratio,
forced migration and all
forms of social ills and
conflicts, particularly in
border communities and
watersheds, among others.
This will definitely happen
unless whoever emerges
president understands the
dynamics of global policies on
the environment and climate
change to enable him institute
deliberate local policies that
will be in lockstep. Of course,
with assistance from wealthy
nations.
The scramble to become party
delegates has been no more
than a struggle to get a gate
pass into a national casino
of open bribes and pay off
for delegate votes by various
aspirants. Various media have
documented the charade that
went in the name of the PDP
presidential primaries last
week in Abuja. Vast troves
of dollar cash were showered
on delegates by the various
aspirants.
009
Last year at COP26 (conference of the parties to the UN framework
convention on climate change) in Glasgow, Scotland, emphasis was placed
on countries, particularly those in the developed global North, to walk
the talk of their commitment to assisting developing/least developed
countries adapt to and mitigate the harmful effects of climate change. The
developing countries, including Nigeria, are demanding the implementation
of the commitment by the developed world to release the USD$100 billion
promised.
Specifically, in 2009 at the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen,
rich nations made a significant pledge to channel US$100 billion a year
to less wealthy nations by 2020, to help them adapt to climate change
and mitigate further rises in temperature. That promise was not kept and
thrown into this is the predicament of developing countries in navigating
the technicalities to enable access to the fund. Our emerging leaders must
understand that the money will not come on a platter of any kind and
that this was a major source of frustrations and tensions for developing
countries last year at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, UK.
Perhaps, only Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was defeated at the
APC primaries has addressed the grave position of Nigeria’s economy
in terms of global demand for energy transition. Osinbajo believes the
conditions the global rich are imposing on developing nations to enable
them access the fund are too stringent, stating that it was hypocritical
since they would not set such a high target for themselves. In his recent
article published in The Economist, the vice president said, “We must close
the global energy inequality gap. Africans need more than just lights at
home. We want abundant energy at scale so as to create industrial and
commercial jobs. To participate fully in the global economy, we will need
reliable low-cost power for facilities such as data centres and, eventually,
for millions of electric vehicles.”
The energy statistics for African countries is disturbing. “Total electricity
use for more than a billion people, covering all 48 sub-Saharan African
countries except South Africa, is less than that used by Spain (home to
just 47 million). The dearth of power hurts livelihoods and destroys the
dreams of hundreds of millions of young people.”
The thrust of Osinbajo’s presentation is that by 2050 Nigeria will need
to generate 15 times more electricity than is done today. That ambitious
goal will require vast resources. The reason is that all Nigerians deserve
to enjoy the benefits of modern energy that are taken for granted in the
rich world. “We should aim to generate a national average power output
of at least 1,000 kilowatt-hours per person.”
Now that we have Tinubu, Atiku, Peter Obi and others on the tickets of
the parties for the 2023 general election, Nigerians must engage them on
how they intend to tackle the challenge of environment and sustainable
development of our country.
Beyond physical insecurity, the deepening poverty in Buhari’s Nigeria has
created the greatest distortion of our democratic landscape. The complete
invasion of the electoral and political space by monetized corruption is
the biggest tragedy of our time. The ongoing party primaries to choose
candidates for various electoral offices for the 2023 elections in the system
has raised one single headache: monetization of our politics. At no other
time in our history has the political system been so subject to financial
compromise as in the current season.
The scramble to become party delegates has been no more than a struggle
to get a gate pass into a national casino of open bribes and pay off for
delegate votes by various aspirants. Various media have documented
the charade that went in the name of the PDP presidential primaries last
week in Abuja. Vast troves of dollar cash were showered on delegates by
the various aspirants. It has been speculated that the two aspirants with
the highest vote scores also happen to have been the biggest spenders in
terms of delegates pay offs.
As the nation awaits the presidential primaries convention of the ruling
APC, we may yet witness the greatest reversal of the gains of Nigeria’s
democracy yet. The President who is the leader of the ruling party has
‘requested’ state governors under the party to allow him the courtesy of
‘choosing his own successor’ irrespective of the democratic dictates of the
internal democracy of the party. The outcome of this unusual request may
indeed be the crowning glory of the contradictory democracy dividend of
the Buhari presidency. This lame duck presidency may yet fatally injure
our frail democratic gains.
010
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Special Edition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
SANYADE OKOLI The CEO of Alpha African Advisory, Mrs Sanyade Okoli has over 27 years of financial advisory; private equity; corporate, commercial and management
finance; and auditing experience. She holds an MA in Mechanical Engineering from Cambridge University, UK and trained as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen
(UK). Sanyade is also a trained inner healing minister and life coach. She is the founder of inspirational blog, www.justasiam.ng and creator of life-transforming e-course,
Pursuing Wholeness.
Fighting for the Soul of Nigeria
W
hen assessing a nation, it is easy to
focus on the failings of its leaders.
However, to loosely quote the words
of a current presidential aspirant from
a previous WIMBIZ lecture, “Political
leaders do not just fall from the sky.
They are of us; raised in our families,
in our society.” In short, society creates
its leaders.
The question, therefore, is how is our society shaping its people
and to what extent does it prepare them to be productive and
effective citizens? Put differently, what adults are formed by our
cultural parenting practices? What kinds of leaders and followers
do our traditions and culture develop and sustain?
For a long time, I wondered how it was that societies such as
ours that stress the importance of discipline in raising our children
could end up being so ill-disciplined. Over the years I have come
to have a better understanding of the underlying causes. You see,
a person lives from the place of his heart - his thoughts, emotions
and will. What shapes these thoughts and emotions are their life
experiences, especially those from their early years.
Each person is born with certain God-given desires. For example,
the desire to be loved, to feel secure, accepted, and of value, to
name a few. Based on the extent to which these desires are met
(or not) in our early years, we form beliefs about ourselves, others,
our country, life, etc. These beliefs in turn shape our values, sense
of identity, and general mindset which form the framework upon
which our thoughts, feelings, decisions, actions - essentially, our
whole lives - are based.
When these natural desires are not met, or worse still, violated,
people’s soul’s get wounded. Whether we believe it or not, these
soul wounds can and will negatively affect our lives either until
we address them or we go on to meet our Maker. If we were to
be truly courageous, we would be willing to ask ourselves what
soul wounds have been formed in our individual and collective
psyches and how they negatively affect us today. I deliberately
used the word “courageous” because it would mean objectively
questioning many long and closely held societal norms. It would
require us to challenge the status quo; to step back and seek to
connect the dot between words and actions, and eventual outcomes.
To start with, we would be forced to ask ourselves questions
regarding the impact some of our own early life experiences
may be having on our lives today. For example, in the name of
“discipline”, more people than would care to admit were battered
and bruised as children (be it physically or verbally), leaving them
feeling wounded and insecure. The adults in our lives (parents,
grandparents, teachers, etc.) were so focused on eliciting the “right
behaviour” from us that they never stopped to fully consider the
impact their brand of discipline could have on our hearts.
Also, in the name of “respect” many were raised to feel like
they didn’t matter; their voices didn’t count. Made to feel like
until they were “somebody” they were nobody. This is one big
driving force behind so many seeking to be “somebodies” by any
means necessary. They are searching for validation here, there,
and everywhere instead of looking within. In reality, we usually
see the manifestations of soul wounds, both in ourselves and in
others, but we often do not connect the dots in our minds in order
to identify cause and effect.
It’s not just our parents and their parents’ generations. Even today,
in the name of “providing”, many parents are absent physically.
With all the other modern-day distractions, a lot of us even when
physically present are mentally and/or emotionally absent. The
same way we needed the active and affirming love and support
of our parents, our children desperately need us. For example,
psychologists have determined that children get their sense of
identity, self-worth, security, and provision from their fathers.
Therefore, without a strong father-figure in the life of a child, he
or she is likely to grow into an adult with a weak sense of self.
This is made worse in a digital (and often superficial) age where
it is easier to have devices babysit our children whilst we busy
ourselves with more “pressing matters” such as keeping up social
media appearances. Is this too a manifestation of our own inner
woundedness? Probably.
Then we come to our collective woundedness. Over decades,
Nigerians have experienced many traumas. To name a few over
the last fifty or so years, we have undergone a vicious civil war,
bloody coups, small- and large-scale kidnappings, terrorism, and,
MONDAY, JUNE 6, 2022 • T H I S D AY
BY SANYADE OKOLI
more recently, the bloodletting at the End SARS protest. Our hearts
have been trampled upon over and over again and we are numb
with unresolved pain.
What is worse is that we do not talk about it. Until fairly
recently, emotional pain and mental health issues were not even
acknowledged, much less discussed. The challenge with inner pain
is that until it is addressed, it remains present, festering away;
negatively impacting the lives of individuals, families, institutions
and, ultimately, the nation. The key therefore is to recognise its
manifestation, identify its roots, and tackle them accordingly. To
do so, we must individually and collectively ask ourselves tough
questions, even when we fear having to face the answers.
Let’s take the topic of the day, for example. Politics! If we took
Samson Ayokunle...CAN President a much closer look at the political arena, I suspect that what we
would see many wounded souls, each seeking to minimise their
pain the best way they know how. Let’s examine some of the key
players. There hasn’t been a dull moment in the political space over
the last few weeks with events ranging from surprising expressions
of interests to high stakes deception and betrayals.
What is even more troubling to many onlookers is that there
appears to be very few aspirants who are pursuing political positions
for love of state or country. So why then do most of our politicians
go for political power? What underpins the “do or die” approach
we see every four years? What inner desires are they seeking to
fill with money, status and power? How are their inner wounds
affecting you and I today?
Equally, for many party members, especially the delegates, the
election cycle is a quadrennial opportunity for money and relevance.
Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar...
Sultan of Sokoto Having said that, with so little said by the politicians about their
leadership plans, upon what objective basis do the delegates make
their decisions? Do they realise that the poor selection of party
candidates will most likely cost them, and their descendants, far
more than they could ever gain today? Where does such short-
sightedness come from? But then again, in their shoes, would we
act differently?
Additionally, it has become apparent to many that some of our
political aspirants do not have enough people around them who
Based on the tell them the truth. What is not always clear is whether it is a
case of their nearest and dearest not telling them as it is because
extent to which they are unable to (out of ignorance or fear) or unwilling to (due
these desires are to their own duplicity). Either way, it is essential to uncover the
underlying forces which fuel the behaviour of each party. To what
met (or not) in our extent do those in positions of power and influence recognise the
pockets of insincerity in their midst and how does it make them
early years, we feel? Over and above money, status and power, we all need healthy
form beliefs about relationships to truly thrive.
After years of stolen votes, violent ballots, and disappointing
ourselves, others, leaders, we also have a tired and disheartened voting population.
There is a hopelessness that pervades conversations about Nigeria
our country, life, with many feeling powerless to affect the course of their country.
Consequently, many respond in one of two ways. Some, like the
etc. These beliefs “stomach-infrastructure” party members, short-sightedly sell their
in turn shape our vote for a pittance. Others conclude that their votes will not count
and therefore see no need to try. No attempt is made to secure
values, sense of their voters’ card, much less go out on the day to vote. Therefore,
in a bid for self-preservation, many voters actively or passively
identity, and general create the perfect enabling environment for the vicious cycle to
continue.
mindset which form Many people ask, “What role should the media be playing at
the framework upon this time?” There are feelings in some quarters that in the midst
of all that is going on, by not taking stronger stances, many media
which our thoughts, players are doing the nation a disservice. The first question to ask
however is, “What media?” Traditional media? Social media? What
feelings, decisions, are their respective responsibilities and what are our expectations
actions - essentially, of them? We must also consider what personal filters have been
applied to the information we consume and to what extent they
our whole lives - are are accurate.
Collectively, we all play a role in shaping the Nigeria we see
based. and experience today. We are society. We are Nigeria. What we
see playing out in our politics is a fight for the body of Nigeria.
However, to have a Nigeria that is truly worth fighting for, we
must fight for the soul of the nation by first fighting for the inner
wellbeing of its people.
For Nigeria to enjoy positive outcomes, its people must first
act differently. To do so, we must individually and collectively
think differently – about ourselves, about each other, and about
our country.
JUNE 12, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Special Edition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
MONDAY EKPE Currently an adjunct lecturer at the University of Abuja, Ekpe was at various times editorial page editor, features editor and general editor at THISDAY. A brilliant
writer with special interest in human stories, Ekpe obtained his first degree in English and Literature from the University of Benin and a master's in Communication and Language
Arts from the University of Ibadan where he completed his Ph. D in 2015.
Challenge to the ‘Lazy Youth’
I
t is difficult to think about young Nigerians and not be
deeply worried - truly concerned about them, honestly
troubled for the society, and genuinely anxious about
tomorrow. Surely, no country can squander the potentialities
of youth the way it obtains here without harvesting
unwholesome penalties. The “lazy Nigerian youths”
statement reportedly made by President Muhammadu
Buhari a couple of years back is instructive. Of course,
like in other places on earth, Nigeria has its own share of slothful
people across various demographic groupings. A more representative
picture of Nigerian youths is characterised by active aspirations,
resilience, industriousness, vision and sufficient self-esteem. These
attributes account for their exceptional successes all over the world.
Sadly, however, with their numerous accomplishments abroad,
one area that has continued to elude the youth population is the
local political turf. Older politicians, including those whose ideas
and contributions have not helped for decades, are everywhere
calling the shots. It was with great expectation, therefore, that
Nigerians received the efforts of the civil society, spearheaded
by YIAGA Africa, in that regard. The Not Too Young to Run Bill
was well designed and executed. It sought to amend sections of
the Constitution that relate to the age limits for elective positions.
Eventually, President Buhari signed it into law in May 2018 to the
satisfaction of the promoters and the generality of the people. The
minimum age for president is now 30 years, down from 40, while
that of Representatives and state houses of assembly is 25 years,
from 30. The Senate and governorship peg remains 35 years instead
of the 30 canvassed by the activists.
Those who expected many young practicing or prospective politicians
to jump into the fray in the run up to the 2019 general election
were somehow disappointed even with the improvements recorded.
According to YIAGA Africa statistics, the direct involvement of
young people in that election rose from 21 percent in 2015 to 34.2
percent. About 13.5 percent of that figure vied for Senate as against
27.4 percent for the House of Representatives. For the record, 6.8
percent of them were actually elected into the House. The state
legislatures also received a handful of them.
Obviously concerned about this under-performance, Konrad
Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) organised a retreat some time ago for
the Young Parliamentarians Forum (YPF) of the National Assembly,
in conjunction with the National Institute for Legislative and
Democratic Studies (NILDS). The Resident Representative of KAS,
Dr Vladimir Kreck, hit at a main matter negatively hindering robust
youth engagement in the country’s politics. As he put it, “Money
politics is definitely a major factor in Nigeria when it comes to
elections and appointments.”
Unfortunately, money - either properly utilised or abused - has
for decades been a principal determinant of a number of directions,
fortunes and woes in the affairs of Nigeria’s political life. Recall
the recent sale of nomination forms. Check out the profiles of
the ruling and main opposition parties: The APC: President, 100
million naira; Governorship, 50 million naira; Senate, 20 million
naira; House of Representatives, 10 million naira and House of
Assembly, two million naira. The PDP: President, 40 million naira;
Governorship, 21 million naira; Senate, 3.5 million naira; House
of Representatives, 2.5 million naira and House of Assembly, 1.5
million naira. Whatever financial concessions that were made for
their young members aspiring into these offices were largely seen
as shallow gestures.
Fast forward to the primaries, especially of the dominant parties.
The level of delegate inducement is unprecedented, raised obscenely
to the level of bazaars. If that is a poor commentary on the gladiators,
it is also a worrying testimonial of the relevant monitoring agencies
and indeed the entire system of accountability and enforcement.
This continual monetisation of the political environment is, without
doubt, a further weight on the psyche of an already traumatised
youth segment of the populace.
The capacity of our youths to mobilise themselves towards fighting
for common causes should be easy for watchers of the Nigerian
socio-political landscape to comprehend. Perhaps the most recent
vivid illustration of this ability is the 2020 EndSars protests that
swept through many states in the country. Because of the nation’s
diversity and the ethnic and religious conflicts that erupt at disturbing
011
BY MONDAY EKPE
intervals, cohesion may look impossible but those demonstrations
succeeded in breaking down the barriers in several places. While
the public agitations lasted, strongly aided by the internet, young
citizens exhibited their skills in targeted national and global
communication, appropriate messaging, transparent fundraising
and large-scale coordination. The steady successes shocked the
government and woke it from slumber, at least temporarily. If
the youths can deploy those energies and strategies for political
empowerment, the story of the country and their own conditions
can be transformed significantly.
Luckily, there exist enough enabling statutes to support such
self-discovery and yearning. Way back in 1996, the United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA) endorsed the World Programme for
Samson Itodo...ES, YIAGA Africa
Youth to 2000 and beyond. The Assembly’s 2003 and 2011 resolutions
further prioritised it and pushed for productive participation of
youths especially in decision-making processes. The 122nd Assembly
of the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU) also passed a resolution in
2010, spelling out affirmative actions that could boost the numerical
strength of young legislators everywhere.
One irony playing out in Nigeria today is that most of the political
players in their 70s, 80s or 90s who insist that they are still relevant
actually started in their 20s and 30s. I have chosen to consult some
sages for illumination about the stage of life that covers the 20s,
30s and early 40s. Benjamin Disraeli, two-time 19th Century Prime
Minister of United Kingdom: “Almost everything that is great has
been done by youth.”
Curiosity, physical power, mental agility and emotional vigour
The level of delegate - all in abundant supply here - when applied correctly, do justify
Disraeli’s position that “The youth of a nation are the trustees
inducement is of posterity.” Nigerians live with that truism but have problems
unprecedented, raised truthfully working it out.
Mark Twain, author, humourist, ‘Father of American literature’:
obscenely to the level “There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist.” On streets, in
of bazaars. If that is classrooms and elsewhere, most young people in Nigeria are soaked
in despair, many dreaming of some wonderland somewhere. Very
a poor commentary sorry indeed.
on the gladiators, Hebert Hoover, former American President at the beginning of the
Great Depression: “Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the
it is also a worrying national debt.” Taken literally, it would be a miracle for even the
testimonial of the children of the present crop of youths to settle Nigeria’s addictive
indebtedness. Our social or moral bankruptcy is something else.
relevant monitoring Euripides, classical Greek tragedian: “Whoso neglects learning in
agencies and indeed his youth, loses the past and is dead for the future.” Are today’s
parents really positioned to hand down to their wards lessons acquired
the entire system from their own parents? How adequate are institutions of learning?
of accountability James Madison, 4th President of the United States, ‘father of the
Constitution’: “Each generation should be made to bear the burden
and enforcement. of its own wars, instead of carrying them on, at the expense of
This continual other generations.” How many responsibilities can the ill-coached,
monetisation of the miserly-motivated and mostly despondent young Nigerian adults
actually bear?
political environment Thomas Carlyle, British essayist, philosopher and leading light
is, without doubt, a of the 19th Century English literature: “Youth is to all the glad
season of life; but often only by what it hopes, not by what it
further weight on attains, or what it escapes.” Carlyle seems to suggest that hopes
the psyche of an are readily accessible but most Nigerian youths constantly review
their expectations to align with their vanishing aspirations. As for
already traumatised attainments and exclusion from terrible tidings, some have since
youth segment of the surrendered their own will to fate.
It may not yet be apparent but I believe that non-violent revolt
populace. is possible here. Challenges like a mishandled education sector,
massive unemployment and the onslaught of Tramadol and other
hard substances do not have to overwhelm the younger generation.
It has its work cut out. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “One
of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to
remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society
has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent
who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our
very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to
new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.”
Superbly spoken. More than ever, the centrality and indispensability
of politics beckon. Our young men and women must now rise to
the occasion.
012
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Special Edition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
KAYODE KOMOLAFE A journalist with over 30 years’ experience, Komolafe has participated in numerous international conferences in Journalism, labour, democracy and development
including the Leadership and Simulation program at J.Mac Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. In 2013 he was inaugurated into the
National Human Rights Commission Governing Council. Currently THISDAY Deputy Managing Director, Komolafe holds a first degree from the University of Calabar, Calabar, and
a postgraduate certificate from the International Institute of Journalism Berlin, Germany.
Power without Moral Capital
N
one of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi
Awolowo and Sir Ahmadu Bello ever held
the position of the chief executive officer of
the Nigerian state. Yet, the national reputation
of each of these past leaders has endured for
ages. The perception that these historical figures
were foundational leaders (of different ideological
and cultural hues) has persisted in the country.
For different reasons and depending on the perspective of the observer,
their names have become reference points.
As a leader, Azikiwe was widely acknowledged even by his contemporaries
as an inspirer right from the anti-colonial days to the period that he was
the premier of the old eastern region. Even though after independence
he assumed the post of president without executive power, his place in
history as a nationalist is firmly assured. Awolowo was distinguished by
his record of governance in the old western region and the brilliance of
the ideas he effectively put into practice. Bello gave efficient leadership
as the premier of the old northern region, a geo-political entity with
19 governors now in charge doing the job one man did from 1954 to
1966. Bello’s performance has remained a benchmark for governance
and leadership 56 years after his death.
In markedly different contexts, the perception of these Nigerian leaders
by the people is akin to that of Nelson Mandela in South Africa, Kwame
Nkrumah in Ghana, and Julius Nyerere in Tanzania. For instance, with
his huge moral stature, Mandela went to Washington to tell an American
president that the West could not stop South Africa from being a friend
to Cuba, Libya, and Iran because of the support of these countries for
the anti-apartheid struggle. This was even before Mandela was elected
president.
One thing these leaders had in common in their time is what social
scientists describe as moral capital. As different from other forms of
capital (economic, social, human etc.) moral capital could be sourced
from the realm of values, perception, institutions, habits, norms, virtues
etc. which result from the delivery of public goods when a leader is
in power. In diverse locations and situations, legitimacy was derived
by these leaders by imperceptibly drawing on their accumulated moral
capital.
The memories of Azikiwe, Awolowo and Bello that people keep today
is not about their private estates or the awesomeness of the power they
held while in power. What lingers is that perception by the people that
these leaders did some public good, which even their harshest critics
could not deny. Here we are talking of the moral perceptions of their
respective roles in history as individuals.
As it is with the individual leader, so it is with public and private
institutions for which reputation and integrity constitute a huge moral
capital. Now, of the various dimensions of the Nigerian crisis, the moral
one is often underplayed. Yet the repair of the moral damage that this
bourgeois politics is inflicting on the society will take a longer time than
rebuilding the broken physical structures and reviewing policy issues.
In other words, long after you must have fixed collapsed roads and
bridges and revamped derelict schools and hospitals the blurred line
between right and wrong in the conduct of public affairs may persist.
Meanwhile, politicians and pundits alike continue to say glibly that
“there is no morality in politics.” Politicians make a virtue of playing
their game without a moral compass.
After all, a presidential candidate may have in his campaign team
economic advisers, political strategy consultants and social policy experts.
But have you ever heard of a candidate appointing a moral adviser as
a member of his campaign team?
On this occasion of ‘Democracy Day’, therefore, it may be worthwhile
to employ the idea of moral capital in pondering Nigeria’s experiment
with liberal democracy in the last 23 years. As a sociological category,
moral capital is also a very liberal concept. To say that moral capital is a
vanishing virtue in today’s politics is far from making a radical critique
of the malaise afflicting the socio- political system.
The symptoms of this affliction are manifest in the political landscape.
The other day a political strategist wrote that it would be considered
frivolous if a presidential candidate budgets less than 20 billion naira
for his campaign while a governorship candidate who wants to win
should be ready with at least five billion naira. A senatorial candidate is
even expected to raise hundreds of millions of naira because he wants
to represent his district in the National Assembly. Promptly, another
election expert replied that such figures were a gross under-estimation.
The obscene monetisation of politics in a poverty-ridden society is
now on display with the outrageous fees for nomination forms and
reports of “buying” of delegates with huge sums of money in local
and foreign currencies. Some of the dollars allegedly given to delegates
have been reported to be fake.
BY KAYODE KOMOLAFE
Azikiwe
Awolowo
Bello
As different from
other forms of
capital (economic,
social, human
etc.) moral capital
could be sourced
from the realm of
values, perception,
institutions, habits,
norms, virtues etc.
which result from
the delivery of public
goods when a leader
is in power.
JUNE 12, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R
Giving and taking of bribes as well as spending fake currencies are
still crimes in the books. Yet this political culture of monetisation of
all values blossoms as a political strategy. A politician keeps an army
of thugs and boasts that he has “political structures on ground” in
readiness for an election. A political party makes its members to pay
for nomination forms to contest intra-party elections and turns round to
ask the aspirants to step down in the interest of a zoning arrangement
without refunding the fees.
In official statements, public office holders tell barefaced lies. Without
blinking an eye, politicians renege on promises made while on the
hustings. Arrogance of power is flagrantly on display at all levels of
government. The culture of accountability is abysmally lacking on issues
of public interest. Few former governors can walk freely on the streets
of their state capitals after governing the states for eight years. Some
governors cannot point to enduring institutions perceived by the people
as serving their interest.
A governor is given the mandate by the electorate to govern on the
platform of a political party as required by law. A few months after the
election he joins another party without relinquishing the mandate given
to the party having its name on the ballot paper during election. He
goes to court to get away with the absurdity on technical grounds. The
public is told that while such political behaviours could be immoral,
it is considered legal.
The parliaments at state levels and the centre are hardly perceived
by the people as ventilating their views and interests. A lawmaker
should be the tribune of his constituency. Few of the state and federal
legislators can be so called in the Nigerian context. Oversight functions
of the legislature have been turned into perennial extortion of ministries,
departments, and agencies of the executive.
The foregoing is the very brief introduction to Nigerian politics for
an 18-year-old citizen who would be voting for the first-time next year.
Such is the enormity of damage that politicians and their agents are
doing to the system. Questioned about the morality of his position, one
eminent Nigerian politician said cynically that “politics is no Sunday
school affair.” Besides, unlike economic, political, and social capital that
politicians also seek, moral capital is profoundly subjective. You can buy
votes with dollars. But moral capital is that intangible asset residing in
the minds of the people that you cannot buy with all the money in
the world.
To borrow the famous title of one of the books of an American philosopher,
Michael Sandel, moral capital is “What Money Can’t Buy.” If moral
capital is to be sold how would Azikiwe, Awolowo and Bello now buy
some to keep their names beyond their graves? Their memories live on
with great moral prestige.
So moral capital cannot be commodified like votes, awards, or
hagiographies. One factor that drains moral capital from the polity
and society is the pervading belief that everybody has a price, and all
values can be bought. The beauty of moral capital, however, is that
the judgment of what is good or bad governance ultimately lies with
the people. This is despite the efforts of politicians and their publicists
and strategists to manipulate the people’s perception. A government
may stage an elaborate commissioning of an uncompleted road. But
the people can do their assessment of things when they travel on the
non-motorable portion of the road.
The proposition that moral capital should be prioritised as a resource
for politics and leadership is no sterile moralising about politics. In
Nigeria today, it is a potent factor to prevent a descent into a moral
jungle in the name of smart politics. Leadership cannot be credible
without moral authority which is a slice of moral capital.
In seeking power, politicians often discount the factor of moral
capital because of the absolute contempt they have for the people as
demonstrated by the samples of political behaviours mentioned above
as well as the hostility to the politics of ideas. The result is obvious in
the low level of the development of liberal democracy in the last two
decades. Hence the word “nascent” has lost its meaning in Nigeria
because it is still unconsciously used to describe a dispensation that
began in 1999.
Beyond brandishing the legality of political power, politicians should
also acquire huge resources of moral capital for the purpose of legitimacy.
It is important to keep moral capital like other capital for it can be eroded
with time. Yes, moral capital is also vulnerable to loss or damage just
like economic capital. Moral capital can be squandered by a leader or
an institution just like other forms of capital.
Currently, political leaders need a lot of moral capital to prevent a crisis
of legitimacy. It is, however, not clear to what extent they are conscious
of the need for this resource as they are busy seeking other resources to
be equipped for the 2023 electoral battle. The future of politics without
moral capital is bleak for the nation.
JUNE 12, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Special Edition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
BOLAJI ADEBIYI A two-term presidential aide and immediate past editor of THISDAY Newspapers, Bolaji Adebiyi is the managing editor of the newspaper. Elected the vice
president (West) of the Nigerian Guild of Editors last year, he attended University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) Ile-Ife, obtaining both bachelor and master's degrees
in History. A British Chevening Scholar, Adebiyi also holds post-graduate and advanced diploma certificates in Journalism from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos and
The Thompson Foundation, Cardiff, Wales.
Seven Years of ‘Change’
T
he Yoruba say if a deity cannot improve their material
condition it should at least leave them the way it met
them instead of leaving them worse off. For Nigerians,
Muhammadu Buhari, who has been at the helm of affairs
of their country for more than seven years, adequately
characterises this unhelpful deity.
Carried into office on the back of the widespread
disappointment with the erstwhile Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) government of President Goodluck Jonathan,
Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was thought to be the change
agent that would pull Nigeria out of the cesspit of perceived economic
downturn, rising insecurity and massive corruption. Seven years after, many
of those who conned their fellow citizens into accepting ash as salt, are
gnashing their teeth rather regrettably. So spectacular is the failure of the
Buhari administration that looking back. Many Nigerians justifiably think
2015 was a critical error of judgment that has produced the worst mistake
ever made by them.
The evidence is all over the place in the comatose national economy, the
widening and worsening insecurity and the insidious corruption of high
officials of his government. Not only are Nigerians now being nostalgic
about the Jonathan years, members of Buhari’s own kitchen cabinet even
attempted to move the former president across the carpet in an awkward
attempt to return Jonathan to power. Although it has been suggested that
the clumsy detour on Jonathan by Buhari’s political tacticians was intended
to return the North to power sooner than the power-sharing project, facts
on the ground also point to the desire of the presidential minders to face
up to the reality of the poor records of their principal and its impending
negative effect on the fortunes of the APC in the forthcoming general election.
Signs of the incompetence of the president emerged early when he hit
the ground and sat there rather than run. He had narrowed his areas of
priority during his electioneering to the economy, security and corruption.
He said he would revive the economy and lead from the front in stamping
out insecurity and corruption. But for six months, he could not form a
government.
Meanwhile, within 11 months of taking power, the economy became
acutely distressed and went into a recession, the first in 32 years of the
nation’s economic history. Rather than take responsibility, Buhari heaped
the blame on the Jonathan administration complaining that the previous
government left it an economy that was in a dire strait. It conveniently
forgot that it left the country without any direction for six months by its
failure to appoint ministers and key functionaries.
As the failings of the government began to manifest in those early days,
Lai Mohammed, its garrulous minister of Information and Culture, never
spent a day without castigating the unseated Jonathan administration for
all the ills of the nation. But the figures would show that the buck-passing
was unjustified and that Buhari inherited an illustrious economy compared
to what he has bequeathed to Nigeria.
In 2015 when Buhari took over, the economy had appreciable indices.
The size of the economy was $500 billion, the largest and fasted growing
in Africa at seven per cent, yielding 8.09 per cent unemployment. That
was largely possible because capacity utilisation was 60.5 per cent with a
foreign direct investment of $3.06 billion. Inflation was a single-digit 9.01
per cent while the exchange rate was N197/$. Although the debt portfolio
was N12.3 trillion, the external reserve stood at $29.13 billion. The Jonathan
administration also left a $6 billion Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas Limited
dividend in addition to a Sovereign Wealth Fund that yielded N26.3 billion
in that year.
Rather than build on these records, Buhari demobilised the economy
within a year, taking it into depression twice in four years. Under his watch
the economic indices became epileptic, rising and falling like the president’s
personal health. Seven years into his leadership, the figures dipped South
safe in two areas. In fact, a 2022 World Bank report, ‘Global Economic
Report’, which examined Nigeria’s economy among other countries in the
last 10 years was emphatic that it was the worst ever.
What are the records of the man who was brought in to revive the
economy? The size of the economy stagnated and eventually shrunk to
$480 billion by 2021 with a debilitating 33.5 per cent unemployment rate.
With the exchange rate rising to N435/$ it became so scarce that it played at
the parallel market for as much as N600/$. No wonder, therefore, capacity
utilisation came down to 55.1 per cent even as the GDP hovered sluggishly
around 3.4 per cent. The glaring corollary was the rise in the poverty rate
from the 2015 figure of 33.5 to 47.3 per cent.
His heavy borrowing which moved the nation’s debt portfolio to N39.56
trillion has not reflected substantially and positively either on the quality of
life of Nigerians or the economy as inflation rose steadily and fluctuated
around 15.60 per cent. But he improved in two areas. He jerked the foreign
reserves and foreign direct investments to $40.52 billion and $6.7 billion
respectively.
In moments of extreme cynicism, some Nigerians often derisively inquire
how these figures by both local and foreign rating agencies impact the
lives of their fellow compatriots. The negative impact of Buhari’s abysmal
performance is an open sore that is manifested by the astronomical rise in
the prices of essential commodities. From the basics such as energy, including
electricity, petrol, diesel, Jet A1 and cooking gas plus kerosine as well as
BY BOLAJI ADEBIYI
President Muhammadu Buhari
The evidence is
all over the place
in the comatose
national economy,
the widening and
worsening insecurity
and the insidious
corruption of high
officials of his
government. Not only
are Nigerians now
being nostalgic about
the Jonathan years,
members of Buhari’s
own kitchen cabinet
even attempted to
move the former
president across the
carpet in an awkward
attempt to return
Jonathan to power.
013
food, to luxury items like cars the evidence exists that not only the poor
are crying but the rich are also weeping. Any wonder why Nigeria became
the poverty capital of the entire world under his watch?
There would naturally be an organic linkage between poor economic
management and rising social strife. In the case of the Buhari administration,
bad political management compounded the latent ethnoreligious cleavages
as well as the social crises that have undermined the nation’s security. When
he arrived on the scene in 2015 the country was in the grip of the violence
sponsored by the terror group in the North-east, Boko Haram. Within six
months of its coming into office, the administration announced the technical
degradation of the group that continued to terrorise the region, particularly
Borno and Yobe States.
It turned out, however, that each time the administration boasted about
its routing of the terrorists, the outlaws responded with either an attack on
a military fortress or villages close to the Borno State capital, Maiduguri.
Meanwhile, as Mohammed boasted in Abuja, federal legislators from the
troubled areas complained that several local councils in their constituencies
were under the firm control of the insurgents.
While the Buhari administration remained in denial of the severity of
the insecurity situation in the North-east, the armed violence by non-state
actors spread like a bush fire to the North-central under the command of
armed herdsmen most of whom were believed to be Fulani from outside the
country. The armed violence soon spread to the North-west with terrorists
called bandits ravaging several communities in Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara,
Sokoto and Niger States.
Kidnapping for ransom was an isolated political tool in the hands of Boko
Haram in 2015 with Nigerians expressing their disgust over the failure of
Jonathan to find and rescue over 200 girls abducted from their school at
Chibok in Borno State. Under Buhari, the crime had by 2021 become a
thriving multi-million industry dominated by bandits who routinely pick
up children from their schools in the North-west. The terrorists had spread
their wings to the South-west before the region’s governors and leaders rose
to stop them in their tracks.
Although the South-south appeared pacified with the militants going into
hibernation, issuing threats of renewed violence intermittently, the South-
east also erupted in a different kind of armed struggle as members of the
Indigenous People of Biafra developed an armed wing whose activities
have enveloped the entire region in an orgy of strange killings perpetrated
by a splinter group referred to as unknown gunmen.
By the staggering figures of the deaths procured by these marauding
non-state actors and the multitudes displaced and pushed into the several
Internally Displaced Persons’ Camps, Buhari’s unimpressive record in tackling
insecurity after a boastful seven years is clear even to the blind.
More embarrassingly audible also to the deaf is the abject failure of his
fight against corruption. If this social malaise was rife under Jonathan, it
became subliminally ingrained in the DNA of his top officials with some
of them charged with the task of preventing crimes, falling short of glory.
Ibrahim Magu, the loquacious chairman of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, was forced out of office by a petition by Abubakar
Malam, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,
alleging massive corruption.
About two years after a high-level enquiry by Ayo Salami, himself retired
from his headship of the Court of Appeal in controversial circumstances a
couple of years ago, the Buhari administration went mute about its outcome.
Last week, pictures of Magu’s decoration having been promoted from the
rank of commissioner of police to assistant inspector-general of police surfaced
in the media.
The most recent financial heist under the watch of Buhari was revealed
some weeks ago. Ahmed Idris, the Accountant-General of the Federation,
was alleged by the EFCC to have cornered a princely N84 billion for himself.
Further investigations suggest that the theft might be up to N200 billion. While
the nation was still in shock, the suspect got administrative bail last week.
In the meantime, the oil industry that the president directly superintends
as minister continues to retain the title of the opaquest. Oil theft that was a
developing crime in 2015 became mammoth by 2021, forcing international
oil companies to divest from the onshore sector with the emergent Nigerian
investors like Tony Elumelu, a prominent banker and businessman, complaining
that over 90 per cent of the nation’s production goes into the covers of the
thieves.
Those who may argue that these instances of corruption under Buhari
are isolated would have their argument easily deflated by the consistent
downward performance of Nigeria on the Corruption Perception Index
which stood at 138 in 2015 and rose to 153 by 2021.
So, judged by the task he set for himself in 2015 and his performance in
the last seven years, Buhari has not done well and Nigerians have since
stopped complaining about him, taking solace in the imminence of his
departure on May 29 next year. “If he could not do much in seven years,
there is no chance in hell that he would improve in the next one year,”
Abubakar Faruk, a political activist, said in a conversation with a group
of reviewers last week, adding, “We take solace in the fact that his tenure
would end next year.”
Now that the presidential candidates of the political parties have emerged, I
hope that Nigerians will actively engaging and interrogating their credentials
and antecedents to avoid a repeat of the mistake of 2015 in 2023.
014
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Special Edition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
AISHA SHUAIBU A business consultant with a decade of experience in brand and strategic management, Ms Aisha Shuaibu is Managing Director of Waffle Way in Abuja, and
President of SWA Sports, an initiative that is promoting local talents in kickboxing, wrestling, and Taekwondo. Ms Shuaibu obtained her B Sc in Business Studies from the
University of Bedfordshire, Luton in the United Kingdom and her Masters in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey.
The Neglected Sports Sector
“Sports has the power to change the world. It has the power inspire.
It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks
to youth in a language they understand. Sports can create hope where
once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments
in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all kinds of
O
discrimination.” – (Nelson Mandela, 2000)
ne of the many natural gems Nigeria possesses is the gift
of athleticism among its people. The average Nigerian has
at least one God-giving ability of strength, speed, agility
or physical build. This has resulted in Nigerian athletes
dominating world sports for decades. From basketball
legend Hakeem Olajuwon and football legend Jay-Jay
Okocha to Olympic track star Blessing Okagbare and
UFC champion Kamaru Usman, Nigerians are renowned
for breaking records in the world of sports.
However, a major drawback is that most of these Nigerian stars were not
developed on home soil. It is of rarity to find a Nigerian success story today
who emerged straight from the country, fully moulded into a competitively
strong athlete, ready to take the international stage. This is as a result of many
existing factors affecting the ecosystem of the Nigerian sports industry. Yet,
sports remain one of the most lucrative industries as well as a strong driver of
economic growth, unity, development and positive impact.
With the conclusion of the primaries by the political parties, the candidates
must begin to put in place ideas and policies for the rehabilitation of the sports
industry as a tool for developing our country and creating a sustainable future
for young people. We must open our eyes to the realisation that the western
world will continue to tap into our running waters, fishing out money makers
till we are ready to develop and preserve our own talent. This blatant neglect is
not encouraging particularly to people who aspire for careers in sports.
Meanwhile, the industry also requires administrators, officials, lawyers, doctors,
journalists, merchandisers, marketers, architects, engineers, investors, sponsors
and enthusiasts. These categories of stakeholders come together to form a
systematic industry where all parties are important to its functionality. Sports
is big business and our country must tap into that. For instance, the Union of
European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League generated 2.8 billion
euros in its 2020/21 season, the National basketball Association (NBA) earn $8
billion in revenue annually while the National Football League (NFL) is worth
about $16 billion. These are mostly generated through television broadcasting,
SONNY ARAGBA-AKPORE With cognate practice in the media spanning more than three decades, Aragba-Akpore was an Assistant General Manager/Head, Corporate Communications
at the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Ltd. In November 2014, he became the the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Assistant Director/Head, Media
& Public Relations, a position he held until retirement in July 2020. He attended the University of Lagos and holds B.A and M.A. in English. He is also a member of Nigerian
Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).
The Case for Financial Inclusion
T
he 2023 general election comes against the backdrop of a
national economy in near comatose. If recent projections in
respected international publications are any guide, it is safe
to conclude that Nigeria is currently in dire strait. But we
do not even need all these reports to understand the state
of our nation. The reality of existence for most Nigerians is
atrocious. Yet, when you expect our politicians to tell us what
they would do to dig us out of the pit in which we now find
ourselves, they are busy throwing around ill-gotten money to
buy votes. The primaries of both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and
that of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were mere bazaars.
But now that they have chosen their candidates, we must begin to engage them
on issues. One of the areas where we must put focus is the telecoms sector and
the urgent need for financial inclusion.
As things stand, Nigeria’s traditional banking system is exclusionary, leaving
millions out of the financial mainstream. A September 2020 report by the global
consulting firm, McKinsey & Co, noted that while banking in Nigeria remained an
attractive sector, with over $9 billion in value pools, most consumers are underserved.
“Lack of access to services,” the report said, “especially in rural areas, issues of
affordability, and poor user experience all contribute to the frustration consumers
experience right across the customer spectrum.”
It is troubling that financial inclusion in Nigeria is among the lowest in sub-
Saharan Africa, lagging countries with lower income. Within the country, financial
exclusion is highest in the northeast and northwest regions at 34 percent and 27
percent, respectively. But ignorance may also be a factor. A significant proportion
of the Nigerian population (about 90%), noted a 2019 USAID funded Power
Africa report, has little or no knowledge of alternative means of accessing financial
services, including the use of mobile money despite having good mobile network
coverage in some parts of the country and high mobile penetration. And low
mobile money awareness has led to low mobile money uptake in Nigeria, as
compared with other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
The 2020 EFInA Access to financial services in the country survey revealed that
51 percent of adult Nigerians were using formal financial services, such as banks,
microfinance banks, mobile money, insurance, or pension accounts, up from 49
BY AISHA SHUAIBU
Sunday Dare...Minister of Youth
and Sports Development
With the conclusion of the
primaries by the political
parties, the candidates
must begin to put in place
ideas and policies for
the rehabilitation of the
sports industry as a tool
for developing our country
and creating a sustainable
future for young people.
BY SONNY ARAGBA-AKPORE
When you expect our
politicians to tell us what
they would do to dig us
out of the pit in which we
now find ourselves, they
are busy throwing around
ill-gotten money to buy
votes. The primaries of both
the ruling APC and that of
the main opposition PDP
were mere bazaars. But now
that they have chosen their
candidates, we must begin to
engage them on issues. One
of the areas where we must
put focus is the telecoms
sector and the urgent need
for financial inclusion.
MONDAY, JUNE 6, 2022 • T H I S D AY
online app subscriptions, ticketing, brand endorsements and sponsorships, among
several other means.
The business of sports is heavily infused with entertainment, tourism and
innovation, all of which keep to global trends, technological advancements and
cultural movements. The construction of state of the art sports facilities alone
could create a ripple effect of more participation in sporting activities. For Nigeria
specifically, sports is a universal mother-tongue impacting all levels from the
elite down to the grassroots communities. Football being the most populous
sport in the country is in the hearts of street kids who convert any open sand
field to a pitch and play till sundown. But how do we tap into that interest?
As a predominantly youth country, we cannot ignore the potential of sports as
a means to poverty alleviation and education. Children who grow up illiterate,
without access to basic needs and safety are at the mercy of what their environment
turns them into. With the rise of insecurity across the country, it is time to
examine the generation we are breeding most of who live in extreme poverty.
Yet, as a former United Nations Secretary General, the late Kofi Annan, once
quipped, “extreme poverty anywhere is a threat to human security everywhere.”
In the past few weeks as I travel within the continent, I have observed how
in countries like Senegal and Rwanda sports development is embedded in the
daily lives of their people by creating an enabling environment. We should
emulate those countries. That of course requires that those in charge of sports
management in Nigeria be more forward looking. The NBA in collaboration
with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) launched the Basketball Africa
League in 2019, aimed at promoting the game of basketball on the continent,
while also prioritising sports infrastructure, partnerships and the interconnectivity
of African countries.
The BAL conducted their 2022 season in Dakar, Cairo and Kigali, welcoming
stakeholders in sports from all over the world. As the season concluded in
Kigali, I observed our dinner table on my last night there and noticed that we
were a combination of about 12 countries in one seating. That was profound.
Sports brought strangers of different creeds and beliefs to one place and made
us feel like one family as we shared the commonality of our passion for the
games and exchanged ideas that could drive impact in our various countries.
Overall, I hope and pray that our next administration prioritizes development
through sports. The Nigerian youth deserve a way out of the mess we have found
ourselves in and sports has the power to enable the change we so desperately
need. Through public private partnerships and collaborative effort, we can
empower Nigerian youth through sports, assuring their future and ensuring
the prosperity of our country.
percent in 2018. But this was largely driven by growth in banking, with 45 percent
of Nigerians banked in 2020, up from 40 percent in 2018, and the country still
fell short of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy targets for 2020. The goal
had been to reach 70 percent of Nigerians with formal financial services by 2020.
There has been a long-standing and broad-based consensus by the government
and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) about the importance of boosting the provision
and uptake of digital financial services (DFS). This forms part of a broader strategy
to scale-up financial inclusion.
Nigeria has a relatively well-developed banking sector by regional standards,
with a regionally high level of banking penetration in West Africa and robust use
of advanced financial instruments in the local economy. The country is also well
connected to international financial markets. S&P Global in its 2021 Global Banking
Outlook report notes that Nigerian banks face struggles on many fronts and
projected the country’s banks will grow slower in 2021 on the back of a subdued
economy, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s introduction of a minimum ratio
of loans to deposits in 2019. “We forecast subdued credit growth to the private
sector of about 4-6 percent in 2020 and 2021, after a strong 13.9 percent rebound
in 2019, as the foreign exchange market and consumer demand stabilises. Banks
will likely focus on blue chips operating across the manufacturing, trade, and
telecoms sectors,” the ratings firm projected.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest Financial Access Survey
disclosed that the number of borrowers from commercial banks decreased to
29.61 per 1,000 adults in 2020 from 25.42 per 1,000 adults in 2019, despite the
outstanding deposits with commercial banks per percentage of gross domestic
product (GDP) rising to 20.50 in 2020 against 16.31 in 2019. Nigerian banks during
this period closed 234 branches and 649 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs)
between 2019 and 2020.
The report also showed a sharp decline in the number of registered mobile
money agent outlets in Nigeria to 129,154 in 2020 from 145,800 in 2019, representing
an 11 percent decline. Several market forces are set to contest the market space
with established commercial banks and could swing the balance of power in
favour of these challenger banks for selective banking services. MTN and Airtel,
Continued on page XX
JUNE 12, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Special Edition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
NDUBUISI FRANCIS From 1992 when he started his journalism career, Francis has covered health, labour, capital market, energy, and aviation correspondent before becoming
Deputy Group Business Editor, Group News Editor and currently, Associate Editor (Business) in the Nation's Capital. Winner of several awards in journalism, Ndubuisi holds a
Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Lagos, a Diploma in Journalism from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), and a master's degree in Public
Administration from the University of Abuja.
The Killings in the Southeast
I
am a fervent admirer of Abhijit Naskar, one of the world's famous
neuroscientists and an untiring advocate of global harmony and peace.
Of particular appeal in this analysis to x-ray the security situation in
the South-East is his treatise: "We have arrived at a point of time in
history, where there is no place for exclusive national or cultural identity
upon the fabric of society. With one hand foster your cultural identity,
with another assimilate others - this is the golden principle of progress,
both national and global."
Naskar's words speak particularly to the Southeast governors. They
seem to have relegated their cultural identity while assimilating that of others. It
rankles that the once bubbling Southeast, the centre of enterprise and commerce
appears to be a shadow of itself, sliding precipitously into the Hobbesian state
of nature where life is gradually becoming brutish, nasty and short.
Prior to the current heart-wrenching, bloody activities of criminal gangs, this
same region was one of the most peaceful in the country. While no alibi justifies
the current carnage, Southeast governors and the federal government provided
a fertile ground for the wanton destruction of precious lives and property. For
the governors, their failure to make the environment enabling for the teeming
population of youths to be gainfully engaged, their laissez-faire disposition to
burning issues, and failure to provide responsive and responsible leadership
partly account for the troubling state of affairs in that part of the country. On
the other hand, the high-handedness of the government at the centre on issues
concerning the region triggered more problems than solutions.
A research report published years ago by the International Society for Civil Society
and Rule of Law, following an extensive interrogation of the issues bordering on
police extortion in the Southeast region, came out with disturbing revelations.
According to the report, as at April 2010, there were 1,350 roadblocks in the
Southeast. Between 2009 and 2011, personnel of the Nigeria Police Force realised
a whopping sum of N32.26 billion from roadblock extortions in the South-east
out of the pool of N53.48 billion across the six geopolitical zones. Stories abound
of uniformed officers paying huge sums of money, and lobbying to be posted
to the South-east. This is not out of love for the region. These are things that
fuel resentment by the people and throw up agitations against marginalisation
and injustice.
While the Buhari administration's policy of exclusion of the Southeast and the
brute force of the security agencies against the youths at the slightest opportunity
have radicalised them, truth must be told that majority of the present crop
of Igbo leaders, especially governors (who emerged in 2015) are self-serving,
cowardly and insensitive to the yearnings and aspirations of their people. The
current security quagmire in the zone is because the governors lack the courage
to speak up in the face of glaring injustice against their people. Part of what has
come to haunt the region now has its roots in 2016, in what is now described as
the 'Nimbo Massacre.' Over 40 inhabitants of that community were reportedly
slaughtered in cold blood, with many others maimed, while a Catholic church
and dozens of houses were razed down by the rampaging attackers.
In the weeks, months and years following the Nimbo invasion, such attacks
almost became routine in several communities across the Southeast with daily
clashes over farmlands that were turned into grazing areas by pastoralists.
The Case for Financial Inclusion (Cont'd)
in separate statements, revealed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had
granted them approval in principle to operate payment service banks (PSBs).
This was in furtherance of the apex bank’s efforts to leverage technology to promote
financial inclusion and enhance access to financial services for the unbanked and
underserved segments of the population. According to a financial analyst, Nosa
Igbinadolor while several barriers exist to leveraging digital payments for scale,
Telcos’ participation in mobile money payments will likely raise mobile money
uptake, increase financial inclusion, and simplify payment collection. According
to him, payments are fundamental to how banks interact with customers. They
support most propositions and touch customers more than any other part of
a bank. It is, says KPMG Nigeria, “the key battleground for the customer’s
primary relationship”.
The new PSBs are likely to challenge the incumbents primarily on higher
customer engagement, coupled with smooth transaction capabilities and volume-
driven metrics. The basic premise for the introduction of payments banks is to
escalate penetration in the unbanked and underbanked population. “As such,
their offerings are niche and they are not allowed to provide the entire gamut of
banking services, such as asset products and fixed deposits. Thus, the situation
still provides traditional banks with significant headroom for growth and also
an opportunity to partner with payments banks to offer their products to an
unexplored customer segment.”
Yet, the new PSBs have the potential to be swifter and dexterous, and hence
more responsive to changing market trends. With a large captive customer base,
few or no legacy constraints and greater responsiveness to customer needs, and
with no pressure to offer full-service banking solutions, they are likely to attract
a large pool of well-served, underserved as well as unserved customers” the
report explained.
The business of PSBs such as those promoted by MTN and Airtel, centres on
providing last mile connectivity and payment facility through either physical
points or through other digital interfaces, including mobile or internet-enabled
platforms. Besides offering basic deposits and remittance services, the PSBs are
likely to introduce smooth, real time, secure, on-the-go approaches for facilitating
retail payments. In addition, they will be entering the market with clear advantages,
and are expected to operate on an asset-light premise compared to the traditional
branch-based and asset-heavy model, prevalent with traditional banks in Nigeria.
A KPMG–UBS study indicated that the cost of effecting a transaction from
a branch is 43 times, call-centre and ATM is 13 times, and internet banking is
twice greater when compared to mobile transactions. Therefore, the PSBs would
BY NDUBUISI FRANCIS
Nnamdi Kanu
While the Buhari
administration's policy
of exclusion of the
Southeast and the brute
force of the security
agencies against the
youths at the slightest
opportunity have
radicalised them, truth
must be told that
majority of the present
crop of Igbo leaders,
especially governors
(who emerged in 2015)
are self-serving, cowardly
and insensitive to the
yearnings and aspirations
of their people.
Zainab Ahmed...Minister of Finance
Since both former Vice
President Atiku Abubakar
who will fly the flag of
the main opposition PDP
and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,
the nominated candidate
of the ruling APC are
experienced business men,
I hope that they would
come with ideas on how
to change the narrative in
this important sector.
015
Although those clashes were not exclusive to the Southeast, the difference
is that governors in some parts of the country, including the Southwest and
Northcentral, particularly Ekiti and Benue states, did something to curtail the
activities of herders in order to save lives and property.
Meanwhile, governors from the Southeast were pussyfooting, either because
they were bereft of the courage and the political will or they did not have the
interest of their people at heart. When the Southwest governors showed the
way with a regional security arrangement codenamed 'Amotekun' to checkmate
the excesses of criminal herders in their domain, there was a deafening clamour
for their counterparts in the Southeast to ape that arrangement.
However, when they finally decided to act, the then Inspector General of Police,
Mohammed Abubakar who had earlier met and agreed with the governors
and leaders of the region on the structure of the security arrangement returned
to Abuja and unilaterally changed the template. From the Amotekun-styled
structure earlier agreed, the former police chief altered the configuration, and
opted for a community policing arrangement. This was rejected by the Southeast
leaders, who considered Abubakar’s offer as a Greek gift incapable of addressing
their security challenges.
While the ensuing deadlock endured, the orgy of killings, kidnappings, rape
and destruction of farmlands did not abate in the region. By failing to act, the
governors created the void which Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous
People of Biafra (IPOB) filled with his Eastern Security Network (ESN) militia.
It was after the creation of the ESN that the governors made a feeble attempt
to birth Ebubeagu, which is practically impotent.
Under the guise of trying to rein in members of ESN/IPOB, hundreds of
innocent youths have been either killed or clamped into different detention
camps across the country. But what changed the narrative radically and sent
clear signals on the worsening security situation in the region was the brazen
5th April 2021 attack on the Imo State Police Command and the Correctional
Centre located in a presumably fortified part of the state capital. The federal
government and the police authorities were quick to point fingers at IPOB/
ESN as the masterminds. But the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, a
pro-establishment apologist was to disclose that 70 per cent of the over 400
masterminds who were arrested in the aftermath of attack were not of Igbo
extraction.
It was that singular attack that marked the arrival of 'unknown gunmen' (UGM)
into the national lexicon, and opened the floodgate of attacks on police formations
and critical national institutions, including the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) across the South-East and some parts of the South-south.
The perennial sit-at-home orders have already taken a heavy toll on the economic
and social life of the Southeast, with IPOB saying it is no longer the one giving
the directive. With the current scenario, it seems that IPOB's self-determination
clamour is turning into a Frankenstein monster, or may have been hijacked by
malevolent forces. Whoever may therefore be behind the insecurity and whatever
may be the motive, it is time for the governors and other leaders of the Southeast
to collaborate with the federal government to unravel the perpetrators and end
the current devastation. It is also time to end injustice and other causes of youth
restiveness in the Southeast.
no doubt promote the adoption and usage of mobile and digital channels to all
customer segments. Evidence from the yearly KPMG report in Nigeria’s banking
industry customer satisfaction survey (BICSS) suggests that this will be a viable
strategy for PSBs. The findings from the research show that adoption rates for
retail banking customers for app-based mobile banking and USSD channels
rose significantly from 48 percent and 41 percent in 2017 to 55 percent and 59
percent in 2018, respectively.
While the new PSBs would leverage existing assets and capabilities within
their parent network, they would also leverage capabilities such as distribution
footprint: physical footprints, established route-to-market (RTM) capabilities, mobile
app platform for e-Wallets.In addition, they would be igniting their business
operations with a large captive customer base, existing ecosystem for sales and
service: agents and distributors, and regulation and compliance skills/know-how.
Unlike the syncretic approach of digital/branch-based banking operations of
traditional banks, the new PSBs with their digital background and experience
are likely to engender positive customer experience and loyalty by facilitating
digital interactions throughout the entirety of the banking value chain. Activities
such as customer acquisition and onboarding, back-office operations, transaction
processing, customer service, management reporting, employee engagement,
would also be digitally enabled. Therefore, the PSBs can offer a distinct digital
experience to customers those traditional banks have been unable to.
In addition, the PSBs understand the value of the data they get access to and
the insights these generate on the preferences of both individual customers and
specific segments. These insights can be used to refine sales and marketing of
existing products and to spur the creation of entirely new ones. These types of
VASES can be powerful accelerators of digital payments by attracting customers
to the platform and generating revenue outside of transaction fees.
With a combined subscriber base of some 126 million active users, both
MTN and Airtel PSBs have a strong customer base to create easy onboarding
for customers. To encourage wide uptake and drive volume, both PSBs would
likely take a relatively light approach to transaction fees, to not create the type of
pricing or behavioural barriers that can otherwise be a significant challenge. This
is a challenge to traditional banks that have made a culture out of the widely
unpopular transaction fees and have been unresponsive to customers’ complaints.
Since both former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who will fly the flag of the
main opposition PDP and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the nominated candidate of the
ruling APC are experienced business men, I hope that they would come with
ideas on how to change the narrative in this important sector.
016
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Special Edition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
OLUSEGUN ADENIYI Journalist, writer and former presidential spokesman, Adeniyi is a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (FNAL) and chairs THISDAY editorial
board. Author of several books, including ‘The Last 100 Days of Abacha’ and ‘Power, Politics and Death: A front-row account of Nigeria under the late President Yar’Adua’,
Adeniyi holds a first degree in International Relations from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and a master's in international law and diplomacy (MILD) from the
University of Lagos.
The Reporter and the Candidate
This piece was first published in April 2001
L
ast week, I received a novel titled, ‘The Incumbent’,
from my brother and Lagos lawyer, Edo Ukpong, which
he bought for me during his recent trip to the United
States. Knowing Ukpong, there must be a message
in the book written by an American journalist, Brian
McGrory, a former White House Correspondent, he
wants to pass to me. That is his style. Having read
the novel, I can guess what is on Ukpong's mind.
The story revolves around a reporter who was invited to play golf
with the American President and while the game was on, he was
offered the job of Press Secretary in the new administration only for
the conversation to be cut shot by a hail of bullets. The lone gunman,
who attempted to assassinate the president, was instantly killed by
secret service men. Having been part of the drama, the reporter felt it
was his obligation to get to the bottom of the story. But the moment
he started his investigation, an anonymous caller told him: "Nothing
is as it seems." He would get other calls with the warning: “Do not
believe anything they tell you.”
Nudged to do a background check on the president, the reporter
started by looking at Hutchin Clayton, a brilliant politician who had
risen from poverty and obscurity to establish a technology company
that produced personal finance software called Cookie Jar. The product
became a staple in American households, earning its inventor hundreds
of millions of dollars. That was how Hutchins became a folk hero, seen
as "a uniquely American story-born and raised on a farm miles and
miles from his closest neighbor, schooled at home, college educated
later in life, entirely self-made in both the worlds of commerce and
government."
However, a few months before the Iowa governor's race, a group of
business leaders and citizen activists, who were dissatisfied with the
candidates for the two major parties, launched a massive campaign
to draft Hutchins. He accepted the request and won the governorship
election. Two years later, the Republican front-runner for the presidency,
Senator Wordsworth Cole, lost out in Iowa public opinion polls about a
week before the caucus. Hutchins came to his rescue and Cole won the
primaries by a huge margin. Cole then went on to win the election and
when his running mate was consumed by a scandal, Hutchins became
the vice president. To cut a long story short, President Cole eventually
died in office and that was how Hutchins became the president.
Who was after the president’s life? That was what the reporter who
witnessed the drama wanted to find out. The background check on a
particular name that appeared significant to the story. The name was
Tony Clawson. First, the reporter checked available records for all Tony
Clawsons in the United States in the previous twenty years. On one, he
could find no death record, no phone number, no credit or mortgage
activity, no marriage record, no birth record, nothing.
Going deeper into the Social Security history of this particular Tony
Clawsons, the reporter realized he (Clawson) hadn't been assigned a
Social Security number until he the age of 40 when he began paying into
the system, and continued for nine years. Then, Clawson disappeared
abruptly from all records. Yet Social Security never paid out a death
benefit to any Clawson survivors. However, the jigsaw soon fell in
to shape. A Curtis Black who had a rough and dirty past was later
to change his name to Tony Clawson in a deal involving the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI). A few years later, he changed his name
again but to who? That was the puzzle the reporter unravelled. Curtis
Black or Tony Clawson was now the President!
The cover-up attempts were to ensure nobody ever got to hear
the story of the president's past. Curtis (now Hutchins) had changed
his identity, done a facial surgery, made good and had become the
president but there were still a few ghosts from the past that haunted
him. That was the story which the reporter, with much tenacity, was
able to eventually ferret out. But the scene I find rather moving was
the final confrontation between the reporter and the president when
the number one citizen tried to prevent the story from getting to the
public. Let me take the dialogue from the novel:
Said the president to the reporter: "It's one thing I always liked
about you, Jack, one thing that always drew me to you. You know
what it is to lose everything you ever wanted, all of your hopes and
all your dreams and all of your expectations for the future, all in one
incomprehensible act of God...I paid a steep price. I struck a deal. I
traded in my entire life, or what was left of it. You know what that's
like, to give up your life? And now that I've turned myself around,
now that I've made it on my own, you're going to hang all that around
my neck and choke me to death, all over again?"
The reporter who probably should have felt pity did not, all he really
felt was relief. Relief that he had at last had his story. He even had his
quotes, which he repeated in his mind several times to help commit
BY OLUSEGUN ADENIYI
Yusuf Bishi Magaji...DG, DSS
In the season we
are in, there is only
a thin line between
the accuser and
the accused. That
is the tragedy of
public office in
Nigeria today. But
even these do not
excuse constitutional
infractions from
which no serious
people can look the
other way. That is
why moments like
this task all of us.
The lesson here
really is that we all
have a past and must
come to terms with
that past.
JUNE 12, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R
them to memory. "Sir, you may be right. But you had a deal with the
American people, and that deal was to tell the truth, to let them know
who you are, to be judged on the whole rather than just the past few
years."
To this the president replied: "I did tell them who I am. I am Clayton
Hutchins. I made my money on my own, with no help from anyone.
For Christ sake, I gave up a lucrative life to be Clayton Hutchins, I
succeeded. And now you're about to burn me with my own success.
Where's the fairness in that...You think I've been a bad president? You
think any of those people who are planning to vote for me tomorrow
believe I will make a bad president for the next four years? You think my
policies aren't carefully thought out? You think I have been corrupt? No."
The reporter was equally unrelenting: "The voters have a right to
know who they voted for. They have a right to know your background,
your experiences, the truths in your life, and the lies. All of that shapes
who you are, and dictates how you'll act in the future as the country's
leader, in times of good fortune and in times of crisis. The voters have
the right to the truth."
In a moment of reflection, the reporter told himself that truth is an
amazing thing which keeps a democracy vibrant based on the conviction
that informed people are usually wise people, or at least practical. "This
wasn't about his sex life or some ancient two-bit misdemeanour. This
struck at the very foundation of who our president is, and in this case,
was." And rather than agree to a deal, he told the president "The public
is entitled to the truth."
In the final dialogue with himself, a moment of introspection that
confronts every reporter on the verge of breaking a big story, he reflected:
"So is the truth even important anymore? Do we really need it, in life,
in the body politic, or is it just better, easier to go with what feels good,
to tell lies, to accept them, with understanding that even if lies hurt, the
truth too often hurts even more? Truth is an immovable foundation.
Lies shift and collapse. With truth, even at its most painful, you can
address it, build on it, and move on. I believe the people can take
the truth, decide if it’s important, and make sound judgements on the
people put before them. Which is why journalism, for all its drawbacks,
is still a decent calling..."
The next day, the story was all over the United States. The choice
was now left with the American people. As they went to the polls, the
voters now knew who their president was, or is. But it did not matter
much because Hutchins still won by 50.4 per cent of popular votes and
took the Electoral College by a margin of nine votes. The bottom line,
according to the reporter: "the people, the voters, knew what they were
doing, and enough of them believed in the concept of redemption."
Of course we know we are dealing here with a fictional situation in
which as far as they were concerned their man was doing well and
they could not be bothered about his past. It is, however, not always
that simple in real life where there are political sharks waiting for blood
while there are some pasts that do effectively cut off the future. In such
situation, if you gambled, then pray that you don't break the eleventh
commandment: Thou shall not get caught!
One significant lesson which we cannot, and indeed should not, ignore
while damaging documents fly around is that not all facts represent
truth. Because facts in themselves are most often subjective depending
on the motive of the person supplying them. We are in a situation
where there is too much politics; where there is a penchant to settle
petty scores; where those who seek to undo others may themselves have
worse skeletons in their closets; where even those institutions charged
with enthroning or enforcing these noble virtues act more for political
expediency than for altruistic purposes.
In the season we are in, there is only a thin line between the accuser
and the accused. That is the tragedy of public office in Nigeria. But even
these do not excuse constitutional infractions from which no serious
people can look the other way. That is why moments like this task all
of us. The lesson here really is that we all have a past and must come to
terms with that past. As the Nomadic Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji
Saminu Turaki, told me last week, "if you want to know the history of
your family, even up till the fifth generation, history you have never
heard before, just join politics".
It is like that everywhere but as it happened to Hutchins, there is
always the room for redemption. I am sending that message back to
Ukpong but all the same, I thank him for the book.
ENDNOTE: As I stated earlier, this piece was first published 21
years ago. But it is as relevant today as it was back then. As we
gradually move towards the 2023 general election, reporters will do
their job of scrutinizing the candidates for various offices. But the
ultimate decider are the voters.