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Shehu of Borno: Our People Now Live in Fear Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Garbai Elkanemi, has decried the level of insecurity in his state, saying the people of Borno State now live in fear.

He said the state was no longer

safe for anyone, including the governor, Babagana Zulum, who is constitutionally the chief security officer. The paramount ruler spoke when he paid the traditional sallah homage to Zulum at Government House, Maiduguri, the state capital.

Elkanemi’s comments followed last week’s attack on the governor’s convoy between Baga and Munguno, and another attack in Maiduguri, on the eve of the Eid-el-Kabir festival, where six persons were officially declared killed and 27 others were injured.

Zulum had last week attributed the attack on his convoy to sabotage by the military. He was attacked while on a visit to Baga to distribute palliatives to internally displaced persons. The governor, who left Maiduguri on Monday

afternoon and had already visited some parts of the state, was forced to spend a night in Monguno before returning to the state capital following the attack.

Speaking on the incident, the Shehu of Borno called for urgent intervention to secure

the lives and property of the people. He told the governor, “Your Excellency, we are not happy about what happened in Baga the other time. It is very unfortunate and a great pity. If the convoy of Continued on page 5

Obaseki, Ize-Iyamu’s Families Trade Support for Candidates…Page 8 Sunday 2 August, 2020 Vol 25. No 9246

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Lagos Reduces Isolation Centres as COVID-19 Cases Decrease Lifts ban on worship places, restaurants, others Research shows students still at risk if schools reopen now Tobi Soniyi and Segun James The Lagos State Government, yesterday, announced that it

is reducing the number of isolation centres in the state, following a decrease in the number of positive cases of COVID-19.

However, the state government is retooling it's capacity and preparedness to meet the possibility of a surge.

In the last two weeks, the

state has consisitently recorded a decline in new cases despite massively expanding it's testing capacity. While the state is reluctant to call it

a flattening of the curve, it stated it was pleased with the development. Yesterday it recorded 65 new cases while the national new cases

as announced by NCDC stood at 386.

Governor Babajide SanwoContinued on page 8

Presidency Distances Buhari from Mamman Daura’s Opinion on Zoning Yakassai insists rotational presidency will ensure stability, national unity and inclusive politics Omololu Ogunmade and Chuks Okocha in Abuja The presidency, last night, said the recent comments

by President Muhammadu Buhari's nephew, Mamman Daura, on zoning were his personal opinion and not that of the president. The clarification was in reaction to widespread controversy that followed Daura’s submission last week that the post of Nigerian president should not be attained on rotational basis but predicated on competence.

However, an elder statesman and former presidential liaison officer on National Assembly matters to the late former president, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, in the Second Republic, Alhaji

Tanko Yakassai, insisted that the concept of zoning and rotational presidency were necessary to ensure unity and stability in Nigeria. Yakassai stated this in an exclusive interview with THISDAY. The elder statesman recommended that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should make rotation and zoning of major political offices part of the conditions for the registration of political parties.

Daura had made his comments last week in an interview granted the BBC Hausa service. But he was heavily criticised by many individuals and groups, who accused him of flying Continued on page 5

PDP Challenges Buhari to Frontally Address Corruption... Page 5

EID-EL-KABIR CELEBRATION...

Deputy Governor of Sokoto state, Alhaji Manir Dan'iya (left), greets Gov. Aminu Tambuwal (middle) and others during Eid-El-Kabir celebration in Sokoto on Friday

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PDP Challenges Buhari to Frontally Address Corruption Wants president to prosecute indicted officials Says president’s assertion vindicates its stance Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Saturday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prosecute corrupt officials still serving in his government. The party welcomed a declaration by the president that some officials of his administration had abused their offices, but said he must match his words with action by taking those already indicted to court.

A statement by National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, noted that the president's acceptance that there was

abuse of trust by persons in his government confirmed PDP’s position that the Buhari administration was replete with treasury looters, who had been enjoying the cover of government. The party said unless the president matched his assertion with corresponding action against officials of his government and leaders of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), who were indicted for corruption, his declaration would still end up as one of the glib promises made by APC and the Buhari presidency since 2015.

The statement said, "It is public knowledge that the APC administration had provided cover for loads of corrupt individuals in its fold as none of the government officials and APC leaders, who have been openly indicted for corruption, abuse of office and treasury looting, have been held culpable and prosecuted.

"Instead, what the nation is witnessing is the constant harassment, intimidation, hounding and persecution of opposition leaders and other Nigerians with dissenting views, with trumped-up charges."

The party queried why individuals indicted in the looting of billions of naira from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), North East Development Commission (NEDC), among other agencies, had been allowed to walk away with just a slap on the wrist.

The main opposition party contended that the delay in the prosecution of the suspended acting chairman of the Economic

and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, and indicted officials of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) for fraud allegations in which very top officials of the Buhari administration had been mentioned, did not convey any sense of commitment by the administration to fight corruption.

"Our party stresses that this new assurances by Mr. President is in line with the practice of the PDP, in whose administration anti-corruption structures

were not only established but corrupt officials were investigated, prosecuted and where found guilty, punished in line with the provisions of the law," Ologbondiyan stated.

The PDP spokesperson further explained that it was strange that the Buhari administration was setting up special investigation panels to investigate officials of government accused of malfeasance bordering on corruption rather than allowing statutory anticorruption agencies and the courts to carry out their responsibilities in that regard.

like gendarmes along Maiduguri-Ngala road.”

Dikwa said it was known to everyone that “soldiers are doing things other than their main job at the borders. The military will deny it even if the governor describes exactly what they are doing in Baga and Gamboru Ngala.

“The fish packages don't come to Maiduguri market, but go to Hadeja and Yola markets.”

Zulum had on Thursday accused the military of sabotage in connection with Tuesday’s attack on his convoy. He told reporters in Munguno, “As far as I am concerned,

what happened in Baga is a complete sabotage by the military. There is no Boko Haram in Baga.

“I wonder, we have over 1,181 soldiers in Baga, 72 officers; 400 soldiers in Mile 4 and 1,900 soldiers in Monguno. I see no reason why only five Boko Haram men will stop them from occupying Baga town.”

He added, “The troops have been in Mile 4 for over one year, there is complete sabotage, the problem is not with President Muhammadu Buhari but the command and control structure. There is a need to look into the command structure.”

Zulum had, in a viral

video, told an army commander that there was an attempt to sabotage his visit with attack on his convoy.

The governor insisted that the exchange of fire was between the army and the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), who were leading his convoy into Baga town, adding that Baga is not inhabited by Boko Haram.

Zulum said, “The shooting that happened this afternoon (Tuesday) is between the military and maybe our police and the civilians.

There is no Boko Haram in Baga town. We remain grateful to all of you, but the commitment is not there at all.”

adoption of human rights, right of citizens of Nigeria to own opinion and express it, means every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to accept zoning or reject it. But the overwhelming majority in Nigeria have agreed that zoning will bring inclusiveness now or in the future.”

He advised the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to stick to zoning and rotation of the office of the president, saying, "In the interest of National stability, APC should adhere to the issue of zoning and rotation, which is part of the election promise of the party, when it was formed.

“PDP, which is the main opposition party, has already accepted zoning and rotation as part of its constitution. So, in my opinion, APC should adhere to its principles of zoning and rotation."

Asked whether zoning should be done with the six geopolitical zones or between North and South, the elder statesman said, "When zoning was advocated by the NPN, we saw it as a situation that will move on a North – South dichotomy. And to that extent, a number of positions in the government or the political party were zoned to certain areas. At the time NPN was formed, there were no six geopolitical zones in the country.

“But you can see that the national chairman of NPN was from the South-west, the presidential candidate and later president, Shehu

Shagari, was from the North, North-west for that matter.

And Chief Alex Ekuweme, the vice president, was from the South-east.

"So even where there was no clear demarcation of six geopolitical zones, the rotation of key offices was done in this arrangement.

It was the decision of those who created the concept of zoning and rotation that the main offices were equitably distributed for national unity and stability.”

Regarding the current six geopolitical zones, Yakassai said, "Yes the presidency should be on the concept of North and South. There are three zones in the South and three in the North. So, when one zone in the North has it in one party, another zone from the other part of the country should be entitled to it."

He stressed, "But this is not to say that the opposition party, the other party which is also operating on a zoning principle, must tailor its zoning arrangement to suit the zoning arrangement of the other party. It does not mean that opposition party must align with the zoning arrangement of the other party.”

Putting it more succinctly, Yakassai maintained, "I am talking about parties. Zoning arrangement was proposed during Sani Abacha’s era that it should form the condition for the registration of political parties, that they must adopt zoning and rotation in their own constitutions. Once we do that, everything will be settled."

SHEHU OF BORNO: OUR PEOPLE NOW LIVE IN FEAR the chief security officer of the state will be attacked, then, wallahi nobody is safe, because he is the number one citizen of the state; he is the chief security officer of the state.

“If a convoy of such highly placed person in the state will be attacked, I repeat, nobody is safe. The matter is getting worse. I urge everyone of us to raise up our hands to seek Allah's intervention.”

The royal father, who also spoke on the COVID-19 pandemic, urged residents of the state to continue to adhere to all preventive protocols advised by health experts.

He lamented the rate at which trees were being felled in the state, urging the state government to take urgent steps to halt the act to avoid a serious environmental problem. He also called for the reintroduction of tree planting, which was a regular practice in the past.

Responding, Zulum thanked the Shehu for the visit and assured him of government's readiness to address the issues raised.

In a related development, a lecturer at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), Professor Khalifa Dikwa, said President Muhammadu Buhari “is doing all in his power to end the war,” but

claimed some individuals might be sabotaging his efforts.

Dikwa, who has been at the forefront of efforts to restore peace to the state, told journalists yesterday in Maiduguri, “Why I must exonerate the president, it is the view of the people that some of them (forces) do not want the war to end.

They are making money.”

He said the attack on the governor’s convoy might have been initiated by some soldiers “to stop him from having a free movement in Baga. It is possible, since it is true that the soldiers have taken over the fish business in Baga, acting

PRESIDENCY DISTANCES BUHARI FROM MAMMAN DAURA’S OPINION ON ZONING a northern kite ahead of the 2023 presidential poll.

However, presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement titled, "Malam Mamman’s Views Are His Own, and He Has Said So," noted that the presidency had since the expression of those views been inundated with requests for presidential reaction.

Shehu said the opinion of Daura was solely his, and did not in any way reflect the position of the president or his administration.

The statement also said at the age of 80, and having served as the editor, and subsequently the managing director of the New Nigerian newspaper, Daura was eminently qualified to express his views as guaranteed in the constitution.

Shehu said in the statement, “We have received numerous requests for comments on the interview granted by Malam Mamman Daura, President Muhammadu Buhari’s nephew, to the BBC Hausa Service.

“It is important that we state from the onset that as mentioned by the interviewee, the views expressed were personal to him and did not, in any way, reflect that of either the president or his administration.

"At age 80, and having served as editor and managing director of one of this country’s most influential newspapers, the New Nigerian, certainly, Malam Mamman qualifies

as an elder statesman with a national duty to hold perspectives and disseminate them as guaranteed under our constitution and laws of the land.

"He does not need the permission or clearance of anyone to exercise this right."

The presidential spokesperson, who emphasised that Daura’s interview was granted in Hausa language, alleged that its original content was distorted in the course of transcription. He explained that the interview bordered on how the country could evolve an ideal process of political dialogue that could be more beneficial to average Nigerians irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds.

He said such discourse was not alien to Nigeria's evolving and young democracy, adding that what Daura did as a veteran journalist, scholar and statesman, was only to add his voice to the discourse.

Shehu added, "In an attempt to circulate the content of the interview to a wider audience, the English translation clearly did no justice to the interview, which was granted in Hausa, and as a result, the context was mixed up and new meanings were introduced and/or not properly articulated.

"The issues discussed during the interview, centred around themes on how the country could birth an appropriate process of political dialogue, leading to an evaluation, assessment and a democratic outcome that would serve the best

interest of the average Nigerian irrespective of where they come from.

"These issues remain at the heart of our evolving and young democracy, and as a veteran journalist, scholar and statesman, Malam Mamman has seen enough to add his voice to those of many other participants.”

But Yakassai traced the origin of zoning in the country to the Second Republic, saying, “Zoning was first introduced into Nigeria’s political lexicon by the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). NPN, as you know, was the first political party that was accepted nationwide in Nigeria as everybody's party. No individual or a group of Nigerians ever allocated to themselves the ownership of NPN. "Everybody was a joint owner of National Party of Nigeria. It was because of that that NPN thought of developing the concept and to assure every member and every segment of Nigeria that the exalted office of the president would one day come to their area or zone.

"And this is the reason why all political conferences that took place after NPN, the idea of zoning kept coming up in such conferences and had been adopted by some conferences as a provision in Nigeria constitution.”

Yakassai explained that under the late military ruler, Sani Abacha’s constitutional conference of 1994/1995, it was recommended and the military accepted

that zoning should be incorporated into the constitution of Nigeria in a way that would form the basis of registration for political parties. But Abacha died and the reforms died with him, he said.

The former presidential adviser, stated, "Since then, a majority of Nigerians have accepted zoning as a very good strategy that would give everybody in Nigeria a sense of belonging. Those who are able to get the position to their side will be satisfied and acknowledged and those who are yet to get it, are assured that they would get it when the time comes.

"So now, you cannot separate zoning from rotation, because zoning without rotation is meaningless.

Whoever adopts zoning automatically adopts rotation. And whoever rejects zoning, automatically rejects rotation."

Dissecting Daura's statement on merit and competence, Yakassai stated, "Now, about the argument on merit, there was a time when competent people were not sufficient all over the country. Even today, there are more competent people in certain areas.

“But today, every local government in Nigeria has competent and qualified Nigerians to seek any public office, whether elected or appointed. So, there is no reason why zoning and rotation will not be acceptable by any Nigeria.”

Yakassai said, "Our

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Obaseki, Ize-Iyamu’s Families Trade Support for Candidates Governor, deputy on warpath over campaign funding delay, it's not true Gov's spokesman Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City and Adedayo Akinwale and Udora Orizu in Abuja There were new twists in the lead-up to the September 19 governorship election in Edo State at the weekend, as families of the two leading candidates, Governor Godwin Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), traded support against their own sons.

Some prominent members of the Obaseki family endorsed and pledged support for Ize-Iyamu, while notable members of the pastor’s family also threw their weight behind the governor as their choice candidate.

That was as the deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, was alleged to be on the warpath against Obaseki over delay in the release of campaign funds barely six weeks to election.

The endorsement of the APC candidate by Obaseki's family occurred during a meeting at Ize-Iyamu's private residence in Benin City. One of the governor’s cousins, Victor Obaseki, while speaking at the meeting, admitted that although the Edo State helmsman was his kin, he would not get the support of the family.

Victor stated, "I am here today in company of my cousins to support Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki, the executive governor, is our cousin. Generally, the Obasekis have their own way of doing things. We are a different branch of faith.

“We are supporting our brother, Pastor Osagie IzeIyamu, with an unalloyed support fully for him. I have supported him before, and I would continue to support him. We would do all our campaigns for him without let or hindrance, fully from the bottom of our hearts."

Ize-Iyamu expressed his delight at the support of the Obaseki family, stressing that it is a confirmation of the poor administration that Godwin Obaseki has given to Edo State in the last four years. He also praised the Obaseki family for not allowing sentiment becloud their judgment in the choice of the right person to lead Edo State for the next four years.

Ize-Iyamu told the Obasekis, "Let me thank you for the endorsement. I have known some of you for many years and I am very happy that

politics has not strained our relationship.

"It is true, as Osaro said, that far away in New York, I had the opportunity of meeting with him and other Edolites, where I shared my ambition. Osaro has been a good gentleman and humble man, and has always declared his support.

"He came out this morning to say, Godwin has not done well, and he would not because they bear the same surname continue to support him and go through the very poor performance that we have seen in the past four years.

"They will not allow the sentiments or even deceit of brotherhood make them vote for somebody they know is not qualified for a position."

In addition, Edo Leaders and Patriots in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) endorsed Ize-Iyamu as their preferred candidate in the September 19 governorship election. President of the group, Hon. Isaac Ehigiator, disclosed this while addressing a press conference on Saturday in Abuja.

Ehigiator said while members of the group worked and lived in the FCT, their hearts remained with Edo and they would not allow distance rob them of the opportunity to participate in all that was happening back home. He said it was against this background that Edo indigenes resident in the FCT decided to participate in the election campaign process throughout the six area councils of the federal capital, for the purpose of mobilising Edo sons and daughters to return home for the election with zeal and vote Ize-Iyamu He noted that the group believed Edo deserved better, adding that the task of repositioning Edo State should be holistic and driven with sincerity of purpose, emotional intelligence and respect for the traditional as well as all other leaders involved in the greater Edo project for the good of all.

According to Ehigiator, "Going forward, therefore, I want to affirm on behalf of the committee of Edo Leaders and patriots that the manifesto as presented

by Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the APC, as vividly captured in the SIMPLE Agenda programme for the greater Edo project, represents the true desires and aspiration of all Edo sons and daughters irrespective of where they reside anywhere in the world.

YOU HAVE OUR SUPPORT...

L-R: Osaro Obaseki; APC standard bearer, Pastor Ize Iyamu, and Victor Obaseki during the visit of some members of the Obaseki family who visited Ize Iyamu in his residence to endorse him for the 2020 Edo guber election...yesterday "We have, therefore, come to the conclusion that Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is the right person to lead Edo State in the next dispensation from November 2020 to November 2023, so that our dear state can take its rightful place in Nigeria.”

Ehigiator disclosed, "That the Committee of Edo leaders and Patriots in FCT does adopt Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and endorses him as preferred candidate for the September 19, 2020 governorship election in Edo State.

"That the committee with other Edo sons and daughters shall undertake visitations to the six area councils to mobilise and present the SIMPLE agenda to Edo people in those areas councils starting from 31st August, 2020 to 15th September, 2020."

Director-General of Ize-Iyamu Campaign Organisation in Edo South, Hon. Mathew Osagie, said in the last four years, contrary to the media propaganda of Obaseki and his government, a lot was undone in the area of governance and its impact on the people. Osagie added that when the governor was elected in 2016, the expectation was high, but he deviated when he waged war against his own party members.

Meanwhile, as part of the political twists in the state last week, many aides, appointees, and other government officials resigned their positions to back Ize-Iyamu. The governor and his deputy were also alleged to be on a collision course over delayed campaign

funds.

Shaibu was said to have engaged in a war of words with Obaseki at a leadership meeting on Thursday following what insiders described as the governor’s failure to release funds for the election. Apart from the governor and his deputy, who were at the meeting, others present, sources said, included the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie, Charles Idahosa, and Senator Domingo Obende.

It was gathered that trouble started, when the governor commenced the meeting by saying all hands must be on deck to be able to defeat APC. But Shaibu raised his hands to speak, and the governor recognised him to speak, a decision Obaseki was said to have regretted later. The deputy governor, allegedly, told his boss point-blank that he was not serious about winning the coming election.

He reminded the governor that different committees were set up in the past two weeks but the governor had refused to fund them, lamenting that the APC has been in serious campaign while nothing has happened regarding the PDP campaign.

Tension heightened, it was further gathered, when he allegedly accused the governor of luring him to fight his godfather, Oshiomhole, and then showing no commitment or seriousness in funding the forthcoming election.

Shaibu was alleged to have said, "We have been sitting here doing nothing while Oshiomhole is all over the

town. We are losing members every day and all we do is setting up committees every day without funding. I will not take this, you pushed me into fighting a man that made me what I am today, yet all we are seeing everyday is committees with no funding.

"Mr. Governor, I see you don't understand what this election is all about. You are not serious about it. Do you think it is the little boys carrying laptops here that will do it? If you don't want to fund the election, then, I have no business being here. I will back out."

Attempts by Ogie to stop Shaibu were said to have further infuriated the deputy governor, who allegedly told Ogie to shut his mouth and sit down.

But Idahosa, a leader from Uhumwonde, allegedly, stood up and backed Shaibu, expressing his fear that Oshiomhole would send all of them to jail if they lose the election. He urged the governor to release money for the campaign.

Obaseki, whom a source close to the meeting said looked visibly confused at that moment, requested for the budget of each of the six committees. This request by the governor, the source said, further infuriated Shaibu, who thundered that he was still asking for the budget when APC had been campaigning day and night. He warned the governor that if nothing serious was done, he would walk back to his APC, which he said he left in pains.

However, the chief press

secretary to the deputy governor, Mr Musah Ebomhiana, denied any such altercation, saying: "It is a wicked rumour, there is no iota of truth. I really don't know where that is coming from. It is street talk with nothing to it. The relationship between my boss and his boss, that is the governor, is very cordial. The committees have since been inaugurated and campaign is going on.

So there is no truth in it. It is a figment of the imagination of those peddling it."

Equally reacting, special adviser to Obaseki on media and communication strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, denied any clash between Obaseki and Shaibu. He said in a statement that the story could only have emanated from the APC. He stated, “The lie that there was a clash between the governor and his deputy should be dismissed in its entirety. Whatever incident they allude to only exists in the imagination of the purveyors.

“There was, indeed, a meeting with key stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which ended with everyone in high spirit.

There was a spirit of cordiality and everyone shared their ideas and inputs on how to deliver the party in the September 19 governorship election.”

Osagie advised the general public to disregard such claims and other similar tales some dishonest people might spin in the days ahead as the election draws near.

Giving a rundown of the situation report, the governor said as at Friday, July 31, 2020, Lagos State had a total of 15,150 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 10,835 persons, who had recovered and been discharged.

"We have sadly now lost 194 persons to the virus. This leaves us with 1813 active cases in community and 96 under management across various isolation centers in the State.

"Lagos State remains the epicenter of the pandemic in Nigeria, but we also, I am pleased to say, have set a

national example in terms of the efficiency of our testing, tracing, treatment, and our partnerships with the private sector and the Federal Government.

"Most of our patients in Lagos recover under our supervision. We now have two pathways through which confirmed cases are managed: either through our Home-Based Strategy, or in designated COVID-19 Care Centres. Those people in the Home Care category

LAGOS SHUTS DOWN ISOLATION CENTRES AS COVID-19 CASES REDUCE Olu, who hinted at the development, also lifted ban on worship centres, restaurants and recreation centres, albeit with safety protocols that must be adhered for the trial phase of the reopening of the listed places.

Meanwhile, a new research has shown that the rate of COVID-19 transmission to kids aged 10 and above could be just as high as it is for adults hence the reopening of schools might defy preventive logic for now.

However, announcing the

latest development, Sanwo-Olu stated that, “In terms of our Isolation Centers, we have since, last night shut down our Eti-Osa Isolation Center and will be shutting down our Agidingbi Isolation Center and moving all the patients there to our soon to be commissioned Indo Center.

"Furthermore, our Infectious Diseases Hospital in Yaba is now also gradually being reverted to its status as a hospital to cater to all forms of infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, HIV etc. The

CACOVID dedicated tent on the IDH grounds will however remain strictly for COVID-19 cases,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu also informed that in June, the government expanded COVID-19 testing capacity in Lagos with the accreditation of seven private laboratories.

"We successfully tested close to 9,000 samples in Lagos State, across the public and private sector laboratories, a 50% increase from the approximately 6,000 samples tested in each of the preceding

two weeks. We believe that this increase in testing will lead to an increase in the number of daily confirmed cases of the Virus in Lagos State,” he concluded.

According to the Lagos governor, "It has now been five months since the first case of Coronavirus was recorded in Nigeria. Since then, Nigeria has seen more than 43,000 infections, and a significant disruption of social, religious, educational and economic life, like every other part of the world."

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Elumelu Advocates Collaboration to Boost Investment in Nigeria, Others Peter Uzoho The Group Chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu has said the corona virus pandemic presents a perfect opportunity for foreign investors to invest in Africa, owing to the huge opportunities that are inherent in the African economy.

“This is the time to invest. Africa is a land of opportunities. There is huge population and there is now the realisation by African leaders who are creating an enabling environment to encourage these investments,” Elumelu said on Thursday, while speaking at a virtual session organised by the TIME100TALKS on the theme, ‘Empowering Entrepreneurs’.

Bill Gates, Founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and United States Senator, Tammy Duckworth were other thought leaders who also spoke in sessions at the event.

While pointing out that countries in Africa were well positioned to emerge into a strong digital economy, Elumelu said, there is now more macro-economic stability than ever before, especially given that the young African is energetic, restless and has the ambition to succeed, in the face of difficult circumstances.

“Challenges exist in Africa, but we have huge returns on investments. There is huge population and there is realisation by African leaders who are now creating an enabling environment to encourage investments into Africa. There is no better time to make the multi-million dollar bet I made in Africa, than the

times we live in now,” he said in a chat with Kimberly Dozier, a Time Correspondent who moderated the session.

Speaking on the effect that the pandemic has had on the operations of UBA in the last few months, Elumelu noted that there has been a rapid increase in technological embrace and called for the strengthening of infrastructure, networks and digital platforms to support the growth.

“In banking business this whole digital transformation is heightened further by COVID-19, right now, you have less than 15% of our over 20million bank customers that are transacting in the bank. Most of them now transact online, which is 85 per cent of over 20 million customers. That is significant.

Before COVID, it was about 65 per cent. UBA is seeing an explosion in its digital platforms.

“Thankfully, the bank invested significantly in technology, and now, they are investing even more so that they can serve their customers better. So, the digital connectivity technical infrastructure should be strengthened in such a way as to aid this explosion we are seeing,” Elumelu said.

He also spoke on how the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which he founded, has been supporting the growth of its entrepreneurs especially in the tough business climate presented by the ravaging coronavirus pandemic.

“Through the TEF virtual platform called the TEFConnect, we are able to

engage our entrepreneurs on a day-to-day basis; get resource speakers from all over the world and ourselves, to talk to them and to train them and let them know how to manage difficult moments like this. And I can say that at-least 72 per cent of our 9,500 beneficiaries are hanging in there, expanding their businesses.

“You know most SMEs typically die after their first year, but we are

seeing a different trend, where beneficiaries of our programme in different countries are contributing towards fighting the virus in their different countries.

We are seeing the creation of jobs, the one million jobs we set out to achieve,” he noted.

The TEFConnect Community is a meeting ground where entrepreneurship ecosystem players share information and ask questions on their

business activity. Currently one million entrepreneurs are on TEFConnect Elumelu seized the opportunity to call on all bodies and key sectors such as the private sector, public sector, development agencies like the African Development Bank and other institutions to work together to make a difference, adding that “What the world needs today and Africans, in particular, is hope and that to me is what will

make the difference but that hope has to be backed by tangibility, some substance so that we can make it work.”

In his submission, Bill Gates sought for collaboration between the private and public sector to end the pandemic, adding “Every country has to think through the right policies to stop the spread, there is need to speed up the process of getting new drugs and vaccines, we need a global response.”

Obaseki Restates Commitment to Economic Diversification, Food Security, Others The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has reaffirmed that his government remains committed to economic diversification, assuring that the state would continue to initiate and implement policies targeted at boosting the agricultural sector and ensuring food security.

The governor, who spoke to journalists in Benin City, said his administration has, in the last three years and eight months, embarked on programmes and reforms that have created an enabling environment for agricultural businesses to thrive such that more youths and investors could earn a living and create employment.

Obaseki said: “We so much believe that with increased investment in agriculture, we will be able to grow sufficient food to sustain food security in Edo State. Agriculture is a productive venture, not

just to feed ourselves, but its products are basic inputs in our industrialisation process.

Cassava, for example, is a major input in starch production and ethanol energy.

“If we are thinking of diversifying our economy; if we are thinking of creating jobs; if we are thinking of creating a better life for our people, then we must not ignore agriculture. Countries like Malaysia developed their economy based on products like oil palm and rubber. In the past, we have been highly dependent on crude oil as a basis to earn revenue for the country but oil palm is more valuable than crude oil.”

The governor said the agriculture development projects embarked on by his administration remains his main legacy project amid other legacy projects.

He continued: “As for us

here in Edo State, when we are talking about Making Edo Great Again (MEGA), we have to go back to where we are coming from. Edo used to be home for oil palm, rubber and timber and the people were wealthy for it. For Edo to be great again, we have to go back to the land but in a more mechanised way; we are introducing new technologies, modern practices, improved financing and modern management into farming.

“We believe with the right investment, which we have started using in agriculture, we will be able to deal effectively with unemployment, bringing with it a whole lot of other opportunities. We will be able to create more industrial based products because we will have enough raw materials for agribusiness industries.”

“As a government, we will take advantage of the new

order, which COVID-19 has caused. Our reforms have put Edo land under cultivation with varieties of products and provided us with the opportunity to employ the teeming population of the Edo people”, he added.

On his part, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Food Security and Forestry, Hon. Joe Okojie, explained that the Agripreneur programme of the Obaseki-led administration is aimed at funding and empowering farmers to boost food security and create employment.

He noted: “This year we did our farms in two phases.

The first one commenced in April/May, with Sobe, Ilushi Phase, Agenebode and Warake, while in the second phase, we cultivated maize in Obayantor, rice in Abudu, Agbede, Warake, Ilushi, and cassava in Udo, Uria and Ubiaja.

reduces the likelihood of transmission.

However, the researchers noted that children aged 9 and under seemed to have the lowest rate of transmission, but are still amenable to the risk.

The researchers further hypothesised that the rate of transmission for this age group might go up as daycares and preschools reopen.

Similarly, a study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics has suggested that young children had a viral load 10-fold to 100-fold greater than adults in their upper respiratory tracts.

The implication of this is that children are likely to be key drivers of transmission within their communities.

Another study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago has also backed up the hypothesis.

Dr. Taylor Heald-Sargent, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Lurie Children's, and her colleagues analysed data from the diagnostic tests of 145 Covid-19 patients, who had mild to moderate cases of the illness. The tests looked for pieces of the virus' RNA, or genetic code, to make a diagnosis.

The 145 patients were split into three groups: those under 5, those ages 5 to 17, and adults ages 18 to 65.

"Children had equal — if not more — viral RNA in

their noses compared to older children and adults," Heald-Sargent said.

According to her, compared to adults, the young kids had anywhere from 10 to 100 times the amount of viral RNA in their upper respiratory tract, the study authors wrote.

"This supports the idea that children are able to get infected and replicate virus and therefore shed and transmit virus just as much as older children and adults," she said, noting that more research is needed to confirm this.

Interestingly, states have begun to announce resumption dates for students.

For instance, Ogun State has directed SSS3 students to resume on August 4 while Abia State said it was considering August 10, 2020, for reopening of schools to enable students in exit classes prepare and write their relevant examinations.

The decision to reopen schools was however welcomed by the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS).

NAPPS President, Yomi Otubela, stated that everyone including students, parents, teachers, and all stakeholders were thrilled by the government's decision.

Nigeria has less than fifty thousand cases of Covid-19 according to figures released by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

LAGOS SHUTS DOWN ISOLATION CENTRES AS COVID-19 CASES REDUCE are being supported medically with our COVID Care Packs, and psychologically through our counselling teams."

He explained that such individuals were given "access to our telemedicine services through the State owned EKOTELEMED, and are also visited weekly by our doctors to ensure that they are recovering adequately and in a timely fashion.”

Consequently, the Lagos State government has lift ban on places of worship in the state. Muslims are to start attending congregational mosques prayers from Friday, August 7th, 2020, while Christian places of worship will open from the 9th August 2020.

Sanwo-Olu, who stated this during his 17th update on Coronavirus as the Incident Commander, said places of worship in Lagos must operate only at 50% of their capacity.

He stressed that churches whose main worship days fall on Saturdays, are permitted to hold their services on Saturdays, subject to the same guidelines as churches holding services on Sundays.

He disclosed that the reason for the decision was, because positivity has reduced in the state, even though Lagos State remains the epicenter of the disease in the country, adding a caveat that they could only open on Sundays for Christians and Fridays for

Muslims.

"We must reiterate that places of worship are only permitted to have their regular once-a-week services on the designated days. For the avoidance of doubt, churches and mosques are not permitted to have other services or fellowships outside of their main weekly services.

"Places of worship are allowed to schedule multiple services, on their designated worship days, if necessary, as well as also encouraging as many people as possible to participate using virtual means," he stated.

The Governor reiterated that some conditions must be met and fulfilled by all Religious Centres and places of worship that are planning to reopen.

These include the fact that only regular services and gatherings are permitted to hold. Night Vigils and other non-regular programmes remain prohibited until further notice.

Sanwo-Olu stressed that attendees over the age of sixtyfive (65) years are strongly discouraged from attending services and churches should consider holding services and gatherings in large, wellventilated areas or outdoors, as circumstances and faith traditions allow.

He also insisted the policy of "No facemask, No entry” must be maintained throughout the duration of the services.

"Regular cleaning and

disinfection of facilities must be carried out to maintain clean and hygienic environments before and after every service. Appropriate screening equipment for Covid-19 symptoms such as a contactless temperature check must be available for entrants into the facility.

"It is mandatory to provide hand-washing facilities and sanitisers at the entry and exit point of the premises.

National emergency response phone lines must be displayed prominently on the premises.

“Handshakes, Hugs and “high fives” are not permitted at services or gatherings, and this should be emphasizsed by displaying appropriate signs prominently. The use of stationary collection boxes and electronic methods for collection of offering must be encouraged.

"The flow of human traffic in and out of these places of worship must be conducted in an organised and orderly manner," he maintained.

In addition, the Governor has also lifted ban on restaurants and other eateries that will now be permitted to open for in-dining services, from the 14th of August, with the proviso that they maintain a 50% occupancy capacity, and have also obtained a Provisional Safety Compliance Certificate through the registration portal of the Lagos State Safety Commission.

Also permitted to reopen are social clubs and recreational centers with effect from the 14th of August 2020, on the condition that they have applied for and obtained a Provisional Safety Compliance Certificate through the registration portal of the Lagos State Safety Commission.

The governor, however, expressed his condolences to the families of those who had lost their loved ones in recent times, due to reckless and avoidable road accidents involving trailers and containers as well as accidents on the waterways, saying the wheel of the law would take its course and all those responsible for the senseless deaths would be brought to justice.

Meanwhile, while a new research has shown that the rate of Covid-19 transmission for kids between ages 10 and above could be as high as it is for adults, another study has also found that young kids could spread Covid-19 as much as older children and adults.

Previously, children were thought to have lower chances of transmitting the disease.

A study from South Korea analysed nearly 60,000 contact points from 5,706 patients with COVID-19.

The researchers found that the use of personal protective measures, such as masks, and physical or social distancing

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ AUGUST 2, 2020

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EDITORIAL

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

CBN AND THE GLOBAL STANDING INSTRUCTION The introduction of the GSI to curb serial loan defaulters is welcome

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he failure of some bank customers to repay loans extended to them has remained a sore thumb in the nation's financial system. Recent figures released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) put banks’ nonperforming loans at N1.2 trillion as at the end of June 2020. This is about 6.4 per cent of the N18.9 trillion gross credit of the banks to the economy during the period under review. Therefore, the recent introduction of the Global Standing Instruction (GSI) by the CBN to curb the activities of those who take bank loans without thinking of paying back is salutary. But there are questions about its implementation.

In the wake of the crisis that almost brought some financial institutions to their knees a few years ago, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) was established as a resolution vehicle to acquire toxic assets in the industry and clean up the balance sheet of banks. As a result, AMCON purchased total eligible banks’ assets worth N4.02 trillion at a price of N1.76 trillion with a mandate of restructuring /refinancing opportunities for borrowers. At some point, the CBN further directed that banks in the country should no longer extend credit to 113 companies and 419 directors/shareholders until full liquidation of their indebtedness.

The latest move is an indication that the directive may have failed.

With the GSI, which took effect from yesterday (1st August, 2020), individuals and corporate bodies who are in the habit of borrowing from banks with no intention of paying back may now have to change their minds. The GSI, which encompasses an agreement between the banks and the CBN, grants authority to the former to debit loan default-

ers from accounts they operate in other banks within Nigeria. The new policy also gives banks the latitude to debit the joint account a debtor holds with a family member or business associate.

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The objectives of the GSI include facilitating an improved credit repayment culture, reducing non-performing loans in the banking industry, and watch-listing consistent loan defaulters

Letters to the Editor

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igeria is the collective heritage of about 200 million people of diverse ethnic backgrounds and tongues. There are over 250 ethnic nationalities spread across the country. Nigeria does not belong only to the Igbo, the Hausa and the Yoruba. Unfortunately, these three so-called ‘’major ethnic groups’’ have defined the political and economic actualities of the country since independence.

Even among the ‘’big three’’, there are splinter groups of distinct cosmology. Again, Nigeria does not belong only to the Igbo, the Hausa and the Yoruba. It belongs to every group subsisting in the entity irrespective of population size. But sadly, these other ethnic nationalities have not been allowed the participatory chance of defining their destiny.

Their voices are minimized by the

S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS OLAWALE OLALEYE, TOBI SONIYI MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI , PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS ERIC OJEH, PATRICK EIMIUHI ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO HEAD, COMPUTER DEPARTMENT PATRICIA UBAKA-ADEKOYA TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

o be managed by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) on behalf of the financial institutions using customers' Bank Verification Number (BVN), the objectives of the GSI include facilitating an improved credit repayment culture, reducing nonperforming loans (NPLs) in the banking industry, and watch-listing consistent loan defaulters. The GSI also provides that henceforth, before bank customers can access loans, they will be mandated to operate savings, current, investment, domiciliary, or a joint account that is linked to their BVN. Such customers must also fill out GSI mandate forms and sign both soft and hard versions, which give the bank the authority to debit them from other sources in case of default. Should a customer default in paying up the loan or accrued interest upon maturity, and has no funds in the account being operated with the bank, the NIBSS will be instructed to debit from any other bank’s account where the customer has funds, be it joint or family account.

However, whatever may be the merit of the idea, analysts have identified some flaws.

For instance, its implementation may suffer a setback across microfinance banks sub-sector of the economy since many are not on the NIBSS platform. It is therefore imperative that the CBN and the various banks address this obvious lacuna. Another critical element in the guidelines is its application to the operation of joint accounts, without any regard to the doctrine of ‘privity of contract’ which provides that such legal agreements cannot confer rights or impose obligations upon any person who is not a party to it. In other words, the settled position of the law is that a loan agreement can only be enforced against a party to it. Simply put, a joint account is a qualified account to the extent that any mandate to draw down on the funds therein must be jointly executed by all the signatories.

While the CBN's move to address the hydraheaded problem of NPLs arising from the failure of bank customers to repay their loans is therefore commendable, we hasten to advise that every identified grey area that may torpedo the effectiveness of the GSI be examined and properly addressed.

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (950- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

Turn-By-Turn Presidency cacophony of the louder groups.

When it comes to power-sharing and distribution of the common wealth, the ‘’big three’’ come into contest, featuring prominently on the table. It is always about what the Igbo want; what the Hausa want and what the Yoruba want, but never about what other Nigerians whose voices are attenuated want.

This is not how to achieve nationhood. Have we asked what other 247 ethnic groups and more want?

I know the argument could be that they have representatives in parliament who speak for them. But how tenable is that argument when the political distribution is already ponderously skewed against them?

And the arrogant assumption is that their interest is already sheltered in the larger interest of the dominant groups. ‘’The flaws of giants’’ – this is the

abstraction of the Nigerian situation.

The perception that all will be well with the country as long as the ‘’big three’’ are catered to, ignoring the composite whole. We once witnessed the uprising by the Ijaw, who are considered a minority by Nigeria’s definition, in the Niger Delta. We plod away on a tripartite equation trying to find the X of our national problems with an abridged formula.

Our problems are national and not sectional; the solutions do not pivot around the ‘’big three’’. I must say, the problems of the country today and since independence are the craft of the Igbo, the Yoruba and the Hausa. That Nigeria has remained in the doldrums is largely by the devices of the ‘’big three’’. Let me rephrase. The Igbo, the Hausa and the Yoruba are the cause of Nigeria’s problems.

I have come to understand that tribalism is more much pronounced among the ‘’big three’’. The unhealthy rivalry, hate-mongering and recriminations among these three groups have been the bane of Nigeria’s unity. The hate is evenly distributed among the three.

The 2023 presidency debate is heating up, and as usual the argument oscillates among the ‘’big three’’ as if the country is their personal estate. Why are the TIV and the Idoma in Benue not in focus; why are the Isoko and the Urhobo in Delta not in the equation? Why are the Ilaje in Ondo and the Esan in Edo not on the table? And why are the Kanuri, the Manga and Bede in Borno not in the discourse?

As I have always held, Nigeria needs a Nigerian president in 2023. We need national solutions to our national problems, and only a competent leadership can deliver the goods. Ethnic politics has failed us since the beginning of our union as a country. The primitive ‘’turn-by-turn’’

presidency based on ethnic ordering will only lead us further down the foundering path.

But if we are so set on the primordial arrangement, then all the 250 ethnic groups and more should have a shot at the presidency. After all, there are competent Nigerians in every group.

Nigeria belongs to all of us – big or small.

Let me end with a quote from my previous article: ‘’we need a Nigerian leadership to foster a sense of nationhood among the variegated peoples of the country. The more we emphasise ethnicity and religion in our politics the further we are divided along these devious lines.

Nigerians need a Nigerian president in 2023 not -- an Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa or Fulani president -- a leader who has been tested with responsibility and leadership; a president for all. These people are not in short supply here.’’

––Fredrick Nwabufo, fredricknwabufo@yahoo.com.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ Ͱ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

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NEWS

Acting News Editor ÌÙãÏÑË ÕÓØÝËØ×Ó E-mail: ÑÌÙãÏÑ˲ËÕÓØÝËØ×Ó̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙט͸΀͹ͽͺͻͽ΁ͺͽͻ ̙Ý×Ý ÙØÖã̚

Campbell: Why Nigerians Lost Confidence in Police Argues for devolution of federal policing powers Suggests strategies for functional regional police Gboyega Akinsanmi The Nigeria Police has lost public confidence due to the deteriorating security conditions nationwide, widespread corruption among its officers and overreliance on the armed forces to ensure public order, a former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. John Campbell has said.

Campbell, currently a senior fellow at the Council for Foreign Relations (CFR), has also observed that these compelling

considerations have invigorated the agitation for the decentralisation of federal policing powers, thus leading to the creation of regional security architecture such as Amotekun.

In a research analysis published on the website of the CFR recently, the former ambassador defended the decentralisation of the police force as an antidote to the country’s worsening security conditions, though warned that the organisation of police “is only part of the problem.”

Providing the historical background to the country’s security architecture, the former envoy explained that since the colonial period, the police had been a national gendarmerie, with no local or state police service.

He said security in the country “is the responsibility of the armed forces and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). The army has long been used to maintain domestic order, and its units are now present in almost every state.

“One justification for a national,

rather than local, police is the fear that local police could be suborned by local political big men, a concern with some merit. As Nigerian states multiplied under military rule, many came to be dominated by a particular ethnic group.

“Hence, the concern that local or state police would favour that group to the disadvantage of ethnic minorities. The overreliance on the military to ensure domestic law and order, together with increasing crime, has sapped public confidence in the police,”

IN THE SPIRITOF SALLAH . . .

Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal (left) and members of his administration joined the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad Abubakar (right) at the Sultan Bello Mosque for the Eid-el-Kabir prayer in Sokoto... Friday.

Campbell explained.

Obviously, with the failure of the police force to guarantee domestic law and order, the former envoy observed that the government authorities had tacitly sanctioned the presence of vigilante groups for the purpose of ensuring internal security.

He, however, argued: “In areas of unrest, notably the northeast under assault from Boko Haram and in the oil patch threatened by militants, local vigilante groups have emerged where the government has proven inadequate.”

In Southwest, for instance, Campbell acknowledged that the state governments “are taking the concept of local security a step further, cooperating to establish what amounts to a regional police force, though, in theory, it is meant to support, but not replace, the national police.

“Amotekun, officially as the Western Nigeria Security Network, is funded by the state governments and has the blessing of traditional Yoruba leaders. The National Assembly is considering recognition and authorisation of regional police forces and, presumably, regularising their relations with the NPF.” Supporting the advocates of the regional security architecture, the former envoy argued that police forces under the control of the states would be congruent with the federal system and that the states could impose greater accountability on the police than the federal government.

Campbell observed that some critical stakeholders envisaged that the NPF would transform into something akin to the US

Federal Bureau of Investigation, with state-based police dealing with most criminal activity.

He said: “Small community policing initiatives, some supported by the United States and United Kingdom, have been met with success in the past. The issue has always been institutionalising such initiatives and scaling them up.”

While most stakeholders welcome the decentralisation of policing, the former envoy warned that the organisation of police “is only part of the problem.”

Campbell pointed out that the Nigeria Police had been underfunded in the past; its operatives grossly under trained and its staff strength abysmally too few for a country with a population of over 200 million people.

On these grounds, he noted that the police “are widely hated, not least because of their corruption, which, in turn, reflects their low and inconsistently paid salaries.

Those issues would not appear to be addressed by the devolution of local policing authority from the federal government.”

Citing compelling evidence of insecurity nationwide, Campbell lamented that in Nigeria, personal security “is rapidly deteriorating.

There is the Boko Haram insurrection in the northeast, unrest in the southern oil patch, and conflict over water and land in the middle of the country.”

Adding to the list of security crises, the former US envoy cited nationwide crime waves involving kidnapping for ransom, cattle rustling and home invasions, noting that many of these challenges “are long-standing.

Generator Emission Suffocates Seven to Death in Niger

Laleye Dipo in Minna

The Niger State Police Command has said carbon dioxide emissions from a petrol generator suffocated seven persons to death at a hairdressing salon in Rijau town in the Rijau Local Government Area of the state.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adamu Usman confirmed the death of seven people due to inhalation of generator fumes, disclosing that District Head of Rijau, Mohammed Bello reported the incident at Rijau, Divisional police office.

Usman said on Friday at about 08:15 a.m., Bello reported the discovery of seven bodies inside Afrash Beauty Saloon located along Bawa Rijau road. ”Preliminary investigation revealed that the ladies slept with generator on inside the shop. We have successfully removed the seven corpses to General Hospital Tunga Magaji for autopsy, while the case is under investigation.

The commissioner advised residents to always adopt proactive measures while using generators to avoid unnecessary loss of lives and property.

Besides police report, findings

by THISDAY revealed that the deceased went to the saloon to do their hair in preparation for the Sallah festival on Thursday.

While the victims were waiting at the saloon for their turn, findings further revealed that rain started falling, thereby preventing them from leaving immediately.

An eyewitness account told THISDAY that the rain became so intense that the generator used to power the hairdressing equipment was moved into the salon.

After moving the generator inside, the eyewitness said the

Killing Aid Workers, War Crime, Say INGOs Michael Olugbode In Maiduguri The community of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) in Nigeria has strongly condemned the killing of five aid workers by Boko Haram, saying the killing was apparently a war crime.

The community, which comprises Norwegian Refugees Council (NRC), International Rescue Committee (IRC), Save the Children International, Action Against Hunger, Mercy Corps, Plan International and Street Child, among others, said the attack on humanitarian workers was unacceptable.

In a statement recently, the community described the attacks as a war crime, even as it demanded for the release of the corpses of the slain aid workers to their families.

Also, the statement asked for an immediate and unconditional release

of other aid workers believed to be held by the terrorist group.

It said the community of INGOs in Nigeria strongly “condemns the execution of our colleagues at Action Against Hunger, International Rescue Committee and Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

“Our colleagues were abducted on June 1 and 8 by a non-state armed group on the road between Monguno and Maiduguri (Borno State) and were gruesomely executed by their captors despite calls for their release.

“They had dedicated their lives to providing life-saving assistance to the vulnerable affected by a decade-long, protracted armed conflict in north-east Nigeria. We condemn, in totality, this atrocity, and stand in solidarity with their families and with ACF, ACTED, IRC and SEMA. “This brutal act is a blatant viola-

tion of international humanitarian law and amounts to a war crime as per United Nations Security Council Resolution 1502 of 2003.

“Today, there are over ten million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the ongoing conflict in north-east Nigeria, yet INGOs that strive to deliver life-saving support are faced with an increasingly dangerous environment and have become direct targets.

“Since the beginning of 2019 alone, eight aid workers were executed following their abduction, while the whereabouts of two others remain unknown.

“This is unacceptable: aid workers are not a target. Attacks on aid workers result in the loss of life of those who dedicated their lives to support others, and deprive people of desperately needed assistance and access to basic services.

rain disrupted the operation at the saloon, forcing customers to come inside and the door locked.

Findings showed that the generator worked for several hours until fuel got finished in it.

According to eyewitness, relations of the hairdresser and her customers mounted a search for them when they did not return home after a very long time.

The eyewitness said one of the relatives suggested that the door to the salon should be forced open to find out whether it was there they went to dress their hair.

The eyewitness said when the

door of the salon was opened, the lifeless bodies of the women were found on the ground though two of them were still breathing.

A top official of the Rijau LGA, who was invited to the scene, refused to give directive that the two women who were unconscious should be taken to the hospital unless the council chairman came to see things for himself.

However, according to eyewitness accounts, a traditional ruler in the town ignored the order of the local government official and started rushing the unconscious

women to the Tunga- Magajiya Hospital but the duo died before they could receive medical attention.

The remains of the deceased were later released to their relations for burial according to Muslim rites.

When contacted, the Niger State Police Command confirmed the incident, though did not give details.

The spokesman of the command, Mr. Wasiu Abiodun said an investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of the victims had commenced.

Probe of EFCC, NDDC, Setback for Buhari, Says Forensic Investigator Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja A France-based Nigerian forensic investigator, Dr Yusuf Aliu yesterday said the probe of the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was a setback for President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft campaign.

Aliu, also the Director, Forensic Investigation, International Institute of Certified Forensic Investigation Professionals, United States, added that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), had eroded public confidence in Buhari’s anti-graft war.

He expressed these views in a statement he issued on Friday,

noting that corruption was taking its toll on the federal government’s anti-graft war.

Aliu, an indigene of Edo State, said high profile persons assigned with the responsibility of ensuring transparency in government transitions were now being accused of corrupt practices.

Aliu said graft and corruption in our country “are taking a rather huge toll on the government and her anti-graft/corruption efforts, with abuse of power, fraud, embezzlement, and misuse of public funds being on the rise daily in both size and severity.

“The individuals and institutions involved are high profile, assigned with the responsibility of ensuring transparency in government transitions. Now if the citadel of

justice is corrupt, of what value is the body politics?

“It is sad to note that government agencies saddled with the responsibility of promoting transparency in government are now the ones masterminding fraudulent practices.

“The federal government antigraft is suffering a huge setback.

Such setbacks culminate in the frustration of the citizens and lack of confidence in the government.

“Besides the negative perception of the government, corruption has threatened our democratic institutions and values and the government tends to be losing the fight. In 2019, Nigeria ranked 146 out of 180 on Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.”

SUNDAY AUGUST 2, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ AUGUST 2, 2020

OPINION

LEARNING TO LIVE WITH COVID-19 Rajendra Aneja lists 10 ways to coexist with COVID-19, till the Vaccine comes

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OVID-19 has flabbergasted and fatigued us for the last six months. It has disrupted our lives comprehensively. Never has the world been collectively bruised as horribly, as now.

We are unable to work from our offices, unable to visit a mall or a hairdresser. We have become frugal, since we do not know when our salaries could cease. The places where we worshipped and sought solace, temples, churches or mosques are shuttered. We are becoming socially isolated, petrified even to shake hands.

We are also apprehensive because there is no silver lining in the clouds. Nobody knows when the vaccine to neutralise Covid-19, will be available. There is another haunting question: is the worst over?

Here are 10 ways to coexist with Covid-19, till the vaccine arrives in 2020 or 2021.

Follow Basic Protocols: COVID-19 pandemic is terrifying in its proliferation even after sustained lockdowns. The USA, Brazil and India are witnessing sharp spikes. Yet, economies have opened hesitatingly, for people to make a living.

Even when lockdowns are lifted, there should be a curfew on weekends in countries like Brazil, and India to control the disease. Governments in sensitive countries should continue augmenting the medical facilities, beds and intensive care units.

Countries and WHO should agree the protocol of medicines to treat Covid-19. Testing should be intensified in all countries, particularly in crowded cities.

It is up to us now, to follow basic protocols like masks, social distancing, gloves to avoid Covid-19.

Keep Your Job: Companies, airlines, multinationals across the world, are axing jobs, due to low sales triggered by Covid-19.

Airbus has announced a restructuring, involving huge job cuts. BMW is eliminating 6,000 jobs. Millions of expatriates are returning to their home countries, since they have lost jobs. It is wise for a person to stay in his current job, even at a salary cut. A job is a blessing these days.

Go Online: Covid-1, with its turbulences has ushered a digital era, in our lives. The majority of the employees work from home with computers. The middle classes are buying groceries online,

to avoid visiting crowded markets. Classes for students are being conducted online for students. Till Covid-19 is harnessed we will have to operate substantial parts of our lives online. Laptops are the new pens and pencils in our digital era. Internet is the new umbilical cord to the world.

The challenge in developing countries in Asia and Africa, will be to take the digital revolution to the villages. Villagers often live around the poverty line of about two USD per day. They find it difficult to buy three meals a day, leave aside a laptop.

Frugality and Savings: Covid-19 is putting financial pressure on us. Many are losing jobs or facing salary cuts, in the public and private sectors. It is important to save as much as we can for the future. We may have to use every tea-bag twice and squeeze every last bit from thetoothpaste tube, to conserve moneys for unchartered emergencies.

Store Food and Medicines: It is useful to keep adequate inventories of medicines and basic foods at home. During one of my postings in Africa with Unilever, there were sustained curfews due to a raging civil war. We were advised to always maintain extra inventories of seven items: water, flour, rice, lentils, cooking oil, salt and sugar.

Boost Your Immunity: At a time when a definitive list of medicines to treat Covid-19 is yet to be agreed globally, it is important to takes care of your health and improve immunity. There are a host of suggestions on improving immunity. Some of these involve consumption of Vitamins C and D, Zinc tablets, gargling with turmeric water, consuming milk with turmeric, steam inhalation, a high protein diet, deep breathing, yoga, etc. However, it is important to consult a doctor before embarking on a personal immunity boosting exercise.

We cannot afford to give up hope…

Over the centuries, mankind has overcome many hurdles like World Wars, famines and epidemics. We will overcome Covid-19 too

Dignity in Mortality: There have been instances of Covid-19 deceased not being treated with the requisite protocols and dignity in many parts of the world. There were reports of bodies are being left in the streets in the overwhelmed Ecuadorian city Guayaquil. Huge mass graves, photographed from space showed the scale of Iran’s devastation under Covid-19. In Italy, there were long wait for burials. Funerals took place without family members. In India, there have been reports that bodies of COVID-19 victims were dumped in a pit.

The authorities should ensure that those who pass away due to Covid-19, receive decent last rites and their mortal remains are respected.

Reinvent Yourself: Many of us are operating entirely or partly from home during the lockdowns. We can use the extra time to improve our productivity and acquire new skills. It is best to have an agenda for the day, ideally prepared the previous night.

Three to five key tasks would form a “Must-Do” list.

Writing a daily diary, recording our thoughts, feelings, issues is also useful. When we read the diary many years later, we get new perspectives on issues and ourselves. Finally, this is the time to make a will, for the convenience of the family members.

Make your Voice Heard: About 80 million migrants in India trudged back from the cities to the villages when the lockdown was declared in India. They are without livelihoods. A study in the slums of Mumbai slums shows that about 47 per cent of the slum dwellers had no income during the lockdown and 70 per cent of them had to take loans for basics like water and rations.

Most developing countries do not have unemployment, medical or pension benefits for their citizens. This is the time to conscientise local governments about providing benefits to the needy.

Keep Fighting: We cannot afford to give up hope. As Ernest Hemmingway wrote in his book, A Farewell to Arms, “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” Over the centuries, mankind has overcome many hurdles like World Wars, famines and epidemics. We will overcome Covid-19 too.

––Aneja, former Managing Director of Unilever Tanzania, is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and author of“Rural marketing Across Countries”.

The NDDC Crisis President Buhari should swear in the substantive board of the agency in line with the law, writes Damian Nwikinaka

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he current drama that has enveloped the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is needless. In the last few weeks, Nigerians have been treated to a putrid feast of sleaze, financial recklessness and mismanagement at public hearings by committees of the National Assembly investigating the interim management committee, which is promoted by Niger Delta Minister Chief Godswill Akpabio.

It was not surprising to Nigerians that the Senate Ad hoc Committee made far-reaching recommendations, which were adopted by the Senate at plenary on Thursday July 23.

Even from the public hearing where the Acting MD Prof Keme Pondei and Acting Executive Director Projects Dr. Cairo Ojugboh admitted to paying themselves millions of naira as Covid-19 pandemic bonuses to the public, unveiling of breaches of the nation's procurement laws by Akpabio and the IMC, the facts that informed the conclusion of the Senate resolutions were clear for anyone to see.

Among others, the Senate resolved: that the IMC be disbanded and made to refund the sum of N4.923 billion; that the substantive Governing Board of the NDDC be sworn in to manage the commission in line with the provisions of the law; that the NDDC be moved back to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) in the Presidency for proper supervision; that the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation supervise the forensic audit to "guarantee independence, credibility, transparency and professionalism in the output of the exercise," and that "the President with advice from the Auditor General should appoint a renowned, internationally recognised forensic auditor to carry out the exercise.”

In all, it was a comprehensive look at the recent problems of the NDDC, with further resolutions for the Presidency and the new board to tweak the governance mechanisms of the commission to prevent the recurrence of a situation where its executive will be paying billions of naira to themselves in special bonuses, simply because, as Prof Pondei so arrogantly stated under oath, "We used it to take care of ourselves.

We are NDDC, we need to take care of ourselves too."

If anything, Akpabio revealed himself as inordinately interested in micromanaging the NDDC for which he prefers to have a personally handpicked IMC, rather than the Governing Board as stipulated in the NDDC Act. He interferes in the day-to-day decision-making of the NDDC, including directing them on which contractors to pay. For instance, the immediate past Acting MD Ms Joi Nunieh told the Senate Committee that Akpabio made demands on her to speed up payments to some contractors, not minding due process and laid-down financial regulations.

Akpabio fraudulently procured certificates of no-objection from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) for the award of two contracts, the first for a lead forensic consultant at N318 million, and the second for the purchase of 62 cars for N1.599 billion. According to the BPP, Akpabio assured them that the contracts had budgetary provision, following which Akpabio presented memos and obtained approval for these contracts at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings of February 12 and June 10, 2020, respectively. However, the NDDC had no budgetary provision for these items as required by the law at the time Akpabio presented these memos to the FEC. Akpabio deceived the President and FEC to approve the contracts thereby making the President and FEC to commit an illegality. If every minister starts to subvert BPP and FEC in this manner, the country will implode from the large-scale looting that will ensue. It is horrendous that breaches of the law will be happening at the highest levels of government!

The government of the day cannot act like it is okay for a member of the cabinet to lead the FEC to commit criminal breaches of the law. President Buhari must therefore take decisive steps to restore the credibility of his government.

Since the Senate recommendations, Niger Deltans have been waiting for the president to act, with many now believing that President Muhammadu Buhari is aloof because he has no commitment to the region. Despite all the promises of a commitment, the evidence is that the Buhari administration seems indifferent not only to the corruption by Akpabio and his men, but to the way the NDDC is run in flagrant disregard of its Establishment Act. And this is creating a perception problem the administration will do well to consider.

Even if they don't voice it, for political expediency, many Niger Delta leaders feel the administration treats the Niger Delta region as a conquered people to be disregarded and treated without dignity. Else, why would the law governing the NDDC be set aside to accommodate an illegal contraption such as the IMC? Niger Delta activist Comrade Joe Evah rightly observes that the president "should disband the IMC because that is the root of this confusion at the commission. From what we have been seeing and hearing from the IMC at the National Assembly, those of us who said the board should be inaugurated while the EFCC investigates the NDDC have been vindicated." He also makes the point, which is overwhelmingly supported by law and Niger Deltans, that, the board should be inaugurated, while the forensic audit is supervised by an independent body, say the EFCC or the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation.

The current drama is the fault of persons in the Presidency who connived with Akpabio to deceive the president to breach the NDDC

law by putting the board on hold to accommodate an illegality, the IMC. All the president needed to do to address whatever defects there are in the NDDC, as has been the case with all MDAs, was to order a forensic audit and appoint an independent forensic auditor like it did in the NNPC, while keeping the Governing Board in place in line with the law. Niger Deltans believe that the disregard for the NDDC Act indicates the president's disregard for the region because the whole drama steals valuable time and resources away from development intervention by the commission to needless war in the media. No other section of this country has been treated in such a manner where an external audit of a development agency becomes a basis for setting aside the law setting up the institution, which provides for a governing board to ensure accountability, due process, fairness and inclusion across the region.

In comparison, the North East Development Commission is quietly operating with a duly constituted Governing Board under the Presidency without the drama that has been whipped up at the NDDC. No parallel can be more grievous, that while the NDDC is stymied in state-aggravated confusion, the NEDC is operating without drama. In this, the people of the Niger Delta continue to suffer the physical underdevelopment of our region.

It should be clear to everyone that no Ad hoc arrangement, like the IMC or a sole administrator, which Buhari first applied for 11 months between 2015 and 2016, can pacify the people of the region, since it is in opposition to the established law, which is the NDDC Act of 2000, as amended. That act takes into cognisance the broad diversity of the region and its peculiar needs, and provides for a governing board and other structures to guarantee accountability, due process and equitable representation in the NDDC. Section 2 Part 2 of the NDDC Act provides for a governing board made up of a chairman, managing director, two executive directors and one person who shall be indigenes of an oil producing area to represent each of the following member states, that is: Abia, Akwa lbom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, and Rivers states, and three persons to represent each of the non-oil mineral producing geo-political zones. Other members are: a representative of oil producing companies in the Niger- Delta nominated by the oil producing companies; one person to represent the Federal Ministry of Finance; and one person to represent Federal Ministry of Environment. The act has no provision for an interim management committee!

–Nwikinaka wrote from Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

(See concluding part of the article on www.thisdaylive.com)

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ AUGUST 2, 2020

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LETTERS

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AYO FASANMI: ON THE SIDE OF TRUTH

he certainty of death as the expected end of every mortal was succinctly driven home by Williams Shakespeare in one of his enduring works, ‘Julius Ceaser’, in the following words: “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, it seems to me most strange that men should fear; seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come”.

Death is certainly an integral part of human existence. Either by spiritual insight or medical diagnosis some know ahead of time about the imminence of their death. But for others, deaths come so suddenly, tragically and at times so painfully.

This same death, which Shakespeare describes as a necessary evil, finally caught up with Pa Ayo Fasanmi on Thursday, July 30, 2020 at the age of 94.

An elder statesman and leader of Yoruba sociocultural group Afenifere, Pa Fasanmi was a great nationalist, visionary leader and a great pillar of democracy in the country.

His death has since been variously described as a great loss not only to the South-West but the country as a whole. He was a dedicated Nigerian with massive contributions to the socio-political development of the country.

The departed illustrious elder statesman was a

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Pa Fasanmi constant source of support and inspiration to contemporary political leaders across the country. He was always willing to offer his wise counsels and experience whenever the need arises.

That is the exact reason why he would be sorely missed.

What is, however, soothing is that Pa Fasanmi passed away at a ripe age, having served God and humanity in various capacities and fields.

A progressive politician and rare humanist, Pa Fasanmi touched and transformed several lives through his life of selfless service and industry. He was a symbol of decency, humility and integrity. His life epitomised the virtues of honesty, fairness and justice.

He was an exemplary leader who spent the greater part of his life in the service of humanity, particularly the Yoruba nation where he contributed to the development of the region. A vastly experienced political leader, he contributed immensely to the development of the South-west region in particular and the nation in general. Pa Fasanmi served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Old Western Nigeria Housing Corporation.

He was national president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria in 1977, elected into the Senate in 1979, and became a member of the House of Representatives in 1983. He also served as a member of the National

of the departed to the cause of the downtrodden is that whatever man does in life lives after him. Though the passionate leader is no more, he will be remembered by the lives that he touched.

He could have closed his eyes to the plight of the poor but he did not because he had a divine understanding of the true purpose of life.

The life he lived actually brings to mind the following philosophical words of Albert Pike: “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

How apt! The true purpose of life, according to Martins Luther King, is not in the number of mansions one has but in the number of lives one is able to touch.

It is this respect that one could actually say that Pa Fasanmi came, saw and conquered.

––Tayo Ogunbiyi, Lagos State Ministry of Information & strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

Mamman Daura, Dogara’s Defection And North-East

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n an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on July 28, 2020, Mallam Mamman Daura opined that competence, not geography, should determine the next president of Nigeria in 2023. Days before that, on July 24, 2020, former House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). These twin events have

rekindled the agitation for the North-east geopolitical zone to produce the next vice president in the 2023 presidential election, especially in the APC. The call for the northeast region to produce the APC’s next vice-presidential candidate is gaining momentum. In fact, recently, a ‘syndicate’ of 10 Northern groups within the APC urged the party to present a ‘new young face’

from the North-east as its vice-presidential candidate and zone the presidency to the Southwest in 2023 presidential election. Many groups have been emerging in the north-east advocating for the post of the vice president, but the APC 10 Northern group is the most powerful. The group boasts of the support of youths and many groups from the Northwest and Northcentral regions who

Nigeria’s Population Explosion

n the 19th century, English scholar, Thomas Malthus in his widely read book ‘An Essay on the principle of population’ warned the world that the geometric growth of human beings will far outstrip the resources needed to take care of them. He warned that there will be lots of famine with its attendant undesirable consequences and that the world should brace up for the agony that would follow.

The West proved him wrong as they used science and technology to give their citizens a better deal in life.

However he is indeed a sort of prophet as his prediction seems to have come to pass in Nigeria – the African continent’s most populous country which earned her the ironical sobriquet ‘The Giant of Africa.’

Nigeria has been cursed with the worst set of leaders both military and civilian and the lack of vision from these overlords has ensured the perpetuation of the vicious cycle of poverty which has been the lot of the populace.

Population growth is a two-edged sword. On the one hand it could propel a nation to greatness and the zenith of economic growth and development. The China example is there for the world to see as the fastest growing economy leveraging on their

Constitutional Conference Commission in 1994.

Pa Fasanmi was indeed an icon with indelible contributions to the socio-political evolvement of Nigeria and the Yoruba race. A core disciple of the iconic Yoruba leader, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Pa Fasanmi was an untiring advocate of a united Nigeria.

He was never one to stand in support of falsehood.

Throughout his political life, Fasanmi was always on the side of justice, fair play and transparency. In a society where people do all sorts of things to acquire wealth and fame, it is amazing that the late senator opted to be different. As we continue the process of nation building, we could draw vital lessons from the life and time of this illustrious patriot by daring to be different and endeavouring to stand by the side of truth and justice at all times.

One vital lesson that we need to really draw from the commitment and dedication

large population as the world’s most robust market. This was because its leaders since 1949 when Mao Tse Tung took over power have been visionary and have translated this vision into pro-people policies. They also ensured that their country was investment friendly which saw the United States and the west setting up shop massively in their country.

Nigeria on the other hand has no clear-cut plan for her citizens beyond empty rhetoric and grandstanding. We have had vision 2000, 2010 and 2020 with the economic situation of the country deteriorating and no solution in sight.

The average birth rate in Nigeria according to report is put at 5.3 per woman and it is as high as 7.3 in Katsina State.

The government has no plan for anybody as we are all left to our devices and survival strategy.

The current challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic where very few citizens received palliatives is a clear pointer to where we are headed.

Malthus was a die-hard advocate of population control long before it became a global buzzword. China had to embark on a one child per family policy in 1978 to keep their population under control after the Cultural Revolution failed to leapfrog the Asian nation into

the economic big league.

Coming back home, population control has been an extremely hard sell as most people especially the proletariat believe that children are a gift from God and as such they should perpetually be open to life.

We recall vividly the attempts by the then Military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida to limit the children per family to four.

The religious leaders and the conservative cultural practices of the people made the idea end up in a fiasco.

By 2050, there is the projection that Nigeria’s population will be well over 700 million.

This is really scary when you take into consideration the reality of scarce resources that is available to live a decent and productive life. If at 206 million, there is massive unemployment, poverty, hunger and the dearth of a welfare state, imagine how it will be by 2050! It will be worse than the state of nature.

There must be a critical paradigmatic shift as we grapple with the realities of being domiciled in a failed state where every resident is a local government unto him/herself.

The issue of population is a personal one and it is wrong to impose strict population control as a public policy. However there should be some robust

form of suasion to ensure that each citizen has children that they can reasonably cater for.

It is the quality of the kids that really matter and not the number. The challenge of day- to- day modern living is different from what obtained in the 20th century where the family unit was stronger and we were our brother’s keepers.

Things have changed now as the extended family which was a huge source of economic buffer is given way for the ascendancy of the nuclear family as a result of the brutal financial pressures of the 21st century.

Many Nigerians even with just two children find it a herculean task giving them the good life; how much more the possibility of taking additional ones from their relatives. That cultural cum economic description of the Nigerian family is fast giving way to the novel realities of westernization and globalization.

While we could blame the government for our woes as the country may have been better if corruption was reduced to the barest minimum, individuals also have a critical role to play to ensure that their kids get a head start in life in the ever-increasing world of competition.

––Tony Ademiluyi, Lagos

back the calls for the northeast to produce the next vice president. The names of possible candidates, both politicians and technocrats are already being whispered with the recent addition being Yakubu Dogara. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State, former SGF Lawal Babachir and Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami are also being mentioned.

Yakubu Dogara is controversyfree and has political experience, including a network of friends and political associates. But pundits believe that his political clout to win an election is limited to his primary constituency Bogoro, Dass and Tafawa Balewa LGAs. Dogara may also face trust issues because of his history of defections from PDP to APC, APC to PDP without convincing reasons. Boss Mustapha is also smartly positioning himself for the position.

Boss is a thoroughbred and experienced politician, armed with a very strategic an influential office. However, there are odds against him. At home, Boss lacks the political strength, doesn't command grassroots followership and doesn't have any political structures. In the North as a whole, he has not leveraged his position to build political friendships through patronage.

But he still has time to set things right. Getting the ticket will be a herculean task for him.

Governor Mai Buni of Yobe and Governor Zulum of Borno States have not shown any interest or may not even be attracted to the contest. This is because getting a second term as governors will be more important to them and the APC’s desire to take advantage of their incumbencies in their states during the elections will be paramount.

Minister Pantami is not showing any interest publicly, but his name always comes up. The reason for this may be because he fits into the political permutations and individual requirements that the APC needs to pick a strong vice -presidential candidate from the region. Pantami is easily marketable in the south and is already a household name in the north. He is free of political and personal baggage and has the integrity a political party can use as a unique selling point. So far, Pantami is the man to beat for the Vice- Presidential position in the APC. All these permutations, cross carpeting, mudslinging and scheming are a pointer to what should be expected in the 2023 elections in Nigeria which is still three years away. The 2023 game is for smart early birds, because it has already commenced.

––Zayyad I. Muhammad, Jimeta, Adamawa State

They Have Done Their Duty

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he recent photos of Queen Elizabeth, aged 94 and Major, now Sir, Tom Moore aged 100 who raised £32.79 million or $41.60 million for the hospital service present a great example of

what service to country and leadership means or should mean.

What a pity these qualities are so rarely obvious with many of the world's current leaders.

––Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͺ˜ 2020

BUSINESS

Editor: Kunle Aderinokun 08033204315, 08111813084 Email:kunle.aderinoku@thisdaylive.com

Is Sub-Saharan Africa’s Capital Market in Distress?

Sub-Saharan Africa has witnessed a consistent decline in capital market activities in the last few years as turnover in different segments of the market is dropping. Recent data released Refinitiv, one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure, showed investment banking fees in first half of 2020 was the lowest ever since 2012, just as deals in mergers and acquisitions also dropped. Bamidele Famoofo reports

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nvestment banking fees in sub-Saharan Africa reached an estimated US$64.5 million during the second quarter of 2020, half the value recorded during the first quarter of 2020 and the lowest quarterly total since first quarter in 2012.

Data provided by Refinitiv, formerly the financial & risk business of Thomson Reuters, is one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure, showed that US$196.1 million worth of fees were earned in the region during the first half of 2020, down 27 per cent from last year and a six-year low with fee declines recorded across M&A advisory, debt capital markets underwriting, and syndicated lending.

Investment banking plays a crucial role as mediator between companies that issue securities and the individuals or entities wishing to purchase them. In this respect, investment banking operates along two main lines: a “buy” side and a “sell” side.

“Buy” side operations include services such as securities trading. ”Debt capital markets underwriting fees declined 45 per cent to US$26.2 million, marking the lowest first half year total for bond fees in the region since 2016. Advisory fees earned from completed M&A transactions generated US$43.4 million, down 50 per cent year-on-year to the lowest first half level since 2005, while syndicated lending fees fell 36 percent to a six-year low of US$71.5 million”, the report showed.

In the period under review, equity capital markets underwriting fees increased by 164 percent year-on-year to US$55.1 million. Government & Agency fees accounted for 26 per cent of total investment banking fees earned in the region during the first half of 2020, up from 14 per cent during the same period last year.

South Africa generated the most fees in the region during the first six months of the year, a total of US$108.4 million accounting for 55 percent, followed by Nigeria with 13 per cent.

JP Morgan, one of world’s largest investment bankers, earned the most investment banking fees in the region during the first six months of 2020, a total of US$23.1 million or an 11.8 percent share of the total fee pool.

Mergers & Acquisitions The value of announced M&A transactions with any Sub-Saharan African involvement reached US$10.3 billion during the first six months of 2020, 44 per cent less than the value recorded during the same period in 2019, and a two-year low. The number of deals declined 18 percent over the same period. After just US$424.5 million worth of deals were recorded in April, marking the lowest monthly M&A total since October 2005, activity increased for two consecutive months to reach US$3.0 billion in June, a nine-

Nigerian-Stock-Exchange, building

month high. Deals with a sub-Saharan African target declined 76 percent by value to an eighteen-year low of US$3.2 billion, as domestic M&A within the region declined 71 per cent from last year and the combined value of inbound M&A deals reached just US$1.2 billion, the lowest first-half level in more than two decades.

The largest deal involving a sub-Saharan African target was announced at the end of May – Afrimat’s US$644.3 million acquisition of South African mine operator Unicorn Capital Partners. Deals in the materials sector accounted for 46 per cent of sub-Saharan African target M&A activity during the first six months of 2020. South Africa was the most targeted nation, followed by Uganda and Nigeria. Outbound M&A totalled US$3.6 billion during the first six months of 2020, 67 per cent more than the value recorded during the same period in 2019, despite a 22 percent decline in the number of deals. With

advisory work on 11 deals with a combined value of U$1.7 billion, JP Morgan holds to the top spot in the financial advisor ranking for deals with any sub-Saharan African involvement during the first six months of 2020.

Equity Capital Markets Sub-Saharan African equity and equity-related issuance totaled US$1.5 billion during the first half of 2020, 16 per cent more than the value recorded during the same period last year, but lower than every other first half total since 2009. The number of deals recorded declined by 29 per cent to the lowest first half tally since 2009.

Only one initial public offering was recorded during the first six months of the year. Malawian telecoms company, Airtel Malawi, raised US$28.7 million on the Malawi Stock Exchange in February. JP Morgan took first place in the sub-Saharan African ECM underwriting league table during the first six months of 2020.

Debt Capital Markets The African Development Bank raised $3 billion in a “Fight COVID-19” social bond at the end of March to help alleviate the economic and social impact the Coronavirus pandemic will have on livelihoods and economies in the region. With this deal, and Ghana’s US$3 billion Eurobond in February, sub-Saharan African debt issuance totalled US$8.9 billion during the first quarter of 2020, the secondhighest first quarter DCM total in the region of all time. Only US$1.9 billion was raised during the second quarter, taking the value raised during the first six months of 2020 to US$10.7 billion, down 14 per cent from last year and a fouryear low. Deutsche Bank took the top spot in the sub-Saharan African bond underwriter ranking during first half of 2020 with US$1.7 billion of related proceeds, or a 16 per cent market share.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͺ˜ 2020

BUSINESS / TRANSPORTATION

Opening the South with Itakpe-Warri Rail Line Kasim Sumaina examines the newly-built Itakpe-Warri rail line and how its economic impact will open the oil-rich region of the South-south and industrious South-east with the agricultural and solid mineral hubs of the North-central and North-west linking the nation’s Federal Capital Territory, Abuja

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n 1987, a contract was awarded to build the central line, a standard gauge railway to connect the iron ore deposits at Itakpe to the Ajaokuta Steel Mill and the Atlantic Ocean port of Warri.The railway was originally planned for completion in five years, but sporadic funding stretched out its construction period over 30 years.

In August 2017, the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, announced that the railway would be completed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and Julius Berger. Trial runs began in November 2018, and another recently completed.

In October 2019, the government signed a $3.9 billion contract with the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited to extend the railway to the national capital of Abuja.

The realisation of the railway dream of over many years and the completion and test run of the Itakpe-Warri phase of the project by President Muhammadu Buhari administration will bring succour to low-income earners in the axis.

The protracted railway project started in 1987 by military junta under former Military President, Gen Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), has been marred by one controversy or the other and chief amongst them is the prolonged abandonment by successive administration, but, 33 years down the lane, the project has seen the light of day.

During the recent test run of the rail project along the Itakpe-Warri corridor, THISDAY observed the followings.

One, that it was imperative that government build high communication network along the corridor or liaise with the Nigerian Railway Corporation to engage telecommunications giant, which can take advantage of non-availability of network coverage to build and install same along the axis.

This will enhance efficiency and encourage passengers to use the train and if possible, government can provide internet services to the passengers.

This railway corridor is very timely especially this period government is thinking of the way forward in the post-COVID-19 era. Hence, commercial activities should be deliberately boosted to generate revenue and also to galvanise commercial potential of the communities, young people, existing businesses, and economic blueprints of various states.

Now is the time to look at the enormous potential of this new vista of our railway industry which cuts across all sectors. The rail corridor should be seen as a major investor opportunity, which they can collaborate with the federal and state governments to explore existing investment windows.

Small businesses can be encouraged to spring up in order to create jobs and create wealth for the locals, which would reduce criminality in order to safeguard lives and property.

It’s also of essence that both public and private sectors collaborate to add value to the historic railway corridor connecting the oil-rich region of the South-south and industrious Southeast with the agricultural and solid mineral hubs of the North-central and North-west linking the nation’s Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

On the Itakpe - Ajaokuta - Warri corridor, the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, recently said, “I

Itakpe-Warri rail tracks

One of the trains station on Itakpe-Warri rail line

have just been briefed that Julius Berger has packed out, CCECC is maintaining just a little presence they want us to take over so that they can also leave, NRC/ Ministry will take over and the director of railway will be managing director for now until they do their final inspection and take over from CCECC, the contractor and then Julius Berger then we move on from there.”

Amaechi expressed satisfaction with the quality of work. “When you see a good job, don’t ask questions. The

camera will show that this is a good job.

This is the Goodluck Jonathan Agbor Station, which incorporates the railway facilities. Both Julius Berger, CCECC and team have all done a good job.

“We will know if NRC has done a good job when they manage it properly because the issue is maintenance. I don’t want to come here in the next four, five years and it looks worn out. I have seen the toilet facilities they look good, but typical of us, I hope in the next five years it will be intact because in Kubwa

now, those things look worn out, if you break anything, replace it or repair it. I think we should learn to maintain the infrastructure that we inherit.”

Continuing, he said, “Railway is about cargo and the MD has just told me that they will bring their pipes from Warri port and we transport it for them. That’s money! Any production from Ajaokuta will be conveyed by this rail track and I’ve been told they are discussing with Dangote and BUA cement.

“The essentials for this will be cargo and it will start immediately the rail starts working. We will be ready, but I don’t know if they will be ready.”

On timelines of completion of all rail projects, Amaechi hinted that it is difficult to deal with timelines now. “We were determined to complete LagosIbadan by May, I don’t know when we will start Lagos- Kano, but when we start, we will be requiring more than 10,000 workers, Kaduna-Kano 10,000 workers, Ilorin to Ibadan 10,000 workers how can we do that when we are trying to maintain social distancing. If you can’t get that number and you get 1000 workers you will be reduced by 90% then we are in trouble.”

It pertinent that states where the rail corridor passes through should take advantage of the terminals located in their communities to establish cottage industries, plazas and recreational facilities that could generate revenue for the government.

Also states can use the terminals as tourism attraction that would generate revenue and make them as business hubs. Stakeholders have also raised concerns on what government should do in terms of safety for farmers and herders along the corridor to prevent encroachment.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͺ˜ 2020

THE EXECUTIVE

Chaudhuri

SHUBHAM CHAUDHURI

Nigeria’s Economic Outlook is Challenging Dr. Shubham Chaudhuri is the World Bank Country Director in Nigeria, a position he has held since October 2019. He speaks with Nosa James-Igbinadolor about the very challenging state of the Nigerian economy, its future outlook and the bank’s intervention strategy and programmes in the country

W

hat is the World Bank’s assessment of the current state of the Nigerian economy?

The Nigerian economy has been hit hard as have economies all over the world as a result of the global crisis which everyone says has become a trite term now. That is unprecedented! And it truly is, as it is a crisis that the global economy has not seen and certainly not in the last 50 years and perhaps not even in the last century. So if you look at the Nigerian economy, you’ve seen the Q1 number, GDP growth has slowed down, but that was really before the full impact of the crisis was felt and we are projecting this year; we are still hopeful that the contraction of the economy might be no more than -3 per cent, meaning growth

turning negative. There is the possibility of a much more severe contraction. There is also the possibility of a milder contraction.

Here, there are two factors that would matter: the first is, what happens globally with the global economy, in particular with oil prices, and the other is, what the government does and what it is able at the federal and state level to, one, contain the outbreak so as not to peak and the other is the response on the fiscal and socio-economic front in supporting local economic activities and protecting livelihoods and helping firms retain jobs. And so now, outlook is challenging and the numbers have tried to slow down, but we still have half a year to go.

A World Bank report in June asserted that Nigeria is expected to plunge into a severe economic recession as a consequence of the COVID-19 epidemic and the fall in global oil prices. What in the assessment of the bank

is this severe recession going to look like, especially its impact on jobs, and medium to long term growth?

At the World Bank, our focus first and foremost is on trying to eliminate poverty, so we always begin with how will policies and programmes and economic crisis like this affect the poor and what will it do to the number of poor? Here if you are talking of the contraction of the economy of the scale of -3 per cent growth or even higher, we are looking at an increase in the number of poor and the percentage of the population that is extremely poor. So, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, released the latest result of its latest household survey, which showed that about 40 per cent of Nigerians are in the extreme poverty category. That number could go up by a certain number of percentage, which means for a country such as Nigeria, several more millions of people who are poor and many millions of these people will be newly poor. Newly poor in the sense that

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͺ˜ 2020

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COVID-19 Shocks Putting Millions of Nigerians in Poverty those who may just have been getting by above the poverty line and because they’ve lost their jobs, and in many cases, people who rely on the informal sector for livelihoods out on the street and hustling their business. So on top of those who are already poor, we would see a cadre of newly poor Nigerians. Government’s response is critical here, so whether it’s in terms of palliatives or other responses, what is important is that government protects peoples’ livelihoods and not just to rely on palliatives and handouts through support to SMEs, farmers and others that will ensure that their businesses continue and jobs aren’t lost, so that they can also maintain their purchasing power.

Let me give you an example, we worked with the NBS on a mobile phone survey of nearly 2000 households in April and May and these households were part of the larger households in the living standard survey, which the NBS did in 2019 and that larger survey had a lot of details about what kinds of occupation these households are in, income levels and consumption levels and so we know a lot about these households.

Now six months later from when that survey was finalised in 2019, the NBS did a random sampling, which represented sub-sampling and basically asked them about their experience during the crisis and what you find there is 42 per cent of the people who were working in mid-March, were no longer working as at the beginning of May. Somewhere north of 70 per cent of the households said they had seen extreme hardships in terms of putting food on the table, that the cost of food items had gone up. So those are the kind of impacts that you see and the government’s response should necessarily focus on ensuring the protection of jobs and hence livelihoods.

Our projection right now, is that most things being equal, we are looking at the impact of these shocks putting millions of people, about 2 per cent of the population into poverty.

For jobs, you will see both in the latest report and the December one, some figures as to what happened during the last recession that Nigeria experienced. So that was in 2016 and 2017. So in between those four years, you had 19 million Nigerians entering the labour force of which only five million were able to find good jobs, with the remaining 14 million unable, either unemployed or under-employed, meaning they had to do something to put food on the table. This was not an occupation of choice.

And the big part of that was because you saw the loss of jobs during the last recession, and as the economy recovered, it did not recover fast enough to accommodate the three million young Nigerians of working age every year.

That should give you a sense of what could happen in the aftermath of this recession and this recession is even deeper, many more jobs that could potentially be lost and depending on how long it takes the economy to recover, creating new jobs will take longer and in the meantime, the number of young Nigerians who come of working age doesn’t stop and keeps coming.

In terms of the Nigerian government’s response to the debilitating economic crisis and the project recession, what is the World Bank’s advisory?

We exist and that is our basic mission, to eliminate poverty in our 189 member countries, by improving living standards for the bottom half of the population. So that is the reason why we are here in Nigeria, to help the Nigerian government eliminate poverty and this coincides very nicely with President Buhari’s ambition of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty. So, in the context of that work, we try to support the Nigerian government by investing in human capital, in enabling the space for private firms to invest and grow, to strengthening public financial management. In the context of this crisis, one of the biggest challenges that Nigeria face is that government, both at the national and state levels, are fiscally constrained.

Why is that? Because the revenue of the federal government even in normal times is among the lowest in the world. To give you an example, in 2019, consolidated government revenue, that is, what comes into the account for the tiers of government to spend was about 8 per cent of GDP. What does that mean? The rule of thumb

regulatory policy clarity and consistency. Of all the different infrastructure sectors, power is the lifeblood and that is why we are supporting the Nigerian government with its power sector roadmap. Nigeria also needs to deepen its financial market and make access to finance more accessible and inclusive. One of the things that struck me about Nigeria, is that Nigeria has one of the highest rate of entrepreneurship in the emerging economies. A lot of young Nigerians have ideas and are ready to do business and that is a dynamism that Nigeria should tap into. They do need access to finance, including inputs especially domestically and from outside. In addition, it is critical that Nigeria allows competition to thrive by allowing new entrants into the varied sectors of the economy.

Chaudhuri

estimate is that for a government to provide basic functions that any state should provide in terms of security, primary healthcare, basic education, roads, and so on, you need about 15 per cent of GDP. Nigeria was getting half of that and in the context of this crisis, because the bulk of these monies is from oil related revenues, so government needs to do more to get more revenues. So we are supporting the government to understand what can be done to marshal the fiscal resources and there are basically three ways they can do that. Firstly, by identifying other sources of revenue even within the oil sector that can be tapped into.

Second, prioritisation of expenditure by cutting back non critical expenditure and third ensuring that agriculture value chains are maintained by making sure that farmers get all the inputs they need and get their products to the market.

We also help government to support micro and small enterprises stay afloat to ride out this crisis.

In December 2019, the World Bank came out with a report that posited that productivity would be critical to support robust growth and job creation and to keep an additional 30 million people from falling into extreme poverty. What should be the government’s strategy to ramp up productivity in view of the fact that manufacturing levels in Nigeria is very abysmal? What are these bold reforms the World Bank believes should be enacted?

So, by productivity, we mean, what is the value-added? Each Nigerian worker should be able to add to the economy. Why do we care about value-added per worker? Because in most

cases, what a worker earns will be linked to his value-added. So, whether it is a family farm where everyone works and the farm is able to produce more, the value-added per worker on that family farm goes up. So, when you think about an entire economy, the way to get value-added per worker up or productivity per worker up is to have a structural transformation to get more workers employed in the sectors that are naturally value-added. So manufacturing is one area, so is services. It doesn’t have to be just manufacturing, some of the highest value-added sectors are in services. So, it’s a two-part strategy. Wherever workers are, you try to find ways of adding value per worker, but more importantly, you try to help people transition out of the low value-added sectors to the high value-added sectors. So what’s keeping that from happening in Nigeria is that transition. If you look at places like China and South Asia, that transition has to be like a natural draw from the low value-added sectors to the high value-added sectors, which means that there has to be enough jobs being created in the high value-added sectors that firms start offering higher wages to draw workers out from the low value-added sectors to the high ones. So, it is essentially a challenge of how do you help high value-added sectors grow faster than the rest of the economy and create more jobs. What is getting in the way of that in Nigeria is infrastructure which takes more and more time, but more than that it is policy clarity and certainty. Most businessmen require clarity and certainty to make informed business decisions and make profits. So, in Nigeria, we need infrastructure, but much more than that,

Of all the different infrastructure sectors, power is the lifeblood and that is why we are supporting the Nigerian government with its power sector roadmap. Nigeria also needs to deepen its financial market and make access to finance more accessible and inclusive

The present Nigerian government has been in office since 2015 and has undertaken several programmes aimed at stimulating the economy with little success in terms of growth and FDI. What could be done right and what does the bank see as the entry barriers to critical FDI inflows into the non-oil sector?

Instead of FDI, I would want to know what has hindered investment inflow including local and foreign into the country. All investors, not portfolio ones, but those who want to set up industries and enter into services to create jobs are all looking at policy and regulatory certainty, infrastructure availability that can get their goods and services into markets, what is trade facilitation like? Can they bring the inputs they need and freely export their finished products? Additional concerns would be; can they repatriate their profits? So a situation where an investor finds that he or she can invest, but cannot buy inputs because of foreign exchange scarcity in the market does not engender confidence in the economy. Same with uncertainty over ability to repatriate profits. Policy and regulatory certainty is fundamental in this regard along with power and infrastructure The World Bank asserted in 2016 that its strategy to ending extreme poverty and boosting prosperity is through investment in agriculture.What has the bank’s intervention been like in this regard, and what has been the outcome with respect to impact?

The anchor of the World Bank’s investment really has been this programme called Fadama, which works with farmers, gets them into cooperatives and tries to figure out ways to get more yields and reach markets and improve incomes.

Coming in as the new Country Director and looking at what we have been able to do in the past, my reaction is, that is great. Programmes like this have had positive impacts, but for a country the size of Nigeria, both in terms of economy and population, have we done this at a large scale and fast enough? And when I spoke earlier of the need to not only find ways of increasing value-added in agriculture but also transitioning workers out of agriculture, because nowhere in the world is the agricultural sector the main value-added per worker sector, especially for a large economy like Nigeria. So, the ambition going forward is to continue to work on agriculture and agriculture business chains as a way of increasing value-added, but beyond that is, how do we help Nigeria with structural transformation? In the context of Nigeria, what people often call it, is economic diversification. So we are focusing on supporting Nigeria in areas where it has competitive advantage and help realise its potentials. One area, where we think Nigeria has competitive advantage is all things digital. Alot of Nigerians are active in this area and we want to help the country scale up in all things digital.

The bank approved $2.2 billion in February and $750 million in June for Nigeria. There is a growing fear amongst Nigerians of the country entering into a new debt trap. What is the bank’s total loan portfolio in Nigeria and is there a fear in the bank about how these credits are being efficiently utilised?

First, in February, the total was actually about $1.6 billion and only $650 million has been approved and the approval of the remaining tranche depends on how well the initial release would be utilised. Our total loan portfolio in Nigeria since 2011 is about $11 billion.

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WEEKLY PULL-OUT

02.8.2020

KASHIFU INUWA ABDULLAHI

NIGERIA’S INVENTIVE THINKER, TECHNOCRAT At 40, he’s fortified to take on the world. He sees posterity. He maximizes potentials. He explores possibilities. With his endearing leadership prowess, he worms his ways to every height attainable.

Outstanding in thought and inventive in technique, the gregarious and serious-minded Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, possesses not just the aura of a technocrat but that of a leader.

Funke Olaode sheds more light on what makes him tick ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/funkola2000@gmail.com

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T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R ˾ Ͱ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

COVER

The Poster Boy for Nigerian Youths

H

e may not be as popular as your local council chairman or well-known as Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari. He may not excite millions of people online. But this remarkable, level-headed and ingenious young man is an illustrious Nigerian.

As he sits across a table, neatly arranged but filled with items that range from files to gadgets, and you look at his countenance it’s tempting to conclude he doesn’t smile. When it’s suggested to him that he’s stone-faced.

That cracks him up rather than making him take offence.

“Who said I don’t smile?” he asks rhetorically.

He adds, “Do you believe that?

He continues: “You might have noticed my smiles in the course of this interaction.

“Of course, I smile even though it’s a reflex gesture done when it’s warranted.

I can assure you that when I spend quality time with family and friends you will find me smiling a lot.”

That’s true. Welcome to the world of the Harvard-trained Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi.

The gregarious and serious-minded Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency possesses not just the aura of a technocrat but that of a leader.

Born on February 21, 1980, the graduate of Computer Science from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University is a father of five children including twins. With a heavy national responsibility resting on his young shoulders, Abdullahi is more than ready to play his role in the best way possible.

That readiness is summed up in his willingness to take on even weightier responsibilities.

Without exaggeration, Nigeria can do with a young man like him as a president. Not one to shy away from national duties, he does not hesitate to admit that he’s got what it takes to be the president of the most populous African country.

So, if politicians and millions of Nigerian youths are looking for a self-assured but unassuming young leader. Abdullahi is it.

Always confident with a sense of modesty, the NITDA director general notes, “In terms of having what it takes to be a president, I would say, with all sense of humility, yes I do.”

“However, it may be interesting to know: what does it take to be a potential leader?”

Abdullahi poses a poser.

A great leader and teacher, he volunteers the answer, saying: “It is the ability to develop a sense of who you are and what you are about.”

Abdullahi is an engaging interlocutor with friendly pitch and tone. Though bespectacled, it’s easy to notice genuine humaneness and delight in his eyes as he talks.

Regarding his ability to be Nigeria’s president, he explains, “When you have this, there is that sense of self-confidence about your ability to lead people, whether in a business environment or on a larger scale.

“An effective leader, which a country desires, draws upon other qualities as well, including the ability to set and communicate a vision for the country, a capacity to market and sell that vision to everybody. Those types of leadership qualities are ‘something that is in the internal DNA’ of a person. A good leader inspires people, demonstrates success, shows the way, and advances the careers of those who work for him.”

That’s vintage Abdullahi. He sees posterity. He maximizes potentials. He explores possibilities.

On May 31, 2018, President Buhari signed into law the ‘Not Too Young To Run Bill’ as Nigerian youths have established a formidable legacy that they can achieve they are determined to do.

Yet, the pragmatic NITDA boss points out, “Having said this and in answer to the second part of your question, it is no, it is not something (to be Nigeria’s president) that I dream about and it doesn’t suggest that I am interested in that position.”

Abdullahi is as realistic as he’s futuristic.

At the moment, he’s focused on making the agency he presides over a better institution.

“My dream is to position NITDA where it ought to be – a foremost IT regulatory agency that competes with other international IT regulatory institutions,” says Abdullahi.

If you’re in doubt of what this 40-year-old is capable of doing, consider his expertise.

Abdullahi is a Massachusetts Institute

Abdullahi

of Technology – MIT Sloan – trained strategist with 15 years’ experience in IT operations, business transformation, and solution architecture, across both private and public sectors. He attended Leadership and Management courses at Harvard University in the US, the University of Cambridge in the UK, and IMD Business School in Switzerland.

As the first Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) in Nigeria’s public sector, he is also a Certified Project Manager and Solution Architect with many professional certifications in networking, telecommunications, service management, and solution design.

Abdullahi was at Galaxy Backbone between 2004 and 2013, holding several positions such as network engineer, IP network field engineer, senior network & lead, senior solution architect and lead, technical solution design.

In 2014, he joined Central Bank of Nigeria as a technology architect, where he dedicated his time to developing a technology architecture repository that gives 360 view of the bank’s IT infrastructure and facilitated ease of decision-making on new IT investment. Abdullahi was part of the team that executed software licence rationalization that has increased cost-savings for CBN in license annual subscriptions.

Prior to his appointment as NITDA’s DG, he was a key resource in the development of IT standards for the apex bank, which has reduced mean time to deploy and integrate a new system by over 20 percent. One of his major achievements as a technology architect was the production of 7 Solution Architectures for critical IT initiatives that helped in achieving a cashless society in Nigeria.

He joined NITDA in 2017 as a technical assistant to the previous NITDA boss. Being the IT regulatory body in Nigeria mandated to implement National ICT policy, he managed the execution of strategy which has increased ICT contribution to Nigeria’s GDP by over 13 percent in the second quarter of 2018. He also coordinated the local content initiatives that have increased ICT local production by over 200 percent in 2017.

Abdullahi, a member of the Nigeria Computer Society and the British Computer Society, assumed duty as the boss of NITDA in August 2019 and ever since then things

haven’t remained the same in the agency --for good reasons. For a young man who loves challenges, he couldn’t have for something more.

“It feels great and I am indeed honoured to step into the shoes of my boss and mentor, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), FNCS, FBCS, FIIM, the immediate past DG and current Minister of Communications and Digital Economy,” he reveals.

“What came to my mind was not to disappoint the expectation of a whole lot of people, who have reposed confidence in me over the years. Under Pantami, I played a crucial role in the development of the agency’s strategic roadmap to turn around the Nigerian IT sector and also identify ICT as a key enabler for economic diversification.

It is a project he started and I am privileged to have this opportunity to continue with the vision and see it to fruition.”

In a few months, Abdullahi has walked the talk.

“In the last one year, NITDA has brought benefits of immense proportion to the country and we have implemented over 300 infrastructures in the ICT sector, placing the parastatal as the most prominent under the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy,” he says.

With a strategic roadmap for the digital transformation of the country, consisting of seven pillars aimed at repositioning the sector, Abdullahi states that NITDA has become more competitive. Seven pillars, according to him, have been instrumental in the achievements of the agency.

“The seven pillars are regulation to level the playing field and remove obstacles to business; capacity building to function in a knowledgebased economy; and government digital services promotion to foster an interactive government encouraging contributions by citizens and delivery of service.

“Others are local content development and promotion to encourage delivery of tailor-made tech solutions for local needs; digital inclusion to promote infrastructure for citizens to access e-services; digital job creation and cybersecurity to protect Nigeria’s technology assets.”

Global-minded, Abdullahi is pushing

the envelope and energizing the agency to up its ante and operate at the highest level possible.

“We have to compete globally,” he acknowledges. “We have to be with the world, and it was in realisation of this that the scholarship scheme was initiated by NITDA. The agency has so far trained over 2,000 Nigerians for both Masters and PhD programmes across the world, and most of them have come back to add value to the country.”

The scholarship, mentioned by the NITDA boss, is open to all Nigerians. But it requires applicants to have a first class or second class upper in IT-related fields and must meet all other basic criteria, including NYSC for master’s programme, while applicants for PhD must be lecturers in a tertiary institution with only one person considered in each geo-political zone for PhD programme, and one person in each state of the federation for the master’s programme.

“I assure you of my total commitment and readiness to revive this great institution,” he promises, “through capacity building, introduce special courses and also provide necessary tools to those who excelled among their peers, so that we can create potential employers, not employees of labour.”

Nigeria has highly talented youths, who are ready to work in the technology sector and Abdullahi assures that institutions like NITDA have an enormous role to play particularly in providing them with prerequisite entrepreneurship skills so that they can set up their own businesses and employ others.

“I try to mentor others, by the way, I am providing leadership at NITDA. However, it is not all about northern youths but the whole country. You can see that in our approach to youth empowerment programmes being executed across the country. I am a developmentalist who sees the whole as essential,” says Abdullahi.

He explains further, “My advice to the youths is to take advantage of many initiatives available to them such as those of NITDA in order to challenge the ‘future of work’ that is different from what they have learnt in school.

“I make them understand that youth development is a catalyst for growth with potentials to transform the nation. To me, mentorship is about providing opportunities for the youths to excel.”

The NITDA boss discloses that over 940 digital capacity centres, IT hubs, innovation, and incubation parks, and IT community training centres have been built across the country. Furthermore, programme like StartUp Friday, Start-up Clinic, FutureHack, NITDA’s Graduate Internship Programme, training for artisans, etc., have been providing opportunities for Nigerian youths to be mentored and build their careers.

“My goal is to achieve success in whatever I lay my hands on,” Abdullahi explains, “I have a name to protect and a resume to build and so I am motivated to get the result. I want people to ask, who is this gentleman? You may have noticed that when President Muhammadu Buhari confirmed my appointment and the announcement was made. The question on people’s lips was ‘Who is Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi?’”

The astounding technocrat wants to be at the zenith of his career. At the moment though, he says he wants to see the agency he superintends as a smart, respected, focused and success-motivated institution.

What’s his vision for NITDA? “My vision for NITDA is to leave behind a legacy. My boss and mentor have set the pace and I intend to build on this. You will agree with me that already we are on the move to achieve that,” the brilliant Abdullahi reveals with a reassuring smile on his face.

Abdullahi’s mind is built around creating legacies, enduring legacies and impacting lives. He doesn’t settle for less.

“Sometimes, I tell people who are close to me to ponder upon what daily life would be like without IT. You might be able to survive without certain things like providing basic social welfare to loved ones who are dependent on you.

“But can life be imagined without television, cell phones, e-mail, the end of mass air travel as we know it today, or even the collapse of the banking system? Most of our lives would be affected dramatically,” he argues.

Abdullahi may be 40 years old but he’s fortified to take on the present, reshape the past and explore the future.

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GLITZ FOCUS

Nigeria’s Couture Queen Lifting Women out of Poverty A bundle of brain, illustrious and beauteous, she embodies success, selflessness and superiority, towering above her peers. Always dressed to the nines, unique and stately, she possesses the humaneness that’s a rarity in the modern world. Princess Kelechi Oghene, Executive Director of GMYT Fashion Academy has mastered the art of philanthropy. She discusses with Funke Olaode why she sets her eyes on supporting humanity.

O

ver the last 15 years, Princess Kelechi Oghene, the Executive Director of GMYT Fashion Academy, an ex-modelturned-entrepreneur has continued to contribute to societal growth through her foundation which has impacted over 300 beneficiaries. In what has become a yearly obligation, the fashion mogul showered multimillionnaira scholarships on 20 beneficiaries.

Armed with this philosophy, Oghene, whose fashion academy is an outlet renowned for creating breathtaking couture and raising a new crop of entrepreneurs, has continued to excel in philanthropy.

She’s the founder of the GMYT Foundation and the CEO of GMYT African Humanitarian Awards.

Her vision is to create millions of entrepreneurs who will become great ambassadors and tomorrow’s leaders.

Through her various philanthropic gesture created to empower women, many have been lifted out of poverty and made financially independent, able to become a pillar of support to their families thereby fulfilling the saying that ‘if you empower a woman you are empowering a nation.

Oghene’s commitment to humanity is not one-off as her not-for-profit organization, GMYT Foundation, committed to training and retooling women through fashion, so far, has assisted over 300 women, numerous youths on scholarship in couture.

Born July 19, Oghene rather than throw a big party, as always, this year decided to channel her resources to a cause dear to her heart. She gave out 20 scholarships thereby fulfilling her vision of reducing poverty, providing women with necessary skillsets.

“This is my birthday gift,” said the beautiful mother of two. “I am not doing all this to play to the gallery because now more than ever, we all need to adopt the habit of giving back to society so that the world we live in can become a better place.”

She adds, “We look forward to meeting our amazing aspiring fashion designers that would take advantage of this opportunity into becoming students of GMYT Fashion Academy, bringing us into their world as we can’t wait

to impact our knowledge so they can achieve their dreams and aspiration going forward.

“As I have always preached and done over the years, from the ongoing pandemic that we all need it now more than ever.”

Speaking on the motivation behind the scholarship which she started over a decade ago, Oghene admitted that the life of an entrepreneur is a journey on a contorted road with bumps and craters.

At certain points, the bumps could seem as high as mountains, making this journey appear quite despondent.

“15 years ago, this vision evolved when I started building myself to become what I have always admired: a successful entrepreneur who will raise millions like me in this nation and in the diaspora.

This optimistic philosophy helped in the journey towards achieving my goal. It was not at all easy,” Oghene says.

As an avid reader and a great hands-on learner, she has attended several workshops, training and even obtaining various executive degrees and qualifications from notable institutions.

She is a leader with a purpose.

Every journey begins with a step.

Oghene took that step, 15 years ago when she opened a boutique and later ventured into bespoke couture which metamorphosed into GMYT Fashion Academy.

She notes, “One positive trait that’s proved to be highly efficient in boosting me out of hitches and deadly pits is ambition. I know that too much of it could corrupt a person. But so far it has only empowered my spirit with much-needed optimism.

“My greatest ambition is keeping with my commitment to eradicating poverty by training and empowering women with the necessary skillsets to thrive and become financially independent thereby reducing what women go through like abuse, rape and other vices and because of that, I founded the GMYT Foundation, a non-governmental organization set aside to help women and youths.”

There’s more.

She explains: “I took it upon myself along with my team to reduce the suffering in our society by conducting free entrepreneurial sessions, seminars, workshops and scholarships for women

Kelechi

and youths worth over N200m.

“By the grace of God, we have empowered over 300 women and youths with industrial sewing machines through my ‘Proclaimed Initiative’ and we have trained over 500 women and youths that aspire to be fashion designers.”

That path, the path of philanthropy, is her life built on passion, vision, and mission to support humanity in the most practical way.

“We’ve given millions of naira to support this movement.

I do this because I am a philanthropist. It is in my nature to give. I want to encourage everyone to use their positions to help because I believe it starts with individuals.

“As Albert Pike said, ‘What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal’.”

Oghene is a rewarder and an encourager of those who remain true to their dream and passion to help their fellow human beings. Her love for fashion coupled with a passion for humanity propelled her to create the GMYT African Humanitarian Awards and Fashion Show.

In its sixth year, Oghene said the award is in two categories. It is an award ceremony that recognizes and celebrates philanthropists like herself because she believes it is important to honour them. It is also a platform that celebrates the best fashion designers who graduated from her academy.

Calling on all and sundry to be their brother’s keeper, Oghene said her intervention became imperative considering the economic situation in Nigeria.

“Today, as I celebrate a new year, looking back at what I have been able to achieve, I feel proud and still have the urge to do more, and God willing, I will get there,” she adds.

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Ͱ˜ ͰͮͰͮ ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

High Life Who will Settle Arthur Eze and Pius Ayim’s Tiff?

Ayim

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

Happy Times are Here Again for Billionaire Sam Iwuajoku

P

eace and mutual regard are in high demand for accomplished businessman and oil mogul Authur Eze and accomplished former Senate president, and Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Ayim Pius Anyim. Since these figures took to lambasting themselves and slinging mud across each other’s corridors, folks have pointed out the need for settlement—but nothing so far. Even ignoring high-blood pressure that is characteristic of elders fighting themselves, Eze and Anyim are paragons in their respective spheres of influence; what then is to become of their followers and admirers?

It is not sure which one set the ball of rancour in motion, but one of them did. What is known is that Authur Eze is not at all a fan of Anyim Pius Anyim, and that the latter does not at all care for him either. Nothing evidences this truth but the words they’ve shot at each other.

It was reported that Eze mentioned during an interview that Senator Ayim was an ungrateful and self-serving individual who did not hold the Southeast in his eyes, and therefore neglected the region while he was in office. To substantiate his accusation, Eze allegedly declared that the only road constructed by Anyim was the one that led to his house in his Ishiagu village, in Ebonyi State.

Not wondering why the (mis) deeds of a past administration were being dug up, Anyim reportedly responded that Eze was not himself pious, but a selfish fellow whose eyes are forever trained to contracts, and therefore willing to crawl towards anyone to win approval. He allegedly claimed Eze’s sudden attack on account of his inability to get a contract during the Jonathan administration, despite characteristically sucking up to people of power and influence.

Hearing this, Eze allegedly threw back to Anyim that the failure of former President Goodluck Jonathan can be placed on the Senator’s shoulders. His exact words, it was reported, are, “Senator Anyim is the worst Senate president that the South East zone has produced”, adding that [Anyim] was not able to attract any meaningful development to the zone throughout his tenure.”

The feud is gradually building up to a frightening crescendo, as their respective linens might soon be washed in public. Who will intervene before the rear of the chicken is revealed to the world?

with KAYODE ALFRED 08116759807, E-mail: kayflex2@yahoo.com

Iwuajoku

All things have become bright and beautiful for aviation chief and billionaire businessman, Sam Iwuajoku. After about five weeks of suspended operations, the Federal Ministry of Aviation has withdrawn the restrictions on Iwuajoku’s Executive Jets Services Limited. In other words, the airline can begin operations without worrying about sudden intrusions from the apex governing body.

Sam Iwuajoku’s new lease of business life came after Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, lifted the June 15 ban

placed on Executive Jets Services Limited.

This ban was forced on the airline because it had inadvertently violated the embargo placed on interstate and air travel, and the subsequent closure of airports—following the management of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In truth, Iwuajoku did not intend to take on the Aviation Ministry all by himself, but was a victim of circumstances that ran beyond his control. Of course, matters might have remained within his control if said matters did not involve the progenitor of a trending movement in Nigeria—Marlianism: invention of Nigeria’s modern-day Karl Marx; the one, the only Naira Marley.

The story goes that one of Iwuajoku’s airplanes was discovered to have made an unapproved journey, flying from Lagos to Abuja. When asked why he had taken such a step and essentially opposed the government’s directive, Iwuajoku stated that he noticed that Babatunde Fashola—the Minister of Works and Housing—was onboard the plane, so…

The fingered Babatunde Fashola immediately repudiated Iwuajoku’s statement, declaring that he didn’t take any

flight on the said day and had remained compliant to the edict prohibiting air travel, unlike certain others.

To cut the story short, it was later realised that there was indeed a Babatunde Fashola aboard the offending plane, but not the Minister of Works and Housing—it was the younger brother of Naira Marley, Minister of the ‘Woke and Hustling’. But the damage was already done. Thus, the ban on the operations of Iwuajoku’s Executive Jets Services Limited.

On a side note, because of the embarrassment it brought him (from one side, the Aviation Ministry authorities; from the other, Minister Babatunde Fashola), Sam Iwuajoku reportedly made some unflattering remarks about Naira Marley’s philosophy and fellowship.

In response to this, Marley allegedly threatened to have all Marlians stay away from Iwuajoku’s airlines. Now that the ban on Executive Jets has been lifted, one wonders if the threat still holds.

In any case, Sam Iwuajoku is in a better and happier place.

The Triumph and Grace of Olayinka Adedayo at 70 The month of July is renowned for being the birth month of many superstars and legends. In Nigeria, one of such folks—who happens to be both superstar and legend— is Mrs. Olayinka Pamela Adebayo, founder and backbone of the illustrious Tastee Fried Chicken enterprise. She celebrated her 70th Birthday a few days ago, and won herself a renewed welcome in the hearts of her many friends and pool of loyal customers.

70 years and still on top of her game, Olayinka Adedayo could not have hidden herself away even if she wanted to.

Trumpets would have blared and drums rolled, were it not for the constraint placed on parties by the Covid-19 Presidential Task Force. As a result, the family and friends of Adedayo had to resolve themselves to a church reception, after the celebrant herself insisted on a private church thanksgiving service.

It wouldn’t have been too much if every food-retailing outlet in Nigeria gave away well-packaged food on Madam Olayinka Adebayo’s Birthday. It could be said that

While naming the icons and luminaries of business and the corporate world in Nigeria, Femi Otedola is always an early mention. This isn’t because the name seems to ring with a reputation for shrewd operations, an insightful eye and mind for investment, Otedola is well of wisdom with very sound brain.

It is a relief to many Nigerians to find that the illustrious Reputation Poll International included Nigerians in its published 2020 List of 100 Most Reputable Africans. This List included Africans from different aspects of Leadership, Entertainment, Advocacy, Education and Business, with visible and honourable impacts in their spheres of influence. Femi Otedola was one of these individuals, and a model for other Africans to appreciate and emulate.

While Otedola is a formidable figure in the social scene, it is his business energy that has won the respect and regard of countless organisations in recent times—not excluding Reputation Poll International. To quote Reputation Poll, Otedola is a “luminary...whose social impact, as well as social entrepreneurship are transforming businesses in Africa and affecting lives positively without controversy.” Little else needs to be said.

she is the progenitor of the current model of food business (and small chops in Nigeria).

Who isn’t familiar with the Tastee Fried Chicken (TFC) enterprise in Nigeria?

This is an indigenous catering company that is reportedly represented in over a dozen different locations in Nigeria. At the moment, no other indigenous franchise has been able to replicate the synergy and unity of operations of TFC’s various units (which are fast food services, outdoor catering, food delivery services, bread and cake production, and hall rentals).

TFC is a brand that Olayinka Adebayo almost single-handedly established in 1996. Although she reportedly applied the basics of fast food service as she learnt them from working as a manager in the American Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), TFC’s current business framework sprang from her Tastee Pot franchise. Adebayo had established this earlier form of TFC in 1989, intending to render outdoor catering services to distinguished and discerning clientele across Nigeria. Who knew

Femi Otedola Makes the List of 100 Most Reputable Africans

Medayese

Otedola

Adedayo

that she’d succeed and even become a principality in the fast food industry?

At 70, Madam Olayinka Adebayo lives as a phoenix among birds, who has everything going for her. She remains married to her childhood sweetheart, Kunle Adedayo, and they are blessed . A life like this engenders gratitude, and that is what Mrs. Olayinka Pamela Adebayo renders to her God.

At the heart of his game, Femi is still a businessman and philanthropist. The son of the late Sir Michael Otedola, former Lagos State Governor, Femi Otedola has become a brand name for figures interested in making the most of the petroleum sector and oil business.

Till date, the reputation of Forte Oil is still tied to the management and investment genius of Femi Otedola— even though he very recently sold his ownership spot.

Notwithstanding his former chairmanship of Forte Oil, Otedola is renowned for founding Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd., as well as Geregu Power PLC. in the energy sector, and several other thriving business fronts in shipping, real estate and finance.

Till date, only a handful of Nigerians can stand on equal footing with Femi Otedola with respect to the numbers and scope of business investments.

On a side note, seven other Nigerians were included on Reputation Poll’s 2020 List of 100 Most Reputable Africans.

These included Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Justice Ishaq Bello, Folorunsho Alakija, Akinwumi Adesina, Tony Ojobo, Cardinal Francis Arinze, and Pastor Paul Enenche.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͮͰ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

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Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

Princess Feyikemi Florence Egbeyemi’s Dream Comes True For long, she had dreamed about it just as she had prayed over it. In her heart of hearts, Princess Feyikemi Florence Egbeyemi had been nursing the idea of birthing all-women’s business group. Luckily, the dream came true on Sunday, July 26, 2020, when she unveiled Likeminds Ladies Network in Lagos to a packed hall at the prestigious Co-Work Place in Oniru, Lagos. The group, with a membership of over 50 female entrepreneurs that cuts across various business concerns, held its inaugural meeting last Sunday.

At the well-attended event, Chizor Malize, the CEO of Financial Institution Training Centre, FITC, in a virtual presentation via Zoom, presented a paper on ‘Personal Branding For Business.’

She spoke on the importance of personal branding for today’s business person who wants to make a lasting impact, stressing on the need for business owners to embrace networking, and clearly communicate their identity. Malize also stressed the need to grow an online presence as a key part of one’s personal branding.

Speaking on the vision of the group, Egbeyemi said: “It was established to build women leaders with a sustainable ideology that would enhance personal lives and business skills while promoting personal branding among these women through building self-worth acquired through training to achieve personal goals that would, in turn, benefit others.”

According to her, the presentation is part of the mission of the group geared towards the empowerment of women entrepreneurs in a world fast moving into an era driven by technology. One of the highlights of the launch was the presentation of the Likeminds Ladies Network logo, with the motto, Better Together.’

Billionaire Investment Banker, Atedo Peterside’s New Passion

Peterside

Passion, it is said, is the energy that keeps us going. It keeps us filled with meaning,

April, Peterside resigned his position as a director of Flour Mills Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc as well as Unilever Nigeria Plc. The River Stateborn businessman took over leadership of the board of directors of Cadbury on 21 April 2010 after joining the company in 2009 as a director.

His sudden exit has, therefore, put an end to Peterside’s 10-year reign on the board.

He reportedly quit companies so he could focus on running the ANAP Foundation, a non-profit organisation that he initially set up to promote good governance in Nigeria.

His decision was informed by the deathless quote of the late German theologian and author, Albert Schweitzer, that “the purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.’’

It was disclosed that in the wake of the global pandemic, Peterside floated the foundation’s COVID-19 think tank and it became imperative for him to personally lead the work of the Foundation.

All Hail NTDC DG, Folarin Coker at 55!

For Folorunsho Folarin Coker, last Monday will go down as most memorable, as he was joined by family and friends to celebrate his 55th birthday.

The Lagos big boy, and Director General of National Tourism Development Corporation, had cause to thank God for keeping him alive, hale and hearty.

The day was fun-filled for the amiable dude, whose popularity and influence have been on the rise in recent times. Undoubtedly, the former Lagos Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, is a man of clout and charisma. Long before he became a commissioner under former Lagos State governor, Akinwumni Ambode, the manabout-town and top socialite was admired and adored by all for his uncommon sagacity.

Even now, he still commands enormous respect among politicians, government

officials as well as captains of industry.

It will be recalled that at the twilight of the Babatunde Raji Fashola-led administration, he was appointed as a special adviser on Central Business District. He took over from Derin Disu, a Lagos society woman and daughter of Chief Braithwaite.

Before then, he was the managing director of Lagos State Number Plate Production Authority.

When Folarin-Coker was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as the director general of the NTDC, it was one appointment that many applauded. The reason may not be unconnected to his brilliant performance as the Lagos State Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism.

Indeed, since his appointment, he has initiated programmes that have further made the agency more attractive to the stakeholders. As

Coker

a result of his sterling performance, he has further put the country on the global map in the area of tourism, which was in comatose.

Dame Maureen Piribonemi Tamuno’s Rising Profile

Tamuna

Egbeyemi

happiness, excitement, and even anticipation. It is considered a powerful force in accomplishing anything one sets one’s mind on.

In our society, one of the few men who have achieved greatness on the altar of passion is Atedo Peterside, a boardroom titan with an intimidating profile. Always driven by passion, his entrepreneurship skill, without exaggeration, is legendary. He is definitely not your run-off-the-mill businessman.

The maverick entrepreneur founded Investment Banking and Trust Company (IBTC) in February 1989 when he was just 33 years old, making him the youngest bank CEO in Nigeria then. Unarguably, his success story is a lesson to many, especially youngsters whom he has mentored. It is therefore understandable the mixed reactions that have continued to trail the news of his resignation from the companies he laboured to grow.

The billionaire, a few weeks ago, quit as the chairman of the Board of Directors of Cadbury Nigeria Plc. This is coming less than three months after he also announced his resignation from the board of three other blue-chip companies as a director. In

If, as a writer, you venture to document her story in black and white, you can be assured that it will generate great reviews among the literati. Even so, if you are her avid fan and you choose to turn that wellcrafted biography into a biopic, you can be assured that you will smile to the bank in the end. But except you have been following her interesting peregrinations in the past years, Dame Maureen Piribonemi Tamuno may come across as undeserving of any celebration.

Tamuno, who was born to the family of Elder/Mrs. Clement Chepaka ofAlawari in Agbabiri in Okirika Local Government Area, has featured prominently in several areas of national life with impressive records.

Often times when her name crops up in public discourse, she is always acknowledged as brilliant, given her intimidating credentials. She holds a degree in Management Studies from the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi, Bauchi State, a post-graduate diploma in

Management, an MBA in Marketing and a PhD in Strategic Marketing and Consumer Behaviour.

Beyond this enviable academic qualifications, Tamuno, who is currently a member of the board of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, has been recognized for her humanitarian efforts through her Lady Maureen Tamuno Foundation, which caters for widows, orphans and the downtrodden.

A member of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Nigeria, Tamuno is also said to have trained over 300 teenagers in various skills and set them up with starter packs via her Pearls Growth Club, an NGO for young persons between the ages of 11 and 17.

Tamuno, who was a deputy national coordinator of the Nigerian State and Local Government Trade and Tourism Fair held in Abuja in 2000, has a number of awards, including Entrepreneurship Award for the Year 2003, Award of Excellence from the RSUST Alumni Association 2008; Awards by Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) for Excellence in Local Governance Initiative, Award of Excellence by the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) Ogu/ Bolo Branch; Award of the People Manager

by Institute of Public Management Nigeria; Award of Honour by Developmental Heritage Association and Community Service Award by Rotary Club of Port Harcourt.

Today, Tamuno, a fellow of the Institute of Public Management and Chartered Institute of Management, has also used the platform of politics to impact on her society. Indeed, she is not ashamed to say she is a card-carrying

member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. But she is not in politics for politics’ sake. Rather, she has continued to use the opportunity to make her society better.

In 2005, the beautiful wife of Sir M.N.K. Tamuno JP was nominated and served as a member of the Governing Board of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA). But she voluntarily resigned her appointment after 18 months to serve the good people of Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area as the executive chairman.

Many years after her tenure as a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Tamuno, who was the first president of the Council of Ladies of Knight of St. Christopher of Okrika Diocese and now a knight of the Blessed Virgin Mary (KBVM), is still being discussed in glowing terms, especially for the fact that she saw to the provision of public facilities such as Civic Arena at Ogu, Wakanma Town Hall, as well as upgrade of Rivers State College of Education to Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt. While she served as a member of the Buhari-Osibanjo Inauguration Committee and the chairman Entertainment sub-committee, APC Convention 2018, the paragon of beauty didn’t leave anyone in doubt about her loyalty and dedication. Interestingly, her loyalty to the party has paid off, following her recent confirmation by the Senate as one of the non-career ambassadors.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ ͮͰ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

Mamman Daura – The Adviser-in-Chief In my haze, I have not been really following happenings. But this one caught my attention small. In the wake of all the noise, this daddy has come out to say that he only ‘advises’ and does not wake up, brush his teeth and wear babaringa without underwear and go to the Villa to be giving instructions. I even read that he went as far as explaining to us the complex fraternal relationship between himself and our President tying it to their mother or something like that. Mbok, there is nothing wrong with giving or receiving advice o. We all give and take o. The other morning, my brother Mudi

drove all the way from his house for Dolphin Estate come give me advice for Magodo. After he finish, he come chop two plates of afang. He was talking about togetherness after the storm that just hit me. When he finish, he say he regret giving me the advice because he didn’t feel it sat well with me. I laugh, I say bro eat afang abeg. Na your right to advise me as a friend. But I must get the capacity to look the advice critically and decide if the thing make sense or not. The same for uncle. He can give advice and he has been giving plenty even by his reported admission, it is now up to Baba to decide what

Samwo-Olu

Mudasiru

Akpata

COVID 19: WELL DONE, LAGOS! When I first heard the remark that they said the Lagos State government was spending N1m per COVID-19 patient, I wanted to shout as that chairman did to Akpabio – ‘It’s OK! It’s OK!’ off the mike. N1m? How can? I had a small experience. Well, not me sha. My friend, whose dad had pneumonia, because of his age, they said go to isolation centre.

When they got there, they did a COVID-19 test and they said the result will come out in a week. The man was left to his own devices and some people there started asking his relations for some kind of ‘support’ so they can take better care of the man. Unfortunately, the man died before the result came out. The experience, according to the family, was not palatable and the whole thing did not look like anybody spent any N1m on the baba. Thankfully, the commissioner has come out to explain that the amount covered the whole gamut of expenditure including infrastructure, disposables, human cost and all that. Truth sha is that the Lagos State government has really tried under the circumstances and must be given kudos as they continue to manage this pandemic being its epicentre. We just thank God that we have this thing in Lagos and not anywhere else where politics, ignorance, and lack of basic infrastructure would have really undermined efforts at curtailing it. This piece is just to say well done to the state government and especially the frontline health workers who are making so much sacrifice in keeping this thing under control. Well done!

AKPABIO VS LAWMAKERS – MORE THAN JUST A RUMBLE

not be happy just yet. By the time you read this, the elections would have been over and one person would have emerged. I really pray that, that one person would be Olu if for nothing else at least for the fact that one young visionary with the capacity to blow fresh breeze into the place will enter. The NBA has lost its bite. Some of us still remember when it was the bulwark for the fight against human rights violations and military dictatorship.

Today, I don’t even know what it is. Be like say the organization just they float up and down, mired in all sorts of controversies and things not befitting the profession. If EFCC is not pursuing its President, its senior members are eroding the credibility of the judiciary with all sorts of gambits that we keep hearing like trying to appeal Supreme Court judgment. Imagine! That one almost make me bathe on Sunday - you know I don’t bathe on Sundays. Well, if the NBA like themselves, they had better vote in Olu, otherwise they will find themselves on the road to extinction. I don talk.

Come and see the way the chairman was shouting ‘It’s OK! It’s OK!’ and even tapping the mummy who didn’t understand what was still going on in a lazy bid to stop Chief Akpabio from rambling on. Well, the chickens have come home to roost.

Following Gbajabiamila’s threat, Akpabio released the names of some members who were involved in the scam and shame that is the NDDC today. The list contains the who’s who in the Niger Delta, making popular actress Kate Henshaw in a Facebook post to ask people to shame these so-called leaders and their families. Akpabio has behaved nobly by releasing these names even though he has now been accused of trying to divert the attention of the National Assembly from their quest to clean the place. The fact is that all sides were involved in the malaise that hit the NDDC. Imagine one person getting 79 jobs, getting mobilization, and not doing anything but will still go and sit in the hallowed chamber and be shouting and talking against corruption in high places. We are just our own enemies; that is all I will say on this matter. I just will fold my hands and be watching. One day, fire will come from heaven and devour their testicles. All of them, Akpabio inclusive. It is their testicles that I am after. Kai. Thieves in high places.

OLU AKPATA – THE FINISHING LINE IN SIGHT As I was writing, my candidate is said to be leading. One result I am seeing shows him getting 54% of votes. But that is not official so I will

he wants to do with all the advice.

If Baba allow uncle that we did not vote for to be putting pressure on him under the guise of advice to be doing funny things, na him own legacy he dey joke with. When the history books are going to be written, nobody will write about Mamman Daura’s tenure in the Presidency because that never happened but it will be Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure because that is who we voted for. So let them keep giving the advice and taking the advice, na them business.

Me, I get the third mainland bridge lockdown to contend with. Thank you.

DR. OLAOLUWA MUDASIRU, COOKING SOMETHING AGAIN! Dr. Bob as he is known by most is a gifted investment banker and medical doctor. This man, who was my senior in primary school, and whose mum was also my teacher, led a new wave in investment banking when with his equally brilliant partner, Chuka Eseka set up the wave-making Vetiva Capital.

I was just joining the industry then and was really amazed at what they had delivered. Vetiva quickly became the cornerstone of the industry, berthing several strategic

Daura

Adebayo

transactions and lifting the bar in the industry. Dr. Bob used to be this tall, dashing young man who had almost everything. The man even beat me for the qualifying exams as stockbrokers and that was no mean feat if I must say. So the other day, I was with him discussing the industry and his outlook for the nation. He, as eloquent as ever, made several positions that remain quite admirable even as he begged me not to talk about them since he usually likes his actions to precede his words. Dr. Bob is working on two major projects both in investment banking and in the nation that would redefine both worlds in a crazy and very positive manner. He has, as usual, begged me not to say anything just yet till he delivers. But anybody who is really interested to hear, just send me a loaf of bread and I go tell you the secret. Please nobody should show Dr. Bob this write-up o, make the man no return all the Aremu Coffee Table Book he collected o. well done, bruh.

You are truly one of the finer ones.

THE ADEBAYO SISTERS: A SHOUT-OUT Please, let me crave the indulgence of the readers to send a shout-out to these wonderful Nigerians who are doing us proud in the US. Kenny is a prominent health worker who is in the thick of things in this current pandemic. She is doing so well that she continues to get several recognitions and mentions in critical sections of that society. Dupe works at the United Nations, mother to Jason; she continues to be highly dedicated and focused. These two represent what we need to show the world about us out there, hence my shout-out to them this morning.

SUNDAY AUGUST 2, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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AU ͺ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

INTERNATIONAL ECOWAS Mediation of Mali’s Crisis and Impending Conflict: Beyond the Constraints and Restraints

E

COWAS mediation in Mali’s crisis is a desideratum, especially in light of the need to prevent the crisis from degenerating into a conflict. The crisis is currently national in character but has possibly international ramifications. ECOWAS mediation of the crisis, as a desideratum, can be explained at three different levels, even if the crisis has not yet degenerated into a conflict from the perspective of polemology. But, in doing so, what should we mean by mediation?

Mediation is a principle and method of negotiation in international law and relations. As a principle, it is one of the peaceful means of settling disputes. As a method, it is a process governed by rules. It is non-judicial. Of the many peaceful methods of settling disputes - such as inquiry, good offices, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, etc - mediation is what the ECOWAS has adopted as an approach to the crisis in Mali, meaning that it is considered more appropriate in the eyes of the ECOWAS Authority.

Inquiry as a means of dispute settlement strictly involves an investigation into the facts of a dispute on an impartial basis. When disputants hold different versions of truth, it is the method of an inquiry that is often resorted to in order to bring about an impartial finding. The crisis in Mali is not about disputation of facts, but essentially about political disagreement.

Unlike inquiry, offer of good offices is the starting point on the continuum of conflict resolution methods. The method of good offices requires the States offering the good offices to bring the disputants to table and negotiate. It involves essentially persuasion of the disputants to enter into negotiation. The moment the disputants accept to negotiate, the offer of good offices necessarily comes to an end. The ECOWAS has not adopted this means because it is obligated to ensure the maintenance of regional peace and security and, therefore, the need to be also actively engaged in peace-finding discussions. The ECOWAS adopted the mediation approach because it politico-legally allows it to be involved in negotiations, to suggest possible solutions. More importantly, mediation requires the confidence of all parties to a dispute.

Related to this mediation method is conciliation, which is more or less an embodiment of inquiry and mediation. The conciliation method requires that the conciliator be first appointed by agreement by the parties involved in a dispute. The appointed conciliator then investigates the facts of the dispute and then makes recommendations. When recommendations on the basis of mediation are not acceptable to the parties in dispute, the mediator still has the opportunity to reformulate new proposals to the parties, which is not possible under a conciliation process in which only one single report is required, even though conciliators do normally have private discussions with the disputants before the issuance of their single reports.

Thus, ECOWAS quest to find peace in Mali, stricto sensu, falls under mediation efforts.

Mediation Dynamics

Having put the understanding of mediation in context, there is the need to explicate the three factors of exegesis or the dynamics of ECOWAS mediation. The first factor is that of ECOWAS obligation. In Article 5 of the Protocol on Non-Aggression, done in Lagos on 22nd April, 1978 has it in its paragraph (1) that ‘Member States pledge to respond to all peaceful means in the settlement of disputes among themselves.’ The organisation believes that all disputes should be peacefully settled.

But what does ‘among themselves’ mean? ‘Between’ and ‘among’ do not mean the same thing. The use of’ ‘between’ simply implies the involvement of only two actors or entities, while the use of ‘among’ implies more than two entities. In other words, a dispute may involve more than two countries.

What is again noteworthy at this juncture is that the dispute can mean inter-state, thus giving an international connotation to the meaning. It can also imply an intra-state dispute. For example, paragraph (2) of the same Article 5 provides that ‘any dispute which cannot be settled peacefully among Member

VIE INTERNATIONALE

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

was coined by the Roman Catholic Church in 1891. It was derived from a Latin verb, ‘subsidio’, meaning to aid and help and from a Latin noun, subsidium’ (aid or assistance). The ECOWAS has therefore gone to Mali to offer assistance by virtue of Mali being a Member State and by virtue of its geo-political location in the immediate neighbourhood. Thus, the African Union does not need to first offer its help. It is when the ECOWAS fails to maintain or is unable to secure peace that the challenge can be tabled before the continental organisation for further discussion and possible solution.

In the same vein at the level of the United Nations, its Charter says that the objective of the organisation is ‘to bring about by peaceful means and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace.’

And more important, Article 2(3) of the UN Charter requires all signatories to ‘settle their disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.’

Apart from the foregoing obligation-driven dynamics, there is the factor of the threatening situational reality of insecurity in Mali, which is considered to possibly have deleterious impact on the whole region of West Africa, if the situation is not quickly brought under control. This is the most important dynamic.

Unfortunately, the situation has not been brought under effective control, with the threats of insurgency still deepening, and allegations of poor governance, particularly acts of corruption in which the administration of President of Mali had reportedly been involved. In fact, the mediation has been fraught with many constraints, which also have actually restrained the ECOWAS.

Mediation Constraints and Restraints Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, President of Mali States shall be referred to a Committee of the Authority. In the event of failure of settlement by the aforementioned Committee, the dispute shall finally go to the authority. As noted above, the crisis in Mali is not international but national. However, the ECOWAS, as a regional organisation, has been compelled to interfere and possibly to intervene, clearly showing that the national crisis has its regional and international dimensions.

Additionally, Protocol A/SP.3/5/81 Relating to Mutual Assistance on Defence, done at Freetown on 29th May,1981, says in Article 18(1) that ‘in the case where an internal conflict in a Member State of the Community is actively maintained and sustained from outside, the provisions of Articles 6, 9, 16 shall apply.’ Paragraph (2) of Article 18 stipulates that ‘Community forces shall not intervene if the conflict remains purely internal.’

In this regard, is the crisis in Mali purely internal? Has the ECOWAS intervened or interfered? Is the crisis in Mali actively sustained from outside?

Perhaps more significantly, Article 2 of the Protocol on Mutual Assistance on Defence says that ‘any armed threat or aggression directed against any Member State shall constitute a threat or aggression against the entire Community.’ By implication, the threats by international terrorists against the sovereignty of Mali is also a threat to the sovereignty of the entire Community, and therefore warranting the involvement of the ECOWAS by way of interference and intervention.

At the level of the African Union, the Constitutive Act of the African Union has it in its Article 3(f) the objective of promoting ‘peace, security, and stability on the continent’ of Africa. Article 4(g) provides for ‘non-interference by any Member State in the internal affairs of another,’ but upholds in Article 4(h) the right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

Additionally, there is the principle of subsidiarity that gives the first priority to the ECOWAS to seek and ensure maintenance of peace and security in its region. The word ‘subsidiarity’’

But how do we go beyond the constraints and restraints posed by the Malian situation? ECOWAS mediation efforts are constrained, not simply by the intransigence of the June 5 Movement, but especially by ECOWAS own need to first ensure regime security rather than the security of the people of Mali. In doing this, it places emphasis on non-constitutional change of government in consonance with its Protocol A/SP1/12/01 on Democracy and Good Governance Supplementary to the Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security, which has it in its Article 1(b) that ‘every accession to power must be made through free, fair and transparent elections,’ and in Article 1(c) ECOWAS ‘zero tolerance for power obtained or maintained by unconstitutional means.’ In this regard, how and when do peaceful demonstrations by the general public calling for change of government become a forceful request for change of government? What are the sanctions against a President and a Constitutional Court that upturn election results as it is the case in Mali? How do we reconcile lawful quest for self-determination and unlawful quest for change of government? How can the ECOWAS sanction people who are complaining and fighting terrorism in Mali? These issues are more critical and should be addressed to prevent the degeneration of the crisis into conflict

The crisis in Mali is complex, and therefore goes beyond the immediate causal factors of protests, calling for the resignation of the President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK). There are factors of self-determination dating back to 1962, struggle against perceived mainmise of France, Islamic Jihad, not only in Mali but also in West Africa; as well as extra-Malian influences.

In this regard, for instance, before the formation of the M5-RFP, popularly referred to as the June 5 Movement or the Group of Patriotic Forces, led by a popular cleric, Mahmoud Dicko, and comprising political parties, civil society organisations and religious associations, there were five groups of insurgents, fighting the Bamako authorities. They are the home-grown movement, Ansar Dine; Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO); Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM); the Signed-in-Blood Battalion; and the Islamic Movement for Azawad (IMA).

In all the groups, the pursuit of an Islamic agenda is common, but with different shades of emphasis and approach. For instance, the AQIM was formed in 2007 and its main aim is to spread an Islamist agenda internationally. It also wants to free Mali from the control of France, the former colonial master. This partly explains why it is always kidnapping the Europeans for ransom. MUJAO was carved out of the AQIM in 2011. Its aim is also to spread Islam, but not internationally (Sahel countries and the Maghreb) as it is the case with the AQIM, but limitedly to West Africa. In other words, the main difference between the AQIM and the MUJAO which broke away from it is simply in the scope of operational areas.

In the same vein, the Ansar Dine was also split in January 2013 when Alghababs Ag Intalla carved out the IMA (Mouvement Islamic d’Azawad, that is, Islamic Movement of Azawad), which he led. The reason he gave for the separation was that he was opposed to terrorism as a method for fighting against the marginalisation of the North. He favoured dialogue. In spite of the various in-fighting, there is no disputing the fact that they are militating against the wishes of the Bamako government.

Consequently, While the ECOWAS mediation committee is trying to address the immediate causal factors of the protests, the more profound causes have not been, and because they cannot, be addressed, simply on the basis of current dynamics. It should be recalled that a ‘Touareg State’ was established within Mali in 2012 by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA: Mouvement Nationale pour la Libération d’Azawad), whose rebellion dates back to 1962.

And true enough, the rebellion became more critical on January 16, 2012 with different insurgent groups joining in the fight against the Malian government. A coup d’état took place on March 22, 2012. The MNLA specifically insisted on the independence of or greater autonomy for Northern Mali, mainly occupied by the Tuaregs. The MNLA took effective control of Northern Mali in April 2012 by ousting President Amadou Toumani Touré in a coup d’état led by Amadou Sanogo and by declaring the independent State of Azawad. Sharia Law was quickly impose but French military offensive put an end to the new State in 2013.

A peace agreement was signed by the Government of Mali and the Tuareg leaders. Again the peace deal did not last long following the opening of fire on unarmed protesters by government soldiers.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

ARTS & REVIEW A

PUBLICATION

02.08.2020

FOR THE ARTSCAPE, ANOTHER SUNDOWN AS NSIKAK ESSIEN DEPARTS The local art community is reeling with shock with the announcement on Thursday morning of Nsikak Essien's death, Okechukwu Uwaezuokereports

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othing could have prepared anyone for the devastating the news of Nsikak Essien's sudden departure from this earth-life that Thursday, July 30 morning. Only, on Saturday, July 11, he had exchanged cheerful WhatsApp messages with Ayo Adewunmi, the Life in My City Art Festival (LIMCAF) artistic director.

Those messages, which concluded with: “We are gloriously blessed, Ayo. Thanks”, turned out surreally to be his last words to Dr Adewunmi.

Essien was the jury chairman of the LIMCAF’s 2019 edition, which concluded sometime in the middle of November. He was also what Dr Adewunmi described as “a background supporter of LIMCAF”, who “drew sponsors to support the festival”.

Essien, born in 1957, drew much of his artistic inspirations from his environment back in those heady years of the 1970s and LIMCAF was indeed for Essien “a home-coming after been away from Enugu for many years.” It was at the Enugu-based Institute of Management and Technology that he had graduated in 1979 as the overall best student and winner of the Fasuyi Best National Art Graduate in Painting. After an 11-year stint as a lecturer in the IMT’s Fine and Applied Arts Department, he moved on to become a full-time studio artist in 1991.

Undeniably, his membership of the now-defunct AKACircle of Artists helped to indelibly etch his name into the industry’s consciousness. The Circle – which featured such heavyweights as El Anatsui, Bona Ezeudu, Chika Aniakor and Chris Afuba, among others – was a collective of 13 artists, who were also art teachers in different tertiary educational institutions. Nonetheless, the artist subsequently enjoyed a distinguished solo career, which saw him curating the National Gallery of Art’s biggest ever exhibition, tagged ARESUVA2008.

Leaving Enugu for Lagos was a turning-point in his career as well as in his personal life. His eventual embrace of the Christian faith impacted on his art practice so much that it was omnipresent in his experimental relief-textured mixed-media works and became the theme song of his solo exhibitions, titled Love Stories, which held at the at Nike Art Gallery, Lekki, Lagos from June 2 to 8.

Essien with fellow LIMCAF jury members Shortly before the exhibition, which was acclaimed by critics as one of his most profound statements with mixed-media, he said: “Man is on pilgrimage on this earth to raise the consciousness of unifying people.”

Among the members of the local art community, Essien was celebrated as an inspirational figure and for his modesty. Buoyed by his Christian faith, he extended his message of love and unity beyond the exhibition halls to his personal interactions with his numerous colleagues. Dr Adewunmi, for instance, recalled first meeting him in 1991, when he joined IMT as a National Youth Service Corps member. “He helped to point the direction for my professional practice and wrote the foreword for my first solo exhibition,” the LIMCAF artistic director recalls. “It is still unbelievable that this master of

masters, whose artistic themes were inspired by his Christian faith is no longer with us.”

The fact that the news of Essien's demise was announced to the art community on the birthday of his colleague and co-LIMCAF jury member Sam Ovraiti was painful to the latter.

“What is the meaning of life,” Ovraiti mused in a tribute.

“What is the meaning? What is the meaning of the struggles of today? … Nsikak Essien, oh Nsikak, what is the meaning of our friendship, what is the meaning of this?”

Meanwhile, art journalist and publisher Dapo Adeniyi wrote in a WhatsApp message: “I'm just facing this sordid news, what I attempted to deny at first.

That one of the most beautiful people I have known in the whole world, a very dear brother and friend is departed: Nsikak Essien.”

Reactions in the art community were predictably as sorrowful about his passage as they were effusive in extolling his good deeds. The illustrious matriarch of the local art community Nike Okundaye expressed, in a Facebook post, “with [a] heart and deep sorrow” the passing of her “dear friend and great artist, Nsikak”. According to her, “Nsikak was such a very wonderful man, humble and loved by many. He was a shining star in the Nigerian art world. My husband and I will miss him dearly. Our hearts and prayers go to the wonderful family he left behind, [who are] now mourning his passing.”

Readers should continued online www.thisdaylive.com

BOOKS

PROFILING THE MAN BEHIND THE CONTROVERSIES Abba Kyari: Portrait of a Loyalist–The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Sides of Public Service in Nigeria, Magnus Onyibe, ed., Inspire Media Services Limited, Lagos 2020 Okechukwu Uwaezuoke On Friday, April 17, a human soul cast-off his physical body in compliance with the natural laws. This, according to reports from the news media, was because this body had been ravaged by the coronavirus disease. Thus, the man, Abba Kyari, became the first high-profile Nigerian to succumb to the dreaded pandemic. Because he belonged to the corridors of power, as the president’s chief of staff, not even the sobering news of his death, which dominated the national consciousness, could deflect the arrow darts of spiteful comments, which simultaneously came in with the already expected outpouring of adulatory tributes.

So, why was Abba Kyari such a polarising figure? Many would want to know. But, Magnus Ebiye-Onyibe would rather present the reader with what he calls “a collection of Points of View” in his 243-page book, titled Abba Kyari: Portrait of a Loyalist – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Sides of Public Service in Nigeria. “A quick scrutiny of the comments indicated to me that some were very good, others not so bad and many more

patently ugly,” the two-time commissioner in the Delta State Government offers in the book’s preface by way of an explanation. “It was at that point that it dawned on me that I was a witness to history and if I could, I should help in its documentation. As I contemplated on it, I came to the conclusion that the man Abba Kyari was a portrait of a loyalist. So, I settle for the title Abba Kyari: Portrait of a Loyalist.”

Thus, Ebiye-Onyibe’s compilation of divergent views on the late chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari is neither intended to please nor to offend anyone. Yet, while the public policy analyst and development strategist hopes that his readers would discern the impersonal tone of the book, he inveigles his acerbic comments on the president somewhere in the preface in a manner that suggests that he is absolving Abba Kyari of all blames. President Buhari, he writes, “has a knack for saddling his deputies with responsibilities which are ordinarily in his personal purview.”

This assertion is backed by brief allusions to the president’s

“style of leadership” from when he first ruled Nigeria as a military head of state to the present, during which he seems to have delegated “the hard and dirty job of running the affairs of government on a day-to-day basis” to “his trusted lieutenants”.

Also, the fact that the Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy graduate cites Professor Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s response to her attackers – through her book Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons from Nigeria – as a model for responding to critics clearly expresses his discomfiture with Abba Kyari’s unwillingness to correct wrong notions about his activities.

“The advise [sic] that I always offer my friends in leadership who are vulnerable to having their image savaged is akin to the admonishment in the holy book of the Christian faith which is that we should ensure that we do not go to bed without resolving the conflicts that we had with our spouses during the day.

Readers should continued online www.thisdaylive.com

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ AUGUST 2, 2020

SCIENCETECHNOLOGY/TRIBUTE

Using Technology to Innovate Nigeria’s Education System Now is the best time for people in power to hold a national dialogue to drive the focus of Nigeria’s education system in such a direction that plays to citizens’ strength and skills-set, write Kofo Babalola

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echnology can be used to innovate an educational system for Nigeria A mind is a powerful tool. It is in the mind our imaginations are allowed to run wild. So much happens in our mind beyond our imagination, but it is the act of educating that develops our brain to think in different ways.

It broadens the web that forms our thinking. Education builds the networks in our brain, enabling us to see the world in a different lens. It is interesting how education during the early stages of our lives is compulsory in most countries. There are many countries that offer free education to the youth but why is it that they stop this scheme past a certain age?

There is something that one learns during the early stages of their lives in classrooms that cannot be replaced. It is much more than just learning what is in the book. It is the act of communicating with those that they have not come into contact with before, beyond their safe spaces at home.

The skill of communication of knowledge is one that is built in the gathering of people.

Schools enable the passing down of knowledge from the person standing in front of the classroom to those seating ready to absorb the transmission of knowledge.

However, how this transmission of knowledge comes about is dictated by the curriculum chosen by the institution. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze what is being taught in

these educational institutions.

Education is a foundation that should be vital to all citizens of the country. There should be a drive to eliminate these divisions created in the educational field as all educational institutions both private and public should utilize the same curriculum. How do we create a curriculum at every level of study that will target the needs of our country?

Much study needs to be made on how we can teach in a fast and effective way.

How do we tailor the way of teaching to suit all despite their different levels? Through recent ventures in Internally Displaced camps, there is not much room to house classrooms. How do we teach in these situations in which there is only one hall full of hundreds of kids? As this is often the case, how do we teach them in a way that they remember what they are being taught?

This shows the desperate need for simplicity in the nature of the curriculum as it doesn’t need to be as complex as what is being taught elsewhere to get the job done.

We need to educate them not in ways that follow societal norms but in ways that will cause us as a country to move forward.

We need to cut through the frivolous junk that are often taught in the classrooms of the Western world and key into what we need to create change in Nigeria as it is those children that are in the classrooms that are going to be the leaders of our future.

It is often those that are here on the ground that end up being in positions of power so how do we trigger a change in what actually

happens here on the ground and how do we change the course of the nation to lead us into better days?

It is by educating one with quality. Intelligence is often a word we associate with obtaining the highest accolade in academia as someone is labelled as being smart when one gets the highest possible grade or result in the area of their studies. Although this shows a high level of intelligence as they manage to absorb a great majority of what is being taught in the classroom, I still believe intelligence is much bigger than academia.

But it all begins with academia. What often the world views as intelligence is not necessarily the complete picture. One can be smart in ways that are beyond the definition of ‘book smart.’

You don’t necessarily have to prove your smartness through an exam paper that only lasts a very small fraction of your life. This is what is used in the Western world to measure a certain level of smartness. Intelligence is looking at the world around you in a bigger picture and realizing that you only make up a very small part of it but how to use this small space that you take up to make a difference.

It is about how we broaden the way we think that is beyond what the curriculum dictates. However, it all begins with using the simple tools that education gives us to create a bigger impact. How do we do that with a very narrow-minded way of thinking that curricula often beat into us?

It is often misunderstood that the Western world’s way of teaching is the best way in

the world of academics. We often look up to their way of teaching when, in fact, they are forever evolving. They definitely don’t have it all sorted out as they continuously battle in trials and errors. We, as a nation, are wrong to think that their way of teaching is good for our country as we set up international schools that are solely based on the British or American curriculum.

We need to find our way of teaching and adapt to our standards, not their standards. It is only by the use of technology that one can actually innovate an educational system that is best suited for the nation.

One that is not based on the complexities of a plethora of subjects but simply focuses on the key skills that we need as a nation to move forward. We need to teach those in schools a way of looking forward in a pragmatic way as it is those in the classrooms who will be leading the nation in years to come.

We often forget that our country is in many ways different from others as we face problems that are in contrast to theirs. So how do we come up with a new and effective educational system?

It begins with people in power to hold conversations to reach a goal that points towards change. We need to change the way we teach. We need to find the root cause of the problems that our country often faces and craft an educational system that develops the skills necessary to tackle these problems.

––Babalola is an Engineering student of the University College London

TRIBUTE

Bishop Appoints Meka Olowola as Commissary

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he Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Okene, Kogi-Sate, His Lordship, The Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Isezuo Onsachi, has appointed Meka Olowola as Bishop’s Commissary, effective 24th of July 2020.

As commissary, Olowola, will serve as the Bishop’s official representative and exercise ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Lagos. By this episcopal mandate, Olowola becomes an official of the Diocese and a member of the Diocesan Board and Synod.

According to the letter of appointment signed personally

by His Lordship, “There is a crucial need for dedicated brethren joining hands with the Master-Jesus and the Bishop, who is the chief missioner of the Diocese, to make the gospel of greater impact to the land, building on the good legacies bequeathed to us by our forebears.”.

The letter read in part, “By constitutional provision as a diocese, the bishop is required to prayerfully seek resourceful and spirited individuals and appoint them as commissaries, who serve as Bishop’s Representatives in any part of the world. This is necessary because he has global pastoral responsibilities to his parishioners and friends spread abroad beyond his immediate see and he would require their cooperation and services as the need arises.”.

Meka Olowola is one of the leading communications specialists in Africa with over 23 years of experience. An alumnus of the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Olowola also holds certificates from Harvard Business School for Sustainable Business Strategy and Colorado State University for Change Management.

He is currently the Founder and Managing Partner of Zenera Consulting, a branding and advertising firm and the Executive Chairman of BuzzDigital, a social media and digital marketing company.

He is a member of the Board of CSR-in-Action, a nonprofit for the promotion and unification of Corporate and Collective Social Responsibility in West Africa. He also serves as Chairman of Project Light International, a global initiative dedicated to helping the financially challenged marketmen and women; Chairman, Advisory Board of the Youth Entrepreneurship Summit a youth conference centred on innovation and entrepreneurship; and Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Window of Intervention Educational Foundation (WOIEF), an NGO dedicated to helping the academic pursuit of brilliant indigent children from primary to higher institution. Meka also sits on the boards of Mission Enablers Africa, an agency dedicated to advancing the kingdom of God on earth by funding missions; and Asido Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation

Bishop Olowola committed to optimal mental health in Africa.

He is a devout Christian, using his talents, knowledge and scope of influence to advance the Gospel of Christ. Meka is happily married with four beautiful children.

Tribute to Senator Ayo Fasanmi Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

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apa Ayo Fasanmi’s long sojourn on earth was for the good of all. He walked at the vanguard of all democrats, freedom fighters and believers in true federalism. To have lived to the age of 94 was God’s gift not only to him and his family, but to this nation he loved so deeply. Senator Fasanmi was an eminent politician, elder statesman and the beloved leader of Afenifere.

A colourful personality, Papa was principled, courageous and honest. He was a loyal and dependable ally of the indomitable Chief Obafemi Awolowo. For all his life, Pa Fasanmi practiced and advanced the virtues he learned at the feet of his leader. He never betrayed those values.

Like the American civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis, who was recently buried, Papa Fasanmi remained faithful to the truth for which he suffered greatly. Yet, no matter

the cost, he never strayed from his principles. A brave man, he never flinched at the prospect of speaking truth to power.

I had a close relationship with Paba Fasanmi, dating back many years. He was a mentor and role model to me, and many others who believe in progressive politics as a means to uplift our society and its people. When Papa was recently admitted to the hospital for age-related sickness, I spoke to him and followed up with his close aide to monitor his situation.

As Afenifere leader, he was a true believer in the importance of fiscal federalism as essential for the growth of Nigeria. His vision for our nation was a coherent and correct one.

I commiserate with the family, associates and progressives throughout our country, the South-west and Ekiti State. With Papa’s passing, we have lost someone special and excellent in every way.

I also share in the grief of this moment with his political soulmates, Pa Fasoranti, Chief Bisi Akande, and others. I commiserate with Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and Governor

Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State who was in regular contact with Papa, for the late Senator resided in Osogbo, where he spent 70 years of his life, and maintained a Chemist store, named Bamidupe Chemist, till the end.

Papa Fasanmi devoted himself toward progressive development and democratic advancement. This fine job has not been completed. The Nigeria of our dreams is still a work in progress.

Papa struggled for that dream and supported those patriots, like President Muhammadu Buhari, who also toiled for the same goal. Let us all learn from Papa Fasanmi’s example and join hands to move Nigeria towards the safe harbour of peace and prosperity.

As Papa’s remains are being buried on Tuesday, we pray that Almighty God grant his soul eternal rest. May God also guide and comfort his family that they may have the strength and perseverance to continue after him through living by his example. God bless Nigeria.

Tinubu, is the National Leaders of APCmember in Lagos.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ AUGUST 2, 2020

57

FOCUS

COVID-19andMediaConsumptionHabits,WhathasChanged?

Nitinchandra Nandekar

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he doldrums of the deadly Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic which broke out in Wuhan, China, in December last year, has now made businesses to adopt more creative and innovative form of operations, especially with the change in the definition of normal. Navigating through the new normal amidst the deadly disease calls for more pragmatic approach

by Media & Marketing ecosystem as economies try to rev up, though it is too early to say that it is entering the recovery phase after the humanitarian and economic damage caused by the pandemic. As economies restart, leaders are also considering ways to restore gross domestic product (GDP), employment, consumption, and other aspects of aggregate demand.

While businesses, especially the marketing and media ecosystem waits for an end to this deadly disease which has dealt a hard blow on world economies, the journey to success will continue to be guided with key principles, including being ready for the day after.

To evolve with time, mediaReach OMD, a leading media agency in Nigeria with presence in West and CentralAfrica, curated few thought leader newsletters and needed actions as a guide in terms of industry Journal for Nigeria’s media landscape, with reference to adaptation of the new normal.

It is a culmination of sequence of newsletters earlier released which are aimed at examining the potential impact of the pandemic on audience behaviour and media consumption in Nigeria.

On this, the Managing Director of theAgency, Nitinchandra Nandekar, said the firm has been monitoring changes in media consumption and adapting to innovative ways of connecting with target audience, through data-led approaches to guide clients’ investments during the COVID-19 lockdown/post lockdown.

Commending the media agency for these initiatives, the Chairman and Managing Director of Expand Global Industries Limited, Rajat Kapur, said “mediaReach OMD, a global partner of Henkel for Media Investment Solutions helps not only in the normal ways but regularly releases data-driven media intelligence information newsletters which ensure that Henkel is prepared to deal with the ‘New Normal’ characterised by the pandemic, leading to the changing consumer habits, the higher need for hygiene based products and the changing media landscape are highlighted for a better clearer and stronger media investments leading to best in class equity development of our brands” In his views, the President of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), TonyAgenmonmen, affirmed that the breakout of the pandemic has been a defining moment for the world.

He said the deadly disease came with uncertainty and fear because no one knows exactly what is going on, not even the experts, including the World Health Organization (WHO) which has been struggling a bit.

“Abewildered world therefore became anxious and hungry for news.And with the lockdowns in almost all parts of the world, consumers were hungry for information. They tried to stay connected to all the news about the pandemic and social media was the greatest beneficiary.”

“It helped that some brands understood this and were able to help in providing the information in ways that were not seen as exploiting the fears and worries of consumers. Six months down the line, it appears that the world has come to accept that we will have to live with it for an indeterminate while. The fears still remain,”Agenmonmen remarked.

According to him, there is now a certain fatigue about pure COVID-19 news. In the light of this, brands must adjust and adapt their content and messaging to be somewhat entertaining while still embedding the core messages of care.Also, brand communication must continue to strike a tone of sensitivity to the embedded fears and worries of consumers. The messages must be authentic and genuine.

On the importance of data to investment, the NIMN President remarked that without it, organisations cannot plan their daily activities properly. “Data is life, it is very critical in running your day-to-day investment. If you have the right data, then you are on the right path to success,” he affirmed.

Against this backdrop, the Journal postulates that the marketing and media ecosystem should consolidate with media mix, vehicle mix, among others, and invests prudently, keeping objectives in view; ensuring that past audience data in isolation should not suffice; and in addition, look for various signals for informed decisions.

It also encourages innovative media planning keeping in mind ‘Impact’ and ‘Attention’ to deliver effectiveness and efficiency; co-create; look at ownable approaches for exponential gains and drive emotional connect to explore opportunities for more business returns.

Media buyers and planners are enjoined to focus on three measures of brand equity which are salience, difference and meaningful, to guide their direction; defend share of voice to drive share of mind, share of hand/market; and also invest in advertising for immediate gains and long-term advantage.

To get on the growth trajectory, brands are advised to have physical availability and to meet current demand with adequate supply, by activating all relevant sales channels with affordability in view, and to invest in building brand metrics, with a minimum of share of voice (SOV) closer to share of market (SOM).

The playbook cautioned that if advert expenses needs to be reduced, other effective ways of being visible should be evaluated, looking at bespoke marketing activities to drive the message, with creative approach to connect either with appropriate communication to deliver the desired objectives or tactics to be seen as a meaningful and purposeful brand.

Cover nose masks It posits that the marketing and media ecosystem should continue to look for signals by investing time in communication with consumers, to see shift in buying habits, purchase cycles, post purchase or consumption and all advocacy signals to ensure a positive net promoter score; sharpen brand positioning by ensuring distinctive balance of functional and emotional benefits; and also explore deeper connections merit between consumers and trusted brands.

There is also the need for strategic alliances by asking bold questions around ambitions or partnering with others on mutual interest in solving particular problems, with each bringing their expertise or capital for desired benefits.

For quick wins to plan, invest and succeed amidst COVID-19 in the food segment of the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, the book posits that media planners and buyers should explore channels of co-creation and/or associations of relevant content that have a strong affinity with consumers, to drive attention on high reach TV stations leveraging sensory communication.

It states that they should consider radio sponsorships and social media management on digital to stay connected with consumers; optimize media investment in key markets by looking at the brand development index /category development index (BDI/CDI) matrix, with a strategy for markets featuring in various quadrants, with efficiency and effectiveness; drive sales by running promo campaigns factoring in low income in hand of consumers; drive affordable initiatives; and also emotional connection by helping society in order to remain in the forefront of everyday communication.

Specifically, for the Health and Hygiene segment of the FMCG industry, it advocates building equity by owning media assets where support on health and hygiene can be pushed and has contextual relevance. It further pointed out that continuous digital engagement is vital.

In the telecom landscape, the mediaReach OMD playbook emphasised on developing products and services to cater to the needs triggered by the pandemic with amplification on media for awareness drive; focus on customer relationship management (CRM) to have consumers connected to social handles and pushing app downloads; own or partner with owners of entertainment and informative assets (especially digital enabled); and to leverage access to a large subscriber base with additional menu to the brands app. It also advocates opportunities on TV by way of sponsorships that gives an influx in value added service (VAS) revenue and impact for awareness and attention; key passion points of customers, for example music; and focus on comedy to keep customers engaged.

Further analysis shows that since mobile phones will drive education through new features and incorporation of up-to-theminute apps, businesses should leverage the surge in owning these devices by creating adequate supply and communicating it; improve e-commerce supply chain; focus on bespoke grand mobile sale and explore partnership with telecoms companies on customised packages.

For quick wins to plan, invest and succeed amidst COVID-19 in the banking and finance sector, factors to be considered should be the drive-in innovations within the self-service and retail banking products subset to stay competitive and to meet the growing need for contactless transactions.

The industry article stresses the need for focus on objective CRM to have consumers connected to social handles and apps; 24/7

swift response to customer complaints; use of digital banking products to drive frequency of usage and volume of transactions; strengthened security authentication measures with trust to tap into existing opportunities in the growing mobile commerce space and partnership with payment portals on e-commerce to drive transactions.

Others include precautionary measures for COVID-19 at automated teller machines (ATMs) and agent banking points; communicating lines of credit to save small businesses from bankruptcy and more focus on empowering and enhancing corporate communications.

On Google (Search and Video), it pointed out the use of data on search and YouTube to gain insights on audience’s engagement habit; data driven customized retargeting/remarketing content to cater to both existing and new customers; leveraging of offline format such as TV, for a larger audience to know streamed content, and the use of radio to present weekly top 10 music videos and outof-home (OOH) to let larger audience know what was searched.

Also, of relevance is the continuous communication of selfservices and navigational button, catering to the needs of basic users; continued focus on tech laggard for app usage; and the need to engage in community relationship programmes, such as online coding class for children, educational classes on TV as well as radio.

For success in the fashion and lifestyle industry, the playbook advises on continued contextual communication of products and offerings that engages with consumer via suitable platforms.

It states that brands should co-create contents across audio-visual media channels like GoogleAfricaAfro Hair Culture and Beauty Festival; online makeup master classes by lifestyle influencers; do-it-yourself (DIY) hairstyles, using own range of products and videos on how to install virtual parties hosted by brands’ influencers to create events.

It asserts that brands should communicate new and existing product offerings and service delivery channels to improve customer experience while adapting to the new normal; launch support programmes for makeup artists and hairstylists who are also currently affected due to lower bookings and appointments; drive a YouTube tutorial video on ‘how-to’ do things; and leverage TV to communicate style of the week or other issues, as well as alternate channels of sales.

In order to navigate the new normal in the media sector amidst COVID-19, the industry guide propound the need to communicate new entertainment programme line-ups for the week/month, using live sports opportunities as a key trigger with promotional offers to drive subscriptions.

Also vital is the use of celebrities in dramas or soap contents to hype show-time for the different dramas on their social media handles, and also partner with filmmakers (local and international) for exclusivity on yet-to-be released, and cinema released movies for airing to drive increased viewership and sponsorship. Worthy of note are inventory opportunities for brands looking at top-of-mind as media habits shift in favour of TV. Furthermore, there is the need to promote the download and subscription of the mobile app in order to leverage the increased dwell time on mobile with options for non-decoder subscribers to have access to particular content on the app and to drive uptake of decoders as well as eyeball on channels by offering promo prizes on bouquets and early subscription payment.

––Nintinchandra Nandekar, MD/CEO, mediaReach OMD Nigeria.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ Ͱ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

NEWSXTRA

ECWA Rejects Using Public Funds to De-radicalise Boko Haram Insurgents

Says de-radicalisation project misplaced priority Faults Southwest governors for closing churches Seriki Adinoyi in Jos The Evangelical Church of Wining All (ECWA) yesterday faulted President Muhammadu Buhari administration spending public funds to de-radicalise and rehabilitate repentant members of Boko-Haram, a jihadist terrorist organisation based in northeastern Nigeria ECWA, one of the largest Christian denominations in Nigeria, also said millions of the victims of Boko Haram insurgency “are still languishing in deplorable internal displaced persons (IDPs) camps,” describing the de-radicalisation project as a misplacement of priority.

The church faulted the de-radicalisation project in a communique it issued at the end of its 67th General Church Council meeting in Jos, Plateau State yesterday.

Founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002, Boko Haram started its insurgency operation in the Northeast in 2009 under the leadership of Abubakar Shekau initially against soft targets, but progressed in 2011 to the bombings of the Force Headquarters and the United Nations Office in Abuja.

Since 2009, the campaign of violence by Boko Haram

insurgents has cost at least 27,000 lives, displaced some two million people and spawned an affiliate of the Islamic State of West Africa Province, opposing the westernisation of Nigeria and seeking to establish an Islamic state.

In September 2019, Buhari claimed that his administration had substantially defeated and degraded the insurgents to the extent that the insurgents were attacking only soft targets. He urged the armed forces to protect innocent Nigerians, whom he said, were ‘soft targets’.

But the communiqué, which was signed by the Church President, Rev. Stephen Baba and General Secretary Rev. Yunusa Nmadu, said using taxpayers’ money to rehabilitate repentant Boko Haram was dangerous and unacceptable.

It lamented that the decision of the federal government to use taxpayers’ funds to pursue the de-radicalisation and rehabilitation of the repentant members of the terrorist organisation was unjustifiable, citing the huge havoc the insurgents had caused innocent people in the Northeast.

It noted that the decision of the federal government “is indeed a complete misplaced priority.”

The communique, also, considered the recruitment of repentant de-radicalised insurgents into the

Adegbenro Commends Buhari for Honouring Rewane, Osoba Chief Adejare Adegbenro, the grandson of a former Premier of the defunct Western Region, Chief Dauda Adegbenro, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for honouring a chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Pa Alfred Rewane and a former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba.

In a statement on Friday, Adegbenro described the decision of the Buhari administration to name Ujevuwu Railway Station in honour of Rewane, his maternal grandfather and Olodo Railway State in honour of Osoba as commendable.

Rewane was Adegbenro’s maternal grandfather. Until his death, Rewane was a key financier of NADECO that fought the military to a standstill before he was cruelly murdered by unknown gunmen suspected to be agents of the state in October 1995.

Adegbenro commended Buhari for honouring other patriotic Nigerians and true democrats

like Chief Anthony Enahoro, Prof.

Wole Soyinka, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Chief Alex Ibru, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu among others.

He said the president, through that act, had shown that his administration “is all inclusive, devoid of discrimination and marginalisation across the country.

“Mr. President has confirmed that his administration is a listening and compassionate one that takes his people’s interests into consideration when formulating policies for the country, describing the latest development as “heart-warming, commendable and praise worthy.”

According to him, the welldeserved honours, will go a long way in encouraging other patriots to put in their very best in serving their fatherland meritoriously.

He explained that the latest development would go down in history as a commendable right step towards the right direction.

UBA Denies N41bn Fraud Allegation The United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) has described as false the news making the rounds that some of its principal officers had been indicted in an alleged N41 billion fraud involving the defunct Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL).

The bank stated this in a statement it sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), signed by its Company Secretary, Bili Odum, a copy of which was obtained yesterday.

It explained: “The attention of United Bank for Africa has been drawn to false reports circulating in the media alleging that UBA and some of its principal officers have been indicted in a N41 billion fraud involving NITEL

in liquidation.

“We would like to use this medium to inform the general public that the reports are untrue, misleading, malicious, and libelous and should be disregarded in its entirety.

“UBA has set in motion all appropriate legal actions to ensure that the misleading reports are retracted and the perpetrators held accountable for their actions.

“UBA is a reputable global brand and responsible corporate citizen, operating in multiple jurisdictions, and will continue to conduct its business in line with global best corporate governance practices, extant laws and regulations, as it has done in over 70 years of operations.”

military and other security agencies as a dangerous trend.

It added that such policy “is capable of recycling and legitimising insurgency by infiltration of the security services from where insurgents could continue to wreak havoc on unsuspecting citizens.”

It, therefore, urged the military to channel such resources towards the welfare and proper equipping

of Nigeria gallant soldiers in the frontlines of battle against the terrorists as a way of discouraging mass resignations and desertion by military personnel.

The communique added that part of the resources could be used to cater for the victims of the Boko Haram insurgency currently languishing in IDPs. On covid-19, the communique

expressed disappointment at some states of the federation, especially in the South-west that have kept places of worship closed against worshippers.

It added that it was ironic to open markets with larger crowds and keep places of worship closed.

It, therefore, urged the concerned state governments “to allow for immediate opening of worship

places with the application of NCDC operational safety guidelines.”

It also, urged all citizens to obey the safety protocols for the prevention and curtailment of the spread of the pandemic by observing frequent washing of hands with soap under running water, cleaning of hands with alcohol based sanitizer.

WELCOME , MY BELOVED...

First Lady of Lagos state, Mrs Joke Sanwo-Olu (middle) rejoicing with a woman who recently put to bed at the Maternal and Child Centre, Gbaja, Surulere... Friday

Secondus: Nigeria Has No Direction under Buhari Okon Bassey in Uyo The National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Uche Secondus yesterday lamented Nigeria’s descent into intractable crises under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari saying Nigeria “is a country without direction under his administration.”

Secondus said that only divine intervention could save the country from the path of multi-level crises and institutional decay the Buhari administration had plunged Nigeria into under five years.

He expressed this concern at the inauguration of a newly built 1,000 sitting capacity secretariat of

Akwa Ibom PDP, asserting that Nigeria “is without direction and needs God’s intervention.”

Secondus, who unveiled the secretariat alongside the state governor, Mr. Emmanuel Udom, among others, said Nigeria today “needs leaders who will be truthful, honest and trusted and by the grace of God you are one of them.”

He said the main opposition party had shown clearly that it has the best governors because of the roll call of achievements and that the country could confirm what they have seen.

Faulting the Buhari administration, Secondus said: “Without good leadership, you cannot have this

secretariat. Our country needs a lot of prayers. A country with no direction, without a captain, we need a lot of prayers. You all know what we are going through.

“We need God’s intervention.

We are happy and grateful to the leadership of Akwa Ibom for providing an edifice that will be ranking with, I don’t know the party, is it the other party?

“What we must emphasise today is to build institutions. What we must do in this country is to groom young people that will become leaders to take over the leadership. Akwa Ibom has done well in that regard.

“PDP is becoming stronger and stronger everyday. We have

recovered ourselves. Anyone from any part of the country can aspire to become anything and realise their dreams in PDP. Akwa Ibom is a state where every other state should follow,” he stated.

He, therefore, commended the Udom administration, attributing the completion of the PDP state secretariat to his efforts, describing it as competition with the national secretariat.

“When you show leadership by example and your followers show faith in their leaders, that means the leader has done well.

I can see you are a leader that has shown leadership and your followers are following you with curiosity, and they have seen the

Buhari , Fayemi Celebrate Adelusi-Adeluyi at 80 Tobi Soniyi and Victor Olakitan President Muhammadu Buhari has rejoiced with a former Minister of Health, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi on his 80th birthday, August 2, 2020.

A statement by his Special Adviser, Media, Mr Femi Adesina said Buhari personally signed the letter he sent to Adelusi- Adeluyi.

According to him, the President described Adelusi-Adeluyi as an accomplished pharmacist, lawyer and boardroom player. Excerpts from the letter: “It gives me immense pleasure to rejoice with you as you attain the milestone age of 80 in sound mind and good health.

“Your life is one signposted by many achievements, which undoubtedly inspire the younger

generation to noble ideals.

“Your imprints are clearly left on the sands of time, and these include: Founder and Chairman of Juli Plc, first indigenous company quoted on the Nigeria Stock Exchange; former Minister of Health; past Chairman of Oodua Investment Ltd; Distinguished Fellow, Institute of Directors; Fellow, Institute of Management; Fellow, West Africa Post Graduate College; and pioneer President, Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy.

“As an accomplished pharmacist, lawyer and key player in many private sector organizations, you are on the Governing Council and past president of the Alumni Association of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies; first District Governor of Rotary International, District 9110, Nigeria; and Chairman of

MTN Foundation. You received national awards of MFR in 1986 and OFR in 2002.

“At 80, as you are celebrated by family, friends, associates and professional colleagues from far and near, I wish you longer life, greater strength, and more salutary impact on our country, and across all walks of life.”

In his congratulatory message to Adelusi-Adeluyi, Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi described him as a man of excellence, service and distinctions.

Adelusi-Adeluyi is the Chairman, Ekiti State Covid-19 Response Resource Mobilisation Committee, set up by the Governor to mobilise resources to combat the coronavirus in the state, clocks 80 on Sunday.

Fayemi in a congratulatory message he personally signed,

extolled Adeluyi’s exemplary life of brilliance, excellence and distinction, saying the former health minister has a unique way of excelling in everything he does.

Fayemi said Adelusi-Adeluyi had made a positive impact in Nigeria and particularly in Ekiti State where he is currently playing a significant role in the state’s battle against coronavirus in his capacity as chairman of the COVID-19 Response Resource Mobilization Committee.

He added that AdelusiAdeluyi brought his enormous goodwill and wide contacts to bear on the work of the committee, by donating generously and also mobilizing a network of high net-worth individuals to donate to the committee’s fund.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ AUGUST 2, 2020

CICERO

Editor:Olawale Olaleye Email:wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com, SMS: 08116759819

IN THE ARENA

Will Kaduna Ever Know Peace?

The spate of killings in Southern Kaduna has continued unabated despite the duskto-dusk curfew imposed by the state government. But, will Kaduna ever know peace?

Samuel Ajayi asks

I

n Gonan Rogo village in Kajuru Local GovernmentArea of Kaduna State, blood flowed. Human beings were mercilessly hacked down and houses set ablaze. ForAzumi Boka, an old woman of 93 years, who could barely see, she would have wished she died ten times over instead of killing eleven children of hers.

And as authorities seemed helpless in the situation, the question many are asking is if Kaduna would ever know peace?

For Governor Nasir el-Rufai, these are not the best of times. In fact, his fellow governors would not envy him. He seems to have a problem in his hands, which appears to be defying solutions.

The Southern Kaduna killings have gone for too long. And from all indications, there seems to be no hope for a thaw in the crisis at sight.

As Kaduna bleeds, the world helplessly looks on.

While people of Southern Kaduna have felt the brunt of the attacks more, there are reports that the killing might not be one sided as being reported.

The umbrella body of Fulani cattle rearers, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, came in support of its members, who might be involved in the killings saying they were acting in self-defence.

The body claimed any attack from its members were reprisal attacks against native militias, who have continued to kill its members and kill or rustle their cattle.

Reports have it that between July 21 and Some of the bereaved mourning their loved ones following the latest killings in Southern Kaduna 24, about 43 people were killed and now clash, farmers-herders clash or reprisal attacks. By their utterances, “The attackers had a one-hour operation and left at exactly the figure has risen to 178 in the last seven months. While the state actions or inactions, you will see that genocide is going on and 12:30am in the morning. We went back to the village, when it was government said the killings were being carried out by bandits assisted by the authorities that ought to protect us,” Asake explained. dawn; checking from house to house to see the level of destruction. terrorising the north western and eastern part of the country, those He might have a point. Both the state and the federal governments On reaching my cousin’s house, we discovered five burnt bodies.” who are privy to the killings said this was not true as these killings would rather laid the blames on the door step of bandits terrorising The problem in these attacks is the seeming helplessness of the are being carried out by militias targeting Southern Kaduna. some northern parts of the country or blame the killings on commustate. Recently, the Nigerian Army claimed they were helpless in On July 21, a tweet from the Presidency said: “The Presidency nal clashes between farmers and herders or villagers against villagers. arresting the carnage. And this is where the problem lies. Even if the wishes to state that the problem of insecurity in Southern Kaduna is The strangest part of it all is that no one has been arrested not attacks were not one-sided, perhaps, it boils down to the fact that more complicated than many people are willing to admit.”

The Presidency said the attacks were politically motivated banditry, victims have resorted to self-help, when it seemed the state had failed to talk of being charged for these killings and on both sides. The question is whether those who carry out these killings are invisible or them. revenge killings and mutual violence by criminal gangs that are they just disappear into thin air after carrying out these attacks.

For instance, Enoch said when they got information that their basing these attacks on ethnic and religious sentiments.

Asake said government’s decision to revisit the 1992 Zango Kataf village would be attacked, they contacted security agencies but, While the Presidency might have a point, it has not stopped the crisis White Paper was part of the agenda. He claimed that while killings. In Zango Kataf and Kajuru centres, where there are internally according to him, there was no response. government was busy doing this, those who were invading the vilIronically, the killings have even continued despite a 24-hour displaced people, one of those there who spoke to THE GUARDlages would not stop, as their intention is to change the demography curfew imposed by the state government on the area. Jonathan IAN newspaper, Enoch James, said heavily armed militias stormed Asake, President of the Southern Kaduna People’s Union, SOKAPU, of the area. their Sabon Kaura village around 11:20pm and hacked his brother’s However, Alhaji Ibrahim Bayero, the head of media and publicity said the agenda has not changed neither were the tactics of the wife, her baby, his own wife, step mother and three of his siblings to for MACBAN in Kaduna State, said the natives should be blamed attackers. death. He explained that they had a foreknowledge of the attack. for whatever fate is befalling them. He stated that the people of He said for attacks to still be taking place despite a 24-hour “We got information that our village was going to be attacked.

Southern Kaduna and Christians should stop blaming Fulanis, interview shows that there was a conspiracy somewhere.

So we quickly told our wives and children to move out to one of because they (the Southern Kaduna people) used to attack Fulanis “If you look at the conspiracy of silence, when these killings are neighbouring communities while we were at the outskirts of the first. taking place, the massacre, carnage and destruction and genocide town.

While the claims and counter-claims continue, the question on regular basis, the authorities that ought to take necessary steps “But the attackers invaded our village started shooting and remains: who will bring peace to Southern Kaduna and Kaduna as apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice would prefer burning down our houses at exactly 11:20pm. Unknown to me, my a whole, because as it is, the current government has either failed or wife, my brother’s wife, my stepmother and three of my siblings had not to do that but rather use other narratives. incapacitated?

“When the killings are taking place, they would call it communal moved to my cousin’s house.

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

S

Dogara

Blame Not Dogara ince former Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), reactions that followed were not unexpected. The accusations too were typical: political prostitute, many reckoned. But not a few had also pondered what probably led to this difficult but ultimately inevitable

decision.

Dogara, as then speaker, played very significant role in the emergence of Governor Bala Mohammed, especially that the APC was determined to retain the place. They had assumed that as a former FCT minister, the governor could boast some financial war chest to help tame an incumbent. Alas, they were wrong and it turned out that Dogara and a few others had to

shoulder the financial burden of his election.

But on assuming office, Mohammed disregarded everyone and shoved his cruel ingratitude in their faces. Imagine a governor sending N50,000 (fifty thousand naira only) to a former speaker during the end of the Ramadan and the eid-el-fitri? He even put in writing. To do what? It was an intentional move to embarrass and put him in a place of discomfort. The governor refused to acknowledge their role and place in his government.

In fact, some are still paying back debts incurred over his election.

Maybe you should ask why the former Commissioner for Finance, Nura Manu Soro resigned from Mohammed’s government. The kind of high-handedness going on in the state is such that no one with reputation and name would stay behind. Blame not Dogara. He’s taken the best decision in the circumstances and should be left to deal with the consequences of his choice.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ AUGUST 2, 2020

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BRIEFINGNOTES Daura’s Dodgy 2023 Postulation Mamman Daura’s last week quest for competence over zoning in the march towards 2023 presidential bout is hypocritical. Louis Achi writes

“I

f you want to humble an empire it makes sense to maim its cathedrals,” wrote TIME’s Nancy Gibbs in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US. “They are symbols of its faith, and when they crumple and burn, it tells us we are not so powerful and we can’t be safe.”

But as empires go, the South as a block was and is not one. It is also not a vassal entity to North. But by wittingly or unwittingly maiming its cathedrals of culture, capacity and political totems, which are symbols of the regions’ faith, the clear message to the South is that they are not so powerful and can’t be safe.

In a fundamental sense, this quirky message was needlessly reinforced last week when ‘elder statesman’ Mallam Mamman Daura, the influential nephew of President Muhammadu Buhari said there was no need for zoning the presidential ticket to any part of the country. He further held that Nigeria’s political space should be left open for the best candidate to emerge as president.

Seen as the most powerful personality in Buhari’s administration, Daura in an exclusive interview with the Hausa Service of the BBC said the most qualified person from any part of the country should succeed his uncle.

His position, which basically skewered the informal North-South rotational presidency template shored up suspicions that some elements from the North were perfecting plans to retain the presidency after Buhari’s second tenure lapses in 2003. Daura Daura’s uncle, Buhari, remains something of an ‘outsider’ from the mainstream Northern political intelligentsia. The group is perceived as belonging to the more radical, fundamentalist Northern fringe and many indeed believed this clutch could provide a different kind of progressive, transformational leadership.

But significantly, under his watch, the North has apparently thrown the concept of “enlightened self-interest” to the dogs and opted for ‘cudgel politics’ with consolidation of the region’s grip on both the military hierarchy and a wide swathe of strategic national positions to reinforce its flawed, survivalist calculations.

Since the country returned to civil rule in 1999, political power had been rotating between the Northern and Southern regions of the country. According to Daura, perceived as a key arrowhead of the “cabal” that plays a major role in decision making at Aso Villa, since Nigerians had tried the rotational presidency about three times already, it would be better to go for the most qualified candidate in 2023, irrespective of whether he comes from the North or South.

Not surprisingly, Daura’s position has spawned a storm – not just because of the message but the sheer clout of the messenger. Mamman Daura is an alumnus of the Trinity College, Dublin. Comparable to Oxford and Cambridge, the Trinity College is a foremost nursery for grooming top-notch world leaders.

On the surface, Daura could have meant that the nation has now matured and merit should superintend over governance.

But if merit is not applicable across board, then it is not an impartial conjecture. The Presidency cannot be the exception.

In extant administrative templates, Federal Character and Quota System still trump merit in most official actions in the nation as a means accommodating every part of the country.

Baring sheer mischief, Daura is certainly too sophisticated to miss this point. So, what gives? It can be no secret, who he is speaking for. Historically, the political and structural disproportions of the country have been at issue and spawned considerable regressive crisis.

Besides reactions from the major socio-political organisations, key stakeholders have taken different positions on Daura’s controversial statement. According to the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the issue of rotational presidency is not a constitutional matter but only adopted by political parties for their own convenience.

“The Nigerian constitution does not make provision for rotational presidency; it is done at the convenience of political parties and not a constitutional practice. There is nowhere in the Nigerian constitution where there is provision for rotation,” the body said.

Prominent Igbo leaders said Daura was insensitive to the mood of the nation. Taking a dig at Daura, First Republic Minister of Aviation, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi and the only surviving member of the Zikist Movement said, “The most competent person is occupying Aso Rock now and Nigeria wants a competent person” in 2023.

Another elder statesman, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, stated that the people of the South East had paid enough sacrifice to merit the Presidency and there was no better time than 2023.

According to him, the ubiquitous existence of Igbo people with their businesses was enough evidence that they have kept faith in the unity of Nigeria. “No tribe has played the role Igbo have played to make the Federal Republic of Nigeria united.

Meanwhile, the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere has also condemned Daura’s position, stating that Nigeria must continue with the power rotation between the North and the South.

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation in Nigeria, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has urged political parties in Nigeria to look the way of the Igbos and give them a chance in 2023.

Looking at the post-war big picture, the Igbo of the South East zone have been left holding the short end of the nation’s political stick – walled off from the office of the president.

Although an asset indispensable to visionary nation building, ‘statesmanship’ is certainly not a job description. But using the term implies recognition that someone has the character and understanding to exercise certain virtues in political or state affairs. For many, Daura’s position on 2023 questions his claims to statesmanship.

It is conceivable that some political historians could stick out their necks and affirm that indeed some aspects of the formation of the Nigerian state benefited from statesmen and statesmanship. Debatably true.

Zoning remains, for now, a pragmatic template to assure contending forces in the Nigerian polity, who interpreted the nullification of June 12 presidential election widely acclaimed to have been won by Chief MKO Abiola, as a Northern agenda rather than junta politics.

NOTES FOR FILE

T Zulum

Attack on Zulum Disturbing!

he convoy of the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, on Tuesday came under a heavy attack between Baga and Munguno parts of the state.

The attack was so heavy that the governor had to be smuggled into a Federal Special Anti-robbery Squad’s armoured personnel carrier while the attack was being repelled.

This came about days after the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, claimed the insecurity in the Northeast part of the country was under control, albeit his assertion had been faulted variously and with data to show that the COAS was merely playing to the gallery only to save his job.

But, particularly worthy of note, is the claim by the governor

that the attack was a sabotage by the military – the same military that was meant to secure the place. He was so sure of his facts that he argued that there was no terrorist in Baga, where he was attacked. So, who attacked Zulum?

Politics aside, that’s a major cause for concern, in addition to being a serious indictment on the leadership of the military.

Needless to say the current wave of insecurity in the country is the worst since the return to civil rule in 1999.

Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani-Bello, too said recently that often, details of strategic anti-terrorism meetings were always being divulged to the insurgents. That President Muhammadu Buhari has deliberately chosen to keep the failing team is equally curious, despite national plea for a breath of fresh air.

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CICERO/PROFILE

Apart from being a foremost legal luminary from the Northern Nigeria, the late AbdulGaniyu Folorunsho Abdulrazaq SAN (OFR), father of Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq, paid his dues in the development of the Nigerian capital market. He rose to the enviable position of Chairman in Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange as President. He was President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange from 2000 – 2003 and Vice-President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange from 1983 – 2000. He was a member of the Capital Issues Commission from 1973 to 1978. Bamidele Famoofo writes

T

he exit of Alhaji AbdulGaniyu Folorunsho Abdulrazaq, former President and Chairman in Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, member of the Capital Issues Commission (CIC), and federal cabinet minister of state for transport, no doubt has created a vacuum in the nation’s economy as his wealth of experience will be missed, especially in the capital market sector.

No doubt, Abdulrazaq, an iconic lawyer, contributed immensely to the development of the capital market in Nigeria both as President of the NSE and member of the CIS. The Capital Issues Commission was established with the promulgation of the Capital Issues Commission Decree in March 1973. ... The Commission had more powers to regulate and develop the Nigerian capital market, in addition to determining the prices of issues and setting the basis for allotment of securities.

Besides his contribution to the development of the capital market and by extension growth of the economy, the father of the incumbent governor of Kwara State, who was a graduate of the University of Ibadan, an outstanding legal luminary, contributed its quota in the advancement of the law profession in Nigeria. Abdulrazaq, a former Commissioner for finance, Health and Social welfare from 1967 to 1972 in Kwara, his state of origin, was a member of the Federal Parliament from 1964 to 1966 as the Federal Cabinet Minister of State for Transport. He was also a member of the International Commission of Jurists since 1959.

Background Alhaji Abdulrazaq, who was born on November 13, 1927, hailed from Yerimisa Compound in the Idigba Quarters of Pakata Area in Ilorin, Ilorin West local government area of kwara state.

He has been described as a complete symbol of Nigeria unity as his sojourn in life traversed all geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Born in Onitsha, the present Anambra State in South-east, had secondary education in Buguma in today’s South-south, he attended the University of Ibadan, Ibadan and lived and worked in Lagos both in the South-west, launched his legal trajectory in Kaduna and Zaria in North-west, his legal practices and political excursion propelled him to Maiduguri in the North-east where he was made the National Legal Adviser of the then Northern People’s Congress(NPC)and he hailed from Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State in the North-central.

He was among the pioneer students, who were first admitted into the Nigerian premier university, University of Ibadan.

Upon completing his studies at the then University College, Ibadan, the pioneer lawyer of Northern Nigerian origin sailed to the Great

Folorunsho Abdulrazaq

Britain where he obtained master ’s degree in History, post-graduate Diploma in Education and L.LB. He was eventually called to the bar in February,1955 and thereby preceding his fellow Northerners such as Mohammad Bello (19301998) and Mamman Nasir (born 1927) as well as Justice Buba Ardo, who were admitted into the bar some months after him. The three gentlemen eventually had distinguished careers as jurists. Mohammed Bello was the Chief Justice of Nigeria between 1987 and 1995, Buba Ardo retired as a Supreme Court Judge while Mamman Nasir, the Galadiman Katsina and District Head of Malufashi, retired as the President of the Court of Appeal in 1992 and handed over to Justice Muhammad Mustapha Adebayo Akanbi CFR, the First Wakili of Ilorin (born 1932).

He was one of those young and educated Nigerians who confederated with the elderly Nationalists to secure independence for Nigeria in 1960. He was a Nigerian Ambas-

sador to Cote D’Ivoire, Minister in charge of Railways in the First Republic. He was the Chairman of the Body of Benchers. He was the first National Legal Adviser of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) on the eve of the country’s independence, the position he held throughout the country’s First Republic.

Impact The contributions of the late Abdulrazaq are many. He was a thorough nationalist who used his vast knowledge of the law as a weapon to end colonialism. He participated in several constitutional conferences within and outside Nigeria.

His performance astonished many leading nationalists of his time so well that he was seen as the engine-room of the successive Northern Nigerian delegations to those conferences. He was also the leading opposition figure to the attempt at restructuring the

then Ilorin province to the Western Region. Abdulrazaq, in his youth, was a great orator, classical diplomat and outstanding intellectual who used his versed and vast knowledge and exposure for the progress of his people. He was so successful at that that the leadership of the Yoruba-dominated western region regretted that a Yoruba-speaking man of that versatility and exposure always punctured their avowed commitment to severe Ilorin Province from the Hausa-Fulani dominated Northern Nigeria. When Alhaji Abdulrazaq observed the problem his people faced in securing secondary school admission for their children and wards, he single-handedly established the then Ilorin College, Ilorin, in I967 at Adewole Area of Ilorin. The school is now called Government High School, Ilorin, following its take-over by Kwara State government.

Another area in which Abdulrazaq creditably served included the chairman of the organising committee of the Kwara State Industrial Development Fund which was launched in Lagos in 1985. The calibre of the guests attracted to the event and the amount of money realised there-in showed the clout of the elder statesman.

Abdulrazaq’s contributions can also be seen in being the rallying figure of the people of Kwara State wherever he sojourned. When he lived in Zaria, he was a fatherfigure to Ilorin people. He was also the chairman of the Ilorin Emirate Development Committee in Lagos in the mid-1990s. Abdulrazaq’s participation in political mentorship and participation was also wonderful. He has served the country in several capacities since 1955 when he became a lawyer and public figure. Apart from the several appointments he held, he also contested the governorship of Kwara State in 1979 on the platform of the defunct Great Nigeria People’s Party. He was also a member of the 49 wise-men, which midwifed the Presidential system of Government in Nigeria. The calibre of the alumni of the school he established is a great plus to his attainments just as the calibre and contributions of his biological offsprings to national development.

Marriage and Family The late Abdulrazaq was married to Alhaja Raliat, the mother of his children, who is also the first female councilor in Northern Nigeria and the first female to drive a car all-over the North of the Niger.

His outstanding children include Dr. Alimi Abdulrazaq, a national figure in politics and public administration; Hajiya Hairat Abdulqazaq-Gwadabe, who represented the Federal Capital Territory in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 1999 and 2003; Alhaji Isiaka Abdulqazaq, immediate past executive director, Finance and Administration of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Alhaji Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq the Kwara State Governor.

62

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ AUGUST 2, 2020

FROM THE COURT

Akpata, an Underdog, is New NBA President With a towering following among the ranks of young lawyers across Nigeria, Olumide Akpata made history last week, when he defeated two of his rivals and fellow contestants, who were Senior Advocates of Nigeria to emerge the 30th President of the Nigerian Bar Association, writes Davidson Iriekpen

O

lumide Akpata etched his name in history on Friday, when he was declared the first non-Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to become the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). He polled a total of 9,891 votes out of the total 18,256 ballots cast to defeat his fellow contestants. His closest rival, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade (SAN) polled 4,328 votes, while Mr. Dele Adesina (SAN) polled 3,982 votes.

The outcome of the NBA election was generally regarded as a huge revolt by the growing ranks of young lawyers, who feel concerned about what they regard as the monopolistic politics of the NBA by the ranks of SAN. While many holders of the SAN title were busy endorsing, Ajibade and Adesina, not many thought that Akpata would pull off an upset.

Right from Wednesday night, when the elections started till the wee hours of Thursday, when the election closed, Akpata maintained the lead with more than 50 per cent of the votes at every quarter-hourly update, and he maintained the lead. About 29,636 eligible voters were registered, and the election committee sent the voting link to the registered members via emails and SMS. Akpata’s victory is the first time in over three decades that the president of the NBA will be emerging from the outer bar, and not among the rank of senior advocates. The last non-SAN, who became president of the association was Alao Aka-Bashorun between 1987 and 1989. He was widely regarded as one of finest President of the Bar. THISDAY gathered that other lawyers had used Aka-Bashorun’s example as a campaign weapon to wrest the leadership of the association from the privileged class of senior advocates.

Beyond the defeat of the SANs, the election also broke many other ceilings, as three women emerged as national officers in the eight-man national executive that was conducted online. The women were elected as general secretary, assistant secretary and treasurer respectively.

John O. Aikpoko-Martins emerged First Vice-President with 34 per cent of the vote shared with five other contestants while Kazeem Debo Adeyemo emerged the Second Vice-President.

A lady, Joyce Oduah is the General Secretary and another lady, Esther Nwadialo emerged Assistant Secretary.

Observers are also wondering if the Akpata presidency would be able to reconcile the growing divisions in the legal profession and the deep quest for the salvaging of ethics among lawyers.

Certainly, the days ahead would be the judge

Akpata Another lady, Mercy Agada is to serve as Treasurer while Olakunle Edun emerged the Welfare Secretary, while Raphael Anagor was returned unopposed as Financial Secretary.

While many lawyers are saying the emergence of Akpata was good and would bring fresh breath to the Bar, others accused the electoral committee of managing a rigged process.

But one of the contestants, Ajibade, has congratulated Akpata, saying he was particularly proud of the level of the debate and the quality of the ideas that were brought forth during the elections.

Pointing out that the processes leading to and during the election itself were not devoid of controversy, he expressed hope that the repeated challenges with conducting objectively free and fair elections in the association would be resolved over time.

Akpata, a former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) and an expert in corporate and commercial law, will take over from Paul Usoro, whose tenure will come to an end this month.

At 48 and with a practice experience of about 20 years, Akpata may not be called a baby lawyer. However, he may be so-called compared with his rivals who are both SANs. With 62 per cent of the votes turned in at 23.00, Akpata won with 54 per cent of the votes with his two rivals, Ajibade and Adesina polling 23 and 21per cent respectively of the votes.

Akpata, a young lawyer was known to have mobilised social media and appealed to the younger lawyers for their votes. He passed over the traditional authorities of the Senior Advocates

Chair (West-Africa) of the International Bar Association’s Africa Regional Forum.

He comes to his new role with great dynamism, youthful energy, expertise, knowledge and great foresight.

In his acceptance speech, Akpata said when he decided to throw his hat into the ring, he realised the election was really not about himself. He equally promised some transformational reforms, which would put the association on the right path.

“Throughout the electioneering process, I saw many Nigerian lawyers, who had either lost faith, or never been interested in the NBA, participate with utmost enthusiasm in the hope that things would become better. This further goes to show that the extraordinary movement that heralded this electoral victory was not, and could never have been about me.

“The victory of last night is for our young lawyers, who have become disillusioned with the way the NBA has been run over the years and how the profession appears to be disconnected from the challenges that face them and their future. It is for the progressive senior lawyer, who refused to accept the status quo and took firm steps to ensure that things are done better.

“It is for the corporate counsel, law officers, law teachers, the police and military lawyers, and lawyers in all components of the profession, who for long have been treated as unequal members of an Association that ought to be the umbrella body for all legal practitioners.

The victory of last night is for the lawyer with disability, who has long suffered neglect and indignity by the profession.

“Above all, our victory is for nonlawyers and the general populace, who took an unusual, but a special, interest in the conduct of our elections, thus lending credence to my long- held belief that the Nigerian society has always yearned for a legal profession and indeed a Bar that stands tall as an unwavering bastion of the rule of law, an advocate for the sanctity and independence of the judiciary, and a bulwark against tyranny and oppression.

“I was driven by the passion to use my time, talent and resources to improve by appealing directly to the younger our Association by making it fit-forlawyers, who in the one man, one vote purpose, beneficial to all members and culture heeded his call for radical responsive to the needs of the society,” reforms in the operations of the NBA. he stated.

However, the desirability for AkAkpata, who thanked the electorate pata’s presidency of the bar has been for the confidence reposed in him, reascalled to question as some allege that sured them that he would do his best to being an oil and gas corporate lawyer, deliver on their mandate. He also urged his partners might rein him in if he so them to unite in order to achieve the goal desires to use the body to confront the of revitalising the Bar and ensuring that government. their voices are firm and unshaken when Akpata was born on October 7, 1972 he speaks. into the famous Akpata family. He Acknowledging that he could not do schooled at the famous King’s College in the job alone and would be counting on Lagos, and was subsequently called to their support and counsel as he works the Nigerian Bar on December 15, 1993 towards securing the future through a following acquisition of his LLB degree united Bar, he called on Adesina and from the University of Benin in 1992.

Ajibade, who contested the seat with him Young Olu began his legal career at to join him to build a virile association. the Law firm of the late Dr. Mudiaga “One thing that remained unshaken Odje (SAN) while he was serving his throughout the election process was my mandatory National Youth Service utmost respect for these distinguished Corps (NYSC). Upon completion of his and respectable gentlemen. May I humNYSC, youthful Akpata enlisted in the bly assure them that my respect remains Law firm known as Templars. It is on intact. The election is over but the work record that he has spent well over 20 ahead of us is immense.” years with Templars.

With the election over, the next In recognition of his exemplary agenda for Akpata is if he could give the expertise, teamwork and hard work, he NBA the strong voice it was known for. was made Senior Partner and Head of The association, over the years, has been the Corporate and Commercial Department at Templars. His areas of specialty in the vanguard of promoting the rule of law and the entrenchment of good include Nigerian corporate and comgovernance in Nigeria. It also acts as the mercial law, mergers and acquisitions, voice of the voiceless and the watchdog capital markets, corporate law, labour and employment, media entertainment, that barks when things go against order as well as bites when necessary. technology and regulatory compliance, Observers are also wondering if the among others.

Akpata has been Secretary of the Ni- Akpata presidency would be able to reconcile the growing divisions in the gerian Bar Association (NBA) Business Law (SBL) section council since 2012. He legal profession and the deep quest for the salvaging of ethics among lawyers. was later elected as the Vice-chairman in August 2014, and then the substantive Certainly, the days ahead would be the judge.

Chairman in 2016. He is also the Vice-

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ AUGUST 2, 2020

63

CICERO/INTERVIEW

Zoning Is Answer to Nigeria’s Political Stability Tanko Yakassai, a northern leader and former Liaison Officer to then-President Shehu Shagari, shares his views on zoning the Presidency with Chuks Okocha. Among other things, he says for Nigeria to enjoy political stability, unity across the country and a sense of equity, the Presidency and other key national offices should be rotated and shared among the country’s geo-political zones. Excerpts:

W

hat is your take on Mamman Daura’s comment on zoning?

Zoning was first introduced into Nigerian political lexicon by the National Party of Nigeria in the Second Republiic. NPN, like you know, was the first political party that was accepted nationwide in Nigeria as everybody’s party. No individual or a group of Nigerians ever allocated to themselves the ownership of NPN. Everybody was joint owners of National Party of Nigeria. It is because of that, that NPN thought of developing the concept and to assure every member and every segment of Nigeria that the exotic office of the president would one day come to their area or zone.

And this is the reason all political conferences that took place after NPN, the idea of zoning kept coming up in such conferences and have been adopted by some conferences as a provision in the Nigerian Constitution. Under (Gen.) Sani Abacha’s constitutional conference, 1994/1995, it was recommended and the military accepted that zoning should be incorporated into the constitution of Nigeria. But in a way that will form the basis of registration criteria for every political party. Unfortunately, Abacha died and the reforms died with him.

Since then, the majority of Nigerians have accepted zoning as a very good strategy that will give everybody in Nigeria a sense of belonging. Those who are able to get the position to their side will be satisfied and acknowledged and those who have yet to get it, were assured that they will get it when the time comes.

So now, you cannot separate zoning from rotation, because zoning without rotation is meaningless. So whoever adopts zoning automatically adopts rotation.

And, whoever rejects zoning, automatically rejects rotation.

Now about argument in merit, there was a time when competent people were not sufficient all over the country. Even today, there are more competent people in certain areas. But today every local government in Nigeria has competent and qualified Nigerians to seek any public office. Be it elected or appointed.

So there is no reason why zoning allocation will not be acceptable by any Nigerian. I am saying this, not because it’s my idea. But I was a founding member of National Party of Nigeria (NPN), member of it national executive committee, vice chairman of Kano State Chapter of the party. So, we, the NPN people are happy that what we introduced to Nigerian politics is now being accepted by other parties. Now virtually every new party is accepting zoning and rotation as part of its philosophy. But this is not to say that Nigeria with over 200 million people, everybody will have the same way of thinking.

Our adoption of human rights, right of citizens of Nigeria to own opinion and express it. Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to accept zoning or reject it. But the overwhelming majority in Nigeria have agreed that zoning will bring inclusiveness now or in the future.

Zoning is not constitutional. It depends on the party. Buhari will complete his eight years’ tenure in 2023. For inclusiveness, will it be right to let the Presidency go to the south or remain in the north?

In the interest of national stability, APC should adhere to zoning and rotation which are part of the electoral promise of the party when it was formed.

PDP, which is the main opposition party, has already accepted zoning and rotation as part of its constitution.

So in my opinion, APC should adhere to its principles of zoning and rotation.

Should it be done between the six geo-political zones or just between tye north and the south?

When zoning was advocated by the NPN, we saw it as a situation that would move on a North-South dichotomy. And to that extent, a number of position in the government or the political party were zoned to certain areas. At the time NPN was formed, there were no six geo-political zones in the country. But you can see that the national chairman of NPN was from the South-West, the presidential candidate and later the President, Shehu Shagari, was from the North, North-West for that matter. And Chief Alex Ekuweme, the Vice President, was from the South-East. So even

Yakassai where there was no clear demarcation of six geopolitical zones, the rotation of key office was done in this arrangement. So it was the decision of those who created the concept of zoning and rotation that the main offices are equitably distributed for national unity and stability.

With the six geo-political zones, what will you suggest? Should the Presidency still be between the North and the South?

Yes, the Presidency should be on the concept of the North and the South. There are three zones in the South and three in the North. So when one zone in the North has it in one party, another zone from the other part of the country should be entitled to it.

But this is not to say that the opposition party, the other party which is also operating on a zoning principle must tailored its zoning arrangement to suit the zoning arrangement of the other party. It does not

mean that opposition party must align with the zoning arrangement of the other party. In other words, if one party produces a candidate from the North, next it should produce a candidate from the North. It should produce from the South. But zoning arrangement cannot prevent another party from producing candidate from the zone where the other party had produced a candidate that occupied that office at one time.

So what would be your comment on what Mamman Daura said?

Daura is an individual. I am talking about parties.

Zoning arrangement was proposed during Sani Abacha’s regime. That it should form the condition for the registration of political parties. That they must adopt zoning and rotation in their own constitution. Once we do that everything will be settled. And the party will not be registered as a political party, if it failed to enshrine zoning in its constitution.

Sunday August 2, 2020

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MISSILE

Shehu of Borno on Attack on Zulum “If the convoy of the governor could be attacked, nobody is safe. He is the chief security officer of the state. If a convoy of such a highly placed person in the state will be attacked, nobody is safe. The matter is getting worse.” – The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Garbai Elkanemi condemning the attack on the convoy of Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum

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This Power Rotation Thing Again

M

allam Mamman Daura, President Muhammadu Buhari’s confidant, is someone who speaks just once in a blue moon.

He hardly grants media interviews or appears at public events. Only a few Nigerians can point him out in a crowd. A Google image search will return less than a dozen pictures of him. For a man who was a journalist, editor, corporate player and entrepreneur in his younger days, this anonymity is very much unusual — just as it is uncommon for you to be older than your uncle. Technically, Buhari is his uncle, even though the president is younger. Daura’s father is the first child of Buhari’s mother. Daura, at 80, is the nephew and Buhari, at 77, is the uncle.

The word in town since Buhari came to office in 2015 is that Daura is the power behind the throne. But in a rare interview with the BBC Hausa Service last week, Daura — who encouraged Buhari to join the army in 1962 — denied having any undue influence on the president, maintaining that he only advises him if he seeks his opinion.

What’s more, the snippets that came out of the BBC interview also delivered what many would consider a bombshell on “power shift” in 2023: “This turn by turn, it was done once, it was done twice, it was done thrice… It is better for this country to be one… it should be for the most competent and not for someone who comes from somewhere.”

I am interested in two aspects of Daura’s statement. One, he did not specifically say power should not go to the south. He simply said we should discard “turn by turn” — which is in the same family with “federal character”. But many have taken this as a coded message. I will come back to this. Two, he said what the south normally likes to hear — that “competence” should be the key factor and not, wait for this, “turn by turn”. This still angered some southerners. On a good day, southerners argue that there should be no “turn by turn” and that “competence” should determine everything.

On this occasion, it seems they prefer “turn by turn” to “competence”.

On the first point, there is a general assumption in Nigeria that the north will always determine who will be elected president. The north believes it has the numbers to always choose and it will use these numbers the way it likes. That is why Daura’s message has set the polity into overdrive: it is taken that the “north” has spoken.

Of course, the north has the numbers — 19 out of 36 states and over 52 per cent of registered voters, and always with a higher voter turn-out since time immemorial. That is why when any northerner talks on this issue, the reaction in the south is always ferocious because as far as they are concerned, the north has spoken and it is fait accompli.

However, the Nigerian constitution makes it compulsory for a presidential candidate to win at least 25 percent of votes cast in a minimum of 24 states of the federation. Since the north has 19 states and the south 17, it means a region cannot by itself elect a president. We will always need each other, even if it has to come to holding a run-off in the event that no candidate meets the threshold in the first round. Moreover, I would treat Daura’s position as a personal opinion.

The north is politically diverse and dynamic.

The idea of a monolithic north — that is, the notion that everybody in the region faces the same direction — is not supported by history or facts.

People tend to use Buhari’s victories in 2015

Daura and 2019 as evidence of a monolithic north. But at his best in 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari — arguably the biggest vote-winning machine that has ever come out of the region — did not win in all the states in the north. He won in 16. If the south-west had maintained its voting pattern of 2011, Buhari would have lost the historic election which saw a sitting president defeated for the first time. So, even with Buhari’s awesome electoral might, he still needed southern votes to win. It must also be noted that Obasanjo and Jonathan, two southerners, defeated Buhari in 2003 and 2011 respectively — with northern support, of course.

What am I driving at? Anyone desiring to be president must build strong alliances across the divides, as Buhari realised in 2015. For the record, the north has shown — not once, not twice — its willingness to support a southerner against one of its own. It happened in 1993, 2003 and 2011. Bashorun MKO Abiola defeated Alhaji Bashir Tofa not only in the north but also in Kano, Tofa’s home state, in the June 12 poll of 1993. The most notable development must be in 1999 when northern power brokers worked for the two presidential candidates to come from the south-west. Those who like to abuse the north over the power equation often forget or ignore these facts of history.

In essence, a better way of addressing the 2023 “power shift” issue, in my opinion, is for the southern political leaders to forge the right alliances in the north and build a consensus to zone the presidential tickets of the leading parties to the south. Resorting to threats and foul language and promising brimstone and fire will not solve any problem. These same southern leaders backed Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in 2019 and Buhari still won. The world did not come to an end. Playing politics the right way and negotiating the right alliances will work better.

As I said, the north has shown willingness to support a southerner above a northerner several times in the past.

The second point is “competence”. I can’t believe that a northerner would ask that competence be used in picking the Nigerian president and some southerners would kick so hard. What’s the world turning into? All my life, I have been told that the least intelligent southerner is better than the most intelligent northerner.

I have been told that northerners can only get anything if it is based on federal character or quota system and southerners will get everything if it is based on competence or merit. Therefore, shouldn’t southerners be excited that Daura said

competence should decide our choice in 2023? I am slightly confused that southern leaders are kicking against competence!

Jokes apart, I have always argued that competence is in every part of Nigeria. There is no ethnic group, religion, region or state that does not have people who are qualified to lead. Be it educational qualification, experience, exposure, skills or enterprise, no ethnic group or religion has the monopoly. Maybe in 1914 or 1960, there was some monopoly. But today, it is inherited prejudice that will make anyone sit somewhere and classify everybody from a whole region as incompetent. I don’t know of any state that cannot boast of having produced graduates, home and abroad. That some states have more than the others does not mean the others are illiterate and incompetent.

So what? I return to my argument: in a multiethnic and multi-religious state, we cannot say might is right. We must evolve a system that accommodates and integrates all and sundry.

That is the only reason I support the highly controversial federal character: our diversity must reflect in matters of mutual relevance.

I don’t want to go to a federal ministry and everybody there is from my village on the claim that they were all recruited on merit.

No multi-ethnic union can survive that way.

We must create a sense of belonging. And I insist that since there is competence from everywhere, we can implement merit-based federal character. Let every section bring their best talents to the pool.

In the interest of national peace and unity, therefore, it makes sense for power to shift to the south in 2023. Contrary to Daura’s opinion, rotation can incorporate both “turn by turn” and “competence”. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive. There is no state in Nigeria today that does not have good presidential materials. More so, we have to manage our delicate nationhood wisely. We cannot deal with the prevailing mutual suspicion and fear of domination if we keep insisting that “might is right” or “we have the numbers”.

Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, expressed similar sentiments early in the year and asked that power should go to the south in 2023.

Nation-building is calculated, orchestrated and nurtured. It does not happen by accident.

That is why I am now thinking: is it time to entrench power rotation in our constitution?

It is very clear that Nigerians love rotation of power. The only problem is that some support or oppose it depending on where they stand at a point in time. Why don’t we stop pretending and just do it? Indeed, there are too many issues that should be priorities: healthcare, security, education, infrastructure, industrialisation and inequality, among others. Bickering all the time over power is a destructive distraction.

It destabilises us.

Let’s begin to devote our energies and emotions to the cause of good governance and nation-building, assured that the power formula is already taken care of. The perennial tension and mischief over the power equation is hurting national cohesion. Let’s be honest: we are yet to recover from the Yar’Adua situation of 2010.

Yar’Adua’s death meant the north could not complete its eight years and the consequences are still shaping political emotions. We can amend the law such that if the president leaves office before the expiration of term, the replacement will come from the same region through a byelection. We need consensus and compromise.

We badly need national healing.

And Four Other Things…

KADUNA KILLINGS Anytime I hear of another outbreak of killings in southern Kaduna, my heart bleeds. While I weep for the dead, the injured and the bereaved, I always wonder if these killings will ever come to an end. In the past, we have had hate-fuelled, seemingly intractable killings in Ogbe-Ijoh (Delta state) and Ife/Modakeke (Osun state).

But at a point, the community leaders got tired of the bloodshed and decided to bury whatever the hatchet was and live together in peace. Southern Kaduna leaders need to come to that reality — that there can only be peace if they all willingly agree to it. I know the hate and bitterness is deep, but love conquers all things. They just need to give peace a chance. Wisdom.

NARROW ESCAPE How would it have been if Boko Haram had succeeded in killing Prof Babagana Zulum, the governor of Borno state, in Baga, on Wednesday? He was on his way to visit some internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Kukawa LGA when his convoy was attacked. We are thankful for his survival.

But if the insurgents could go this far with a governor, the signal to ordinary citizens is that they are far from being safe and secure.

The military would want us to believe that they have the Boko Haram situation under control, but that is not the vibe we get every day. There is something we are still not getting right despite all the sweat and sacrifice of our gallant soldiers. Worrisome.

STRANGE STELLA I was a little surprised at the massive global reaction to a claim by Dr Stella Immanuel, a US-based Nigeria-trained Cameroonian doctor, that she used hydroxychloroquine, zinc and azithromycin to treat COVID-19 patients and she got results. Dr Vladimir Zelenko, also US-based, made exactly the same claims in March but nobody descended on him. Truly, the peculiarities of COVID-19 symptoms in patients mean the same treatment can yield different results.

In fact, hydroxychloroquine has led to the deaths of some elderly patients. Since the jury is still out on the effectiveness of this treatment, I think Immanuel’s cloutchasing outburst was very unprofessional.

Reckless.

GOLDEN DOCTOR Dr Goke Tosin Akinrogunde, my friend and brother, is a rare gem — one unusual Nigerian medical doctor who puts sacrifice and service above self, who elevates people above profit. He decided to study medicine after a poor child died because the doctor would not operate the appendicitis without a N1,000 deposit. Akinrogunde would later become an activist in his university days, overcoming rustication and persecution to pursue his dreams. I have watched him, as the lead volunteer for a medical charity, sacrifice his sleep and stomach to bring smiles to the faces of the poor and the downtrodden in unglamorous places. I wish him a happy birthday in arrears. Golden.

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