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BPE Set to List Privatised Enterprises on Capital Market Finance Ministry, CBN okay NIPOST Microfinance Bank Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja Pending the return of a bullish run in the capital market, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) is set to list no fewer than four privatised firms on

the market. Director-General of BPE, Mr. Alex Okoh, disclosed this in an interview with THISDAY to mark his 60th birthday, which coincided with Nigeria's diamond independence anniversary.

Okoh said the listing was a way of encouraging wider public participation in the acquisition of government assets.

The head of the privatisation agency also disclosed that

it had secured the approval of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to float the proposed NIPOST Microfinance Bank, a

subsidiary of the unbundled Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST).

Although Okoh did not divulge the identities of the entities slated for the capital market through public listing,

THISDAY gathered that some of them were in the petrochemical sector.

The BPE director-general said regarding the planned Continued on page 5

PENCOM Board: South-east Senate Caucus Rejects Buhari’s DG Nominee… Page 5 Sunday 4 October, 2020 Vol 25. No 9309

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Adeboye: We Must Restructure Nigeria Now or Risk Break-up Tobi Soniyi In what is certain to put more pressure on the President Muhammadu Buhari government, the highly respected General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian

Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, yesterday, said there was an urgent need to restructure Nigeria, warning of a heightened danger of breakup if the country’s leaders fail to reform.

Adeboye, who added

his voice to the growing clamour for restructuring of the country, spoke at the 60th Independence Day Celebration Symposium organised by RCCG and the Nehemiah Leadership Institute. The General Overseer spoke on

the theme, “Where will Nigeria be in 2060.” He, however, suggested a merger of the British and American systems of government for Nigeria, stressing that the country should develop a system peculiar and unique to it.

The cleric, who had always been reluctant to criticise the president, said the Buhari administration must carry out the restructuring of the country “as soon as possible” to avoid a breakup of the various social and ethnic components.

The 78-year-old stated, “Why can’t we have a system of government that will create what I will call the United States of Nigeria?

Let me explain. We all know Continued on page 8

Buhari’s Supporters Considering Jonathan for 2023 Presidential Run Secondus: We won’t discriminate against anyone in PDP, says Atiku is free to contest again Tobi Soniyi, Gboyega Akinsanmi in Lagos and Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi In a major political development fuelled by power intrigues and permutations, Buhari supporters are considering backing former President Goodluck Jonathan for 2023 presidential run.

The thinking is that it will satisfy the increasing clamour for power shift to the South.

Buhari’s close loyalists believed that Jonathan would be harmless to their group interest and as such the right person to take over if power were to shift to the South, "he handed over power peacefully and nursed no bitterness against anyone and therefore will not be a threat to the interest of the north," according to a top source in Buhari's camp who didn't want to be identified.

The attraction to Jonathan's

possible candidacy is that he will serve just one term of four years.

In a related development yesterday, the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), disclosed that it would not discriminate against any person in the build-up to the next presidential election on its platform, including a former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who the party said was free to take another shot in 2023.

According to multiple sources within the northern establishment spoken to by THISDAY, the idea of having Jonathan succeed Buhari is a very attractive preposition, "the former president is a good man, he did well in his first term and we believe he has learnt his lessons and where he failed and is unlikely to repeat Continued on page 5

Atiku, Saraki Condemn SARS' Attrocities against Nigerians... Page 11

RIBADU’S DAUGHTER WEDS ATIKU’S SON...

L-R: National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu; the bride, Fatima Ribadu and the groom, Aliyu Atiku Abubakar; groom’s father and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, at the wedding ceremony of his son at Ribadu’s residence in Asokoro, Abuja... yesterday

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PENCOM Board: South-east Senate Caucus Rejects Buhari’s DG Nominee Deji Elumoye in Abuja The South East Senate Caucus has rejected President Muhammadu Buhari's nomination of Aishat Umar as the Director General of the National Pensions Commission (PENCOM).

The caucus at a meeting held at the weekend at the instance of Senate Minority Leader , Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, faulted the nomination of Umar for confirmation as substantive DG of PENCOM. A ranking Senator who attended the meeting told THISDAY that Senators from the five South East states agreed that replacement for the former Director-General (DG) of PENCOM, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, from Anambra state must come from any of the states from the geo-political zone.

According to him, the South East Senators based their argument on provisions of the 2014 Pension Act which states that "in the event of a vacancy, the President shall appoint replacement from the geo-political zone of the immediate past member that vacated office to complete the remaining tenure."

They maintained that

by virtue of provisions of Section 20(1) and section 21(1) and (2) of the National Pension Commission Act 2014, replacement for Anohu-Amazu, must come from the South East.

The Caucus has, therefore, resolved to present their position before the Senate committee on Public Service and Establishment to which the PENCOM Board nominees had been referred to last week week by the upper legislative chamber for further legislative work.

Anohu-Amazu who had since been appointed as Executive Director of African Development Bank (AfDB) was removed as DG in 2017, two clear years to the end of her tenure.

Attempts by President Buhari to get one Aliyu Abdulrahman Dikko to fill the vacancy created by Anohu -Amazu's exit was check mated by the leadership of the Eighth Senate led by former Kwara state governor, Dr Bukola Saraki President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan at last Wednesday plenary mandated the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters to screen President Muhammadu Buhari's nominees for

appointment as Chairman, Director General and Commissioners of the National Pension Commission despite sustained opposition from his

colleagues.

Apart from Dr Oyindasola Oluremi Oni and Aishat Umar nominated for the Chairman and DG of the Pension Board

respectively, other PENCOM Board members whose names were sent to the Senate

by President Buhari for confirmation as Commissioners

were Hannatu Musa (NorthWest); Clement Akintola (South-West); Ayim Nyerere (South-East) and Charles Emukowhale (South-South).

ON WORKING TOUR OF PROJECTS...

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun (2nd right), flanked by his Commissioner for Works, Engr Ade Akinsanya (right) and the Special Adviser, Works, Engr. Akeem Adesina (in traditional attire), and others during an inspection of on-going reconstruction of the 7.5km Fajol-American- Gbonagun road in Abeokuta... yesterday

BUHARI’S SUPPORTERS CONSIDERING JONATHAN FOR 2023 PRESIDENTIAL RUN those mistakes that cost him the presidency in 2015. He did alot for the North, so why not?" Another source privy to the development also told THISDAY last night "yes we are looking at the Jonathan option, he is a safe bet and of course a very amiable gentleman, who is not likely to rock the boat."

Thus, within the northern establishment, the consensus is beginning to gain momentum, with Buhari’s loyalists pushing the button to have Jonathan succeed their boss.

THISDAY checks also showed a growing number of influential northern leaders of thought are favourably disposed to the idea of Jonathan’s second coming.

This is particularly because a majority of those, who have bought into this idea, were of the view that the former president represented the shortest route for the north to regain power.

By virtue of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended, one can only be sworn in as president for two terms of four years, although Jonathan too had also taken the oath of office twice.

Those supporting Jonathan reason that if another southerner emerges, more so a young candidate, he is likely to spend eight years in office before power returns to the north.

The north, and Buhari in particular are said to be

impressed with the way Jonathan conceded defeat and proceeded to hand over power, when he lost the 2015 election and the way he has since conducted himself out of power.

Multiple sources told THISDAY that Buhari and his loyalists have over the years come to see Jonathan as someone, who is trustworthy and dependable, and to whom he could hand over power in 2023.

For instance, they also point at the growing friendship and bond between both men, as Buhari on many occasions, had expressed his astonishment at the way Jonathan conceded defeat and praised him as a statesman.

One of such occasions was in January 2018, Buhari at a dinner for top members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the presidential villa in Abuja had said he went temporarily into a coma when former President Goodluck Jonathan called him to concede defeat in the 2015 presidential election.

He had said then he felt Jonathan had stayed long enough in office to have caused problems when he lost the election. He described the former President’s decision to accept defeat as a “great” one.

“When the former president rang me, I went temporarily into a coma,” the president said.

“I will never forget the time.

It was quarter past 5 p.m. and he said he called to congratulate me and that he had conceded.

“He asked if I heard him, and I said yes. I thanked him for his statesmanship,” he said.

“The truth is after being a deputy governor, a governor, vice president and president for six years, and he took that decision is great. He could have caused some problems. He had stayed long enough to cause problems.”

In 2015 after losing the election, in an unprecedented step, Jonathan had called Buhari to concede defeat and issued a statement the following after conceding, urging his supporters to accept the result.

He urged his supporters to follow “due process” in

channeling their frustrations at losing the election amid fear of violence. He re-echoed his now famous statement during the 2015 campaign that his his ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian.

“Nobody's ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian,” Jonathan said in a statement issued after his election defeat. “The unity, stability and progress of our dear country is more important than anything else.”

These loyalists of the president have further cited the fact that Jonathan was the only former head of state with Buhari during the 60th independence anniversary celebration of the country at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

of Nigeria with regard to what it will require for the central bank to grant a licence – the National Microfinance Banking Licence – to NIPOST. “So, we are putting all of those things in place to be able to comply with the requirements of the CBN and for the bank to go operational. We believe that will come on later in the year, perhaps, ending, early or mid next year.

“We envisage that maybe before the end of the year, NIPOST Property Development Company, the first subsidiary company, should be able to go into operation. Also, NIPOST Transport and Logistics Company should also be able to go into operation.”

Okoh further disclosed that BPE was collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Health for health sector reforms that would usher in universal health coverage for all Nigerians in the formal and informal segments of the economy.

The coverage, which is likely

to subsume the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), he stated, would bring an end to out-of-pocket medical expenses.

The director-general explained, “That is going to be a major reform. You know we have carried out several sectorial reforms before. We reformed the pension sector such that you now have a contributory scheme through which workers can look forward to a decent retirement arrangement postservice. We've done several sectorial reforms in the past.

For me, the health sector reform is essentially important, because, like they say, a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.

“Now, you don't want a situation, where people fall sick; your citizens fall sick and the question of who survives depends on how wealthy or how that particular individual can afford the medical aid or treatment that they need. Most advanced countries have moved beyond that. The decision to fall sick is not made by you, so it

should not be left to your own capacity or affordability to be able to determine whether you survive that sickness or not.

“That is what the health sector reform programme that is being anchored by the BPE and the Federal Ministry of Health is geared towards. We want to be able to provide universal health coverage and access to every citizen of this nation in such a way that they don't have to bother about paying for the care.

“It will be based on single payer system, which means that the federal government, through a particular agency, will be responsible for paying for the health care of every citizen, who needs it. So, access to medical and health treatment and intervention will no longer be dependent on whether you are rich or whether you are poor. We are going to, more or less, aggregate the services and aggregate the payment system or the process for that particular service.”

BPE SET TO LIST PRIVATISED ENTERPRISES ON CAPITAL MARKET public listing, “I think that is the ideal situation. As far as I am concerned, ultimately, we have to be encouraging wider public participation in the acquisition of government assets – what you call the national patrimony.

“That is one of the best ways in which every citizen will feel that privatisation has been fair to them. If you're able to buy, may be 1,000 units, as your resources can afford you in a national asset that has been privatised, then you feel a sense of common ownership of the privatised entity.

“I think public offers are the most democratic way to go about divestment in government assets. However, recently, we have seen how the stock market and the capital market have performed. It has been extremely challenging for the capital market, and values have been compromised even for existing businesses in the stock market.”

According to him, “Share

prices have fallen significantly.

So, it's a matter of timing. Some of those privatised entities we will take to the capital market, but we are being watchful of the appropriate time to take those assets to the market so that they can get good value and not the depressed value that the market currently has.

“We tried a test case with SAHCO (Skypower Aviation Handing Company) about 18 months ago. The response wasn’t too encouraging, and for us, it was a reflection of the kind of appetite that investors have for the capital market right now. Although, we have listed some entities that we should be taking to the capital market, we want the market itself to recover before we bring those enterprises to the market.”

Noting that it might be premature to name the companies slated for public listing, Okoh stated, “But we have at least four of those companies that are ready to come to the capital market. So,

we don't want to pre-empt the market.”

He explained that the BPE was already in consultation with the relevant stakeholders and agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), and the stockbrokers’ association, “For them to understand that we will bring these enterprises to the market once the market shows signs that it could adequately provide value for the stocks."

On the proposed NIPOST Microfinance Bank, he disclosed that it was one of the later companies that would go into operation among the unbundled entities.

Okoh said, “For the microfinance bank, we have just gotten the approval of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to go ahead with the incorporation of the bank, and we have also just gotten what you can call a sort of indicative approval from the Central Bank

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NEWS

CELEBRATING SILVER JUBILEE OF ORDINATION...

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (2nd left); Bishop Callistus Onaga of the Catholic Diocese of Enugu (left); his counterpart from the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka, Prof. Godfrey Igwebuike Onah (3rd left); and other Bishops from different parts of the country, when the 1995 set of the Daughters of Divine Love (DDL) celebrated the Silver Jubilee of their first religious profession, at the DDL Sacred Heart Chapel, Abakpa Nike, Enugu... yesterday

Atiku Free to Contest Presidential Election in 2023, Says Secondus Asks FG to recruit unemployed youths into security agencies Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday disclosed that it would not discriminate against any person that may want to contest presidential election on its platform in 2023 including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

The main opposition party also asked President Muhammadu Buhari to recruit unemployed youths across the federation into security agencies as a strategy to address criminality and insecurity.

The PDP National Chairman, Mr. Uche Secondus, and Chairman of PDP Governors Forum, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, made these remarks after a two-hour meeting held at Ramat House, Bauchi, yesterday.

Apart from Secondus and Tambuwal, PDP Deputy National Chairman (North), Senator Nazif Gamawa and a former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, among others, also attended the meeting.

After the meeting, while responding to a question on whether the party would represent Abubakar who lost the 2019 presidential election to President Muhammadu Buhari, Secondus noted that the party’s floor would be open for any aspirant willing to contest for the presidential election in 2023.

Secondus promised to provide level-playing ground for all the party members, describing PDP as very democratic party that is all

accommodating.

He said: “There is no room for discrimination. Everyone is qualified, both young, old, governors, non-governors are qualified to contest and we have the space for everyone; if you win, you become our candidate. The door is open to everybody.”

Speaking on the performance of Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, Secondus described him as an invaluable asset to the main opposition party, citing his enviable achievement in a short period of time.

Also after the meeting yesterday, Tambuwal lamented the high level of insecurity, including banditry in the North-west, emphasising the need “to employ more personnel in the army, police, civil defence and other security agencies.”

He, therefore, asked the president to, as a matter of urgency, consider employing productive youth into the security organisations to meet with the security needs of the country.

“Nigeria is under policed.

In view of this, the federal government should employ competent and qualified unemployed youths into the security agencies in the country.

“We know that Nigeria is under policed and there is the need for more hands. I know that we are doing more on community policing but that is not enough.”

"We have many unemployed youths, who are patriotic,

competent and qualified and can be enlisted in the security apparatus that we have in Nigeria like the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and all other agencies.

"We need Army, police, civil defence in the fight against banditry, kidnapping and insurgency facing Nigeria today,” the Sokoto governor explained.

He urged the government to seriously consider employing

those who are competent and qualified because we know that Nigeria is under-policed and there is the need for more hands. I know that we are doing more on community policing, but that is not enough.”

He appealed to the President to ensure that security operatives on the front line of fight insurgents and bandits, among others, get their entitlements and other welfare packages with a view to boosting their morale.

He, also, challenged the president to deploy ICT equipment to be made available to the men in the forefront of the fight against insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other crimes.”

Also, the governor called on the President to deploy information communications technology (ICT) in the fight against insecurity in the country.

Also speaking, the Deputy National Chairman North of PDP, Senator Sulaiman

Nazif Gamawa, used the medium to acknowledge the commitment of Governor Bala Mohammed towards the overall development of the state.

Although they did not disclose the reason for the recent visits and consultations around the country, it might not be unconnected with the 2023 politics on how the party can get back to winning ways particularly at the presidency having lost out of power for eight years.

NAF Partners Nollywood to Immortalise Arotile Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says in honour of the late first female combat pilot in Nigeria, Tolulope Arotile, it has concluded plans, in partnership with the Nigerian film industry, to immortalise the fallen hero. The Force also presented to members of the public an animated storybook to encourage young people to take up careers in military aviation, with the book series titled, “Mom I Can Fly.” Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, disclosed this at the weekend in Abuja, during an event, "My Nigerian Dream", organised to commemorate the country's 60th Independence anniversary. It was organised

by I Choose Life Foundation.

NAF said the film titled, “Eagles Wings”, which would be made available in cinemas,

would encourage Nigerian youths to appreciate their heroes. It noted that many youths had the tendency to celebrate the heroes of other countries, while ignoring their own.

Abubakar said after the death of the 24 years old Arotile, many young girls had indicated interest to join the force.

Represented by Air Vice Marshal Oladayo Amao, the Air Force chief added that Arotile’s dexterity had encouraged not less than 12 female officers to accept to undergo trainings locally and internationally to be flying officers.

According to him, “This is a very special day for the Nigerian Air Force as one of our finest will be honoured and immortalised. Sadly, this is also celebrating men and women, who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

“Since ironically, most Nigerian youths know about the fallen heroes of other countries, as against those of their own, we are committed to change this perspective and, in partnership with Nollywood, we have put together a film titled: ‘Eagles Wings’ and this will be available in cinemas.

“Under my leadership, the Air Force men and women have displayed exceptional gallantry, despite the challenges going by insurgency, armed banditry and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been devastated by the tragic passing of our gallant officer, Tolulope Arotile. As a result of her death, many Nigerian girls have shown interest to be recruited into the Nigerian air force.”

In his speech at the occasion, the Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Mr.

Sunday Dare, said opportunities abounded for the youth, but what they lacked was exceptional skills, especially in the field of technology. Dare said the COVID-19 pandemic had not only unravelled the deficiencies in the technological knowhow of Nigerian youths, but also those of the entire continent. He said the youths needed to rediscover themselves and upgrade in digital skills, reiterating that there is no such thing as overnight success.

The minister said, “Youths must go online and find opportunities, as they are always there. You need to seek grants to develop your skills. The COVID-19 pandemic proved that digital skills gap is not just a Nigerian thing but affects the whole of Africa.

Youths must be trained to develop digital skills in order to be employable.”

gave this submission, former President Olusegun Obasanjo had last month declared, “Nigeria is fast drifting to a failed and badly divided state; economically our country is becoming a basket case and poverty capital of the world, and socially, we are firming up as an unwholesome and insecure country.”

Adding his voice to the raging clamour for restructuring, Adeboye insisted that the place of traditional rulers should not be expunged from the

leadership of the country.

He said, “Go to any town in Nigeria, everybody in the town knows the paramount ruler in the town and they respect him (but) many of them don’t even know the name of the chairman of their local government.

“The traditional rulers are the actual landlords. They command the respect of their people. Their people will listen to them much more, I am sorry to say, than they will listen to some politicians.”

ADEBOYE: WE MUST RESTRUCTURE NIGERIA NOW OR RISK BREAK-UP that we must restructure. It’s either we restructure or we break, you don’t have to be a prophet to know that one.

That is certain – restructure or we break up.

“Now, we don’t want to break up, God forbid. In restructuring, why don’t we have a Nigerian kind of democracy? At the federal level, why don’t we have a President and a Prime Minister?

“If we have a President and a Prime Minister and we share responsibilities between

these two so that one is not an appendage to the other.

For example, if the President controls the Army and the Prime Minister controls the Police. If the President controls resources like oil and mining and the Prime Minister controls finance and inland revenue, taxes, customs etc. You just divide responsibilities between the two.

“At the state level, you have the governor and the premier, and the same way, you distribute responsibilities

to these people in such a manner that one cannot really go without the other. Maybe we might begin to tackle the problems.

“If we are going to adopt the model, then we need to urgently restore the House of Chiefs. I have a feeling that one of our major problems is that we have pushed the traditional rulers to the background and I believe that is a grave error.

“Without any doubt, we must restructure and do it as soon as possible. A United

States of Nigeria is more likely to survive than our present structure.”

The GO, as Adeboye is fondly called, seemed to echo the sentiment expressed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo recently. Osinbajo had at a recent church service to commemorate Nigeria’s independence anniversary, said, “Fortunately for us, our walls are not yet broken. But there are obvious cracks that could lead to a break if not properly addressed.”

Before the vice president

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EDITORIAL

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

IN ONDO, ALL EYES ON INEC After the Edo extraordinary progress, there is a new focus on the electoral body. Can it again deliver?

T

he governorship election in Ondo State coming up this Saturday is yet another opportunity for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to showcase its preparedness for the onerous responsibility it shoulders. With all the accolades the commission received on the conduct of the recent Edo State gubernatorial poll, it would be a shame for the Ondo election to end up in acrimony or marred by malpractices. If INEC is able to conduct the poll in such a manner that voters are able to exercise their franchise, all legitimate votes are counted and a winner eventually declared in a transparent manner, then the commission will begin to earn the trust of Nigerians.

Although the build-up to the Ondo election has not been as nasty as that of Edo State, the stakes are equally high.

Like the Edo poll, this election also reflects the tragedy of political parties in Nigeria. The sitting deputy governor is contesting against his principal under a political party different from the one that gave him the office he still occupies. Invariably, while there are several candidates in the race, it is basically a threehorse race between the incumbent Rotimi Akeredolu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), his deputy, Agboola Ajayi flying the flag of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Eyitayo Jegede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The outcome of the Edo poll, generally adjudged to be free and fair, has rekindled hope that democracy is not too frail a plant to survive the Nigerian environment if the stakeholders resolve to doing the right thing. But there are those who believe the outcome may have resulted from the threat by both the United States and United Kingdom to impose

visa ban on any politician found to have instigated violence and electoral malpractices. Besides, the revelation by President Muhammadu Buhari that he specifically directed the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that the election was free and fair also reaffirmed that it would take more than INEC to deliver on credible polls.

H

There is the need for all stakeholders to recognise the importance of holding a peaceful and credible election and above all, respect the choice of the electorate after the ballots are counted

Letters to the Editor

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

owever, we expect the INEC to raise their standard by passing the test on logistics ahead of the conduct of the poll. In virtually all elections in Nigeria, the commission always falters on this issue. This was also the case during the Edo election as voting materials and electoral officers arrived late to some polling units while card readers malfunctioned in several places. We urge INEC to deploy the best of smart card readers and other devices to be used for the election while electoral officers demonstrate a strict sense of professionalism by arriving early at their duty posts along with all the requisite materials.

INEC should build on the template it used for the conduct of Edo election two weeks ago. The commission's decision to open a portal which enabled electoral officers to transmit results of elections from polling units directly to the portal went a long way in frustrating forces who usually manipulate results at night. With results from polling station transmitted to the portal that was accessible to the general public, there was little or no room for election riggers. We therefore commend INEC for the initiative and urge the commission not only to sustain it on Saturday but also to improve on it until all avenues for malpractices are completely blocked in our electoral process.

Meanwhile, notwithstanding the posturing by the principal actors, one fact about the Ondo State gubernatorial election which also is true with all Nigerian elections is that it will not be fought on ideological platforms. But the tragic example of the Second Republic is also a reminder that Ondo State has the potential to explode from a mere spark over a simple political argument. Then, as now, the governor and his deputy were central characters in the election that pitched the duo as combatants against each other. What that suggests is the need for all stakeholders to recognise the importance of holding a peaceful and credible election and above all, respect the choice of the electorate after the ballots are counted.

May the best candidate win.

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.

NIGERIA AND EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY

A

ll crises come with opportunity, no matter how bad you might feel for taking it. In Nigerian education, that opportunity came well-disguised, with the sudden closure of schools across the country.

That add urgency to a long-standing situation where gender discrimination, conflict, language challenges, poverty, child labour, and child marriage have already contributed to depriving many Nigerian children of their right to access quality education.

Since the onset of COVID-19, millions of Nigerian children in Nigeria have been stuck at home not learning, and there’s a risk of millions of children forced out-of-school by the

pandemic won’t ever return.

Globally, according to Save the Children, education cuts and rising poverty as a result of COVID-19 could force almost 10 million children out of school forever by the end of this year alone.

After shutdown, there have been pockets of innovation.

Lagos State, for example, launched a radio learning programme and distributed radios to low-income families.

Startups like uLesson have also launched e-learning solutions - but the fact remains that millions of children are priced out of that sector.

The long-term answer to the challenges presented by Covid, conflict and other social ills will lie in innovation, and digital innovation at that.

Clearly, there are connectivity and accessibility issues to overcome, but I remain stubbornly optimistic that the combined minds of the global education sector can bring forward the innovative changes to help address education poverty in Nigeria.

That’s one reason why I launched World Education Week, which begins on Sunday and which pulls together the expertise of 100 schools from around the world (and nearly a quarter of them from Africa) to share their skills and solutions to common problems.

There are three schools from the Ogun state alone, for example, taking part and sharing their knowledge globally in what will be the

world’s biggest education conference. Each school has been chosen for its expertise and commitment to key areas (centred on the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN).

Access to education technology is the core offering from the Baptist Primary School, Ogbogbo, but it’s not just EdTech: the Local Government School III in Sango Ota has been chosen for its focus on wellbeing, while the Ikangba Erinlu United Anglican Primary School is noted for its work in deepening family and community engagement.

There are others too: the Christ Anglican Primary School in Ijebu-Ife is to show its vital role in enhancing employability, entrepreneurship and life skills, while the LGEA Kurmin Mashi school in Kaduna will talk about its creation of a platform where students are utilized as student

group leaders and are accountable for peer performance and learning outcomes.

It’s this use of technology in the wider context of community and the outcomes for students that shows the way forward.

In the conference we will be using technology to enhance the knowledge of Nigeria’s schools, while also showing how they have used it to improve the life chances of their pupils.

That is the way forward - we have the tools and we’re building the connectivity to use them.

Nigerian schools can show the rest of the continent, and the rest of the world how to free ourselves from the issues that hold us back and how education can set the next generation free.

––Toby Burnham, toby@ tbcomms.com.

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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 ˾ Ͳ˜ 2020

NEWS Ondo 2020: Tambuwal’s Support for ZLP Candidate Splits PDP Governors Forum Acting News Editor ÌÙãÏÑË ÕÓØÝËØ×Ó E-mail: ÑÌÙãÏÑ˲ËÕÓØÝËØ×Ó̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙט͸΀͹ͽͺͻͽ΁ͺͽͻ ̙Ý×Ý ÙØÖã̚

Denies working against PDP guber candidate Gboyega Akinsanmi and Innocent Onuminya The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the October 10 governorship election, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede is facing an

uphill task in his campaign, THISDAY has learnt.

Jegede’s challenge, according to findings, has been traced to the split commitment of the PDP governors towards his ongoing campaign.

According to the findings, Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal is said to be lukewarm to Jegede’s governorship campaign unlike his Oyo State counterpart, Mr. Seyi Makinde, who has been supportive in every

ramification.

The findings, also, alleged that Tambuwal, the Chairman of PDP Governors Forum, had subtly been supporting the governorship candidate of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Ondo State Deputy

ABIRU AT MARKET SQUARE LL-R: Executive Chairman of Mile 12 International Market, Alhaji Shehu Usman; candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) for Kosofe II Constituency, Mr. Obafemi Saheed; APC candidate for senatorial bye-election in Lagos East, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru; a federal lawmaker representing Kosofe Federal Constituency, Hon. Rotimi Agunsoye and Chairman, APC Lagos East Campaign Council, Chief Kaoli Olusanya at during Abiru’s visit to Mile Market ahead of the October 31 bye-election … Saturday

Governor, Mr. Agboola Ajayi.

In a swift reaction yesterday, however, Tambuwal faulted this allegation, noting that he was fully in support of Jegede’s governorship aspiration.

A PDP source told THISDAY that Tambuwal would have preferred the state’s deputy governor to bear the party’s flag, citing their long-time friendship, which started when they were both serving in the House of Representatives.

The source said: “When Tambuwal was Speaker of the House of Reps, Ajayi was very close to him. He always ensured that any form of opposition to the speaker’s leadership was quickly exposed and aborted.

“Therefore, Tambuwal now sees Ajayi’s aspiration to become the governor of Ondo State as a practical opportunity to appreciate him as a dependable supporter and project his presidential aspiration in 2023,” he said.

However, another source claimed, Tambuwal’s alleged stance on the Jegede candidature has reportedly polarised the PDP Governors Forum, which the Sokoto governor chairs.

The source claimed that the Sokoto governor was able to get an ally in Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Muhammed while Makinde has been projecting Jegede’s aspiration, citing

his popularity at the grassroots.

The source said Makinde, who has allies in the governors of Bayelsa, Edo, Enugu and Delta, had viewed Tambuwal’s subtle campaigns for Ajayi as devastative, though claimed that it would not affect Jegede’s victory in the poll next Saturday.

The source said the pro-Jegede governors “have been working underneath to deepen grassroots support Jegede is currently enjoying in the state.”

This disagreement among the governors, THISDAY gathered, may have also been responsible for what sources described as the poor funding Jegede is getting in his campaign efforts.

Truly, the source said Jegede “is loved by the people and he looks good to win, but it is apparent he is having financial challenges because of the pro-Ajayi focus of Tambuwal.”

Faulting the allegation yesterday, Tambuwal denied supporting the ZLP governorship candidate against the governorship candidate of his party.

Speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Bello Muhammed, Tambuwal said those behind the false rumors were enemies of democracy and PDP.

FG Increases Number of Passengers Per Flight for International Carriers Chinedu Eze The federal government has approved an increase of passengers per flight for international airlines from 116 passengers to 200 with a total of 25, 200 seats per week for both Lagos and Abuja airports.

Currently, international flights operate at only Abuja and Lagos airports and every day Lagos records 11 to 12 flights while Abuja records seven flights.

In a statement yesterday, however, the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa

Nuhu disclosed the approval.

The statement said the federal government approved capacity increase to ‘All Foreign Airline Operators Flying Into Nigeria’ through the Air Operators Letter (AOL) dated October 2 effective date of the updated flight schedule.

The statement said: “Following the partial resumption of international flights approved by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) and subsequent request for additional flight frequencies by airlines updated flight schedule is given.”

“The Murtala Muhammed

International Airport, Lagos with the new update to see on the average, 2,200 passengers daily while the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to witness averagely, 1,400 passengers on daily basis. 25, 200 seats per week are now available to foreign carrier to sell.”

Nuhu encouraged the operators “to follow guided health protocols.

You shall ensure that all flights operations are conducted in compliance with Covid-19 Health protocols as issued by Aeronautical and Public Health Authorities.”

British Airways, Middle East

Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Qatar Airways, RwandAir, Africa World Airlines, Asky, Air Cote d’Ivoire, Delta Airlines and Egypt Air are the currently approved carriers to operate into the country.

With this new development, airlines are bound to make more sales.

Meanwhile, the first scheduled international flight landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos September 6 after the over five-month shutdown due to the COVID-19

pandemic.

The federal government had fixed September 5 for the reopening of airports for international flights starting with the MMIA and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.

Strict COVID-19 protocols were put in place by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) in preparation for the reopening.

The federal government, through the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, released protocols for departing and arriving passengers, part of which was the negative PCR test.

As the airport reopened, the first flight operated by Middle East Airlines, ME 571 from Beirut, Lebanon, landed at the airport at about 2:18 pm with 222 passengers and 17 crew members.

The Regional Manager, SouthWest FAAN, Mrs. Victoria ShinaAba, who spoke to journalists at the MMIA, said the airport was reopened exactly after five months and 13 days when it was closed to international flights.

Shina-Aba disclosed that during the flight ban, the airport processed 192 evacuation and special flights and 1,404 cargo flights.

Atiku, Saraki Condemn SARS Atrocities NBA to Lead Gender Reform in Judicial Sector Chuks Okocha in Abuja Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a former President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki yesterday condemned the actions of members of the Special Anti Robbery Square (SARS).

They expressed concern about the atrocities of SARS officers in separate statements yesterday, calling for a reform of the unit of the police to get rid of corrupt officials.

In his statement, Abubakar lamented that the arm of the Nigeria Police “has turned out to become an instrument of oppression to the people meant to protect.”

Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 general election, explained that the SARS was set up to confront violent crimes such

as armed robbery, kidnapping and other related crimes.

However, the former vice president added that the unit “has today morphed into an oppressor of the Nigerian masses who strive every day for a better life.

“Reports of intimidation, harassment and outright extortion by officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) have continued unabated.

“I strongly condemn their cruel actions against our people, and I urge the government to rise to the occasion and nip this monstrosity in the bud with the seriousness it deserves.

“It is expedient that the activities of SARS are reviewed to ensure that the rogue elements are excised from the unit and sanity returned to its operations” the former vice president stated.

Commenting on SARS

atrocities on his Twitter handle, @bukolasaraki, the former Senate President lamented the reports of the continued harassment, illegal arrest, detention and high handedness by rogue cells of the unit of the police against innocent Nigerians - most of them young people - in spite of efforts to reform the police & raise standards of policing, are disheartening.

He explained that a situation, where the officers of the Nigeria Police become a threat to the lives and property of the very citizens they swore to protect is condemnable and unacceptable.

He, therefore, called on the federal government “to immediately put a stop to these reprehensible activities and restructure the unit to better perform its lawful duties of safeguarding the lives and property of the Nigerian people.”

Tobi Soniyi The General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Joyce Oduah has pledged to ensure a sexual harassment and gender policy is put in place in the NBA as a step to begin concrete reform in Nigeria’s judicial sector, entrench dignity for and end discrimination against women in the legal profession.

She made the commitment as a guest on a special Independence Day Program on House of Justice Radio/TV, Kaduna, which had the theme “Independence & Its Meaning to the Nigerian Female”.

Other guests that featured on the program hosted by the Chief Executive Officer, House of Justice, Gloria Mabeiam Ballason include a former Dean of Law at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and former UN Special

Rapporteur on Human Trafficking, Prof. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo; a former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu and Sidikat Bello-Adegboye of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA).

The guests decried the workplace discrimination, sexual harassment and degrading treatments female lawyers and judges face stating that freedom from discrimination could not be a reality if the legal profession was just as plagued as the rest of society.

The guests also condemned as ugly, a practice in which female judges who deserved to be heads of courts or appointed to superior courts of records were often shoved aside for their male colleagues of lower ranks or who were less qualified.

Speaking during the program, Odinkalu said independence

of the judiciary and the legal profession was nothing except it meant respect for the agency of women and equality of dignity and opportunity for all women.

He noted that this was far from being the reality of females in Nigeria due to degrading and discriminatory acts against them.

Ezeilo observed that Nigeria was ‘running a relay on one foot’ due to its neglect of its female population noting that Rwanda’s rebuilding effort after the genocide was a sterling example of what was possible when women were allowed to exercise their potentials.

Contributing, Sidikat BelloAdegboye highlighted how culture, religion and patriarchy usurp the agency of females, stating that independence was a high threshold and could only be attained with a lot of deconstruction of myths and perceptions.

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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 ˾ Ͳ˜ 2020

NEWSXTRA Japan Now Nigeria’s 5th Largest Foreign Investor, Says Embassy Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

ROYAL BLESSINGS L-R: The governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) with Olowa of Igbara-Oke Kingdom, Oba Adefarakanmi Agbede, Ilufemiloye Ogidi III during Jegede’s visit to Igbara Oke, the headquarters of Ifedore Local Government Area… Friday

Edo Lecturer Commits Suicide Amid Agony of Unpaid Salaries Rector of Auchi Polytechnic passes away Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Tragedy struck at the weekend at the Tayo Akpata University (formerly Edo State College of Education) when one of its principal lecturers, Mr Friday Orobator allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself.

He reportedly took his life last Friday, allegedly due to the failure of his employers to pay his 13 months of unpaid salaries Also in Edo State yesterday, the management of the Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State announced the passage of its Rector Dr. Momodu Jimah, disclosing that Jimah passed away Friday night at exactly 7:00 p.m.

Orobator’s lifeless body was discovered behind his apartment at about 1:30 p.m. dangling with the rope he used to hang himself after weeks of lamenting lack of funds to take care of his family needs and health challenges.

The tragic incident attracted a crowd of neighbours, sympathisers and passers-by, who wondered what could compel the deceased to take such an extreme decision.

Until his passage, THISDAY learnt, Orobator was a member of the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) and a principal lecturer at the department of Adult Education.

Before he committed suicide, THISDAY learnt that the deceased complained bitterly to close

associates over his inability to raise funds to attend to his failing health due to months of unpaid salaries.

On Wednesday, according to sources, the late lecturer had told a colleague that he was tired of begging for money from friends to cater for his family needs and his health challenges.

Attempts to get his family members at his Obakhavbaye residence to comment on the incident were unsuccessful as they continued to mourn the demise of their breadwinner.

Reacting to the incident yesterday, the Chairman of COEASU, Mr. Fred Omonuwa said their colleague died as a result of lack and inability to

“a typical tale by the moonlight, often told during election period.”

The statement said: “For the avoidance of doubt, we will like to declare to the whole world that the PDP has never sat down anywhere with anybody in the ZLP to discuss any merger plan, much less perceive any move or begging to make its governorship candidate step down.

“This is another typical tale by the moonlight, often told during the election period,” the party said.

Dismissing the claim that

Jegede was being asked to step down for the ZLP governorship candidate under the rumoured merger plan, the PDP said it was laughable in its entirety and remained a concocted lie.

“How on earth can the duly elected governorship candidate of the PDP, the biggest political party in Africa, step down for the candidate of a bedroom political party, formed in the heat of political harlotry? God forbid.

“While the PDP welcomes other political parties to join the

winning team in dislodging the present locust regime under the APC and install a government of the people, the PDP has never changed its identity and name and will never commit the sacrilege at the Ondo State level.

“Besides, the ZLP candidate, who is the current deputy governor of Ondo State, left the APC for the PDP, where he was magnanimously given a waiver to test his popularity by contesting for the PDP governorship ticket.

RMFAC Scores Osun High in Fiscal Transparency, Accountability Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC) has scored Osun high in the area of fiscal transparency and accountability, which it said was the pathway to the huge successes recorded in the area of infrastructure development.

The Commission, which was on a two-day sensitisation tour to the state for the purpose of gathering data and management evaluation, stated this while meeting stakeholders in the Finance, Health and Education sectors of the state.

The tour, which will take the Commission to 30 States and FCT, is also being done, because of the need to review from time to time, the allocation formula and principles so as to conform with changing economic realities.

Speaking through one of its federal commissioners, Alhaji Abdulahi Yaman, the Commission said, Osun was better placed for great things, because the governor, Gboyega Oyetola, was doing well in the area fiscal transparency and accountability, which it claimed was the reason for the excellent performances of the governor.

“As we were entering the state,

we could see that the governor here is doing really well. Apart from roads that are being constructed, we saw good-looking hospitals and schools, which are critical areas any responsible government must not take for granted.

“Osun is better placed and ready for great things, because you have a governor, who has done well in the area of fiscal transparency and accountability, attributes that every governor must imbibe simply, because the country doesn’t have any money to throw around.

“We will ensure that what is due to Osun comes to you. The

Police Give Reasons Robbers Raided Ekiti Bank Unchallenged Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

access medical and appealed to the state government to pay the workers their 13 months unpaid salary.

Omonuwa said: “It is clear the death came as a result of lack and inability to access medical facilities. Some months ago he became very sick and depended on friends for assistance but very recently he started complaining of getting tired of constantly begging to survive.

“Of course, everybody knows that the Edo State Government owes us 13 months of salaries, which we have continued to agitate for even before the election. But it was tagged political agitation. The man couldn’t provide for himself.

Ondo PDP Denies Alliance with ZLP Ahead of Guber Poll James Sowole in Akure The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ondo State, yesterday denied that it planned to merge with the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and compromise the candidature of its governorship flag bearer, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede SAN. However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) accused opposition parties of causing tension in the state ahead of the forthcoming gubernatorial election.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Kennedy Peretei, the PDP described the speculation as

The Embassy of Nigeria in Japan has disclosed that Japan is the fifth foreign investor in Nigeria, saying there are steady improvements in trade and economic relations between the two countries before the outbreak of COVID-19.

In a statement by the Charge de’ Affairs, Dr. Tope Elias-Fatile on Friday, the embassy disclosed that the number of Japanese companies in Nigeria had increased from 32 in 2017 to 43 in 2020.

Citing the figure of Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), the embassy said Japan “is fifth foreign investor in Nigeria; also among the top 10 investors in services in Nigeria; among the top 10 investors in solid minerals, fifth investor in oil refining and fifth investor in real estate.”

The statement said that Japan “is among Nigeria’s top 20 import partners and Nigeria’s top 20 export partners.”

The statement said both countries had commenced preparations for

Governor has earned it through his sterling performances,” Alhaji Yaman stated.

Earlier, in a welcome address, the Commissioner for Finance, Osun State, Bola Oyebamiji, appealed to the Commission to assist the state in the most positive ways, because Osun desires more from the federation, because it is deserved.

“Osun desires more from the federation account, because we deserve it. As you can see, we have done well with what we have gotten and we are in a hurry to do more,” Oyebamiji maintained.

the ninth Session of the NigeriaJapan Special Partnership Forum (NJSPF) scheduled for June in Tokyo; but it was postponed.

It said the NJSPF “is a framework for regular consultations on matters of mutual interest between the two countries. The forum was upgraded to the level of bi-national cooperation at the 6th Session held on August 22 and 23, 2013 in Abuja.

“Despite current challenges, we still have good news and reasons to celebrate. After the successes of the events in 2019, we were recording steady improvements in trade and economic relations between both countries prior to the outbreak of Covid-19.

“The indicators include the increase in the number of Japanese companies in Nigeria from 32 in 2017 to 43 today,” the embassy disclosed, “As soon as the situation begins to normalise, we shall take steps to pursue Nigerian-Japan relations with vigour and resolute determination, through robust engagements in economic and trade activities.

The Ekiti Police Command yesterday explained that the robbers that invaded a branch of Wema Bank in Iyin Ekiti on Friday were able to break into the bank because they outnumbered the police officers on guard.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Babatunde Mobayo made the disclosure in a statement saying the robbers numbering 10 overpowered his police officers stationed at the branch during the operation.

The robber besieged the bank around 3.50 p.m., raided the bank for over half an hour and carted away an undisclosed amount of money during the operation.

Although the robbers shot repeatedly to scare the people, nobody was killed during the operation.

But in a statement by the spokesman of the command, Mr. Sunday Abutu the police chief said the robbers overpowered the police

officers due to their number, which he said, accounted for the success of the operation.

The statement read in part: “On October 2 at about 03:55 p.m., armed robbers numbering 10 with one Volks Wagen Golf with Registration Number: GED906AA, Acura MDX Jeep with Registration Number: LSR327CD and Toyota Camry Car with Registration Number: GED106 ER stormed the branch of a second generation bank in Iyin Ekiti, Ekiti State, overpowered the mobile policemen posted to the bank due to their large number and robbed the bank.”

However, the statement said there “was no casualty. A swift reinforcement from the police to the scene made the robbers retreat with the three vehicles.

“The police operatives gave the armed robbers a hot pursuit; exchanged fire with them during which they abandoned the three vehicles and took to their heels into the forest.

Ohaeri Installed Canaan City Lions Club President A manager with Zenith Bank in Calabar, Mr. Victor Ohaeri has been installed as the new President of Lions club, Canaan City region 5 zone 5b, District 404-A2 in Nigeria.

He was elected recently by the Board of Directors of Lions clubs international.

The election, which took place at the Pearl Ball Room of Transcorp Hotel, Calabar saw Ohaeri taking over the mantle of leadership of the club from Ubon Utuk following the expiration of his tenure.

Speaking at the occasion, the new president pledged to consolidate on the achievements of his predecessor.

Ohaeri also promised speedy completion of the club’s projects.

He said: “As President of Calabar Canaan City Lions Club, I pledge to continue and improve on the steps of her past Leaders. I would like to commend my immediate past President, Lion Ubon Etuk for his leadership.

“My Board of Directors and fellow Lions have continued to

show support and understanding.

As I formally assume the office of President, the task ahead is a huge one, but I am assured of success by the resources at my disposal, my fellow Lions, the Lions brand and the goodwill of everyone.”

The new president of Lions club listed the tasks before him, saying he was committed to accomplishing them.

Ohaeri said: “As President, I am more than committed to ensuring the speedy completion and handover of the E- Library project at the State Library Complex.

“Work at the site has since commenced, and it is my belief that with your support we shall be raising the required funds to enable us meet our target.”

According to him, the continued support to the Eye Theatre Complex at the General Hospital, Calabar is also high in his administration’s agenda, saying the eye theatre was expected to handle at least 24 surgeries daily.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 4, 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 ˾ OCTOBER 4, 2020

OPINION

FIGHTING COVID-19 IN VILLAGES

Rajendra Aneja lists 10 techniques to defeat COVID-19 in rural areas in developing countries

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OVID-19 continues to march ravenously in small towns and villages in developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The infections are spreading in the rural areas.

About 65.5 percent of India’s total population of 1.35 billion, live in 6,64,369 villages, where medical facilities are scarce. Fifty percent of Nigerians and sixty-nine percent of Kenyans live in villages. The fight against Covid-19 in the villages has to be fought on a war-footing, since rural health infrastructure is weak and collecting information is tedious. It is difficult to manage the disease in the villages.

Involve Village Governing Council: In fighting Covid-19 in the villages, health authorities should seek the cooperation of the village headman and the local council. In India, the “Panchayat” is a five-man elected committee, which administers the village.

The village headman and the committee carry authority in the village. Their cooperation is critical. Villagers have to be briefed sensitively about the dangers of Covid-19 and how to manage it. They should be coached on maintaining records about the infections and recoveries in the village.

Rural Covid-19 Warriors: The local governing bodies should form an auxiliary volunteer force, “Covid-19 Warriors”, comprising of young village volunteers, who will brief people home-tohome about the precautions to be taken.

The markets in the villages, attract hundreds of villagers to buy food grains, apparel, animals like goats, cows, etc. The rural “Covid-19 Warriors”, should ensure that social distancing is practised at these markets.

Rural Opinion Leaders: Opinion leaders in the villages, like the school teachers, priests, doctors, should be deployed to spread awareness in the villages. These opinion leaders have credibility. Their words are respected. Hence, governments should brief them to educate the villagers. This awareness is vital, for many afflicted persons may not even know that they have Covid-19. They may mistake it for an ordinary cold.

The key message should be that the disease is curable and patients should report any symptoms at the earliest. There should be no stigma attached to any person who gets infected.

The facilities in the primary health centres in the villages need to be augmented, to conduct Covid-19 tests.

Free Masks: Doctors and scientists have under-scored that use of face masks helps to fight Covid-19. Yet, many villagers do not

use masks. Some just wear it around the chin. Many people find it inconvenient to wear a mask, because it reduces the oxygen intake.

Research is needed to improve the mask, so that it protects and also ensures adequate oxygen. Free distribution of masks by the governments, can help to fight Covid-19.

Role of Corporations: The corporate sector can produce masks and distribute them free in villages, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. They can even print the name of some of their brands on the masks, to derive advertising mileage.

Deploy Digital Weapons: One out of every three 4G subscribers lives in the villages, in India, according to a study by CyberMedia Research. Across the world smart phones and internet are leapfrogging in the villages. Advertising agencies should prepare special Covid-19 rural campaigns for mobile phones.

Rural propaganda/Cinema Vans: To create rapid awareness about Covid-19, health authorities should use propaganda and cinema vans. These are four-wheel vans or three-wheel autos, equipped with videos and screens, accompanied by a driver and two propagandists.

The propagandist distributes masks free to the assembled villagers. He makes announcements on the measures to avoid infections, i.e. masks, social distancing, etc. Videos show how to use the mask, maintain social distancing, importance and method of washing hands, etc. Showing, is more effective than telling.

Cinema and propaganda vans have been used effectively in countries like India, Tanzania, Kenya and Brazil, etc., to propagate the consumption of soaps, tooth paste, detergents, etc., in the villages by companies. The propaganda unit can cover six villages

The fight against COVID-19 in the villages has to be fought on a war-footing, since rural health infrastructure is weak and collecting information is tedious

per day. If one hundred villagers congregate at every meeting, then a van can educate 600 villagers daily.

Vaccine Distribution: A challenge confronting countries with large rural populations, is the transportation of the vaccines after they have been finalised, in frozen or semi-frozen state, to small villages, with a population of 500 or even less. Of the total 664,369 villages in India, 35.5 percent, which is 2,36,004 villages, have a population less than 500. It will be an enormous undertaking, to transport the vaccine to tiny villages. Governments should network with companies like Nestle, Unilever, Colgate, etc., for distributing the vaccine, since these companies have a distribution reach in villages with a population of 2,500 or less. Companies which engaged in products like frozen foods and ice-creams, can study the logistics of vaccine distribution in villages. Health authorities can also deploy vans with freezers, to transport the vaccines to villages.

Deploy Boats in Rivers: Some developing countries in Asia, Latin America, etc., do not have all-weather roads to reach villages. Many villages along the Amazona river, in Peru, Colombia and Venezuela are inaccessible by road.

In such areas, health authorities should launch “Covid-19 Boats”. They will visit six villages daily, distribute masks to the villagers, organise demonstrations on social distancing and washing hands. The boat-team should distribute pictorial pamphlets to educate the villagers.

In a previous assignment with Unilever, we piloted the deployment of boats, to propagate the use of bathing soaps in Brazil and Peru. I travelled to many villages on the banks of the Amazona river in Brazil and Peru, briefing villagers. The mass marketing techniques used by FMCG companies to educate villagers, can be deployed by health authorities.

Folk songs for Awareness: It will also be useful to create songs, based on the local folk music, incorporating the fight Covid-19 messages. The song can be played, during the mask distribution and demonstrations on social distancing. These songs should be sung by lead singers in every country. Perhaps music may impact people’s behaviour, more than just fear.

The battle against Covid-19 in villages should commence right now. We should not be caught unaware, as happened when Covid-19 spread voraciously and stopped the world.

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

‘The Strong Breed’ As Nigeria celebrates 60th Independence, J.K. Randle writes on the need to move away from the model that has not served us well

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t rained heavily in Lagos on 1st October 1960 (and most other parts of Nigeria) and it was interpreted as a good omen. I was a believer then and I remain “endlessly” optimistic provided we older generation know when to quit the stage and hand over power, authority and responsibility of the next generation – in an environment and circumstances that would ensure the enduring prosperity of our nation in peace, harmony and stability. That is the crux of the matter. It is no small task – especially while the COVID-19 pandemic has gone on the rampage while our economy as well as the social tapestry of our great country are in tatters.

From my assessment of the audience, it is safe to conclude without double-checking with the Bureau of Statistics or the Lagos Business School that none of you witnessed the lowering of the British flag (“The Union Jack”) and the hoisting of the Nigerian flag (Green-White and Green) at the stroke of midnight on that epochal occasion. Thankfully, films, television, radio, books and archival records have preserved the infectious joy and boundless optimism that unleashed the spontaneous exchange of hugs, kisses and handshakes (before the COVID-19 virus!!) as confirmation of our commitment to a common destiny anchored on mutual trust, profound respect and genuine tolerance without rancorous reference to tribe, creed or gender.

You have requested me to share with you my experience between then and now. That would have to wait. What is far more pressing is to address a most critical issue namely; we have been referring to you as future leaders but when will the future mesh with the present in the pre-determined course of nature as the young replace or are forced to supplant the old and expired?

Rather than dump my own prejudices and pre-conceptions on you, I prefer to listen to what you have to say. The trenchant complaint by your generation is that we have taken you for granted and that nobody listens to you. On the contrary, your legitimate aspirations and indeed your anxieties regarding the current state of affairs are being waved off with levity bordering on contempt.

For this and other transgressions, I offer profound apologies. Of course, you are entitled to what you demand are concrete action and irrevocable commitment.

The avalanche of evidence in support of your petition/indictment is not limited to the parlous state of our economy and the invasion by marauders whose real intent and ultimate goal are anarchy and

chaos. Their evil mission is being fuelled by bandits; terrorists (especially Boko Haram); kidnappers; ritual murderers; extortionists; coup-plotters, “419” fraudsters; treasury looters; human traffickers; election riggers and dictators. All these in addition to hunger, famine, rape and hordes of IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons).

You have attached as Appendix 1 what is currently going on in Mali where a military mutiny plunged the country into political uncertainty as the military forced Ibrahim Boubacar Keita out of the presidency. The Malian President announced around midnight on Tuesday 18thAugust 2020 that he was resigning from his post saying that he did not wish blood to be shed following a military mutiny that plunged the country into a political crisis.

The development came hours after soldiers took up arms and staged a mutiny at a key base in Kati, a town close to Bamako, detaining President Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse. The events came amid a week-long political crisis that has seen opposition protesters taking to the streets to demand the departure of Keita, accusing him of allowing the country’s economy to collapse and mishandling a worsening security situation.

-As Appendix II, you have attached the current state of affairs in Cote D’Ivoire; appendix III is all about what is going on in the Sudan and as appendix IV, you have beamed your searchlight on Rwanda. The summary of the other appendixes revolves around those African countries where the rulers have been in power for ever plus one day!!

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Equatorial Guinea; 40 years; Paul Biya, Cameroon; 37 years; Denis Sassou Nguesso; Republic of Congo; 36 years; Yoweri Museveni, Uganda; 34 years; Idriss Deby, Chad; 29 years; Isaias Afwerki, Eritrea; 29 years.

I cannot thank you enough for taking me into confidence by sharing with me your strategy for taking over power through perfectly legitimate means within the extant laws and the Constitution of our beloved country. Please correct me If I am wrong but you appear to be determined to register your own political party. Fortunately, you are endowed with sufficient vigour and adequate zeal to launch your campaign in all the nooks and corners of Nigeria – in all the 774 Local Government Areas, including those parts of the country that had hitherto

been entirely neglected or have remained defiantly inaccessible.

I am particularly enamoured with your taxation policy – namely, the only commodity to be taxed heavily and punitively is IGNORANCE. The dynamic emphasis and central thrust of your fiscal policy is the commitment of 50 per cent of the budget – at every level (Federal; State; and Local Government) to Education and Health.

Without divulging too much, permit me to commend your vision and the crystallisation of your radical intervention in the pursuit of well-articulated programmes to rescue our nation and salvage our divinely ordained destiny.

I very much hope that your ideas on the restructuring of our nation’s political landscape gain traction. I cannot fault the logic of power sharing arrangement whereby you seek to build concensus rather than resort to ruthless opportunism and self-serving exploitation of the masses. To my mind, the novelty of installing a President from one part of the country regardless of his or her religion/ethnicity; and Vice-President from another region/ethnic group for a single term of four years after which they would swap positions is not a matter to be dismissed with a wave of the hand only to be consigned to the dustbin of youthful exuberance. Such an arrangement carries with it the attraction of a former president serving his erstwhile vice-president in a reversal of roles. I hope you would concede some measure of flexibility regarding the selection/ restriction of candidates to only those between the age of 40 and 60 in addition to being of impeccable character. What cannot be controverted is your insistence that they must have sound education and should have held leadership position in academics, professions (engineering; law; architecture; medicine; banking; journalism, etc.,) and/or business/industry.

Farmers are especially welcome; American President Jimmy Carter was a farmer. So also, is the new Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Yoshihide Suga. Neither can we exclude trade union leaders.

––Bashorun Randle is a former President of the Institute of the Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and former Chairman of KPMG Nigeria and Africa Region.

(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 ˾ OCTOBER 4, 2020

15

LETTERS

A COUNTRY IN SEARCH OF NATIONHOOD “This storm will pass.

But choices we make now could change our lives for years to come” – Yuvel Noah Harari

N

igeria marked her 60th flag independence anniversary on October 1, 2020.

Nigeria is one of the very few countries in the British Commonwealth still in search of genuine nationhood.

It has become a subject of endless ridicule at national and international discourses on corruption, terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, nepotism, inept leadership, religious and political intolerance, unscrupulous governance, and failed state quagmire!

This article explores the failure of contemporary political thinking and examines some of the most innovative citizens-to-governance models and sustained approaches to nation-building and an action plan for a more inclusive, regenerative and just nation.

It concludes with a call for a Truth and Reconciliation mechanism that would drive national reawakening.

Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary provides an opportunity to celebrate some key milestones, particularly flag independence. The period after independence witnessed some institutional and economic transformation by the regional governments, but the dream of improving the lives of Nigerians soon dissolved into a nightmare. The treacherous military regimes, far from fulfilling the positive aspirations and expectations of a new nation, paradoxically became a source of agony, despair, poverty, nepotism and internal conflict.

Buhari It is against the background of the January 15, 1966 Revolution that the country began to disseminate tendentious and distorted interpretations of the Nigerian state, with the constitution proving unworkable in the hand of politicians whose sole ambition was to cling to power irrespective of the wishes and aspirations of the people. Regrettably, the challenges of separatism and secession became dominant issues, resulting in the Unification Decree Number 34 of 1966, which sought the centralisation of the government.

The creation of more states did not stem the attendant civil war; rather, it posed the most severe challenge to the territorial integrity of the emergent nation. Meanwhile, mutual suspicions from the civil war and political aberrations are still haunting us as a nation.

For the most part, a legacy of failure is what the treacherous military regimes

and politicians have given us after 60 years of independence.

Despite the hopes pinned on administration after administration by the people, Nigerians have lived the reality of a failed state. We have become a people adrift in the depths of injustice and trapped in the scrapyard of corruption. Rather than a nation of accomplishments, today we are a nation uncertain of itself. What a paradox for a nation born out of hope and promise!

Expectedly, there is a growing consensus that the current leadership and nation -building strategies, instead of addressing the critical mass for national development, are rather exacerbating them.

Nigerians are disillusioned with the divisive and ineffectual political and socioeconomic landscape dotted with self-serving leaders. One of the main obstacles to our nation-building efforts is the prevailing reality of a govern-

ment for the few - led by selfcentred, corrupt, do-nothing politicians and their cronies and praise singers. The current leadership template does not show an open corridor of genuine consultations with the legislature, political parties, civil society groups and the people.

This year’s anniversary sloganeering of “Together” is timely. At 60, “Together” is a call to all disillusioned voters unimpressed with the options presented in every election cycle to launch an intensive participatory push for authentic leadership. Indeed, there are fundamental shifts in nationbuilding thinking that should deepen our outstanding of ourselves as a people and the interconnectedness of all within the nation-state. A new generative, empathetic and adaptive leadership capability, built on a collective awareness and cohesive facilitation, is required across sectors to drive our togetherness. Our collective resolve is the will to fight poverty by creating wealth and building a more inclusive society. This kind of new nationalism will hold the key to stability and the emergence of a nation at peace with itself. We, the people, must be ready to take our

B

for the emancipation of the African Continent from colonialism envisioned an independent nation where no one will have to pay a bribe before starting a business, where their inalienable rights are respected and where lives and livelihoods matters and are protected.

However, in the cause of our journey to nationhood, many have had cause to ask if the dreams of our founders are still alive in our time. Certainly, we will be disappointed if we think or believe that the task of nation-building is the sole responsibility of one man or one political party as the case may be. This is because no man or single party has the answer to the challenge of nation-building in a developing country like ours. Instead, it is the collective responsibility of all citizens to make the country great and move it to enviable height.

It is a constant work in progress; leveraging on the foundation laid by our founders. It is the challenge of doing things right in the little corner of our rooms where no one is watching or camera recording.

Such deeds may not hit the front page of our national newspapers or grace pages in our history books, but it's a matter of deriving satisfaction from our positive actions, believing that we have done something right in our own little way to make the nation better and greater.

This is the concept of patriotism. A concept that made our founders to sacrifice their time and energy to be at the forefront of our independence struggles before the Green-White-Green flag was finally mounted on our soil on October 1st, 1960.

Nonetheless, I'm quite sure that in all the expectations, dreams and visions our founders had for the new nation 60 years ago, they never anticipated that there would be a time when a plague like Coronavirus will distract their vision and the developmental foundation they laid for the nation.

They never envisioned a situation where handshake among their children would be a thing of the past; giving way for the new normal.

However, in spite of the cries, pains, sorrows, loneliness and

Domestic resource mobilisation is a necessary precondition for increased domestic investment.

It is a general notion in the global north that public service is a privilege and an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people. Unfortunately, the reverse has been the case in Nigeria since independence.

Lastly, the country must be led by coalition of like minds, a coalition of the majority to retire the status quo whose interest is the interest of the few. We must be prepared to make the difficult decisions necessary to put our country on the path of transformation through the ballot box.

A new wave of nationalism will have to make it happen.

We must think big as a nation if we want to accomplish big things. The thinking of the past is predominantly parochial and driven by ethnic sentiments and mutual suspicions. We need new leadership,new thinking, to accomplish a new vision for Nigeria, where truth, reconciliation, authentic leadership and sustainable peace are second nature.

––Samuel Akpobome Orovwuje, Founder, Humanitarian Care for Displaced Persons, Lagos.

Role of Music Reality Shows

O

ver the years, Nigerian music reality TV shows have become a popular way for unknown talents to go from ordinary, everyday people to household stars. I remember shows like "Idols West Africa", “Nigerian Idols” and MTN’s “Project Fame” dominating the TV screens in the early ‘00s, creating many opportu-

DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY AMID COVID-19

efore Nigeria finally got her independence from Great Britain on October 1st, 1960, several unsuccessful attempts were made to lower the Union Jack on our soil. From the formation of the first political party - the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) in 1923 to the incorporation of the Daily Times Newspaper in 1925 before publishing its first title in 1926, our nationalists had always wanted to live in a free nation where their rights, liberty and pursuit of happiness are guaranteed.

I want to point out that the first newspaper was Iwe Irohin and it was established

by Reverend Henry Townsend in 1859 in Abeokuta for missionary purposes. The point I want to make is the fact that Iwe Irohin was established before the historic amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates of January 1st, 1914. That's why I used Daily Times because of the role it played during our independence struggles.

Recall that our founders who were part of the PanAfrican Movement which spearheaded the struggle

destiny into our own hands.

We must approach the future with confidence because it is the belief in freedom that will give us courage to advance our national interests and development.

Nigerians must begin with a change in mindset to establish greater ownership of not only where we should be headed as a nation but how to get there.

Indeed, the culture of democracy does not arrive without effort. One means of nurturing our democracy is to respect people for their principles, even if we disagree with those principles. We must believe in the freedom that our forebears stood for during the independence struggles if we are to be owners of our destiny.

Undeniably, no nation can develop where its citizens sit on the periphery of its pathway to progress. Nation-building is not just about growth and infrastructure statistics; rather, it is about improving the lives of the people, putting them at the front and centre of policies and programmes. The government must avoid paying lip service to the issue of unemployment.

It is critical to expand the private sector and help to create jobs beyond the tokenism of palliatives amongst others.

challenges brought about by Covid-19, we should embrace the challenge thrown at us by the dreaded pandemic with the resilient spirit of a nation that survived the Civil War, Ebola Virus Disease and other challenges we have passed through in the past by keeping safe and maintaining personal hygiene at all times.

Accordingly, we must continue to follow the guidelines and protocols laid out by the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) because these non-pharmaceutical measures remain the surest and easiest ways of disrupting, dismantling, dislodging and defeating the scourge of Coronavirus in the country.

Therefore, celebrating our diamond anniversary in the year of Covid-19 has offered us the opportunity to once again lay our hands on the ark of history by taking personal responsibility in the ongoing fight against the virus.

Happy independence anniversary to all Nigerians!

––Comrade Edwin Uhara, UN-trained Negotiator, Abuja.

nities for young musicians to follow their dreams.

Perks of these shows include showcasing talent to millions of viewers as well as the mouth-watering prizes given to the winner.

This not only motivates the contestants, but also ensures that they are well equipped to achieve icon status. Artists such as Darey Art Alade, Timi Dakolo, Omawunmi, Chidinma, Niniola, Praiz, Iyanya, and Johnny Drille are products of some of my favourite music reality shows.

With the steady increase in the global appreciation for Nigerian music, local artistes such as Burnaboy, Davido, Wizkid have achieved international acclaim, collaborating with their foreign counterparts.

Beyonce’s the Lion King album featured six Nigerian artistes, Davido scored an exciting collaboration with pop star Chris Brown whom some have likened to Michael Jackson. Yemi Alade scored an international collaboration of her own with RickRoss, Tems and Davido with Khalid. Last year, Burna Boy also got nominated for the Grammys which was a major win for the industry

at large!.

Nigerian artistes are taking over and the world is patiently watching and listening. With this spotlight on the industry, it has become a matter of urgency for talent discovery shows to produce even more well-rounded artists who can survive on a global scale.

Cash prizes, fancy cars and a record deal are often not enough to guarantee success.

I believe that if reality music talent shows incorporate capacity building into the show structure, these artists will be better equipped to thrive in the music industry.

With even more shows such as The Voice Nigeria and MTN Y’ello Star coming back to the screens soon, I took timeout to analyze the grand prizes from each show and what stood out for me was the enrollment in the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts; and the Henley Business School for the winner of Y’ello Star. Leveraging these opportunities will go a long way in increasing the winner’s chances of attaining and maintaining stardorm in the global music industry.

––Adebimpe Sanusi, Lagos.

Trump Is Positive

T

his is the first time that I have seen "Trump" and "Positive" in the same sentence.

Hopefully after he and Melania do their time in isolation, they will come out

healthy with a greater understanding of this pandemic and the value of masks and social distancing.

Mask up and keep your distance, please.

– –Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia.

16

SUNDAY OCTOBER 4, 2020 •T H I S D AY

17

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͼ˜ 2020

BUSINESS Nigerian Founders vs. PE Investors: A Threat to FDI Inflows?

Editor: Kunle Aderinokun

08033204315, 08111813084 Email:kunle.aderinoku@thisdaylive.com

The tensed relationship, which has existed for a while between some Nigerian local business founders and their foreign investors took a new twist recently with the tussle at HealthPlus Limited. While the factions make claims and counterclaims, the Business Founders’ Coalition at a press conference called on the Nigeria government to help salvage the situation. Raheem Akingbolu writes on the implications of this development on foreign direct investment in Nigeria

T

he Nigerian economy is stunted by low Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows. In the second quarter of 2020, total FDI inflows into Nigeria, including portfolio, direct and equity investments, plunged to $1.29 billion from $5.85 billion, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)’s capital importation report. This represented a 77.88 per cent decline from the position reported in the preceding quarter and a 78.80 per cent drop from what was seen in the corresponding period of last year.

The FDI inflows into Nigeria were estimated at $24 billion in 2019 and $16.8 billion in 2018. When compared with emerging market peers, Nigeria’s FDI inflows pale into insignificance. Vietnam with half Nigeria’s population attracted $38.2 billion inflows in 2019, representing an increase of 7.2 per cent from the 2018 numbers. In 2019, India attracted FDI inflows valued at $51 billion. In 2019, Brazil received FDI inflows of $75 billion as against $60 billion received in the previous year, according to the United Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). This placed Brazil as the world’s fourth-largest FDI destination.

The first three positions were occupied by the United States with $251 billion; China, with $140 billion, and Singapore with $110 billion inflows.

Recent reports have depicted Nigeria as a high-risk environment for investments. Areport released by Fitch Solutions in 2019 said Ghana, SouthAfrica and other smaller countries inAfrica were better favourable destinations for FDI than Nigeria. The report titled, ‘43 NEWAfrica Country Risk Reports’ explained that the countries had more stable environments for investment than Nigeria with heightened insecurity, an uncertain regulatory environment, and uncompetitive import conditions, among others.

The report was never surprising to market watchers because most investors see Nigeria as a high-risk environment. Apart from uncertainty in the doing business environment, the country’s cost of doing business is high. There is also a risk created by the cost of getting justice and dispute resolutions.

However, investors are aware of the age-old and emerging challenges inAfrica’s biggest market, but they still put their money in the country because of its peculiar characteristics. With 200 million potential population and demography with 70 per cent youthful population, Nigeria remains an attractive market for investors. Despite a slowing economy, the population requires a good and affordable healthcare system, a smart food and technology systems, and infrastructure.

This explains why many foreign investors have chosen to invest in some of these emerging sectors which create opportunities for high returns on investment.

But the recent noise made by some local founders in Nigeria is threatening to increase the risk inherent in the Nigerian market. A case in point is the HealthPlus saga.

On September 25, the board of HealthPlus in a letter suspended Mrs. Bukky George as CEO due to the inability to reach an agreement with her. George had founded HealthPlus in 1999 but got an equity investment of $18 million fromAlta Semper Capital LLC UK (AS) in 2018, which gave the private equity investor controlling shares.

But issues around mismanagement of funds

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi-Adebayo

prompted the company to effect her suspension to save the company from plunging into a deep crisis. Mr. Chidi Okoro was appointed, however, as the Chief Transformation Officer in her stead.

“This difficult decision was made in full compliance with Nigerian law and following a long and drawn-out process of engagement, through which the board sought to address multiple issues with the way the company was being managed. Despite a series of significant breachesofthetermsofMrs.George’sengagement as CEO, the Board explored a range of options that would enable her to continue to play an alternate leadership role. It, unfortunately, became clear that an amicable resolution was not going to be possible and that, as the multiple issues persisted, urgent action was required to avoid adverse impact on the entire business, including customers, employees, suppliers, and other key stakeholders,” the board said in a 27 September statement signed by directors Afsane Jetha and Zachary Fond.

In a series of media statements attributed to Mrs. George, she was quoted to have said the pledged funds were never fully disbursed to implement

the firm’s strategic objectives, stressing that its growth journey had been fraught with serious challenges, unmet expectations, and erosion of market share and brand equity.

Ordinarily, this should be seen as a conflict of interest between a local founder and an investor.

It happens in many climes and should not be generalised as it is done in today’s media. The matter has been so dragged that it is already sending a negative signal to foreign investors.

The press conference organised on 29 September byBusinessFounders’Coalitionwheretheaffected companies stated their cases further reflects an unhealthy relationship.

Important to know that foreign investors are not charity or spendthrifts who want to develop economies. They are interested in Returns on Investment.Theytaketheirmoneywheretheycan get high returns and pull out when the objective is defeated.

Analysts say the issue is generating so much attention and is putting foreign investors in a bad light. It is believed that this development can hurt future investments. It is also believed that it’s capable of increasing the cost of getting

private equity investors (PEs) and venture capitalists (VCs) in the future as the investors may tighten the noose on Nigerian small and medium businesses which make up over 95 per cent of enterprises in the country.

Without doubt, private equity investors and venture capitalists have supported many Nigerian businesses that are successful today.

Paga’s success is down to a PE investor and the relationship between the Nigerian founder and the PE is still intact. This is just one out of several successful cases that are textbook examples of success fuelled by foreign investments.

Moreover, VCs and PEs contribute to the Nigerian economy, providing jobs for millions and growing several sectors. Antagonising foreign investments because of the failure of very few firms, therefore, leaves much to be desired regarding the approaches employed by the local business founders.

Finally, all parties to an agreement must stick to terms and agreements and nobody must jeopardise partnerships by stepping out of agreed boundaries, not the PEs and definitely not the Nigerian business owners.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͼ˜ 2020

18

BUSINESS /ECONOMY

Galvanising Liquidity to Boost Economic Growth All things being equal, the latest injection of funds into the economy following the reduction in monetary policy rate by the Central Bank of Nigeria should spur economic activities and ameliorate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, reports James Emejo

I

n yet another surprise move, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently took the bull by the horn and reduced the monetary policy rate (MPR) by 100 basis points to 11.5 per cent from 12.5 per cent.

It further adjusted the asymmetric corridor to +100/-700 basis points around the MPR from +200/-500 basis points.

The MPR is the rate at which the central bank lends to commercial banks and often determines the cost of funds in the economy.

However, no one had envisaged the cut given that the conditions that favour monetary easing were lacking especially inflation rate, which had climbed to 13.22 per cent in August.

Analysts had variously expressed concerns over a situation whereby inflation rate goes higher than MPR, highlighting its attendant implications for the economy including monetary tightening.

AnalystshadbeforetheMPCmeetingpredicted that the CBN was most likely to hold all monetary policy tools at their existing levels.

The last time the apex bank had tweaked the MPR was in May when it reduced the benchmark rate by 100 basis points, from 13.5 per cent to 12.5 per cent.

But addressing journalists at the two-day meeting of the MPC in Abuja, the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, particularly attested to the fact that the resolve to slash interest rate was arrived at after tough considerations.

According to him, the MPC was confronted with a difficult set of policy choices, requiring trade-offs and sequencing amidst declining economic growth and rising inflation and bearing in mind its primary mandate of price stability and the need to support the recovery of output growth.

He said the committee was of the view easing policy stance would provide cheaper credit to improve aggregate demand, stimulate production, reduce unemployment and support the recovery of output growth.

It, however, observed that with inflation trending upwards, easing of the policy stance may exacerbate the current inflationary pressure through an increase in money supply.

In addition, the MPC noted the tendency of an asymmetric response to downward price adjustments by ‘Other Depository Corporations’, thus undermining the overall beneficial impact of a reduction to the cost of capital.

On the other hand, the committee noted that the likely action aimed to addressing the rise in domestic prices would have been to tighten the stance of policy, as this will not only moderate the upward pressure on prices, but will also attract fresh capital into the economy and improve the level of the external reserves.

The MPC also noted that a hold position will allow the economy to adjust to the ongoing stimulus measures put in place by the monetary and fiscal authorities to curb the downturn and allow more time for the MPC to assess their impact on the economy.

Emefiele, however, said: “After the consideration of the three policy options, Members were of the opinion that the option to loose will complement the bank’s commitment to sustain the trajectory of the economic recovery and reduce the negative impact of COVID-19.

“In addition, the liquidity injections are expected to stimulate credit expansion to the critically impacted sectors of the economy and offer impetus for output growth and economic recovery.”

According to the apex bank boss, the MPC had expressed deep concern on the continued

Godwin Emefiele

uptick in inflation for the 12th consecutive month as headline inflation (year-on-year) rose to 13.22 per cent in August from 12.82 per cent in July.

The CBN noted that the increase in headline inflation was largely driven by the persistent increase in the food component, which rose to 16.00 per cent in August 2020 from 15.48 per cent in July 2020.

It noted that the upticks were driven primarily by legacy structural factors such as the inadequate state of critical infrastructure and broad-based security challenges across the country, which dampened production activities.

Other factors include the disruptions to supply chains following restrictions to movement to curb the spread of the pandemic, adverse weather conditions, which resulted in flooding of farmlands as well as the inflation pass-through to domestic prices following the depreciation in the exchange rate.

However, analysts have continued to react to the interest rate cut, highlighting its implications for the economy.

In an interview with THISDAY, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Credent Investment Managers Limited, Mr. Ibrahim Shelling, said the MPR cut will among other things allow the banks to lend at cheaper rate to customers.

He said: “The CBN contractionary policies have been unable to curb that inflation. Monetary policy is more effective in curbing demand pull inflation – that is- too much money chasing few goods.

“By reducing interest rates it allows more liquidity in the system. Banks are able to lend at cheaper rates and this in turn will stimulate production and growth. Certainly, the reduction in the MPR came as a surprise as many expected the CBN to maintain its stance.”

Shelling further argued that a high interest regime was inimical to the country’s growth aspiration.

He said: “However, it has been rather obvious for some time that monetary policy alone cannot be used to tackle the inflationary figures.

This is because inflation in Nigeria is caused by structural issues and as such is cost-push in nature. Increase in electricity, fuel, increased tax and devaluation have been the main drivers increasing inflation.

“In my opinion the MPR rate needs to be further reduced to single digits. We no longer need to be attracting hot foreign portfolio investors with our attractive rates. We need growth and a high interest environment is detrimental to growth.

“However, without the structural issues being addressed, the effects of this reduction in MPR may still not be far reaching. MSMEs will still face a myriad of structural challenges that hamper their growth.”

Also, an economist, who spoke under conditions of anonymity, urged the fiscal authorities to complementtheCBNratecutbyarticulatingmore strategies towards ease of doing business in the areas of improved infrastructure and avoidance of multiple taxation.

He said: “The decision came notwithstanding the continuous rise in headline inflation.

The committee believes the current uptrend in consumer prices is not a result of monetary factors, but cost push factors. This has shown that going forward, CBN will be focused more on growth than fighting inflation.

The committee’s rate cut decision surprised most analysts as earlier rate cut is yet to transmit to significant improvements in growth. There is therefore the need for fiscal authorities to complement that effort by articulating more strategies towards ease of doing business like improved infrastructure and avoidance of multiple taxation.

With the rate cut, savings rate will come down and Deposit money banks will be discouraged from investing in CBN’s standing deposit facility, thereby encouraging them to lend to more to real sector and support growth and employment. Rate cut will also support cheap borrowing/ growth, but at same time disincentivise investment in fixed income market due to negative interest rate. This may impact negatively on foreign exchange market stability especially given the huge demand/ supply gap.

Further commenting on the development, Professor of Finance and Capital Markets at Nasarawa State University, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, however expressed concern that from empirical studies, the reduction in MPR “hardly translates to a reduction in lending rates.”

He said: “I had expected the status quo to be maintained against the backdrop of rising inflation and pressure in the forex market. By lowering the MPR by 100 basis points, the real rate of return has been dragged further into the negative territory which is likely to affect capital inflows adversely.

“InreducingtheMPR,theMPCmusthavebeen emboldened by the recent marginal accretion to reserves as well as the approaching harvest season which is expected to rein-in food inflation.”

He said: “But the reality is that with foreign investorsexitingthecountryfollowingCOVID-19, except crude oil price recovers substantially, I see further pressure in the forex market. If you notice, the gap between the AFEX rate and the parallel market has begun to widen following increasing demand on the back of resumption in International flights.

“Also, given that a lot of cost-push factors are responsible for inflationary pressure including the increase in VAT, hike in electricity tariffs and pump price of fuel, I see headline inflation worsening given all the downside risks. From experience, a reduction in MPR has little or no impact on economic growth due to poor transmission mechanism.”

According to the former Imo State commissioner of finance, “Deposit Money Banks hardly reciprocate this gesture through a commensurate reduction in interest rate due to several other costs borne by financial institutions arising from infrastructure deficit especially power and insecurity. So, empirical studies in Nigeria have shown that a cut in MPR hardly translates to a reduction in lending rates.

“I recognise that a number of Central Banks have cut rates in response to the pandemic. But most of them have done so because inflation rate was within the target range. In the case of Nigeria, where inflation rate of 13.2per cent is well above the CBN’s upper band of 9per cent, cutting the MPR in a season of rising inflation and forex market pressure may not be a wise decision.

“The CBN has been supporting economic growth in the last few years using more of unconventional measures in line with its developmental function. The MPC could have advised the CBN to strengthen and possibly scale up its interventions in the various sectors of the economy which in my view would have been a more effective way to stimulate the economy.”

Uwaleke said: “While I support a reduction in both the Standing Deposit and Standing Lending rates following the adjustment in the asymmetric corridor, it is my submission that any support to economic growth at this critical time from the CBN is better achieved through heterodox measures.

“Even in the US noted for dual monetary policy objectives of price stability and full employment, the Federal Reserve can only lend a supporting hand to the government. All said, the fiscal authorities (government at all levels) should be on the driving seat with respect to economic growth and development. The reality is that there is a limit to what the CBN can do in this regard.”

19

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͼ˜ 2020

BUSINESS/DEVELOPMENT

Are Govt’s Social Intervention Programmes Yielding Dividends?

In 2016, the Buhari administration announced a series of social interventions aimed at shoring up the debilitating economic situation of Nigerians. The National Social Investment Programme sought to, among other things, provide soft credit to ‘millions of Nigerians’, but the beneficiaries aren’t paying back. Nosa James-Igbinadolor examines the salient issues around the reluctance of beneficiaries to make good on their ‘promissory notes’

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ecently,theKwaraStateFocal Person for the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), Hajia Bashirah Abdulrazaq-Sanusi, lamented that beneficiaries of ‘Trader Moni’ had refused to pay back the loans given to them by the federal government.

The beneficiaries, she said, were insisting that the loans were their own share of ‘national cake’, adding that about 10,000 people benefitted from “Trader Moni” programme in the state with over N1.3billion disbursed to them.

Established in 2016, the National Social Investment Programme, according to the federal government was designed to tackle poverty and hunger across the country. At the same time, the government asserts that the “suite of programmes under the NSIPfocuses on ensuring a more equitable distribution of resources to vulnerable populations, including children, youth and women.

Since 2016, the FG, posits, “these programmes combined have supported more than 4 million beneficiaries’ country-wide through a fair and transparent process supported by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning (MBNP) and other notable MDAs with aligned goals.”

To most Nigerians, however, the federal government’s broad claims stink of falsehoods.

The programme, they avow, has neither aided vulnerable populations in any significant way, nor tackled poverty and hunger across the country.

On the contrary, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and other international bodies show that despite four years of implementing the NSIP, the poverty level in the country has significantly increased, leading to widespread hunger and under-five deaths.

In its poverty and inequality report from September 2018 to October 2019 released in May this year, NBS said 40 per cent of Nigerians live below its poverty line of N137,430 ($381.75) per year. This represents 82.9 million people out of a population of about 200 million.

“In Nigeria, 40.1 per cent of the total population was classified as poor,” NBS said. “In other words, on average four out of 10 individuals in Nigeria has real per capita expenditures below N137,430 ($352) per year.”

In 2018, two years after the programme was inaugurated with fanfare and some N1.7trillion thrown at it, Nigeria overtook India to become the country with the largest number of people living in extreme poverty, with an estimated 87 million Nigerians, or around half of the country’s population, thought to be living on less than $1.90 a day.

Krishna Panchal, writing on poverty in Nigeria, noted that, “while the Nigerian government has launched a variety of programmes to help those in poverty, its attempts have clearly not been strong enough. Due to the high presence of corruption, unemployment and inequalities, the nation’s programmes are failing to adequately lower the rates of poverty. Being the poverty capital of the world is not only impacting the country of Nigeria but it is also impacting the whole world. Nigeria is not living up to the U.N.’s goals of freeing the world from poverty by the year 2050. By reducing corruption and improving employment and educational opportunities, Nigeria can help its citizens get out of poverty.

These steps will not only reduce the poverty rates, but they will also help the nation prosper in other levels as well. Hopefully, Nigeria can lose its status of the poverty capital of the world.”

Chimere Iheonu and Nathaniel Urama in their 2019 essay on ‘Addressing Poverty Challenges in Nigeria’ in AfriHeritage Policy Brief, asserted rightly that, “despite the various

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya-Umar-Farouq

poverty alleviation programmes adopted by various governments in Nigeria, over 93 million Nigerians still live in poverty, with at least three million sliding into extreme poverty between November 2018 and February 2019. This is a clear indication of the ineffectiveness of these policies and programmes, which is attributable to corruption, high level of inequality in income distribution, low literacy rate and poor skill set, political instability, and poor leadership. It is therefore clear that for there to be an effective poverty alleviation programme in the country, there is a need for corruption to be adequately tackled on all facades...”

The latest mortality estimate report released this month by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) showed that despite the N1.7trillion spent on the National social investment programme so far, Nigeria again overtook India as the world capital for under-five deaths. UNICEF, in the report titled: ‘Levels and Trends in Child Mortality’, said Nigeria recorded an estimated average of 858,000 under-five deaths in 2019 as against India, which ranked second with 824,000 deaths out of 5.2 million under-five deaths globally.

Right from its inception, the programme has been characterised by allegations of politicisation and corruption. The NSIP was at the centre of the 2019 presidential election and the subsequent judicial litigation process.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and his party, petition filed before the Presidential

Election Petitions Tribunal to challenge the outcome of the February 23 election, insisted that the Trader Moni initiative embarked upon by theAll Progressives Congress (APC) is a votebuying scheme that lacked budgetary backing.

They declared that in a bid to “improperly influence voters,” Buhari, “using his position as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, commenced a programme or a scheme called Trader Moni, through which the Nigerian electorate, most especially traders across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT, Abuja, were, a few weeks to the presidential election, given N10,000 each.”

They added: “In spite of the fact that there was no budgetary provision for this scheme; and in spite of public outcry against it, the 2nd respondent (Buhari), through the Vice-President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, went round all the states of Nigeria and the FCT,Abuja, and shared the said sum of N10,000 to traders, thus using state resources to buy votes.”

Transparency International Nigeria, in 2019 labelled the ‘Trader Moni’ scheme a form of voter inducement. Awwal Rafsanjani, the Chair and National Contact of the organisation noted that the initiative was an “official use of public funds in the name of Trader Moni to actually induce voters.” He further added that, “it was not done three years ago. It was only started close to election time. So, the allegation by many Nigerians that this is clearly a case of vote buying using public funds goes contrary to our constitution and to having a free and fair election.

Aformer Vice-President of the World Bank and co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG), Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, had also roundly condemned the subterranean use of the scheme as a vote buying tool when she accused the government of deliberately corrupting the elections in Osun with the launch of the programme three weeks before its scheduled governorship elections in the state in September 2018.

“The federal government either failed to be ethically circumspect or in fact deliberately decided to corrupt the elections in Osun by handing out cash to traders on the heels of the state elections,” Ezekwesili tweeted on her Twitter page. “Such behaviour after the grand corrupting of voters in Ekiti is reprehensible,” she added.

Even the National Assembly, widely derided as a weak minion and grovelling appendage of the Presidency had cause to dismiss the National Social Investment Scheme in 2018 as very unimpactful. Danjuma Goje, Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, warned that, “Many people are complaining that they have not seen the impact of the programme considering the magnitude of the fund involved.

I am from Gombe State, I represent Gombe Central. I am yet to see one single boy who came to tell me that he has benefited from your N500 billion. Many other Nigerians are saying the same thing. N500 billion for 36 states is about N13 billion. If you spend NGN13 billion in one year in Gombe State, there is no way I would not have known, other people will also know. If you spend N500 billion in one year in Nigeria, Nigerians will know. No single All Progressives Congress person Gombe State has benefitted from your school feeding programme. No single person from Gombe State has benefitted from your N-Power. We don’t know about your N-Power. As far as many of us are concerned, we are completely dissatisfied with what you are doing.”

That a vast majority of ‘beneficiaries’ of the Trader Moni scheme are unwilling to pay back their loans isn’t too surprising after all.

Allegations of fraud through underpayment of beneficiaries have long been trumpeted against the scheme by beneficiaries. An investigation report by a Lagos-based national newspaper in its December 15, 2018 edition, showed that many beneficiaries, all petty traders, who were supposed to receive N10,000 each as loans had N2,000 deducted from the ‘loan’ extended to them by the federal government.

The investigations showed that that the agents, who came to the market to disburse the loan to beneficiaries, initially collected N2,000 cash from each beneficiary before transferring N10,000 to their bank accounts. But later, they stopped collecting N2,000 cash from beneficiaries and transferred just the sum of N8,000 to them.

According to one of the beneficiaries a trader, “we had also heard in the news that that was the amount the government was giving out as loan to petty traders, so we were expecting N10,000.

“Initially, when the agents want to pay people, before they transferN10,000 to anybody, they will first collect N2,000 cash before transferring N10,000, which means what they were giving out to beneficiaries in the market was N8,000.

“But after doing that for the first two days, they came to disburse the loans, they stopped collecting N2,000 cash and instead, just transferred N8,000 to the beneficiaries.”

As noted by the paper, “another beneficiary, a petty trader who simply identified himself as Jude, said he also received N8,000. Jude also showed the alert, which indicated a payment of N8,000 to his bank account through the Eyowo app. Like Daramola, Jude was hoping to grow his general goods business through the Trader Moni loan.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͼ˜ 2020

BUSINESS INTERVIEW ELVIS OKONJI

Touting Frustrating Haulage Business in Nigeria The Chief Executive Officer of GPC Energy & Logistics Limited, Mr. Elvis Okonji in this interview with Peter Uzoho, speaks on a wide range of issues including his voyage into full time haulage business and his personal principle and philosophy that are driving the success and growth of the multi-billion naira business. Okonji also delves into his eternal passion for logistics business, the ambition of the company to become a publicly quoted company as part of his goal to build a large business empire; and end touting in the haulage industry

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ou have been in operation since 2010, what has been your experience in the haulage business so far?

It is something I have to smile about because it has not been easy. It has been a rough road in the last 10 years as the CEO of this company. I will not say it has been interesting, neither will I say it has been bad, but in all, God has been able to see us through till date.

What is your major area of service provision?

As GPC, we are basically into dry cargo. We work with the FMCGs in the country. We work with PZ, we work with Nestle, Nigerian Breweries, Lafarge, Guinness, International Breweries, and then, we are currently doing hauling of fertiliser in the country from Indorama in Port Harcourt to all the blending plants in the county.

Looking at where you are coming from as a company and where you are today, do you think you have been able to close that gap that you saw then that made you to venture into the business?

We can’t close the gap because the gap in the country is so wide when it comes to logistics or when it comes to transportation business or the haulage business. The haulage business is very wide. You have the wet cargo, you have the dry cargo. The dry cargo is for the FMCGs in the country, and then you talk about the guys carrying the granite from the quarry; you talk about the guys carrying the diesel haulage.

So they are so wide that GPC can’t finish. Even if you have 100 haulage or logistics companies that have over 50,000 trailers you can’t close the gap.

The business is so wide and then the capital to start the business is so much.

So it is not easy. Imagine, when we started this business, getting a Chinese trailer would cost you about N10million or N12million. Today, getting one 30 tonnes Chinese trailer on the road will cost an average of about N36million. So how can you close that type of gap? The gap is huge. If you say you want to buy European truck, putting one on the road will cost you around N65million or N70million. If you want to put it on the road on today’s FX rate, it is not easy at all. So we can’t cover the gap because it is huge How many trucks do you have running now?

We have a lot of trucks because it’s not something you want to say openly to the world. We try to be very quiet in our business model. But I will say we have tried when it comes to the number of trucks we have in the country.

Okonji

Currently, I may say we have over 600 workers working in this company. So you know what it means when somebody says he has over 600 workers. But we know that we have done a lot in removing people from the unemployment market. I remember vividly this year, we bought 150 European trucks for Nigerian Breweries. When you have 150 trucks that means you have employed over 200 people on that alone. And then when we are assembling the truck, we employed people that helped us in assembling them.

So that alone, you have also removed about 100 people from the unemployment market. So we are trying, we are creating jobs for Nigerians.

What are the challenges haulage operators face in the course of the business?

There are so much challenges in the business. We run business on the road.

I will tell you that the current government has tried when it comes to road maintenance in the country. Some years ago, you cannot go from here (Lagos) to the north easily, you can’t even go from here to Benin easily. But today, the infrastructure the government is putting in place is helping us now. So it is better now compared to what it was some years ago. So I will tell you that I embrace the government efforts in road infrastructure.

However, our biggest headache in this business is touting and excessive extortion. Every state government wants to collect money from a truck owner.

When you pass some states, they will want to collect money, they have their own agents. So, you see multiple taxation in the business. That is a very serious challenge to us. The touting activity is so much on the business.

You are going from here to Ogun State, people will take stick and block the road and tell you to pay this amount of money. Every state you go to it is the same thing. Imagine, there is this sticker we buy from each state, if you buy it in Ogun State now, when you get to Gboko in Benue State, they will

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We Haven’t Tapped the Enormous Opportunities in Nigeria CEO has not achieved the dream of his life. I want to run a business that investors will benefit from. If you put money in GPC, you are sure of getting your money back, you are sure of getting your dividend back, you are sure of building an institution that will outlive me. I want to be happy the day I resign as the CEO of this company, that I am the pioneer CEO, that I took it from one level to where it is. We work as a team here, I don’t take decisions alone. So that has taken us to where we are today.

tell you that is not their own paper, and I begin to imagine, are we not in the same country? They come up with different policies. When you are loading a state government will tell you that every load you carry you have to pay me extra amount of money. So it is challenging. It is killing. When I mean it is killing, it is killing indeed.

When I started this business 10 years ago, I had colleagues whom I started it together with, I think all of them have gone down the drain. They have no money so they have closed shops, they are liquidated and had to shut down.

Most of them are heavily indebted to banks, they can’t even pay. So right now because of the challenges in this business, we now have fewer players.

Some of the policies of the government are not helping us. The frustration is so much. Local government will come and tell you to pay it so so amount of money. So, the multiple taxation is so much on us. Imagine, before you leave, a state will come and say they have given somebody the job of collecting money from truck owners. Every state will have that and before you know it they harass your truck, cause accident for your truck. There is a lot of touting in the business. That doesn’t happen in advanced world. So I think the government should come in and see how they can help in stopping the touting issues we are facing in the haulage business in the country. We are passing through hell.

When did you develop interest in haulage business?

I have been a workshop boy from my childhood. My father was a mechanic, I used to go to workshop with him and also when I was in the university it was tough for me to get money to go to school. So where my father worked, I will go there to do odd jobs. So I followed truck drivers to travel, when they carry loads, I act as conductor for them. So from there, I left university, I started working in the bank. And I was having a project while I was in the bank that involved us bringing goods into the country. So by the time the ship berths, I begin to see middlemen, they would start looking for trucks and making money even more than the owners of those trucks. So I said it means there is something big in this business. So with my background and my understanding of trucking, I now said, after all my banking experience, from the university I’ve gone to, my finance knowledge, everything, I think I can do better in this sector, and also as a street man, who came out from the street. You know when you come out from the grass -you don’t have any hope, nothing in life, and then you see an opportunity to tap into something that you think will change your life -you will put all your efforts. And then it was from that project that I saw that there is a lot of opportunities here.

Most of the people that went to school and are graduates don’t want to do that type of business. And you see the illiterates now making money from it.

So I now I began to think that if I come into this type of business and put in my banking experience and then my street sense and everything, I think I will be able to do better. That was how I resigned from the bank early 2010 to set up GPC Energy & Logistics.

We had wanted to go into full time energy business -trucking of wet cargo -petroleum business, but we saw a lot of dishonesty in the market and then said no. We came back to the drawing board and said no, we won’t go to that aspect, let’s stay with dry cargo where we will focus more on the multinationals in the country. And that’s where we are today, where you will not go and beg somebody or bribe somebody to pay you what you worked for. We have a system here, we don’t joke with our integrity, we can’t give you bribe and you cannot give us bribe. And so that’s why we focus mainly on the multinationals -the Nestle, the PZ, you

Okonji

can’t bribe them. You work, you earn your money. If they tell you they are going to pay you today, you will see your money as they said, you don’t have to go and beg. So that’s how we were able to get to where we are today.

It was tough, it was a very tough decision to take. All the friends I had were telling me not to go into haulage business, saying ‘it’s risky, you will risk your life and all kinds of things, just to discourage me from going into the business. But my mind is strong.

Today I don’t have blood pressure issues, I don’t have any terminal illness, I’m strong and healthy. I take the business as part of me, part of my life, it’s fun to me. We borrowed so much from the bank to do the business, we keep paying the banks back. We don’t have any issues with the banks we are working with, we don’t have any issues with our clients, they are good, everybody is happy.

What particular personal principle do you think is helping to drive your business?

I’m a very principled person. I keep telling people that my word is my bond. If I tell you that if you supply me XY, I will pay you on XY date, that date, you will get your money. So it has helped me a lot. It has made my suppliers believe in me, it has made my bankers believe in me, it has made my suppliers abroad believe in me, everybody believes in me. They will tell you, if it is Elvis, don’t worry, GPC will pay you. So what has pushed this business to where it is today is our integrity. And it is extremely key to us in the company. Everybody, from the beginning to the end of this company, we keep telling them about integrity, respect for individuals, that’s what we keep telling them. We don’t joke with that. So we call it acid here. We ask ourselves, are you an acid? Because when acid goes into anything it spreads round.

So we keep putting all the acid in the system and that’s why we are here today. If you go to my bank and tell them you gave GPC load, they will tell you ‘go and sleep, your money

will be paid back to you’. Everything is all about integrity, life is all about integrity. Let people not doubt your person. Imagine, I’m not a son of a rich man but today I run a multibillion naira business. We started this business in 2010 with five trucks, today we have over 600 staff. That’s to tell you where we are going to. By end of the year we should be hitting more than 1,000 trucks. So there is no issues with all the banks we borrowed money from, we have paid 100 per cent of what we owed them from day one. So we don’t joke here, we mean business, because we want to take the business to the next level. If you watch, you see, people set up UPS and others, worldwide. We have a dream of where we are going to. We want to run a business that will outlive us, not a business that after Elvis, it is gone.

My dream, the dream of GPC is for us to run a business that will live after our generation. So how do you do it?

You have to create integrity, principles, what has to be done, everything has to be done right from day one. You have a good template. The corporate governance has to be there. When a business does not have corporate governance, it’s gone. There has to be systems and processes and in the last 10 years, we have been building systems and processes and that’s what has helped us to where we are today. So currently I’m not on any stress. People say haulage business is bad, I don’t believe it. Let me tell you, in my next world, I will be a logistician. It’s something I have joy doing. You see, a lot of people fail in this business because they don’t get their goals right. How can you set up a logistics or haulage company and you go and put the office in Victoria Island?

How do you want to succeed in it? You will set up a haulage company but you don’t have a yard where you maintain the trucks, you don’t have systems and processes in place. How will you cope after spending all the millions? You go and pack them along the roads, tomorrow LASTMA will impound them, then it’s a failure. Let me tell you, I will have greater joy when GPC becomes a PLC. It therefore means the pioneer

How were you able to carve a niche for yourself when you entered the sector that already had big players at the time?

It is continuous push, never believe you are a failure. From day one, we had a plan and keep working with the plan and we said we will never fail.

There is no No for an answer in this company, GPC; that’s the team for you.

We built a team and the slogan of that team is, ‘no No for an answer’. And we keep pushing. And what we said to ourselves is that none of our soldiers, none of our clients will doubt our person and we have kept to it. We can sit down here and say we need truck from China, we don’t need to pay, we just communicate with them, they will give us bill and send trucks to us.

Same thing with Europe, because we have delivered that our integrity here, we have built a solid company that has come to stay. They keep saying that a son of a poor man will want to work hard and make sure that he survives, he removes the poverty out of his lineage. My father is almost 90 years of age, he is in the village today.

So we came from zero to where we are today. Let me tell you, GPC story is a story that is God’s doing. Even when I look at the company today I begin to imagine how did we build a business in the last 10 years that will live to the test of time? But when I look back I say we worked so hard. I stayed in my yard for five years. I was learning every trick about trucking: how do I interact with my drivers, how do my drivers behave. I almost became a mechanic.

Have you been on the road with your drivers before?

Yes, I go on the road with them. My four, five, six years, when accident or anything happens I go on the road to see it. I run round and understand what the drivers are passing through, so I put a face to them and that is why in GPC, my numbers are open as the CEO of this company. Everybody talks to me, even my drivers call me anytime and I pick their calls and hear what their problem is. We run an open system here.

Do you share the view that there is no opportunities, no hope in this country?

No, I don’t. Let me tell you something, when I left university and I got a job in a bank, I was telling my God that the day I make the first million in my life I would leave the country. That was then. But as time goes on, I started seeing opportunities. This country has a lot of opportunities. What you are looking for abroad is here. What you are looking for in America is in this country. Don’t you ask yourself why did the Chinese, the Indians, the Lebanese, the Europeans, most of the Americans come here to work and they don’t want to go back? When you ask them to go back to their country they start crying.

In a country that you have a population of over 200 million people, how can you be poor? If you are focused and you know what you want and you have your integrity in place, if you start up with one million naira or even with N500, 000, you can’t be hungry in this country, I’m very sure of it. We have not tapped the enormous opportunities we have in this country.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͼ˜ 2020

THE EXECUTIVE ALEX OKOH

BPE Transactions Devoid of Political Interferences Thirty six years of his working life, Mr. Alex Ayoola Okoh straddled the private sector for over 32 years, rising to the top as chief executive officer of one of the foremost commercial banks in the country. However, in the last three and half years, national service beckoned, where he currently savours the taste of public service as the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). But on October 1, 2020, Okoh had the rare coincidence of marking his 60th birthday same day Nigeria celebrated its 60th independence annivesary. In this interview, the DG relives his experience so far with the privatisation agency. Ndubuisi Francis provides the excerpts:

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our 60th birthday which coincides with Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary makes you a very special person. What message do you have for both Nigerians and

your staff?

I just feel like using the opportunity of this interview to reflect on the fact that I celebrate a milestone birthday, which they refer to as diamond jubilee, with Nigeria. I have always considered it a special privilege to be born on the same day that Nigeria gained independence, and I think that it’s not just a coincidence, it is some sort of divine ordination for one to be able to realise that there is a purpose for God making you a Nigerian and a Nigerian that shares the same birthday with the nation. It’s always giving me an opportunity on such days to reflect on what my contributions to the general well-being of Nigeria should be. A 60-year-old man, especially is not really a young man anymore and I think that a 60-year-old country should also, at least, be exhibiting certain attributes of maturity of having come into an age of wisdom. So, there are certain things that should accompany a state, an individual, an enterprise at such an age. I reflect on my country and I am thankful for what God has done so far, but I am also thinking that perhaps, it could have been a lot better than where we are now. There are certain things that ought to be happening in the life of a nation at 60 that you don’t see now, and it is also an opportunity for us not just to criticise what has not happened, but to begin to look for how there can be solutions in creating that desire, and what we expect our country to look like. For me, it’s a personal reflection. I have had that opportunity for the past three years in public office to be able to contribute my own quota, but I think that it should be an opportunity for all of us, whether you were born on October 1 or not to look at the day and say, hey! Is this where the country should really be at 60 or perhaps there are things that we could have done differently that we should start considering now to do at least so that the future looks much brighter than the past, That’s my reflection and message to my country at 60 even as I turn 60 myself.

It is good that we stay together as a nation. Certainly, we could have achieved a lot more than we have done, but it gives us an opportunity to begin to rejuvenate Nigeria.

We have followed your progress as a banker up to this period. Having come this far in running the affairs of the BPE, what has been the experience?

I have been here for three and half years and during this period, we have renewed the mandate of the Bureau not just in terms of reforming the economic sector of the Nigerian economy, but also some of the enterprises.

We have done some of the concessioning of the old Warri port while I have been here.

Some of the quarry companies have also been privatised.

It has been a very interesting experience, very rewarding and for me, quite illuminating and I will explain what I meant by that. Just as you said earlier, all my career life, I have been in the private sector. I actually started

Okoh

banking at a very young age; I was about 24 in 1984 and I rose through the ranks, of course, to become the managing director of NNB (New Nigeria Bank) in 2001. So, all my career life, I have worked in the private sector. In April 2017, I was appointed by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, as the DG, Bureau of Public Enterprises. That gave me a completely different opportunity to experience life and work in the public sector and I must tell you that for me, it has been a very rewarding experience. You really don’t know how much the nation (the government) works fully from the private sector, but I have balanced my perspective having the opportunity to work with the BPE. So, for me, to answer your question directly, these three and half years have been a very rewarding and illuminating experience for me.

What have been the challenges?

The challenges essentially stem from how things get done in the public sector as opposed

to how things are done in the private sector.

In the private sector you need to build a coalition of stakeholders who support whatever programme you are prosecuting. The public sector by nature is a very bureaucratic set up. Public sector by nature is not very warm towards embracing change, and because of the fact that our core mandate in the Bureau involves change (reforms); transformation, whether it is the reform of government-owned enterprises or the reform of sectors in terms of how sectors are structured to deliver on the social services of values that they are supposed to deliver. Reforming those enterprises and sectors involves change and the civil service, the way it is structured is designed to conform to rules and procedures not to embrace change. So, for me that has been the major challenge, at least at the macro-level; looking at it conceptually. Of course transaction by transaction, reform by reform, programme by programme, you have specific challenges driving those programmes. Reprivatisation

of Afam and Yola Discos, for example; they will have their own specific challenges. On the general side, the major challenge is that you are going against the grain or norm of the very sector that created those institutions, in the first place.

Earlier this year, the BPE projected to remit to the coffers of the federal government the sum of N267 billion.

With the impact of COVID-19, does this look feasible? What are you expecting?

I am happy that you asked that question because the health pandemic has not only disrupted the global economic environment, but our specific local or national economy.

When we made those projections, of course, we did not envisage the disruption that would come from COVID. We projected to add to the fiscal purse this year about N260 billion.

It is looking highly unlikely that the entire projection can be realised this fiscal year. But we are still pursuing the programme. It means

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At least Four Govt Assets Ready for Sale via Capital Market that more of the financial proceeds and the revenue expectations may be coming in later as envisaged, perhaps by the end of the first quarter next year. Two of the transactions that should be contributing more than 50 per cent of the N260 billion, we have almost already concluded. In the next few weeks we should be able to conclude on these two transactions.

Which transactions, sir?

The reprivatisation of Afam Power Plant and Yola Disco. We should be able to conclude on those two, in the next two to three weeks we should be able to conclude those two transactions. So, I am hopeful that before the end of this particular fiscal year, we should be able to realise at least 60 per cent of our initial estimate or target.

You were quoted at a time to have stated that only 10 per cent of all the privatised government enterprises are doing well.

Is that a true representation?

No, that was a wrong quote. What I said was that about 67 to 68 per cent of the 234 privatised or commercialised or concessioned enterprises are performing and the balance of those enterprises, may be another 20 per cent, are not performing due to various reasons. That was my comment then and the non-performing enterprises of course have various challenges and reasons why they are not performing. So, even if they were not privatised, what I have always maintained is that they would have still faced those challenges, whether they were privatised or not.

Once the macroeconomic conditions changed against the operations of those enterprises, they were always going to have problems.

But the important thing is that we have not left those enterprises to their own fate. So, we are consciously and continuously engaging with various agencies of government in terms of reliefs--tax reliefs, duty waivers and all of those other fiscal measures that can create a better operating environment for those enterprises. So, these are some of the inconsistencies that make some of the privatised enterprises non-performing--not just because you privatised them but because the macroeconomic situation shifted.

You are looking at the health sector for reforms. What’s your projection? Are the reforms coming up this year or next year?

That is going to be a major reform. You know we have carried out several sectorial reforms before. We reformed the pension sector such that you now have a contributory scheme through, which workers can look forward to a decent retirement arrangement postservice. We’ve done several sectorial reforms in the past. For me, the health sector reform is essentially important because like they say, a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. Now, you don’t want a situation where people fall sick, your citizens fall sick and the question of who survives depends on how wealthy or how much that particular individual can afford the medical aid or treatment that they need. Most advanced countries have moved beyond that. The decision to fall sick is not made by you, so it should not be left to your own capacity or affordability to be able to determine whether you survive that sickness or not. So, that is what the health sector reform programme that is being anchored by the BPE and the Federal Ministry of Health is geared towards. We want to be able to provide universal health coverage and access to every citizen of this nation in such a way that they don’t have to bother about paying for the care.

It will be based on single payer system which means that the federal government, through a particular agency will be responsible for paying for the health care of every citizen who needs it. So, access to medical and health treatment and intervention will no longer be dependent on whether you are rich or whether you are poor. We are going to more or less aggregate the services and aggregate the payment system or the process for that particular service.

In what way does this differ from the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)?

The National Health Insurance Scheme, first and foremost, depends on your subscribing to the health insurance. So, for those who are not formally engaged (those who are in the informal sector), and that constitutes over 80 per cent of the population, what’s their assurance of getting health care when they fall sick? It is different in that this coverage is for the entire population. The health insurance system itself as it currently exists, we are looking at how to accommodate it within that larger framework to provide funding for the single payer who will then be responsible for paying for the health insurance because for every health insurance scheme if you are not paying for the premium then you are not entitled to treatment. How many people are

Okoh

paying premium?

Let’s talk about the unbundling of NIPOST. When are we having the NIPOST Microfinance Bank coming on stream?

The NIPOST Microfinance Bank is perhaps one of the latest companies that will go into operations out of the unbundled entities.

We envisage that may be before the end of the year, NIPOST Property Development Company, the first subsidiary company should be able to go into operations. Also, NIPOST Transport and Logistics Company should also be able to go into operations.

For the microfinance bank, we have just gotten the approval of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to go ahead with the incorporation of the bank, and we have also just gotten what you can call a sort of an indicative approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria with regards to what it will require for the Bank to grant a licence- the National Microfinance Banking licence to NIPOST. So, we are putting all of those things in place to be able to comply with the requirements of the CBN and for the bank to go operational. So we believe that that will come on later in the year, perhaps ending, early or mid-next year.

Before your emergence as the DG of the BPE, there were allegations of political interference, which tended to mar the process. Since you’re coming, what have you done differently to insulate the privatisation exercise against any form of interference?

I think that the outcome of any engagement that any one goes into depends on, first, the character of the leader, what his value system is and how he sets the rules of engagement in that particular venture. For us in the Bureau of Public Enterprises, I think in the past three and half years, we have been very clear in terms of what the value system of this organisation is, and that value system is acronymed in what we call the IPART (Integrity, Professionalism, Accountability, Result-orientation and Transparency). That is what has defined the Bureau of Public Enterprises for the past three and half years. So, once that culture becomes embedded in the very fabric of the institution, it begins to guide behaviours and how you approach your transactions and your activities. That is one point. The second one, and perhaps more critical reason why we have been able to maintain that level of integrity and transparency is because we have a political leadership that also signals that for the Bureau and for our activities. So, I have never gotten a call from the president either to say I am interested in this or that or that any enterprise should be handled this way or that way. Not at all! And the Chairman of the NCP (National Council on Privatisation), who is also an embodiment

of integrity and transparency himself--the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has never given us any reason for us to even think that he is interested in any manner on the outcome of any of our transactions.

Not at all! So, I think that the signal from the top always matters and conditions how things get done down the line. So, we have always been extremely fortunate that the political leadership that we have now has just decided that they are not going to interfere in our activities and they want to be able to signal the issue of transparency and integrity because we are dealing with very sensitive issues here. We are in charge of what you call family jewels, the national patrimony.

The enterprises that are being privatised are regarded as national jewels and patrimny .

What safeguards have you put in place to ensure that government assets that are being sold do not go into wrong hands?

First, pre-sale or our bidding process is so rigorous that even in selecting those who bid for those assets you ensure that they are the people who have the capacity, the integrity, and the intention to run those assets as they were originally procured or installed to do.

So, there is a very rigorous pre-acquisition process. We evaluate your expression of interest in those assets; request for your expression of interest, both technical and financial which are so comprehensive and so detailed and so rigorous that before you go through the selection process, you are coming out with the best. Now, post-acquisition, we also have covenants (agreements) that are signed to ensure that those assets are managed in line with our own expectations and the country’s expectations for the utilisation or the management of those key infrastructure and utilities, and we monitor your compliance with those agreements in such a way that any deviation attracts the requisite sanctions, including the recovery of the assets from you. We are very particular about how you emerge as the preferred buyer or the acquirer of that asset, and then, how you manage those assets and infrastructure, post-acquisition.

This is to ensure that you continue to deliver the services for which the government put those assets and infrastructure in place in the first place, and that you do not deviate in whatever manner, in line with the agreement or covenant that we go into.

Are there specific examples of such deviations and sanctions?

Yes, we have such examples. Let me use the example of the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex as a case. The concessionaire went serially against the covenant of the concession agreement, and in 2017 when I came, we reviewed the matter, took it to the National Council on Privatisation and Council decided to revoke the concession.

We revoked the concession, and we are in the process of recovering the outstanding fee from the previous concessionaire, and we are about to re-concession the facility now. We did the same thing with Tarawa Balewa Square; we revoked that concession.

In any case where we see a concessionaire or core investor going against the covenant of the agreement, we move in to invoke the necessary sanctions.

You were quoted to have said that some of the privatised entities would be quoted on the capital market. How far have you gone in realising this?

I think that is the ideal situation. As far as I am concerned, ultimately, we have to be encouraging wider public participation in the acquisition of government assets--what you call the national patrimony. That is one of the best ways in which every citizen will feel that privatisation has been fair to them, If you’re able to buy, may be 1,000 units as your resources can afford you in a national asset that has been privatised, then you feel a sense of common ownership of the privatised entity. I think that public offers are the most democratic way to go about divestment in government assets. However, recently we have seen how the stock market and the capital market have performed. It has been extremely challenging for the capital market, and values have been compromised even for existing businesses in the stock market.

Share prices have fallen significantly. So, it’s a matter of timing.

Some of those privatised entities we will take to the capital market, but are being watchful of the appropriate time to take those assets to the market so that they can get good value and not the depressed value that the market currently has. We tried a test case with SAHCO (Skypower Aviation Handing Company) about 18 months ago. The response wasn’t too encouraging, and for us it was a reflection of the kind of appetite that investors have for the capital market right now. Although, we have listed some entities that we should be taking to the capital market, but we want the market itself to recover before we bring those enterprises to the market.

Could you tell us some of those enterprises?

It may be premature to mention the companies, but we have at least four of those companies that are ready to come to the capital market.

So, we don’t want to pre-empt the market and we are in consultation with the stakeholders; revelant agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Nigerian Stock Exchange, even the stockbrokers association, for them to understand that we will bring these enterprises to the market once the market shows signs that it could adequately provide value for the stocks.

24

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍźËœ 2020

BUSINESS/PERSPECTIVE

Leveraging Special Economic Zones for African Industrialisation and Integration Adesoji Adesugba

border agencies.

Three borders have been identified for this purpose which are: r *EJSPLP 5SBOTOBUJPOBM #PSEFS Market – Ogun State r 0LFSFUF 5SBOTOBUJPOBM #PSEFS Market – Oyo State r #BGBOB 5SBOTOBUJPOBM #PSEFS Market – Niger State However, it is important to note that the Ogun-Guangdon Free Trade zone one of the eight (8) China- Africa co-operation zones, focused on manufacturing, lies in close proximity of Idiroko and could potentially service the Benin Republic market.

F

ree Trade Areas are special creation that propel the growth and advancement of many economies worldwide.

The FTZ has been successfully deployed from North America to Europe to Asia. Africa’s embrace of the model is now more than critical in view of the advent of the Africa Continental Free Trade Zone. Agressive adoption of free zone model and its best practices are compulsory for Africa to realize the contient’s desire to advance industrially.

Free Zones are forms of economic integration wherein all barriers of trade are eliminated; however, each country is allowed to retain its own barriers with non-members otherwise known as third countries. Generally speaking, there are various kinds of economic integration ranging from free trade areas to customs union, common markets and economic unions. The practice is for countries to start with the lowest form and graduate to higher stages over time.

There are expected benefits to a Free Trade Area formation. Nations are likely to receive benefits through increased competition, economies of scale, stimulus to investment and better utilization of resources.

In Nigeria, the Free Zone Program was introduced in 1992 through the enactment of Act No. 63 of 1992 which provided for the establishment of Special Economic Zones in Nigeria.

The Act empowered the Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority as the sole government agency responsible for establishing, licensing, regulating and monitoring of Free Zones/Export Processing Zones in Nigeria.

The main goal for establishing the Special Economic Zone scheme in Nigeria is to improve the investment climate by providing a competitive incentive regime, streamline administrative procedures and offer world class infrastructure aimed at attracting capital investment for industrial development.

Other Objectives include; r+PC DSFBUJPO r"UUSBDUJPO PG GPSFJHO EJSFDU JOWFTUment r5FDIOPMPHZ TLJMMT USBOTGFS r &YQPSU EFWFMPQNFOU r &ODPVSBHF CBDLXBSE MJOLBHFT and r 4PDJP FDPOPNJD EFWFMPQNFOU PG the immediate host community.

The Federal Government of Nigeria identified the Special Economic Zone scheme as a key policy instrument in the realization of the industrialization agenda following a visit by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR to the Peoples Republic of China in 2016.

This is in the context of the experience in China where the deployment of SEZs in 1980 propelled her GDP from $191 billion at the time to $11 trillion in 2016, a staggering increase of 5,764%.

SEZ’s and the Industrialization Agenda Regarding industrialization in Nigeria, the SEZ model is being sought to accelerate implementation of the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), a four (4) year road map on industrialization in order to create jobs and promote exports, which in turn will facilitate economic growth. The aim is to build Nigeria’s competitive advantage, to broaden

Nigeria-Niger Regional Cooperation The Maigatari Border Free Zone, +JHBXB 4UBUF XBT MJDFODFE JO UIF ZFBS 2000, at the border town of Maigatari / Niger. The zone covers 220 hectares.

To date, there are three (3) Free Zone Enterprises (FZE) operational. r 5SJDZDMF "TTFNCMJOH .BDIJOF ';& r (VN "SBCJD 5FTUJOH -BCPSBUPSZ Warehousing FZE r 8"$05 4FTBNF 4FFE 1SPDFTTJOH Company FZE. Nigerian - Cameroon Regional Cooperation Sharing so long a border, Cameroon and Nigeria potentially have a lot to gain by extending cooperation through free trade zone. While such bilateral creation has not occurred, the Calabar Free Trade Zone in Cross River state can serve that purpose.

Adesugba

the scope of industry, and to accelerate expansion of the manufacturing sector. Specifically, the plan sets out to increase the contribution of manufacturing from current 4% of GDP to over 10% in the next 5 years which translates to about N5 trillion annually.

In 2017, the Federal Government initiated Project Made in Nigeria for Export (MINE) in 2017 to develop and upgrade existing Free Trade Zones to Special Economic Zones aimed at contributing to meaningful industrial and export development in Nigeria.

The Role of NEPZA As the agency with the mandate to establish and oversee the operations of all zones in Nigeria, NEPZA has a total of 42 zones under its purview.

Whilst a few have recorded relative success in operations, most have not operated at their full potential due to several challenges such as a lack of adequate funding, poor infrastructure, accessibility, inconsistent power supply and management.

In continuation of the President’s agenda of industrialization using the SEZ model, NEPZA has recently revised its strategic plan to include “to increase the number of functional and optimal SEZ’s� as one of its key goals targeted at developing the SEZ sphere in Nigeria. In this regard, NEPZA seeks to establish world class “plug and play� technically driven zones that will attract foreign direct investments Stakeholder discussions are currently underway for the creation of SEZ’s in the following thematic areas; r .FEJDBM BOE 1IBSNB *OEVTUSJBM Parks r .JOJOH BOE .JOFSBMT 4QFDJBM Economic Zone

r"HSJD BOE 'PPE 1BSLT r *OGPSNBUJPO BOE 5FDIOPMPHZ Parks Implications of AFCTA on SEZ’s Across Africa The Rules of Origin (ROO) debate remains a key discussion point regarding the implications of the AfCTFA on SEZ operations in Africa.

There must be ways to accommodate the SEZ’s within the Rules of Origin (ROO) to support the objectives of the AfCFTA. Consideration should be given to regional and specific country objectives during the negotiation process to ensure industrialization agendas of each country is achieved.

Market access and the ROO value criteria are some of the issues that have implications on the operations of SEZ’s.

In relation to market access, the law on free zones allow up to 100% importation of inputs and raw materials which negates the principle of origin. Most African countries have a low-level industrial base making accessing inputs from African nations difficult, resulting in the need to import from third countries hence the case for a flexible ROO. Cross Border SEZ as Vehicles for Regional Integration Experimentation with cross border free zones for regional Integration is a smart route for Africa. For Nigeria, various scenario are reviewed below: Nigeria-Benin Regional Cooperation At the moment, Nigeria does not have any SEZ cooperation with the Republic of Benin. However, there are efforts from the FGN to formalize border trade. Focus discussions are on infrastructure development and the setting up of relevant government

Regional Cooperation as Key Response to the COVID-19 Implications The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has taken a toll on the economies and healthcare systems of even the most developed countries. Despite the low level of cases and death in Africa, the pandemic showcased the lack of infrastructure, expertise and manpower required to deal with the fallout of a major surge should it occur. The closure of international borders also highlighted the need for Nigeria and Africa as a whole to look inwards and become self-sufficient in the provision of services to its citizens especially as it relates to healthcare.

Nigerian Response The recently released NIGERIA &$0/0.*$ 4645"*/"#*-*5: 1-"/ 0' /&41 XBT DSFBUFE to address the health and economic emergencies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic through the granting of many incentives including support to the development of the healthcare sector in Nigeria. The private sector, with these incentives are being mobilized to support infrastructure development.

NEPZA seeks to play its role in the development of the healthcare sector by establishing a fully equipped and functional Medical SEZ in Nigeria that will provide world class, incountry healthcare comparable to the standards that Nigerians seek abroad.

The zone will help to reduce medical tourism from Nigeria and also service the African market. rProf. Adesugba, Managing Director of NEPZA, delivered this paper at the 3rd AU Symposium on Special Economic Zones and Green Industrialisation held on September 28th. His presentation was under session 2 with the theme: “SEZ’s and Regional Cooperation in Africa: State of Play and Major Guidelines.�

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

04.10.2020

AYO MAKUN

THE SHOW BUSINESS OF AY He’s got the swag. He’s got the skills. He’s got the story. He’s a stunner.

Yet, from a humble beginning, Ayo Makun, aka AY, grew to become one of the leading figures in showbiz. Vanessa Obioha writes about the different togas that define who he is today ASSISTANTEDITOROLUFUNKEOLAODE/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 ˾ Ͳ˜ 2020

COVER POSTERBOY OF NIGERIA’S SHOWMANSHIP

We have to invest our money on trends that can yield returns.

So if someone says all AY movies are blockbusters, yes they are because I researched them. I have to be sure that it will be a success Maku

A

yo Makun likes smiling to the bank and he is unapologetic about it.

Every decision made, naira invested is driven by that sole desire to repeat that happy trip to the bank.

After all, the essence of people getting involved in a business is to have a sort of fulfilment and that includes financial fulfilment, he thinks, sporting a red jersey and black shorts against the backdrop of his tastefully decorated living room.

The winning formula for AY as he is fondly called is to keep moving.

“The new normal is not the normal we want to accustom ourselves with. It’s been pretty difficult but we thank God for grace. We have to keep moving. We can’t be stagnant,” he acknowledges.

He adds, “If I have something to show, let the business part reflect it by me smiling to the bank.”

AY’s knack for showbiz can be traced to his university days where he gained prominence by organising shows on campus. His growing personality at Delta State University where he studied Theatre Arts led to a chance encounter with Atunyota Akpobome popularly known as Ali Baba. He was lucky to hone his skills under the tutelage of the veteran comedian. To date, he attributes his business acumen to Ali Baba.

By 2006, fame knocked on his door when he was featured in Opa Williams’ ‘Nite of a Thousand Laughs’. The subsequent years saw him organising and hosting his live show AY Live — a platform that parades both upcoming and established humour merchants. He also took his craft to the sound and sight medium with his comedy show ‘AY Show’, as well as ‘AY’s Crib’, a comedy sitcom that he stars alongside Alexx Ekubo, Buchi Franklin among other acts.

His enduring relevance in the entertainment industry is a testament to his hard work and a keen eye for business. He’s carefully scripted his career in such a way that his brand equity keeps opening doors of opportunities for him.

Today, he wears different togas: comedian, showbiz entrepreneur, filmmaker, and actor.

In comedy, AY belongs to the realm of comedians who have built an empire from comedy. Think of Yibo Koko, Ali Baba, Okey Bakassi, and Gbenga Adeyinka. These humour merchants are notable icons in the industry who have excelled in their profession and delved into other sectors where they equally displayed dexterity.

“A lot of people believe that stand-up comedy is a business designed for dropouts, vagabonds, or people who don’t have anything else to do than to tell jokes. But it’s beyond that. Proper research on the comedy industry today shows that people who are made and are still making it big in the industry are those with a seasoned level of awareness, education, knowing what to do and what not to do. When you look at comedians who handle corporate events, you will notice that they have to understand the audience they are dealing with because that’s what they are paid for.

“Not all kinds of jokes will work in such a setting. It goes beyond telling jokes. Comedy is a serious business. The fact that comedians tell jokes doesn’t mean they look like the jokes they tell. They have a serious mindset,” he explains.

AY hopes to impart this knowledge on the contestants who will participate in his new comedy reality show, Next Naija Comedy Star. Ten contestants would be selected from a pool of online applicants. They will be kept in a mansion where they will be given tasks.

Each week will see a contestant voted out of the game.

In the movie world, he is an accomplished filmmaker. His first film ‘30 Days in Atlanta’ was a roaring success, earning the status as the highest-grossing film in Nigeria cinema in 2015 despite the mixed reviews it got. Since that breakout film, his subsequent films are boxed into the comedy genre.

It is a business strategy for him.

“The concept of cinema in Nigeria, for now, is a jolly place. A place where couples, lovers can visit and have exciting moments. The kind of

passion that they can go home with and relish.

Now if I take you to the cinema and make you sad or sober, then I haven’t fulfilled my part as an investor. The cinema in Nigeria is a place where people want to laugh and be happy.

“That’s why comedies sell in cinemas. But people don’t know this. They say we don’t tell our stories. Of course, we need to tell our stories but find a way to make it funny, balanced that will showcase our culture and lifestyle. But if we really, really, want to tell our stories, then a Mo Abudu will be waiting for AY to do it first and I will be waiting for Ramsey Nouah to do it first.

If it works, then it will be the winning formula.

“We have to invest our money on trends that can yield returns. So if someone says all AY movies are blockbusters, yes they are because I researched them. I have to be sure that it will be a success.”

The Ondo State indigene is not immune to the criticisms that have greeted his films but he is agitated by comments that posit Nollywood and Hollywood are cut from the same cloth.

“It’s wrong to compare Nollywood to Hollywood. You cannot give what you don’t have. It beats my imagination when people compare Nollywood films to Hollywood flicks knowing fully well that a Hollywood film can take the entire budget of Lagos state, so comparing it to an individual effort is unfair,” he points out.

“I always fight against people who don’t have that sense of belonging,” he adds. “I still salute the courage of Nollywood to date. We will keep striving but sadly the people here don’t believe in us. You can imagine a bank supporting the premiere of a Hollywood film but won’t support local films. So how are we going to grow?

“The Americans supported their product and showcased it to the world to accept it and become what it is today. But we are raising them by supporting what they are doing. We relegate our films and elevate theirs.”

To be sure, AY clarifies that he loves criticisms when it comes from an intellectual

mind. A major obstacle in the movie industry according to him is location. Getting the right structure to depict the fictional setting, he says, is very challenging. The infrastructural deficiency in Nollywood makes it difficult for filmmakers to meet the raised standards of Hollywood.

“Someone responded to a tweet I made regarding this issue that what is worth doing is worth doing well but when we are not in a position to achieving that, we will have to make do with the little we have until people are willing to invest in the industry and elevate our standards.”

Due to the pandemic, he’s putting some productions on hold while featuring in other movies. However, he hinted that he will make a movie around COVID-19. The movie he said will be an equipoise of soberness and joviality.

“It will give us hope,” he adds.

For now, he is concentrating on his online live shows which still attract an impressive number of viewers.

“The interesting thing is that 80% of our viewers are from Nigerians in the diaspora. This tells me that the brand is appreciated beyond the shores of Nigeria. I have been doing shows outside the country but the online audience confirms that the brand is international. Many of them are not Nigerians. We have audience members from Kenya, Uganda, South Africa.

Some are Nigerians in China and the US. So it gives me fun. It brings added value to the AY brand.”

Whenever the 49-year-old looks back at his journey, all he sees is grace.

“It’s been very rewarding,” he acknowledges.

Notwithstanding, there was a time he wished people could understand him more, but his wife reminded him that not everyone would like him. Since that realisation dawned on him, he found a way to enjoy the little gifts of life, and that includes smiling to the bank as often as possible.

OCTOBER 4, 2020 ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

51

High Life Love in the Air as Julius And Yutee Rone Dazzle at Lucky Igbinedion Daughter’s Wedding

N

igerian weddings are remarkable events for a variety of reasons.

For one, ‘rice and stew’ are always ‘very plenty’.

What’s more, the wedding experience encourages a carnival of sorts, folks from far and wide— subtle pageantry to see who best portrays the harmony and beauty expected from matrimony. At the wedding of Chief Lucky Igbinedion’s daughter, Julius and Yutee Rone took first place and engaged the eyes of fellow attendees.

As a former Governor of Edo State and son of the Esama of the Kingdom of Benin, any event organised by—or in honour of— Lucky Igbinedion is sure to attract the panthers and swans of the Nigerian society. This was the case at the high-octane wedding of Dr. Oghomwen Oyinkan Igbinedion— one of the daughters of Lucky Igbinedion—to Dr. Oluwafemi Issac Fakayode of Illale, Kwara State.

The ceremony was attended by several luminaries, public figures, celebrities, and bigwigs. Among these were Niger Delta-born philanthropist and boss of the UTM Group, Julius Rone, and his beautiful wife, Utibe ‘Yutee’ Rone.

For many attendees, the Rones were a welcome side attraction, with Julius taking the lead as a doting hubby and Yutee playing the role of a gracious and tantalizing wife. Any uninformed onlooker might have assumed that the Rones were on a honeymoon, as their every subtle stroke and smile strummed the atmosphere and added extra colours to the whole gig.

To those who know the Rones, their public displays of love and affection are nothing out of the ordinary. Julius Rone would sprint to the moon and back if that is what it would take to get Yutee to smile. Blogs and newspaper pages are bursting with tales of Julius’ celebratory gestures in honour of Yutee. What a pairing!

For all his work in brightening the prospects of Niger Deltans, Julius Rone has been dubbed ’Jewel of the Delta’. Evidently, for all her work in brightening the heart and life of Julius Rone, Yutee Rone is ’Jewel of the Jewel of the Delta’.

One has an unparalleled knack for business and enterprise, the other for fashion design and style and industry—and both of them for dazzling onlookers with the depth of their affection and devotion. Even the commanding and mustached presence of Chief Lucky Igbinedion could do nothing to dull the Rone glow.

Rone

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

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

Who is After Modupe Oguntade?

To any rational individual, a good reputation and a healthy dose of credibility are akin to undergarments. To sully these undergarments is tantamount to stripping and exposing one to the elements of deprecation and condemnation.

But, it is a thing with the world that the tallest trees always face the strongest winds. Thus, it is little surprise that Modupe Oguntade is the focus of vilifying schemes.

At the start of the second half of the year 2020, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Justice George Adesola Oguntade, reportedly lost his ambassadorial position. This was the conclusion reached by many after President Muhammadu Buhari renewed the appointments of 12 non-career ambassadors, excluding Justice Oguntade and Justice Sylvanus Nsofor—who was the ambassador to the United States.

Although no justification was offered by the Presidency, there was a great deal of accusatory fingering going around the media, the majority of which singled out alleged transgressions of Justice Oguntade’s wife, Modupeola Adewemimo Oguntade.

According to these sources, Modupe Oguntade was the chief culprit of her husband’s misfortune—the loss of an honorary position he has held since 2017.

Dupe Oguntade and husband, justice Oguntade

If the accusations levelled against Modupe Oguntade haven’t endeared her to the same level of scorn and contempt enjoyed by the Devil, they come really close.

Modupe’s detractors would have Nigerians believe that she turned over a new leaf when she accompanied her husband to the UK in 2017; that she took to pinching Nigeria’s purse and several other unmentionable tales were ascribed to Modupe Oguntade.

Recently, however, Nigerians resident in the UK opposed these allegations. These folks held that Modupe Oguntade was probably the biggest believer in Justice Oguntade’s

Another ’Hope’ to Serve Well for Hope Uzodinma

Uzodinma

In line with his track record of excellence and visionary leadership, the energetic and indefatigable governor of Lagos state has spearheaded the launch of the state’s inaugural Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Week.

Since he assumed office in May 2019, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has left no one in doubt of his commitment to the sustainable development of the state. Among many notable actions, he initially took was the laudable institution of the Office of Sustainable Development Goals & Investments (SDGs&I).

And he didn’t stop at that. He also ensured that the office was manned by capable hands with the appointment of Mrs. Solape Hammond as Special Adviser to the Governor on SDGs&I and Veteran Journalist, Public Relations juggernaut and Development Expert, Lekan Fatodu, as Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on SDGs&I. In a further demonstration of his commitment to the course of sustainable development in the state, the governor led a team of dignitaries and SDGs actors in the state to the launch of the United Nations One Basket Fund for Vulnerable Communities in Lagos State.

The Fund, wholeheartedly supported by the Lagos State Government, is part of efforts aimed at empowering people and communities to stem the negative tide of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the event held in Marina, Lagos, the governor led the activation of the Lagos SDGs

Another ’Hope’ to Serve Well for Hope Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State appears to be on a roll with every victory over his political adversaries. In this latest evidence of Uzodinma’s triumphant momentum, he not only got the go-ahead to continue in his capacity as Imo State Governor, but also an award of N500,000. Awesome times indeed for Governor Hope Uzodinma.

Since he was officially declared winner of the 2019 governorship poll in Imo State by the Supreme Court, Governor Hope Uzodinma has faced one form of censure or another.

Although this is nothing out of the ordinary for a Nigerian State Governor, especially within the first two years in office, the opposition against Uzodinma has been particularly fierce.

Curiously, the most recent of this came from an unanticipated political party.

A gubernatorial candidate of Reform and Advancement Party (RAP), Kingdom Okere, reportedly spearheaded the suit filed against Uzodinma and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). To amplify the wonder even further, Okere’s complaint was

appointment, and conducted herself by the same token. Furthermore, it was reported that Modupe Oguntade did employ the station of her husband, but for good work, charity, and looking after others; that she wasn’t—and isn’t—anything like the debauched, decadent and immoral lady as her detractors would have the Nigerians believe.

That there are particular individuals out to get Modupe Oguntade by tarnishing her image is obvious from the submission of Nigerians resident in the UK. But who are these antagonists and why are they after Modupe Oguntade? that Uche Uwosu—and not Uzodinma—was the actual gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 elections.

(The curiosity and wonder comes from the fact that Uche Uwosu, who is son-in-law to the immediate-past Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, was reportedly never present for any of the Court proceedings.)

In any case, Governor Uzodinma and INEC were not the only defendants in the case. There were 5 others: Imo State Governor, Imo State Attorney-General, APC, Action Alliance (AA), and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

At the height of the judicial hearing before the Abuja Federal High Court, the plaintiff party of Kingdom Okere unexpectedly withdrew the suit and asked Justice Okon Abang—who was presiding over the case—to dismiss the case.

Seeing that Okere’s group had no legs to stand on, the defendant parties of Uzodinma and INEC agreed to dismiss the suit and respectively asked for an award of N8 million and N5 million against Kingdom Okere. Justice Abang agreed to some degree, cutting down the million-naira sums to N500,000.

At the end, both Governor Hope Uzodinma and INEC get to take home N500,000.

Moreover, Governor Uzodinma gets to add an extra stripe to his victory coat and remain the majordomo of Imo State.

Governor Sanwo-Olu Scores Another First with Inauguration of SDGs Week

Medayese

Sanwo-Olu

Week, which was designed to amplify the global goals and create opportunities for crosssectoral collaborations towards achieving the said goals as the deadline for achieving those goals draws near.

By appearing in the global goals photograph frame, Governor Sanwo-Olu not only set the pace for identifying with, adopting and amplifying the goals, but he also underscored the weight of the goals and the urgency needed in pursuing them.

“The attainment of the SDGs would be the greatest achievement of my tenure. Therefore, I will deploy all resources available to the state government in pursuit of the attainment of those goals.

“Our development agenda for the state, which we codenamed THEMES (Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Environment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, Entertainment and Tourism as well as Security and Governance), aligns perfectly with the global goals and we will pursue it with everything we’ve got,” he said.

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OCTOBER 4, 2020 ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

SOCIETY WATCH

Top Socialite Folasade Abiodun Omotade Remarries

Bello

Jumrash’s Boss, Hajia Fatima Bello’s Rising Profile For Hajia Fatima Bello Azeez, the brains behind the thriving Jumrash in Lagos, making other women headturners, particularly at social gatherings, is a passion. Call her the queen of aso oke and you won’t be wrong, especially as her brand is synonymous with class and elegance.

This may not be surprising considering the fact that the business was launched by her grandmother, who passed it on to her mother and now the savvy Fatima and her sister.

Since she took over the business, she has injected a lot of creativity and exciting concepts into it, such as designing lace, voile lace, sequins, crystals, Ankara motifs, silk ankara, men and women Senegalese, men’s outfits, bling on also oke, ankara, T-shirts, laces, glasses, silk and chiffon and bridal accessories.

Fashionable Hajia, owing to the boom, has had to open two outlets around Lagos, including a store in Lekki Phase 1 to satisfy the yearning of her growing clientele.

In doing the business, she takes into consideration the social status of her varied customers, a situation that ensures that her designers do not come at cutthroat prices.

Jumrash, a derivative from the names of her two children, Jumoke and Rasheed who died in an auto crash, is known for styling many celebrity women and socialites. She also consults for some first ladies across the country.

From the sidelines of an event in Lagos recently, she told Society Watch, “Since taking over the brand 12 years ago, we have tried to stand out by customizing our designs, which come out well on both the soft and the hard aso oke.

“Secondly, our ideas are usually very different and creative and our clients buy into it once we share it with them. We note that each client has a different concept, so our concepts are not replicated.”

When asked what has changed from the time of her grandmother and now, she explained, “Nothing much has changed in the aso oke trend as the hard and soft aso oke, which is available now, have always been what is available. But only those preferences differ. A case study is the Yoruba who like the hard aso oke, while the northerners prefer the soft one.”

When she lost her husband, Olaseni Omotade, who was a Federal Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industries and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, in the illfated Belview Airlines flight on October 22, 2005, her world came crashing. For years, the Abuja businesswoman was almost inconsolable.

But about 15 years after the death of her late husband, Omotade once again gave marriage a second shot when she walked down the aisle with the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu.

At the colourful occasion, which was graced by family members, friends and well-wishers at her Banana Island, Lagos home on Saturday, Shina Peters, a legendary juju musician, entertained the guests to the admiration of all.

The highly connected businesswoman and socialite, who clocked 57 last July, has been in the corridors of power in Abuja since the late Gen. Sani Abacha days as Head of State.

The Ogun State-born socialite has investments in oil and gas as well as banking and manufacturing. She is also a regular face at Aso Rock Presidential Villa.

It will be recalled that shortly after the death of her former husband, the mother of three ( Oyinkansola, Taiwo and Kehinde Ayooluwa Omotade) began to have a running battle with her husband’s other wife, Grace Omotade, who also had three children for their late husband namely, Oluwafumilayo, Oluwaseun and Onikepo.

Grace claimed she was the only wife of the deceased, but packed out of her matrimonial home in annoyance when her late husband, in his prime, brought in Folasade whom she viewed as his mistress.

However, Society Watch gathered that as of the time Olaseni died, Folasade, who was the only woman then in the house, allegedly cornered all the properties and embarked on asset stripping, disposing all the properties and assets of the late Olaseni without the knowledge of Grace.

The bubble, however, burst when she attempted to dispose of the family

George

property at 5A and 5B, Kayode Alli Street, Omole Phase I, Ikeja, Lagos.

Grace got a hint of the development and approached the court via a Suit No: ID/183M/2006 seeking an order restraining and preventing Folasade and her agents from selling, disposing of and or leasing the property at Omole Phase I and an order directing and or mandating the registrar of the court and or the Deputy Sheriff to put the property under lock and key and deposit same with the court pending the determination of the case.

The order was granted by Justice Williams Dawodu on July 10, 2006, wherein the judge ordered that parties would maintain the status quo pending

the determination of the interlocutory application.

But Folashade allegedly went ahead to sell the said property in defiance of the court order for N55 million to Mr. Raphael Adeyemi and Mrs. Abimbola Aina, prompting the claimant to institute contempt of court proceedings against her.

In a swift reaction, the multimillionaire oil and gas magnate argued that the house belonged to her and that she purchased it at the sum of N60m. She said Grace was a concubine and faulted her claim that she was Omotade’s only wife, challenging her to produce legal proof of the marriage.

Ex Oyo Governor, Alao Akala, Steps into the Big Shoes

Akala

When the former Governor of Oyo State, Isiaka Ajimobi, died recently, it was indeed a great loss to his entire political family, All Progressives Congress, APC. His passing, quite expectedly, brought about intrigues and face-off, that

threatened the unity in the party.

But it appears the warring factions have sheathed their swords and peace is gradually returning to the party, as more members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State have embraced the reconciliation efforts of the committee led by Adebayo Alao-Akala, a former governor of the state.

Until now, many analysts had predicted that Alao-Akala would not be allowed to step into the Ajimobi’s shoes because of his antecedents.

But a reconciliation meeting called

by Alao-Akala recently in his Bodija, Ibadan home was attended by leaders and members across the blocs.

By this, it is believed that his return to the APC has now conferred on him,ipso facto, leader of the party in the state.

He now superintends all internal wrangling, squabbles and other activities of the party in the state, thus he is regarded as

the Chairman of the party in the state.

It will be recalled that he first defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the Labour Party in 2015.

He had left the PDP after he lost the governorship ticket to Senator Folarin.

Following the 2015 election in which he contested on the platform of the Labour Party ticket, he again shifted base to the APC ,where he stayed until his defection to the ADP. It will also be recalled Alao-Akala was one of the aspirants who cried out against alleged moves by the the governor, Ajimobi to foist Joseph Tegbe as APC candidate- but it was a failed attempt.

Also, his defection to APC prior to 2019 election had made tongues to wag about his political ideology.

In the wake of this development, it is said that the move has further confirmed his desperation for power and political relevance.

OCTOBER 4, 2020 ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

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LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

HealthPlus Saga - Bukky George’s Naivety

George

THEO PHILLIP – NIGERIA IS A WOBBLING EDIFICE I wrote this on October 1 and I am wondering if I should at least wait for the President’s address to see if I can get some content for the writeup. But my people, I no dey in the mood for we are fighting corruption talk, make I no depress myself that morning. I really try my best not to join the ‘Nigeria is a terrible place’ gang. I will always want to look at the positives and push for progress.

It is easy for all of us to be jumping on the rooftops and be shouting Nigeria is bad, the government is terrible and we are dead like my friend Theo will be doing at the Duke Summit. Don’t get me wrong o. Theo is a true patriot but just pained that the country due to terrible leadership has not been able to fulfil its destiny. He rides his power bike all over the slums especially Ijora where he runs a huge signage business. Theo is a big man, can pass for a US marine but can’t count the number of times he has parked his bike by the bridge to rescue the hapless girl from being raped by urchins that have been left behind by the system. Theo is torn between a promise made to him at birth and the larceny he sees daily.

He is moved to tears for his country while still struggling to maintain optimism. Theo is a Nigerian through and through; a proud one at that; a Nigerian who

Phillip

As an investment banker, I understand the role of a private equity infusion into a business. So all these stories that have emerged from this wahala are not novel.

I have heard that the foreign equity firm had infused about $18m into the business and had taken a controlling stake. You see the problem with our people is just stupidity and ego-driven madness.

How for the life of me will you take money in forex, expose yourself to currency volatility, earn naira and then buy back forex at a funny price to pay back on an equity-based transaction? Wait o, you have not factored in doubledigit inflation, the inelasticity of your pricing and all other Nigerian factors plus leakages and high cost of running a business that the government will be chasing you with multiple and triple-layered

taxation. If it is not an ego-driven gambit, I don’t know what else is.

So today, the people who I hear have 95% of the company want to appoint their managing director and we are crying crocodile tears.

The statements that I have seen allegedly issued by madam are at best funny. They are like the things your wife will use to abuse you when you refuse to pay for her latest aso ebi – ‘are you a man, shebi you slept with the maid 40 years ago and I forgave you’. So the woman is shouting that the newly appointed MD begged her to carry his anti-malaria drugs. Mbok, how that one concern wetin dey for ground beats my imagination o.

I think mummy should just go back home and retain her position on the board and allow the people to manage the thing and collect back their money according to

the terms of the agreement that was signed. This is where I have a problem with the Nigerian Stock Exchange. They are not doing enough, oga Oscar. Nigerians should be able to raise these funds on your platform very easily. It is not to be wearing suit and tie and be gallivanting all over the place giving highfalutin speeches.

Practically engage the markets, we can raise all these equity funds by involving Nigerians. After all, the Big Brother fans raise millions in minutes for their favourites who were kicked out. That is on the side.

But seriously, our promoters should look towards the stock exchange and forget about the ego - na me get am - and issue shares and raise the funds. Mbok what is $18m that is making mummy want to run naked into the Lagos lagoon? Bitter lessons learnt.

with his bike has traversed the ends of the country, enjoying all the beautiful plains of the Sahel and the rain forest of the creeks. But in the beauty, Theo meets despondence, a failure to assert true nationality by a defeated people. So you can see why there is really no need to listen to the president’s broadcast, a routine and a waste of time. The speaker will rather not indulge but reluctantly will engage in a ceremony of shallow sense of duty.

Will Theo listen to the broadcast?

Please don’t ask me. If you are so curious, I will give you his phone number to call and ask. For me, I dey go Onigbongbo go eat afang.

Life is short.

queue and do our thing and go.

So this day, an old man had come in and took his tally and waited patiently. That is how boys were coming and going after settling.

After waiting for hours, the conji took over. He jumped up and started smashing things, screaming: “Do you want to kill somebody.

I have been here since morning and people have been coming and going, when will it be my turn?”

After smashing everything in sight, he started crying and holding his erection. Later on, they took pity on him and asked him to enter. He thanked them profusely. You see what conji can do to a man. Conji has no respect for status, senator or president, once conji hold you, you must deal with it o. My advice to the senator na next time instead wey he go slap person and receive disgrace wey don cost am N50m, he for just enter the next HealthPlus shop and buy Vaseline. Those who know, know. I don talk, beat me.

he will tell me the colour of my mother’s pant na. I listened to that conversation, that commissioner is just a bitter character who used the opportunity of the call to be insulting His Excellency albeit sarcastically with oga just shouting oh! and argh! The commissioner kept on complaining about how others were ‘chopping’ and he as commissioner could not pay his children’s fees. Please, those kinds of people should be left alone in their bitterness. Engaging them is an exercise in futility I tell you.

Oga next time, you for ask Tam Alazigha, he is my man and close to you, he for give you better advice. Kai.

SENATOR ELISHA ABBO – MY ADVICE NEXT TIME It was reported last week that a court awarded N50m damages against the distinguished Senator who was said to have assaulted a lady while trying to get sex toys.

So they said. Well, I understand the feeling very well. That is what they call ‘conji’ in Shomolu. When the thing catch you, you cannot think straight again o. The erection will just be controlling you until you release, you are not the same again o, senator or no senator. Let me give you guys one gist. There used to be a small brothel in Shomolu with just three rooms. So you will collect tally. Those of us that had sense would settle and jump the

Dickson

EX-GOV DICKSON’S POOR DECISION Be like say them no advise His Excellency well. How for heaven’s sake would you go and be engaging the ‘help’ of a former commissioner when he is not under your control anymore?

Going to call a commissioner that had resigned in frustration when you are no longer a governor is a no-no! Be like make I go call my driver after I have sacked him,

Abb

OLAITAN JACKSON – BEARING WIFE’S DEATH WITH FORTITUDE Ola lost his wife on Wednesday.

He has joined me in mourning and I tell you, it is not a good place to be. I went to visit him and he was trying to be a man. How can you be a man when the only woman that made sense to you just left you that morning? That was what happened to Ola; she left that morning just like that. Ola is weak. Ola must cry. He cried small and I cried with him. We grew up together in Shomolu playing in the gutters of that beautiful slum and we went to Unilag together and then, he just lost his wife. Hold body, my brother, as we talk in Shomolu, only God knows why.

T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R ˾ Ͳ˜ 2020

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ENTERTAINMENT

BBNaija Winner Laycon: The Portrait of a Winner here is a sharp contrast between the young man who walked into the Big Brother Naija House on July 19 and the young man who stood on the stage on Wednesday, September 30, to receive his prizes as the winner of the fifth season of the reality show.

The latter is a man of confidence. A man who is no longer intimidated by the good looks or physique of his fellow housemates. The 70 days spent in the isolated Big Brother Naija House with 19 strangers have transformed him from an unknown artiste to the most talked about star of the reality show.

Before joining the game, Laycon was known to a small circle of artistes. To the rest of us, he was another young chap, looking for an opportunity to fame and wealth.

After feasting eyes on the chiselled bodies of some of the male contestants of the show at the launch, not a few expressed dismay and pity when Laycon, dressed in an illuminated jacket was introduced.

He was immediately cast as an oddball in the mix. However, those blessed with foresight, saw in him a rising star, a young man whose fate was about to change.

His demeanour in the first few hours of the show betrayed his self-confidence. He was mostly on his own but he overcame it the moment he began to rap for his fellow housemates. Music, it turned out, was his magic pill. It boosted his buoyancy.

That boost transcended to the social media world where the denizens lauded his rap skills.

Music artistes who had worked with him used the opportunity to celebrate him, sharing the music videos that went viral and fetched admiration for him.

Like every other contestant who participated in the Lockdown edition of the reality show, Laycon has a mission. He wanted to promote his music through the platform. This explained why he sang and rapped most times in the house. It was no wonder that he often won music-related tasks.

While his focus was on music, he wasn’t

T

From being the underdog that entered the Big Brother Naija House to becoming the iconic winner of the fifth edition, Olamilekan Agbeleshe, fondly known as Laycon, exemplifies the typical grass-to-grace story. Vanessa Obioha profiles the latest Big Brother Naija star blinded to the beauties surrounding him. Thus, when the disqualified female housemate Erica, paid him little attention, Laycon was amused.

The amusement turned to affection such that when Kiddwaya, the rich kid in the house came into the picture, he wasn’t chuffed.

His vexation was badly masked and Vee, his closest friend in the house, advised him to move on.

The love triangle would dissolve whatever friendship they had, leading to an altercation that led to the disqualification of Erica.

But men being men, Laycon and Kiddwaya would later resolve their differences and remain friends.

That episode, he said at the show’s finale, taught him a lesson.

Throughout his stay in the house, Laycon was in the good books of his housemates. Probably because of his frolicsome mien and creativity.

Though he never won the Head of House title, he enjoyed the exclusive bedroom and lounge during his reign as deputy to TrikyTee. His popularity became glaring after his hardcore fans who labelled themselves the Icons saved him each time he was placed on the eviction block. He ranked the housemate with the highest number of votes each time the voting results were released.

Thus, it was no surprise that in the final voting round, he gave the first runner-up a wide margin, scoring 60 per cent votes to Dorathy’s 21.85 per cent.

Hearing his name being announced as the winner of the show last Sunday nearly sent the graduate of Philosophy from the University of

Lagos to the heavens. He screamed and even hopped on the back of the host Ebuka ObiUchendu like a little boy in euphoria.

Forty-eight hours after his emergence as winner of the show, Laycon is still dazed. At the televised prize presentation event, he groped for words to express his disposition.

“I love you guys very much. You are the best.

Thank you very much,” he said.

By the standards of many, Laycon does not fit the title of a winner. The coveted title and the N85 million grand prize should have gone to any of the good-looking housemates.

Not a few have pondered on what made Laycon tick. If you have, there is no better explanation than the gift of uncommon grace. Arguably, sympathy also worked in his favour, particularly after Erica bodyshamed him. The internet exploded with calls for his win after that ugly incident.

It was a good thing that Laycon suppressed his emotions and embraced the golden warmth of silence. That singular action drew more fans to him.

Now that he is crowned the winner of the fifth season of the popular reality TV show, Laycon should endeavour to make his fans proud by becoming an iconic role model. His fans would love to see him excel in his passion and not fade into oblivion. He should carry that torch of sanguinity in everything he does. It’s a good thing that he is not spilling his future endeavours. At least, that way, he can still wield an element of surprise.

ARTS & REVIEW A

PUBLICATION

04.10.2020

COLOURFUL GLIMPSES OF NIGERIA’S SARTORIAL HISTORY Cover continued on Page 56 A work at the exhibition

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ OCTOBER 4, 2020

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ARTS & REVIEW\\ARTICLES

COLOURFUL GLIMPSES OF NIGERIA’S SARTORIAL HISTORY A commemorative exhibition, organised by the Lagos-based Terra Kulture in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, seeks to reconstruct the Nigerian identity through the dress codes of its diverse cultural groups in the pre-independence years. Okechukwu Uwaezuoke reports

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ith its lustrous cultural credentials, Terra Kulture seems best positioned – as the most appropriate Lagos-based venue – for the hosting of a commemorative exhibition on Nigeria's diamond jubilee.

And the idea of partnering with the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture for this landmark event distinguishes it from other independencethemed art events. As for the local aficionados and the cultural centre’s habitués, the exhibition – whose yesterday’s (Saturday, October 3) grand opening was strictly by invitation – remains open until Saturday, October 31. This is, of course, in addition to the fact that it already has regaled the A work portraying an Igbo costume A Yoruba female traditional dress megacity’s Independence Day country rich in culture, and we are showcasing differing revellers with a public preview on Thursday, October 1. expressions of our culture through the evolution of our Titled Nigeria's Journey: Cycles of Fashion, this is only fashion. In this way, we invite you to don new lenses the first among a series of multimedia visual offerings, that allow us to see the metamorphosis of Nigerian which have been packaged by the cultural centre for this fashion from the nation-state’s coming into being till jubilee. These curated shows are supposedly meant to independence. You will be immersed in an audio-visual examine the sociocultural influences that have influenced experience that stimulates multiple senses, as we explore – and still influence – the shaping of a national identity yet another facet of the Nigerian story, our Cycles of from the mosaic of cultural groups that make up Africa’s Fashion!” most populous country.

Yet, such reenactments of Nigeria's pre-independence Its appropriation of fashion – defined by the free online history from 1900 to 1960 through its diverse cultural encyclopaedia Wikipedia as “the social and temporal communities’ dress codes are usually fraught with system that ‘activates’ dress as a social signifier in a nebulous glossing over of historical inaccuracies. An certain time and context” – can easily be explained by obvious reason for this is the fact that so much has been its intrinsic association with culture. Hence, the sartorial lost in the dark recesses of an undocumented past. tastes of Nigeria’s diverse cultural groups have become Take, for instance, the popular Igbo cultural costume, synonymous with their identities. called “Isi Agu” (which translates as “leopard’s head”).

“Terra Kulture is committed to telling Nigerian stories It representation – or substitution? – with a garment and this exhibition affords another opportunity to do so,” adorned with the motif of roaring lion heads raises a says Mrs Bolanle Austen-Peters, the Terra Kulture CEO question of authenticity. For the Igbo-speaking areas of as well as the project’s executive producer. “Ours is a

One of the works at the exhibition Nigeria are primarily located in lowland forest regions of Nigeria, where lions are virtually non-existent. That is especially since these felines are known to hunt in grasslands and woodlands and not in rainforests.

Besides, the so-called “Isi agu”, whose popularity was only as recent as the 1970s, could not have been that widely-used among the Igbo people during the preindependence years.

It is, of course, expected that the curators – Oludamola Adebowale and Yakubu Yahaya – could have factored in these concerns, among others, while putting together the month-long show. Yet, unearthing the diversity of the country’s cultural heritage through such a presentation has definitely been no cakewalk. Adebowale – described as “quite knowledgeable on Nigerian history and cultural heritage” – seems to be the more familiar name of the curatorial duo. As the show’s leading curator, he has been commissioned by the Ogun State Government to curate its 2019 African Drum Festival as well as by Chief Ebenezer Obey and the British Council. He also curated Time-

VISUAL ARTS

In Atunbi, Kunle Adewale Tells it All Yinka Olatunbosun

A

s a build-up to his 40th birthday ceremony in 2021, the visual artist and an international advocate for Arts in Medicine, Kunle Adewale launched his new memoir, Atunbi: The Grit, The Gut, The Glory on October 1. The memoir gives a deeply emotional account of the artist's journey to international limelight from very humble beginnings. Born on May 13, 1981 to a military father and a petty trading mother, Adewale is the ninth of 14 children, who were raised in Mushin in a single-room tenement building. But, he refused to be confined by the setbacks in his childhood and struggled against harsh socio-economic realities that made him stronger.

In his introduction to the book, the artist-author revealed the reason behind documenting his childhood in a most unapologetic narrative.

“Though I have largely evolved from these past versions of me, they remain sordid and solid parts of the man I am today,” he says. “And for you to truly connect with and be inspired by and learn from this

global artist whom John Cranley, the Mayor of Cincinnati, USA honoured in August 2019 and officially proclaimed August 2 as an annual Kunle Adewale Day, you need to be aware of my past, see the connecting dots to your own life and find the courage to defy every odd that is stacked against you.”

From being homeless to living the hard life as a street hawkers, Adewale has been the leading light in Arts in Medicine. Atunbi is indeed a story of resilience and focus.

He has founded three different organisations namely Tender Hearts Nigeria, Arts in Medicine project as well as Arts in Medicine Fellowship. The latter helps to groom a wide range of professionals in Arts and healthcare to develop requisite skills required to provide services beyond clinical treatments.

In Atunbi, Adewale bears it all on being raised in a polygamous home and surviving an abusive father. The writer claimed in the account that he had contemplated suicide several times as a child because of the traumatic impact of seeing his father beat up his mother. His journey into art was also almost thwarted by his father and grandfather who detested his use of the left hand.

Atunbi is an inspirational story rendered in an easy language to widen the agebracket of readers, who will enjoy this monumental rise to glory story.

less Memories: The Humanity of WS, an exhibition whose opening coincided with Professor Wole Soyinka’s 86th birthday. As his co-curator, Yahaya reminds the viewers that this exhibition is a part of a series, which coalesce into one pictorial cultural story of Nigeria.

The exhibition, which will be open daily between 10 am and 7 pm until its conclusion at the end of the month, is being supported by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, ECOBANK, The History Studios, Guardian Life, Abiola Philips and ASIRI Magazine, The BEAT 99.9 FM, Classic 97.3 FM. In his endorsement of the exhibition, The History Studio’s Timi Onibon says: “As we define ourselves as a people and continue to introduce ourselves to the world, understanding who we were and are gives us the tools to tell our own true and authentic stories. Cycles of Fashion is the first in a series of exhibitions by Terra Kulture and we at The History Studios are excited to be supporting this effort.”

Somehow, this endeavour chimes in well with the Terra Kulture’s profile as an educational and recreational organisation set up to promote the richness and diversity of Nigerian languages, arts and culture.

The venue – which though was established in 2003, but started operations in 2004 – is undisputedly the city’s main cultural hub.

For it has not only hosted several art exhibitions but also stage productions and book readings, among other events.

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CICERO

Editor:Olawale Olaleye Email:wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com, SMS: 08116759819

IN THE ARENA

Nigeria: Surviving the Next 60 Years Sustained by extraordinary human resilience and inexplicable hope over the past six decades, will the Nigerian state survive the crude, cavalier notes being played on its delicate keyboards for another 60 years? Louis Achi asks

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ooking back at the dark history that seared his era and peering into the future of mankind, the former French president, Giscard D’Estaing, counseled statesmen and world leaders that, “There can be no response to history without effort.”

D’Estaing’s sage counsel was clearly inspired by the tableau of human crises that defined his epoch.

He was born during the First World War and fought in the second bloody global conflagration.

As Nigeria marked the 60th anniversary of its independence from Britain last Thursday, the quality and scope of response of the nation’s leaders to her peculiar history over the decades come to the fore.

Tracking back, 60 years ago, on October 1, 1960, through the instrumentality of an Act of the British Parliament, Nigeria became a sovereign, independent state within the British Commonwealth. But before this, some 46 years earlier in 1914, an important prelude to the October 1st 1960 event took place – the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria.

This Act by British colonialist, Sir Fredrick Lord Lugard, enabled the coming into existence of a federating state called Nigeria. Nigeria’s sovereign independence proper came into force, as it were, on October 1st 1960 and in 1963, she became a republic.

It is worth noting that between 1914 and 1960, several significant events also helped in shaping the African, nay the Nigerian growth. These include the World War 2 and the Cold War. One of Africa’s greatest nationalists, Nnamdi Azikiwe was appointed Nigeria’s governor-general while Tafawa Balewa continued as head of democratically elected sovereign government. Zik represented the British monarch as head of state and was appointed by the crown on the advice of the Nigerian prime minister in consultation with the regional premiers.

Zik, in turn, was responsible for picking a candidate from among contending leaders, when there was no parliamentary majority. Beyond this, the governor general’s office was essentially ceremonial. But Nigeria, both as an idea whose time had come and a fragile dream, was off the starting block.

The founding visioners of modern Nigeria are easily allocated the space reserved for national saints in evaluating the nation’s history. This is not without good reason.

Some of these folks include Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sardauna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Mallam Aminu Kano, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Chief Mokwugo Okoye and a host of other venerable personalities. Every human enterprise must have its dreamers and visioners.

The folks that rose to the occasion and did the spadework for the start-off and consummation of the Nigeria project, measured by these parameters, form the heart of the brilliant firmament of the nation’s heroes. As soon as the new nation was born, its citizens were set to embark on the journey. But shortly, the forces of separatism and regression kicked in to alter the colour and tenor of the national journey.

The complex political crises that ensued, willy-nilly, led to the first military coup and then on to a bloody secession attempt by Biafra. This was eventually put down but then the military had tasted power and would again and again intervene to ‘steady’ the ship of state.

Beyond the ‘metaphysics’ of nation building, to the credit of its peoples and leaders, it remains one entity despite powerful forces that have challenged its growth and severely tested its spirit.

Buhari at Independence Day parade Eight military regimes succeeded, beginning from 1966, interspersed between the fourth and fifth military regime by a return to civilian rule with the Second Republic between October 1979 and December 1983.

The final military regime left power on May 29, 1999, when the current fourth Republic was incepted and the president was democratically elected.” This riveting history continues as the nation marked its diamond anniversary, after 21 years of uninterrupted civil rule last week.

Given its geo-strategic heft and being Africa’s demographic and natural resources centre of gravity, much of the world rightly believed Nigeria ought to lead the journey of transformative change on the continent. They also strongly believed that she ought to provide the leadership to raise Africa to her next level.

But then charity must begin at home.

Today, the stakes are extremely high. Nigerians are mindful that a failure to achieve democratic stability, through a meritorious, transparent, inclusive governance process may imperil the country’s future as a coherent state.

Given the current debatably unprecedented, divisive milieu, can Nigeria really survive the next six decades of its national journey or will it break up as many countries have done on the seven continents.

Matthew Kukah, bishop of the Catholic diocese in Sokoto, cuts to the heart of the current dilemma, when he spoke at The Platform, an annual conference organised by Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos, on Thursday.

“I think even the most optimistic Nigerian must conceive that we are nowhere near coming to define the real sense of

democracy – beyond just going through the process of cycles of election. This president (Buhari) in my view in the last few years has made it very difficult for us to celebrate diversity.

“And Nigerians will concede that a reward system that is so skewed, whether in favour of men, women, Christians or Muslims, is unacceptable. We need to very quickly reset the template if we are to take our place after 60 years of independence… I am not a happy Nigerian but I remain a hopeful Nigerian.”

President Buhari has promised transformative governance and a pan-Nigerian vision but the regime’s challenges are high – ranging from galloping insecurity, nose-diving economy (negatively impacted by global oil volatility and the COVID-19 pandemic) to the new nationalism sweeping Europe and North America) and more. His historic mission to build a modern, stable democratic state founded on justice, equity and fair play remains a work in debatable progress.

It may be asked: what natural forces compel diverse social groups to unify in pursuit of common goals? Around what particular formats or templates do nation-states evolve? What forces aid the breakup of nation states? The story of Nigeria as a seemingly evolving multi-ethnic nation-state that just turned 60, looking to the next sixty years, keys into these timeless posers.

Will the nation’s grasping political elite and its divisive leadership be able to look beyond the compelling challenges and take focused action? Can they rise to the occasion, learn from their failures and make the imperative efforts to respond to history?

Can Nigeria survive the next six decades?

The Dutch philosopher, Spinoza answers: “Man has the ability to shape his own destiny.” So do nations!

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

How Not to Justify Subsidy Removal

T Buhari

here is a shared conviction amongst a majority of the right-thinking Nigerians that the subsidy regime is no longer sustainable and as such, must be ended for two critical reasons. One, to stop the drain it has created on the nation’s resources and two, obliterate the scam it has enabled as a result.

Thus, top government functionaries especially those whose sectors of the economy are directly related to the ‘hard choice’ of removing subsidy on petrol have since taken to town to speak to the decision, albeit with familiar narratives that address common sense and patriotism.

But President Muhammadu Buhari literally made a mess of these efforts, when in his 60thindependence anniversary speech he committed a needless and avoidable gaffe. In trying to cap the justification for subsidy removal, the president, who compared prices of petrol in some of the oil producing countries concluded by saying, “It makes no sense for oil to be cheaper in Saudi Arabia than in Nigeria.”

The statement not only belies logic, it is also innate and not smart. There’s no basis for comparison between the two countries. From their minimum wages to purchasing powers and other economic indices, it is simply comparing apples and oranges. Sticking to a simple narrative or argument that is commonplace would have saved everyone the Independence Day embarrassment.

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BRIEFINGNOTES Remembering the Labours of Nigeria’s Past Heroes With citizens’ general apathy towards the nation’s 60th independence anniversary, the question has become relevant: have the labours of Nigeria’s heroes past not gone in vain? Shola Oyeyipo writes

T

he fifth line of the nation’s national anthem is very instructive as it recognises the contributions of the country’s founding fathers and also the “fear” that their efforts might actually be wasted by those who were to come after them.

The line says: “The labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain.”

However, as the nation marks its Diamond Jubilee, it was one of the most muted landmark celebrations in the history of the country. And the reasons for this are not really far-fetched.

In fact, those who are conversant with the social media, especially Facebook, would notice a trending message, though different as per individual’s writing style, to the effect that fellow Nigerians should not wish them happy independence anniversary.

The feeling of emotional loyalty to one’s country is at its lowest as many do not feel their country actually has anything to offer them in terms of hope and aspirations.

In the same vein and for the first time, during the build-up to a major milestone in the history of the country, ethnic nationalism gained some very disturbing currency. There were fears that ethnic nationalists would use the opportunity of the 60th independence anniversary to realise their ambition of pulling out of Nigeria and forming a country of their own.

R-L: Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa and Sir Ahmadu Bello For instance, those rooting for Oduduwa Republic (mainly from the Yorubabeen destroyed. The new and recent leaders never nation get through a looming economic disaster. speaking part of the country) had threatened to built on what our founding fathers laid down.

Thirty-four years later, the Naira has not only declare the new republic on October 1, the day the The commitment is not there. Take Lagos State, become one of the weakest currencies among nation was marking such an important milestone. for instance, how many of the legacies of former Africa’s elite nations, it has always faced a free day As a result, instead of government getting citizens Lateef Jakande, have been built upon by these new against the dollar. What this means is that there is a to be involved in the celebrations, it was more leaders? It is sad to do this but the labours of these massive drop in citizens’ purchasing power. concerned with ensuring there was no breakdown founding fathers have been wasted.”

How do you get a people not sure of their next of law and order on that day.

He added that people didn’t see any reason to meal to have a sense of nationhood and be part of For instance, as early as 6:30am at the popular celebrate the 60th independence anniversary with an epochal independence anniversary?

Fajuyi Park in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, government. He said it was government’s show The Bureau of Statistics has stopped issues a combined team of regular police, mobile police alone. of economic indices, especially as it relates to and the Department of State Security, DSS, had “Ordinarily, people were supposed to print unemployment, due to the fact that releasing such taken positions around the park and also along banners, t-shirts, caps and so on and even go to figures is considered embarrassing to the governmajor roads that lead to the park. the stadium and be part of the celebrations. But ment.

Mission: to forestall any form of protest from that was not the case on this last October 1. And And in the build-up to the 60th independence ethnic nationalism agitators. According to the reason was that people didn’t see any reason to anniversary celebration, the government practiTHISDAY findings, this was replicated in many celebrate. cally removed fuel subsidy and the cheapest any state capitals in the Southwest as well as in the “To them, the nation has not offered them anyNigeria can buy fuel is N159 per litre. Not that Southeast. thing and even there is nothing positive to look alone, the tariff on electricity went up by about 40 The implication was that many citizens never forward to. So, what did we see? A citizenry that per cent. In fact, the government spent the greater saw themselves as being part of the epochal event was so disconnected from those governing them,” part of the week leading to the October 1 celebraof a Diamond Jubilee in nationhood.

Oluwaferanmi lamented. tion, negotiating with organised Labour not to go Sola Oluwaferanmi, a civil servant, who works Years of bad governance have not also helped on strike. Agreement was not reached until a few with one of the nation’s paramilitary agencies, said matters, as there is this inexplicable notion among hours to the date. it is shame to admit but to him, the labours of these Nigerians that the last government was always It was not the best way to prepare for such an founding fathers have been wasted. He told THIS- better than the current one. epochal event.

DAY that none of the modern leaders has seen any When the Babangida military regime first devalGovernment officials will always paint a rosy need to keep the banner of nation building aloft. ued the naira in 1986 and set up the Second Tier picture of a nation on the right track. But to many “The labour of our heroes past has been in vain.

Foreign Exchange Market, SFEM, the thinking was Nigerians, they won’t like reciting the fifth line of What those men and women laboured for has that it would be short term measure to help the the national anthem. It does not minister again.

NOTES FOR FILE

In the Throes of Scams

ICPC Boss, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye

It appears the government of the day has just secured a new status for itself, which though is not a fabrication of anyone’s imagination, however, a reflection of the reality that currently typifies its disposition to governance and leadership.

For a government that rose to power on the strength of the fight against corruption or any form of sleaze, the rate at which allegations of corruption have been flying around lately is not only disturbing but calls for serious introspection.

First, since the airports reopened to international flights, the management of the Civid-19 tests for passengers has been fraught with allegations of scams. Not only are passengers compelled to pay the charges for service not rendered, they now pay in multiple places without clarity as to who is

in charge. And this has gone on for too long, complicated by government’s criminal silence.

Second, the government has been everywhere lately boasting about its invincible feeding of school pupils during the lockdown period, an assertion that has raised concerns amongst the people as to who was being fed and where. But the matter embraced a semblance of clarity lately, when the ICPC, a sister anti-graft body reportedly traced N2.6billion of the school feeding fund to a private account.

Yet, the Muhammadu Buhari government has since kept mute as usual, pretending not to be aware of the goings-on in his government. Curiously, the minister in charge of humanitarian services has dissociated herself from the scam.

Perhaps, this is one of the surprises of the government to the people on the nation’s 60th independence anniversary.

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila

Challenges of Nation Building At 60 years, many of Nigeria’s challenges at nation building are still very much present, writes Tobi Soniyi

O

n Thursday, October 1st, 2020 Nigeria celebrated 60 years of independence from Britain. While some believed there wasn’t much to celebrate, others were upbeat, believing that the country has not done too badly.

But there’s a common denominator: all seemed to agree that the same challenges abound even though they disagreed on how to tackle them. One of such challenges is the reality that at 60, the Nigerian people are still debating whether to continue as a country or that the county should break into different nations.

This much was recently admitted by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, (SAN), while speaking at a church service to commemorate the nation’s independence anniversary. He said: “Fortunately, for us, our walls are not yet broken. But there are obvious cracks that could lead to a break if not properly addressed.”

Before the vice president spoke, former president Olusegun Obasanjo, had last month declared that, “Nigeria is fast drifting to a failed and badly divided state. Economically, our country is becoming a basket case and poverty capital of the world, and socially, we are firming up as an unwholesome and insecure country.”

At 60, therefore, Nigeria faces an existential threat.

Many factors are responsible for this, but a few of them are brought into focus to commemorate the nation’s 60th independence anniversary celebration.

Challenges in Diversity

Right from the beginning, it was obvious that the geographical area now known as Nigeria was not going to be easy to manage. Nigeria is home to over 250 ethnic groups, with over 500 languages, and a variety of customs, and traditions. Thus, bringing people of different cultures, religions and beliefs together was a great challenge.

This much was realised by the colonialists. They had to adopt different styles in administering the areas.

This is because Nigeria’s diversity comes with its own challenges. Building a nation out of these heterogeneous communities would prove to be a tough job. Even though the British understood this dichotomy, they still thought it wise to bring people of different cultural backgrounds together.

A Leadership Deficit

During the struggles for independence, it became obvious that managing the nation’s diversity would not be easy. It wasn’t that the challenge posed by this diversity could not be managed. The problem, as it turned out, was getting leaders, who could manage it well.

It might be wrong therefore to blame a particular leader for the nation’s failures to get it right as some had attempted to do. Till date, every tribe continues to justify the roles played or not played by its leaders. Most countries that got it right at the early stage of their development have their leaders to thank. Nigeria’s leaders failed to agree among themselves on a developmental agenda. The result is what the people still contend with today.

This leadership deficit remains and will continue to be a factor in Nigeria’s developmental trajectory. When other countries speak glowingly of how their leaders made the required sacrifices so that their countries could develop, Nigerians continue to bemoan the absence of leadership in their country.

Several Military Interregnums

Perhaps, if the civilians were left alone, they might have been able to resolve their differences. But greedy men in uniforms masquerading as saviours took over power and used it to further their own interest, entrench corruption and widen the fault lines among the people, who were still struggling to understand themselves.

Beginning from the first military coup d’état of January 15, 1966, to the November 17, 1993, when the Armed Forces, headed by Defence Minister, General Sani Abacha, forced Interim President, Chief Ernest Shonekan to resign, Nigeria had suffered irreparable damages from the aftermath.

Between 1966 and 1999, the army held power in Nigeria without interruption apart from a short-lived return to democracy between 1979 and 1983. Out of the four presidents the country has had since 1999, two were former military rulers. Since military rule is antithetical to the rule of law, building a nation, where citizens can realise their dreams has been very difficult.

Unending Scourge of Corruption

For many, this is one singular factor that has dealt the most devastating blow to the efforts to build Nigeria as a nation. While it is difficult to blame corruption alone for Nigeria’s failure, there is no denying the destructive impact of sleaze in building the Nigerian nation.

In 2012, Nigeria was estimated to have lost over

$400 billion to corruption since independence. In 2018, the country ranked 144th in the 180 countries listed in Transparency International’s Corruption Index.

Oil Discovery and the Fate of Nigeria

Transparency International (TI) once claimed that the political consequences of oil-driven wealth in Nigeria, “has been an excessive centralisation of power, authoritarianism, a disregard for agriculture and manufacturing, the non-pursuit of internal taxation, and the development of pervasive patronage and rent-seeking cultures.” The summary says it all. In 2019, Corruption in Nigeria: patterns and trends a survey on corruption as experienced by the population jointly carried out by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), estimated that some 117 million bribes are paid in Nigeria on a yearly basis, the equivalent of 1.1 bribes per adult. There are many statistics out there showing how much havoc that corruption has since wreaked on Nigeria.

Followers as a Problem

Every four years, politicians go round to ask for votes and the voters continue to elect those, who lack the capacity to make the difference only to turn around and blame the same leaders they elected. Many people above the voting age would not bother registering to vote.

Those who registered would not come out to vote during elections. They will, however, take to the social media to deride the country.

Professor of political economy and management expert, Patrick Utomi, was right when he said: “The intellectuals have retreated and the middle class are becoming complicit.”

The Nigerian people will have to take their country back by performing their civic duty of voting and electing those who have the capacity to govern, into offices. They have to do more than grumbling on the social media.

Conclusion…

Addressing some of these challenges is not going to be easy. It will take a leadership with vision and a willing followership working together to tackle corruption to turn Nigeria around.

Fortunately, the military appeared to have settled for the barracks, though occasional intervention in some countries in the West Africa sub region gives cause for concern that nothing says democracy here is not reversible.

For now, enough of the blame game; let every Nigerian roll up his or her sleeve. There is work to be done.

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Osinbajo with NLC leaders

How Labour Succumbed to FG’s Superior Argument The decision by labour leaders to shelve its planned strike was a function of a superior negotiating power of the federal government side, writes Onyebuchi Ezigbo

I

t is no longer news that the federal government and organised labour has reached an agreement to suspend their planned national protest/strike over increase in fuel price and electricity tariff. But what seems to be trending now is the reaction of Nigerians, especially civil society allies, some of whom felt disappointed and betrayed by the sudden change of gear by the labour leadership. While some Nigerians have welcomed the government-labour deal as good for the country’s precarious economic situation, others criticised labour leaders for chickening out from the scheduled national protest without achieving their target.

Organised labour had demanded a reversal of the rise in the pump price of fuel from N148 per litre to N161 and an almost 120 percent hike in electricity tariff granted to the Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) by federal government or they would shut down economic activities in the country beginning from September 28.

In a communiqué issued at the end of its meeting in Abuja, NLC had said it rejected the increase in fuel price and electricity tariff as approved by the federal government.

While addressing journalists on the outcome of the NEC meeting, NLC president, ComradeAyuba Wabba, said: “NEC decision was premised on the fact that the government’s two decisions along with others, including the increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) by 7.5 percent, including numerous charges charged by banks will further impoverish Nigerian citizens.”

He said the increase in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic was not only ill-timed, it is also counter-productive.

“NEC also observed that the privatisation of the electricity subsector, five years down the line has not yielded any positive result.

“Whereas the entire privatised electricity assets were sold for N400 billion, the congress is surprised that federal government within the last three years has injected N1.5 trillion over and above the amount that was used to sell this very important assets. Thus NEC came to a conclusion that the entire privatisation process has failed and the hike tariff was only a process of continuous exploitation of Nigerians”.

On the issue of privatisation of refineries and increase in the pump price of fuel, Wabba said NLC believed that government’s argument had not changed from what it used to be.

According to him, NLC believed that whether it is about partial deregulation or full deregulation or subsidy removal, the matter has always been about increase in the price of petroleum products.

Wabba said that NLC demanded that deregulation should not be import-driven and that the nation’s three refineries be made to work optimally.

He said the congress believed the federal government had business in doing business in the downstream sector, just like other oil-producing countries which has government-owned refineries.

In the communiqué, NLC said the NEC meeting endorsed the two-week ultimatum given to federal government “to reverse those obnoxious decisions and also endorse the action proposed by the Central Working Committee that September 28 will be the date that those actions will be challenged by Nigerian workers, civil society allies and other labour unions.”

On its part, TUC said after an exhaustive meeting held to review its mobilisation strategies on the forthcoming strike to protest fuel hike and electricity tariff, resolved that the Congress is going to work in collaboration with its sister Labour Centre, NLC and the Civil Society allies to execute the strike. In a statement signed by TUC president, Comrade Quadri Olaleye, and Secretary General,

Musa-Lawal Ozigi, the union said its ultimatum which expired by midnight of the Tuesday, September 22, 2020 has been shifted to Monday, September 28, 2020 for effective and maximum effect.

TUC statement said: “Consequent upon this, the ultimatum which should expire by midnight of today 22nd September, 2020 has been shifted to 28th September, 2020 for effective and maximum effect.

We want to use this opportunity to call on Nigerians, especially those in the informal sector to bear with us while the industrial action lasts.”

The union said there is no need for the current pains and hardship that the federal government is subjecting Nigerians to by the hike in prices of fuel and electricity tariff.

“It is a needless one. They ask us to tighten our belts while they loosen theirs. Services are not rendered yet we are compelled to pay estimated bills. You will recall that this government during its electioneering campaigns in 2014 told the world there is nothing like subsidy. We were told that they will build refineries, all that is history now. We run a mono-economy and any hike in fuel automatically will have adverse effect on us yet successive government tow that path because they are not creative.

“As at today, about eight states are yet to commence the payment of new minimum wage and its consequential adjustment even though the president signed it into law on April 18, 2019. We have written letters to the governors and also engaged them in dialogue but all to no avail. Sometimes we wonder if these people have conscience at all.”

ThecongressurgedallNigerianstogetreadyfortheunprecedented mass action against “corruption, obnoxious policies, rape and other violent offences, breach of Collective Agreement, unemployment, etc. We also call on the USA, UK, Germany, Spain, etc. to support our struggle by placing indefinite visa ban on our political leaders whose stock in trade is to loot and impoverish the masses and the country.”

Before issuing the strike threat, organised labour had come under pressure from groups who felt that the labour centres are slacking on their role to lead a protest against the price increases that are likely worsen the sufferings of Nigerians.

Some persons who reacted to the suspension of the strike by labour following its agreement with federal government, blame the labour leaders for falling cheap and betraying the confidence Nigerians had in them. While some accused the present crop of labour leaders of lack of genuine determination to execute the national protest, others said they lacked the strength and capacity thereby succumbing to the superior pressure by the federal government’s side during the negotiations.

However, the labour movement on their part, felt that they did their best under the circumstance to extract some kind of commitment from to address public concerns over the contentious issues at hand.

In reality, labour leaders were being conscious of the implications of going ahead with a national strike and protest that may not be fully supported and patronised by the masses and other civil society allies. The experience of their last two outings where they failed to muster enough public support for their action and was literally at the mercy of government to secure a resolution. One of the labour leaders had told THISDAY of the predicament they often find themselves confronting government with strike. He said that many Nigerians have become docile and are only armchair critics, who will prefer to sit in the comfort of their homes and expect Wothers to risk their lives on the streets and in the sun protesting.

Also unlike the pre-2015 national protest against deregulation

and increase in fuel price, the opposition elements were aggressively supporting organised labour to carry out the protest. In the pre-2015 protests, some inside labour sources confessed that they got strong support morally and even materially opposition forces carry out their protest against fuel price increase.

What people did not realise was that whereas in those days, the opposition were a bit more organised and desperate in their push for power than what obtains now. Labour leaders at the time probably got well researched information and operational statistics in critical sectors of the economy from their friends in the opposition with which they challenged the government of the day and was able to hold sway. The weak position was evident during the negotiations with the federal government side, when the team led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, capitalised on it to inundate the discussion with presentations various agencies in petroleum and power sectors.

Mustapha continuously brought up the issue of impact of COVID-19 disruptions on the economy during the debate, urging labour to show understanding of the situation.

The government side further tried to arm-twist and possibly blackmail the labour leaders by saying that labour representatives on the board of the Petroleum Products Price Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) were part of the decision on the new pump price of fuel.

But the NLC president, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, stoutly rejected the insinuation, stating the PPPRA board never discussed nor approved hike in fuel price.

Again, another factor that apparently contributed to the weakening of labour movement’s resolve to proceed with the September 28 strike, was the strategy employed by the federal government to work with some groups against organised labour in counter protests. This apparent tactics of government infuriated labour leaders, and it resulted in altercation between Ngige and Olaleye during the negotiations. TUC president, Comrade Quadri Olaleye accused federal government of sponsoring groups to institute legal action and anti labour protest against the organised labour.

He said: “We are already negotiating with the government, it was totally wrong for government to head to court to get an injunction.

As at now, we have not been served with that injunction so I am not aware.

“And also it was wrong for government to have sponsored people to protest at the Unity Fountain that the labour movement should not go on strike. It was very wrong for government, if another person had sponsored that it would have been right than the government because we actually got the information that it was sponsored by government.” Ngige replied him by demanding for a proof of alleged government’s involvement in the anti-labour demonstration and the court injunction obtained against NLC, TUC planned industrial action.

Thefirstmeetingaimedatavertingthreatsofacripplingnationwide strike by NLC and TUC to protest the removal of the subsidy on petrol and the consequential hike in the price of the commodity ended in a deadlock, as both sides remained unyielding. However the second meeting summoned on the eve of the proposed strike saw a more determined federal government side, who was out to ensure that the labour protest did not hold. The government side first met among themselves behind closed doors to map out strategies before joining labour leaders for meeting. One thing that evident after the first meeting was that both government and labour were almost finding a common ground on some of the issues. For instance, both sides

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Who Wants Zulum Dead?

Three deadly attacks in two months on the Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, should elicit concerns, writes Michael Olugbode

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orno highways are, perhaps, the riskiest in the world going by exposure to terrorist attacks. This fact is supported by no other person than the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Garbai El-Kanemi, who told President Muhammadu Buhari about two years ago that, “It is unfortunate that despite all efforts put in place to restore peace in our land and the North East, we the people of Borno State are still under Boko Haram siege.

“Nobody can dare move out of Maiduguri by 10 kilometres without being confronted, attacked by Boko Haram.

Quite a number of farmers are being killed and kidnapped on a daily basis around Molai General Area, which is just 10 kilometres away from the metropolis, along Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu road.

Most of the surrounding villages and communities in Konduga, Damboa, Mafa and other local government areas have been razed down in the last two weeks.”

That statement was when the governor was not attacked, but when his convoy faced a second attack early this year while he was returning from Konduga, 40 kilometres east of Maiduguri, to distribute food to returning displaced persons and inspect a 500-unit housing project for the returnees. The Shehu was loud enough to shout: “Borno State is no longer safe.”

The attack was in the very risky Baga area, and the ruler just has to say, “Your Excellency, we are not happy about what happened in Baga the other time.

It is very unfortunate and a great pity to expose people’s lives to Boko Haram terrorists. If the convoy of the chief security officer of the state would be attacked, then, I swear that nobody is safe, because he is the number one citizen of the state.”

The fact is there for all to see that there is no highway within the Borno territory that is safe to traverse. Many people have been killed on these highways or perhaps, now cooling off in bushes having been kidnapped by Boko Haram.

The case is so bad that the United Nations agencies do not allow their workers to take the road into Maiduguri. For any staff to travel in and out of Maiduguri, it has to be by flight. The insurgents are always on the prowl on Borno highways.

The former governor of the state, Ali Sheriff escaped death by the whiskers on Maiduguri-Damaturu road earlier this year, when he traveled from Abuja into Maiduguri to bury his father. Some of those on his convoy were not so lucky as they were killed few kilometers into Maiduguri.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, with the retinue of soldiers and gun trucks, had been sized-up by the fearless Boko Haram on the Borno highways.

One of the Theatre Commanders of Zulum..a rare love for his people the Operation Lafiya Dole only escaped anything meaningful forward and that might have been death by luck, when comforted by Boko Haram. responsible for their shunning the roundtable after so many So numerous were military escorts attacked by Boko public invitations.

Haram on Borno highways. To them, the bigger your It is often said that there is no one without an enemy, status, the higher the stake and the name you make from should this ring true, it means Zulum should have enemies, the attack. They fear no adversary for the reward. In their and for daily taking decisions that affect the lives of many, philosophy is a great heaven. he should definitely have enemies aplenty. He has, often, As long as Zulum would want to achieve his agenda, because of his passion to give his people the best and many which includes security, education, job creation, and times, because of the frustration of his position spoken good governance and to return displaced persons to their against the powers that be and perhaps, powerful individuhomelands, his life shall always be at risk and might need als and groups. to continue to tackle insurgents.

He has been involved in shouting marches with soldiers.

For he cannot retrieve Borno back from Boko Haram He has spoken against profiteers. He has changed some without getting into the trenches, for the terrorist group hitherto status quo in the Borno system. He has shouted and has come to show to all that they do not have any clear cut stood by his people both in boardrooms and on the streets. target and mission. They are just the enemy of the system He has been both diplomatic and undiplomatic to get the and friends to no one. best for his people. Definitely, he has ruffled some feathers.

And if everyone or thing has to be with a mission, then, But one question is, has he done enough to make some theirs is destabilising and terrorising the entire society. people wish him dead? And how far can they go to bring Ask them what they want they may not be able to put up

their wishes into reality. It is better to think that the attacks on Zulum were just not predetermined and solely targeted at him.

The fact is that Borno highways are dangerous and the more you travel it, the more you are open to attacks. Apart from the attack on Zulum’s convoy that took many lives with it, the other attacks were skirmishes. And should the attacks be with the motive to kill him, the one he was in the convoy should have been with major casualties, which they did not. Or perhaps, God was at work.

It is also pertinent to mention that should it be about killing Zulum, who would have given the task to Boko Haram and not use any other method?

But whether Zulum is wanted dead or not, the frequency of the attacks on him gives a bad narrative of the security of governors in the country and is bad publicity for the country.

President Buhari needs to speak much louder against the development and act accordingly. It is a call that much more needs to be done to tame menacing Boko Haram.

62

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ OCTOBER 4, 2020

CICERO/REPORT

Wike, an Emerging Political Generalissimo With the success of Governor Godwin Obaseki in the just-concluded Edo State governorship election, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, may well be on his way to emerging the new Political Generalissimo, writes Ernest Chinwo

R

ivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike is generally being hailed now by his supporters and admirers as: “High Tension” or “Naked Wire” especially, after his political victories in the state.

These titles came mostly after he survived the fireworks generated by his election to office of governor for his first tenure. Then, it was a contest between him and then outgoing Governor of the state, Chibuike Amaechi, who had chosen Dr. Dakuku Peterside as successor.

It was a two-pronged battle. While Wike was fighting to win the governorship election, he was also bent on ensuring victory too for then President Goodluck Jonathan.

Amaechi, on the other hand, was fighting for victory for his anointed successor, Peterside, and wining the state for then major presidential contender, Muhammadu Buhari.

Amaechi was incidentally the arrowhead of Buhari’s campaign Organisation and wanted to win the state for him at all cost.

The gubernatorial election was declared inconclusive and rerun elections were fixed in some local government areas, mostly in Rivers South East Senatorial district. Wike eventually won his election and Jonathan won the state. But while Amaechi and his candidate lost the state, Buhari won the Presidency.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) challenged the declaration of Wike as winner of the gubernatorial election and vowed that he will never be governor of the state.

The APC also tried to use every means, including seeking injunctions, to stop him from being sworn in as governor of the state. Wike survived it and was eventually sworn in on May 29, 2015 as Governor of Rivers State.

But the APC could not stomach that and challenged the election at the governorship elections tribunal. Wike lost at the tribunal and Court of Appeal, but the Supreme Court upheld his election.

While Wike was congratulated for winning the state and successfully winning the challenge at the Supreme Court despite “federal might”, Amaechi was vilified for losing his home state and for causing the failure of his kinsman, Jonathan in the presidential election.

Wike had since been addressed as ‘high tension’ by his supporters, while Amaechi became the “Lion of the Niger Delta” to his supporters especially, those outside the Niger Delta, for ensuring that Jonathan lost and Buhari won the election.

The same scenario played out in 2019, when the governor was seeking re-election. The APC in the state vowed to use the opportunity to remove him from office. Even when the courts barred the APC from fielding a candidate for any position in the state, because of faulty congresses, the party adopted Biokpomabo Awara of the African Action Congress (AAC) to ensure that Wike did not come back.

In addition, as Wike insisted, some APC bigwigs in the state enlisted the support of the army, police and other security agencies in the state to take steps that would make the election unfavourable for him and also ensure that Buhari wins in the state.

At the end, Wike did not only win his re-election, but APC’s Buhari did not get up to 25 per cent of the votes even though Amaechi was still the campaign chairman. This re-enforced the “High Tension” fame of the Rivers governor.

On May 9, 2018, Wike added another feather to his cap, when the continental section of the 94-year old International Sports Press Association (AIPS) announced him as the Pillar of Sports (PoS) in Africa for his passionate support of sports in his home state, Rivers, and Nigeria.

Indeed, his nicknames come after major accomplishments. He was called “Ogbu Corona 1” (killer of corona) after his drastic steps to check the spread of the coronavirus in the state.

Using steps that were seen at the time by many as drastic and confrontational, Wike ensured total compliance with COVID-19 protocols in the state. He was seen regularly on the streets, ordering the arrest and detention of violators of restriction of movements during the lockdown declared in the state.

Indeed, many of his actions pitted him against the authorities and agencies of the federal government. While some heads of stations of federal agencies either lost their jobs or redeployed for cooperating with the governor, THISDAY gathered that there were even moves to declare a state of emergency in the state to pave the way for Wike’s ouster as the show of power raged between Wike and the federal government.

It is still believed that with the state as the oil and gas hub of the nation, Rivers State would have recorded much higher infection and death rates if not for the drastic steps taken by Wike to ensure the adherence of residents to COVID-19 protocols.

Wike Again, as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) corruption saga raged, Wike was once again called “John Wike” (adopting the name of an actor in a popular American movie, John Wick), after his heroic rescue of Rivers State-born former Acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Joi Nunieh, from some operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, who allegedly wanted to ‘abduct’ and whisk her away to Abuja to answer questions about complaints against her.

To avoid being taken by the police, Nunieh locked herself in her Old GRA Port Harcourt residence while the police attempted to break in and force her out. It took the intervention of Wike, who stormed the place with his own security to rescue Nunieh and took her to the Government House, where she took refuge for a few days.

Many residents of the state still believed that Wike rescued Nunieh, just like John Wick did in his classic action movie.

Fast forward to present political dispensation, very few believed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could win the Edo governorship poll. Not with the array of federal might and the bragging of former National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, and current national leadership of the party that they would retain the governorship of the state through Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Events leading to the emergence of Obaseki as candidate of the PDP in the first place were dramatic. When the APC, on the insistence and machination of Oshiomhole, declared that Obaseki would not run for a second tenure, the embattled governor ditched the party and switched to the PDP. But some entrenched interests in the PDP would also not accommodate him and give him ticket to fight his former party.

One of the first persons he consulted was Wike. The meeting raised so much dust but in his characteristic controversial manner, Wike warned his party men not to use Obaseki’s defection and ambition for personal aggrandizement, that’s after he too eventually bought into the Obaseki project, given the bigger picture.

Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama went to court to restrain Obaseki from contesting the party primaries. But OgbeideIhama later withdrew his suit and the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, presided over by Justice Emmanuel Obile struck out the suit, paving the way for Obaseki’s emergence as PDP’s candidate for the election.

With the controversy generated by Obaseki’s initial visit to Wike, it was a surprise to many that the Rivers State governor was appointed chairman of the PDP National Campaign Council for the Edo governorship election, with a mandate to coordinate the campaigns to ensure victory for the party and Obaseki.

That was perhaps the first time Wike would take his political prowess outside the state, and it came in a big stake game, where ego was at stake.

Accepting the responsibility, Wike went to work and in one of his first outings accused the APC of planning to use the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and federal security agencies to rig the election. He vowed to scuttle APC’s plan to use security agencies or any other institution to rig the Edo election, insisting that the APC was only confident to win because of its plan to rig.

According to him, “Governor Godwin Obaseki is not an ingrate like Adams Oshiomhole and Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who can do anything including betraying people to grab power.

Obaseki is morally qualified and stands out as the best candidate for the September 19th 2020 election.

“Edo people cannot support and desire the handover of power to the APC candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who is a nomadic politician and ingrate, who lacks character. It is Oshiomhole who is an ingrate, because he told us that Obaseki served as the brain box of his administration that lasted eight years. How can such a person become an ingrate?

“Look at Ize-Iyamu, he is an ingrate too. He served as Secretary to the State Government in Chief Lucky Igbinedion’s administration. When he didn’t get what he wanted, he dumped the Party and moved to another Party. In 2015, people supported him for governorship, when he failed, he did not consult them but abandoned them for another Party.

“That is the life of a nomadic politician. Like his master, they are dangerously desperate, insatiable and can do anything for power.”

Wike reiterated that Obaseki was not a violent man like Ize-Iyamu, who has instructed the thugs he called “lions and tigers” to cause crisis. He challenged the Police and INEC to use the Edo election to correct previous mistakes by conducting free and fair polls.

“We consider the comment by INEC to cancel or suspend the election, because of violence as succumbing to the antics of the APC. All they want is violence because they cannot win the election. If the election is suspended, the implication is that Obaseki will serve out his tenure without election in November,” he said.

The PDP also effectively used videos of Oshiomhole’s campaign against Ize-Iyamu four years ago, when he (Ize-Iyamu) was PDP’s candidate. That presented the APC, Oshiomhole and Ize-Iyamu as liars. They also played up the issue of godfatherism, saying while the APC National Leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, may have succeeded in Lagos in installing his favourites as governor, “Edo no be Lagos”.

These were the sentiments that Wike and the PDP raised all through the campaigns and they were very successful and difficult for the APC to effectively respond to. Indeed, the APC was not only put on the defensive but also had to seek other ways to counter but unsuccessfully.

The last straw was definitely on the eve of the election, when Wike raised the alarm that he and other members of the PDP campaign council were under siege by the police and not allowed to leave their hotel rooms while their APC counterparts were allowed and even escorted by the police to go anywhere they wanted to in the state.

The police quickly withdrew, to avoid the wrath of the international community and civil society organisations that have been fully mobilised for the election. On Election Day, when the PDP suspected a delay in the announcement of results from some local government areas, it raised the alarm, forcing the electoral umpire to quickly absolve itself of any blames and announced the results.

Again, Wike, as chairman of the campaign council dared the APC and federal agencies, controlled the party and successfully delivered Obaseki as re-elected despite federal might.

Undoubtedly, Wike has shown that he is, in fact, the de facto, “Generalissimo” of Nigerian politics, currently. In his thank you visit to the Rivers State Governor, Obaseki said Wike was the second pivot, after God, for his electoral victory.

Obaseki noted the commitment of Wike in ensuring electoral victory for him by relocating to Edo State despite the needless attacks from the opposition.

His words: “After I was pushed out of my former Party, this house was the first place I sought solace. You took me in as a brother, out of the storm, changed my clothes and gave me food to eat. It was in this house, the Campaign Council met to work out the key strategies that led us to victory.

“You mobilised people across the country. You moved to Benin, went through the humiliation and attacks. You supported us and we won. It will be a sin against God if we do not come to say thank you. Even if the victory we are celebrating is from God. He has used people like you to make it happen.”

In his response, Wike said his support was informed by the fact that Obaseki was courageous and fearless in his fight against forces of godfatherism against him in attempt to protect the interest of Edo State.

“Our work would have been difficult if he did not make himself available. I cannot support a lily-hearted person.

Governor Obaseki was firm.”

However, as Wike savours his unofficial emergence as Nigeria’s new political Generalissimo, it will be interesting to watch and see how he manages this new recognition especially, in the lead up to 2023, when he would have ended his second tenure as the governor of Rivers State.

63

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ OCTOBER 4, 2020

CICERO/TRIBUTE

Prof Afolabi Ojo: ALegacy Leg Le ega gac acy cy of Ou Out Outstanding uts tst sta tan and ndin ndi ding ing ng Ac Ach Achievements chi hie iev eve vem eme men ent nts tss Demola Ojo

S

ince the passing of Professor Afolabi Ojo about a month ago (August 30, 2020) at the age of 90, the accolades have poured in from all corners, in celebration of the accomplished academician and administrator.

From President Muhammadu Buhari, who said the Professor of Geography “showed the world the reward of discipline, focus and dedication by climbing the academic ladder over many years and becoming a renowned author and administrator,” to Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, who said, “Prof Ojo’s exemplary life of service and distinction has inspired many to tow the path of excellence and honour,” it has been one glowing tribute after another.

A cursory glance at the Ado-Ekiti indigene’s milestones explains why he is being extolled by individuals from differr ent walks of life, as well as organisations in the communities he touched, locally and nationally.

As an academic, Prof Ojo reached the zenith of his profess sion. In every step, He was precocious and exhibited excell lence from an early age. At 13, he was already a pupil tutor.

When he proceeded to the National University of Ireland, he finished with a First Class in Geography and Economics, the first African to do so.

Prof Ojo later obtained another First Class with his Master of Arts degree in 1957 and later a Ph.D in 1963, both from the same institution.

According to Professor of History, Amos Makinde, Prof Ojo was the one who produced the policy paper which advised the first military governor of the former Western Region, Francis Adekunle Fajuyi (a fellow Ado-Ekiti indigene), to move the University of Ife from its Ibadan Campus to its present permanent site without delay.

By this time, Prof Ojo had already published two internaa tionally acclaimed books: Yoruba Culture and Yoruba Palaces, were among the 140 books and academic articles he authored or co-authored.

As a foundation member of the University of Ife, he was Acting Head of Geography Department (1962). On October 1, 1970, he became a Professor of Geography. He was appointed Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences in 1972 and later, Dean, Faculty of Administration from 1976-77.

Prof Ojo was a product of open and distance education. In 1948, he passed the Senior Cambridge Examination and later obtained the Teacher’s Grade Two Certification in 1950, then the London Matriculation Examination in 1951, all as a private candidate. This spurred him to champion distance learning in Nigeria at tertiary level.

He was Chairman, Presidential Planning Committee on the Open University System in Nigeria (1980-81) and was then appointed as pioneer Vice Chancellor of the National Open University.

Much later, he was Chairman of the Provisional Governing Council of the Catholic University of Nigeria, Abuja (CUNA), from 2005 to 2008.

Prof Ojo didn’t only reach the zenith in his academic career.

As a devout Christian, he got to the highest position a layman could in the Catholic Church.

He was the foundation National Secretary of the Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria (CLCN) from 1973 to 1981 and later became the National President from 1986-1994 and after, National Life Patron from 1995.

Prof Ojo was also a foundation member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity in the Vatican from 1983, a post he occupied for seven years. In recognition of his active participaa tion in the Catholic Church, he was conferred with a Papal Knighthood of St. Gregory the Great in 1975.

Prof Ojo also actively imparted on the local communities in Ado-Ekiti where he’s from and Ife, which became his adopted home, as a result of spending decades at the university.

He held the traditional chieftaincy titles of Asiwaju of Ado-Ekiti, Balogun of Imesi-Ekiti and Otun Maye of Ile-Ife, in recognition of his impact on development in these environs.

For many years, he was President of the Ado- Ekiti Progress sive Union of which he later became a Life Patron.

On a national level, he was honoured as a Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2004.

Grandad and I Prof Ojo also excelled as a family man. Apart from his six children (split equally between male and female), he was father to a multitude; grandchildren, cousins, nephews, nieces and even many not directly related to him.

I was one of those to benefit from his accommodating nature, one of many who passed through the expansive compound in Ife, known as Otun Maye Square.

My granddad formed a large part of my earliest memories in life. These images always include a wide grin and a hearty laugh.

Living with him from when I was four till I went to university, most of my education was influenced by him.

What I associate granddad with the most is the written word; books of all shapes and sizes, journals, magazines, files...

They were everywhere, but especially in his room.

The bookshelf that divided the room into a bed space and his study had a backlog of the diary he religiously kept for

Prof. Ojo decades. There were books, files and pieces of paper - both hand and typewritten - on the reading table, the dressing table and the lounge chairs.

As a child, I learnt to be extra careful walking around the room so I didn’t knock over files and magazines lying on the floor. I also became acquainted with the sounds made by him furiously tapping a typewriter.

Granddad always slept in grandma’s room, even for an afternoon nap. Regardless of any other reason, it was the practical option. He couldn’t use his room because more books, journals and files were arranged on his bed.

As a school-age child, granddad’s room was the study where I was sometimes confined to get my homework done, or to revise for exams. Sometimes I got distracted, as I marvelled at how magnets could move office pins, paper clips and coins without contact. Or just sit staring at the large map hung on a wall, memorizing country names and capitals, the genesis of my dreams of travelling the world.

Despite the age difference of more than 50 years, Granddad and I always had engaging discussions. The magazines he subscribed to – and which I eagerly awaited my turn to read – were the subject of many discussions. TIME magazine, National Geographic and Reader’s Digest meant wide-

Prof. Ojo at a Glance Professor of Geography (Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) Chairman, Presidential Implementation p Committee and Founding g Vice-Chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja Commander, Order of the Niger, Federal Republic of Nigeria (CON) Papal Knight of St Gregory the Great (KSG) Life Patron, National Laity Council of Nigeria Life Patron, Ado-Ekiti Progressive Union Otun Maye of Ife Asiwaju of Ado-Ekiti Balogun of Imesi Ekiti

ranging conversations that revolved around varied topics, from geo-politics to the solar system.

My granddad is responsible for me being a journalist. One of the ways he made sure I focused in church was for me to write an essay on the priest’s sermon. It served a dual purpose: making sure I concentrate, and also honing my writing skills.

On my 10th birthday, I remember getting an autographed copy of Richard Wright’s ‘Black Boy’ as my present. Along with it came the challenge that I was old enough to start reading “real books”, rather than Enid Blyton’s Famous Five and Secret Seven.

Fast-forward to about two decades later, and the exchange of reading materials continued. Granddad kept old editions of TIME for me, while I took current and past copies of THISDAY to him.

Granddad was a writer till his latter years. He wrote his autobiography, A Life of Surprises, in his eighties.

He didn’t just impart knowledge through his writing and lecturing, he also taught by example.

Apart from books, the other thing granddad was known for was his devotion to his faith. He was fervent and committed, and rose to the highest position a lay person could in the Catholic Church.

I marvelled at the fact that he used to give Holy Comm munion in church. I didn’t enjoy waking up early to drive him to morning Mass though. But I learnt lessons: discipline, dedication, sacrifice.

Granddad went for all the church services he could. This included both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Easter crossover service and Easter Sunday...

As a Papal Knight of St Gregory the Great, he proudly donned his costume and stood throughout Mass on the feast day of Christ the King, after a long Corpus Christi procession.

An enduring lesson Granddad made sure to impart was that of self-sufficiency and self-actualisation, without looking to anybody else. He made you feel you could achieve anything if you put your mind to it.

He was great at inspiring others and wanted them to achieve even more than he did. He was selfless and was never inclined to amassing wealth. He gave out his houses in Ife and Ado-Ekiti to the church. His exhortation was never to be a rich man, but a great man in future.

In all these, he never sought or encouraged short cuts. One of his favourite phrases was “As you make your bed, so you must lie on it.”

64

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ OCTOBER 4, 2020

CICERO/INTERVIEW

‘PDP’s Victory in Edo Will Reverberate in Ondo’ Dr. Benson Enikuomehin is the Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship campaign for Eyitayo Jegede, candidate of the party in the October 10 election in Ondo State. In this interview with Tobi Soniyi, he says his party’s success in the just concluded Edo State governorship election is a plus for the PDP. Excerpts:

H

ow prepared is the Peoples Democratic Party for the October 10 governorship election in Ondo State?

Our party, the PDP, is clear-minded that with the help of God and the support of the people, minus the shenanigans and the thuggery being perpetrated by the All Progressives Congress, (APC), victory is assured. We are combing all the nooks and crannies of the state in the form of campaign for the purpose of winning the election.

Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, is not in doubt as to his winning the election and has said it clearly that no distraction will be allowed. We are prepared and that was shown in the flag-off of our campaign, when Ondo State stood still, such that if you threw up sand it would land on somebody’s head.

So we are ready. The people are ready and we also hope that INEC and the security agencies too are ready.

If these things are in place and the election is free, fair and credible like it happened in Edo State, which we just witnessed, APC is not a party that can come close to us in the polls. The APC government is a goner in Ondo State.

What campaign promises are emboldening you that your candidate will win the election?

Our candidate has come up with a seven-point agenda he called “My Offer,” meaning that he is the offeror, and the people of Ondo State are the offeree. He is saying, ‘please accept my offer on education, health etc.’ On education, he promised to make education affordable and these skyrocketing school fees that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu introduced would be reduced to the barest minimum.

On health, he is looking at such programmes as the Mother and Child and others, which we used to enjoy in Ondo State but have been arbitrarily abandoned by this government. It will be brought back. We are also saying that the security architecture of the state will be rejigged, such that people will sleep with their eyes closed.

This is besides agricultural development to ensure food security by encouraging the younger ones to take agriculture as a vocation. He is also talking about how to empower women and the young ones, and he is saying this is my deal with you, and that all that the people of Ondo State need to do about this offer is accept it by voting for me, because once you accept an offer, the deal is struck.

One fear is that your candidate has not unified former aspirants in the party after its rancorous primaries.

You will recall that I worked for Dr. Eddy Olafeso in the primaries and for our candidate to walk up to me that I should lead the Media and Publicity Committee of the campaign means that he has pacified a good number of us. Now, other aspirants like Senator Kunlere, Chief Sola Ebiseni, Dr. Olafeso and Godday Erewa are all with us on this particular project. In fact, Erewa heads two committees in this campaign.

For now, I’m aware that Banji Okuomo has left to work for the other fellow, but if out of six aspirants, you have five remaining in the party, that is a very good score. We would have loved if he had remained, but as he has gone, others are coming in. Look, this election is not going to be based on one big name, no, rather it is about the electorate in the villages, the fishermen, the business men and women, and the artisan.

My single vote is not more than that of one tailor in Igbokoda or Akoko. It is the same vote. Therefore, we are targeting the people. For the artisans, he said he is going to raise a soft loan for them to be able to finance their businesses. These sectors are very important to him and he is addressing them.

We wish those who have left well and we will definitely work together with those who are behind and are supporting the party. You will recall that in Edo State, hundreds of the Governor Godwin Obaseki’s commissioners, special advisers resigned even shortly before the

Enikuomehin elections, but did Obaseki not win?

Having lost to the PDP in Edo State, don’t you think APC will fight tooth and nail to retain Ondo State?

We are desirous that the kind of broadcast they made in Lagos State before the Edo election will also be made about Ondo election. We expect that leaders of APC will make scratchy remarks so that we can catch in on that.

That aside, Ondo State is for the people of Ondo State and it is to be ruled by the people of Ondo State. The best that APC can do to help the tenure of this expiring governor is to open the vault of the federal government and bring all the money. If they can bring the governor again from the North to bring in dollars to come and share, we have told our people, if they give you even $40,000 just for one vote, take the money but go and exercise your right according to your conscience.

Therefore, they have suffered not technical defeat but a serious blow by reason of what transpired in Edo State, and that is an added advantage to us, than to say they are a wounded lion. If a lion is wounded all you need to do is fire him more gunshots and he will be dead.

What we are doing is that we are talking to the people and engaging them. We are not arrogant about it; we are not saying it is our right; rather we are speaking with them to give us the mandate. That is why Jegede has said ‘I have an offer. This is the offer I am putting on the table, on health, education, infrastructure, agriculture, security and the rest.’ And when people see a tantalising offer, they will accept it.

For instance, which woman will see a well-educated man, godly, nice, well-behaved seeking her hand in marriage and will not accept him? Jegede represents that. He is an offer that is acceptable, trustworthy and has dignity, not the one that abuses the kings, or talks flippantly.

Our people in Ondo State value culture, the way we talk and behave. That is why they call us Omoluwabi.

That is what our people are looking for and Jegede possesses this and more. None of the contestants can rival Jegede on that. Is it this one that gets angry on the phone or talks anyhow on television? We are prepared for them; we are ready. We are not going to cause a crisis, but if anybody wants to test our will, we will defend our votes.

Are you threatened by the defection of the Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi from the party?

Ajayi is a rolling stone. He was in APC for about three and a half years, rolled into PDP for about a month, and rolled into Zenith Labour Party. A rolling stone gathers some dust and it moves but it will not remain there forever. He has gone to ZLP and we wish him well, but we are going to win, so we are not threatened by anybody. In fact, the more the better.

When you defeat a man in a game by taking one or two points off him that is when victory is sweet. We don’t intend to defeat a person by a margin of 400,000, no. If we win by a margin of 50,000 or 100,000 it is okay.

A critical factor in the victory of Governor Obaseki is the support he enjoyed from other state governors. Would you say Jegede enjoys the same thing?

As at the last count, when we had our rally, the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal came and delivered the message of all the PDP governors. You will recall that at that time, the Edo State election was very close and the likes of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and Nyesom Wike were busy strategising for the election.

Now there is no other election in sight, but Ondo State and you will see them en mass and the support is going to be gargantuan. It is like beckoning to the people in Macedonia, ‘Come over to Ondo and help us.’ They are not coming to Ondo and vote o, but definitely to give moral and logistics support.

The APC can go and gather all the people they have to the state, but I can tell you that Akeredolu is a hard sell, because there is nothing to show for the three and a half years that he has been in government. The only thing he has done is to empower his family. If there is any development, it is limited to Owo, not even in Ose Local Government, or in the northern senatorial district.

So if Akeredolu has not done well, he should be voted out. There are allegations here and there. Who are they fooling? He jacked up school fees from N30,000 to N200,000 and reduced it by N10,000 few weeks before election, what is going on? If he is re-elected, he will show the people pepper, hence we are saying no.

65

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ OCTOBER 4, 2020

CICERO/INTERVIEW

Rochas Okorocha

State of APC Under Buhari Unfortunate Last Tuesday, a former governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, marked his 58th birthday. In this interview with select journalists in Abuja, Okorocha talks about his philanthropy and why President Muhammadu Buhari remains the only tiny thread still holding his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) together. Emmanuel Addeh brings the excerpts.

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t 58, you are still heavily involved in philanthropy. What’s the motivation for this?

I will simply say that being a philanthropist or being a charitable person or someone, who cares for the poor, I think it is something much more spiritual than physical.

I think it is something that is innate with one’s spirit. I love giving, I hate injustice and I hate poverty and I try to fight these two evils of mankind.

Again given the fact that my background is not that of buoyancy, I came from the same class of people you consider very poor and so because of that, I took it upon myself. It is like a spiritual oath that any time I’m blessed by God, I will bless others, giving back to my world and making the society a better place.

Like I said, I hate poverty, I hate injustice. Poverty once dealt with me, and members of my family. So, I am easily connected to understand the pains of poverty, when it comes. I think this summarises my charitable life, my life of giving.

Rochas Foundation has been in the business of giving free education to the poorest of the poor, the less privileged, the vulnerable and we have over 22,000 children now on our records that have gone through Rochas foundation, some still inside the school and every year we take about 2,000 children into our schools.

Right now, we see young men with three stars in the police, in the army, air force, customs, immigrations, civil service and the banks. These are children, who would have ordinarily not had the hope of going to school but now becoming something. So the joy alone is worth more than what food and champagne will give you.

Will you say you are a fulfilled man at 58?

Okorocha I feel very fulfilled in all aspects of life. First, if I don’t feel fulfilled, then I am not grateful to God. I feel over fulfilled I must say at 58. I have a very wonderful family at 58.

I am proud to say I have a very beautiful family. My wife and children are just peace and joy, so I feel fulfilled.

In my business life, I feel fulfilled; in my political life I feel fulfilled; in my spiritual life I feel fulfilled as well though striving to do more in worshiping God and knowing my creator. So the answer to your question is that I feel fulfilled.

If you recall, three years ago, I turned 55years and at 55 I launched project 5-5-5-5-5. Fifty five representing my age, 5 represents 5 indigent children from all African countries, then 55 represents 55 African countries and today we have all these kids coming in every year, five of them from Africa.

You grew up in the north. Do you see any close connection between the north and east where you were born?

At a point, people thought my father was a northerner and my mother a southerner, all kinds of stories, I have heard all that. My identity is easily mistaken, most people don’t even understand me or know me.

But the truth is that the same story of poverty, the same story of the challenges of life took my parents to Jos. So, going to Jos wasn’t a fun thing, it was out of desperate situation for survival, many years ago.

That was in the 40s or 50s, I think, and that was where we were brought up, all of us in the northern part of Nigeria. So, that is the reason I can communicate in Hausa effectively and all that. I think on the other part, it must be the handwork of God. My growing up in the north made me understand that the unity of Nigeria is key. We have no other option than to make this nation a united, indissoluble nation.

I see myself a northerner, I see myself a southerner, I see myself a Nigerian and that is why when people argue, I tell them that Nigeria is my constituency.

Both my parents were Igbo, so it is not true that my parents are not Igbo, I can trace it back to where I come from but it was the north that gave me education, they gave me my childhood, they gave me my livelihood, all that I have.

But where I got my financial empowerment that made me Rochas was from the West. So, all my best business connections were with the West.

You see, now the Hausa have me my childhood, Igbo gave me my parentage and the West empowered me financially. So, tell me where do I really belong, I have to belong to the word Nigeria and that is the truth.

You seem to have anchored your philanthropy on

education. Is there any special reason for that?

To me, education itself is life. I don’t know what we can do today without education in this modern world. This is why education is very key and that is why I have chosen the path to place emphasis on education. Yes, we run other foundations in my family.

All my children own their own charity organisation. All of them have one charity organisation, but for me I chose education, because once you give a child education, you have given him everything.

At 58, I have decided I want to give first free education to 58 Nigerians of different field of studies for university education and I would see these children grow to become something.

We are doing this in partnership with JAMB. This is the one coming from me to give to intelligent children, not poor children this time.

Coming to your question on whether government can undertake this free education, it is not something difficult actually. As a governor, I introduced free education from primarily to secondary to university and I built six universities, four polytechnics and two colleges of education and I made all of them free. It is doable.

In the north the issue of almajiri and out-of-school children remains a major sore point. What can be done to solve this problem?

I must say that first and foremost, I am not happy; it disturbs me that in this our time and generation that we will be talking of about over 14 million children out of school in a country called Nigeria. I think that is not good news at all and if there is any one problem I have, one challenge I have, it is this particular issue and it has given me sleepless nights.

Talking about this 14 million children not going to school, people forget that some countries in Europe are just 2million people, while some are even less than two million, so we are talking about over 7 countries not going to school and we can’t fold out hands and watch this happen.

I always tell Nigerians that Nigeria cannot get better until these issues are resolved, because these are time bombs of tomorrow. We are talking about ending boko haram, ending kidnapping and yet children are not going to school, we are rather creating more problems for the future generation than solving it.

Take for instance now, if these 14 million children do not go to school and have nothing to do, in the next 10 years, when most of us in government will not be in government anymore, those 14 million will be giving us 10 million boko haram and 10

million kidnappers.

What that then means is that we need about 100 million police to check these 10 million people. So you can see that we are creating more problems for our future generation rather than solving it.

When the governors spoke that they should be returned to their various states, I was against it because it is not right and it is not proper, because these are Nigerian children and they should not be made to go back to villages where the situation is also hopeless.

But what I suggested was that, these children where you have the Quranic schools, we can also put side by side a school there for them, so that they can at least learn how to speak and write English. It will help the society.

Can we also say that their parents failed in their responsibilities?

If their parents were educated and understood the importance of education, probably they would have done something differently. So, there is no time to push any of these to parents.

Government must take responsibility. Why do you elect leaders, it is because we know we don’t know, they should come and lead us and tell us what to do.

The Igbo have always complained of marginalisation. Is the Southeast ripe for the presidency in 2023?

Well, I really don’t understand whether people run for presidency of the federal republic of Nigeria because of where they come from or because of what they can do for the nation. I think these are two different things.

Sometimes, it looks like when you talk about presidency, the only qualification is where you come from, the religion that you belong to and not what you can give to the people. This is where I differ. If I am running for president, I am running for president, because of what I can do for my people and not necessarily where I come from and this is the mistake we have made in this country in choosing leaders at all levels, these sentiments have all been there.

So first and foremost, we must begin to allow leaders that have track records and their vision for the people to come and lead the people and not necessarily, because you come from A, B, C, D. But in a competitive life, the only credit I give to the quest for Nigerian president of Igbo extraction, for me, would be more of a competition thing. If you like, you say listen, the Yoruba have governed this nation and we saw how the economy did.

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OCTOBER 4, 20Í°ÍŽ Ëž THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

with RenoOmokri THEALTERNATIVE Fact-Checking Buhari’s Independence Day Broadcast

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woke up on Thursday to a barrage of emails and social media messages wishing me a happy Independence Day and frankly, I was ticked off.

Happy Independence? For what? For what? On October 1, 1960, Nigeria was debt free. Five years later in 1965, Nigeria was a lender nation. In 2006, Obasanjo paid our entire foreign debt. Today, we are a Heavily Indebted nation courtesy of President Buhari. Are we independent?

And then I did a great injustice to myself by reading Buhari’s so-called Independence Day broadcast. That dribble should be called a broad-trash, not a broadcast. I find it hard to believe that a human being can tell so many Goebbelsian lies in so short a time!

You doubt me? Okay, let me now perform a post-mortem on his speech and highlight either the brazen lies or the gobsmacking hypocrisy.

President Buhari‘s Independence Day broadcast said, “It makes no sense for oil to be cheaper in Nigeria than in S Arabia.�

Does Saudi Arabia have 10 Presidential jets, like him? Do they budget $500 million to renovate NTA? Or give their NASS N140 billion a year?

Buhari said, “It is important we reflect on how we got here to enable us work TOGETHER.� How can North and South walk together when under Buhari, the 3 arms of government are all headed by Northern Muslim males? When did Nigeria become a Muslim Brotherhood?

Buhari talked about “structuring a National identity�. What rubbish? The Minister of Defence, and the heads of the Army, Airforce, Police, DMI, DSS, EFCC, NIA, NCS, NPS, and 90% of the headship of Nigeria’s security agencies are all Northern Muslim males.

Buhari warned of “unbridled craving for political control.� This is hypocrisy, coming from a man who said, “If what happened in 2011 should happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood.� Preach to yourself.

Buhari called for “a sincere process of national healing.� This from a man who told the World Bank President “to shift your focus to the northern region of Nigeria.� Buhari is not a Nigerian leader. He is a religious bigot.

A Northern irredentist!

Buhari said, “I chose the path of self-

Buhari

reflection because this is what I do on a daily basis.� Is this a joke? This coming from a man whose own spokesman, Garba Shehu, revealed that he spends his time reading “cartoons�? Self-reflecting on Mickey Mouse?

Hypocrite Buhari preached about “Supporting the enthronement of the rule of law.� Does Buhari obey court judgments?

SERAP Nigeria listed at least 12 court judgments he flouted. A man who arrested Southern judges he suspected of opposition loyalties?

On Independence Day, I am proud of a people who are the most educated people in America and one of the most educated

in Europe. There is nothing to be proud of about a disaster that can’t produce his WAEC certificate, and has Northernised Nigeria’s government and the military!

Buhari said he is “demanding accountability of elected representatives.�

This is a man who went to Kano on January 31, 2019, to lift the hand of a common thief.

A kleptomaniac governor caught on camera collecting bribes. Buhari, you have no honour!

Buhari boasts of “Increasing our commitment to peaceful co-existence in a peaceful, secure, united Nigeria.� This is from a man who sent 300 policemen to Southern

THE PUBLIC SPHERE with Chido Nwakanma

Kaduna to stop the genocide against Christians, and sent 30,000 policemen to Edo for election.

Buhari claims he is “harnessing and optimizing our tremendous human and natural resources�. The only thing Buhari has harnessed is DEBT. He has increased our foreign debt from $7.5 billion in 2015, to $32 billion today and he is still borrowing!

The worst part of the lies Buhari told on Independence Day is the lie of “lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty�. Can you imagine? Under him, Nigeria became the world headquarters for extreme poverty on July 25, 2018!

Buhari claimed, “I am a firm believer in credible elections.� What rubbish! This was a man that confessed that he used “remote control� to win the Osun election. Edo was only free because the threat of travel ban meant he couldn’t go to his UK doctors.

Buhari said, “No government in the past did what we are doing with scarce resources.� Lies. Obasanjo paid off our total foreign debt when the price of crude oil was one quarter what it was under Buhari. Buhari is not just a liar, he lied unintelligently.

As I have said before, Buhari and his cronies are the biggest threats to the existence of Nigeria as a corporate entity. Nobody, most especially Buhari, should preach Nigerian unity, if they do not first preach Nigerian justice. How can we have unity when the heads of the 3 arms of government are Northern Muslim males, and Northerners head defence, army, police, and 90% of the military and security services?

And thank God for my friend, retired Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, who has courageously and patriotically spoken against Buhari’s hypocrisy. If a few Northerners keep behaving like Munafiqun and justify the president’s nepotism, mark my words, Nigeria will divide. They cannot expect others to accept what they will not accept.

Finally, if I am asked to summarise Buhari’s 5 years in office in one word, that word would be: BLAME! He takes responsibility for other men’s achievements and blames them for his failure. Physically, Buhari may be an adult, but mentally, he is a child!

@ChidoNigeria https://www.facebook.com/chido.nwakanma

Success from the Jaws of Disease with PTF-Covid19

Reno Omokri

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ith 96 per cent tracing success while activating 71 laboratories to conduct tests nationwide, the scorecard of Nigeria’s six-month intervention in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic is outstanding.

It is one of the many that make up the African success story that has baffled Western experts and analysts. The results and backing data do not surprise the team at the Presidential Task Force on Covid19 admirably led by Mr Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Data from PTFCovid19 was a soothing balm listerning to the dirge that was the presidential address on October 1 and the general gloom around the day. The data is mostly positive. The PTF Covid19 framework revolves around four pillars of Trace, Test, Isolate and Treat.

The Nigerian incident numbers climbed to 59, 001 on 1 October 2020 almost getting to 60, 000 to mark our 60th birthday. There were 50, 452 recoveries and 1, 112 deaths. The global picture shows there were 34.2m cases worldwide, 23.7m recoveries and 1.02m deaths.

PTFCovid19 reported 7, 437 “current cases�.

Our country’s figures disappointed the doomsayers that predicted blood on our streets while speaking of Africa. They based their prognosis on the fragile state of Africa’s health systems. What an expectation!

The country has confirmed cases in 37 locations, that is the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Confirmed fatalities represent 1.9 per cent of the total.

Twenty-seven (27%) per cent of cases are persons in the 31-40 years age bracket. Males constitute the bulk of persons with the disease, with 37, 001 patients or 64% while females at 21, 177 represent 36 per cent.

Nigeria has quickly scaled up its medical response and facilities.

PTFCovid19 has deployed 43 State Rapid Response teams. There are 71 activated laboratories for covid19 testing, and they collectively should ensure 12-24 hours testing time frame on the average.

Success has many fathers and multiple consequences. One of the effects of Nigeria’s success with managing Covid19 is the growing

nonchalance that citizens display. It is almost hubristic as Nigerians outside the Lagos-Abuja-Port Harcourt triangle go about their businesses as if Mr Covid19 never visited these parts. Where they show concern, they are also confident that Nigeria can now tackle the disease.

The attitude is an uplifting departure from the pall of fear that enveloped the country following the first case of an Italian identified as positive for Covid19 in February 2020. The nation joined the rest of the world to go into high gear concerning the pandemic. Enter the Presidential Task Force on Covid19.

PTF Covid19 took off on 17 March 20120 with a formal inauguration

by President Muhammadu Buhari. In conjunction with the National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, it enabled the Federal Government to approach the disease in a “guided, systematic and professional� manner.

NCDC is the primary driver of Nigeria’s response to the viral infection.

Boss Mustapha chairs the PTF-Covid19 that has 14 high ranking officials. Nine ministers, two Director Generals as well as the country representative of the World Health Organisation in Nigeria, make up the membership. Dr Sani Aliyu is the National Coordinator and member of the PTF Covid19.

Health, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Aviation and Humanitarian Affairs ministers are members of PTF-Covid19. Other ministers are those of Education, Information and Culture, as well as the Ministers of State for Health and Environment. The DGs are those of the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

The principal remit of PTF Covid19 is “to develop a workable National Response Strategy� that takes “international best practices but adopts them to suit our unique local circumstances�. Boss Mustapha, chairman of the PTFCovid19, stated at the inauguration on 17 March that the task force would work on five key deliverables. It would do so within an initial six-month timeline.

The deliverables of the task force are to strengthen the national response strategy in testing, containment and management of COVID-19, strengthen the collaboration among all tiers of Government, the private sector, faith-based organisations, civil society, donors and partners, and build awareness about the disease. Others are to direct the deployment of relevant national assets, as necessary, and lay a foundation for scientific

and medical research to address all emerging infectious diseases.

A Mid Term Report surveyed over 120 respondents. They scored the PTF above average and very good. The areas of strength were that PTF r 1SPWJEFE B DPPSEJOBUFE OBUJPOBM SFTQPOTF FGGPSU UP UIF COVID-19 pandemic r 1SPWJEFE $07*% QSFWFOUJWF HVJEBODF BOE BXBSFOFTT to communities r &TUBCMJTIFE BEFRVBUF NFDIBOJTNT UP NPCJMJTF SFTPVSDFT for the COVID-19 response r $PPSEJOBUFE UIF NJUJHBUJPO PG UIF TPDJP FDPOPNJD JNQBDU of COVID-19 on Nigerians r %FWFMPQFE BOE JNQMFNFOUFE HVJEFMJOFT PO UIF EJGGFSFOU phases of the response to the pandemic (e.g. ban on interstate travel, wearing of face masks, limited gatherings etc) across the country Coordination is the robust suite of the PTFCovid19. It has managed successfully the efforts to bring all stakeholders to a standard table to tackle the national emergency. They include States and Local Governments, health sector stakeholders, as well as players in the private sector as well as development organisations. Effective coordination has earned the confidence and trust of all partners..

What has Mustapha’s Task Force done in real terms? They can claim success in many broad areas, key of which include providing and leading the policy focus for the management of the pandemic. It developed a multi-sectoral Response Action Plan to guide Nigerian response through high-level engagement with the Organised Private Sector for better coordination of their core competencies and expertise, mobilisation of State and Local Government resources in preparation for the possible spread of the disease into communities and needs assessments and preparedness of the states. They also engagd local manufacturers for the stimulation of local production of essential commodities to reduce the dependence on imported commodities as well as Local production of face masks, hand sanitisers, protective gear etc.

A key failing remains the fact that with all the funds available to it, PTFCovid19 did not deliver to Nigeria one world class hospital.

However, its many successes speak well of the intervention.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ C ͼ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸

INTERNATIONAL Nigeria and China at 60: A Comparative Exegesis of the Dynamics of Growth and Development

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he Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are two different countries with shared values that have impacted on the growth and development of both countries in different ways. The PRC was founded on October 1, 1949 while Nigeria acceded to national sovereignty on October 1, 1960. The PRC celebrated its 60th National Day on October 1, 2009 while Nigeria attained its own 60 years of sovereign existence on October 1, 2020. At 60 years of sovereign existence, 2009 and 2020 or 11 years of Chinese seniority to Nigeria, how do we explain the considerable progress made by the PRC and Nigeria’s inability to make similar progress in spite of the shared values of both countries?

In China, the retirement age from the public service is 60 years for men, 55 years for female civil servants and 50 years for female workers. In Nigeria, there is no differentiation between men and women at the level of retirement. They both retire at the age of 60 years or 35 years of service. How does the difference in age of retirement impact on growth and development, and particularly in nation-building?

There is also the factor of population. China, with a population of 1.393 billion in 2018 according to the World Bank, is the most populous in the world. The population was estimated to be 1.4 billion people in 2019. Nigeria, with an estimated population of 206 million people in 2020, is the 7th most populous country in the world, coming after China, India, United States, Indonesia, Pakistan and Brazil. In Africa, Nigeria is the most populous with the same estimate. Put differently, China is the most populous worldwide, while Nigeria is the giant in Africa demographically.

Additionally, while the population growth rate of the PRC in the period from 2000 to 2020 was 13.4%, compared to 37.1% for India and 17.3% for the United States, that of Nigeria was 66.3%. in the same period.

In this regard, if the population growth rate of Nigeria was high, is the infrastructural development required to sustain the growth commensurate? Nigeria’s population was 45.14 million in 1960, compared to China’s 541.67 million in 1949 and 667.1 million people in 1960. This means that, in between 1960 and 2020 (with 45.14 million in 1960 and 206 million in 2020) for Nigeria and 541.67 million in 1949 and 1.331 billion in 2009 people for China, the population growth rates are 21.9 % and 0.04% respectively for Nigeria and China. Is the difference in population rate responsible for the difference in levels of development?

The PRC is both a regional (Asia) and world power with the capacity to project its influence worldwide. The FRN is a regional power (West Africa and also Africa to a great extent) and therefore qualifies to be categorised as a medium power in international relations from the perspective of Professor Bolaji Akinyemi’s Concert of Medium Powers. Even though the PRC is far more developed than Nigeria, it never considers itself as belonging to the developed world. China considers itself as a Third World country. China is one of the Five Permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council to which Nigeria is currently seeking permanent membership and possibly with the right of veto.

With the many shared values, the PRC is on record to have considerably impacted on its immediate region, Asia, and on the world in its first 60 years of sovereign communist existence. The same was true of Nigeria in her first two decades of independence, but not true thereafter. Nigeria is currently struggling for national unity and survival at 60. As Lai Mohammed, Information and Culture Minister has it, Nigeria has every reason to celebrate Nigeria at 60 because she has survived all challenges threatening her survival. This reason is most unfortunate. Let us espy the dynamics of growth and development in China and Nigeria to appreciate what makes the PRC strong and Nigeria, weak.

Dynamics of Sino-Nigerian Development

There are four main dynamics which explain development and non-development in China and Nigeria. Apurposeful leadership in China and lack of it in Nigeria is the first. The Chinese know what they want to have and be. In Nigeria, there is nothing like national ideology to guide political leaders. Governance is much characterised by chicanery and irrationalities in Nigeria. In China, discipline is underscored. It is very difficult to qualify to be a national leader without having gone through one development

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Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Buhari or experience-acquiring process or the other in China. In fact, Chinese leadership recruitment process is very rigorous. In many countries of the world, there are specific institutions for leadership training, where attributes of leadership, especially patriotism, are underscored. In France, there is the Ecole Nationale d’Administration where leaders are groomed.

But, most unfortunately, in Nigeria, a politician can wake up in the morning and join a political party, seek election to an office in the afternoon, loot the public treasury in the evening, join the political party in power for protection at midnight, and then in the morning time again qualifies for the award of traditional and national honours. Thereafter, Nigerians are left to debate the situation and complain about economic and political setbacks of the country, but all to no avail.

Asecond important dynamic of development in both the PRC and Nigeria is mutual respect and consideration for one another in the development of their bilateral relationships. This consideration for one another can be explained differently. China has a general policy of win-win in the conduct and management of her foreign relations. This policy is meant to show honesty and non-selfishness of purpose.

For instance, in Nigeria, the Embassy of China holds the celebration of October 1, her own National Day, in Nigeria before that day in deference to that of Nigeria, the host State. In fact, because of the decision of the Government of Nigeria to have a low-keyed celebration, the Embassy of China did not organise any reception in 2020.

In the same vein, the Embassy of Nigeria has the same policy of not celebrating October 1 on that same day in Beijing and this cannot but be expected: both countries cannot, for logical and logistical purposes, celebrate their national days at the same time because members of the diplomatic corps expected to attend such celebrations can only be divided in deciding which event to attend.

Besides, holding celebrations at the same time cannot but give the impression of an unnecessary competing sovereignty, not to say rivalry, in the host State. When more than one country have events to mark and celebrate on the same day, plenipotentiaries decide on

And true enough, Nigeria is no longer what she used to be in the 1960s and 1970s.The Nigeria of today can be likened to what Henry Peter Brougham, the 1st Baron Brougham andVaux, said:‘education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave’. Without doubt, this saying may not reflect the situational reality of the day in Nigeria. Nigerians of today have a digitised mentality, which prevents education from making it easy to lead but also making it more difficult to drive. There is also no ease in governance as a result of provided education. The truth now is that enslavement of anyone, severally or collectively, is best imagined. Expectedly, the likelihood of China emerging a manifest superpower is more of a truism than speculation. Nigeria has the same potential to be a continental superpower in Africa. Most unfortunately, the way President Buhari is currently handling ethnic grievances and national insecurity, as well as keeping quiet on complaints of nepotism, does not enable anyone to say that there will be a United Nigeria in the next sixty years. This is why efforts to prevent national disintegration have become a desideratum

the one to attend on the basis of how close and which interest is at stake.

Athird factor is corruption. Corruption is a critical dynamic of national development in China and non-development in Nigeria.

In Nigeria, there is no disputing the fact that anti-corruption legislations and mechanisms abound. There is the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) Act, which not only sanctions economic crimes, especially financial crimes and corruption, but also mandates the EFCC to investigate and prosecute all cases of financial crimes and corruption. There is also the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Act. It specifically seeks to prohibit bribery and other sharp practices, as well as punish offenders.

Apart from the EFCC and the ICPC, there is also the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, which seeks to sanction the concealment of the origin of converts or transfers of money, or intentions to legitimise any proceeds from criminal activities. Money laundering is essentially about the removal of public funds directly or indirectly from the jurisdiction, taking possession or control of such funds and property, knowing well that such funds or property originate from unlawful act.

Additionally, there is also the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution as amended, which prescribes a Code of Conduct for public officers. The Schedule seeks to prevent gratifications of whatever kind in the course of discharge of official duties. Errors of omission or commission as excuses for engagement in any act of corruption are sanctioned.

However, what is important to note here is not the existence of the many anti-corruption mechanisms put in place or the measures legally provided for, but the fact that the different legislations have not in any way deterred the engagement in very corrupt practices at various levels of political governance in Nigeria. The particular case of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is quite disturbing. The Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Professor Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei, was quoted as follows: ‘we have faced so much pressure from some members of NASS (National Assembly) to pay for jobs which have no proof of execution. We have refused to pay N6.4 billion for those jobs.’

During the forensic audit of the alleged corruption in the NDDC, it was revealed by the Interim Management Committee (IMC) that the ‘Chairman House Committee brought out emergency training programme for N6.4 billion, claiming the job belongs to the Speaker, and said the Commission should pay him N3.7 billion, but we (IMC) refused.’ And perhaps more disturbingly, the report has it that the vehicles recovered from corruption suspects by Ibrahim Magu were auctioned to the Presidency and Ministries.

The Management of the NDDC is on record to be spending more than its budget. For instance, how do we explain the fact that the NDDC awarded a water hyacinth emergency contract for which N800 million is budgeted but N10.3 billion was eventually expended? How do we also explain the fact that N2 billion was budgeted for the desilting project to be executed in the period 2017-2019 like the water hyacinth project, but N37 billion was again reportedly spent? And most unfortunately too, how do we also explain the revelation by the IMC that ‘in 2019 the NDDC in just seven months awarded a total of 1,921 emergency contracts valued at N1.07 trillion, against its annual budget of N400 billion of same year’? The foregoing revelations from the forensic audit of the NDDC clearly show the extent of official recklessness and deep-seated corruption in Nigeria. And yet, Government is said to be fighting corruption tooth and nail. With this situation, how can Nigeria witness growth and development? In the face of deepening corruption, especially when a contracted project is re-awarded 55 times, why should anyone be comparing Nigeria with Singapore, Malaysia or China that they were all together at the same economic parity level?

In China, the handling of corruption is done differently: a distinction is first made between commercial and official bribery, as well as between anti-bribery and anti-corruption. Official bribery is one in which government officials and state functionaries are involved while commercial bribery is one in which private enterprises or their staff are involved. Other anti-corruption measures and mechanisms also exist: Interim Regulations on Prohibiting Commercial Bribery; the 2008 Commercial Bribery Opinion issued by the Supreme Court; the internal disciplinary regulations of the Communist Party of China; the 2016 Judicial Interpretation, which gave an Interpretation of Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases Related to Graft and Bribery, etc.

The seriousness of the anti-corruption fight in China can be gleaned from the definition of a bribe and how it constitutes a criminal offence. First, on the giver and receiver, it is a statutory offence to offer a bribe to a state functionary, to a state non-functionary, to a foreign official or an official of a public international organisation or to any entity. An entity also is prohibited from offering any bribe to a close relative of, or any person close to, a current or former state functionary. Acceptance of a bribe by a state functionary, by a close relative or any person close to a current or former state functionary is criminally. In fact, the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law on 29th August 2015, which came into force on November 1, 2015, necessarily empowered the judicial organs to combat corruption more effectively.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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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 ˾ ͼ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸

PERSPECTIVE Nigeria at 60: Reforming the Civil Service Reform Tunji Olaopa

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his is the week of Nigeria’s 60th Independence celebration. There are four fundamental events and issues in Nigeria’s post-independence journey that have shaped the growth dynamic of the civil service in Nigeria. The first was the bloody civil war that inflicted a terrible blow on the national integration project. The second and third national events were the many years of military intervention in politics, and the oil boom and it’s the consequences for a resource-cursed nation. Significantly, these led to a debilitation of Nigeria’s institutional base in a way that affected her development capacity and drive. The final event took place in 1999, and it was the inauguration of democratic governance in Nigeria. After many years of military rule, democracy was breath of fresh governance air for Nigerians.

But then, through all these major events in Nigeria’s historical evolution, the civil service has played a huge and defining role.

Through the dedicated and focused commitment of the bureaucratic leadership, the public service was significant in seeing Nigeria through the civil war, and in laying the framework for the rehabilitation of the Nigerian society after the war. There was therefore a recognition by succeeding Nigerian leadership and administrations that the civil service system is fundamental to the success of energizing the social contract that would enable the government to transform the lives and well-being of Nigerians for the better. And so, since independence, each administration had been concerned with significant reform exercises targeted at eliminating the bureaucratic bottlenecks in the public service, and instituting a managerial and entrepreneurial culture that will make the public service system functionally and efficiently optimal in delivering democratic goods and services.

The reform breakthroughs from independence till date revolved around the following: Management by Objectives (MBO)/Project Management/Programme and Performance Budgeting System (PPBS) by the Udoji Commission; professionalized and specialized civil service, by the Philips Commission; permanent secretary as a career appointment/reinstatement of the Civil Service Commission/Organization, Operations and Management Research (OOMR) Unit (Ayida Review Panel); MDArestructuring/SERVICOM/ IPPIS/ standard chart of accounts cum GIFMIS/pension reform/monetization of fringe benefits/anticorruption initiative/creation of the Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR); development of the National Strategy for Public Service Reform (NSPSR) and successor strategy documents. The Tenure Policy, a precursor to performance management that, perhaps, came ahead of it’s time. We therefore need to acknowledge that the Nigerian public service system has made some tremendous progress (that have unfortunately not added

Olaopa up) due to the assiduous commitment of succeeding Nigerian governments since independence.

This is another independence celebration, and a landmark one at that. And so, it calls for a huge reflection on how far Nigeria’s democratic governance has been able to jumpstart development objectives through an efficient public service system. In other words, is the Nigerian public service delivering efficient services translating into infrastructural development? Has it been able to adequately and effectively raise the productivity profile of the Nigerian state to a qualitative high? Is the service itself getting more professional, knowledge-driven, transparent and accountable?

These are very fundamental questions that speak to the cumulative achievements of the reforms of the public service in Nigeria.

One way to critically interrogate the success of the administrative reforms in Nigeria, since independence therefore, is to determine the extent to which they have accumulated into a body of quality transformation of the system and into an efficient machinery for managing complex policies with significant welfare dividends.

This is where our assessment breaks down. Life is still very difficult for Nigerians. And we have very little to celebrate, for once, since the first independence celebration in 1960. This means we are still

in the middle of nowhere. We still have the same set of administrative and institutional challenges confronting us year in and year out.

To hit the nail on the head: the Nigeria reform efforts have been considerable and well-intentioned. But it is enormously lacking in its focus on the root-cause analysis of what is truly wrong with the public service system since independence. Why has all the reform effort not led to an efficient public service? In essence, there is a need to reform the reform through root-cause analyses that aim at hitting at the origin or source of the problem. And in this case, the question is why is the public service system still inefficient.

One fundamental response to this question is that since independence, and for sixty years, we have failed to get the basics of reforming the public service right. The truth is that most of the public sector reforms have not been successful in creating a new public service that Adebo in 1971 and Udoji in 1974 envisioned, for a range of reasons. One, most of the reforms to date have focused more on symptoms, such that recommendations place too much emphasis on the initial evidence of something that has gone wrong. Consequently, the issue of why, over time, the same problems come up again and again suggests that the root causes of the problems have not been adequately investigated, analyzed and addressed. These are invariably a mix of the systemic and the Nigeria factors demanding deep-rooted reengineering and culture change. Besides, due to poor policy and research function and culture of seminal interrogation of deep issues in the public service, in turn a reflection of a chronic culture of anti-intellectualism that treats rigorous solutions as theoretical, most reform programmes merely implement developed countries’ reform models as advised by the World Bank, IMF of this world, and private consulting firms. Most of these invariably fail conceptionreality tests. Besides, unreflective importation of best practices fails to recognize that there is really no ideal benchmark to use in changing the performance of public institutions that invariably requires creative reinvention based on their internal logic.

Other challenges are legion. There are recurring incidences of appointing ineffective leaders for the civil service, and absence of metrics to hold them accountable, with the top leadership in the Nigerian public service remaining one of the very few left in the world today, that are not held against performance agreements and scorecards. There is of course the whole issues of expenditure management issues and resource optimization in the public sector, a symptom of poor and compromised internal control and general lack of capacity and skills within Finance and Human Resource management departments.

–––Prof. Tunji Olaopa, retired Federal Permanent Secretary & Professor of Public Administration, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos. (See concluding part of the article on www.thisdaylive.com)

Dear Nigeria, Don’t Break Up! Sule Lamido

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ixty years ago, Nigeria got its Independence as a Federal Republic of Nigeria and a sovereign nation born with fanfare and celebration by our founding fathers. Anew nation blessed by God with everything any nation could wish for; proud, hardworking, industrious people, rich history, strong and rich traditions and cultures, large population, natural endowments in everything under the soil and on the soil. Drop any seed anywhere in Nigeria, it will germinate and grow! We have the best of the two spans from the semi Sahara to the Sea. We could not wish for more!

And to prepare us for the task ahead, our founding fathers coined in our National Anthem a stanza ‘though tribe and tongue may differ in Brotherhood (Sisterhood) we stand’ which means uniting around our humanity. It was an effort to capture more succinctly the complexities and intricacies they envisaged in our dual role as a nation and a leader of the Black race.

Barely six years into our journey of nation building, the dream of our founding fathers was shattered through a violent military coup culminating in a civil war where a brother was killing a brother! Only the resolve of leaders like late Awolowo, late Azikiwe, late Ukpabi Asika many and other nationalists to rally around Yakubu Gowon’s Federal Government saved the nation. Our soldiers on both side as brothers went through the agony of pointing guns on the head of each other, ironically Buhari too was there in the war to unite Nigeria!

Here we are today at 60, regional leaders in their late eighties and nineties like Edwin Clark a minister under Gowon, Ayo Adebanjo – Awolowos’ disciple – my brother Nwodo a Zikist, Gen Danjuma who fought for unity and Prof Ango northern elder, are now entertaining dividing the country which has been there for them to be what they are today. Even those born after independence like Mustapha champion of Northern group, Kanu of IPOB, Asari of Niger delta, Yinka of Afenifere are also nibbling the bait of division!

To compound the problem even leaders freely elected in government are confessing their failure. Is it not frightening to hear Osinbajo the number two in command talking about cracks and division under their watch? Or, Governor Zulum advising that we invite Chadians to defend and protect our sovereignty?

And Buhari who fought as a soldier to unite Nigeria, now as president is to be our undertaker? What really is wrong with us or rather what went wrong?

Those of us in the penthouse (former or serving presidents, governors, captains of industry, Imams, clerics, university dons, technocrats and the entire elite family) should note that a united Nigeria has been there for us. What can we give Nigeria back so that others coming behind and even generations unborn can also actualize their dreams?

I grew in a village 72 years ago. My parents, my community, my leaders, formal and informal institutions and my country Nigeria were all there for me. In my adult life through my work places in Nigerian Railways in Zaria as pupil engineer, Nigerian Tobacco Co Ltd as quality controller and later salesman in the then North West and North East and AC Christlieb as marketing manager in Lagos, Nigeria was there for me. I have travelled from Lagos through Ijebu Ode to Ore Benin, Asaba, Uli, Ihiala, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Aba, Uyo, Calabar, Itigidi up to Awka! I’ve been everywhere in the East, West and North.

Wherever I travelled, I met fellow human beings, not Ibos, Yoruba, Kanuri, Munchi, Ijaws, Chakiri or Fulani nor Muslims, Christians or free thinkers. And in any community I was, there existed love and friendship such that I felt as safe and secure as in my village Bamaina.

Later in 1979 as a parliamentarian and member of the Federal House of Representatives in Lagos, it was the same spirit of comradeship. As parliamentarian tour work took me around the world, it made me appreciate Nigeria better. When I became minister of Foreign Affairs, my outlook was fully broadened, my instincts sharpened and I came to understand the role God destined Nigeria to play as leader of the Black race.

Nigeria commanded huge authority within the comity of Nations, Nigeria was respected world wide. In our sub-region and Africa, Nigeria was (is?) respected as ‘Senior Brother’ and

Lamido

to the Black race, Nigeria was inspirational and a reference point.

Please Nigeria do no break up!

Thank you Nigeria for being there for me, I cannot thank you enough!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!* ––Mr Lamido is a former governor of Jigawa State.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ OCTOBER 4, 2020

ENGAGEMENTS

with ChidiAmuta e-mail:chidi.amuta@gmail.com

A Fearsome Urgency in Borno

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n less than 36 hours in the past fortnight, Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum, was the target of two gruesome assassination attempts. In a frightening video that has been circulating on the social media, the firefight between the vicious armed attackers in ambush and the governor’s security personnel was so intense and obviously came as lightning surprise that the vehicles in the convoy became shields of armour for security guards and the VIPs in the entourage. A figure of a helpless man crawling for safety underneath one of the vehicles is rumored to be the governor himself in a desperate crawl for dear life. In this age of truthful lies and alternate facts, I have no way of ascertaining the veracity of this.

A concerted military operation targeted at the convoy of a sitting governor with the obvious objective of taking him out or down is a poster indicator of abysmal insecurity. If a governor with all the visible indicators of state security and maximal coercion can be so insecure, why would ordinary folk not be mortally afraid. That these attacks took place in a state that is practically a theatre of active military operation provides an obvious suspect: Boko Haram. The specific location is Borno state but the target is clearly the entire country now caught in the throes of spiraling insecurity.

The attacks on governor Zulum are first and foremost assassination attempts. Mr. Zulum is primarily the political leader of Borno State, a sub sovereign territory that is being actively contested by a rival armed force.

In that context, the location makes Zulum a legitimate military target. But because the man is primarily a politician, the field of suspicion in these attacks must sweep beyond the purely military context of Boko Haram. The urge to explore conspiracy scenarios is heightened by the fact that Zulum alone has probably experienced the highest number of ambush assassination attempts in the over a decade of Boko Haram during which governors have been Zulum coming and going. Mr. Zulum is on record as having excoriated both the military and the federal authorities for the inefficiencies in the anti insurgency operations in his state. The questions, therefore, remain: Who wants Zulum dead and why?

Since his election, Governor Zulum has functioned more or less like a war time governor. In this regard, he has shown exemplary leadership in terms of his commitment to the relief and resettlement of the many citizens of the state displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency. Remarkably, he has not allowed the obvious dangers of governing a state that is largely a war zone to deter him. On repeated occasions, he has shown open reservations about the conduct of soldiers on security duties in civilian centres of the state.

On one occasion, he took open exception to soldiers extorting motorists at a major highway checkpoint.

Such encounters may not have earned him too many friends in sensitive places. But the governor seems self assured in his moral posture. It is significant that the recent ambushes on his convoys took place on his way from an IDP resettlement event.

From the perspective of the Boko Haram insurgency, the governor of Borno state, the key operational theatre, would be a prize target for political and strategic reasons. It will register the terrorists as effective and active contestants for political control of a big slice of Nigeria’s sovereign space. If they can take the governor out, it will convince their followership that their dream of a caliphate around the Lake Chad basin is indeed feasible.

Secondly, a successful strike on Zulum will put a lie to the bogus and consistent bluff of the Nigerian state and its security apparatus that the anti-Boko Haram war is practically over. An insurgent force that has been defeated does not launch such daring operations in rapid succession even as a roving guerilla movement. Nor would a dying terror group be so bold as to choose a high value target that could expose them to great harm.

There has been enough recent activity in that theatre to reaffirm that Boko Haram is still very much alive and well. In the last one month, Boko Haram ambushes have claimed the lives of many soldiers including the brilliant force commander, Colonel Dahiru Bako. Obviously, between the propaganda of the authorities and the actual situation on the ground, there would seem to be a disconnect which could endanger the lives of the unsuspecting.

At the level of basic security and VIP protection, the movement of a state governor is not exactly a

silent or sudden affair. Even at short notice, it would be planned and in such a hostile environment, the security detailing and route scoping would be known by the experts. Such planning would be conducted in close collaboration with relevant military authorities in charge of the theatre. The fact that on both occasions, the ambushes precisely targeted the governor’s convoy at weak points on those routes should help investigators determine where the intelligence leakage in the governor’s security cover lies. In this age of cell phones and all manner of electronic positioning devices and tools for surveillance, detection and exchange of information among devious collaborators should be predictable.

We live in a country that has fast degenerated into a free laboratory for all forms of violent excursions.

Systemic instability has fed casual violent escapades by non -state actors. These days, there is no shortage of freelance gunmen, militants, bandits and assorted transactional trouble makers for rent on the cheap.

In such a Hobbesian terrain, laying ambushes for the convoys of governors and other VIPS could graduate into a macabre fad, a veritable paradigm for imitation among the diverse armed factions roaming our national space. In the countdown to another “door-die’’ general election in 2023, military style ambushes for top political contestants could become an attractive business proposition for contract bandits.

The more frightening dimension of the Borno crisis is the reality that the insurgency may have become part of the partisan fray in Borno state. Boko Haram has been around for quite a while.

It could not possibly be insulated from the politics of the state. People are mindful of the fact that it was a disagreement between the late Mohammed Yusuf, founder of Boko Haram, and the then state governor Ali Modu Sheriff that sparked off the insurgency.

There seemed to be an understanding then that Mr. Yusuf was free to propagate his sect and canvass his theology without disturbing the peace or challenging the state. Trouble apparently started when the cleric trespassed into political territory by weaponizing his followership against the governor and his politics.

He was beginning to steer his movement in the direction of Hamas and Hezbollah, competing with government for the hearts and minds of the people by providing copeting social services. The governor ordered Yusuf’s arrest and detention. He later died in police custody under questionable circumstances, a development that sparked off anger among his fol-

lowers. They later took to Sambisa and other forests never to return in peace. From there they launched Boko Haram, as a jihadist movement with clear anti-Western and anti government agenda. The rest is history.

The possibility that the Nigerian tradition of armed politics could now find Boko Haram a ready source of armed thugs and a ready fighting force is clear and present.

Any political faction supported

by Boko Haram in Borno politics can be assured of a ready supply of armed thugs.

Given this background, we cannot discountenance the political implications and connectedness of the military security situation and the contest for political preeminence in Borno state. It becomes impossible also to disconnect the Boko Haram insurgency from a nasty political tradition in the state which has pitted fundamentalist sectarians against the secular state.

Across the rest of Nigeria, there is now an abiding fear that the Boko Haram insurgency and the war against it have become a veritable source of small arms and unofficial weapons training for criminals disturbing the peace around the country. No one knows how much of this information has been scientifically verified and documented by our security establishment.

What is undeniable however is that the Boko Haram war has lasted this long because it has since become a major revenue and expenditure sub -head in our national budget.

Naturally, wherever there is consistent government revenue and expenditure, business opportunities emerge, an industry germinates, vested interests organize and sooner than later, an industry is in place.

In other words, there is presently an active conspiracy theory that some vested interests are in no hurry for Nigeria to exit the war. People point to the fact that while it took the Nigerian military a mere two and half years to end the Nigerian civil war, the Boko Haram war has lingered for over a decade. Yet, we have more advancements in training and weaponry plus, overwhelming international support based on the acknowledgment that Boko Haram is an active part of the global terror network. Most intelligence estimates have projected that the Boko Haram insurgency ought to have ended in less than five years. But it has lingered as both political foot ball and an ‘industry’ in its own right.

Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters has in the course of this campaign acquired formidable PR and political communication savvy and clout. It insists that this is no symmetric waefare. It is an unconventional war, being fought against an unconventional enemy with training and support from hardened terrorist movements outside across international borders in a globalised information age.

It is of course in the interest of our defence and security establishment to continue assuring the political leadership in Abuja that Boko Haram has been ‘liquidated’, ‘practically defeated’, ‘neutralized’ or ‘substantially degraded’. Just words and empty phrases. But of course Mr. Shekau, the leader of the terrorists movement, has in the process acquired more than the proverbial nine lives. He has been variously ‘killed’ over and over and has become the only Nigerian villain known to have died and resurrected so many times! Perhaps Mr. Shekau’s ‘immortality’ is the boldest indication of the altered face of Nigeria’s military prowess.

Here then lies the ultimate significance of the travails of Governor Zulum. These harrowing experiences are perhaps the next level in the descent of our nation into hopeless insecurity and foreseeable anarchy. The Zulum attacks are in some ways a metaphor for the current state of internal security in the nation. Today it is Borno state and its governor.

No one knows for whom next the bleak bell will toll. This is the reality of vicious insurgency. It is the face of a direct affront on authority, officialdom and sovereignty. Above all, it is a stark daily reminder that Nigerians are now in a place where the safety of citizens can no longer be taken for granted.

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NEWSXTRA Boko Haram: Military Approaches Cameroon for Support Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), a combined military formation of West and Central African countries, at the weekend, approached the Cameroonian forces for assistance, especially in terms of reinforcement, to enable them turn the tide against the Boko Haram terrorist group in the troubled Chad Basin.

The request followed a spate of attacks by the insurgents lately, which involved several military fatalities.

The terrorist group has continued to pose a serious threat along the Chad Basin, launching three attacks on the convoy of the Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum. The second attack claimed the lives of about 30 persons,

mostly security personnel on the convoy. A third attack followed just days after. Just before the attacks on the governor’s convoy, the insurgents had killed a Nigerian army commander and some of his soldiers in an ambush also in Borno State.

It was against this backdrop that MNJTF, which comprises units from Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, contacted the Cameroonian military for support.

A press release yesterday by the Chief of Military Public Information of the N’Djamena-headquartered formation, Colonel Muhammad Dole, revealed that the MNJTF Force Commander (FC), Major General Ibrahim Manu Yusuf, made the appeal during a three-day operational visit to Cameroonian formations/units in Maroua, in the Far North Region of the Republic

of Cameroon.

Dole stated, “It is pertinent to note that the operations of Sector 1 MNJTF (Cameroon) are closely linked with the operations of other formations of the Cameroonian Defence Forces. These include Operation EMERGENCE by the 4th Joint Military Region and the 4th Gendarmerie Region as well as Operation ALPHA by the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), all located in Maroua.”

He explained that the purpose of the visit was to enhance the synergy between the MNJTF and the adjoining national operations of the Cameroonian Defence Forces.

The statement said, “On arrival, Major General Yusuf paid a courtesy visit to the Governor

of the Far North Region, His Excellency, Midjiyawa Bakari,” who commended the MNJTF for stabilising and restoring relative peace to the Lake Chad Basin.

Dole stated that Bakari appreciated the sacrifices of the soldiers from the MNJTF Troops Contributing Countries and assured them that the on-going military operations would ultimately bring peace and security for sustainable development of the region.

According to the statement, Yusuf, in his response, appreciated the political support and public goodwill extended to Sector 1 of MNJTF. He added that the support had facilitated the smooth execution of non-kinetic operations, leading to the surrender of several insurgents

in Sector 1 Area of Operation.

Dole stated that the FC was emphatic on the unalloyed commitment of the MNJTF to creating conducive environment for the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees to their homes to pursue their legitimate economic activities.

Yusuf also visited the Headquarters of Fourth Joint Military Region, where the Commander, Major General Saly Mohamadou, extolled the existing synergy among Operations EMERGENCE, ALFA and troops of Sector 1 of MNJTF. Mohamadou, however, urged the Force Commander to explore additional areas in which the two operations could further consolidate on the

operational successes recorded.

He expressed the willingness to continue with joint operations between the national and MNJTF forces in the region.

Yusuf acknowledged the need for sensitisation of national forces on the imperative of non-kinetic measures as complementary efforts to kinetic operation to ensure continuous insurgents defection, the statement said. He added that winning public support was a tested veritable strategy for successful counter-insurgency operations in the region. The FC urged commanders of both the national and MNJTF forces to sustain regular operational visits for better understanding and mutual benefits.

Persons With Disabilities Seek End to Gas Flaring Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Persons living with disabilities have appealed to the government, corporate organisations, good spirited individuals and groups to come to their aid to save them the harsh effects of gas flaring in oil producing communities.

The group said that gas flaring not only destroyed the local environment but also worsened the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

They made the appeal, weekend, during a media dialogue with the theme, “Amplifying the Voice of Persons Living with Disabilities in the Climate Change Discuss”, held at Las Hogar Hotels and Suites, Kwale, the administrative headquarters of Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State.

The event was organised

by Persons with Disabilities Action Network (PEDANET) Nigeria with support from the Global Greengrants Fund, with the PEDANET Executive Director, Ubaka Emeka Betram, harping on the need for persons living with disabilities to take more active interest in issues that impacted them directly or indirectly, like climate change.

The citizens, made up of men, women and youths with disabilities, lamented that though

their various challenges had always meant daily hardships for them, the continued flaring of gas by the oil companies in Ndokwaland has made the effects of the new Coronavirus far more severe, practically making their lives nightmarsh.

They lamented that they were also victims of various health and environmental effects of gas flaring with most of them being unable to move around and go to farms and other places where they earned their daily bread due to flooding and pollution.

One of the resource persons and Founder, Initiative for Cultural Heritage, Chief Osaemenjor Chukwuemeka, noted that most of the people concerned found it very difficult to access hospitals and public places including churches, government offices and even various hotels and centres of learning because persons with disabilities were not taken into consideration in structuring of these public places.

Chukwuemeka, who appealed to “hospitals to assist these special citizens to cover the distressing distance they have to cover to access doctors in hospital clinics”, urged hospitals, hotels and public places to be more sensitive to special needs of persons on wheelchair.

Sahara Group Inaugurates Impact Fund to Promote SDGs Sahara Foundation, the corporate citizenship vehicle of energy conglomerate, Sahara Group, has launched the Sahara Impact Fund (SIF) and the ‘Governance Unusual Programme’ to facilitate the generation of ideas and solutions towards increasing access to clean energy, mobilising partnerships to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and inspiring a good governance paradigm shift.

Director, Governance and Sustainability, Sahara Group, Pearl Uzokwe, said the Sahara Impact Fund and Governance Unusual programme “will reinforce ongoing conversations on boosting entrepreneurial capacity and how individual responsibility can inspire a paradigm shift that will culminate in the “whole” gravitating towards “doing the right thing” – without equivocation.

“Sahara Group is delighted to promote a robust movement for self-governance – one that challenges everyone to be the measure for “doing the right thing” against all odds,” he said.

Uzokwe noted that Sahara Foundation “will drive the programme using the Sahara entrepreneurship model with an underlying ethos of creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurs.”

“The fund’s capacity is set at over $100,000 with opportunity for incremental access by beneficiaries based on impact, reach and sustainability matrices targeted at supporting young social entrepreneurs in Africa with seed funding as well as providing access to mentoring from Sahara Group and other private sector partners, to scale up clean energy and sustainable environment innovations.

EMPOWERING WOMEN . . .

Alapomu of Apomu, Oba Adenekan Afolabi; Olori Janet Afolabi and Osun State First Lady , Alhaja Khafayat Oyetola at the unveiling of Apomu Women Cooperative Society in Apomu Osun state... Friday

Atiku Lauds Fintiri Transformation Agenda

Military Destroys Militant Camps on Ilaje Waterways

Daji Sani in Yola

James Sowole in Akure

A former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has commended Adamawa State Governor, Alhaji Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri for introducing policies that will promote prosperity and growth in the state.

Abubakar stated this in a letter of congratulation he addressed to the governor at the weekend to felicitate with him on Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary.

He observed that despite the fact that Fintiri inherited N115 Billion debt from the previous administration, he was still able to champion a world-class transformation of the macroeconomic structure of the state.

Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 general election, commended the governor’s efforts at eradicating corruption in the state.

“It is not for nothing that you are popularly referred to as ‘ATM’ and ‘fresh air’ as the first amongst first term governors to successfully conduct local government elections and expunge a culture of unpaid salary arrears of local government workers, primary school teachers and the primary healthcare sector.

“Your recent infrastructure development strides will forever change the landscape and economic fortunes of Adamawa.

You have exhibited the highest qualities of leadership for the diverse ethnicities of our state.

“Indeed, I am a proud citizen of Adamawa state under your stewardship. There is a global call and looming fundamental shift and diversification of the economy.

“As we celebrate our diamond jubilee, this is a time for us to reflect and appreciate that Northern Nigeria was developed without oil, and in order to achieve continued development, it is our obligation to ensure that the North is the nerve of economic diversification in Nigeria.

“Aware of our strength and potential to grow without oil, I would like to seize this medium to call for a strategic diversification for the prosperity of our people.

“This will support security, innovation, eradication of poverty, economic transformation, regional integration, and most importantly, a significant development of our region. Please accept my best wishes as we celebrate our unrelenting strength as a nation,”

To pave way for a violence-free governorship election in Ondo State, military and paramilitary security agencies have destroyed militant camps in riverine Ilaje and Ese Odo Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.

The operatives were drawn from the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Immigration Service, Nigeria Police Force as well as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The exercise started at Igbokoda, the headquarters of Ilaje LGA and later extended to Atijere, Abereke, Agadagba, Obolowo, Aserebobo, Arogbo and Idiogba, among others all in coastal area of the state.

Speaking after the exercise, the Brigade Commander of the 32 Artillery Brigade, Brig.-Gen. Zakari Abubakar said the operation was to warn hoodlums on the waterways that the security agencies were combat-ready to ensure that the coming election was violence-free.

He said: “Our men have gone for Show of Force. It means telling hoodlums and militants that are on

the creek and want to take undue advantage to cause trouble that we are ready.

“The purpose of today’s exercise was to get prepared for the October 10 gubernatorial election. We want to ensure that the election is free and peaceful and make sure that hoodlums do not interfere.

“The places visited lead to Delta and Ogun States and they will be coming. But I want to assure you that whenever they come from, we will give them a blocking force.”

He, therefore, urged the hoodlums on the waterways to shun all forms of violence and intimidation before, during and after the October 10 election.

According to him, the military is aware of several camps that are springing up on the waterways.

He said: “With the exercise, we have been able to destroy one hideout of hoodlums at Asere.”

The commander, also, disclosed that the armed forces “will carry out another operation next week Tuesday if logistics are provided.”

He, therefore, enjoined prospective voters not to be afraid but to come out and vote, even as he assured them that the security agencies would protect and provide a conducive environment for them.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 4, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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Sunday October 4, 2020

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Price: N400

MISSILE

Adeboye on Reatestructuring “Without any doubt, we must restructure and do it as soon as possible. A United States of Nigeria is likely to survive than our present structure.”

– General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye speaking at an event to.mark the nation 60 years independence anniversary.

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

The Crave for a New Nigeria

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n my previous article, ahead of Nigeria’s 60th Independence Day celebrations, I tried to examine the root of Nigeria’s divisive politicking. In what many saw as a sacrilegious criticism of our venerated “founding fathers”, I argued that their politics was founded on ethnic and regional sentiments and quite destructive.

Most colonial-era political parties were formed along sectionalist lines. I argued that most of the politicians did not genuinely work to create a united country, even though they were excellent administrators. We inherited a Nigeria built on mutual suspicion and bitter political rivalry and it is this divided Nigeria that we have operated and are operating till today.

There are basically two choices before us today, I proposed. One is to continue to fan the embers of the disunity and unhealthy battle for supremacy bequeathed to us by our “founding fathers”. Some of the most dominant voices in national debate today are products or by-products of that era. They see themselves as the anointed custodians of this mindset and are working very hard, day and night, to perpetuate it — romanticising a return to the past that was steeped in ethnic chauvinism and cronyism which they tend to advocate as the ultimate solution to Nigeria’s multifarious challenges. They are still stuck with 1914 while progress-minded societies are already planning for 2114.

The second option for us, as I also proposed, is to chart a new course: to face the future by pursuing the right politics that will build a nation where justice, peace and equity shall reign. Nigeria desperately needs new “founding fathers” and “founding mothers” who will promote nation-building and progress, not those who will keep reviving and propagating the destructive colonial-era rivalries. We need new thought leaders and new activists who will turn the heat on the mismanagement and incompetence ruining every nook and cranny of Nigeria. We badly need solution providers, problem solvers and nation builders. We need a “New Nigeria” movement.

Unfortunately, we cannot build a “new” Nigeria with “old” Nigerians — particularly those who have made up their minds to see nothing but gloom and doom for the country. To them, Nigeria is finished and beyond redemption.

To build a “new” Nigeria, therefore, we need “new” Nigerians — those whose passion is fuelled by a desire for the development of the country, those who look around and see massive opportunities for greatness, those who expend their energies on promoting what unites us rather than magnifying what divides us, and those who believe every part of Nigeria deserves to be treated with equity, no matter their population, tongue, beliefs or political leaning.

So who do we turn to in this “New Nigeria” project? The youth, of course. To build the kind of Nigeria I am talking about is not a day’s job. We are not going to go to bed tonight and wake up tomorrow to see a new Nigeria.

We are not discussing magic here. Nigeria did not get here overnight and Nigeria will not be salvaged overnight. It took decades upon decades to ruin Nigeria, to create the mindset that shapes the leadership and controls national discourse. It will take decades to develop a new mindset that is focused, first and foremost, on Nigeria rather than “tribe and tongue”. But can we start this rebuilding today, hoping to reap the reward in the future?

When I said our hope is in the “youth” — defined in the National Youth Policy as those

President Muhammadu Buhari between 18-29 years of age, although the African Youth Charter prefers 15-35 — I’m sure you sniggered. Youth? The same chaps that are on social media hurling all kinds of obscenity at each other based on ethnic and religious prejudice? The same chaps that are implicated in yahoo-yahoo (internet scam) all over the world? The same chaps that are dosing heavily on hard drugs?

The same chaps that would rather vote in Big Brother Naija (BBN) poll than on election days?

The same chaps that are being churned out by our rickety educational system? Dear Simon, are you out of your mind?

No, I am not beside myself. Occasionally, I do come across the ill-mannered conversations on Twitter, mostly coated in bad grammar. I come across vile ethnic and religious hate being spewed in the crudest language possible. I come across twisted facts and outright falsehood being sprayed around in the name of politics. I read news of young people enrolling in special schools to learn yahoo-yahoo after swearing to oaths of secrecy in shrines. I read comments from the entitled youth, the disrespectful youth, and the badly behaved youth, on social media platforms. I see intimidating statistics of youth unemployment and underemployment. No, I don’t live on the moon!

But this does not tell the entire story of the Nigerian youth. For one, it is unfair to use BBN to judge them. Globally, entertainment draws more young persons compared to polling booths. There is nothing peculiar to Nigeria in this. More so, you can vote in BBN poll and still vote in elections. They are not mutually exclusive. More critically, we need to find out why there is political apathy among the youth.

Is there something that discourages them? How can we get them to develop more interest? Off my head, I would say more young Nigerians are registering to vote, and more are turning out to cast their ballots compared to the earlier years of this democratic dispensation.

We need to acknowledge that there is a large army of young Nigerians who are thinkers and builders, who are doing things better than we ever did in our own youth, who are going to places we never went, and who are reaching heights we only dreamt of. And I mean in every walk of life: academics, science, technology, media, arts and entertainment. Under the same climate, temperature and humidity, we are producing resourceful youth, but we tend to see only the bad and forget the good.

The major task before us is how to retain, refine

and reproduce the good, and quite essentially, how to salvage the bad. We give up too easily, perhaps just to justify our cynicism.

Could it also be that we are under-appreciating our youth and, thus, using the deviants to define the entire demography? When I set up TheCable, the online newspaper, in 2014, I was initially frustrated by the quality of applications. I almost despaired. We still managed to recruit a very youthful team, average age 23 — and most of them for their first jobs. It soon became an unofficial company policy to “catch them young”.

I can testify that from the same vilified army of youthful Nigerians, we have been recruiting talents, some of whom have gone on to win awards or get international jobs. I am proud of them every minute of the day, even if the process of mentoring can be quite challenging.

We also have to admit that we have failed our youth. We cannot complain about the output without appraising the input. The school system, both traditional and vocational, is a shambles.

That is not their fault. More so, as a teenage boy, even in my pre-teen, I had several avenues for my mind to be properly built, for me to express my masculinity positively, to escape idleness. We had the Boys Brigade, Man O’War, Boys Scout, Royal Ambassadors, etc. Today, youth groups are collapsing and pre-teen boys are joining cults. How much blame can we apportion to them for this? There used to be several local and national sports competitions to harvest their talents. Where are they now?

Whether we like it or not, the youth are the leaders of tomorrow. This is not subject to argument. It is a natural fact. They are the building blocks of the society. They will end up in different fields — business, sports, media, politics, civil society and civil service.

They will end up calling the shots. If we lose them today, we lose the future of Nigeria. If we mismanage their today, we mismanage our tomorrow. What we owe them is the duty to encourage the positive use of their energies, to correct their mistakes, to celebrate their successes and to show them the light so that they can find the way, if I may adapt the motto of the West African Pilot. To make Nigeria great is a long-distance journey.

Nigerian youth, home and abroad, have to form the core of the rebuilding the nation.

Mentoring and re-orientating the youth should form the key strategy, not just for the government but also for corporate bodies and individuals.

I am putting in my shift as an employer and as a newspaper columnist. We all have a part to play to bring out the best in our youth. We should remember that the youth played a key role in combating colonialism. There was the Lagos Youth Movement, which metamorphosed into a political party called Nigerian Youth Movement. It was a melting pot for Nigerians from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, although mainly southern.

We need a new Nigerian youth movement, not in name but in mentality — a movement of informed and interested youth who want a great Nigeria. I read a joke about the Diamond Jubilee. Someone said since retirement age in Nigeria is 60, is it time to retire the old Nigeria for a new one? It was meant to be a joke but it really serves my purpose: we need new Nigerians who want to “side with Nigeria” in this troubled journey to nationhood. We need youth who would turn on the heat on leadership at all levels — federal, state and local — to “force” them to start doing the right thing today for the sake of tomorrow. These new Nigerians must hijack and dominate public discourse.

And Four Other Things…

PENCOM PALAVER The nomination of Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar (from the north-east) as the DG of the Nigerian Pension Commission by President Buhari has been opposed by Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, who argued that the previous DG, Ms Chinelo Anohu-Amazu (south-east), did not complete her tenure and the PenCom law says under such circumstance, someone from the same zone must replace her. Anohu-Amazu barely served three years before her removal and the dissolution of the board. But there is now a new board. The previous board, dissolved three years ago, is history. Technically, therefore, Dahir-Umar has been nominated as a successor to, not as a replacement for, Anohu-Amazu. Right?

SAUDI SERMON President Buhari, in his Independence Day address, said something to the effect that it makes no sense for petrol to be cheaper in Nigeria than in Saudi Arabia. However, if we are going to make a good argument for the removal of fuel subsidy, we should not be referring to Saudi Arabia. In a country with so many idle presidential jets, where public officers are taking chartered flights to attend weddings, where governors are buying brand new SUVs for judges and traditional rulers, where hospitals routinely reject patients saying “no bed space”, where potable water is a luxury, and where public schools are an apology, we need more than Saudi comparisons. Dissonance.

TRUMPING COVID-19 Now that US President Donald Trump has caught the coronavirus, perhaps the world, particularly conspiracy theorists, will take the pandemic more seriously. I believe that the world can overcome the coronavirus if we all behave responsibly. It is so disturbing that like Trump, people are showing little or no regard for face mask — despite evidence that droplets from the mouth and the nose easily transmit the disease. Physical distancing is too much to ask of some people. The good news is that the infection rate is slowing down, so also the death rate.

But I can’t stop imagining how much safer the world would be if only people would conduct themselves with responsibility. Upsetting.

STRAY BULLET Who has the power to conduct recruitment into the police force? This was never anything to worry about until the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Police Service Commission (PSC) went to war last year.

NPF believed it had the powers while PSC said it was its function. It ended up in court.

The high court ruled in favour of NPF, and the force went ahead to recruit 10,000 men and women. Now, the court of appeal has ruled in favour of PSC. I honestly don’t think two government bodies should be fighting in court, but that is by the way. NPF has expended enormous resources on this recruitment and it would be too absurd for this to go down the drain just like that.

Waste.

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