SUNDAY 29TH NOVEMBER 2020

'INEC Spends N444.5bn on Three National Elections with 35% Turnout' Wastes billions on large number of unused ballots Yiaga Africa urges National Assembly to cut election spending

Chuks Okocha in Abuja The last three national elections of 2011, 2015 and 2019 cost the nation some whooping N444.5 billion despite witnessing

about 35 per cent low turnout, Yiaga Africa, a non-profit civil group has said.

To this end, the group, which urged the National Assembly to ensure a

reduction in the cost of election management, claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) wasted several billions on large number of unused ballots at

the nation’s expense.

Speaking ahead of the proposed public hearing on the electoral act reforms, convener of the Not Too Young Run and Executive Director of Yiaga

Africa, Samson Itodo, enjoined All of this was contained the National Assembly to in a report he presented to make history by ensuring the House of Representatives that an all-new electoral act last Wednesday. was passed before the 2023 general election.

Continued on page 8

FG Commences N140bn Solar Installation in 5m Homes Nationwide… Page 5 Sunday 29 November, 2020 Vol 25. No 9365

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Boko Haram Slaughters 43 Farmers in Borno, Destroys Rice Farms Buhari describes killings as insane Amnesty International: Killings show terror sect contempt for human life

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri Suspected members,

Boko Haram yesterday,

slaughtered 43 farmers at a rice plantation in Borno State.

The insurgents were also said to have destroyed the rice plantation after slaughtering

all the farmers in yet another major attack in the state.

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday reacted swiftly to the reported

slaughter of the farmers.

He expressed grief over the killing of farmers on rice fields at Zabarmari, in Jere Local Government of Borno

State, describing the terrorist killings as insane.

In the president's verified twitter handle @MBuhari, the president said: “I condemn the

killing of our hardworking farmers by terrorists in Borno State. The entire country is Continued on page 9

New Study Explains Why Africa Defied Dire Predictions to Survive Deadly Covid-19 Experience in managing previous infectious diseases like Ebola, Tuberculosis, Lassa fever comes handy Timely lockdown, early surveillance, contact tracing at airports help Exposure to similar viruses in the past may be giving relative immunity to people

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja A new study by a consortium of African medical doctors has given reasons why the COVID-19 pandemic appeared not to have had the catastrophic effect on the health indices in most African countries, as earlier predicted. Factors, such as low population density in cities and communities, large young population, previous experience in epidemic control, and effects of medication used for related diseases in the past, were said to have produced the success rate some African countries have recorded so far.

The findings were contained in a 2020 research journal published by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

This is the first comprehensive research by African medical Continued on page 5

BANKERS' NIGHT out...

L-R: Fadekemi Olugbemi; husband and President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Bayo Olugbemi; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele; CEO, Sterling Bank PLC, Abubakar Suleiman; and 1st Vice President, CIBN, Ken Opara, during the 55th Annual Bankers Dinner in Lagos...weekend

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FG Commences N140bn Solar Installation in 5m Homes Nationwide Offers 5 to 10 percent interest rate to solar companies to fund initiative Consumers to pay less than grid power customers Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja In pursuit of economic recovery and implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), the federal government has announced the installation of N140 billion solar systems in five million homes this week.

According to the government, beneficiaries of the initiative would be the under-served and off-grid communities across the country.

THISDAY learnt yesterday that the package would include assembly and manufacturing of components of off-grid solutions to facilitate growth of the local manufacturing industry with the use of incentivised local content.

Confirming the development, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity (Office of the Vice-President), Mr. Laolu Akande, said work plan for implementation of the solar home systems, which he described as a component of the ESP, showed that the first set of installations would be executed nationwide this December.

The programme, it was learnt, would be beneficial to about 25 million Nigerians in 5 million homes, who live

mostly in rural communities and not connected to the national grid.

Being one of the recommendations of the Economic Sustainability Committee chaired by VicePresident Yemi Osinbajo earlier in the year, the initiative will be funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The CBN, according to the arrangement, will make funds available to private

companies in the solar power sub-sector that are involved in manufacturing, assembling, installation and servicing of solar systems at five to 10 per cent credit rates, lower than the current commercial lending rates in the country.

The objective of providing cheap credit for companies involved in the programme, it was learnt, is to significantly reduce the cost of acquiring the system by end users, most

of who are not yet connected to the national grid.

The reduction in the lending rate is expected to be a big incentive for the private sector under the ESP with more affordable power and energy for 25 million Nigerians, when compared to consumers of electric power.

"The solar home system as an important component of the Buhari administration’s ESP is designed as part of measures

by the federal government to ramp up power supply across the country by catering specifically for communities not connected to the national grid. It is also part of the administration's strategy to address the overall challenges and issues in the power sector as Solar is not only cheaper but also considered to be cleaner and renewable.

"Aside providing access to affordable energy, the objective

of the plan is to improve social, economic and environmental welfare of 25 million Nigerians while generating jobs, increasing revenues and import substitution.

"Regarding jobs, the ESP 5m Solar installation is expected to create about 250,000 jobs including in manufacturing, assembling, installations, maintenance and payment systems," the presidency said.

BUILDING BRIDGES...

L-R: Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal; Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; former President of the Senate and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim; and former Governor of Imo State, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, at the Government House, Enugu... yesterday.

NEW STUDY EXPLAINS WHY AFRICA DEFIED DIRE PREDICTIONS TO SURVIVE DEADLY COVID-19 scientific research team to offer scientific explanation why the continent seems to have largely escaped doomsday predictions. Before the publication of the research findings, Western countries have been baffled why Africa with its weak healthcare infrastructure was spared the devastation the COVID-19 wrought on the West.

Africa was a feared destination of the killer coronavirus scourge due to poor health infrastructure heightened by hard-biting economic realities. Predictions by experts and credible organisations, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), sent warning signals of an impending doom threatening to eclipse the continent should COVID-19 pandemic hit the countries in the region.

But 11 months down the line, absence of exponential growth and low mortality rates, contrary to the experience of other continents and projections for Africa by various agencies, has become a puzzle to many.

The study showed, “Despite weaker health care facilities and systems, the growth of cases in Africa has defied most predictions and has remained geometric and not exponential. Available data and statistics continue to reflect consistently lower numbers than those in other continents, except for the Oceania.

"The severity of

presentation has also remained relatively mild and the anticipated overwhelming of the health systems, including the renal services of the various countries on the continent has not been seen.

Mortality and case fatality rates have been a fraction of what was predicted."

This, experts maintained, is, however, not a reason to be complacent about the virus because for many African countries, these may still be early days in the pandemic. A change in the pattern might yet occur as the numbers continue to rise.

Besides, it has taken six months to reach the first 500,000 cases but less than two months to cross the million cases mark on the continent.

With an estimated 17.2 per cent of the world’s population, Africa accounts for only five per cent of the total cases and three per cent of the mortality. Mortality for the whole of Africa remained at a reported 19,726 as at August 01, 2020.

The effect of COVID-19 in Africa in terms of spread appears different, when compared to the other continents. The report noted that certain factors might be responsible for the low spread and impact of COVID-19 in the continent.

The research findings showed that experience, rather than resource availability, helped many African countries with

previous experience of managing other epidemics, like Ebola, tuberculosis, and Lassa fever, to withstand the spread of COVID-19.

These countries were also able to close their airports to international travels much earlier than had been done in other continents.

Similarly, the report showed that prior to the closure of international travel routes, many African countries had commenced disease surveillance activities and contact tracing at the airports, much earlier than was done in many other countries outside the continent.

"All of these factors limited the number of cases ‘seeded’ into African countries, delaying the outset and the subsequent growth in numbers, thereby ‘flattening the curve’ in many of these countries," the report stated.

The findings also showed that lower number of cases in Africa, as compared to other continents, was attributable to poor testing capacity.

The report said, "This is another major potential reason for the relatively lower numbers of cases on the continent. The number of positive cases reported is driven by the number of rt-PCR tests performed.

"The top five testing countries in the world (as of August 01, 2020) were China 90 million, the USA- 50 million, Russia- 26 million, India- 15 million, and the UK13 million. In contrast, the

top four countries in Africa were South Africa with 2.9 million tests, Morocco with 1.2 million, Ethiopia with 422,000, and Ghana with 391,000 tests done as at the same date."

Another key factor limiting the spread of COVID-19 in Africa is population and population density, according to the report. It stated that population density in Africa was much lower than many of the countries in other continents.

The report explained that the disease spread quicker and more easily in crowded, enclosed, and noisy spaces while communities on the continent are mainly rural and widely dispersed, which slows the spread of the virus.

It stated, "The ‘hotspots’ in most countries are the crowded major cities like Lagos in Nigeria (responsible for over 40% of cases), Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa, Nairobi in Kenya, and Cairo in Egypt.

Within these cities, the greatest numbers are seen in crowded communities such as Kosofe and Alimosho in Lagos.�

The report noted that the lockdown measures in African countries early in the pandemic breakout served to limit the spread of the disease in countries like Rwanda and Senegal, which implemented strict and efficient measures and were able to limit the spread even better than surrounding

countries in their sub-regions.

There were speculations of possible relative resistance to the virus with resultant milder presentation and much lower mortality on the continent. This followed a hypothesis that exposure to similar coronaviruses in the past might have conferred relative immunity to patients in Afrca.

Coronavirus cross-reactive antibodies might contribute to a low transmission rate and reduce severity of disease associated with SARS-COV-2 through cross-neutralisation and rapid clearance, experts said.

The report also said the heightened immunity obtained from exposure to previous infections, like malaria and other endemic infections, like tuberculosis and HIV, had been speculated as a possible reason for the milder presentation of the COVID-19 in Africa.

In addition, the study suggested that on-going vaccination for tuberculosis using the BCG vaccine might be a factor in protecting vaccinated individuals from acquiring the illness and when they did, from the severity of the disease and mortality. It said many countries in Africa had continued to vaccinate their citizens against pulmonary tuberculosis with BCG, as the disease remained endemic in various countries on the continent.

Countries in Europe with

later discontinuation of BCG vaccination also all seem to have relatively fewer cases and milder illness than their surrounding neighbours, the report observed. “Although we could not find a correlation with BCG vaccination and the number of coronavirus cases, some studies have shown BCG to be protective against severe cases of the illness,� the study explained.

In the same vein, within the continent, the top testing countries were also the countries with the highest number of cases.

According to the report, antibody testing in several countries suggested that many cases might have been missed by the paucity of tests in the continent. It said many of these tests suggested that as much as 10 per cent to 20 per cent of the population in some of these countries might have already contracted and recovered from the disease.

"In fact, preliminary results from a study from the Western Cape in South Africa revealed a sero-prevalence of antibodies in 40 per cent of antenatal screening specimens and routine monitoring blood tests," the report added.

Although Africa is the second most populous continent, with an estimated 17.2 per cent of the world’s population, the continent still accounts for only five per cent of the total cases and Continued on page 8

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AfDB, IFAD to Give $700m Support to Nigeria’s SAPZ Project Bennett Oghifo The Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) project in Nigeria will receive support funding of $500 million from the African Development Bank (AfDP), and $200 million, pledged by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Technical Adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Richard-Mark Mbaram, stated this yesterday during an interactive session with journalists at a webinar.

The SAPZ will be formally inaugurated at the 2020 edition of the Feed Nigeria Summit, the country's flagship agricultural sector convocation, set to hold December 1 – 2.

This year’s summit, to be held at the Ladi Kwali Conference Centre, Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja, is themed, “Agribusiness: Leading Nigeria’s Recovery.�

Chairman, Organising Committee, Feed Nigeria Summit 2020, Professor Eustace Iyayi, said this year’s gathering would focus on how Nigeria could make full economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by piggybacking on agro-industrialisation. Iyayi, a Professor of Animal Nutrition and Feed Biotechnology, said at the webinar yesterday that the summit was aimed at encouraging conversation around key evidence-based

solutions for recalibrating the Nigerian economy by leveraging the agricultural sector’s transformative capacity.

Iyayi said, “FNS2020 can draw attention to the huge gap that continues to exist between production and need.

This gap can be significantly reduced by funding support to the private sector to boost production against next year. “Farmers and other operators need to be given incentives because many already have their businesses wiped out or significantly downsized due to COVID 19.�

Iyayi noted that FNS2020 would serve as a platform to unveil the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Plan (NATIP), the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s new policy direction being spearheaded by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono.

The ministry’s private-sector inclusion campaign, the Agriculture Policy Alliance Project (APAP), which is a key component of NATIP, will also form part of key engagement areas at the summit.

With SAPZ set for take-off in January 2021, FNS2020 will play a major role in the project’s effective start, Iyayi said.

He explained, “Beyond

discussion, FNS2020 must push for industrialisation.

Something just has to push us to that next level. FNS2020 could be that something and the time is now. “If we have state actors and some investors whose buy-in we have already gotten, such must be used to jump-start the

SAPZ launching. Something just has to start!�

The Feed Nigeria Summit has over the years been a cardinal platform for stakeholder engagement targeted at accelerating the country’s race towards self-sufficiency in food production. Hosted annually

by AgroNigeria, the Voice of Nigeria's Agriculture Summit has consistently served as a critical tool for positioning the sector as the key economic growth vehicle for Nigeria.

SAPZ is an integrated development initiative designed to concentrate agroprocessing activities within

areas of high agricultural potential to boost productivity, integrate production, processing and marketing of selected commodities.

It is a federal government collaborative project with the AfDB, to be executed in partnership with FMARD and other key partners.

AN EMPOWERMENT...

Senator Oluremi Tinubu, presenting item to a beneďŹ ciary, Oluwatoyin Balogun (middle), while Chairman, Board of Directors of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Femi Pedro, looks on at the Skills Acquisition Training GSM Repair Food and Confectionery for Youth in the Lagos Central Senatorial District, in Surulere

'INEC SPENDS N444.5BN ON THREE NATIONAL ELECTIONS WITH 35% TURNOUT' Yiaga Africa, a non-profit organization, is a civic hub of change makers committed to the promotion of democratic governance, human rights and civic engagement.

In the report exclusively obtained by THISDAY, Itodo noted that the cost of conducting election in Nigeria was on the high side, compared to the low voter turnout witnessed from the 2011 to the 2019 elections, reiterating that a whooping N444.5 billion had been spent on the elections despite their low turnout.

"Nigeria spent N139 Billion (N1,893 or $9 cost per voter) for the 2011 elections; N116.3 Billion (N1,691 or $8.5 cost per voter) for the 2015 elections; and N189.2 Billion (N2,249 $6.24 cost per voter) for the 2019 elections. All three elections recorded poor turnout of voters," he said.

In Nigeria, he contended that the law compels the electoral commission to use the voter register as a basis for election planning as against the figures for collected Permanent Voters Card (PVC).

He, therefore, urged the federal lawmakers to take into consideration the need to reduce the cost of conducting elections as well as planning, adding that printing of ballot papers should be based on only those that collected PVC and not based on the entire voters’ register.

According to him, in 2019 elections, INEC printed over 427.5 million ballot papers (of currency quality) for 80 million registered voters in the six scheduled elections, but noted that "Less than 30 million ballots were used in the elections, because only 35 per cent of registered voters showed up to vote. Billions

of Naira went to waste due to a large number of unused ballots papers.�

The six scheduled elections were the Presidential, National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives), Governorship, State House of Assembly and the FCT area council elections.

INEC also conducted the six FCT area council elections of Abuja Municipal Area Council, Gwagwalada Area Council, Kuje Area Council, Abaji Area Council, Bwari area council and Kwale area councils.

"These scarce resources plowed to produce the unused ballot papers would have been allocated to health, education, or jobs given Nigeria's place as the world's poverty capital.

"Efficient allocation of scarce resources should be a priority agenda for reformers of our electoral process. This should encompass a clear strategy

for reversing the deeply entrenched culture of waste in public finance management.

"A cost-benefit analysis of public expenditure on elections is an essential component of the electoral reform agenda.

This analysis is highly recommended given the country’s economic recession due to bad economic choices, disruptions in public finance, and negative externalities," he submitted.

Itodo explained that political scientists would argue that the high costs of elections were an investment in democracy, therefore, countries should earmark adequate resources for election conduct, adding that this seemed like a plausible argument, especially for nations still evolving with a democratic culture.

"But what happens to equity and efficiency? What is the benefit of expending scarce

resources on elections that fail to maximize utility or promote happiness for the greatest number in society, or elections that yield just outcomes?", he asked.

He also argued that other proposals should include new timelines for campaigns and candidate nomination, review of election results declared under duress, diaspora voting, and improved oversight on political parties, amongst others, adding that Civil society groups have already proposed amendments to the electoral legal framework.

"No doubt, the current proposed amendments can foster popular sovereignty.

Still, it is uncertain whether the ruling political class will pass these laws, given the potential of reforms to limit future chances of electoral victory.

"The apparent assumption

is that most politicians will be reluctant to legislate themselves out of office. Therefore, they employ diverse tactics to dictate the pace and influence the outcome of reform efforts, leaving society to manage the tensions between individual and collective interests," he stated.

Itodo reckoned that a just society is one that places the maximisation of happiness as a key basis for decision-making as moral decision-making should be premised on maximising the total happiness of members of society and advancing the common good, not just the interests of a few.

"As legislators consider decisions on electoral reforms within the ramifications of options available to them, Continued on page 9

NEW STUDY EXPLAINS WHY AFRICA DEFIED DIRE PREDICTIONS TO SURVIVE DEADLY COVID-19 three per cent of the mortality.

From the onset of the pandemic in Africa, the rate of rise had been slower and the severity of illness and case fatality rates had been lower in comparison to other continents.

In addition, contrary to what had been documented in other continents, the occurrence of the renal complications in patients also appeared to be much lower.

The report, apparently the most comprehensive study done on the subject to date, tried to highlight the

striking differences between the continents and within the continent of Africa itself and then attempted to explain reasons for the differences.

Case numbers, mortality, number of tests performed, and demographic data were summarised and compared by continents, regions, and countries within the continent of Africa. The research compared all African countries to the top 10 in the world worst hit by COVID-19. It was also able to establish some of the factors that were

responsible for the spread of the virus in Africa. For instance, among the African countries, the number of cases in the early stages of the pandemic was directly proportional to the number of international flights into these countries. The busiest international airports on the continent are located in South Africa, which also has the highest numbers on the continent, followed by Egypt, which is also second in case numbers. Countries that exemplified this trend

werelike Kenya and Ethiopia, whose airports served as hubs for several countries on the continent and many international travellers passed through their airports and not actually into these countries.

Another category of countries was the ones with infrequent business and tourism contacts with other continents, an these had the lowest number of COVID-19 cases.

Among the African doctors, who carried out the research, are Author affiliations:

Ebun L. Bamgboye, St Nicholas Hospital, Lagos; Jesutofunmi A. Omiye, St Nicholas Hospital, Lagos; Oluwasegun J. Afolaranmi, St Nicholas Hospital, Lagos; Mogamat Razeen Davids; Division of Nephrology, Stellenbosch University; and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. Others were Elliot Koranteng Tannor; Renal Unit, Department of Medicine, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana; Shoyab Wadee, Wits Donald Gordon Medical

Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Abdou Niang, Dalal Jamm Hospital, and Dakar Cheikh A. Diop University, Senegal.

There are also Anthony Were, Department of Medicine, East African Kidney Institute, College of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, Kenya; Saraladevi Naicker, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

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INEC: We’ve No Powers to Determine Candidates for Parties Says only duly nominated candidates by parties or court orders will be recognised

Chuks Okocha in Abuja Ahead of the December 5 National and State Houses of Assembly bye-elections in some states, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, said it did not have any powers to determine candidates for the elections.

The commission, however, said it would only allow names of candidates on the ballot papers based on the political parties primary elections or the directives of a competent court of law.

INEC made the statement in reference to some contentious senatorial districts in Bayelsa, Imo, Cross River and other states, where there are crises in the nomination of the candidates of some political parties.

Acting chairman of INEC, AVM Ahmed Muazu declared the position of INEC, when the commission met with stakeholders over Imo’s North senatorial election.

According to him, "It is also worth reiterating that the Commission does not have adjudicatory powers. Section 285 of the Constitution vests in the Courts and Tribunals the power to determine pre and post-election disputes.

"By section 285(14) of the Constitution, an aspirant, who complains that any of the provisions of the Electoral Act or any Act of the National Assembly regulating the conduct of primaries of political parties and the provisions of the guidelines of a political party

for conduct of party primaries has not been complied with by a political party in respect of the selection or nomination of candidates and participation in election is free to approach the Federal High Court, the State High Courts or the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja to ventilate his or her grievances.

"The Commission is under a constitutional and statutory obligation to comply with any judgment given or order made by any of these Courts. Parties dissatisfied with the judgment of the Court of first instance have 14 days to appeal to the Court of Appeal and the Court of Appeal has 60 days to deliver judgment in respect of the Appeal.

"The Commission is also under a constitutional and statutory obligation to comply with and give life to the judgment of the Court of Appeal", the INEC acting chairman declared.

He further explained that the "Commission receives the names and list of candidates validly nominated and in case of disputes, the Courts are given the power to resolve them. The Courts determine the validity of the conduct of party primaries and the Commission is bound to comply with whatever the Court determines.

"We urge aspirants, candidates and political parties to have faith in the Courts and Tribunals and resolve their issues constitutionally and legally but more importantly, within the adjudicatory

mechanisms of the political parties", he stated.

He also appealed to the security agencies to act professionally and ethically in securing the materials, election staff and the electoral environment, saying, "In other words, we expect robust synergy between the security agencies and the electoral management body.

"We propose that the various security agencies will maintain their operational commands in their jurisdictions while the Commission will activate a Joint Situation Room in INEC State office with all representatives of all the security agencies, the National Youth Service Corp

and the National Orientation agency. “The Joint Situation Room will coordinate security deployment and operations before, during and immediately after the election", AVM Muazu said, adding that the Imo North Senatorial District election will take place in six (6) Local Government Areas spanning 64 registration areas and a registered voter population of 389, 245.

He equally said young men and women would be deployed to these areas as Registration Area Technical Assistants, Monitors, Supervisory Presiding Officers, Presiding Officers and Assistant

Presiding Officers and urged the security agencies to provide adequate protection for these classes of Nigerians that would be on national assignment.

"We also expect professionalism and good ethical conduct from these election staff. They must, on no account, depart from their oath of neutrality and code of conduct as the abridgement of same or departure from it poses danger to the electoral process and danger to their safety."

He said the Commission would deploy the Smart Card Readers to every polling unit and resistance to the deployment and use of the

Smart Card Reader would earn zero votes for the polling unit, explaining also that INEC would deploy the z-pad for uploading of polling units’ result in real time.

He, however, assured the voters that their votes would count and that the Commission would conduct a good election, while assuring stakeholders that the electoral environment would be made conducive for the exercise of their right to vote.

Meanwhile, about 151 candidates will contest in the bye-elections in 11 states on December 5, the Independent National Electoral Commission has said.

TAKING STOCK...

L-R: Company Secretary, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, NaďŹ sat Lasisi; Chairman, Oluseun Ajayi; and Managing Director/ Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Olaotan Soyinka, during the 25th Annual General Meeting of the company in Lagos

Ex-Directors Pay Solidarity Visit, Seek Support for DSS DG Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja A delegation of the forum of retired directors of the Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday paid a solidarity visit to the Director- General, DSS, Alhaji Yusuf Magaji Bichi.

Led by the duo of Chief J.O. Obuseh and Barrister Peter Egure, the delegation stated that the visit was to identify with the DG and commend him for his sterling leadership.

The forum stated that it had taken keen interest in the

affairs of the service and had remained impressed with the way he had handled issues including staff welfare and national security.

A statement issued by the Spokesman of DSS, Dr Peter Afunanya, said the group noted that the morale of staff was at its peak and commended the DG for the noble achievement.

It called on its members and serving personnel to support the DG to surmount security challenges confronting the nation.

It described him as a man with robust experience and a core professional whose humility and dedication to duty is public knowledge.

The DG was therefore advised not to be distracted by mischief makers whose stock in trade was to undermine the integrity of the service and its management team.

He was also urged to remain focused, determined and selfless in his commitment in moving the DSS forward.

The visiting members pledged their loyalty and

support to the DG and the nation.

In his response, the DG thanked them for the visit and stated that the solidarity had renewed his resolve for greater service to the country and the DSS. He noted that in line with the mandate of the service, his leadership would continue to ensure that threats and crimes against the internal security of Nigeria were contained so that law abiding citizens could pursue their legitimate businesses.

He noted that security management should be the concern of all and sundry and that it was in this regard that he had adopted stakeholder collaboration as a model.

He assured the forum of his management’s dedication to its welfare. “I am here today to serve.

I will remain professional in the discharge of my responsibility and ensure that everyone is treated without bias. I will ensure the service accomplishes its mandate of detection and prevention of

crime against the internal security of Nigeria.

I call on all retired and serving personnel to be dedicated to taking the service to greater heights. We are aware of the challenges ahead but only a unity of purpose will help us overcome them", he said, adding that "it is only if and when we collaborate that we can move the service and the nation forward.

"All hands must be on deck for us to defeat the plans of law breakers. I thank you for coming�.

to which the proposed electoral amendments promote happiness for the greater number and not just the political elites.

"Any piece of electoral legislation that will not guarantee the people's participation, protect the sanctity of the vote or advance

electoral justice may not serve the common good. Suffice it to say that there’s nothing special about the ongoing electoral reform process if it does not yield the greater good for the greater number, instead of yielding the greater good for the one percent, who controls political power," Itodo stated.

village, in Zabarmari part of Jere Local Government. It subdued farmers, who were harvesting rice, slaughtered all of them and razed their farm, destroying their rice,� he said.

According to the source, who obliged information at about 10.pm last night, said, “As I am speaking to you, the corpses of the farmers are lying in the farm as it is night and no one can bury them now.

“The Governor, Prof.

Babagana Zulum, who was apparently shaken by the sad event, has equally instructed that he would like to see the corpses before they are buried.�

As at the time of filing this report, both the military and the police could not officially be reached last night for confirmation. Messages sent to the spokespersons of the military and police were not responded to.

'INEC SPENDS N444.5BN ON THREE NATIONAL ELECTIONS WITH 35% TURNOUT' they should be guided to choose options that serve the common good. In other words, in the spirit of democracy, they should pass electoral amendments that promote the common good of the Nigerian majority, in essence, the people and not the political class.

"After all, political authority

is expected to serve the interests of the people, not individual interests. As Xunsi puts it, 'Heaven did not create the people for the sake of the Lord, heaven established the Lord for the sake of the people.'

"If an electoral amendment reflects the aggregate of the

greater good, it indicates its responsiveness to the will and aspirations of the people. Suffices to say, the greater the number of citizens who participate in designing a new electoral legal framework, the greater our chances of producing just outcomes and advancing the common good."

He stressed that citizens bear the burden to hold the ruling political elite to higher standards, stressing further that, "Electoral policies should place a premium on moral principles, ethics, and maximisation of happiness.

The 9th National Assembly will be judged by the extent

BOKO HARAM SLAUGHTERS 43 FARMERS IN BORNO, DESTROYS RICE FARMS hurt by these senseless killings.

My thoughts are with their families in this time of grief.

May their souls Rest In Peace.�

President Buhari said the government had given all the needed support to the armed forces “to take all necessary steps to protect the country’s population and its territory.�

Also reacting yesterday to the dastardly slaughter of 43 farmers, Amnesty International in a tweet condemned the

targeting of civilians, saying it shows the group’s contempt for human life.

The body, therefore, urged Boko Haram to “end its campaign of vicious and unlawful killings of civilians�.

Even though details were still sketchy yesterday night, the attack triggered anger in several communities fearful of the worsening insecurity in the state and the country generally. Nigerians vented

their anger on social media condemning the government for its apparent failure to secure lives of Nigerians.

An apparently distraught governor of the state, Prof.

Babagana Zulum, has however asked to see the corpses of the farmers before they were committed to mother earth today.

According to a source, the farmers had gone to the farm in Kwashabe village in

Zabarmari district of Jere Local Government Area to harvest their rice before they met their untimely death.

The source, a security official, who preferred anonymity, stated that the insurgents in their numbers attacked the farmers on the farm at about 4pm, subdued and slaughtered them all. “It is unfortunate that Boko Haram have killed 42 farmers in Kwashabe

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NOVEMBER 29, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

EDITORIAL

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

A NATION I N DIRE STRAITS Government should try to get its sums right. The waste must stop

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mid threats by some of its personnel to stay away from duty due to inability to meet their financial obligations, the Federal Fire Service recently issued two circulars within a month. In the first, dated 14th October 2020, the paramilitary agency informed staff that delay in the payment of September 2020 salary was due to insufficient funds in their coffers. The second, dated 30th October 2020, was more elaborate. It sought the understanding and cooperation of staff - that they were not alone and that some 428 ministries and “extra ministerial departments of the federal government” were also affected. The Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) and others have advanced the same reason for inability to pay its staff.

No matter the spin from government officials, emerging facts suggest that the nation’s finances and the economy are already in dire straits. With the Covid-19 pandemic and the fall in oil prices it is not totally unexpected.

While there is nothing wrong for a country to face temporary economic setback so long as the managers are capable and indeed able to fix it, what is tragic is that we continue to live in denial, with public officials wallowing in profligacy. As things stand, there is no rational justification for deploying about 80 per cent of our annual national budget on recurrent expenditure, and about 60 per cent revenue on debt service. In many of the states, the ratio is far worse.

We are worried that while government revenue continues to dwindle, there is no conscious effort to cut down on recurrent expenditure by the federal government or the 36 states. To compound the challenge, transparency and accountability in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) are at the nadir as

official corruption is still high. The annual audit report from the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation is very instructive. The number of government agencies that fail to subject themselves to scrutiny under the present administration continues to increase.

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The states have the latitude to create their own revenue survival kits through taxes, sensible investments and prudent management

Letters to the Editor

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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, the critical challenge is in lack of prudence at practically all levels of government.

Aside borrowing heavily from China and the World Bank the federal government is considering dipping hands into the Service-Wide Vote (SWV)—funds set aside to tackle unforeseen expenditure—as a solution to the financial squeeze. Meanwhile, many of the 36 states are in a fix over mounting salaries and pensions. Since majority of them are perilously dependent on handouts from Abuja, their inability to pay salaries is becoming a national security challenge. Facedwith a declining national economy worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent low oil prices, many states across the country are wildering. Their battered financial state is worsened by the huge amount of money used to service unjustifiable debts accumulated over the years. States like Abia, Adamawa, Kogi, Plateau, Benue, Taraba and Osun are suffocating under debts and inability to live up to their responsibilities.

Given the foregoing, it is clear that the nation is at a crossroads. By focusing only on payment of salaries to workers that are largely unproductive at the expense of much needed social infrastructure like power, schools, hospitals and reliable institutions, poverty is being reinforced across the country. This catastrophe is enhanced by lack of accountability and creativity in governance. The states have the latitude to create their own revenue survival kits through taxes, sensible investments and prudent management. They have the power to slash their recurrent expenditure and drastically right-size their workforce, and spend less on frivolities. Sadly, at the moment, that this is not happening.

It is unacceptable that amid a debilitating revenue squeeze, governments at all levels have continued to be recklessly wasteful. A nation that spends more than it generates to sustain civil servants and public officials is surely on a journey to perdition. We hope the authorities at al levels will move quickly to steer the ship of state out of this rather dangerous trajectory.

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.

BANDITRY IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

ecently, more often than before, Nigeria has been trending on both local and international media over ceaseless kidnappings, banditry, robbery and other criminality in the country.

According to BBC Hausa Service, 16 people were killed on the Abuja–Kaduna Expressway while 18 people were kidnapped last week in Zamfara State. Who is safe? Some 12 police ASPs were also kidnapped. Kidnaped?

One imagines whether their guns were with them. Although they were later released, it was a national disgrace; one who protects others was captured.

Many of such devastating news have reached our eardrums, but the government seems to be lackadaisical towards addressing the menace.

In Zamfara State, farmers are asked to pay a certain amount by bandits before their farm produce could be harvested.

Multiple taxes without TSA. Banditry has found a laying bed in Northern Nigeria and the government is aloof. What has Buhari's government, enthroned to solve the insecurity in the land, done? In the first tenure, they found it difficult to resolve the situation at hand, rather they brought unnecessary hardships among reasonable individuals.

Like a 'child’s play', it started in 2009 and now, Boko Haram has reportedly killed tens of thousands and displaced over 2.3 million from their ancestral homes –and was at one time the world's deadliest terror group according to the Global Terrorism Index.

Sadly, among 2.3 million people that were displaced in 2013, at least 250,000 have left Nigeria and fled into neighbouring countries like Cameroon, Chad and Niger. Boko Haram terrorists have killed over 6,600 in 2014. This is sad. The group has carried out mass abductions including the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in April 2014.

Corruption in the security services and human rights abuses committed by them have hampered efforts to counter the unrest. Nigeria is seeing a wave of kidnapping that is cutting across every socioeconomic class. According to police, 685 kidnappings occurred nationwide in the first quarter of the year, an average of seven per day. Kidnappers demand

between $1,000 to $150,000 as ransom, depending on the financial resources of the victims.

I read in a report, where a resident of Rijana recounted his experience in the hands of the 'big boys'. He said: "We couldn't sleep on Sunday because the incidents took place a few metres from our village and the bandits returned around midnight shooting in the air." According to him, "Although I cannot say how many people were killed, I know the highway was blocked four times on Sunday evening. A few months back, the road was safe but the truth is that the bandits have resurfaced…" What about the girls that were raped?

Only God is the hope of the bleeding North. Come to our rescue. The service chiefs who are Northerners seem to be afraid of passing a night in their towns. To our representatives, it's time to play your role in ensuring

that the people that send you to the house stop suffering from the insecurity and begin to go about their daily activities peacefully.

Address poverty, it is breaking our ribs. Though the government has been trying to cushion the hardship by creating social investment programmes but more should be done. The border was closed. Where and how are they importing the ammunition? An illiterate person who knows nothing, knows how to handle guns that are equipped digitally.

The government needs to wake up and face the realities of the situation. The earlier it does, the better and easier it will be for us.

Secure the North.

––Usman Abdullahi Koli, Mass Communication Department, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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NEWS

Acting News Editor ĂŒĂ™ĂŁĂ?Ă‘Ă‹ Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă—Ă“ E-mail: Ă‘ĂŒĂ™ĂŁĂ?Ă‘Ă‹Ë›Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă—Ă“ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ă™Ă—ËœÍ¸Î€ÍšÍ˝ÍşÍťÍ˝Î ÍşÍ˝Íť Ě™Ă?Ă—Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁĚš

Ondo in Serious Security Crisis, Akeredolu Admits ‡ Pledges to track killers of slain monarch ‡ Ekiti monarchs commiserate with Ondo Gboyega Akinsanmi and Victor Olakitan in Ado Ekiti Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) yesterday admitted the obvious saying that the state is in a serious security crisis, citing the murder of the Oluifon of Ifon in Ose Local Government Area (LGA), Oba Adegoke Adebusi

on Thursday.

Disturbed by Adeusi’s murder, the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers lamented that it was unfortunate and painful that the monarch was killed while on his way to his domain after an official engagement.

The governor expressed this concern in a statement by his Commissioner for Information

and Orientation, Mr. Donald Ojogo in response to the gruesome murder of Olufon of Ifon, Oba Israel Adeusi.

Alongside the monarch, at least, three people were killed in two separate attacks by gunmen in Ondo State on Thursday.

The traditional ruler was said to be returning to his domain after attending a meeting of the

council of traditional rulers in Akure when he was shot.

With the rising incidence of kidnapping and killing in the state, Akeredolu said the government would deploy all within its means to unravel the killers of the monarch. “All lives matter, but this is one too heavy and unbearable. It’s a sad day in Ondo State. Clearly, we

PROMOTING CULTURE...

Yobe State Governor/ Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Caretaker Committee, Alhaji Mala Boni; his Plateau counterpart/Chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum, Mr. Simeon Lalung and Minister of Youth and Sports Development Mr Sunday Dare during the grand finale of NAFEST in Jos, Plateau State... yesterday

are in a serious security crisis that requires extraordinary means,�

Akeredolu said in a statement by his commissioner.

According to him, the security agencies, especially the Nigeria Police, have already been directed to fish out the perpetrators of this heinous crime.

He said: “On our part as a government, we shall give whatever it takes to unravel this. These criminals, who have brought this sad day on our state, shall not go unpunished. “In deference to our customs and traditions, the state government will advisedly refrain from making public reference in statements or utterances in respect of the identity of the great loss. “Nonetheless, without prejudice to ongoing efforts towards getting to the root of this abominable crime, the government shall issue a formal and more detailed statement as dictated by tradition after due consultations with relevant stakeholders in the affected community.�

Meanwhile, the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers has commiserated with its Ondo counterpart on the dastardly killing of the monarch.

The chairman of the council and the Alawe of Ilawe Ekiti Oba Adebanji Alabi consoled members of the immediate family of the late Olufon, praying to God to grant them the fortitude to bear this great loss.

The council’s message was

contained in a statement signed

by Alabi’s Special Adviser on Media, Olubunmi Ajibade issued in Ado Ekiti yesterday.

The monarch also appealed to the Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to take the sudden demise of Olufon with equanimity and prayed that the good Lord will expose the killers in no distant time .

Alabi said: “it was unfortunate and painful that the Olufon was killed by unknown gunmen while on his way to his domain after an official engagement and prayed that God will grant his soul eternal rest. “This ugly development was worrisome and injurious to the tradition and customs of Yoruba land. The death of the late Olufon has further buttressed and amplified the point that the issue of insecurity should be handled with the seriousness it deserves. “I call on the federal and state governments to further increase adequate air and land surveillance to be able to know the hideouts of the criminals for appropriate action. “I appeal to all Nigerians to be security conscious and be ready to support the government in the onerous task of ensuring security in our communities. “The time is now for Amotekun to commence its operational phase throughout the South West geopolitical zone as a panacea for insecurity in the zone, especially during this season of yuletide�.

After 200 Years in Darkness, Ijebu Community Gets Power Supply Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja About 200 years after Olooji, a community in Ijebu East, Ogun State, was founded, its residents yesterday experienced power supply for the first time with the inauguration of a 100KWP solar-powered off-grid electricity system.

The community of about 4,500 residents, according to the local leaders, has never had power supply nor used basic home appliances because of the absence of electricity since the community was first discovered.

The solar hybrid system was built by the federal government

through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) which is saddled with the responsibility of powering unserved and underserved communities across the country.

At the inauguration yesterday, REA’s Managing Director, Mr Ahmad Salihijo said the goal of the government was to deploy the solutions to improve electricity access in communities to aid socio-economic development.

He said: “I am delighted that the people of Ijebu will henceforth enjoy clean, safe and reliable energy as deployed under the first set of grants through the federal government’s

Rural Electrification Fund (REF). “REF is an initiative of the federal government, implemented by the REA to promote off-grid electrification and ensure that electricity is equitably distributed across Nigeria.

Therefore, interventions such as these are being delivered across all zones,� he stated.

The REA boss explained that the first set of grants under the REF would see the deployment of over 19,000 Solar Home Systems (SHS). “The federal government understands the nexus between reliable energy and development. To deliver on our mandate, interventions such

as this are designed to deliver the energy needs of Nigerians and enhance the socio-economic status of beneficiary communities. “This will ultimately boost productivity and provide jobs in the community. With the delivery of this solar hybrid mini-grid, we are positive that entrepreneurial skills and resourcefulness of the people of Ijebu will be improved through the productive use of this infrastructure. “We strongly believe that the quality of lives will be improved and children will have better learning experiences with access to reliable

electricity. This project will enliven this community and expose it to greater investments in the nearest future,� he stated.

In his remarks, the Ogun State Governor, Mr Dapo Abiodun emphasised the need to leverage novel technologies to aid the availability of reliable and sustainable electricity in Nigeria.

Abiodun, who was represented by the Commissioner for Rural Development, Mr Oladotun Taiwo stated that it speaks a lot about fairness when remote communities feel the impact of

the federal government. “I will encourage my people to optimise the use of this new infrastructure. We will also ensure that other facilities within the community get energised through this mini-grid. We must collectively leverage on possible investment opportunities,� he stressed.

In his speech, the Ajalorun of Ijebu-Ife, Oba Adesesan Oguntayo said: “Our main crop is cocoa, kolanut and palm oil and timber merchandising. Light is very important in life and we are happy the federal government is interested in this community.�

Salary Slash: Labour Begins Strike Action in Niger Dec. 1

Ubah Faults Obiano’s Decision to Suspend Monarchs

Laleye Dipo in Minna

Tobi Soniyi

With the collapse of negotiation between officials of the Niger State Government and those of the organised labour over the plan by the state to reduce workers’ salary, Labour has declared a total strike in the state.

The strike, according to the organised labour in the state, is expected to take place with effect from 12 midnight of Tuesday December 1 .

The workers’ letter to the state government titled “Resumption of Suspended Indefinite Strike Action� dated November 27 sent to Governor Abubakar Bello through the State Head of Service read in part:“ On the strength of the forgoing we write on behalf of the

State Executive Council (SEC) of Niger State Organised Labour to convey to your esteemed office the harmonised position of the affiliate unions as follows: “The Niger state government should refund the slashed June 2020 salaries to desirable civil servants latest Tuesday December 1, 2020 “That the discussions on payment of outstanding October 2020 salaries of local government workers must be conclusive on or before Tuesday December 1, 2020 “That the proposal by Niger state government to pay November 2020 salaries of LGAs and state workers on a percentage basis is unacceptable and vehemently rejected. “That failure of government

to address issues 1,2,3, above the organised labour will be left with no other option than to resume the earlier suspended indefinite strike action effective 12 midnight of Tuesday December 1.�

When contacted the Commissioner for Information Alhaji Mohammed Sani Idris confirmed that the government has received the letter by organised labour declaring strike action.

Idris told THISDAY that despite the action of the workers “negotiations and discussions still continue�.

The state government had confirmed its decision to slash the salaries of all workers including that of all political appointees, the governor and his deputy, saying its action is unavoidable.

The lawmaker representing Anambra South, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah yesterday faulted the decision of Anambra State Governor, Mr Willie Obiano to withdraw the certificates of traditional rulers that accompanied Chief Arthur Eze on a visit to President Muhammad Buhari.

Ubah, also Chief Executive Officer of Capital Oil, therefore asked the governor to as a matter of urgency reinstate all the traditional rulers unconditionally.

He condemned Obiano’s decision in a statement his media office issued yesterday, describing the suspension of the traditional rulers as ill thought out.

He said: “Our traditional rulers

must be insulated from partisan politics. These attempts by the state governor to introduce politics into our traditional stools has not augured well for our traditional institutions since then and all these anti people acts need to stop.�

According to him, the decision has exposed the revered traditional institution to public opprobrium and ridicule.

Ubah noted that Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the owner of Bua Cement Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu and Oba Otudeko and other entrepreneurs had taken their traditional rulers to the villa to seek one strategic business favour or the other or to reassure Mr President of their loyalty and support.

He said: “These aforementioned

traditional rulers were not harassed on their return by their state governors. “I want to use this medium to appeal to the governor to as a matter of urgency reinstate the affected traditional rulers, return their certificates and staffs of office as well as tender unconditional apologies to them for the embarrassment his action has caused them.�

Ubah also noted that Anambra traditional institution under the leadership of the highly referred Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe, had an ancient and robust history as the custodian of the people’s rich cultural heritage and tradition that has carved a niche for itself in the minds of the people over the years.

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NEWS In Ekiti, Pastor’s Murder Stokes Anger Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ekiti State, yesterday expressed concern about the alarming rate of kidnapping and killing in the country, saying it was pathetic that nobody is safe again in Nigeria.

CAN, an umbrella organisation of all Christian denominations, raised the alarm after gunmen suspected to be kidnappers killed a pastor, Revd Johnson Oladimeji while travelling along Igbara-OdoIkere-Ekiti road Friday evening.

The Chairman of Ekiti CAN, Revd Father Peter Olowolafe

urged President Muhammad Buhari and Governor Kayode Fayemi to rise up and protect the people from senseless carnage in the hands of marauders.

He lamented that Oladimeji’s killing took place a day after a monarch was killed in Ondo State, which according to him, called for strategic and tactical partnership among all states in the South-west.

He, therefore, challenged all the governors of the Southwest state “to reposition the Amotekun security network and make it rise to the occasion of checkmating criminalities in the southwest

Nigeria Loses 2,000 to Snakebites Annually Segun Awofadeji in Gombe No fewer than 2,500 persons die annually in Nigeria as a result of snakebites, Nigeria Snakebite Research and Intervention Centre (N-SRIC) has revealed.

Apart from death cases, according to the institute, Nigeria, also, annually records over 25,000 snakebites, out of which 2,300 resulted in amputation.

The figure came up yesterday at a session between the Gombe State Government and the delegation of N-SRIC at the Government House, Gombe.

The state governor, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya hosted the delegation comprising N-SRIC’s team leader, Prof. Abdulrazak Habib and a retired federal permanent secretary, Dr. Ibrahim Jalo Daudu, among others.

At the session, Habib revealed that snakebite “is a major problem in the tropics, causing over 125,000 deaths globally and at least 20,000 deaths in Africa yearly. “Nigeria records over 25,000 bites, 2000 deaths and 2300 amputations yearly mostly among farmers. Most affected states include Gombe, Taraba, Bauchi,

Adamawa, Plateau, Benue, Kebbi, Kogi, Borno and Enugu.�

During the meeting, Yahaya said the state government had partnered N-SRIC to combat the menace of snakebite in Kaltungo and the state in general.

The governor, also, revealed plans to partner with the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and North East Development Commission (NEDC) in order to end the scourge of snakebite in the state.

Yahaya said he was ready to support the institute with a view to ensuring that the scourge of snakebite “is checked to barest minimum in Gombe state and even beyond.�

He added that he would champion the cause of the snakebite campaign through protecting and promoting the institute’s objectives at all fora.

He said: �Aside from the intervention of Gombe State, I will also ensure propagating the institute’s objectives, priorities and interest at forum such as Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), North East Development Commission (NEDC) and similar other bodies and seek support to push for this cause.�

Bauchi Shares Palliatives to 110,000 Households Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi The Bauchi State Government has shared palliatives to over 110,000 households across its 20 local government areas as part of measures to cushion the effect of economic hardship arising from the outbreaks of COVID-19.

The state governor, Senator Bala Mohammed gave the figure yesterday at the final distribution of relief materials at the Multipurpose Indoor Sports Hall, Bauchi.

During the distribution, Mohammed commended the COVID-19 palliative distribution committee in the state for judicious distribution and proper handling of the commodities.

He said the palliatives reached the targeted beneficiaries, saying none of the commodities was diverted by any person or group of persons.

The governor said a household is entitled to one food basket which contains 10kg of rice, 10k of corn/ maize flour, 5kg of millet, 5kg of beans, 2kg of sugar, three pieces of spaghetti, 100 cubes of Maggi, 1kg of salt and 2 litres of vegetable/ palm oil.

He said the palliative distribution committee has distributed a total of 110, 000 food baskets to 20 Local Government Areas as part of government’s effort to ameliorate the hardship people are experiencing as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. “The ceremony we are witnessing today which is the final distribution of palliatives in Bauchi Local Government Area is a very significant milestone in the government’s modest effort in bringing succour to citizens who are victims of this clear and present day danger called COVID-19. “The state got tremendous assistance by way of donations from well meaning members of the public, corporate organisations, government agencies, local and international donors and many, too numerous to mention.�

While thanking critical stakeholders who contributed immensely towards the successful distribution of the palliative, Mohammed noted that the state government was satisfied with the effort of the distribution committee in the discharge of its mandate.

region.�

Oladimeji, a presiding cleric of Solution Baptist Church, Ikere-Ekiti was allegedly killed along the road by suspected kidnappers Friday evening when he was returning to Ikere-Ekiti after an official assignment in Osun State.

A source in his church, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the family members launched a search for the pastor on Friday before his corpse was found in his car along the road with gunshot wounds.

He said: “The man was returning from Osun state on Thursday evening and decided to make use of the Igbara-Odo route to Ikere-Ekiti when he was ambushed and shot dead

by gunmen in the evening. “After a series of calls to his phone numbers with no response, members of the church decided to start searching for him and he was found dead this evening (Friday) in his car along the road close to the University of Education and Technology in Ikere-Ekiti.�

The source explained that the incident was reported at the Igbara-Odo police station before his corpse was evacuated to the morgue.

Confirming the killing, the President of Ekiti Baptist Church, Revd Adeyinka Aribasoye, said the deceased had traveled to see his mother at Ipetu Ijesha in Osun State and was returning from the journey when the incident

occurred.

He said the incident “is synonymous to a kidnapping case that went wrong, maybe he refused to stop for the abductors thus making them open fire on him. “The family were already expecting him but when they found out that he was taking too late they began to make a series of contacts and search before they found out that he had been killed on the road.�

But, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) ASP Sunday Abutu told journalists he was not aware of the incident.

Abutu said: “I am not aware of such an incident. I will have to make my findings. But I can assure you that if we are informed

of the incident, our command will commence Investigation immediately in a bid to arrest the perpetrators of the dastardly act.�

But the CAN leader said what was happening in the southwest was an extension of the pervasive incursion of insurgency. banditry and kidnappers in the Northeast and Northwest parts of the country, which he said, should be nipped in the bud to safeguard the country from imminent collapse.

He said: �It is sad that nobody is safe in Nigeria again. We are all endangered, but our leaders must rise up and live up to their promises during the campaign to protect the lives and property of the citizens.

ENFORCEMENTWITH CIVILITY . .

L-R: Director General, Lagos State Public Service Staff Development Centre, Dr. Senukon Ajose-Harrison; Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Head, Law Enforcement Training Institute (LETI), Prince Ajasa Oyekan and an official of LETI during the passing out parade of LETI’s officers at PSSDC, Magodo... Thursday

Obasanjo Admonishes Ghana on Credible, Transparent General Elections Kayode Fasua in Abeokuta As Ghana prepares for its general elections on December 7, Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo has appealed to the two major contending parties in the poll, to show tolerance and abstain from conducts capable of discrediting the exercise.

The former president, in a letter to the Ghanaian parties particularly prodded both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), being the leading parties, to ensure peaceful, credible and transparent general elections.

Obasanjo, a former chairman of the African Union (AU), also observed that a rancour-free election in Ghana would help ensure the peace and stability of the West African country.

In the missive, the former president equally enjoined the contending parties not to view each other as “political enemy� but as “political opponent�. “I write to you, leaders of the two main political parties in Ghana, to urge you to do all you can to ensure a peaceful conduct of the general elections. “My concern about the elections in Ghana is not only as an African

but also because of our shared colonial history, our anthropological background and the fact that I began my military career from Teshie, Ghana; and without that, I would perhaps not have been what I am today. “As leaders of the two main political parties, this is the legacy you have been entrusted to preserve, heading into the elections. “Your role is unique in that, the NPP and the NDC are the main players, have made significant contributions to the peace and stability of Ghana, and are vested with the capacity, influence and control to construct and shape

national discussions and processes such as the upcoming elections,� he admonished.

He prayed and wished that the country should be a winner irrespective of the party that wins the election, noting that, with his humble voice, the region and the continent would count on their patriotism during and after the election.

He also commiserated with the Ghanaian nation on the death of former President Jerry Rawlings, describing his passage as not only a big loss to Ghana and the African continent, but also to him, being a “friend and ‘ ‘younger brother’�.

Army Kills Three, Arrests Nine over Murder of Nasarawa APC Chairman Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia The Nigerian Army has killed three suspects and arrested nine others in connection with the assassination of Nasarawa State chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Philip Tatari Shekwo.

The state governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Sule gave the update yesterday while hosting the national leadership of Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the Government House, Lafia.

At the meeting, the governor added that the military operatives also recovered four AK-47 guns from the suspected killers of the

APC chairman.

He reassured the residents that the state still remained safe in spite of some security challenges which led to the kidnap and murder of the state APC chairman.

He said security had been heightened across the state since the murder of the late Chief Philip Tatari Shekwo as a combined military operation is ongoing to further rid the state of criminal elements.

He said the issue of security in the state “is not as bad as it’s being projected. Though it was terrible for the state chairman of the ruling party to be murdered notwithstanding, the state govern-

ment has taken adequate steps to maintain security in the state.�

Sule, also, revealed that the arrest of the nine suspects followed an intense pursuit of the kidnappers of a sibling of a principal member of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly by a combined security operatives, as the kidnappers were forced to abandon their victim, who has since regained his freedom.

Schekwo was kidnapped and killed by gunmen at the weekend.

Sources said the killers arrived at Schekwo’s home on Kurikyo Road, Bukan Sidi, in Lafia around 11p.m and started shooting sporadically.

Schekwo was said to have perceived danger and made

several calls to security agencies without success.

One of the sources, Joseph Gudu said the gunmen used diggers to break a door in the house before whisking Schekwo away.

Gudu said: “His wife, children and the chairman himself made several calls to security agencies in the state but nobody responded. “The operation lasted about 49 minutes before the gunmen entered the bedroom of the chairman after disarming his security guard. They took him away and killed him just a metre away from his house.

They hung his car key close to his lifeless body.�

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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 ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

OPINION

VACCINATING A COUNTRY IN 100 DAYS Rajendra K. Aneja outlines the ‘must-win’ battle against Covid-19

I

t is the right of all citizens of this world, to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, free of cost, from their governments.

All countries need to prepare blueprints to inoculate their citizens within 100 days, of the vaccine being freely available. This is a global challenge. We are short of vaccines now, but we could be flush with them in some months. So, we must galvanise. This 100-Day vaccination challenge should be led by the President or the Prime Minister.

Nations conduct general elections covering their entire populations, within 40 to 60 days. So, inoculating everybody within 100 days, should be feasible.

Covid-19 War Room: Th e President or Prime Minister should establish a ‘Covid-19 War Room’, which will constitute a central control, with real time information on the inoculations, by region, city, village. Health Ministries should have primary responsibility for executing the 100-Day plan.

Forecasting of Doses: There is need to forecast the precise number of doses the country will require by region, town and village. The Pfizer vaccine needs two jabs; other vaccines will hopefully involve a single jab.

DailyVaccination Target: There has to be a daily target for inoculation by region and city.This parameter should also be monitored daily.

BoostVaccine Production: Pfizer can produce 50 million vaccine doses globally in 2020 and 1.3 billion doses in 2021. Even if more vaccines are approved, we could be short, even in 2021.

Assuming 80 per cent of the 7.8 billion people worldwide need inoculation, we need 6.24 billion doses. Pharmaceutical companies should augment production exponentially, through their worldwide subsidiaries.

Vaccine Budgets: The Moderna vaccine costs USD 37 per dose. The Serum Institute India, has a target price of USD 3 per dose. Developing continents like South Asia and Africa need the vaccine at about USD 1 per dose. So, the research for cheaper vaccines must continue.

SourcingVaccines: The major challenge will be to source the requisite quantities of the vaccine. The USAand European countries have booked vaccines with companies like Pfizer.

Developing countries in South Asia and Africa should also start talking to pharmaceutical companies.

Ancillary Equipment: Countries will need vials, syringes, needles, etc., to inoculate millions of citizens. Large population countries like India, Indonesia, Nigeria, etc., should gear private

companies to produce ancillary equipment immediately.

Logistical Challenges: Vaccinating entire countries within a few months will be a logistical challenge, requiring rigorous planning.

The war on Covid-19, is akin to the D-Day beach landings in Normandy, France, by the Allies in 1944. The vaccine rollout, should be supported by a granular logistical plan. It should cover the schedule of inoculations, storage centres and the retail distribution.

TransportingVaccines: The vaccines can be transported by planes, trucks and vans in the urban areas. The challenge will be transporting them to small and remote villages, which will necessitate local innovations. The vaccines can be packed in ice cold boxes and be transported on motor cycles and bicycles. Bill Gates gives the inspirational example of men carrying polio vaccines in ice-boxes on their heads and walking through a swollen river, to remote Indian villages.

Storage ofVaccines: Moderna vaccine can be stored at two to eight degree Celsius in an ordinary refrigerator. Its shelf life is 30 days.

The storage conditions, transport requirements and shelf lives of the vaccines need to be publicised. The vaccines will have to be stored and transported at specific temperatures, which creates logistical challenges.

Involve Private Companies: Private companies have robust cold chains and distribution systems, reaching remote villages.

Companies like Coke, Pepsi, Colgate, Nestle, Unilever and Procter & Gamble will happily lend a shoulder. They have cold chains for ice-cream. Governments should team with private companies, for vaccine distribution. Corporations should divert their annual social responsibility budgets, to the inoculation drives.

Rollout Strategy: To complete the rollout of the vaccine in 100-days, public and private hospitals, should play a pivotal role. The premises of theatres, colleges, schools and sports complexes should

Governments should make the 100-Day rollout work. The world is in a suspended state of ennui, since Covid-19 emerged to haunt us. The economies of nations have stalled. People live in fear and apprehension. When the vaccine comes, we must move with lightning speed

also be deployed.

Inoculating Staff: Adequate doctors, para-medical staff and nurses will be needed, to organise the vaccination drive. Medical students should also be roped in for the massive inoculation programme.

Prioritisation inVaccination: Health workers, involved in the vaccination, should be inoculated on a priority basis. Senior citizens should ideally be inoculated at their homes. Over-crowded slums should also receive priority in developing countries.

Continue Precautions: The vaccines will be rolled out after trials and institutional clearances. However, we are not yet clear about how many dosages will be required or how long the vaccines will remain effective. Sometimes, vaccines take decades to perfect. So, it will be provident to continue precautions like washing, masking and distancing for some time, even after receiving the vaccine.

Spend Money: Some countries may not have adequate money to buy the vaccine. They should not worry about it and must just spend the moneys at this stage. There will be time to recoup expenses later, when the economies normalise. Right now, just spend to save lives and shift the economies from the ICUs onto their feet.

Convince Doubters: In many countries, some people have taken a stand against vaccines. For instance, in the USA, about 50 percent of the population is not in favour of taking the vaccine.

These citizens have to be persuaded and convinced to accept the vaccine.

Deploy Media: Communication media like radio and TV should be deployed to convince people to get vaccinated. A professional educational campaign is necessary.

Vaccination Proof: Every person who gets vaccinated, should be given a vaccination card certifying it. People should carry this card, like an identity card. It should be a pre-requisite to travelling by plane or train or even attending public functions.

Must Win Battle: Governments should make the 100-Day rollout work. The world is in a suspended state of ennui, since Covid-19 emerged to haunt us. The economies of nations have stalled. People live in fear and apprehension. When the vaccine comes, we must move with lightning speed. This is a “Must-Win” battle.

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

Nigeria And The 2023 Elections Electoral reforms should serve the common good, writes Samson Itodo

N

igeria's 21 years of democracy was tested with the conduct of last year's 2019 general elections. The elections presented an opportunity for Nigeria to consolidate on the gains of the 2015 elections and deepen her democratic transition, but the polls substantially failed to do so. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) introduced reforms to deepen electoral integrity and citizen participation before the elections, yet the elections were fraught with the same shortcomings that marred previous national elections in Nigeria. As in past elections, INEC's logistical challenges coupled with misconduct on the part of political parties and candidates undermined the elections' integrity. Not to mention the assault on voting rights by desperate politicians who recruited thugs and security agencies for voter suppression. The judiciary was no bystander.

In most cases, it determined the final vote by substituting justice for legal technicalities with its logic of constitutional finality. The Supreme Court suffered a reputational setback when it declared a candidate who came fourth in an election the winner, despite computational inaccuracies and disputed results from polling units where elections did not hold.

The landscape for electoral reform looks promising. Over 10 proposed electoral amendment bills are under consideration at the National Assembly. Although these bills are at different stages of the legislative process, they contain proposals that can potentially fix Nigeria’s pressing electoral challenges, especially the predatory behavior of the political class. The bills include proposed amendments that promote the independence and impartiality of INEC by strengthening the legality of INEC regulations, guidelines, and manuals and prohibiting the employment or appointment of members of political parties into INEC. Also contained in the bills are proposals for electronic voting and transmission of election results. Comprehensive amendments were proposed to Section 87 of the Electoral Act on the nomination of candidates. They introduce new procedures for direct and indirect primaries and provide thresholds for party nomination fees. It restricts parties to the qualification criteria fixed by the 1999 Constitution as amended for elective offices, thereby stripping parties of the power to introduce additional measures often used to disqualify unfavoured candidates.

Recently, INEC released its agenda on electoral reform. The Commission is proposing amendments to strengthen the electoral Commission's financial autonomy, confer power on INEC to suspend elections under certain circumstances, and the power to disqualify candidates. Other proposals include new timelines for campaigns

and candidate nomination, review of election results declared under duress, diaspora voting, and improved oversight on political parties, amongst others. Civil society groups have also proposed amendments to the electoral legal framework. Signals from the National Assembly thus far shows that the electoral amendment process may be concluded by 2021.

A cost-benefit analysis of public expenditure on elections is an essential component of the electoral reform agenda. This analysis is highly recommended given the country’s economic recession due to bad economic choices, disruptions in public finance, and negative externalities. Political scientists will argue that the high costs of elections are an investment in democracy; therefore, countries should earmark adequate resources for election conduct.

This seems like a plausible argument, especially for nations still evolving with a democratic culture. But what happens to equity and efficiency? What is the benefit of expending scarce resources on elections that fail to maximize utility or promote happiness for the greatest number in society, or elections that yield just outcomes?

Nigeria spent N139 billion (N1,893 or $9 cost per voter) for the 2011 elections; N116.3 billion (N1,691 or $8.5 cost per voter) for the 2015 elections; and N189.2 billion (N2,249 $6.24 cost per voter) for the 2019 elections. All three elections recorded a poor turnout of voters. In Nigeria, the law compels the electoral commission to use the voter register as a basis for election planning as against the figures for collected Permanent Voter Card (PVC). In the 2019 elections, INEC printed over 427.5 million ballot papers (of currency quality) for 80 million registered voters in the six scheduled elections. Less than 30 million ballots were used in the elections because only 35 percent of registered voters showed up to vote. Billions of Naira went to waste due to a large number of unused ballots papers. These scarce resources plowed to produce the unused ballot papers would have been allocated to health, education, or jobs given Nigeria's place as the world's poverty capital. Efficient allocation of scarce resources should be a priority agenda for reformers of our electoral process. This should encompass a clear strategy for reversing the deeply entrenched culture of waste in public finance management.

No doubt, the current proposed amendments can foster popular sovereignty. Still, it is uncertain whether the ruling political class will pass these laws, given the potential of reforms to limit future chances of electoral victory. The apparent assumption

is that most politicians will be reluctant to legislate themselves out of office. Therefore, they employ diverse tactics to dictate the pace and influence the outcome of reform efforts, leaving society to manage the tensions between individual and collective interests.

A just society is one that places the maximization of happiness as a key basis for decision-making. Moral decision making should be premised on maximizing the total happiness of members of society and advancing the common good, not just the interests of a few. As legislators consider decisions on electoral reforms within the ramifications of options available to them, they should be guided to choose options that serve the common good. In other words, in the spirit of democracy, they should pass electoral amendments that promote the common good of the Nigerian majority, in essence, the people and not the political class. After all, political authority is expected to serve the interests of the people, not individual interests. As Xunsi puts it, 'Heaven did not create the people for the sake of the Lord, heaven established the Lord for the sake of the people.' If an electoral amendment reflects the aggregate of the greater good, it indicates its responsiveness to the will and aspirations of the people. Suffices to say, the greater the number of citizens who participate in designing a new electoral legal framework, the greater our chances of producing just outcomes and advancing the common good.

Citizens bear the burden to hold the ruling political elite to higher standards. Electoral policies should place a premium on moral principles, ethics, and maximization of happiness. The ninth National Assembly will be judged by the extent to which the proposed electoral amendments promote happiness for the greater number and not just the political elites. Any piece of electoral legislation that will not guarantee the people's participation, protect the sanctity of the vote or advance electoral justice may not serve the common good. Suffice to say that there’s nothing special about the ongoing electoral reform process if it does not yield the greater good for the greater number, instead of yielding the greater good for the one percent who control political power.

––– Itodo is a Master of Public Policy candidate at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.

He serves as Executive Director of Yiaga Africa and the Convener of the Not Too Young To Run movement

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

15

LETTERS

THE BENEFITS OF THE NEWSPAPER "Foolish is the man who never reads a newspaper; even more foolish is the man who believes what he reads just because it is in the newspaper." ––August von Schlözer, German historian and journalist of the late 18th century.

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he newspaper is an important document which can be referred to as a powerhouse of information. It is important because it keeps us informed about current developments in our environment and in other parts of the world. Over the past few centuries, newspapers have shaped culture, influenced politics, played an important role in business, and affected the daily lives of millions of people.

However, newspaper reading is becoming a dying habit, especially as the world moves towards digitalization.

You can now get virtually everything on your phones and computers, so people are not into newspaper reading as they were before.

Most importantly, people are themselves running

Obaigbena, President Newspaper Proprietors' Association of Nigeria

out of the habit of reading itself. The internet has made it worse as now there is a video for virtually everything. People will not mind watching a five-minute video, but will however not prefer to read a five-minutelong article.

In Nigeria, the life of newspapers started in the

19th century when the European Missioner from the Presbyterian Church, Rev. Henry Townsend established the first printing press in 1854. According to him: "My objective is to get the people to read and beget the habit of seeking information by reading."

History has it that five

years later, on November 23, 1859, the first edition of Nigeria's first newspaper, "Iwe Irohin," came out. The newspaper was published every 15 days and sold for 120 cowries. It was highly patronized by the few literate people in Yoruba land; and the circulation of the paper was around 3,000 at that time.

Today, there are several newspapers and newspaper publishing firms in Nigeria.

And with the improvement in printing technology and other Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), newspaper production has become a lot easier and faster, with more high-quality output. Nigerian newspapers are now not only read in homes, offices and on the streets, but also online. Some are published on a daily basis, others come out weekly, while others appear fortnightly. They publish news on all national and local events, politics, sports, crime, obituaries, and business. Feature stories, reports from foreign countries, and interviews with prominent figures and

WHEN WILL THE SOUTH-EAST SIT UP?

T

he hypocrite minimises his own flaws and makes allowances for imperfections while homing in on and exaggerating the problems of another. We have an even distribution of hypocrites among all sections of the country.

But I think there is a more bubbling joint of whited sepulchres in the south-east.

Yes, a host of people lost in gyrations of affected piety and plaster saints who capitalise and summarise their troubles with third-party headlines.

They are never responsible for own their problems; there is always someone or some people in the north, south-west or south-south to blame. Even the gully erosion ravaging my area in Anambra is blamed on exteriorised agents.

When are we going to take responsibility for our troubles? When are we going to face up to the adversaries within – not in the north or south-west?

And when are we going to call out corruption by our own?

We are fixated on the Bola Tinubu corruption trope, but our own people made flatulent by loot we palliate the enormity of their malfeasance. A former governor of Abia State was jailed for alleged N7.65 billion fraud. But after he was released from prison, there was a carnival in the streets of Abia to welcome him – the same people he allegedly stole from.

The same former governor has enjoyed canonisation by his people

and even projected by them as a ‘’worthy son’’ to replace President Buhari in 2023.

Tinubu in Lagos is a bigger headache to Okoye in Owerri than the ruins of Imo state? We are more concerned about the acts of tyranny in faraway Kaduna under Nasir el-Rufai than the attempts at autocracy in Imo. Governors in the south-east have largely escaped outrage and social media justice, because the citizens of the region concern themselves with amplifying the troubles of the north, while glossing over the cancer ravaging the area. We cavort giddily to sit in parliament on issues affecting the north while our own problems are mitigated – and most times totally ignored.

In Anambra, for instance, there are over 1,000 gully erosion sites.

About 70 percent of the land in the state is witnessing chronic denudation. Statistics show the environmental peril is devouring Aguata/Orumba local government areas, which have more than 78 gullies; Nnewi, (60 cavities); Njikoka/Aniocha, (50 gullies); Idemili, (46 dangerous openings); Ihiala, (40 gullies); Awka, (30 cavities); Onitsha, (22 gullies); and Anambra/Oyi, (16 gullies).

Many citizens of Anambra have lost valuable property to this creeping violator of nature. This monster has remained untamed. Now, 70 percent of land in the state is under threat! And there are gloomy projections that this intruder could overrun

the state in the next few years. Yet no deliberate and exigent plan to salvage what is left. No alarm! No emergency! It is like we are waiting for the inexorable doomsday.

In Abia, some workers in the education and health sectors of the state have been not paid for months.

In fact, the governor only elected to pay lecturers and non-academic staff of Abia State University 30 percent of their salary for June, 2020 – in November! But the Campus-based Industrial Trade Unions in Abia State University rejected the ignominious offer. Basic infrastructure is even not basic in the state; largely decrepit. The state is mere a garland of filth and slime.

In Imo, the governor rules like a potentate – he brooks no opposition. In September, the governor signed the Imo State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2020 which empowers him to detain anyone at his pleasure without the need for a court warrant.

Sections 484 and 485 of the law stipulate that the governor may summarily effect a detention notwithstanding the provisions of any other law – not even the constitution?

Section 484 of the law reads: “Where any person is ordered to be detained during the Governor’s pleasure he shall notwithstanding anything in this law or in any other written law contained be liable to be detained in such place and under such conditions as the Governor may direct

and whilst so detained shall be deemed to be in legal custody.”

And section 485 stipulates that any person “detained during the Governor’s pleasure may at any time be discharged by the Governor on licence” and that “a licence under subsection (1) of this section may be in such form and may contain such conditions as the Governor may direct”. It also said such a licence “may at anytime be revoked or varied by the Governor, and where licence has been revoked the person to whom the licence relates shall proceed to such place as the Governor may direct and if he fails to do so, may be arrested without warrant and taken to such place.”

This law is clearly against the lay-downs of sections 34 and 35 of the 1999 constitution, which protect the rights to freedom of liberty and human dignity.

Governance in Imo is also on the reverse gear. So, clearly we have our own problems in the south-east which we should be chewing on and outraging against. If there is famine in the north, there is pestilence in the south-east.

Whatever challenges there are up north, there are also down south. Armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, homicide and other crimes are all maladies ailing all parts of Nigeria – but one side gets outraged against the more.

Ndi Igbo, charity begins at home.

––Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalist.

experts on particular subjects are also published. Most newspapers also provide an editorial page as well as columns for opinion articles (Op-Eds)/criticism articles; also weather news; classified ads; forecasts; comic strips; cartoons; and so on. All these and more are covered in Nigerian newspapers. There are now also newspapers that are specifically designated "online newspapers," which exist only on the internet, without a hard-copy, printed version.

Today, newspapers compete with electronic media - radio, television, and the internet. Nevertheless, in spite of the advantages which electronic media have over the print media, the newspaper business continues to thrive. Other electronic broadcast media even complement the use of newspapers for dissemination of information via press review. The newspaper continues to function as a unique medium of mass communication.

Apart from its traditional function of informing, educating, persuading and entertaining the masses, newspapers play other functions, such as: Providing better interpretation of the stories in the news; ensuring easy understanding and retention of media content; ensuring easier storage and retrieval of information, which one can refer to repeatedly’; serving as a viable tool for mass education and mass Literacy by motivating and encouraging good reading habits among the masses in the society.

However, it is wise to examine the news with healthy skepticism. Everybody makes mistakes, even the most honest and skilled professionals. Sometimes, journalists must contend with unreliable news stories. At times, hoaxes are fed to the press. Even well-intentioned journalists do not always get the story right. They usually work at a quick pace. So sometimes they are not able to report a well-researched story. Also,

manipulation of the news may occur, even in areas where freedom of the press is enjoyed.

Nevertheless, although various factors can prevent newspapers from being entirely objective, they still can help us stay informed about what is going on in the world - even while we make allowances for its limitations.

What are the benefits of reading the newspaper?

Reading newspapers is a good habit that can provide a great sense of educational value. It helps us get acquainted with the current affairs of the world.

It carries information about the economy, entertainment, sports, business, industry, trade and commerce.

Cultivating the habit of reading newspapers will not only enhance one's knowledge about general information, but it will likewise improve one's language skills and vocabulary. In addition, a person who reads newspapers can speak fluently on various topics.

They can socialize better, as they are well aware of the most common topics currently on the minds of people. Similarly, it also saves us from getting bored.

Newspaper reading can also result in opening doors to new employment opportunities. Reliable companies post their advertisements in the newspapers for business and employment. So, it is a good place to search for jobs. Furthermore, we can easily promote our brands, products and services with the help of newspapers.

The value of reading a newspaper extends far beyond what has been mentioned above. If you regularly read a well-written, well-balanced newspaper, it could also help stimulate brain function for improved performance in the following areas: critical thinking skills, balanced viewpoints, enhanced cognition (the more the mind is exercised, the stronger and more flexible it becomes), and more.

––Daniel Ighakpe, FESTAC Town, Lagos.

In The Words of Julius Caesar

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ecently there have been a number of reviews of Barack Obama's memoir 'A Promised Land' and without exception they were all glowing reports about the book and the author. The collection of material concerning some of his time in the White House should be interesting.

There has also been some discussion online about a Trump presidency memoir although it may be too early to consider this as he is hoping to be there for another four years even though

that would seem to be a fading dream now. As Trump uses Twitter as his main form of communication the memoir would be rather brief.

His memoir can actually be written in under 280 characters and even under the original limit of 140 characters, "Veni, Vidi, Vici. Ipsi circumvenit." which translates to "I came. I Saw. I conquered.

They cheated." This tweet also allows a reader to devote the amount of time the memoir would deserve.

––Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia.

16

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2020 •T H I S D AY

17

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ Ëœ 2020

BUSINESS

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

Containers loaded with goods at the Lagos Port

How Soon Will Economy Exit Recession?

The federal government has repeatedly assured that the current economic downturn will be transient, but experts remained cautious, especially as the threat posed by COVID-19 subsists, writes James Emejo

I

t was a crisis foretold. Several international organisations including The World Bank and International MonetaryFund(IMF)aswellasglobal rating institutions had predicted that Nigeria would relapse into a second economic recession by the third quarter of the year.

Their pessimism had resulted largely from concerns over the country’s somewhat unimpressive macroeconomic credentials, which had failed empirical analysis.

With high rate of inflation, which stood at 14.23 per cent as at October, well over the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 11.5 per cent, rising unemployment rate presently at over 27.1 per cent, as well as volatility in global crude oil prices and the resultant effects on foreign reserves and foreign exchange, and dearth of foreign investments and a largely undiversified economic base among other things, it was crystal clear that an economic downturn was imminent.

The entire scenario had been compounded by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, which continued to wreak havoc on world economies, reversing growth projections and distorting socioeconomic life.

Nigeria’s economic travail was also severally echoed by the current administration, which had already resorted to external borrowing to absorb the emerging shocks.

President Muhammadu Buhari, while laying the 2021 Appropriation before the joint session of the National Assembly, had warned that the country risked a second recession by December and urged the legislature to hasten the passage of the budget, which is expected to aid recovery.

However,confirmingtheobvious,theNational Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last week published the Q3 growth estimates which showed that Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted for the second consecutive quarter by 3.62 per cent compared to a growth of -6.10 per cent in Q2- ushering the country into its second recession in five years since the first in 2016.

According to the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product Report (Q3 2020), cumulative GDP for the first nine months of the year (JanuarySeptember), also indicated a growth of -2.48 per cent.

The NBS said the performance reflected residual effects of the restrictions to movement and economic activity implemented across the country in early Q2 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the review quarter, aggregate GDP stood at N39.09 trillion in nominal terms compared to N34.34 trillion in Q2 while real GDP stood N17.82 trillion compared to N15.89 trillion in the preceding quarter.

GrowthinQ3wasboostedbythenon-oilsector, which contributed 91.27 per cent to growth in

real terms in Q3, higher than the 91.07 per cent in Q2 and 90.23 per cent in Q3 2019.

On the other hand, the oil sector contributed 8.73 per cent to total real GDP in Q3, down from 8.93 per cent in Q2.

Real growth of the oil sector contracted to 13.89 per cent (year-on-year) in Q3, indicating a sharp contraction of 20.38 per cent relative to the rate recorded in Q3 2019.

The average daily oil production stood at 1.67 million barrels per day (mbpd), or 0.14mbpd lower than production volume in Q2 and 0.37mbpd lower than Q3 2019.

In real terms, agriculture contributed 30.77 per cent to overall GDP, higher than the 24.65 per cent in the preceding quarter and 29.25 per cent in Q3 2019.

The manufacturing sector contribution to growth stood at 8.93 per cent, compared to 8.82 per cent in Q2 and 8.74 per cent in Q3 2019.

Trade also contributed 13.88 per cent to GDP, lower than the 14.28 per cent posted in the preceding quarter.

The NBS, however, noted that as the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, “businesses re-opened and international travel and trading activities resumed, some economic activities have returned to positive growth.�

It added that a total of 18 economic activities recorded positive growth in Q3 compared to 13 activities in the preceding quarter.

However, the federal government has continued to allay fears that the downturn in the economy may last for a longer period thereby aggravating the sufferings of Nigerians.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. ZainabAhmed, said the economy remained on the path of recovery despite the 3.62 per cent contraction in the third quarter of the year, assuring that the technical recession induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, will be short-lived.

She hinged her optimism on the Q3 performance which bettered the preceding though a contraction was posted in both.

According to her, the improvement nevertheless showed that government’s responses to the pandemic have had positive outcomes when compared with the 6.10 per cent contraction in Q2. She noted that the economy had been on the path of recovery and growth before COVID-19 set in and eroded almost all its gains.

In her opening remarks at the ongoing 26th Nigerian Economic Summit (#NES26), themed:�

Building Partnerships for Resilience� in Abuja, the minister, however, assured that the country will likely exit the current recession as soon as the first quarter of 2021, adding that the federal government will aggressively implement the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) launched to boost economic recovery amidst the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ Ëœ 2020

BUSINESS How Soon Will Economy Exit Recession?

EmeďŹ ele

Ahmed

The minister was not alone in the upbeat for improved economic performance going forward.

Speaking at the end of the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting last week, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, also expressed optimism that the country will exit the recession as early as first quarter of 2021 as well as begin to witness improved output by the fourth quarter of 2020.

He said: “Based on data available to the MPC from the CBN, we are somewhat cautiously optimistic that indeed, if we continue doing what we are doing, that there is a likelihood that we would see some little positive output numbers during the fourth quarter of 2020. “But I can say with some level of certainty as well that during the first quarter of 2021, we would exit the recession� adding that the bank will continued to boost support for agriculture, industry and manufacturing to stimulate job creation as well as moderate inflationary pressures.�

Someanalystshadfurtheralignedtheiropinion with the government that the recession will indeed be short- lived.

However, there had been counter opinion on the timeline for recovery as some analysts believed that the resurging cases of COVID-19 could hamper prospects for rebound.

Apparently conscious about the threat of the pandemic to recovery, MPC had called on the federal government to make relentless effort to procure a substantial quantity of the COVID-19 vaccines to surmount the public health crisis and pave the way for a broader macroeconomic recovery.

On Thursday, Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, during the official opening of the Ultramodern Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory and Hospital complex, in Abuja, enjoined Nigerians “to continue adhering to the COVID-19 prevention protocols, especially in light of the fact that a second and even third wave of infections is being recorded in several parts of the world.�

He said: “As long as countries with which we have critical socioeconomic and traditional ties are with high burden, we are not free of danger.

We have many passengers arriving daily from these high-risk countries, schools resuming and a general apathy and complacency, neglect of infection prevention and control advisories, which together put us all at risk. We must not rest on our oars.�

Others believed that the inherent variables which had caused cracks in the economy are

yet to be surmounted to warrant optimism for recovery.

In an interview with THISDAY, Associate Professor ofAgricultural Economics at University of Port Harcourt, Anthony Onoja, said, “To be sincere it is not certain whether this current recession will be short-lived.�

He said: “Nigeria will be better off planning with the worst-case scenario in mind rather than being optimistic. “Economy does not respect wishes, but responds to planning. The reality is that the impact of COVID-19 pandemic remains uncertain too and since it largely explains the recession being witnessed, it will only be a day dream to imagine that the current recession it generates will be short-lived.�

Managing Director/Chief Executive, Credent Investment Managers Limited, Mr. Ibrahim Shelleng, also believed that the country might not exit the recession as soon as possible, largely as a result of the existing threats posed by the pandemic as well as structural deficiencies in the economy.

He said: “The reality is that we may likely experience this economic downturn for some time. The economic shocks brought about by the COVID-19 has exposed the structural deficiencies that has long been existing in the country. “We have weak fiscal buffers, poor infrastructure and conflicting policies that fail to address the realities of our country and an over-reliance on a single commodity whose price we have very little control over.�

Shelleng opined that: “The federal government does not have the capacity to spend its way out of this situation despite the extensive borrowing programme because majority of the spending has gone to paying our over bloated government and repaying debt obligations. That does not augur well for development. “Drastic action is required and some key actions need to be taken. We must critically look at our cost of government. If we are spending almost 80 per cent of our budget on government overheads then that should be examined during these tough times. “Unlike developed countries that are expecting a “V� shaped recovery post COVID-19, we are more likely to experience a “U� shaped recovery with figures such as GDP, unemployment and industrial output likely to remain depressed for an extended length of time.�

In his intervention, former Director General, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry

(ACCI), Dr. Chijioke Ekechukwu, said though the recession will eventually be reversed, this will not happen in the short run as currently anticipated by government.

Speaking with THISDAY, he said: “It is important that we interrogate the causes of the recession in the first place. The sharp drop in the crude oil price that heralded the year 2020 in January, arising from price war between Saudi and Russia and America’s supply that led to negative oil price. “Secondly, the COVID-19 that shut down world economies and some other ancillary factors. Have these reasons been obliterated? Yes, partially and no, because, the world economics are still on lockdown or partial lockdown.�

Also, an economist, Dr. Muhammad Rislanudeen said there were currently no sufficient reasons to expect a V-shaped recovery adding that increased spending on agriculture and affective policy coordination will aid quick recovery.

He said: “Recall that the GDP growth even prior to COVID-19 pandemic was slow and at best crawling arising from the slow recovery from the 2016 recession.

Level of contraction is not big enough for optimistic projection of a V-shaped recovery.

However this can only be done through massive support for small and medium enterprises, agriculture and agribusiness. “This will ramp up improved employment generation, reduced unemployment rate and also reduced inflation given potential improved productivity. “This will also be made possible through effective synchronisation of monetary, fiscal and trade policies to align with sustainable projection of economic growth and development.�

Nonetheless, Professor of Capital Market and President, Capital MarketAcademics of Nigeria, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, believed the economy had witnessed its worst growth trajectory and is on the path of recovery.

He, however, based his optimism in the premise that a second wave of knockdown will not be affected to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Uwaleke said, “The economy is on the path of gradual recovery. Acontraction of 3.62 per cent in Q3 2020 compared to 6.10 per cent Q2 2020 points to an upward direction. So, the recession may have already bottomed out. “Primarily, unlike the country’s 2016 experience, this recession has been caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic which led governments to impose lockdowns and movement restrictions.

The fall in crude oil prices, owing in part to the impact of COVID-19, also contributed. “Given vaccine progress on the global scene, the relatively low cases of infections and associated deaths in Nigeria and the likelihood that the country may not go through another nationwide lockdowns, the recession will most likely be short-lived.�

He said: “Other factors supporting a V-shaped economic recovery include the gradual increase in manufacturing activity as indicated by the Purchasing Managers Index, which has now crossed the 50 point threshold. “The stability in crude oil price and in the official windows of the forex market, the bullish stock market, the growing increase of credit to the private sector on account of CBN’s interventions and policies such as the Loan-to-Deposit Ratio, the implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan by the federal government and the soon-to-be opened borders as recently disclosed by the minister of finance.�

Also, commenting on the recession, President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, said Nigeria only paid a price for failing to diversify its economy, however, adding that, recovery was certain by next year.

He said: “I don’t think it should be a surprise to government that we are in negative territory, it is not a surprise to me and to many who are watching the economy, but the message I need to push out is that there is no big deal about it. “Nigeria will come out of this recession. By this time next year, I don’t see why not, even the oil situation maintained may slightly go up a little bit. Then if we have good rains, then agricultural output will assist Nigeria to stabilise the economy.�

He warned that the country is like to slide into yet another recession when it exits the current, unless diversification is taken seriously.

TheACCI president said: “But the most critical thing is not whether we come out of the recession, it is that we don’t slide back to it. Going in and out of recession is a typical, normal economic experience, so we will come out of it, but we will go back again unless we learn lessons from the underlying reasons for going into recession.� “We have failed to diversify the economy that is given and the government has been singing for the past 10 to 15 years that we have to diversify our economy. We have not yet done it.�

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ Ëœ 2020

19

BUSINESS/INSURANCE

GCEO, Old Mutual West Africa, Samuel Ogbu

CEO Old Mutual Nigeria Life Assurance, Olusegun Omosehin

Deepening Nigeria’s Insurance with Digital Technology Ebere Nwoji

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ccording to a 2015 insurance survey by PWC, Nigeria is ranked 62nd in the world and has a total premium volume of $1.64 billion. Insurance premium penetration rates of 0.7 per cent of GDP. The report also revealed that only 1.5 per cent of Nigerian adults have insurance coverage, hence ranked 87th in the world with an average premium per capita of $9.4.

It is not really a grim picture as industry watchers see the Nigerian insurance market as a sector in development. Over the last 14 years, the Nigerian insurance industry has grown steadily, with total premiums written growing from about N75 billion in 2005 to over N500 billion in 2019. But the insurance penetration remains underwhelming at only 0.4 of Nigeria’s estimated 200 million population.

But Nigeria’s insurance strong market potential has attracted respected foreign investors such as Sanlam and Old Mutual from South Africa, Germany’s Allianz, Swiss Re from Switzerland and AXA from France which acquired a $246 million stake in Mansard Insurance.

The players have been increasing their efforts to grow the market

further. With the increasingly rapid growth of digital technology and internet-enabled platforms, organisations have continued to leverage the advancements to birth novel ideas and serve their clientele improved offerings underpinned by game-changing convenience; seamless and immersive connections, as well as safer and timely transactions across continents. The possibilities are almost endless.

The recent and prevailing COVID-19 pandemic outcomes, especially the government-imposed lockdown that confined many to their homes, the internet became a ready resource or platform for commercial and non-commercial interactions. This instinctive shift has led more businesses to adjust to the difficult realities to continually serve the customers wherever they may be.

According to a recent data released by the Nigeria Communication Commission in May 2020, the country recorded a sharp spike in the internet connections, growing from 126 million from December 2019 to 140 million internet subscribers in just six months.

This paradigm clearly explains how the pandemic has accelerated technology adoption, which the businesses leveraged for superior customer service and exceptional service delivery.

One of the organisations setting the pace for this digital-inspired

customised, solutions-driven products and services experience is Old Mutual, the Nigerian subsidiary of the pan-African and global financial services multinational, Old Mutual Limited.

With over 175 years of experience in providing life assurance, wealth, personal finance, savings, and general insurance services, Old Mutual since its entry into the Nigerian market, has leveraged its heritage and expertise in launching a wide range of insurance solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of Nigerian’s insurable population and corporate clients.

But with the breakout of COVID-19 pandemic, Old Mutual took a quick strategic step to rejig its operations with optimised and fully digitalised processes for existing and prospects alike to access the benefits of insurance, despite the lockdown and social distancing limiting interactions with customers and stakeholders.

Executive Head, Marketing and Customer Experience, Old Mutual, Mrs. Alero Ladipo, who is leading the tech-driven market penetration and exceptional end-to-end customer service delivery, said that the organisation understands how these capabilities enable improved access to insurance solutions, especially in these times. “At Old Mutual, we understand that the world is evolving, thus, we are deliberately harnessing technology to impact our

business and consumer experiences specifically.� “Old Mutual’s digitalisation of its operations started with the launch of our fully revamped, user-friendly e-commerce website that allows customers access various products of their choice, engage with the brand, and most importantly, make end-to-end online claims seamlessly.

We also incorporated a functional chatbot on the website, Facebook and WhatsApp platforms to further assure robust insurer-customer interactivities without the usual rigours of frequent physical visits. “This process signals a new direction and approach to the business and reduces wait-time for accessing and activating our insurance products.

Currently, customers can get their insurance needs sorted out via our digital channels, request for premium packages such as the Comprehensive Motor Insurance; Third-Party Motor Insurance; Home Insurance; Savings Plan; Travel Insurance; Personal Accident Insurance; Group Life Insurance; Marine Insurance among other many Group and Life insurance policies. “The essential feature of the ecommerce web portal is enabling our policyholders to fully initiate and make insurance claims through its digital and mobile-friendly site without any physical interface with the insurer’s rep. At the peak of the pandemic-induced lockdown in the country, this feature ensured that customers’ access to benefits and services remained sacrosanct,� she added.

Alero, who leads the Customer Experience Unit at Old Mutual, noted that the e-claims channel speaks to the brand’s commitment to “providing ingenious, accessible, swifter, convenient, tailor-made, and exceptional customer-service-driven insurance services to Nigerians. Old Mutual deliberately envisaged the opportunity that digital technology could offer and adopted it without hesitation.�

She further emphasised: “As an organisation with a 175-year heritage of creating deeper connections with its stakeholders, we remain committed to deepening accessibility to insurance solutions in Nigeria. But with the rapid spread of COVID-19 and businesses resorting to working remotely, it is expedient that we meet our customers at their pain points by leveraging the capabilities and robustness of technology in this regard. “So, if you are an Old Mutual policyholder and have the need to make claims, you do not have to visit our branches to reach our representatives. Instead, you can whip out your phone and initiate the claim process by simply visiting our optimised website www.oldmutual. com.ng, click on ‘Make a Claim’ button at the top right corner of the home page, fill the form with the relevant details and select ‘Claim’ under the drop-down menu. After this seamless process, the customer’s claim will be paid within 48 hours. It is that simple�, Alero quipped.

Old Mutual General Insurance Company and Old Mutual Nigeria Life Assurance Company are part of the globally acclaimed Old Mutual brand, which has footprints in over 30 countries and more than 170 decades of experience in providing life assurance and wealth, personal finance savings and general insurance services.

The insurer, since its entry into the Nigerian market, continues to leverage its legacy and expertise in providing premium insurance solutions as well as exploring new vistas that can optimise corporate consumer experiences and Insurance adoption at large.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ Ëœ 2020

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Buhari’s Anti-Corruption War and the Economy It has been five and a half years since President Muhammadu Buhari took over as leader of Africa’s largest economy. Propelled to power over the then incumbent on the promise of ending corruption and growing the economy, Buhari’s last five years has left the country’s economy in a dystopian state. Nosa James-Igbinadolor reports

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t has been five and a half years since PresidentMuhammaduBuhariandhis administration assumed office and for the vast majority of Nigerians, including those domiciled in his strongholds of North-eastern, North-western and South-western Nigeria, it has been five and a half years of doom and gloom.

For those outside his political stronghold, as well as for many discerning analysts, the last five and half years have been nothing, but a prophecy foretold. The changing fortunes of the country have simply reinforced why they rejected him, and still repudiate his government Five and half years is time enough to change the course of a nation. Luiz Inåcio Lula da Silva, the widely popular leftist politician who ran Brazil between 2003 and 2010 was able to propel 20 million Brazilians out of poverty with significant progress being made in less than five years. Under his leadership, the value of Brazil’s currency more than doubled against the US dollar, unemployment was at a record low, and illiteracy dropped.

It is a spectacular contradiction to the current administration whose policies have seen the naira fall by some 250 per cent since 2015, with unemployment at a record high and the country possessing the highest number of children in the world who are not being educated.

Rwanda is often touted as an example of what African states could achieve if only, they were better governed. Out of the ashes of a horrific genocide, President Paul Kagame has resuscitated the economy, curtailed corruption and maintained political stability.

This is a record that many other leaders can only dream of, and has led to Rwanda being cited as an economic success story that the rest of the continent would do well to follow.

Since 1978, more than 850 million people in China have escaped poverty. Since Deng Xiaoping launched “reform and opening up� in 1978, China has pursued export-driven industrialisation, liberalised the private sector, welcomed foreign investment, and embraced global trade. As millions of farmers moved from fields to factories, they earned wages, saved, and sent their children to school. This, together with a surge in private entrepreneurship, helped to create the world’s largest middle class.

Data after data, facts after facts show an economy spiraling southwards; out of control of an obviously clueless and inept financial management team. Buhari inherited a fairly healthy economy in 2015; it was the third fastest growing economy in the world. His predecessors between 1999 and 2015, had managed to drive an economy that had one of the world’s highest economic growth rates, averaging 7.4% according to the Nigeria economic report released in July 2019 by the World Bank.

Th economy had a surfeit of investor confidence.

Five and a half years later, nearly 10 million jobs created mostly between 1999 and 2015 have been lost under Mr. Buhari, unemployment stands official at almost 30 per cent and inflation is soaring at 30.37%.

As noted by the World Bank, “Since 2015, economic growth remains muted. Growth is too low to lift the bottom half of the population out of poverty. The weakness of the agriculture sector weakens prospects for the rural poor, while high food inflation adversely impacts the livelihoods of the urban poor. Despite expansion in some sectors, employmentcreationremainsweakandinsufficient to absorb the fast-growing labour force, resulting in high rate of unemployment�.

Under his leadership, Nigeria entered into a recession in 2016, the first in 30 years. In October, Nigeria again slipped into its second recession in five years and its worst economic decline in some forty years.

Inhiswell-choreographed2015campaign,strung together by the then dominant South-west wing of the party, Buhari promised to focus on three key priority areas when elected. He vowed to ensure the security of Nigerians by putting an end to Boko Haram and other forms of insecurity in the country.

Buhari

He threatened corruption and swore to kill it before it killed us and also covenanted with Nigerians, that the economy would change for the better.

In these three areas and more, President Buhari and his unimpressive team have failed and failed woefully.

The administration has gone about the business of running the economy in the most bizarre and obtuse manner, and ruining it well. It started with focusing on ‘fighting corruption’ as if that was the magic wand to growing an economy that in late 2015, was beginning to show signs of mismanagement from a president too tired to form a cabinet for six months.

Many of those who voted for Buhari in 2015 genuinely believed he was going to put an end to corruption or at least tackle it. According to Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index, Nigeria ranks 146 out of 180 in its Index, slipping 10 places from 136th place when Buhari was first inaugurated in 2015. Thus, under Buhari, corruption has not reduced but runs rampant, expanding in size and intensity. He hasn’t been able to fight corruption as he promised. What is obvious is that Buhari has merely succeeded in replacing one class of ‘corruptocrats’ with a new class that has succeeded in capturing the state for their personal benefits.

The focus on ‘fighting corruption’ and mouthing anti-corruption slogans by the President and his team at the expense of putting the utterly debilitated economy in sound health has yielded next to nothing in the area of anti-corruption. As noted in an earlier analysis, in this government’s hypocritical war against corruption, former EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, huffed and puffed on every public platform available to him. Together with Mr. Buhari and the then visibly loquacious but now more reticent Prof. Itse Sagay, “they have threatened and arrested their political opponents, but have not yet secured any credible conviction in court. Perhaps if they sat back for once to do an introspective analysis of their colossal failures in this regard, they’d reach the conclusion that fightingcorruptionisneveraboutbreathingthreats,

throwing bombastic statements on Channels TV and slandering the reputation of Nigerians through pressstatementsannouncingtheirarrestsforalleged felonies cum misdemeanours. Fighting corruption takes intellectual gravitas, hard work and good legal preparation which is increasingly clear are basic skills lacking in the drivers of this synthetic war against corruption�.

Every sector of the economy under this government has come under unparalleled internal shocks. Whether aviation, banking, manufacturing or service; the ineptitude and failure of government and government’s policies has adversely affected growth and development.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo aptly summed up the dire state of the nation’s political economy under Mr. Buhari when he posited that “Nigeria is fast drifting to a failed and badly dividedstate;economicallyourcountryisbecoming a basket case and poverty capital of the world, and socially, we are firming up as an unwholesome and insecure country. “And these manifestations are the products of recent mismanagement of diversity and socioeconomic development of our country.�

It was the award wining Nigerian Writer, Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie, who spoke the minds of many when she noted, “The government of President Muhammadu Buhari has long been ineffectual, with a kind of wilful indifference.

Under his leadership, insecurity has worsened‌ There is the sense that Nigeria could very well burn to the ground while the president remains malevolently aloof.�

Buhari in June this year committed himself and his government to lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty. The President’s commitment came two years after the country overtook India to become the poverty capital of the world. It is estimated that some 94 million Nigerians; nearly half of its population live in severe poverty.

Despite his fine promises, the reality is that Nigeria under Buhari is making little progress in eliminating poverty. The country only last month entered its second recession, while its

social spending mainly on health, education and social protection has been described as “shamefully low�. And those meagre levels are reflected in reality as Nigeria is home to the highest number of out-of-school children.

The cluelessness and incompetence of Buhari’s government, according to Dr. Uche Igwe, a Senior Political Economy Analyst and Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics Firoz Lalji CentreforAfrica,“hasimpacteddisproportionately the poor in a country that is said to be already hosting a high population of the world’s poorest citizens. Considering the increasing prices of food commodities, Nigeria’s decision to close its borders, despite being a signatory to the African Continental Free TradeAgreement (AfCFTA), may have been considered as something done in the country’s best interest, with the intent of improving local production and agriculture. But even with the continued closure of the border and huge investments in domestic agricultural production, nothing seems to have changed substantially.� In the last five years, the price of food items has risen steadily, with rice that used to sell for 9,000 naira per bag in 2015 now tripled up to about 26,000 naira. Everything sells for a lot more under Buhari, consequently impoverishing more Nigerians that he promised to help.

Despite social intervention programmes, including cash transfers to its poorest people since 2016, in a bid to reverse its extreme poverty problem, no significant progress has been observed in poverty reduction. On the contrary, the more the government spends money on poverty reduction programmes and projects, the more the number of poor increases. Thus, it is obvious that the allegations of widespread corruption around the Buhari administration’s poverty reduction programmes cannot be far from the truth especially as expected outcomes have not been met in any significant way, yet billions of dollars keep getting poured into an utterly unimpactful programme.

The reality is that the problem of Nigeria in the last five years has simply been an issue of bad economic policies. It started with Buhari in 2015, after assuming office making little or no effort to stem the flight of capital by institutional investors on one hand and Nigerians with excess foreign exchange on the other hand. Rather than calming the market, Buhari raged about going after monies that ‘cannot be accounted for’.

As foreign capital fled the country, the local currency weakened drastically with the Central Bank unable to design and deploy credible policies to stem the tide.

Buhari swore not to devalue the Naira in the first and second quarters of 2016, a move that sent foreign investors and the market into panic and doubt. For investors, it was the clearest indication that the president was interfering with monetary policies and the operations of the Central Bank. It wasn’tBuhari’scalltomake,theCBNwassupposed to be autonomous and determine policies with respect to the country’s currency. But Buhari and his close circle of advisers known as the Cabal intruded into monetary policy decision making.

The Naira slumped in value soon after, speculators made a killing, the market slipped into uncertainty and inflation skyrocketed.

As aptly analysed by the former Vice-President for Africa of the World Bank and former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili in 2018, “The President does not like the private sector. The first master stroke of the President that was let out to the private sector was his exchange policy. “That exchange policy destroyed the economy and we have not recovered from it. So, private sector, at the centre of our economic drive, is going to shift a lot of things. “If you want to create sustainable, broad-based growth, then what government must do is become the engine room of intelligent, sound economic policies, fiscal policies, monetary policies. The President did a disservice to this country when he, more or less, began to dictate monetary policy, which is supposed to be from an independent central bank.�

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ Ëœ 2020

BUSINESS OUTSIDER/ENCOUNTER

Na Aba Made: A Case Study on Aba Shoe Industry Tunji Adegbite

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nitially a derogatory phrase implying that the product is of low quality, “Na Aba Made,� and “Made in Aba� are fast becoming positive phrases. And this change in perception plus international recognition has grown the Shoe Manufacturing industry in Aba to an estimated worth of N120 billion.

Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State is a busy and energetic town. It is known for its growing population of businessminded individuals, most of whom are drawn to the opportunity of learning and establishing a trade. With a population of over 600,000, more than 15per cent of whom are artisans producing clothes, leather shoes, and designing and building a variety of machines, it has been said that one in six people in Aba is a manufacturer and an employer of labour. Aba prides itself on being Nigeria’s manufacturing capital, built on the backbone of the famed Igbo apprenticeship system. A common saying in Aba is, “When I finish, I will get money to start my own� and it is not unusual to see people with more than two decade’s experience doing the same thing.

Once established as business owners, they continue to mentor others.

Over 100,000 shoemakers in Aba produce shoes, slippers, and sandals from locally sourced or imported leather. According to Ken Anyanwu, National Secretary of the Association of Leather and Allied Industrialists of Nigeria, “more than 60per cent of new shoes worn in Nigeria come from Aba but most Nigerians don’t know that they are wearing Aba shoes�. Most of these shoemakers have workspaces in their homes or in market stalls and streets clustered around Ariaria Market where the shoe manufacturing industry is structured around three major hubs Bakassi, Shoe Plaza, and Power Line. The Bakassi and Shoe Plaza hubs have shops grouped according to their cooperative societies or unions. Bakassi has about 1,400 shops producing women’s shoes, slippers, and sandals, with an average of 5 workers per shop. Shoe Plaza has about 1,290 shops making men’s shoes, slippers, and sandals with an average of 4 workers per shop. However, in Power Line, the shops are individually owned, with about 4 workers per shop producing and selling women’s shoes, slippers, and sandals.

Each year, about 48 million pairs of shoes are produced at an average price of N2,500. Approximately 25per cent of these are exported to neighbouring African countries (Cameroun, Ghana, Togo, Liberia, etc), European countries (UK, Italy, Greece, Ireland), North America, and China. With an export value of $17

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo

million, the Aba shoe industry is making a lot of strides; however, there is room for significant growth. Compared to China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, the top 3 global shoe exporters, Aba’s export value is about 0.1per cent of their combined annual export values and produces only about 0.3per cent of their total yearly production.

Although the Aba Shoe Industry is growing, this is being challenged by transportation issues. Some of the roads are paved but damaged by potholes, others are too narrow for vehicle transportation.

Another critical challenge is access to raw materials such as leather and glue.

Though produced locally, leather is difficult to source in Nigeria because local tanneries prefer to export and earn foreign exchange rather than sell to the domestic market.

Thus, manufacturers usually import expensive leather of sometimes ques-

tionable quality from China, Italy, and other countries. The fluctuating price of glue also affects operational costs thus increasing the price of the final product.

To remain competitive, some manufacturers choose to trim operations or reduce profit margins. Other challenges are the perception of inferior quality, limited equipment, and access to finance, local and international markets. Production is mostly done manually, impacting quality, turnaround times, and ability to scale.

For example, finishing machines are not readily available and so, most of the shoes are exported to Dubai and Italy for final work and then re-imported for distribution.

Also, with only 6per cent of businesses located in Ariaria Market registered with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Aba’s manufacturing industry’s informal nature also limits access to financing from

banks and other lenders.

To resolve these challenges, an Ecosystem approach is required. On infrastructure, the Federal and State government need to provide enablers like roads, electricity, and access to finance, amongst other growth enablers. To change the perception of inferiority, the shoemakers need to start designing shoes rather than copying the designs of foreign brands. Credit to the Abia State Government that made efforts to ensure Aba industries are positioned appropriately in the global manufacturing market. The Governor launched a ‘Made in Aba’ campaign to correct Aba’s image, invite investors, and encourage the purchase of Aba made products.

On the informal business nature of the shoemakers, reasons why the shoemakers do not register their businesses include not knowing that they need to register, not aware of the benefits, not interested in registering, and the time and cost associated with it. Consultancy business opportunities exists here; businesses can create awareness including benefits of registering with CAC, help them register and facilitate access to cheap financing.

In terms of opportunities, online marketplaces focused solely on Aba made products such as abanaijamade.com.ng, have been created to increase distribution and access to Aba’s products locally and internationally. Other online marketplaces stocking Aba made products include Gada Africa and Jiji.ng.

The Aba Manufacturing Industry is said to be a gold mine waiting to be exploited.

Although challenges exist, opportunities also abound. The Naira’s devaluation against the Dollar renders imported goods more expensive, making locally produced alternatives more attractive though this may be negated by the high cost of imported raw materials. Opportunities also exist for investors to create solutions that improve production efficiency and distribution networks. According to Ken Anyanwu, a shoe factory setup cost is estimated at $250,000-$750,000.

It seems like the gold mine may never be exploited because the level of investment required may never be received.

Rather the opportunity lies in small and medium sized investors, who will provide conservative investment to aid machinery sourcing, distribution, and access to market opportunities.

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An Encounter with Tokunbo Abiru, Ex-Polaris Bank CEO Ohireimen Obadan

“Monday, Ms. Tutu Soleye is my teacher and mentor, I will do everything I can to get it done today.� These reassuring words still resonate with me about 30 years after.

I met a young man Tokunbo Abiru, who I discovered was just building a banking career at Guaranty Trust Bank sometimes in 1991 at Plural House on Oyin Jolayemi Street. Then I was the Personal Assistant to the founding MD/CEO, of the defunct Citadel Savings and Loans Limited, Ms. Olatutu Soleye, who also owns the defunct FINC, an asset financing company, where I assisted her, as one of my roles as her PA to administer.

As a young man, myself, attempting to find a career path in the financial sector, I was enamored by Abiru’s sense of duty, humility, amiable mien, attention to details, focus, and a great ability to walk you through scenarios for better under-

standing. He also went the extra mile to assist me conclude a transaction that almost went awry for short of the required fund in the company’s account with GTBank on a Friday. It happened that, desperate to conclude this transaction on a Friday, I approached this shy-looking, but very articulate young man, our account officer, on what and how he could assist a young man like him to meet an objective and be fulfilled. He listened with rapt attention to my analyses and projections why he should push the N1 million T.O.D. (Temporary Overdraft) for us. It looked a difficult task because of the chain of approvals it would go through, almost at a close of business on a Friday. It was a daunting task! Tokunbo Abiru reassured me that he would give it his best shot and I should trust him.

Pronto!, he went to work and after few minutes, he got the approvals to confirm the earlier quotation. I would also recall my short, but memorable acquaintance with Mr. Abiru was when I was introduced by

my former boss at Prime Merchant Bank, Mrs. Nneka Udezue, who happened to be his new HoD (Corporate Banking), having been shortlisted to fill the vacant position of PA to Mr. Fola Adeola, the pioneer MD/CEO of GTBank. Tokunbo was very handy to talk some points. I, nevertheless, goofed at the interview panel session. He warned me that the panel would try to intimidate me to gauge my temperament.

I hope Aunty Mosun get to read this and recall what transpired (still laughing)...

Those valuable tips by Mr. Abiru are still resonating and are endearing to me.

These have assisted me to resolve life situations. So, it was a sheer providence or is it coincidence, when my political leader and mentor, Rep. Jimi Benson, Director of Mr. Abiru’s APC’s Lagos East Senatorial ByeCampaign Strategy, have me, as a grassroots community mobiliser and social media commentator, embedded in the TACT2020 (Tokunbo Abiru Constituency Team), it was a happy reunion as we relived these

experiences of about 30years ago at an inaugural, but interactive session recently.

I make it bold to declare that the choice of Mr. Tokunbo Abiru as APC candidate who by the grace of God would have been elected as the incoming Senator for my constituency would be a paradigm shift to true and real representation at the Red Chambers. I have no doubt that he would bring his 32-years private and public sectors’ corporate governance experiences to bear in the Senate.

Judging by my encounter with Mr. Abiru, he is astute when it comes to goal-getting, he is eloquent, focus, calculative, sensitive to issues and can discern opportunities. He has a listening ear and can communicate effectively on many issues. Mr. Abiru is frank and transparently honest. His words are bankable and he is committed to his promises.

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22

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ Ëœ 2020

BUSINESS ODYSSEY

Aiteo tank farm

Aiteo’s 21 Years of Consistency and Commitment to Serving Africa’s Communities The social barometer is flailing wildly as you read. In twos and threes and more, it is being discussed in hushed tones and sometimes openly that Aiteo will be celebrating 21 years in business in few days. Age 21 is a significant milestone for an individual or an institution. It is the age that is globally accepted that one is fully welcomed into adulthood. For Aiteo, however, it had long been a primus inter pares in the continent’s oil and gas industry, taking on challenges and charting new terrains where otherwise established companies dither. Attaining this new age in an industry famed for its high mortality rate is, therefore, a testament to Aiteo longevity, consistency and commitment to truly serving the needs of communities across Africa, helping the continent to reassert its energy independence and building a high-quality asset base, while increasing market share, revenue and shareholder value, writes Lanre Alfred

W

ithjustaclear-cutvisionandabullish ingenuity and industry, Benedict Peters, the CEO/Founder ofAiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited, has built an integrated energy group with the experience and assets necessary to provide oil and gas on a regional and global scale. Over the past two decades, the company has grown from a peripheral player in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry into a leading full-service energy company exploring and conquering territories that others dare not allow cross their imagination. In the intervening years, the company now discovers, produces, stores and delivers energy resources to marketplaces worldwide.

Aiteo, which contributes over 5per cent of Nigeria’s daily oil production, has one of the largest private storage facilities (with a capacity of more than 320 million litres at Port Harcourt andApapa) for refined petroleum products in sub-Saharan Africa while it is also involved in refining and production, bulk petroleum storage, trading, marketing, supply, power generation and distribution. The company states on its website that each of these areas holds massive potential, with a global focus on the future of energy generation, significant oil and gas reserves still to be found throughout Africa, and a large number of alternative revenue streams to be found in the refinement of different petroleum products and derivatives.

A conglomerate with a turnover of over $20billion annually and a downstream business of bulk storage of over 300 million

litres per annum, Aiteo has evolved into an integral contributor to the advancement of the African energy industry. Its integrated value chain in the upstream, downstream and power sectors is underpinned by extensive local capacity development with significant opportunities to sustain its future business. Aiteo’s major fields now include Nembe (Flowstation), Santa Barbara, Ogoroba, Oloibiri and Nembe Creek Truckline.

Aiteo’s strategy is to be a vital part of the world’s energy solution by developing its core assets in the areas of oil, gas and electrical power areas.As such, it has acquired three power plants that have a combined capacity of 2300 megawatts and it believes that Nigeria’s power shortage could be resolved through optimal utilisation of the nation’s huge gas deposits.

Twenty-one years is a long way from when Peters launched Aiteo. A native of Onicha Oloma in Delta State., the University of Benin graduate of Geography and Town Planning, he began his career in the oil and gas industry in the early 1990s, working with Ocean and Oil, the entity now known as Oando Nigeria Plc. He moved to MRS Oil Nigeria PLC as Group Executive Director, ending as its Managing Director, before leaving in 1999 to establish Sigmund Communecci, a petroleum products supply and trading company, which gave birth to Aiteo. When Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) announced its decision to divest some onshore assets it considered ‘disposable’ in the Niger Delta, Aiteo raised the single largest debt-financing in the Nigerian oil and gas sector from local banks to become a successful bidder for 45per cent per cent of OML 29 at Nembe Creek Trunkline in 2014.

The same year, Ventures Africa magazine named him the 17th

richest person in Africa and the 7th richest in Nigeria.

He has also diversified, through his Bravura Holdings Company, into the development of a platinum mine in Zimbabwe by investing an initial $1bn. The 3,000 hectare (7,413-acre) concession where it plans to dig the mine is in Selous, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare and close to existing platinum mines. Peters’ Bravura, which has little experience in mining, also intends to explore mining lithium, rare earth minerals and tin in the landlocked Southern African country. The big time came but with its variegated pitfalls.

Trashing Stereotypes‌ Commerce is far too precious and fundamental to be left to the wiles and exploits of villainous characters hence Benedict Peters believes that the doctrine of altruism and love must be preached as counteraction to the doctrine of mercantilism, cut-throat competition and greed that has overtime become the norm in business circuits.

Indeed, the story of Aiteo can never be disentangled from the founder, Peters. It is the story of a man who was bold enough to brave the odds of the uncertain and unstable international oil business because of a personal and profound belief in the Nigerian system.

Sigmund Communecci was Aiteo’s forebear. Sigmund Communecci owned and operated a petroleum storage terminal in Abonnema Wharf, Port Harcourt. In October 2000, the company sought and secured a credit line of N250million from City Express Bank with a 365-day repayment window. Having satisfactorily fulfilled its end of the bargain with an inspiring performance of the first loan, the company got another loan of N500million

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ Ëœ 2020

23

BUSINESS ODYSSEY Aiteo’s 21 Years of Consistency and Commitment to Serving Africa’s Communities from the same bank in May 2002, and another N350million a month later. The company became attractive to several top banks as facilities were extended to it on the strength of its corporate uprightness. In his quest to make it a 360-degree energy conglomerate and ensure phenomenal growth and transformation, Peters rebranded Sigmund Communecci in 2008 and renamed it Aiteo.

There is no gainsaying billionaire extraordinaire, BenedictPetersisaninspirationtomostofhispeers; he paved his path to acclaim like the proverbial fortune hunter who dared the odds and braved through storms to create eternity from a moment.

Peters’ wealth bears the sweet, dazzling glow of infinity; pundits would say it’s because he worked for it. Even his detractors would acknowledge that he toiled really hard to attain his current height.

Yes, in top business schools across the continent and beyond, the corporate exploits of Peters are veritable case-studies for academic researches.

And there seems to be unanimity of opinions that the patently self-effacing businessman has created phenomenally successful businesses and changed the world in significant ways.

Aforce of nature; a towering force of hope and entrepreneurial depth, indeed, very few men can knead the tripartite traits of genius, modesty and character into that moral and human centaur that remains unattainable to generations of tycoons and multi-billionaires like this entrepreneur extraordinaire.

No doubt, becoming an industrialist however, is not mere lip service. It requires consistent effort and focus to grow from just being an entrepreneur with interest in a particular business to becoming a respected and renowned empire builder.

Nigeria is blessed with many of such men who started from the scratch, kept their nose to the grindstone and turned seemingly insignificant ideas into behemoth industries. Yes, billionaire extraordinaire, Benedict Peters is one of these great Nigerians.

He is one man that would be sent to Mars and still treat it as a stepping stone to Saturn – the quality of constant invention and self-improvement that hasearnedhimworldwideacclaimandprosperity.

Petershasbecomethehighwatermarkbywhich his contemporaries are measured. Innovative and insightful, he is a ruler of his world and not bound by a time clock, yet he does not abuse the privilege. Today, he is celebrated at home and abroad as one of Nigeria’s league of extraordinary entrepreneurs.

Interestingly, however, there is no gainsaying the business terrain is like a wilderness riddled with storms. But despite its inherent dangers, Peters navigates through its perilous paths with a stubborn resolve and unyielding spirit, like bog-hardened seekers.

Aiteo’s Arrival and Continued Financial Integrity Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited, the succeeding entity for Sigmund Communecci, was founded with a commitment to provide responsible energy extraction and production and fuel economic growth while improving the quality of life of Nigerians through its diverse activities.

Many had expected that the change in its corporate identity would come with concern and uncertainties from banking partners and perhaps, the likelihood of withdrawal of the financial goodwill that the company used to enjoy under its former name. Rather, the credit facilities increased as Aiteo became more audacious and ambitious.

Precisely on Friday, March 6, 2009, Aiteo got a $30m Inventory Finance Facility from Ecobank “to part-finance the local purchase/importation of petroleum products under a warehousing arrangement for open market sales.� Later in the same year, Union Bank offered a $25m ITF/BA facility which it then increased to $50m while renewing an existing N2bn term loan facility to “finance the importation/local purchase of petroleum products from reputable refinery/ supplier for onward sale to local off-takers.�Aiteo obtained a N1.1billion loan from First Bank on June 11, 2010, to finance the tank farms at Apapa and Abonema which gave the company considerable leverage in the sector.

Aiteo would announce its big-player status in 2013 when Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) announced `its decision to divest some onshore assets it considered ‘disposable’ in the Niger Delta. The challenges SDPC was facing had started taking their toll on the profitability of

able part of Aiteo’s operations.

The leadership of Aiteo has also reached out to a substantial number out of the over two million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Nigeria with generous donations to IDPs inAdamawa through the State Emergency Management Agency.

Also, through the Joseph Agro Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation founded by Benedict Peters with focus on the improvement of the lives of the farmers in rural areas, Aiteo has been involved in a series of initiatives and projects that improve the Nigerian educational system. They also organize awareness programs to enlighten farmers on clean water consumption.

Benedict Peters

its operations in the then troubled region. In 2014, Aiteo raised the single largest debt-financing in the Nigeria oil and gas sector from local banks to become a successful bidder for 45per cent per cent of OML 29 at Nembe Creek Trunkline.

Before the divestment, OML 29 was operated

by SPDC in a joint venture that had the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (55per cent), SPDC (30per cent), Total E&P Nigeria Limited (10per cent) and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (5per cent).

OML29 was the biggest of the four oil fields that weredivestedbyShellwiththeaverageproduction of 23,000bpd at the time Aiteo acquired it. The story changed as production output experienced exponential growth between August 2015 when Shell fully exited the facility and December 2016.

Aiteo recorded an impressive 400per cent increment of the average production of 80,000bpd, peaking at 90,000bpd, in one year.

Proven Strategy From its humble roots in 1999,Aiteo has grown to become one of Africa’s fastest energy leaders contributing in no small measure to the advancement of the Nigerian energy industry. Its integrated value chain in the upstream, downstream and power sectors is underpinned by extensive local capacity development with significant opportunities to sustain Aiteo’s future business. Its major fields now include Nembe (Flow station), Santa Barbara, Ogoroba, Oloibiri and Nembe Creek Truckline. Aiteo’s strategy is to be a vital part of the world’s energy solution by developing its core assets in the areas of oil, gas and electrical power areas.Aiteo is further positioned for growth with strong experienced leadership and excellent physical and intellectual asset base.

In July 2019, the energy giant announced plans to inject over $5 billion investments in its operations to boost its production to 250,000 barrels per day, thereby increasing the country’s gas supply. Explaining Aiteo’s strategy at the last Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, Chief Executive Officer of the group, Victor Okoronkwo, saidAiteo has a development plan that has been submitted to its joint venture partners; “and because the government is exiting the cash call situation, we are negotiating an alternative finance package to be able to fund about $5billion of investment which would move production to 250,000 barrels per day.�

However, Okoronkwo said, “This will increase our gas supply to about 300 million standard cubic feet, SCF, of gas per day, which will be enough to power more than 1.2 gigawatts of electricity in Nigeria. On finances, it is going to be a cocktail of financing options depending on how we land with the alternative financing mechanism we are working with our joint venture partners NNPC.�

Exceptional Social Responsibility Aiteo prides itself as a company that cares by

being a resource for societal good. Indeed, true to this statement, the company alongside 32 other playersintheindustrycommittedN11.4bn($30million) which it handed over to the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 to aid both the federal and state governments in their fight to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic last April in the first leg of the industry’s intervention.

Aiteo went ahead to donate an additional five ambulances to the presidential task force.

However, as Aiteo grows, so have its environmental health and safety programmes expanded.

The health and safety of its employee and customers, and the preservation and protection of the environment in the communities in which they work and live have continued to be accorded premium attention.

Aiteo has reportedly contributed Foreign Direct Investment of about $4.5 billion to the Nigerian economy while creating about 12,000 job opportunities. And this is not hard to fathom.

With offices in Lagos (its headquarters), Abuja, Port Harcourt, Warri, London, and Geneva, and operating in a region and country bedevilled with pervasive poverty and unemployment, Aiteo Group has provided numerous jobs. There is also a productive engagement of natives in its host communities, which has largely been responsible for its outstanding success where other multinational companies failed. It comes as no surprise that the conglomerate can boast of the best in the energy industry in terms of personnel and technology know-how. Every staff member of the company from the lowest cadre to the top echelon is considered an integral part and constantly invested in and empowered through training, career development, health and wellbeing. From time to time, employees receive the tools required to explore new career opportunities, embark on communal collaborations and bring economic prosperity to their communities.

The host communities come first in economic benefitsthroughemploymentandoffersoftraining programmes and support for local businesses.

Communal needs of hosts are not only attended to, but their cultural values and festivities are also embraced and supported. Donations to charities and religious and cultural organisations are made regularly while interventions in social investment projects are recurrent in the company’s corporate social responsibility policy.Awards of scholarships and encouragement of indigent students of host communities to take up engineering and technical courses also prominently feature in its CSR. In May 2019, Aiteo showed again that its social investment is not a fluke by donating a whooping N500million to the Bayelsa Education Development Trust Fund, marking the largest donation received by the foundation since its enactment into law on March 29, 2017.

This is a telling commitment to the fundamental development of the state, which hosts a consider-

Adding Value to Nigerian Football Aiteo rewrote the story of Nigerian football when it took up an Official Optimum Partner status with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) by signing a five-year partnership agreement of about N2.9 billion with the Federation – the most lucrative deal ever signed by the football body. The non-payment of salaries of national coaches was a recurring bane in the administration of football in Nigeria as coach after coach left unceremoniously and contributed immensely to its continued plunge into the abyss. It was so bad that the duo of late Stephen Keshi and Shuaibu Amodu were owed even in death. It took the intervention of the National Assembly to have the departed souls paid posthumously.

With the N2.5 billion five-year-contract (renewable for one year after expiration), Aiteo, in a manner reminiscent of the ‘Blue Ocean’ strategy explored the hitherto unexplored terrain of football sponsorship in Nigeria. Pinning its CSR focus on terms of contracts of national teams’ coaches is a masterstroke. What the NFF used to have was a system where the burden of sponsorship of the whole Nigeria football ecosystem - the league management, national teams’ management, and other related aspects - was placed on one sponsor. The Aiteo-NFF deal is unique in that it singles out and takes care of ‘a critical area’ of the NFF’s expenditure.

Aiteo extended its tentacles by partnering with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to fund the annual CAF Awards which honours and celebrates the best of African footballers across the world.

Honours across the Seas It was no surprise therefore that at the Nigeria Oil and Gas ConferenceAwards 2018,Aiteo Group was declared Indigenous Oil and Gas Company of the Year. Responding to the award, Benedict Peters attributed the company’s emergence to the employees and the Nigerian economy. “We remain committed to our vision of shaping the future of sustainable energy in Nigeria and beyond, strategically deploying resources and technologies that lead to sustained economic development and value for all stakeholders. This honour from the NOG is fulfilling, particularly coming from our peers and a reputable industry platform. We dedicate this award to the highly committed, talented and industrious people working at Aiteo and making things possible daily,� Peters stated.

On Wednesday, December 20, 2017, Aiteo was named “Company of The Year� by BusinessDay Newspapers, a month after it received another “Company of The Year� award at the New Telegraph Awards in Lagos.

In recognition of the visioner’s philanthropic gestures, Peters himself has been receiving global recognitions and accolades from far and wide. He is the Chairman of the Otuoke University Council, which oversees and monitors the implementation of the plans and policies of the university.

Forbes honoured Peters with the ‘Africa’s Oil and Gas Leader of the Year’ award in September 2018. The Guardian Newspaper, Nigeria, named him “Oil and Gas CEO of the Year� in June 2018.

He was on the BusinessDay Newspaper’s list of 50 Most Influential Nigerians in 2017.

Peters was one of the four recipients of the Marquee Award for Global Business Excellence at the Africa-US Leadership Awards dinner hosted by the African Energy Association in 2014. He won the Leadership Newspaper’s “CEO of the Year 2014� award for championing a local content deal facilitating Nigeria’s greater capacity to manage its oil assets. Likewise, in 2015, Peters was one of the recipients of the prestigious Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Awards in Washington, DC for driving “Economic Empowerment� in Nigeria.

24

˜ ˞ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

MARKET NEWS

NSE, PRI to Host Webinar on Responsible Investing The Nigerian Stock Exchange and webinar on responsible investing on Tuesday, 1 December 2020. Africa, PRI, Ms. Nicole Martens, Mr. Bola Adeeko; Divisional the Principles for Responsible (RI) and economic, social, and The event will be headlined and will feature Divisional Head, Trading Business Division, Investment (PRI) are to host a governance (ESG) integration by Director, Middle East, and Head, Shared Services, NSE, NSE, Mr. Jude Chiemeka, and A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an ETF are bought by investors.

Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. investment vehicle that allows both small and Bid Price: The price at which Investors Investors with similar objectives buy units of the large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg. redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total that willl generate their desired return. investments. The assets are divided into shares that return an investor would have earned on An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. his investment. Money Market Funds report of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, Yield while others report Year- to-date Total bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, GUIDE TO DATA: Return. etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 26- NAV: Is value per share of the real estate shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the Nov-2020, unless otherwise stated. assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

Director of Northern Europe, Middle East & Africa, PRI, Ms. Anastasia Guha.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Dollar Fund N/A N/A N/A ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 1.04 1.06 16.02% ACAP Income Funds 0.86 0.86 11.32% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.37% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.78 3.91 54.62% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 0.87% Anchoria Equity Fund 141.48 141.94 27.95% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.45 1.45 21.38% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 18.16 18.71 18.57% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 401.53 413.64 16.24% ARM Ethical Fund 33.71 34.72 15.90% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.20 1.21 20.41% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.13 1.13 13.00% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.22% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 124.26 125.13 29.33% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.87% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.31 2.31 21.61% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.26 2.30 53.21% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.90% Paramount Equity Fund 15.83 16.23 26.92% Women's Investment Fund 131.46 132.89 19.18% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.57% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 127.22 127.84 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 152.41 153.95 Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 108.19 108.19 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.46% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.11 1.12 19.85% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.74 1.74 30.66% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 1.13% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 1.30% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,192.76 1,210.14 7.69% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,480.15 1,481.90 24.62% FBN Balanced Fund 181.07 182.71 23.33% FBN Halal Fund 111.37 111.41 11.37% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.65% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 119.94 120.31 6.29% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 120.14 120.50 5.93% FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 149.40 151.70 14.81% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.16% Legacy Debt Fund 3.86 3.86 5.52% Legacy Equity Fund 1.46 1.49 28.75% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.13 1.13 4.56% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FSDH Treasury Bills Fund N/A N/A N/A GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.92% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 127.48 128.01 18.85%

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.96% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.82 2.88 28.90% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 7.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 155.87 156.80 8.80% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD ďŹ ncon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.35 1.45 23.23% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,145.43 1,145.43 10.11% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.61 1.63 30.01% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.08 12.18 7.26% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 2.36% PACAM Equity Fund 1.54 1.55 PACAM EuroBond Fund 108.16 110.58 SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 135.11 137.85 16.53% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.01 1.01 8.57% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,521.35 2,532.80 26.31% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 6.18% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 26.11% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 7.33% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 30.83% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 0.71% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 23.66% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.22 1.22 5.10% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 110.63 110.63 6.16% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.38 1.40 15.45% United Capital Bond Fund 1.88 1.88 8.50% United Capital Equity Fund 0.86 0.89 21.95% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.99% United Capital Eurobond Fund 116.42 116.42 6.51% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.07 1.08 1.79% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 12.17 12.32 18.40% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.53 13.67 16.50% Zenith Income Fund 24.58 24.58 8.22% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.73%

REITS NAV Per Share

Fund Name SFS Skye Shelter Fund

Yield / T-Rtn

119.82

6.73%

53.51

2.80%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

11.63 118.31 89.06

11.73 118.31 90.73

37.99% 23.91% 18.56%

Union Homes REIT

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

N/A

N/A

N/A

Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund

N/A

N/A

N/A

Vetiva GrifďŹ n 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Money Market Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund

N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A

Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

N/A

N/A

N/A

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.71

13.11%

Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund

Yield / T-Rtn

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

29.11.2020

IDRIS OLORUNNIMBE INSIDE A TEMPLER’S DREAM In the book of Temple, there are many chapters, according to the CEO of Temple Management Company, Idris Olorunnimbe. His new chapter is Ogidi Studios, a multipurpose facility for everything that celebrates African excellence, writes Vanessa Obioha ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/funkola2000@gmail.com

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T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

COVER

Our Culture Is Future of Tourism

I

f you ask Idris Olorunnimbe, the Chief Executive Officer of Temple Management Company, what his dreams are, you may get an earful. He has a finger in every creative pie. He is in fashion, art, film, media, photography, music and even in politics. Although, the former Special Assistant to Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, during his governorship tenure in Lagos state, will modestly tell you that he is not a politician. He currently sits on the board of the newly inaugurated Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF).

Therefore, he resorts to talking about his dreams like chapters in a book. He calls it ‘Book of Temple.’

In the first chapter, you will find the Temple Management Company, a talent management company which he established in 2016. It was only a matter of time before the heavyweights in the art, media, entertainment, sports signed to his company.

Think of the Mavin Crew back in 2016, media personality, Funmi Iyanda, award-winning visual artist and writer, Victor Ehikhamenor, artist/jeweller, Mode Aderinokun, Grammy award-winning artist, Lekan Babalola, and film director, Biyi Bandele.

The company also set eyes on budding talents with a potential star wattage like the young tennis star, Marylove Edwards.

The second chapter is the Temple Music Production Label.

Launched in 2017, the record label focuses on the production, promotion and distribution of African talent to the world.

Through its partnership with American rapper, Jay-Z’s entertainment agency Roc Nation, Project Fame winner, Jeff Akoh, released his debut album, ‘Lokoja’. Other talents that got on board include Bisola Aiyeola, a runner-up on the 2017 edition of the reality TV show, Big Brother Naija.

TMPL Motion Pictures is the topic in the third chapter.

Established shortly after the launch of the music label, it focuses on developing theatrical films, branded content production, music videos, and television shows, primarily for an African audience. It recently made its film debut ‘Introducing the Kujus’, a comedy-drama starring Femi Jacobs, Mimi Onalaja, MC Lively, Bimbo Ademoye and Aiyeola who also bags her first producer credit on the film.

The book’s latest chapter is the Ogidi Studios that resides on Ogidi Crescent along the Lekki axis. It is unmissable. Its size and structure distinguished it from the rest of the houses that lined the quiet neighbourhood, notably the colour: black.

“Who paints a building black? Won’t people think that black is evil?” Olorunnimbe recalls his reaction when his team suggested the colour during a tour of the facility recently. The two-winged building was initially painted white.

As ridiculous as it sounded to him, he was wise enough to listen to their explanation: black is creative and mysterious.

Was he convinced? Instantly. There is latent confidence he has in his team. Even though he sits at the head of the table, he understands that he needs other imagineers like him to execute his vision. Thus, they regard one another as templer.

“Temple is not one person. It is a movement.”

Not a few interests have been piqued by the building, both in astonishment and curiosity.

If Olorunnimbe enjoys the puzzling reactions the colour evokes, he probably savours the expressions of awe and laudation when people step into the property.

You can tell this from his purposeful strides, his radiating confidence as he explains the concept behind each element.

He shares with me some of the appellations his studio has been described with. They include cocoon, platform, academy, and hub.

“It’s difficult to box Ogidi in one box,” he says.

Indeed, the studio named after the street where it resides cannot be restricted to one moniker. Carpeted in a neatly combed lawn, Ogidi Studios lures a visitor with first, the tranquil ambience, and then the colourful work of art and design.

The outside walls are donned with thread sculptures done by versatile artist Dare Adenuga. Taking a cue from the services rendered by the parent company, Adenuga created images of a female footballer, a musician, a videographer alongside tools of their profession. Olorunnimbe’s love for art is equally seen on the interior walls which are covered in murals done by various artists like Jessica Soares and Osas Seven.

Inside the building is like a maze, each turn leading to a stunning discovery. Olorunnimbe reveals that the different spaces were named after African cities. For instance, a video editing room which doubles as a training hub is named Abuja while an animation studio is called Abeokuta.

Perhaps, the room that will evoke nostalgia for visitors is the Eko gallery, the heartbeat of Lagos State. The orangecoloured walls of the gallery are lined with portraits of African musicians and influencers who have contributed to the growing popularity and relevance of African music. One will find images of the Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, highlife veteran Bright Chimezie, the late Sonny Okosun, famous masked singer Lagbaja, veteran music promoters and broadcasters Kenny Ogungbe and Dayo Adeneye, Wizkid, Sauti Sol, Angelique Kidjo among others.

“We named it Eko because of the spirit of Lagos, vis-a-vis music. We try to capture the people who have contributed to African music,” he explains.

A high-flier, Olorunnimbe deployed the best cutting-edge technology devices for production and recording of sounds.

There are about four audio recording studios and a live music recording studio named after Bamako, the Capital of Mali famed for live music. Each is carefully designed to meet international standards.

The main recording studio has a high-quality Neve recording console that will rival any recording studio in

America.

“When Cobhams Asuquo visited, he told me that the only time he saw a Neve board in Nigeria was the one brought in by Decca Studios. You can imagine we have this kind of infrastructure in the 70s but today, we are using mostly home studios,” he laments.

To him, the deterioration in music infrastructures can be traced to the subconscious impassivity of parents towards music as a profession for delinquents.

“Music is important to the spirit and soul of every culture and your culture is the only thing that is personal to you.”

Our culture, he argues is the future of tourism.

“We have seen this year that business tourism is not a necessity per se. You can meet anybody anywhere without travelling.

The reason for people to travel henceforth will be to experience something new. The more we spend in developing and establishing our culture, tourist sites, music, film, art and local sports such as Monkey Post, the higher the chances that our tourism revenue will increase.”

The facility also houses a dance studio, a green room with adjoining lounge; a set for dance and photoshoot, changing room, make-up room, two residential apartments for client accommodation, fully equipped with kitchen and wireless internet connection.

The apartments can also be deployed as a set. He disclosed that a scene from ‘Introducing the Kujus’ was shot in one of the three-room apartment.

Understanding the importance of the mental and physical safety of his staff, a makeshift living quarter is provided for employees who work late.

The quarters are deliberately divided into male and female sections to ensure each gender takes responsibility for the cleanliness of their environment.

Outside the building is a cafeteria for food vendors.

Each element is meticulously planned and creatively executed to accommodate the needs of clients as well as staff. He hints at the budget of the facility running into billions.

Naira? Dollars? He wouldn’t divulge.

Everything Olorunnimbe embodies is boldly displayed on the walls of the reception hall which is decorated with legends of inspiration. With over 15 years in the industry, the law graduate and serial entrepreneur has become one of the revered voices in the entertainment landscape, investing in businesses and causing a disruption.

He was recognised by the League of African Development Students (LEADS) as a pioneer in the entertainment industry in 2018.

For over two years, Olorunnimbe and his team have been working on the facility. It was part of the long-term plan he had for the industry when he set up his management company.

However, there was a need to speed up things having met an industry that is lagging in entertainment infrastructure. He considers this the major problem confronting the industry.

“There is an abundance of talents in Nigeria but fewer opportunities. And we see talent as a raw material that can be used for many things. Part of the reason why we are here is to try to create a structure for talents so that they can have a stable income source and develop other skills as well.”

He emphasises the need for government and corporate bodies to invest in the creative industry “as it will help to tell stories that shape who we are.”

What is obtainable at the moment is an unbalanced concentration of ideas and opportunities because of a perceived influence. This explains why a significant percentage of young Nigerians see entertainment celebrities as role models and disregard other vocations such as farming as a dirty job.

Olorunnimbe

Dressed in native attire, Olorunnimbe who is good-humoured comes across many as a snob, maybe because of his ambitions and visions. But he is indifferent to that assertion.

He is more concerned about promoting African excellence.

He wants to leave a legacy that will be unrivalled in the future.

“There is a programme on CNN that features businesses that are 100 years old,” he says, looking at the television in his office which coincidentally is showing a programme on African businesses. His eyes assume a faraway look as if the pictures on the screen are reenacting his next words. “I want to see Temple Management Company featured on that programme someday.”

He adds: “I’m just a dreamer who believes that Africa, in particular, Nigeria, is a symbol of excellence and that we have no excuse not to have world-class infrastructure because we are world-class people.”

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

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GLITZ FEATURE

60 Plus Advocacy Initiative: Giving Succour to the Elderly L-R: Mrs. Fasina Modupe, Mrs. Abimbola Ayorinde, Dr. Jerry Nwankwo, Mrs. Yoyinsola Makanjuola,Mr. Adeyinka Obalade, Mrs . Omowunmi Adeniyi, Mrs. Adebimpe Odunsi, Dr. Biola Mohammed and Mrs. Joy Alozie, at the maiden launch and fundraising of 60 plus Advocacy Initiative in Lagos PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

Worried by the plight of senior citizens in Nigeria often neglected, a group of prominent Nigerians under the aegis of 60 Plus Advocacy Initiative, a non-profit, non-religious, non-partisan and non-governmental organisation with the sole aim of being the voice for the elderly, recently had its maiden launch, fundraising, and lectures on challenges of caring for the elderly. With this latest initiative, senior citizens are expected to enjoy a new lease of life. Funke Olaode reports

T

hey are group of accomplished men and women whose professions cut across different sectors of the economy: from medicine, industry, law and so on. But all of them have one thing in mind, to be their brother’s keeper. Who are these brothers? They are Nigerian senior citizens who are often neglected and worried by this societal injustice, the group decided to intervene by putting resources together to come to the senior citizens’ rescue.

60Plus Advocacy Initiative founded two and half years ago is a non-profit, non-religious, non-partisan and nongovernmental organisation working in partnership with some local and international bodies to advocate for social justice and quality living for the elderly in Nigeria. It promotes the collective interest of senior citizens rights in Nigeria by lending their voices and ensures that it is heard by creating public awareness on matters that will improve the quality of living. Apart from that, it stands in as advocates and intercessors, who give support to the senior citizens to make their voices heard especially when and where they can’t speak up for themselves. Also, it teaches the people to recognize and respect the rights of the older persons, campaign against discriminations and abuse of the senior citizen on grounds of age, develops suitable training programmes and train volunteers who are willing to serve as care givers for the senior citizens.

On Thursday November 19, 2020, all roads led to Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi Lagos where dignitaries from all works of life gathered for the maiden launch, fundraising and lectures on how to cater for the elderly. The event which was partially aired via Zoom had in attendance Senior Advocates of

Nigeria who were also guest speakers, Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi SAN, Chief (Mrs.) Folake Solanke SAN, Chief Launcher, Otunba Alex Onabanjo who was ably represented by Mrs. Omowunmi Adeniyi, chairman, Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko, Chairman, Caverton Offshore Support Group, Dr. Aderemi Makanjuola, Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos, Chairperson, First Bank, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, Hon. Adewale Abiru, Dr. Kofo Odusote, Erelu Angela Adebayo, Pa Jimoh Gbadamosi, and Managing Director, NLNG, Mr. Tony Attah.

Others included Chairperson Launching Committee, 60 Plus Advocacy Initiative, Mrs. Yoyinsola Makanjuola, Chairperson, Business Strategy Committee, Dr. Biola Mohammed; Council Member, Dr. Jerry Nwankwo; Chairman, Governing Council, Mr. Yinka Obalede; Member, Board of Trustees/ Council Member, Mrs. Fasina Modupe, Mrs. Joy Alozie, among others.

In his presentation on ‘Challenge of Caring for The Elderly: The Necessary Paradigm Shift,’ Ajayi said the elderly represented between 5.6 and 60 per cent of the population (about 10 million).

Nigeria, the country with the largest population in Africa, has a senior-citizenprojected population growth rate of 3.2 percent by the Population Reference Bureau - a rate that estimated to double by 2050.

“What to do to take care of the elderly because everybody will become elderly one day? Age is like a race,” the guest speaker asked.

Speaking further, he classified the elderly into two categories: the rural and the urban.

“Nigeria is 60 and should be part of this NGO. The country started well but over the years, everything has collapsed. The sense of culture and our feelings have been eroded as people are no longer compassionate. Prof. Ajayi

believed the elder are carriers of the knowledge of yesterday, and should be taken care off. As a matter of urgency, this culture of compassion must be embedded in the youth.

“As we grow as a nation, as our culture shape-shifts into tomorrow today, we must remain in constant reminder of the fact that we are a cultural people who take care of our senior citizens and supporting NGO’s like 60 Plus Initiative – ‘the voice of the elderly’ is a step in the right direction,” he added.

In his address read by his representative, the chief launcher, Dr. Alex Onabanjo, lauded the initiative, saying, ‘This is a wonderful one and the vision is very apt at this time in our country. As the voice for the elderly, there is no better wake-up call than what you are doing today because with the pandemic ravaging the whole it has become ‘man for himself’ God for all.

What you are doing today would solve many of the problems facing our country.

Thank you for rising above the challenge of the moment.”

Mrs. Yoyinsola Makanjuola, who joined the association three months ago, said, “I was introduced to 60 Plus - my in-law, Dr. Biola Mohammed, who I know won’t join an association with questionable integrity. I checked their

brochure and their aims and objects aligned with my passion for the elderly. I lost my mother early and was used to my grandmother who died at 93. From her, I got the passion to take care of the elderly whether they are my relatives or not and what they face in terms of loneliness and particularly their health which depreciates with age. And having found about their vision and mission I keyed it.

“And now that it is being launched we will hit the ground running by getting a recreation centre where they can unwind, special geriatric unit in all public medical institution especially at the primary health care level to cater for the elderly so they can receive prompt attention and other areas where intervention is urgent. I am excited to be part of this group to alleviate the plight of the elderly in Nigeria.”

In their good will messages via Xoom, Erelu Adebayo said, “This is great because if you find it in your heart to cater for somebody, you have succeeded.

Be assured of my support and I will take your message to anywhere and everywhere.”

Donations were made to support the noble cause. Onabanjo donated N5 million. Eleganza boss, Chief Rasaki Okoya, donated N2 million among other donations by the attendees.

“As we grow as a nation, as our culture shapeshifts into tomorrow today, we must remain in constant reminder of the fact that we are a cultural people who take care of our senior citizens and supporting NGO’s like 60 Plus Initiative – ‘the voice of the elderly’ is a step in the right direction,”

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

High Life Atiku Abubakar’s Eye on the Ball at 74

T

here s a running joke in some nooks and crannies that if it takes seven times seven years to get there, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar will never stop trying to reach the end of his ambition. At 74, the wellrounded man is not the youngest Presidential aspirant around, and definitely not the oldest. There is no other option for this political Olympian than to be President of the Republic of Nigeria.

Presidnet Muhammadu Buhari is popular among historians for his persistence to climb into the presidential seat. Of course, the seat has changed dimensions since the early ’80s when he was a military head of state. However, compared to former VP Atiku Abubakar, Buhari is still a giggling baby in a cradle.

Abubakar clocked 74 on November 25, 2020. While celebrating the event at his Dubai apartment, the man’s noble and aristocratic presence was essentially leaking out his presidential ambition—which, for those counting, is the sixth episode since 1993!

Most people know Atiku Abubakar from his being the vice president to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, between 1999 and 2007.

However, the Turaki of Adamawa took his first shot at the apex position in 1993 under the aegis of the Social Democratic Party but lost. Then he tried again in 1998 but lost against General Sani Abacha. Then 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. A trial in 2023 will make it a full cycle of seven presidential attempts—talk about focus and determination!

Considering the number of votes, he was able to rake in during the 2019 general election, the next attempt might just be the best one yet. Regardless, his vocal presence of every single issue, good or bad, has made Atiku Abubakar a familiar presence on social media spaces. So, what if he is 74 years old, and a veteran of every regime since the Third Republic? Maybe the seventh time is the charm.

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

Makinde, Fayose Fight Gets Messier as Isaac Fayose Attacks Governor

Contention and opposition are constants in all forms of politics, doubly so in gubernatorial and regional quarters where frontline candidates are almost always very well known to one another.

So, it isn’t much of a surprise that Ayo Fayose and Seyi Makinde are still locking horns with every opening. However, a relative actively joining one party to chew out another is rare, for good reasons.

Isaac Fayose is the younger brother of former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose. In a viral video that has only begun to make the rounds, Isaac Fayose shared what can only be labelled a ‘heartfelt rant’ against Oyo State Governor, Makinde. According to the former, Makinde’s predisposition for betrayal and disloyalty will soon see him out of the gubernatorial office.

Going into great detail to prop his argument, Isaac Fayose narrated how it was he who brought Makinde to his older brother, Ayo Fayose, and helped Makinde

Fayose

win the blessing of legendary Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) kingmaker, Rasheed Ladoja.

Isaac Fayose further related how he personally sponsored Makinde’s gubernatorial election, securing him over 50,000 deciding votes from Ibadan South West LGA of Oyo State. And how does

Governor Makinde render gratitude, asks Isaac Fayose, but to send his ‘e-rats’ sniffing after his finances, even accusing him of looting state funds!

While the whole diatribe was conducted in the Yoruba language, Isaac Fayose’s angst cannot be mistaken for joy or celebration; neither can his pledge that Makinde will not be governor of Oyo State a second term—which is a weighty declaration from someone who can grant 50,000 votes.

In response to Isaac Fayose’s humble submission, folks were quick to point out that he is still a side act and attraction, with the main actors in the ring being his older brother, Ayo Fayose, and Makinde; that the reins of the PDP in the Southwest will grow thinner and thinner until it frazzles and scatters to the wind—and then eyes will clear, and 50,000 votes will no longer count for a self-flagellating dud of a political party.

The Travails of Babatunde Fowler: Why Osinbajo Can’t Save Him To most people, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Babatunde Fowler, make a stunning contrast. Leaving aside their similar backgrounds and chummy relationship, one is most likely the most persecuted government figure in recent time, while the other is probably the most beloved.

But the lines get very blurry at times, especially now that Fowler appears to have the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on his neck.

Reports tagging Fowler show that his new lease of life (after his exit from the FIRS chairmanship in December of 2019) stuttered to a halt when the EFCC invited him over to their Lagos office for a quick chat on Monday, November 2, 2020. After a session that ended hours later, it was gathered that Fowler had to return to the anti-graft agency a second time. To what end, folks began to ask? Is Fowler the next name on the money-laundering hit list of the EFCC? When reports eventually surfaced, it was revealed that Fowler is being

investigated in relation to his old dealings with the Alpha-beta consulting firm, and his time as CEO/Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue from 2005 to 2014. Moreover, the allegations of fraud were being accompanied by tax evasion (in the corridors of 5 billion), and more and more.

This is reasonably usual—a retired public officer undergoing the routine money check-up; but folks began to wonder why Fowler ’s man, the very amiable Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo hasn’t raised a ruckus and shielded his pal from the seeming assault of the EFCC. Theories and theorists abound.

According to one school of gossip, VP Osinbajo has too much on his hands to worry, especially with his term inching towards 2023 with considerably little to show for it. Another school agrees with this idea, adding that Osinbajo is marshalling his forces towards the election, and might even cut a dashing figure as a frontline Presidential

Fowler

candidate. Others maintain that the VP never stopped shielding his old boy from Igbobi College, which is why the latter hasn’t been properly bundled away.

All in all, theories and theorists abound as to VP Yemi Osinbajo’s position and protection, and so do the continuing travails of Babatunde Fowler.

Otunba Olusegun Runsewe Plans Befitting Burial for Late Mum

Runsewe

Abubakar

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

If every decade of life counts as a single day, the average person could be said to live for a week; the fortunate person might have lived a week and a day; and the blessed person a happy total of nine

days. To live to be 90+ is a glory in and of itself, which is how a matronly figure like Mrs. Felicia Adebola Runsewe, ought to be remembered.

Mama Felicia Runsewe, the mother of Otunba Olusegun Runsewe—the DirectorGeneral of National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC)—passed on to further glory in the early hours of October 17, 2020, a Saturday. At the time of her death, Mama Runsewe was a happy 94-yearold, a mother, grandmother and greatgrandmother, as well as a luminary in retail business (for which she was aptly nicknamed “Mama Kaduna”).

According to reports on this front, the only surviving son of Mama Runsewe (Otunba Segun Runsewe) has arranged for her to be sent off to glory in a most genteel way: a Wake on Thursday December 17 at Chapel of the Healing Cross, opposite LUTH, Idi Araba, Surulere Lagos, starting 5pm; the funeral service at the same location on the following day, starting 10am; and a Reception event to be held at Eagle Club Event Centre,

Opposite ShopRite/Leisure Mall, Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Surulere.

For a mother that accomplished and yielded much for the sake of her children and others around her, a befitting burial is just that—befitting.

Born in 1926, Mama Runsewe made a name for herself on the business lanes of Kaduna State. And that was how she thrived with/in Nigeria’s very first (chain of) department stores, Kingsway Stores.

Ultimately, that venture produced a businesswoman like no other who went into ‘private practice’ and continued on to become very successful. Even when she left Kaduna for Lagos in the late ’80s, that breath of success remained with her. Mama Felicia Runsewe’s wealth included the fruits of her womb: the late Ojafolarin Runsewe, Otunba Segun Runsewe (DG of NCAC), and Mrs. Mopelola Ayanfalu (Assistant Director of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Amuwo Odofin, Lagos State).

Ninety-four years of life, a mother of three generations of the Runsewe family— that’s Mama Felicia Adebola Runsewe.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

53

Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

SOCIETY WATCH

Joy in Auto Giant, Adebayo Adesola’s Heart To many, November 22 of every year is like any ordinary day in their lives. It has no significant meaning to them, and don’t mark the day with any fanfare. But this is not so for Nigerian businessman and auto magnate, Adebayo Adesola, Managing Director, Vision Wheel Motors.

For him, the day is always worth celebrating, as it signifies the beginning of his earthly sojourn.

Mercifully, this year, Adesola, attained the golden age. For a man of his stature, it wouldn’t have been so surprising if had chosen to roll out the drums and danced like King David in the Bible.

But Society Watch gathered that Adesola is not given to loud celebrations particularly of his birthday. Although a source revealed that last Sunday, few of his close friends, families as well as business associates gathered at his palatial mansion somewhere at Ikeja to felicitate with him. It was a very low-key gathering though there were lots of foods to eat while expensive wines, cognac, Champagne, flowed freely as if it was going out of fashion.

The multimillionaire businessman’s story is that of a glide from grass to grace.

While he was growing up, he had the picture of how rich he wanted to be in his head and he followed his dream through.

In other words, as a young man, he had a clear vision of what he wanted to do later in life and he pursued it with unwavering doggedness. Also, while growing up, the only thing that caught his fancy was business and he refused to be swayed by any other interest.

Adesola

More Recognition for UK-based Real Estate Mogul, Yomi Edun Yemi Edun, Chairman/CEO, Daniel Ford, can be likened to a goldfish that has no hiding place.

Enterprising and mercurial Yemi, a well-heeled UK-based top notch real estate and property business mogul, was recently honoured with the award of ‘British Most Influential Person,’ arguably one of the biggest and most prestigious awards in Queensland and the entire United Kingdom. The award was bestowed on him in recognition of his hard work, diligence, meticulousness, industry and service to humanity.

The London property expert and acquisition agent is today one of the UK’s most influential black people in The Powerlist 2021.

Other notable achievers, who were also awarded on the occasion, are Michael Coel, Kevin Fenton, Richard Iferenta, Edward Enniful, David Olusoga, Stormzy, Lewis Hamilton, Jacqueline Mckenzine, Donna Kinnair and Afua Hirsch, among others.

Celebrating ‘Doyen of Industry,’ Prince Samuel Adedoyin at 85 In a couple of days, specifically December 4, billionaire businessman and Chairman, Doyin Group of Companies, Prince Samuel Adedoyin, will turn 85.

The respected octogenarian had fortuitously been in public consciousness since 1968 when he established the octopus Doyin Group, which has now given him fame and wealth.

When he was starting out some 52 years ago, after rising above the challenges posed by his humble beginning, he was not under the false impression that the business would fetch him instant wealth and fame. As a result, the Kwara State-born mogul, with a steely resolve, had seen every challenge in his way as an opportunity to look inwards in order to remain relevant.

Today, he is not only relevant, but he can thump his chest as one of the very successful businessmen in Nigeria, on whom Providence has lavished its grace. His moniker, ‘Doyen of Industry,’ is a time-tested testimonial of his

The late Adedibu, in one of the apocryphal tales often attributed to him, was reported to have said that anyone who does not want to be told about the man who deflowered his mother or the juicy details of the romantic adventure should never venture into politics, particularly in this clime.

In thesamevein,ifyouarenot sosmart to hide the skeleton in your cupboard, thread cautiously if you want to seek an elective office anywhere in the world. Sadly, this is the drama currently playing out in the life of Babatunde Olalere Gbadamosi, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the December5,2020LagosEast SenatorialDistrict bye-election,especially ashisstaunchcritics insist that the windhasblown and the rump of the hen now exposed.

Since the unfolding drama started, many political observers wonder why Gbadamosi is turning a deaf ear to this seeming admonition, if the reports reaching Society Watch are anything to go by.

The APC has allegedly called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to disqualify Gbadamosi from participating him in the bye-election on the grounds that the WAEC certificate, which he submitted to INEC, might have been falsified.

That Ned Nwoko, a billionaire businessman, has wormed himself into the hearts of his people on account of his selfless services to humanity, humility and godly traits is not in doubt.

Obviously because he loves his people with a passion, he has continued to invest heavily in his hometown.

A few days ago, Nwoko, also a philanthropist, unveiled his plans to establish Stars University, where students can combine their God-given talents in sports with academics.

Nwoko, who represented Aniocha NorthSouth and Oshimili North-South in the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003, was reported to have spent over N600 million on scholarships for students in universities in Nigeria and abroad last year.

He was also said to have doled out over N100 million to construct the four-kilometer Onicha Ugbo/Idumuje Ugboko road as well as over

sterling feats as an industrialist of repute and an employer of labour.

From manufacturing to real estate and from hospitality to energy, he has continued to give his far-flung customers and clients something to relish and even value for their money. Such is the life of this great philanthropist, who fancies spreading wealth in appreciation of God’s infinite mercies in his life. No wonder, when the birthday of a man with such phenomenal achievements and inspiring family approaches, not a few will want to share in his joy.

But for the restrictions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, his family, friends and business associates would have made the coming birthday an event to talk about for a long time.

In spite of this, a source revealed that the family would hold a thanksgiving service in church before retiring to his Victoria Island, Lagos residence, where he would play host to friends and business associates.

Gbadamosi

Determined to expose what it described as Gbadamosi’s proclivity for fraud, the APC said though the PDP candidate claimed to have sat for five subjects - English Language (A3); Literature in English (C5); History (C5); Commerce (C4) and Biology (P7) - in the WAEC result certificate, which he submitted to INEC, the details of his result obtained from WAEC’s official website revealed that he actually sat for eight subjects.

Adedoyin

His grades, as allegedly obtained from the body’s website by APC, are as follows: Bible Knowledge, F9; Economics, F9; Mathematics, F9; English Language, A3; Literature in English,C5; History, C5; Commerce, C4 and Biology, P7.

While the PDP candidate allegedly submitted in Form EC9 that he attended the Lagos State University, LASU, after obtaining his WAEC certificate in 1985, the APC, again pooh-poohed his claim, saying he could not have met the university requirements for admission with that “poor results.”

Consequently, the APC has approached a Federal High Court in Lagos seeking an order disqualifying the PDP and Gbadamosi from contesting the forthcoming senatorial bye-election in Lagos East.

The party is also praying the court to disqualify Gbadamosi from contesting future elections in view of the alleged falsified certificate he presented to the INEC. An APC source further alleged that the details filled out by Gbadamosi in both Forms EC9 and CF001 regarding his work experience and educational qualifications were “false declarations on oath.”

Society Watch also gathered that the APC is urging the court to compel the InspectorGeneral of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to investigate and prosecute Gbadamosi for the alleged offences before or after the election.

Also, the APC is seeking an order of the court to disqualify Gbadamosi from contesting the upcoming election or any other elections.

Ned Nwoko: A Name Synonymous with Large-heartedness N30 million on medical bills of those afflicted with different ailments.

Interestingly, his good deeds over the years have not gone unnoticed, as he was recently awarded the Philanthropist of The Year 2020 by the Awards Committee of Black Celebrity Magazine for his impact in eradicating malaria among the less privileged in society.

Nwoko, a British-trained lawyer, began his legal career as a prosecutor for the crown and qualified as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.

Before he returned to Nigeria, he had also worked at Kumars Solicitors and Pascaldiers & Co Solicitors before establishing Ned Nwoko & Co Solicitors in London.

Nwoko

Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika’s Patriotic Fervour

Hadia Sirika, Minister of Aviation, has demonstrated that he is committed to changing the narratives in the nation’s aviation sector.

Since his appointment, the Katsina Stateborn former senator has shown his patriotic fervour, particularly where foreign airlines and some countries have reportedly treated Nigerians very unfairly.

It will be recalled that he was applauded for his decision to apply the principle of reciprocity to countries and airlines soon after the lockdown occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic was being eased globally to allow for resumption of international travels.

He has also scored another plus for facilitating the waiver of customs duty on aircraft and spares, while also pushing for the

Sirika

unification of charges paid by domestic airlines.

In the absence of a national carrier, which he has promised will be fully operational before 2023, he has directed that only Nigerian airlines should be engaged in the federal government’s evacuation of Nigerians stranded abroad. Little wonder, Nigerian-owned airlines are smiling again despite other challenges facing them.

To boost civil aviation, he said 10 new airports would be constructed across Nigeria representing a 50 percent increase in the number of existing airports. For this and more, Sirika, a pilot, is touted as a blessing to the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

Albert Okumagba – This Iroko Didn’t Fall Not true: this Iroko did not fall o. People have been falling in tears, rolling on the floor and throwing sand on their heads since the passing of this icon. Me, I am just looking at them because they are not students of history. Those of us who understand these things do not get surprised by these kinds of happenings. Albert passed last week and the news came to a lot of people as a shock. What shocked me was the timing but not the fact that he had gone. He needed to go simply because we did not understand him.

He was far, far ahead of us and saw things the rest of us could never imagine. He saw the revolution of the retail market very early for example and grew his BGL to over 22 branches. It was unheard of in investment banking.

Some people thought he was mad. Me I didn’t o. I saw the madness and worked with him as his chief marketing officer in pushing that vision.

The brand grew and began to attract the kind of usual ‘Nigerian’ bad belle. So at the sign of the first challenge,

those that were supposed to be his regulators immediately turned into his undertakers and people started running in droves away from him. Today, he has gone to where he truly belongs and he has found peace. Me, I cannot cry because this Iroko did not fall. It only transmuted into a sphere that will better understand his value.

Let me stop for now, because I will certainly come back to this matter in the coming days.

Kai, I cannot pose again, the thing is paining me. Kai, Albert!

Okumagba

Muhammed

Adamu

Gowon

LAI MUHAMMED – LEAVE THIS ONE One of the first things they teach you on the streets in Shomolu is how to choose your battles. If you do not know how to do this, you will turn into what we used to call ‘otun obo’. In Shomolu that is a target sign on your back for all the bullies to take aim. Lai Muhammed is beginning to carry that ‘otun obo’ sign on his back with these things he is saying about CNN. Mbok, someone should advise him o. This one no be NTA and they don’t take prisoners o.

You see what they have done to Trump with his billions of dollars? It is not to be carrying farmer cap and sit on one side of your buttocks and be taking aim at CNN. They will finish you o. kai, see the small one they have sent already.

They have dropped some droplets oh.

Like the one in Shomolu we calll ‘to wo.’ That is testing. If you push with this your careless talk of sanctions against them, they will drop bombs oh and that time no hiding place again o. So my brother, please just ignore them, let them talk. After all, how many people dey watch the channel for Nigeria? We are all glued on Big Brother Africa and Premiership.

The people watching CNN no plenty so let them just be broadcasting while you concentrate and get Big Brother to be showing extended version so that all 60m of us who voted for the half-naked girls will be distracted. My egbon, if I could speak Yoruba I will use it to beg you. Leave this one before they show you baffing with ‘kainkain.’ I don talk my own oh.

man o. I had to Google him to know his name. I just tire. So we have Minister of Education and people are collecting full school fees to be doing ‘Zoom Education’?

This one is not even my problem because na opportunity so I no really blame these proprietors because Covid really messed up their business so this na bounce back strategy.

But my real problem is the fact that there are schools in this country that are not preparing their children for WAEC. WAEC? West African Examinations Council! Not Duke of Shomolu Examinations Board and we have minister. So some of these schools for whatever reason now be preparing the children for foreign exams and as God will catch them by the time you get to the US and Canada which is usually the favourite destination, they will now ask for WAEC. So knowing this, some teachers in these schools will now be doing private classes and be charging as much as N100,000 per subject. You see black market in education? Others will now recommend you to other schools where in one month you are expected to cover a three-year syllabus in one month because na super brain you get and we have Minister of Education? My brother wherever you are abeg come out and show what you can do. I am sure they did not appoint you Minister of Education because you are the best marathoner in your village. I am sure there must be a reason other than that.

Please, wake up abeg.

ADAMU ADAMU – WHAT MANNER OF MINISTER? Mbok, when we were growing up, the Minister of Education that time namely, Prof. Jubril Aminu, Babatunde Fafunwa them used to be so popular. You would even think that they were the de facto president. But this one na invisible

YAKUBU GOWON – WHICH YAKUBU? Please, I have to ask this question oh.

Which Yakubu Gowon was that white man talking about? The man said that one Yakubu Gowon when he was going into exile went with half of the CBN. Mbok that statement is not a small statement o. It is a huge statement

capable of damaging everything this statesman has worked for if he is the one they are referring to. The oyibo man sef, be like say he never eat that morning because he was stuttering and stammering and apologizing as he was speaking before dropping that statement. For fear of commenting on fake news I had waited to see it on some credible platforms before commenting and since nobody has come out to deny the clip or claim it as a clip from a low budget British porn movie, I will talk.

If it is the same Gen. Gowon that we all know, the one who fought civil war and said, ‘no victor, no vanquished,’ the one that Murtala overthrew and the one that left for exile from Uganda, then be like say that white man has mental problem.

This same person that it was said was embarrassing Nigeria by queuing for food in school when he went back to better himself after a glowing career as a military dictator? This same Gowon that has been wearing only one agbada since he came back? One day I went visiting one of my ogas on Okotie Eboh in Ikoyi and he pointed out Gowon house for me and the house be like where Saddam scud missile just hit. Mbok, these people should sha mind their business or abi are they ‘fearing’? The real people who have the CBN in bullion vans packed and ready to rumble are all over the place and this paleskinned failed actor no see that one. Please leave my Gowon alone o. The man does not even know the road to CBN talk less of carrying it to anywhere.

ALI NDUME – DON’T BE IN A HURRY I have read the news of my lord being remanded in prison as a result of standing surety for one man that has run away. This career of standing surety is risky sha. I once did guarantor for person for loan. I collect him wife

Okoye

passport and wedding ring before I sign. If he default, I collect the wife, simple! So Senator Ali no do such thing go stand surety for that kind person wetin he be they expect? My advice is for him not to be in a hurry to leave the prison. Let him take the opportunity to study the place, the challenges and all and then when he eventually comes out, he will make himself Senate Chairman on Prison Reforms. You see, God works in a wonderful way, you never can tell if the Minister of Internal Affairs is in his immediate future and this apprenticeship in the gulag is just to get the necessary work experience.

My brother, relax and enjoy your stay.

Kai, I can find trouble?

DR NICK OKOYE – MAN ON FIRE That was how me and my partners – Ore Sofekun and Brainard Odiete put together a very powerful conference on private equity and the SMEs. The idea came to me as a result of all this wahala with Health Plus and their partners.

So the question is why run and go and enter slavery internationally when you can enter the same slavery locally? At least the local one, you can carry your mother-in-law go beg. So that is how the conference pulled in the whole ecosystem – the NSE, FMDQ and NASD with over 300 participants and my brother Ugodre moderating with discussions being quite robust and exciting. Na me first talk o. I welcomed the delegates and quickly handed over to Ugodre who did a marvelous job moderating. Then it was the turn of Dr. Okoye who was an executive director at the NSE at some point. The man rumble o.

Come and see fire. He is truly a very powerful intellectual when it comes to things like this. Kudos to him and all of the speakers. We will turn this country around, enough of the side talk. No be Buhari be the problem abeg, na we all.

ARTS & REVIEW A

PUBLICATION

29.11.2020

MUSING AT CROSSROADS IN UNCERTAIN TIMES Cover continued on Page 56 Onuigbo

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 ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

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ARTS & REVIEW\\ART-ICLES

MUSING AT CROSSROADS I N U N C E RTA I N T I M E S Two Abuja-based artists, Obi Nwaegbe and Chinedu Onuigbo relive their experiences during the coronavirus pandemicinducedlockdowninanexhibitionthatopensinthefederalcapitalcityonDecember3,Okechukwu Uwaezuokereports

E

ven with its troubles, Obi Nwaegbe believes the year 2020 deserves a memorable ending. Indeed, something undeniably befuddling about the year evokes the biblical end-time prophecies. For just as it was stirring to life, a bemused society – already lurching from one calamity to another – cringed before the disruptions caused by a full-blown novel coronavirus, called COVID-19.

Yet, even these disruptions in the country’s social, political and economic activities became the grist for the creative mill of a joint exhibition, titled Crossroads. In Chinedu Onuigbo, Nwaegbe later found a ready and willing collaborator for the exhibition project, which – albeit not directly alluding to cases of the pandemic itself – dredges up issues swirling around their experiences during the government-imposed lockdown and safety protocols.

Both artists first met in 2015, when Nwaegbe first moved to Abuja from Lagos. Onuigbo was holding an exhibition at the upmarket Transcorp Hilton hotel and Nwaegbe, who went to see this show, was captivated by the intensity of the colours of the works on display. “His themes and styles were quite varied,” Nwaegbe recalls, alluding to that encounter. “Even though I didn’t see that diversity as a hallmark of thematic focus, there was a uniformity in the professional delivery piece by piece and of any theme of style he chose to work on.”

Nwaegbe ended up spending hours chatting up the artist with a view to understanding him and his work better. It soon struck him that the many visitors at the venue were enthralled enough by the works to pay well-above-average prices for them. “That confirmed my suspicions that he was already in a good place in the art business. He had all the demeanour of a successful artist and took his appearance very seriously so that, without his works around him, he easily fitted into the elite circles in Abuja.”

Nwaegbe was soon mulling the prospects of leveraging Onuigbo’s panache in the art circles for future collaborations. And before long, the duo soon discovered the qualities they had in common. Both were raised in university communities: Onuigbo in Zaria and Nwaegbe in Nsukka. Both grew up as the children of lecturers.

Like Nwaegbe, Onuigbo holds a BA degree in fine arts, but from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The 46-year-old – known in the Abuja art circles as The Artfadar – preens himself on the fact that he had held 19 solo exhibitions and participated in over 30 group exhibitions, which included the New York Art Expo. A prolific artist, whose versatility expresses itself in his mastery of various mediums and depictions of various subjects, the influences of traditional African art, graffiti and cartoons are evident in his works.

Both artists continued to meet more frequently after that 2015 encounter. “We would usually meet up at exhibitions, mostly his or mine,” Nwaegbe narrates. At some point during one of their many meetings, Onuigbo privately confessed retreating from much of the artistic activity in Abuja to focus on his personal and professional advancement. “I think I have grown past the way they have been running things around here,” Nwaegbe quotes him as saying on one occasion. After over 20 years of consistent studio practice, which has seen his works adorning numerous private and corporate collections both within and outside Nigeria, Onuigbo thought he had enough reasons to slow down. “Surprisingly, these days, I don't paint every day,” he says. “I do more of thinking. I don't have a strict routine. My art practices have always been as the spirit leads and according to my mood.”

About 10 years ago, holding two solo shows at the Transcorp

Season of Reflections, Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 180cm, by Obi Nwaegbe Hilton Abuja within the space of one year used to be de rigueur.

“The exhibitions tended to be more commercial and the artworks were based mainly on street scenes, wildlife, landscapes and paintings of Nigerian festivals. But about two years ago, my paintings started to drift towards Neo-expressionism.”

Meanwhile, for Nwaegbe, art has been more like a lifelong adventure. As a child, he would play around with objects, making hand-propelled vehicles with cardboard papers.

“My bedroom walls were decorated with paper doodles and paintings,” he reminisces. “My creative instincts accompanied me to my classrooms, where sometimes I would be engrossed in sketching exercises while lessons were going on. This has been usually my response to the boredom that I felt during some of the lessons.”

Usually, the 41-year-old’s day starts before 6 a.m. He returns home before 8 a.m. after dropping off his wife at work. Work starts for him after breakfast and keeping up-to-date with local and international news. “As a home resident artist, I have both my studio and office at home, each serving as production and promotion units, respectively. Also, my resident status means that the routine was hardly altered by the pandemic lockdown since the home was where it all happened.”

Similarly, Onuigbo spends more time indoors because of his home studio. “So, the pandemic and lockdown did not really affect my practice,” he says. “These days, some of us socialise more on social media. It's an easier way of socialising and it is corona-free.”

On his social life as an artist, Nwaegbe says: “It is two-way traffic, really. I have come to understand that as an individual grows, there must be the consciousness towards building productive bridges and breaking down unproductive ones. That

MUSIC

is not to suggest or hint at social climbing of any sort, but about finding like-minds across class divides with whom one share certain values and shades of understanding. The first step is to define one’s goals and focus, and then the second is to manage one’s time in a way that it is spent more with those who align with them. My own personal journey in this regard has me keeping smaller circles as I grow older to devote the maximum time I require for my work.”

Yet, life as a full-time studio artist in Abuja has its pressures and setbacks. Onuigbo ascribes this to lack of awareness and poor art appreciation in the capital city. “Lagos is by far a better environment for the visual arts,” says the artist, who draws his inspiration from the innocence, sincerity and freedom of children.

Back to Crossroads, it was a fallout of Nwaegbe’s personal musings. Early this year, he had discovered, in Onuigbo’s works, a renewed thematic focus that seemed to have narrowed down to specific concerns bordering on Nigeria’s socio-political issues.

“This was a new shift in his work, which before now was essentially about technical proficiency in landscapes and figurative renderings and often without central themes. This was deliberate and painstaking and, according to him, was his new design to pander to the whims of the gallery-going audience.”

Meanwhile, preparations for the joint exhibition, which opens on Thursday, December 3 at the Dolapo Obat Gallery in Habiba Plaza, along Osun Crescent in the upscale Maitama district, continued to rev up. While Onuigbo’s offerings for the exhibition re-enact the social upheavals and protests that happened during the year, Nwaegbe concerns himself with the more subtle responses of the period.

On until Saturday, December 12, the exhibition will be open to the public daily from 12 pm to 7 pm.

Bongos Ikwue Searches for True Love In Igbo Homeland Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

T

he lionised singer Bongos Ikwue was the star attraction at the event tagged “APlethora of Creative Minds: An Evening with Peter Umeadi and Friends at Agukwu Nri” on Wednesday November 18.

Professor Peter Umeadi, the former Chief Judge of Anambra State, was an amiable host in his country home in Nri, the cradle of the Igbo nation. The event was coordinated and emceed by the acclaimed king of monodrama Greg Mbajiorgu.

The evening kicked off with the inimitable chairman, Chief Loretta Aniagolu, a distinguished attorney and estate developer, rousing the guests with inspired nuggets of knowledge

in a blend of English and her Wawa dialect of Igbo language, stressing that art enlivens the human race.

The evening’s offerings had a riveting fountainhead as Professor Krydz Ikwuemesi dwelt on the subject of “Uli for Cultural Rearmament among the Igbo.” Ikwuemesi highlighted the import of bringing Uli to the centre especially as Ms Robyn Sanders, the former ambassador of the USAin Nigeria, earned her PhD on Uli. Ikwuemesi, a lecturer and artist, primed himself as a “creative nomad” inspired by the Nsukka School of doyens like Uche Okeke. Ikwuemesi is poised “to retire to Uli” to work wonders in future with the help of technology.

The host, Prof Peter Umeadi, who had personably led the guests to get vintage liquor and assorted drinks, mounted the podium to mellifluously render two classic poems – J.P. Clark’s “Abiku” and Kofi Awoonor’s “Songs of Sorrow.”

––Uzoatu writes from Awka Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

Bongos and Umeadi

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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 ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

CICERO

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

IN THE ARENA

A Kidnappers’ Colony Oxygenated by enormous monetary gains, the apparent inability, incapacity or collusion of the nation’s flawed security architecture and under-equipped justice system to effectively kill-off the malady, the entire Nigerian landscape is currently besieged by kidnappers, writes Louis Achi

M

any kidnap cases now go unreported for reasons not far-fetched.

The victims’ relatives prefer to play along with kidnappers to guarantee the release of victims from captivity alive. Sadly, in many cases, this cagey wisdom rewards them with dead bodies.

From some scholars, a potent cocktail of drugs consumption, widespread unemployment, arms proliferation, deification of wealth and fundamentally flawed security architecture feed the Frankenstein monster of kidnapping. From the six geo-political zones and in the nation’s highways, schools, residences, worship places, offices, villages and cities – no space is secure from the brisk criminal enterprise of kidnapping.

Undeniably, there is a correlation between the proliferation of arms as a result of political patronage of miscreants, who were dumped after elections and kidnapping. The current kidnapping malady is comparable to the scourge of armed robbery in the early eighties, where many young able-bodied men, who fought during the Nigerian civil war, were discharged and sent home with nothing.

According to a former president of the Philippines Senate, Hon. Blas Ople, 52% of kidnappings in the Philippines involve active and retired police and military men and corruption within the law enforcement agencies sometimes thwarts serious effort in crime prevention. He further noted that the police force personnel lack resources to cope with criminal activities. Ople may have spoken for the Filipino scenario but the essence of his postulation has arguably made landfall locally.

Three months ago, Force spokesman, Frank Mba, announced the re-arrest of millionaire kidnapper, Hamisu Wadume in his hideout at Layin Mai Allo Hotoro area of Kano State.

Wadume escaped when the operatives of Intelligence Response Team came under attack from soldiers attached to Battalion 93, Takum, Taraba State, as they conveyed the kidnap suspect from the scene of his arrest. The sad incident, last year, in Ibi, Taraba State, resulted in the killing of three police officers and two civilians, and injury to five others.

Reputed to be generous to a fault, Wadume had carved out a cosy fiefdom for himself in a corner of the Northeast and allegedly engineered several abductions and made a fortune out of ransom extorted from relatives of the victims. At press time, his case is still dragging through the court.

The spiralling incidents of kidnapping in Nigeria, is provoking some unconventional pushbacks from different stakeholders.

Perhaps out of palpable desperation, the Deputy Imam of Triumph Juma’at Mosque in Kano State,

IGP Mohammed Adamu Dr. Abdulmudallib Ahmed, recently declared that the only way to stop kidnapping for ransom in the North is by calling the bluff of the kidnappers by letting them kill their victims.

The cleric, who made the suggestion on his Facebook, noted that solutions to difficult problems are often difficult measures and therefore families must resort to desperate measures in order to curb the growing menace. He, therefore, urged families and relatives of kidnap victims to stop paying ransom in order to discourage the growing crime in the region.

On its part, Afenifere, a Yoruba Pan Socio-Political Group raised the alarm that the country had become ungovernable and on the brink of collapse.

The group spoke at its monthly meeting held at the country home of its national leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

A communiqué issued and read to newsmen by the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, stated that, “the truth is that the country had virtually become ungovernable and unless we restructure and restore Nigeria to federalism,

the country is on the brink of collapse and God should save us from the worst-case scenario. And nobody should take this country on any childish ride. We should just implement the report of the 2014 conference now.”

The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, said insecurity in the north was so terrible that “people now leave foodstuff in their houses for bandits.” He spoke at the fourth quarterly meeting of Nigeria Inter Religious Council (NIREC) held in Abuja, the nation’s capital, on Thursday.

Looking at the big picture, with military deployment to almost all the states of the federation and FCT, Abuja, it is clear that serious governance issues are on the spot. The Police Force needs badly to be revamped, re-motivated, re-equipped and perhaps, most importantly – restructured.

The emerging consensus is that good governance with accountability, transparency and fair play should be critical factors in mitigating the current crisis. An unengaged youth equates a ticking time bomb.

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

D

Gowon

Gowon Stole Half the CBN?

o you recall this statement: “Some people will remember, when General Gowon left Nigeria with half the Central Bank of Nigeria, so it is said, and moved to London”?

It was made by a Conservative Member of British Parliament, Tom Tugendhat, last Monday, while debating possible sanctions against Nigeria over the alleged killings during the October #EndSARS protest. That statement stirred an instant irritation amongst many Nigerians.

Perhaps, stooping to pressure from friends and family, Gowon, in an exclusive interview with the BBC, gave a short response: “I don’t know where he got that rubbish from. I served Nigeria diligently and my records are there for all to see.”

It does not take much to realise that the British lawmaker spoke carelessly and recklessly. There was nothing to show he had his facts before coming public with the fallacy. And to make a mess of such rash grandstanding, he claimed: “so it is said.” By who, where, when, how?

That some people even reckoned he should be given a benefit of the doubt directly insulted the collective sensibility of decent Nigerians. Gowon is not infallible but definitely one of the few Nigerian leaders, who boast a character that is unimpeachable.

Thus, making away with half the central bank was too ludicrous and impossible a claim that anyone should have listened to in the first place. Evidently, those who gave the clown a chance to espouse his twaddle did, because of the colour of his skin, and not as a result of the content of his brain or character.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

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BRIEFINGNOTES Ndume: When Good Deeds Go South A hand of help extended by the senator representing Borno South senatorial district, Ali Ndume, had to one of his constituents, AbdulRasheed Maina, a former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, turned awry, last week, when he was sent to jail for five days. Davidson Iriekpen writes

F

or the senator representing Borno South senatorial district, Ali Ndume, what happened to him on November 23 will never be forgotten in a hurry. A normal attempt to be of help to a friend went awry, leading to his imprisonment.Though he was granted bail last Friday, the five days he spent in jail, is an experience that will live with him forever.

While his colleague in the Senate, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, was lucky to escape the same treatment, when he stood surety for the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, Ndume was not.

On this day, Ndume, dressed in a white native attire and a white cap to match, did not foresee what was ahead of him as he headed for the Federal High Court for the continuation of the trial of a former chairman of the defunct Pension ReformTaskTeam, AbdulRasheed Maina.

On arrival at the court, as a‘distinguished’ senator, he was offered a sit in front of the courtroom, close to the dock. Soon after, as the proceedings for the day commenced, the presiding judge of the court, Justice Okon Abang, in a surprised ruling that left everyone in the courtroom and outside dumbfounded, ordered him to be remanded in Kuje prision Ndume following his failure to produce Maina, who is believed to have jumped bail.

Ruling on an oral application made to the effect by lawyer to the prosecution in the ongoing money laundering trial of Maina and a firm – Common Input Property and Investment Limited, Justice Abang ordered that Ndume could only be released if he either provides evidence of payment of the N500milion bail bond into the Federation Account or there is evidence that the federal government has sold the property he pledged, located at Asokoro in Abuja and the N500m bond is paid into federal government account from the proceed of the sale; or that he is able to produce Maina before the court.

Maina, who is standing trial for corruption, was first arraigned on October 25, 2019 following which he was admitted to conditional bail at N1billion on November 26, 2019. He could not meet the bail conditions until Ndume agreed to stand surety for Maina after the court agreed to his request and reviewed the bail sum to N500million.

In undertaking to stand as Maina’s surety, Ndume said he elected to stand as surety to Maina, because he is one of his constituents in Borno South senatorial district after deliberating on the issue for days. He pledged to ensure that Maina (the first defendant) participate in the trial until judgment, failing which he (the surety) would forfeit the N500 bail bond, which he secured with a property in Asokoro, Abuja believed to worth that amount.

Maina was released from custody on July 24, 2020. He attended court on a few occasions and stopped from September 29, 2020 with his lawyer, Francis Oronsaye claiming his client was ill and could not account for his whereabouts.

The case came up again on two occasions – September 30 and October 2, with Maina staying away.When it again came up on October 19, Ndume, who was always present, told the court that he had become helpless, because

he could not locate Maina. He prayed the court to issue a bench warrant for Maina’s arrest to enable relevant security agencies apprehend him, believing he had jumped bail.

The court, in a ruling, noted that should an arrest warrant be issued, the senator would be remanded in the absence of the 1st defendant. It elected to accord Ndume time to locate the first defendant and ordered him to take steps to produce Maina.

When the case again came up on November 18, Ndume told the court that he was unable to locate Maina, following which lead prosecuting lawyer, Mohammed Abubakar, applied orally for the court to revoke Maina’s bail and issue arrest warrant against him.

Abubakar, relying on the provision of Section 179(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) urged the court to order the forfeiture of the bail bond and committal of the surety to prison until the fleeing defendant was apprehended.

In his ruling, Justice Abang revoked Maina’s bail, issued bench warrant for his arrest and ordered Ndume to show cause on the next adjourned date why the prosecution’s application that he forfeits the bail bond and be committed to prison should not be granted.The judge adjourned till November 23, 2020.

When the case was mentioned last Monday, Ndume rather than show cause, as ordered by the court on the previous date, his lawyer, Maxwell Oru, informed the court that the certified true copies (CTC) of some documents he applied for had not been made available to him by the court to enable him prepare his client’s defence.

Oru applied for an adjournment to enable him obtain the documents from the court and prepare his client’s defence in relation to the committal proceedings.

Oronsaye did not object to Oru’s application for adjournment. But Abubakar objected, arguing that there was no basis for an adjournment and that Ndume’s letter did not qualify for a response to the court’s order that he show cause why the prosecution’s prayers should not be granted.

In a ruling, Justice Abang agreed with the prosecution and noted the decision by Oru to write a“mere administrative letter” rather than file an affidavit to show cause, was a risky gamble that the lawyer took to the detriment of his client.

“Opportunity has been offered the distinguished senator to present his case before the court.The surety has not placed any material before the court adjourning this matter at his instance. He has not offered any good and substantial reasons why this matter should be adjourned today.

The law must be even-handed. It is no respecter of persons.

“This matter has been adjourned at the instance of the first defendant and the distinguished Senator on four occasions. See the proceedings of the Court on September 30, 2020, October 2, 2020, October 19, 2020, November 18, 2020 and further adjourned till today.

“The first defendant is not here again today. A bench warrant has been issued.

He (the first defendant) is on the run, without anybody pursuing him. Nobody is pursuing him. And, more so, the court is here for both parties.The first defendant is not in court.The first defendant has jumped bail.This is an occasion for the surety to make good on his undertaking.

“On November 18, 2020 the surety prayed for an adjournment to show cause why he should not be ordered to forfeit the penal sum or the bail bond, the court granted adjournment till today. He has not filed any process before the court, challenging the power of the court in granting the request of the prosecution,”the judge said.

The judge expressed discomfort about the conduct of Maina’s lawyer and said:“It is reasonably believed that the first defendant is in close contact with his counsel and who are receiving instructions from him, but they are in court pretending that they did not have the contact or know where the first defendant resides. I leave the learned counsel that appear for the first defendants to their conscience.”

The judge rose immediately he completed the ruling.

And Ndume, who looked confused about what just happened, sat down for about 10 minutes until led out of the court by prison officials.

But when the case came up last Friday, Justice Abang granted him bail. He said the decision was based on the senator’s record of good behaviour in court.The bail was granted to the senator pending the hearing and determination of his appeal filed at the Court of Appeal challenging his remand.

He ordered the senator to produce one surety, who must be a resident of Abuja and present evidence of ownership of property anywhere in Abuja. According to the judge, the surety must also depose to an Affidavit of Means to indicate his readiness to forfeit the bail guaranty should the senator also jump bail.

NOTES FOR FILE

A Short Lecture on Public Trust

Fashola

Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, last week, delivered an involuntary lecture to those, who delight in deploying their platforms to steal public trust especially, when constant reproduction of fibs has begun to displace both the truth and thorough job as demanded by sound journalism.

In what was dubbed investigative reporting, an online newspaper had reported that Fashola’s ministry paid some N4.5billion into the personal accounts of certain ministry officials, an action that contravenes some extant laws. And because of the dust the allegation generated, Fashola responded, but it turned out a lecture titled: “Stealing Public Trust”.

“The stupidity of the thought that a public officer will take such money on a consistent and repeated basis with impunity reveals the mindset of Premium Times about what they can do in such circumstances. The pen writes what the mind thinks.

“That stupidity is magnified by the thought that the public officer who is trying to steal would be paying the money into his bank account where it can be found. The stupidity initially informed my decision not to respond to Premium Times in their latest publication headlined under my Name. It is a continuing line of a series of Attack Fashola.

Regrettably, he said, “what Premium Times has

done is to damage its reputation as a news medium for those who seek the truth. Clearly, no investigation was undertaken in respect of this publication as the report was from ‘Open Portal’. If it was from the Open Portal then there was nothing to hide.”

Sadly, a simple check would have certified the truth, because the facts are out there and accessible.

But, like Fashola concluded, “In all, no money was stolen or is missing. There is no smoking gun to criminalise Fashola. If anything has been stolen, it is the Trust of the public by Premium Times. I will not believe anything they write again. This is not investigative Journalism. It is Irresponsible Journalism.” Sad!

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

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CICERO/ISSUE

A Peep Into Proposed Electoral Act Amendments Some of the provisions in the proposed amendment to the electoral act might interest you, writes Chuks Okocha

A

sshatu Jubril Dukku, last week, presented a preview of the much-expected electoral bill to the House of Representatives. The reform Bill contained series of innovations that could improve election management in the country, if eventually passed into law.

The bill, which has since passed the second reading at the floor of the House, was first introduced in July 2020. The Bill seeks to repeal the Electoral Act No. 6, 2010 and enact the Independent National Electoral Commission Act 2020, to regulate the conduct of federal, state and area council elections and for related matters.

The bill, among other things, make provisions for the restriction of the qualification for elective office to relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended); use of Card Readers and other technological devices in elections and Political Party Primaries.

It will also seek to provide a timeline for the submission of list of candidates, criteria for substitution of candidates, limit of campaign expenses, and will address the omission of names of candidates or logo of political parties.

According to the Dukku, who is also the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on INEC, the amendments to the current act become necessary, because of the flaws observed in the electoral system.

She explained that it was no longer news that the electoral experiences since 1999 show a strong correlation between an efficient and effective electoral legal framework and the conduct of free, fair and credible elections.

Amendments to the electoral laws, she stated were long identified as priority legislation by the National Assembly, because of the need to consolidate on the gains of the nation’s democratic achievements and to also address the lacuna identified in the electoral legal framework.

Giving reasons why the electoral act must be amended, the House committee chairman on INEC said a typical example was the case of the Kogi State governorship election in 2015, where a leading candidate died before the declaration of results.

In addition to this, she said there were concerns that the legal framework on certain issues should be well settled ahead of the 2023 elections such as the use of technological devices like the Card Reader and electronic voting system, criteria for substitution of candidates, disclosure of source of funds contributed to political parties, replacement of lost or destroyed permanent voters card, penalty for the possession of fake voters’ card, dates for conducting primary election shall not be earlier than 150 days and not later than 120 days before the date of election, etc.

Accordingly, the bill therefore sought to address many loopholes in the electoral system by way of amending over 300 clauses (including new provisions) of the Electoral Act 2010.

These amendments include sections of the Electoral Act 2010 amended by the 8th National Assembly, which was not assented to by the President due to some typographical errors observed in the Bill and a draft proposal from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to the proposed amendments Section 3(2) (a) which provides definite timeline for the release of fund to the Commission for the discharge of its statutory duties, the amendment is an insertion, which states that, “the funds for General Election shall be released to the Commission not later than 180 days to the date appointed for the elections” after the word “Commission” in that section.

Under Conduct and Postponement of Election in Emergency, section 26 (3) and (4) is amended as: “Where an election has commenced and there is reason to believe that there is or has been substantial disruption of election in a polling unit or constituency or it is impossible to continue with the election occasioned by threat to peace and security of electoral officials and materials, the Commission shall suspend the election and appoint another date for the continuation of the election or the process thereof.”

In the amendments proposed, where the Commission appoints a substituted date in accordance with subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section, there shall be no return for the election until polling has taken place in the area or areas affected.

Also, Under Oath of Neutrality By Election Officers, section 28 (1) is amended as follows: “All Staff, Electoral Officers, Presiding Officers, Returning Officers, Security Officials and Staff taking part in the conduct of an election shall Affirm or Swear to an Oath of Loyalty and Neutrality indicating that they will not accept bribe or gratification from any person, and Shall perform their functions and duties impartially and in the interest of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without fear or favour.”

In Section 30 under Notice of Election, it is amended with a new subsection (4), which states that: “There shall not be substitution of candidates in a by-election except, where a candidate of a political party in a by-election dies, the party shall submit to the Commission the name of its substitute candidate within 48 hours of the death of the candidate in the form prescribed by the Commission.”

Section 34 under Publication of Nomination, is amended by inserting new sub-sections (2) and (4), which states that:

Yakubu “Any candidate, who observes his name or that of his party missing on the list published in accordance with subsection (1), shall notify the Commission in writing, signed by himself and supported with an affidavit not later than 21 days to the election.

Other proposals contained in the amendments sighted by THISDAY, are “Where the candidate fails to notify the Commission in accordance with subsection (2), the candidate shall be deemed to have waived his right.

Others are that the Commission shall produce ballot papers for the relevant elections in accordance with the list published after corrections in conformity with subsection (2).”

Section 36 (1) under Death of a Candidate is amended as follows: “If after the time for the delivery of nomination paper and before the commencement of the poll, a nominated candidate dies, the Chief National Electoral Commissioner shall, being satisfied of the fact of the death, countermand the poll in which the deceased candidate was to participate and the Commission shall appoint some other convenient date for the election within 14 days. And a new subsection (3) is provided, thus: “(3) If after the commencement of polls and before the announcement of the final result and declaration of a winner, a candidate dies, (a) The Commission shall, ‘being satisfied of the fact of the death, suspend the election for a period not exceeding 21 days; (b) The political party whose candidate died may, if it intends to continue to participate in the election, conduct a fresh primary within 14 days of the death of its candidate and submit the name of a new candidate to the Commission to replace the dead candidate; and (c) Subject to paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection, the Commission shall continue with the election, announce the final result and declare a winner.”

In the proposed changes, the amendment in section 38 under Failure of Nomination is new insertion of subsections 25, which provides that, “Where there is a valid nomination by at least one political party, failure of a political party to validly nominate a candidate does not constitute ground for extension of time for nomination or postponement of election.

“Polling Agents, who are in attendance at a polling unit, are entitled, before the commencement of the election, to have originals of electoral materials, including ballot papers, result sheets, ballot papers’ account and verification documents and other electoral forms to be used by the Commission for the election inspected, and this process may be recorded in writing, on video or by other means by any Polling Agent, accredited observer or official of the Commission.

“Where it is determined that there has been a substantial compliance with this provision in respect of the polling unit, the elections at that polling unit shall not be invalidated.”

The amendment sought prescribed sanctions where neces-

sary. It said, a Presiding Officer, who contravenes subsection (3) or (4) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to at least a term of one year imprisonment or a fine of N1,000,000, or both.

Section 42 (1) and (2) under Establishment of Polling Units is amended as follows: “The Commission shall divide each Local Government Area into Registration Areas not being less than 10 and not more than 20 as the circumstance of the Local Government Area may require. The Commission shall establish sufficient number of polling units in each Registration Area/ Electoral ward and shall allot voters to such polling units.

Section 49 (1) and (2) under Issue of Ballot Paper is amended as: (1) a person intending to vote in an election shall present himself with his voter’s card to a Presiding Officer for accreditation at the polling unit in the constituency in which his name is registered.

(2) The Presiding Officer shall use a Smart Card Reader or any other technological device that may be prescribed by the Commission, for the accreditation of voters, to verify, confirm or authenticate the particulars of the voter in the manner prescribed by the Commission.

A new subsection (3) provides that, where a smart card reader deployed for accreditation of voters fails to function in any unit and a fresh card reader is not deployed, the election in that unit shall be cancelled and another election shall be scheduled within 24 hours.”

Section 52 (1)(b) under Conduct of Poll By Open Secret Ballot is amended as follows: “(b) The Commission may adopt electronic voting or any other method of voting in any election it conducts as it may deem fit.”

Section 53 (2) and (3) under Over Voting is amended as, “Where the votes cast at an election in any polling unit exceed the number of accredited voters in that polling unit, the result of the election for that polling unit shall be declared null and void by the Commission and another election may be conducted at a date to be announced by the Commission, where the result at that polling unit may affect the overall result in the Constituency.

The amendments being sought further stated that, where an election is nullified in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, there shall be no return for the election until another poll has taken place in the affected polling unit.

Section 85 (1) under Notice of Convention, Congress, etc, is amended as follows: (1) Every registered political party shall give the Commission at least 21 days’ notice of any convention, congress, conference or meeting convened for the purpose of “merger and fusion” and electing members of its executive committees, other governing bodies or nominating candidates for any of the elective offices specified under this Act. There’s a new subsection (5) which provides that: “Failure of a Political Party to notify the Commission as stated in subsection (1) shall render the convention, congress, conference or meeting invalid.

Section 90 (1) under Power To Limit Contribution To A Political Party is amended as follows: “The Commission shall have power to place limitation on the amount of money or other assets, which an individual can contribute to a Political Party or candidate and to demand such information on the amount donated and source of the funds.

A new subsection (2) provides that: “Any individual, candidate or Political Party, who exceeds the limit placed by the Commission in subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to: (a) in case of a Political Party, a line not exceeding N10,000,000 and forfeiture of the amount donated. In case of an individual, a tine of 5 times the amount donated in excess of the limit placed by the Commission.

There’s the Section 91 under Limitation On Election Expenses. It is amended as follows: (1) Election expenses shall not exceed the sum stipulated in Sub-Sections (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) and (7). On election expenses, the maximum election expenses to be incurred by a candidate at a presidential election shall not exceed N5,000,000,000.00.

“The maximum amount of election expenses to be incurred by a candidate in respect of governorship election shall not exceed N1,000,000,000.00. The maximum amount of election expenses to be incurred by a Candidate in respect of Senatorial and House of Representatives seat shall not exceed N100,000,000.00 and N70,000,000.00 respectively.

“In the case of State Assembly election, the maximum amount of election expenses to be incurred by a candidate shall not exceed N 30,000,000.00.

“In the case of a chairmanship election to an Area Council, the maximum amount of election expenses to be incurred by a candidate shall not exceed N30,000,000.00 and in the case of Councillorship election to an area Council, the maximum amount of election expenses to be incurred by a candidate shall not exceed N5,000,000.00.

Section 91 (1) under Limitation on Political Broadcast and Campaign By Political Parties is amended as: “For the purpose of this Bill, the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 150 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day.”

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

FROMTHECOURT

NJC’s Strong Message to Gombe The position taken by the National Judicial Council against the Gombe State Government in its effort to truncate the seniority hierarchy in the appointment of the state Chief Judge is an indication that it is committed to protecting the sanctity of the judiciary, writes Davidson Iriekpen

T

he National Judicial Council (NJC) shocked the Gombe State Government last Monday, when it rejected Justice Muazu Pindiga as its nominee for the position of the state Chief Judge.

The rejection, THISDAY gathered, was the second time the highest judicial organ in the country would send the state officials away because of the Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) refusal to comply with the directives of the council to include the name of Justice Beatrice Lazarus Iliya in the list of nominees being considered for the position being the most senior judge in the state.

Justice Iliya, who is the most senior judge in the state judiciary, served as acting Chief Judge of the state, but instead of confirming her as the substantive Chief Judge upon the expiration of her first three months or re-appointed in acting capacity, her junior was appointed as acting Chief Judge of the state.

Investigation by THISDAY revealed that Justice Iliya’s travails started in August last year, when as the most senior judge in the state, rumours started making the rounds that she would be denied the Chief Judge after the retirement of then chief judge.

But to her surprise, through a letter dated September 2, 2019, she was appointed the acting Chief Judge of Gombe State and pursuant to which she was sworn into office on September 4, 2019 in accordance with Section 271(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). She served for three month, and by the time she thought her name would be sent to the NJC for approval or a renewal of her tenure for another three months as provided by the Constitution, it never happened.

At a meeting on August 21, 2019 and by a letter ref No JSC/GMS/S/ADM/21/270 dated September 2, 2019, the state JSC shortlisted and forwarded her name as the preferred candidate and that of Justice Muazu Abdulkadir Pindiga, as reserved candidate to the council for recommendation to the governor.

However, while she was acting as chief judge, during her inaugural meeting on September 30, 2019 at the JSC, the Secretary of the commission informed them that the NJC Secretary drew his attention to the lack of accompanying documents to the commission’s letter dated September 2, 2019, which nominated and forwarded the names, contrary to the NJC Guidelines and Procedural Rules, 2014.

The missing requirements were the comments of the Chairman of the NBA Gombe Branch, comments of former/retired heads of Court in Gombe State, report of the Department of State Service (DSS), Certificate of Medical Fitness and signed Curriculum Vitae of the candidates.

This led the state JSC to by a letter dated October 2, 2019, withdraw the nomination with a view to rectifying the anomalies before re-submitting the names. While all these were going on, her tenure in acting capacity was not renewed as Governor Yahaya appointed Justice Pindiga in acting capacity on December 4, 2019 and thereafter renewed it on March 4, 2020.

Since then, his appointment in acting capacity has been renewed four times. While Justice Iliya’s tenure in acting capacity was not renewed, she was shocked and surprised to discover that while she was waiting for the re-presentation of her name after satisfying all the requirements of the NJC guidelines, the JSC headed by Justice Pindiga, on March 19, 2020 had a meeting where the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Zubairu Mohammed Umar, who served as pro-tempore Chairman, wrote a memorandum to the commission where he excluded her name as a candidate to be re-submitted to the NJC. Umar based his decision for removing her name on a petition written against her by an unnamed grain merchant complaining to the state governor.

He also faulted her administrative skills, which he said was not at par with that of Justice Pindiga. The AG further contended that seniority is not a constitutional requirement for appointment of substantive chief judge, but a convention.

Based on this, the state JSC removed her name and shortlisted Justice Pindiga as the preferred candidate and Justice Joseph A. Awak as the reserved candidate without regard to the totality

CJN Tanko Muhammed of the provisions of Section 271 of the Constitution read holistically.

Legal pundits believe that apart from the fact that it was unconstitutional for the Attorney General of the state or JSC to sit over a petition against Justice Iliya without giving her fair hearing, they argued that the powers of supervising, assessing and discipline of a judicial officer are strictly that of the NJC and not a political appointee or the JSC. Section 271 and its subsections state unequivocally the modalities for appointment of a chief judge of a state. For instance, subsection 1 states: “The appointment of a person to the office of a Chief Judge of a state shall be made by the Governor of the state on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to the confirmation by the House of Assembly of the state.”

While subsection 2 states that “the appointment of a person of the office of the chief judge of a state shall be made by the governor of the state acting on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council,” but subsection 3 states that, “A person shall not be qualified to hold office of a judge of a High Court of a state unless he is qualified to practise as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for a period of not less than 10 years.”

The icing on the cake is Subsection 4, which states that, “If the office of the chief judge of a state is vacant or if the person holding the office is for any reason unable to perform the functions of the office, then, until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the person holding the office has resumed those functions the governor of the state shall appoint the most senior judge of the High Court to perform those functions.”

So the question begging for answer is where did AG Umar derive the powers to intervene in the process for selecting a chief judge from?

Justice Iliya is the most senior judge in the Gombe State Judiciary. She was called to the Bar in 1981, while Justice Joseph A. Awak and Justice Muazu A. Pindiga, were called to the Bar in 1983 and 1988 respectively.

Information available to THISDAY revealed that the reason Iliya is being denied the position of Chief Judge is for being a female. Another reason is that Justice Iliya is a minority Christian.

Lately, it is becoming a norm in some states to truncate the seniority hierarchy in the appointment of chief judges.

Recently, in Kebbi State, a female judge and former acting Chief Judge of Kebbi State, Elizabeth Karatu, was prevented by a Civil Defence operative attached to the state High Court from gaining access to her courtroom.

The judge, who was billed to retire on July 5, 2019, was supposed to rule on cases on July 4, her last day in office.

Justice Karatu, until her retirement, was the most senior judge in Kebbi State judiciary, but was controversially denied confirmation as the substantive chief judge on the grounds that she is a Christian.

In Cross River State recently, the state government rejected the appointment of Justice Akon Ikpeme as the substantive Chief Judge on the grounds that she is not an indigene of the state even when she has lived all her life in the state, went to school in the state and married an indigene of the state.

But a number of organisations have risen in support of Justice Iliya. For instance, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) has called on the NJC to continue to resist any attempt by the Gombe State Government to prevent her from becoming the substantive Chief Judge of the state on account of her sex and religion.

In its petition to the NJC and signed by its Country Vice-President, Rhoda Prevail Tyoden, and National Secretary, Evelyn Membere-Asimiea, FIDA drew the attention of the NJC and in particular, its Chairman and Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, to what it described as serious infractions by the state JSC, where a female judge has been denied elevation to the chief judge of the state, ostensibly because of her gender and religion.

It also drew the attention of the NJC to the case of Justice Akon Ikpeme of the Cross River State Judiciary who, as the most senior judge was denied the appointment to the pinnacle as chief judge.

Also, the Centre for Public Accountability (CPA), has called on the NJC to always stand firm in defence of female judges from perceived discrimination by some state governments, particularly in the appointment of a Chief Judge.

The Executive Director of the group, Mr. Olufemi Lawson, held that while it strongly believes in the council’s commitment towards protecting the sanctity of the judiciary and by extension, Nigeria’s democracy, it was disturbed by the worrying tendency of some state governments to truncate the seniority hierarchy in the appointment of Chief Judges.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

CICERO/ONTHEWATCH

Can Saraki Mend PDP’s Cracking Walls?

The reconciliatory job handed a former President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party is obviously not an easy task especially, with the desperation for 2023.

But, is Saraki up to it? Shola Oyeyipo asks

A

s if it is not sad enough that the ruling party in Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has failed to give the country the kind of leadership and change promised when the four legacy parties fused into one ahead of the 2015 general election, worst still, the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has not really positioned itself to cash-in on the failures of the current government.

However, in a move considered both smart and timely, the PDP, last Monday, announced that the immediate past Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki would chair its six-man committee on National Reconciliation.

Others on the committee are another former President of the Senate and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Ayim; former Governors Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), and Ibrahim Shema (Katsina) as well as a former House of Representatives Minority Leader, Mulikat Akande as members.

The task before the committee is simple: to bring about peace among the various factions in the party, restore cohesion in the states and position the party for future successes in the national polity. Therefore, the choice of Saraki as the chairman of the committee has been deemed a well thought out move, because the former Kwara State governor is a man that has the temperament, the network, the reach, experience, resources, and grit for such an assignment.

He has displayed the capacity to deftly handle such assignment, when he resolved the crisis in Osun State PDP before the last gubernatorial election and it is on record that his party had the highest vote in that election before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the election inconclusive and the rest is history.

Though the task before Saraki might seem herculean, it is not insurmountable and it is important that the reconciliation committee succeeds, because the stronger and more cohesive the political parties, the better for the political process.

First, Saraki and his team must draw modalities to actualise the ambition of the PDP leadership to reposition the party for 2023 and beyond. Second, since its defeat in the 2019 national elections, its ranks have been further divided, because of several factors such as invasion of the ruling party, the in-fighting between its leaders, the rat-race towards 2023, the fall-out from its last congresses, and the management of the election of its National Working Committee (NWC) members.

Flowing from the above issues, states like Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Bauchi, Plateau, and Borno have been in crisis hence Saraki would be expected to activate his capability to convince many aggrieved PDP leaders to forgive, forget, reconsider their stands and bring many APC top shots into the PDP, just as he can get many politicians

Saraki...Is he up to the task from other parties into the PDP. In doing this, however, he would have to contend with suspicion, clash of ambition, attraction, which the ruling party usually has for the ordinary Nigerian politician, and the calculations for 2023, which is fueling some of the fights in the various states and parties.

This was worsened by the doubt by the Southeast over the 2023 presidential ticket of the PDP, considering the reason given by the Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi for his defection into the APC. He alleged that the PDP has not been fair to his region despite the support the party had gotten from the zone.

If the Saraki committee works against all the odds and succeeds at reuniting the party, they have enough arsenals to really contend with the ruling APC at the moment, because the party is generally rated as failing to meet the aspirations of Nigerians, fulfill it numerous promises, and walk its talk.

Obviously, the PDP was badly pummeled by the APC with the corruption stigmatization. But as things stand presently, the President Muhammadu Buhari leadership has shown glaringly that the APC is not only incapable of fighting corruption, but also that corruption under the government is left unchecked, coupled with crass ineptitude.

Bothered about the many unresolved corruption cases under this administration, this last September, the SocioEconomic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), in an open letter to President Buhari, asked that he should direct

his Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), to prosecute high-profile corruption cases under his government.

Some of the cases listed in that letter include the 103 cases reportedly sent by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2017, and the 15 allegedly missing case files sent by the now-defunct Special Presidential Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property, (SPIP) in 2019 to Mr. Malami.

Apart from these, the PDP will have more than enough list of corruption cases swept under the table for Buhari to prove to Nigerians that the party is not true to its words.

This is more so because a tangible number of the so-called ‘corrupt’ PDP members are now chieftains of the ruling APC. Another important reason the PDP move is timely is that watchers are convinced that an implosion is looming in the ruling party, because sources have hinted that President Buhari is not considering supporting politicians from the core North and the South to succeed him, instead, he plans to throw his weight behind extremely disadvantaged areas of both the North and the South to get the presidency. This move will surely create some ripple effects with negative consequences.

Already, names of persons like Senator Bola Ahmad Tinubu, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Chief Rochas Okorocha, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, Babatunde Fashola, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and Malam Nasir El-Rufai have been flying around as potential presidential aspirants.

Thus, any move that denies the notable aspirants the presidential ticket will be a source of crisis. Added to that, the ruling APC has not been insulated from crisis. In Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, Kwara, Edo, Rivers, and many other states, the APC is sharply divided.

The victory the APC recorded in Edo State is a pointer to the fact that the party is still a force to reckon with and that it has the potential to regain its national leadership, because Nigerians are obviously disappointed in the APC leadership and government. The recent protests by Nigerian youths across the states were an attestation to how much Nigerians want a formidable opposition to the APC. There is no better time than now for Saraki to put his recognition and acceptance among governors, National Assembly members, top national leaders, and the National Working Committee members of the PDP to work to stop further atrophy of the party, because Nigeria truly needs, not just a good opposition party, but a competent one in power.

But Saraki and his party must take note of one fact: it is both instructive and strategic that they involve the youths in their new arrangement and extrapolation by allowing them to take elective positions at all levels, because doing otherwise might be counterproductive and the current efforts will come to naught.

TRIBUTE

Tribute to Hon Justice Dolapo Akinsanya Demola Akinrele

O

Justice Dolapo Akinsanya

n hearing of the passing of Hon Justice Dolapo Akinsanya, I was immediately reminded of the kind of person she was; a woman who had the courage of her convictions. Her charm and beauty was enhanced by her easy confidence which was underscored by a profound knowledge of the law and courtroom decorum. It was both a privilege and a pleasure to appear in her court where she wielded firm control and in which one felt the stateliness of ancient times, reminiscent of the likes of Justice Rosalind Omotosho.

In the evolution of a career, an event or chain of events may challenge one’s identity, and the response to it can define or maim. Such a challenge presented itself to Hon Justice Dolapo Akinsanya in the event of the controversial annulment of the June 12th 1993 election in which Chief MKO Abiola was widely acclaimed to have won; a state of affairs that was greeted with awe and wonder given his unlikely political antecedents, rendered even more unusual by his extraordinary ability to unite and enthrall a country ordinarily riven by tribal and religious sentiments.

In the wake of the celebrations which ensued, the election was annulled without cause by

General Babangida. The nation was immediately convulsed in a fever of anger, resentment and frustration. The legal profession rose, and articulated these feelings on the altar of justice.

Two contrasting judgments stood out in the annals of its history: the first was a timorous one by a court in Abuja that declared the annulment valid and stamped ostensible legitimacy to a gesture of injustice, and the other was a courageous one by Honourable Justice Dolapo Akinsanya wherein she declared the annulment illegal and laid the legal foundation for the resistance against the outrage that eventually found compromise in the election of General Obasanjo as President in 1999.

The three essential qualities of good judges are: knowledge, energy and integrity. I agree with Warren Buffet that “Integrity” is the most important of the three, and without which, the other two are nugatory.

By that singular act of learning courage and conviction in an atmosphere riddled with danger and unremitting hostility from constituted authority, Hon Justice Dolapo Akinsanya transmuted in the legal firmament to immortality, and will be perpetually recalled as a symbol of judicial integrity.

May her noble soul rest in perfect peace.

––Demola Akinrele SAN, writes from Lagos.

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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 ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

CICERO/INTERVIEW

Nwawuba: Call for Restructuring Is Legitimate to Strengthen Nigeria’s Unity Hon. Henry Nwawuba is a two-time legislator at the green chambers of the National Assembly. In this interview with Amby Uneze, he bares his mind on a number of issues including his rumoured defection to PDP. Excerpts:

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s a ranking legislator at the National Assembly, what’s your experience been so far?

The House of Representatives is the most representative parliamentary body in Nigeria with every ethnic, religious and social tendency well represented. It is the broadest deliberative body in Africa. Being a ranking member has therefore afforded me the opportunity to experience firsthand, the thought processes and sentiments that exist across the country.

It has been an exciting experience seeing people of various backgrounds coming together to discuss Nigeria from their various perspectives with all the drama. Most importantly, my faith in the country has been rekindled seeing that every part of Nigeria has similar issues to contend with and my colleagues having a similar resolve to confront them.

You are representing one of the largest federal constituencies in the country, how have you been able to ensure effective representation?

The Mbatoli/Ikeduru Federal Constituency (MBAIKE) for short is one if not the most dynamic constituencies in Nigeria and indeed one of the most enlightened. Its communities have prominent sons and daughters, who operate at the highest echelons of the public and private sectors. I have been privileged to benefit from the wise counsel of elders and youths of the constituency and I have found it easy to build consensus among them.

I have established an open channel of consultation and communication with my constituents, always briefing them of our efforts and the challenges we face. I am happy that I have been able to channel the energies of the constituency towards conversations of development. Even those who disagree with our vision restrict their viewpoints to development issues.

It’s been an exciting time managing different expectations and egos.

In your candid opinion, what are your modest contributions/achievements to your constituency and Imo State?

You earlier mentioned that we are among the largest constituencies in Nigeria but regrettably, federal presence had been before now very rare in the area. Upon assumption of office, I took up the issue of this neglect with the various departments and agencies. For instance, I made sure the NDDC recognised my area in the distribution of infrastructural projects, because Imo State is part of their mandate area.

Today, there are many roads being constructed by the agency. I have also ensured an improvement in the employment of Mbaike youths in the federal civil service, the armed forces, the police and paramilitary agencies. Very important for me is the stimulation of small business through training and empowerment schemes. It gives me great joy, when I see women and youth groups, who are beneficiaries of our empowerment schemes contributing their quota to national development at that level.

Most importantly, for me, is to make laws for greater social justice and inclusivity in the affairs of Nigeria for the benefit of all. As the Chairman of the Legislative Agenda of the 9th Assembly, I shall ensure that all Nigerians including my constituency enjoy the full benefits of nationhood.

You are rumoured to be planning to join the APC to enable you run for a higher office in 2023, how far have you gone with that arrangement?

I have debunked this insinuation at several platforms. I do not know where this rumour is coming from. I can tell you categorically that I am here today, because the PDP provided a platform for me to serve my people and I therefore, have no moral justification to abandon this platform. I want to also tell you that Imo State is predominantly a PDP state in sspite of the setbacks we suffered at the Supreme Court.

The people are still resolutely PDP and I have never contemplated swimming against such a tide.

Your zone, (Owerri zone) or Imo East is believed to have been treated badly in terms of the governorship of the state. Do you subscribe to the view that the people of the zone are their own problems?

Politics is a game of give and take but the most important thing is for the attainment of peace and development with justice and fairness. No constituent part of a state should feel left out as far as the affairs of the state are concerned. There have been conversations on issues of equity among the senatorial zones and there have been genuine concerns, which I am

Nwawuba sure the elders and leaders of the state will give consideration to at the appropriate time. It is not a case of the people of Owerri being a problem but of course, there is the need for greater synergy and harmony among the leaders of the zone.

Prominent Nigerians have been calling for Restructuring of the country; do you see that option as Nigeria’s road to greatness?

Every Nigerian should be concerned about emerging tendencies that seem to weaken the federation.

Even buildings are regularly renovated for them to remain. I have not seen a building that will remain intact for 100 years without renovation. The call for restructuring is a legitimate one to strengthen the basis of our union. The call is one to recalibrate and correct the areas where we have fallen short as we move forward. Nigerians should develop the habit of a constant dialogue on how to continue our coexis-

tence as one country.

As a youth, what would be your suggestion to the federal government as a way of carrying them along to be part of the country’s desired progress?

The recent #EndSARS protest has shown the capacity of the Nigerian youths to organise in a sophisticated manner. Before the protests were hijacked by criminal elements, we saw a well-choreographed movement, where demands were articulated and submitted to the federal government.

The prompt response of the federal government is an encouraging first step and I encourage the government to leave the channels of dialogue open and emphasise less on crackdowns. Crackdowns only incubate conflicts for future escalations. I, however, wish to appeal to the youths to harvest the same passions and express them at the ballot box and not through disruptive conduct.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

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CICERO/ONTHEWATCH

Anambra 2021: The Battle This Time

By March 2022, when Governor Willie Obiano will be leaving office after eight years in power, it will be 16 years that the Peoples Democratic Party has been out of power in Anambra State. But, what will the battle for the soul of the state look like next year? David-Chyddy Eleke asks

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embers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State take pride in referring to the state as a traditional PDP state. What they mean by this is that the party remains the most dominant party in the state, and even though it is not currently in power, both at the state and federal levels, it still controls a large chunk of the people of the state, including some of the state’s biggest politicians.

Apart from this, the PDP in the state believes that even though it has been out of power for a very long time, it still influenced the victories that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) enjoyed in all the governorship elections conducted since after the 2003 election, in which its candidate, Dr. Chris Ngige emerged as the governor.

Internal rancor and disagreement over choice of candidates have remained its problem in previous elections, leading to some of its members working for the victory of other parties and their candidates as payback, and costing the PDP victory.

But as 2021 draws near for another election, the party under Mr. Ndubuisi Nwobu has promised to lead her to victory. To ensure that a repeat of the outcome of the previous elections does not occur, Nwobu and members of his state working committee are now working endlessly to dot the Ts and cross the Is. Nwobu at a meeting of members of the PDP at the state party secretariat said already, early signs have shown that the party is headed to victory.

Even at that, there is a foreseeable cog in the wheel of the intended victory of the party, following an old meeting of members of the party, including aspirants, who argued on the need to zone the governorship position to the southern senatorial zone. But Nwobu, speaking at the meeting, said those who met did so on their own behest, and not at the party’s.

He said the party had all along not discussed the zoning of the governorship position to any zone as it negates the constitutional right of those who seek to contest the position. Though he alluded to a meeting of some members of the party, who were seeking to pressure the party into zoning the governorship position to the south, however stated that the party had not discussed it.

“At no time has the state leadership of the party deliberated on zoning in Anambra State. You are conversant with the clear mandate of the party that only the party in the state can say if there is zoning or not.

“We have members of BOT (board of trustees) in Anambra, we have two senators, seven House of Representatives members and six state House of Assembly members. Even the overall leader of the party in the state, Mr. Peter Obi and the former governorship candidate of the party, Mr. Oseloka Obaze and his deputy, Chidi Onyemelukwe, are all there. So, it is not a decision a few people in the state will just meet and agree on, without the others.

“It will be completely out of place for us to say we have zoned the governorship. In every political party, there is a pressure group and you cannot stop people from such agitations. The people who met have no one on the state leadership. If there will be zoning, the party will take that decision, not for people to come and say so after a meeting without the party making input. They said for themselves, and may I also tell you that it is the constitutional right of the people to contest, so you cannot use zoning to shut some people out of their legitimate rights,” he said.

On the chances of the party to win the 2021 governorship election, Nwobu said, “Our party is adequately positioned to reclaim power in Anambra. It is our appeal that all hands should be on deck to achieve the same. Today, among those, who have indicated interest to run for governor under our platform are distinguished men and women with proven track records of excellence and academic attainments.

“They understand the problem of our state and will hit the ground running if elected into office. We wish to assure each and every one of them that we, working in synergy with our national leadership, will conduct a very transparent, free and fair party primary, from the processes to the final determination of a candidate for our great party. Our destination come 2021 is AguAwka Government House.”

To underscore the recent strength of the party, Nwobu also stated that the party has become viable

Nwobu addressing party members again for political office seekers, such that so far, 12 governorship aspirants have already notified their intention to contest for the ticket of the party for the 2021 governorship election.

In a separate forum with journalists in Awka, Anambra State capital, Nwobu listed members of the party, who have notified their intention to run for its ticket for the 2021 governorship election to include Harry Oranezi, Ifedi Okwenna, Emeka Azubogu, Valentine Ozigbo and Godwin Maduka. Others are Uche Ekwunife, Obiora Okonkwo, Ike Oligbo, Emeka Etiaba, Godwin Ezeemo, Chuma Nzeribe and Ugochukwu Okeke.

Part of the strategy to ensure cohesion in the party, Nwobu also revealed, is a free and fair primary election, devoid of interferences from political bigwigs and godfathers. He said only a free and fair primary would quell the agitations that have always trailed governorship contests in the party, saying if the right candidate emerges, other aspirants would realise the need to give their support.

“We have promised a level playing field for all the aspirants. Part of the assurance the aspirants have gotten from the party as commitment to holding a transparent primary election is that each of the aspirants, who have made their intention known already has been given a list of the statutory delegates to the primary election.

“We have given delegates’ lists to all persons, who are running for the position of Anambra governor on our platform. This has never happened before. We are bent on ensuring that the right person, who is elected by the people, wins the ticket of the party for the election. My name has been associated with a lot of aspirants, but truth is that I cannot do much.

“The aspirants should go to the field and convince our party men. They already know who the delegates to the primary election are. Before now, the list is only produced a day or two to the election, and usually compiled to favour one person or the other. But in this executive, we want to be fair to all.

“This executive does not have a pay master and we do not pander to the whims and caprices of any pay master. That is why we do not have money to do some of the things we should do in this party, because money bags, who usually throw money about are not comfortable with us, because we are not ready to do their bidding,” he said.

Political analyst also believe that with members of the PDP in the state, the party has the might, both financially and numerically to take the state, but have always said its problem stems from disunity, which usually arises from the choice of candidate of the party in the run up to a governorship election.

In 2010, the choice of Professor Chukwuma Soludo,

who had freshly left the Central Bank of Nigeria as its governor, as against Hon Tony Nwoye, led to the failure of the party as Nwoye, his supporters and other aspirants, who were dumped by the party for Soludo decided to work against the party.

In 2014, the party fielded Hon Tony Nwoye as its candidate after a protracted battle. The choice of Nwoye did not go down well with some other aspirants, who felt that the National Working Committee of the party simply handed Nwoye the ticket without considering their opinion.

That decision cost the party the election as Chief Willie Obiano won the election (with the help of the incumbent governor Peter Obi, who also cashed in on the trouble in the PDP to woo some of its prominent members).

In 2017, the party settled for Mr. Oseloka Obaze, a diplomat and former secretary to Anambra State Government under Peter Obi. Members of the party worked against him on the premise that Obi, who had moved into PDP with his supporters singlehandedly imposed Obaze on them without their consent. They believed Obaze was too young in the party to fly its flag above other old members.

As 2021 draws near, THISDAY gathered that PDP is taking note of some of the factors that have led to its failure in the past, and is working hard to make amendments on those areas. Last weekend, the party held a reception in honour of the state party chairman, Nwobu. As if to show that the amendments being made in the party was working, all members of the party, including leaders and aspirants thronged the venue.

Unlike other events, where prominent members of the party avoided events once they learnt that some others that they were not friends with were coming, last weekend’s event even turned out different as all attended.

Leaders and governorship aspirants of the party at the event, who spoke acknowledged that only unity could guarantee the party’s victory in the forthcoming election, while also expressing satisfaction with the attendance. Nwobu did not also mince words, when he told the party that only unity could help it win the forthcoming governorship election.

“I have received tremendous support from our leaders. This reception will spur me to put in the best, but the biggest honour will be when we get the governorship seat of this state, and it is highly achievable if we all work together.

“I promise you that the process to the emergence of candidate shall be free and fair, and I urge you all that anyone who emerges should be supported by all. Our journey to the Government House starts now, and from here,” he said.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ Ëœ 2020

64

GAVEL

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

Back to Work

The National Assembly, last Tuesday, resumed plenary after taking five weeks off to consider the 2021 Appropriation Bill, report Adedayo Akinwale and Udora Orizu

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fter the suspension of plenary for a month by both Chambers of the National Assembly to consider the 2021 budget, the lawmakers returned to the hallowed Chambers last week to deliberate on issues considered of importance to the country.

Issues Considered at the Senate At the Senate, issues like compensation for riotravaged states, the confirmation of Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the passage of the PetroleumIndustryBill(PIB)andtheamendmentof the ElectoralAct ahead of the 2023 general election were considered.

The Senate as part of its resolutions asked the federal government to reserve one per cent of Value Added Tax (VAT) proceeds for Lagos and other states badly hit by violence recently. It also asked the government to set up a visitation panel to evaluate the extent of damage in the affected states.

Senate’s resolutions were sequel to the adoption of two motions by Senator Olujimi Abiodun and Senator Gershom Bassey, who called on the National Assembly to compensate states affected by the crises.

In their arguments, the two senators disclosed that large-scale destruction of public and private property, including police stations and other public facilities, and the residence of serving and former lawmakers in Lagos and Cross River States, occurred during the violence.

Olujimi lamented the extent of destruction sufferedbytheSouthwestandLagosStateinparticular, adding that private and public assets destroyed by hoodlums in Lagos were estimated to be over N1 trillion by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Bassey lamented the crisis in Cross River State, saying, “It is unfortunate that what started as a peaceful protest was hijacked by hoodlums, unleashing terror on innocent citizens.�

However, there was uproar on the floor of the Senate as the debate took a different dimension, when Senator Sani Musa (Niger East) said the compensation should include states suffering from banditry and Boko Haram attacks.

Musa, in his contribution, said: “Any intervention by the government should be holistic and not restricted to Lagos State or Calabar.� Other Senators also canvassed for compensation for their respective states.

Also, the Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), last Thursday, screened Professor Mahmood Yakubu for the coveted office of INEC Chairman.

The screening of Yakubu came after members of the red chamber considered the request of President Muhammadu Buhari to confirm his reappointment as INEC boss.

The Green Chamber later referred the President’s requesttotheSenateCommitteeonINECforfurther legislative action and is to report back on Tuesday.

The screening session however took place a day after in Senate committee room 204 During the screening, Yakubu appealed to the NationalAssembly to pass theAmended Electoral Act Bill latest in the first quarter of 2021, adding that passing the piece of legislation within the timeframe recommended was critical to the success of the 2023 general election.

He informed the lawmakers that the electoral body had submitted several areas for amendments in the Electoral Act. “It is extremely important for the electoral legal framework to be finalised in due time. INEC cannot conduct elections under uncertainty. We would continue to deepen the use of technology for elections and explore other ways in which the electoral process could benefit from technology,� he said.

The House and Her Deliberations The nation, for almost two decades, had been on a journey with Petroleum Industry Bill, with

Lawan exchanging banter with his colleagues a lot of anticipation and promises, which failed overtime in previous assemblies.

The bill was first sent to the National Assembly in December 2008 by the then President Umaru Yar’Adua. A presidential committee set up in 2007 to look into the oil and gas sector came up with the idea of this bill, which aims to increase transparency in NNPC and to increase Nigeria’s share of oil revenue.

Then, the Bill was never passed into law due to objections from the International oil companies (IOCs) and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over the content in its drafts. In 2015, then Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu said the PIB was to be amended to speed up its passage. Consequently, the Bill was broken into different parts, to address various aspects of the oil industry.

In 2016, the Senate showed signs of readiness to begin deliberations on the Bill, set to be moved for a second reading by the Chairman of Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Senator Omotayo Alasoadura.

Ahead of the debate on the Bill, Senators from the Niger Delta area, who had moved for the suspension of the bill some months ago, because they believed that the non-inclusion of the community demands in the first phase might aggravate tension in the oil producing areas, concluded plans to meet to brainstorm on the resuscitation of the bill and ensure that the work on its passage moves fast. The plan to ensure that it was passed before the end of the legislative sitting, for 2016, did not come to life.

Currently, the passage of the Bill is one of the priorities listed by the Ninth NationalAssembly in its legislative agenda. Following its transmission to the NationalAssembly by President Muhammadu Buhari in September, it seems the NinthAssembly would break the jinx surrounding the PIB this time around, as the House, barring any further delay, had commenced necessary legislative work.

The lawmakers on November 24 after over an hour of debate passed the PIB for second reading.

The legislation entitled: ‘A Bill for an act to provide legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, thedevelopmentofhostcommunityandforrelated matters (HB.1061)’, among others, is proposing the establishment of Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission to be responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of upstream petroleum operations.

The bill seeks the commercialisation of the Nige-

rian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to become Nigerian National Petroleum Company, and to be incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act by the Minister of Petroleum.

It further seeks to scrap the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), and replaces them with a new agency to be known as Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA), which shall be responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of midstream andupstreampetroleumoperationsintheindustry.

Leading the debate on its general principles, LeaderoftheHouse,Hon.AlhassanAdo-Doguwa, called on the lawmakers to support the passage of the bill.

Ado-Doguwasaid:“PermitmetotaketheHouse down memory lane. This was a bill that began at the sixth Assembly. Unfortunately, this bill has not been able to see the light of the day. Whatever controversies surrounding the bill, the bill is now before us. It is my hope that members will look in this bill and ensure it is passed.’’ On his part, the Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Ndidi Elumelu, while contributing in support of the bill, said its passage is long overdue.

He said: “I rise to support that this PIB is long overdue. The essence is to remove some uncertainties and institutionalise the ease of doing business. If passed, the bill will institutionalise good governance and ease of doing business.

It will attract investors if passed fast. Our four refineries are bad. That’s why we import petrol from Niger Republic, when we are supposed to be giving it that country, and not us importing from them. We need to pass this PIB as soon as possible.�

Contributing, Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Toby Okechukwu, opined that the bill, if passed, wouldsolvetheimportationofpetroleumproducts from Niger Republic.

According to him: “I am for it. If Nigeria has four refineries that are not functioning, if the PIB will cure it, I am for it. If the opportunity we had in the 1970s and 80s will come back, I am for it. If we pass the Electoral Bill and also PIB, I will say that we have done a wonderful job. We should pay every attention to this bill. We should make sure that all the landmines that will come along the way are jettisoned.�

The Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Upstream, Hon. Musa Sarkin Adar, while contributing stated that the Bill came at a time Nigeria could hardly afford to keep losing scarce

financial resources especially, as a direct fallout of the covid-19 pandemic.

He said with the discovery of oil in different African countries; Nigeria needs to operate an oil sector that will ensure maximum profitability that can ensure wealth for Nigeria and Nigerians.

This, he stated, will reduce social inequality.

Onherpart,Hon.NkeirukaOnyejeocha,stressed that the passage of the Bill was long overdue and hopedthattheissuesthatmadetheBillnottoreceive presidential assent in the past have truly been dealt with so that the process could be completed this time. She wondered why some stakeholders, especially external forces were bent on frustrating the Bill. She urged for patriotism so that the Bill could be passed.

The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, in his submission, assured Onyejeocha that the differing interests will not be able to frustrate the process this time, as the Ninth Assembly is keen on seeing the Bill passed and assented to.

The Bill was thereafter passed for second reading and referred to the adhoc committee on PIB. Less than 24 hours after it was passed for second reading, the Ad hoc Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill, held an inaugural meeting, during which the lawmakers called on Nigerians to make inputs on by submitting memoranda, assuring them that the bill would be passed by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Mohammed Monguno, said the committee had taken liberty to create a website which will serve as one of the platforms where stakeholders and interested members of the general public could download the text of the Bill and upload comments, inputs and memoranda to same.

The House also last week passed for second reading, the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2020, which seeks to reduce excessive campaigns expenses, ensure the strict use of card readers, ban on substitution of candidates by political parties, and late releases of polling funds to the INEC ahead of the 2023 elections.

The legislation entitled, “A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Electoral Act N0. 6, 2010 (As amended 2015) and enact the Independent National Electoral Commission Act 2020, to regulate Conduct of Federal State and area Council Elections and for related matters, 2020,’’ was sponsored by Hon. Aisha Dukku.

Dukku, in her lead debate of the bill, said the amendment has become necessary because of the flaws observed in the electoral system.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž OVEMBER 29, 2020

INTERNATIONAL Bidenplomacy and Buhariplomacy in a World of Permanent Crisis: The Challenge of Boko Haramism

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idenplomacy is coined from Biden (Joe Biden) while Buhariplomacy is coined from Buhari (Muhammadu Buari). Joe Biden is president-elect of the United States while Muhammadu Buhari is President of Nigeria. The two concepts are conceived in this article to mean the strategy, policy and technique of conducting and managing United States diplomacy under President-elect and future president Joe Biden, as distinct from that of President Donald Trump, on the one hand, and Nigeria’s diplomacy under President Muhammadu Buhari.

Without doubt, diplomacy is either considered as an art or as science and field of study. Vie internationale is more concerned with diplomacy as an art, which requires the use of tact, mental alertness, vibrant negotiating skills and strategic focus in the management of international relations and questions Grosso modo, the dynamics of diplomacy are multidimensional in character, unlimited in scope, issue-driven in conduct and management and always national interest targeted in outcome. In this regard, some dynamics have a permanent character, such as self-preservation and security, while the tactic or technique of the conduct constantly changes. For instance, US foreign policy can always be expected to always seek the protection of democracy and human rights the world over, simply becauseAmericans see themselves as the bastion of democracy and the terra cognita of human rights values. Consequently, whenever and wherever democracy is seen to be threatened or there are violations of fundamental human rights, US hostile reactions should be expected.

Perhaps more important is the domestic and external environment of diplomacy. The current global environment is that of technology-driven globalisation, increasing threats to multilateralism, unaccepted quests for nuclearisation as an instrument of national self-defence, and emerging new Cold War between China and the United States ofAmerica. Put differently, the global environment is increasingly becoming inclement for the use of diplomacy to resolve international misunderstandings. In fact, the threats of use of nuclear arms are another major problem entirely.

China is aspiring to step into the shoes of the United States as leader of the world, the United States under Donald Trump not only wants ‘America First’ in every socio-political, economico-strategic undertakings in international relations, but also aspires to ‘Make America GreatAgain.’ The implication is that the United States still wants to continue to sustain its leadership of the world.

It is against this background that the discussion of bidenplomacy should be understood. In also understanding it, there is the need to also put it in the context of issue-oriented analysis. This will enable the explication of the difference in attitude of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, on the one hand, and buhariplomacy and boko haramism, on the other.

Global and Regional Questions

Donald Trump’s policy of ‘America First’ is necessarily isolationist in design and practice. It is a policy that seeks self-redress and self-recovery, with the ultimate objective of increasing the declining level of productivity at the domestic level. China, in particular, is perceived to have overtaken the United States in development of technology and if China had overtaken the United States, it cannot but be because she had stolen US technological know-how. This perception of the United States is quite arguable.

In the same vein, ‘MakeAmerica GreatAgain,’ is a further extension of ‘America First’ policy. By the time the United States would have fully recovered as the world leader in technology, military power, economic wealth and democratic governance, the United States can be expected to begin to re-assert itself in international relations. With the rejection of Donald Trump for a second presidential term, the whole world is now left with bidenplomacy to contend with. How is President Joe Biden likely to relate to the world and to international questions?

Beginning with the question of ‘America First’ and ‘Make America great again’; President Joe Biden is most likely to maintain the two policies but in a different context. The conduct will be different: rather than MakingAmerica GreatAgain (MAGA), the approach cannot but be to ‘MakeAmerica RespectedAgain (MARA). In bringing about respect for the people of the United States, all policies adopted under Donald Trump are most likely to be revisited.

First, at the global level, the United States is likely to return to

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Buhari and Biden some world organisations from which President Donald Trump has withdrawn the membership of the United States or has given notice to withdraw it from. They include the UNESCO and the World Trade Organisation. There are also some international agreements from which the United States has withdrawn from.

They include the 12 December 2015 UNFCCC ParisAgreement on Climate Change which is done to keep the global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and possibly to also limit the temperature increase further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Additionally, there is also the 14 July 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan ofAction done by the Five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, Iran, Germany, and the European Union, which took effect from 18 October 2015 and the implementation of which started on 16 January 2016. The ultimate aim was to ensure nuclear non-proliferation.

At the regional and national level is the critical issue of terrorism.

It is, indeed, an international problem that is more manifested at the national and regional levels. It is conceived at the national level but executed outside of the national framework of conception.

Terrorists have multiple nationality. The victims are always of different nationalities, thus requiring a concerted international effort in containing it. How far can bidenplomacy, in collaboration with buhariplomacy, contain boko haramism? Can boko haramism be defeated militarily without also simultaneously addressing its ideological foundations? Is fighting Boko Haram not also directly fightingAl-Qaeda, meaning that the problem is quite complex?

Bidenplomacy, Buhariplomacy and Boko Haramism

Boko Haramism, is a national, regional and global security issue. It is in this regard that bidenplomacy is relevant for analysis.And true, US security policy is largely predicated on counter-terrorism and, in the eyes of the United States, the Boko Haram is nothing more than the worst terrorist organisation. From the perspective of the Nigerian military, the Boko Haram has been technically defeated, and yet, the defeated boko haramists continue to increasingly create more havoc on the civil societies to the chagrin of everyone.

Afortnight ago, an agreement between Nigeria and the United States was done with the aim of establishing an international coalition against the Boko Haram insurgency. This is a welcome

In essence, United States foreign policy interest is not going to change with bidenplomacy. The quest to protect democracy the world over cannot but remain a top priority. Press freedom and protection of human rights will also remain on top of the agenda. In this regard, buhariplomacy is most likely to be seriously challenged by the CNN reports on EndSARS protesters, as well as the impending sanctionary measures being contemplated by the British Parliament. Denuclearisation policy cannot be jettisoned and so cannot capitalism. Without iota of gainsaying, buhariplomacy is lax and unnecessarily too reactive, and therefore, it is not likely to be able to contend well with bidenplomacy worldwide. Consequently, the coalition of forces against boko haramism can always be expected to be deďŹ ned, conducted and managed on the basis of bidenplomacy, especially that Nigeria does not really have the capacity to defeat an Al Qaeda-supported Boko Haram. Nigeria can conveniently defeat boko haramism if Government ďŹ rst seriously addresses the Boko Haram agents in Government and public service and secondarily, if it also carries the totality of the people of Nigeria along, particularly in intelligence gathering and speaking with one voice against the Boko Haram insurgency. Without this, boko haramism has the potential to remain a permanent challenge

development. However, the coalition is likely to be challenged by three factors. First, the United States has refused to sell some Tucano military aircraft required to fight decisively Boko Haram terror. The reason for the refusal has been that the Nigerian military would not be careful enough to prevent the loss of US technology to the terrorists. This is one major rationale for also blocking the purchase of the Tucano for Israel and SouthAfrica both of which are given production licence.

There is the second factor of existence of many Boko Haram agents and sympathisers in government, and particularly among the policy-making class. The problem is so critical to the extent that there is no anti-Boko Haram decision taken that is not immediately known by the Boko Haram organisation. In fact, as differently put by the Global Terrorism Index, Nigeria is the third most terrorised country in the world for the sixth consecutive time. According to the index, ‘Nigeria had the second largest fall in total deaths, owing largely to a 72 percent reduction in fatalities attributed to Fulani extremists. Despite this decrease, the number of deaths attributed to Boko Haram increased by 25 percent from 2018 to 2019.’ In fact, the index reveals, ‘renewed activity by Boko Haram in Nigeria and neighbouring countries, including Cameroon, Chad and Niger, remains a substantial threat to the region’ (vide Vanguard, Friday, November 27, 2020, p. 6).

Thirdly, unlike classical international terrorism (letter and parcel bombs, kidnapping and skyjacking, suicide-bombing, etc), which was essentially anti-big powers’ politics in design, boko haramism, as a terrorist activity, is mainly to undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty, introduce an Islamic State, particularly in the North, and replace western way of education and lifestyle with Islamisation. If there is a coalition against boko haramism it is more of self-interest protecting than protecting Nigeria’s interest. Boko haramism is, indeed, a threat to global security. How do we understand bidenplomacy in this regard?

Boko haramism, within the framework of bidenplomacy, is best investigated and appreciated in the context of buhariplomacy, which, at best, has been reactive, on the one hand, and in the context of Nigeria’s governmental image-laundering, rather than in the context of any specific national interest protecting, on the other.

Nigeria is not on record to have particularised foreign policy on countries, for instance, vis-a-vis specific major powers, or towards specific regions of the world. By signing multilateral agreements on some international questions, it can be arguably posited that Nigeria has a policy towards such international questions.

However, the critical challenge remains at the level of how to benefit from such multilateral agreements, how to engage effectively in influence politics within the multilateral framework. In this type of reactive buhariplomacy, bidenplomacy cannot but have a completely free space to do whatever the United States wants in Nigeria’s sphere of influence. Nigeria, in some cases, can be a beneficiary from US policy stand, especially when the values involved have a shared character.An example is the politics of the World Trade Organisation in terms of the difference in attitude of Donald Trump and Joe Biden towards the organisation.

The immediate impact of bidenplomacy, in spite of Joe Biden still being a President-elect, can first be gleaned at the level of the WTO. With the presidential election defeat of Donald Trump at the home level, United States is also necessarily defeated at the external level of the WTO. United States under Donald Trump was sustaining the candidature of a South Korean, Yoo Myung-Hee, the country’s Minister of Trade, for the position of the Director General of the WTO. Myung-Hee’ candidacy was withdrawn last week apparently in light of the recognition that there will be no more Donald Trump to support the South Korean candidate. The United States of Joe Biden is likely to reconcileAmerican differences, not only with the WTO, but also with China in the WTO. The implication is the gain for Nigeria with the endorsement of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the successor to RobertoAzevedo, following his resignation as Director General.

Asecond challenge is the proposed international coalition against boko haramism. Two preliminary points are noteworthy in this case: bidenplomacy may not change the approach of Donald Trump to the anti-terrorism war. Donald Trump strongly believed that a very tough approach should always be adopted. During his presidential campaigns in 2016, he not only called for the re-introduction of water-boarding, but also ‘for more worse things.’ He advocated torture of terrorist suspects as means of extracting information from suspects. Expectedly, bidenplomacy cannot condone the use of terror in international life. Terrorism is a common public enemy number one. Consequently, the challenge is the method of strategic calculations required in carrying out the war on the use of terror. Will President Biden accept water-boarding? Will he engage in torturing of the terrorist suspects?

On the other point, Donald Trump, more often than not, sidelined the Department of State in many critical foreign policy decisions.

The White House was essentially responsible for foreign policymaking. In the context of bidenplomacy it is more likely that the Department of State will be greatly involved in the foreign policy process. Specifically in the context of the international coalition against Boko Haram in Nigeria, has Nigeria any specific policy attitude on Boko Haram?Are the boko haramists considered as terrorists in Nigeria?

Read full article online - 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 Ëž VEMBER 29, 2020

PERSPECTIVE Umahi: A Selfish and Lone Voice Crying in the Wildern e s s ?

Many people have described the reason concocted by the Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) as premature, groundless and ridiculous. More so, analysts wondered why a man who has achieved political heights will give a childish excuse because he has calculated being politically irrelevant in the future under PDP apparently due to Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă–Ă™Ă˜Ă‘Ě‹ĂžĂ“Ă—Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă?ÙÎĂ?Ă—Ă&#x;Ă? ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? åÓÞÒ Ë› Agha Ibiam writes from the UK

I

f the people of South-east Nigeria are searching for a political leader, it is not the likes of Governor Dave Umahi. That he is a governor of one of the south-east states where he is not challenged by all his actions and make all manner of unguided utterances to the people, does not in any way qualify him to think he is capable enough to lead the people of the region out of the woods. Therefore, his defecting to APC should not be a worry to PDP. Instead, both the people of Ebonyi and PDP should rejoice because a political saboteur has finally gone.

In fact, the people of the south-east are not searching for Igbo president, rather, they are searching for an Igbo man or woman that will become the president of Nigeria just like other ethnic regions.

Umahi’s claim that PDP has been unfair to the people of the south-east is perplexing. It’s like giving a dog a bad name because you want to hang it.

However, Umahi has bitten the finger that fed him and has committed the political blunder of his life, unrelated to what he becomes tomorrow. There was no strategic thinking or planning in his decision to quit a political party that groomed him.

For the avoidance of doubt, Umahi in 2007 served as the acting state chairman of PDP when Dr. Sam Omiyi Egwu served as the governor. Umahi also served as the state chairman between 2009 and 2011. After that, he became a deputy governor in 2011. In 2015, he became a governor and in 2019 was re-elected under PDP. To be realistic, Umahi was not in any way the best and credible candidate that should have become a governor in Ebonyi if the country operates a sound democratic system or principles.

On the other hand, I wonder how Umahi thought that by defecting to APC he will achieve or attain his political height of becoming the president, or put differently, arrive at his Eldorado. I will rather forewarn him that his hopes could be dashed, if not putting himself at a crossroads in 2023. Is Umahi so convinced that the likes of former Governor Martin Elechi, whom he fought to finish and the current Minister of Technology, Dr. Ogbonaya Onu, will work in his favour? That is yet to be seen as he had stepped on their toes to become what he is today as a governor under PDP. Nonetheless, Umahi is free to go anywhere he deems fit, but I would have reasoned he should have concentrated all his energies and plans to better the lives of the people of his state pay retired civil servants their gratuities, pay salaries timely and create jobs. That is good governance.

A retired civil servant said Umahi focused all efforts relocating government house and constructing an airport not needed now. “If Umahi had connected the train station from Afikpo road to Abakaliki or connected the rail line from Enugu to Abakaliki, that would have been better. The airport he is constructing is a misplaced priority. “People are saying Umahi is doing well in the state in terms of road construction. There is no construction work carried out in the state that is tendered. Is only Umahi that tenders and wins the contract. He is a judge in his own case,� he said.

Recently, a former Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Ebonyi, Abia Onyike, has decried the non-payment of his monthly pension and other retirement benefits by Umahi’s government.

Onyike claimed he had not been paid his pension since June 2020. Not only that, Umahi verbally directed the state’s Ministry of Finance to stop payment of statutory monthly pension.

But if what the current Commissioner of Information and Orientation, Uchenna Orji, said Onyike’s claim was spurious. “As of today, I know some people that have died and did not receive a dime as gratuity. Some retired civil servants wanted to demonstrate against nonpayment of gratuities, but was suppressed by the

Umahi governor,� the former public servant said.

Umahi thinks that by accusing PDP as a catalyst to his decamping, it will be applauded by the people of the south-east. In some cases, though, silence may not be the answer to every comment or behaviour, Umahi crafted his reason for his moves to sound genuine, but very childish. The response provided by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, to Umahi to pursue his presidential ambition is a tip of the iceberg. Umahi should check statistics of how the region has been voting in all elections and deduce if PDP has been unfair to the Igbo. Despite using the court to enforce a governor in Imo State, I doubt if south-east will ever think of having an APC governor. One day, the chickens will come home to roost.

Umahi talks about injustice by PDP but has not exonerated himself of such against his people. He had on some occasions warned that people should not speak their minds on national or state issues or should not criticise President Buhari otherwise they risk being sacked or disciplined. Where on earth are leaders not criticised? Who is Umahi to give such a warning in a democratic institution, if not a leader who is unfair to his people?

Well, it has also served Umahi right that some principled National Assembly members from Eb-

onyi State have disowned his comment. The leader of the Ebonyi State PDP caucus in the national assembly, Egwu and his colleagues have described Umahi a lone voice crying in the wilderness. They equally described Umahi’s statement as unacceptable and selfish.

Egwu also faulted Umahi for accusing the PDP leadership of being unfair to the South-east. He unequivocally told the governor of being an ingrate, claiming that the man had benefitted immensely from the PDP. Egwu said not a single member of the Ebonyi State PDP group of the National Assembly is defecting to the APC. “The three distinguished senators and five House of Representatives members remain proud cardcarrying members of the Peoples Democratic Party, the platform under which we contested and won elections in 2019. Indeed, if there is any Ebonyi person who should remain eternally grateful to the PDP, that individual ought to be Umahi,� he said.

A word is enough for the wise. Whether Umahi decides to stay in APC or not is entirely up to him.

Analysts said he has outlived his value in PDP. But it should be in the annals of history that the man who benefitted most from a political party is rather the one claiming injustice.

NO ÍşÎ Ëœ ͺ͸ͺ͸ Ëž THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

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PERSPECTIVE

#EndSARS Protesters at the Lekki Toll Plaza

Lekki Toll Shooting and CNN’s Integrity Test For this one time, the CNN faces a make or mar integrity test over its conicting reports on the #EndSARS protest. Samuel Omojoye writes

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he morning after the night when protesters at the Lekki toll gate were supposedly massacred by the Nigerian Army, the BBC News hour programme interviewed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu around 6am on whether he invited the army and who gave orders that unarmed protesters be shot.

The governor confirmed that he invited the army but that they were supposed to arrive later than the time they came. Did he order the shooting of protesters? “I am not the C-in-C,� he said, adding that the army does not take orders from him. He was then asked if he knew the people that did the shooting and he replied, “from the videos I’ve seen, it was the army�.

Later at a press briefing, apparently after having some intel, the Governor announced that there were no fatalities. Note also that the army had already tweeted “fake news� earlier in the day, when the social media was awash with videos of soldiers in an armoured tank, shooting sporadically in a direction and scores of videos with body parts littering the ground had been spread as victims of Lekki massacre.

A certain DJ Switch released several videos, one LIVE, in which she claimed that the military was killing protesters and that a lot of people had died; that they were trying to remove bullet from one person’s leg.

She was relaying these events, but not showing a single footage of the most important videos: A, of dead bodies; B, of the soldiers shooting at people; C, of bloodstain on the floor; D, of the process/procedure, when the bullet was removed; E, when soldiers were carrying the bodies; F, when DJ Switch and her people carried bodies and dumping them in front of the soldiers (as she claimed).

Rather, she was verbalising the narrative she wanted to drive even though that was not what was happening. Then her second video showed her talking to a friend and, all of a sudden, she started running and asking imaginary people to bend down and hold their flags. His friend then said, “Damn� after which he covered his face as if he had just witnessed something gruesome.

That, no doubt, was mere acting and a bad one at that. DJ Switch gave an impression that the army or police were still shooting protesters at Lekki even in the morning. She said, “They shot all night�. Then she did another video, where she apologised for not being online for some time. She then

proceeded to reminisce about the fateful night and, at that point, she started to address the issue of numbers.

It was then the death toll of over 80 suddenly reduced to 12.

She also claimed that the account that posted over 80 deaths was a fake account and not hers. Really? I am damn sure that if the digital footprint and registered details of that account were done, they will show that it’s her account. But away from that, she started to narrate her ordeal and how the police fired teargas and described it like “Cotonou pepper�.

Someone, who has just been traumatised and witnessed some carnage a few days earlier making jokes about pepper?

Body language experts have analysed that her behaviour was not commensurate with that of a victim of trauma and her description of how she carried and deposited bodies at the feet of soldiers defies logic. It is fight or flight. Soldiers opening fire and you taking bodies to them seem like a drama taken too far. It was highly unlikely.

Now, let’s go to the facts. Till today, there are no relatives, who have come forward that their family members are missing. A woman in London claimed her son was killed at the Lekki Toll Plaza, but it turned out that she was lying. The man died in a motorcycle accident. Also, pictures that were touted as victims of the Lekki massacre turned out to be pictures of people, who had died in separate circumstances - one from a bike accident and the other a stab victim.

Those found in the hospitals, who got injured from Lekki were as a result of stampede, and the injuries ranged from broken bones, cuts, bruises and slash wounds. No record of death as a result of gunshot wounds from the Army’s weapons, but the social media was awash with people in hospital, who claimed to have been shot by soldiers at the toll plaza.

In reality, there was chaos in nearby Ajah-Badore, where gangs were fighting. Some policemen and many innocent citizens died. To make matters worse, because of the lie by DJ Switch about a massacre, a lot of angry protesters came out of their homes and in their bid to retaliate by killing police officers or burning police stations, many people got shot by policemen and a lot of lives were lost.

DJ Switch, who was seemingly defiant in the eyes of death, now suddenly disappeared, rather than bring her evidence to the commission of enquiry to help this investigation. Now she’s trying to seek asylum under the guise of running for her life, but when she was confronted with gunshots by the army, she didn’t run away? Isn’t that a cue to show that this woman is

an anarchist or a pathological liar? She was probably trying to trend or perhaps there is a more sinister angle into this.

Regarding the shameful way some media houses covered this story, NBC has to keep an eye on such media houses that have a responsibility to show that they are worthy of their licences. Many of them showed unverified social media footages as “live�, thereby misleading the audience. One newspaper wrote a piece, titled: “Sanwo-Olu finally admits inviting the military�.

At no time did Governor Sanwo-Olu deny inviting the military. He said the military does not take orders from him. It was his interview with Becky Anderson on CNN (days after speaking with the BBC, where he confirmed that he sought military help, following the anarchy that had seized many parts of the state) that people saw and decided the governor “finally admitted�. I suppose this is the same report that the army read for them to have said they were not happy the Governor denied inviting them.

CNN, unprofessionally, did a package in which it attached social media videos to what could have been an educational piece of journalism. A satellite image showed the army leaving their base in two pick-up vans. It showed them fire into the sky, but sadly the unverified social media videos attached to that package ruined it.

It reeks of prejudice and bias. CNN is desperate to show that the Nigerian government massacred young people and, sadly, they neglected their ethos. There was an image of an old man in native attire covered in blood. That man must have a relative somewhere. Did the soldiers take his body away? If he is dead, who was he? He must have friends or family members.

One important question to ask is why the satellite image, which showed the army drive to the toll gate couldn’t show the army picking up bodies or dropping them somewhere. There should be an image showing people on the floor, dead as a result of a massacre. Some observers have said that the federal government should not have confronted CNN. I disagree. What Nigeria has done through the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, is within its rights. CNN has a duty to investigate its reports thoroughly and present such reports with facts and figures, not mere eyewitness accounts and doubtful social media videos that have failed the simple test of integrity. CNN must substantiate its claims, not repeating the offence. –Omojoye wrote from Palmgroove, Lagos

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NOVEMBER 29, 202ͮ ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

THE ALTERNATIVE

with RenoOmokri

The Greatest Identity Theft in History

T

o my mind, the greatest challenge in the Body of Christ today is that many Christians have created their own mental God, who is so pliable that rather than tell them how to serve Him, they tell their mental God how they want to serve Him. They have fashioned a homemade God, not a holy God. So many objects, beliefs, practices, and holidays in today’s Christendom come from various pagan gods and practices. However, when you point this out to contemporary Christians, they will come up with mental, philosophical, emotional and esoteric arguments to support these practices.

But, one thing they hardly ever use to defend these extra-Christian practices is Scripture.

For instance, some Christian denominations make images and statues of beings purported to be Christ, His mother, Mary, and of various other saints from Scripture. We do not know how any of these People looked. These statues may even be patterned after demons. How do we know?

What we do know is that Scripture warns us thus, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image— any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth”-Exodus 20:4.

Now, how can you read the above and then still go and pray before an idol that is tagged ‘Jesus’, or Mary, or any of the saints?

What does Satan crave the most? We see it in Matthew 4:9 when Satan told Yeshua (Jesus’ actual Name) “All these things will I give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

Satan’s greatest desire is to be worshipped!

Now, Scripture is unequivocal; we should not make any idol of anybody or thing in heaven, on Earth, and under the Earth. So, making a statue and calling it a statue of Christ, Mary, or any number of saints is against the express directives of God because Exodus 20:4 was dictated to Moses by God Himself.

That is one point.

The other point is that nobody on Earth knows what Christ looks like. So, if someone made a statue of Satan and tags it as that of Christ, and asks you to pray to it, what you are in essence doing is worshipping Satan.

And we read in Scripture that Satan has a favourite pastime. He likes to pretend to be God. 1 Peter 5:8 warns us to “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a

roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Now, we know that Christ is described as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.”

So, we see that 1 Peter 5:8 is what we call a simile in English literature—comparing one thing to the other.

In essence, what this simile is telling us in 1 Peter 5:8 is that Satan likes to pretend to be Christ to deceive people to offer worship to God through him.

This is corroborated in 2 Corinthians 11:14 which reads “no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”

I urge my readers to take note of those words ‘angel of light’.

As some of my readers know, I read Scripture in the original language. That verse in the original koine Greek used the term ‘angelon photos’, meaning angel of light.

The word Lucifer is used to describe Satan in the New Testament. So, while the term ‘angelon photos’ is Greek for angel of light, what is the modern English translation of Lucifer?

Lucifer literally means Light Ferrier or Carrier.

It is made up of two words, Lucis, meaning light, from which we get the modern English word, Lucid (something that is clear). The other Latin word is Fere, meaning to carry, from which we get the modern English word Ferry, which means to carry, usually over water.

So, we have now established that Lucifer means Light Carrier. If you doubt me, you can research it yourself.

Now, turn your mind to the Statue of Liberty, which was a gift from the people of France (of which many of the leaders involved in this ‘gift’ were Freemasons) to the people of America in 1886.

Now, what is the depiction of the so-called Statue of Liberty? It is the statue of a colossal man carrying an enormous light.

Now, let me shock you. Or maybe I do not surprise you. But, the real name of the Statue of Liberty is not actually the Statue of Liberty. The official name of the Statue of Liberty is ‘Liberty Enlightening the World’.

Please do not take my word for it. Research it.

Now, what does Scripture say about Satan? 1 John 5:19 reads “the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”

Read that verse and think about it, then think about the statue officially known as Liberty Enlightening the World.

Satan is a master of deception. He hides in plain sight, and corrupts the world and the true worship of God by passing himself off as either God, or His Son

Yeshua.

Which is why I urge every person who follows Yeshua Hamashiach (whom some refer to as Jesus Christ), not to follow or believe me, nor to follow or believe any man, nor to follow or believe any church, but to follow and believe Scripture.

No matter what any sleek talking man says, please do not deviate from Scripture. Do not celebrate holidays that are unscriptural, or follow practices that have no origin in Scripture, even if they purport to honour, glorify, or celebrate God or His Son. We must remember what Samuel told Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22 “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to OBEY is better than SACRIFICE.” All that God called us to do is to obey Him. Simple!

Avoid people who say that if you must strictly obey Scripture, then you must not use social media, or drive cars, or fit in planes or partake in modernity.

Satan is speaking through such people.

The content is what is holy, not the form. When God spoke to Moses, His words were written in stone-Exodus 31:18. When he spoke to John, the words were written in Scrolls-Revelations 5:2.

God does not mind when we modernise our vehicles, means of communications, or even our clothes. Those things are not holy, so they are subject to change.

However, our God is Holy. And a Holy God, Scripture, Holidays, and Articles of Faith are not subject to change.

If you like, you insult me. I have done what my conscience directed me to do.

Glory to the One and Only unchangeable God, who said “I am the LORD, I change not.”-Malachi 3:6.

Reno’s Nugget

Make money, so when you see human suffering, you won’t need to pray, you will just pay. Be like the Good Samaritan. When he saw the man attacked by robbers, he didn’t pray. He paid. In your time of need, you need payer warriors, not prayer warriors! Study the Good Samaritan. What did he have that separated him from others? 2 things. Money and compassion. If you want to be good in this world, you must have money and compassion. Compassion without money is like a car without fuel! Going NOWHERE! Money gives effect to your kindness #FreeLeahSharibu #RenosNuggets.

The Teacher Question Obafela Bank-Olemoh

H

ello there, it is great to be “on the same page” with you. In this column, I will be sharing My Perspective on different issues around Education and Leadership. As an avid history buff and a keen observer of the development of nations, I have come to the full realization that the twin towers of quality education and good leadership at every level of society are indispensable to the continuous socio-economic development of any nation. I look forward to your engagements with me on this platform as I share My Perspective on these issues every fortnight.

Today, my thoughts are about the Teacher Question.

How critical is their role in improving the education outcomes in Nigeria?

There is a strong correlation between access to quality education and the socio-economic development of any nation. A report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows that increasing access to education and the skills needed to participate fully in society would significantly boost the GDP in lower-income countries by an average of 28% per year and 16% per year in highincome countries. An example of this is South Korea.

With a 78% illiterate population after the Korean War, and a per capita income of US $200 in 1970, the World Bank Group considered South Korea to be too risky for even the lowest interest rate loans. Convinced that education was the best way to pull their country out of misery, the South Korean Government focused on overhauling schools and committed to providing quality education for every child. Today, South Korea has a 98% literacy rate and is a high-income country with a per capita income that surpasses US$30,000.

A nation once labelled one of the poorest is now the 12th largest economy in the world.

The former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela captured the importance of education aptly

by saying “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Governments worldwide, more than ever before, are investing billions of dollars on educating their citizens, while a growing proportion of the middle class is spending more of its income on educating their families.

However, like any human endeavour, education all over the world faces many challenges and there is a continuous debate about the state of education worldwide. Even before the recent disruption by the COVID19 pandemic, experts agree that some of the challenges with education ranged from inadequate funding to lack of access to good education and outdated curriculum. Of course, the pandemic has changed the dynamics now, however, one challenge that cuts across every educational system globally is the continuous plea for improved Teacher Effectiveness, Quality and Development. This challenge poses a recurrent question, which is being discussed globally; what is the most critical determinant of a truly qualitative education system? Is it the provision of state-of-the-art infrastructure – conducive for learning, or the design of an all-encompassing curriculum relevant to today’s economic needs? Perhaps, we should increase the use of technology or completely restructure the management models of our schools – enabling the private sector to play a more decisive role? How important are the teachers and their development to the attainment of quality education for all?

These questions have been debated all over the world.

A growing body of evidence however suggests that the education crisis, at its core, is a Teaching Crisis. To deliver good education, we need good teachers. Teachers, in my opinion, are the singular most important factor in the provision of quality education in Nigeria and any other country in the world. Their effectiveness is the most important predictor of student learning.

The teacher crisis being faced worldwide ranges from lack of teachers in some places to lack of motivation for the available teachers in some other places.

Globally, the UN estimates that 69 million new teach-

ers are required to achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030. However, there is also the issue of untrained or undertrained teachers for which the UN states that in 1 out of every 3 countries in the world, less than 60% of teachers are trained to national standards.

Here in Nigeria, the issue with teacher education and development is multi-faceted and needs urgent attention. These issues range from low pay and motivation for teachers to the perception that only the least qualified candidates become teachers. Another challenge is the incredibly low competency level of most of the teachers. For example, in 2014, Service Delivery Indicator survey investigating teacher knowledge across some sub-Saharan countries including Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Togo, Tanzania, Mozambique and Senegal, showed that Nigeria was among the lowest 3 countries.2 Like the rest of the world, we must explore innovative ways to solve these issues. It is gratifying to know that governments at federal and state levels are making efforts to engage these challenges but there is so much more to be done.

To improve the quality of our teachers and bring them up to par with their counterparts around the world, there are a number of questions we should give careful thoughts to. We should answer questions like; How much involvement of the private sector is needed in the delivery of good education and how should they be engaged? Are we maximizing the use of technology? What clear standards are we holding our teachers to and are we paying them liveable wages?

My friend, these issues and more I will endeavour to elucidate further in the subsequent releases on this column. As I conclude today, let me leave you with the words of Lee Iacocca who said; “In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something else.”

Till the next time we meet here, remember we all have “A Role to Play”.

Cheers.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 29, 2020

with ChidiAmuta e-mail:chidi.amuta@gmail.com

ENGAGEMENTS

How Country?

I

have an ancient method of measuring the mood and state of the nation. And it has always worked for me. It is a casual greeting in normal Nigerian street parlance. Simply put, it is just a simple greeting cast in the mould of a universal noncommittal question: “How Country?” You throw it around at people at the roadside, in barberss’ shops, on the drive way or as you walk into a shopping mall. You don’t expect any in- depth answer.

All you normally get is at best a reflexive response that quite often gives you a quick snapshot of the way things are in the country at any given time. It is a sort of everyman’s instant state of the union address. No partisanship. No contemplative choreographed answers.

Just straight from the hips knee jerk instant response.

The answers you get reflect everything from the misery index, the state of security, the ease of finding work , paying your bills or just getting by on a daily basis.

Most importantly, the answers are a function of how ordinary people are faring and how they generally view the prospects of our commonwealth.

Because ‘how country?’ hovers as a hybrid between bad English and pidgin, dangling between serious enquiry and a casual perfunctory greeting, you mostly get variants of answers in mostly hybrid lingo as well.

In normal times, you get: “We dey”. In times of political turmoil, you are likely to get: “Country bend small!”. In times of economic hardship, you are likely to get: ”We dey manage!” When economic hardship joins political confusion, you get: “God dey”.

Somehow, it had always worked for me in journalism as a public opinion sampling technique. It was at once a way of expressing cordiality and fellow feeling, a reaffirmation of shared feelings as members of a national community of feelings. What irks me probably pains you. What pains me gnaws at your innermost feelings.

Thrown at a troubled soul, the question suggests that perhaps there is someone out there who shares your pains or feels your hurt even without your telling them. But in the end, it is a way of saying that we are partakers in a community of feelings, caring about each other in a common patrimony whose state of health resonates in our private lives. As compatriots, we share something intangible, a common concern for the state of the nation and the state of the state that presides over us all.

Deploying the ‘how country?’ informality, I usually use a crude sampling method to get a rough idea of the state of the nation or the feelings of ordinary citizens.

This is something that neither my training in the humane letters, social sciences or media studies specifically taught me.

On a given day, I would throw the friendly greeting/question at a cross section of ordinary strangers irrespective of class, ethnicity, circumstance or countenance. By the end of the day, I am likely to have greeted a cross section of fellow countrymen and women ranging from my gate man, cook, steward, secretary, driver, managers, policemen at the checkpoint, labourers at a building site or my customer, the woman who roasts corn or unripe plantain (year in, year out) at the roadside on my way from work.

When I come home in the evening and in the quiet of my privacy, I would recall and rewind from the barometer of memory the findings of the day. I get a rough idea of the way things are at least from the eyes and gut responses of ordinary people, uncoloured by partisanship, self interest and the arrogance of position.

At other times in past years, I would go out to unusual places where ordinary folk gather for the same sampling. This was before I lost my anonymity to the prominence of media exposure and the wild frenzy of the hearsay world. My favourite place used to be Ikeja Bus Stop, at the news stand where our informal trade union –The Free Readers Association- used to gather every morning to read newspapers that the vendors had spread on the bare floor without paying for any title. The vendors did not pay for retail space so we too do not need to feel guilty for reading their newspapers free of charge. There was an understanding that no one dared state. Our reading skills are first rate because you needed to get a quick glance of the day’s trend before the vendor asked you to pay or leave. That was our way of catching up with the news, our unique window to the day’s news. That was before the internet of all things began to deliver the news and more to the smart phones in our hands!

At Ikeja bus stop on an average morning, in the midst of the ordinary people, you will encounter some of the most knowledgeable Nigerians on matters of public affairs, civics, national history and crude mangled versions of world affairs. There, above all, you encounter the unvarnished soul of our nation in its unfiltered essence. These were just people. I once encountered

Buhari a cross section of them. Someone had spent decades working as a factory hand at textile factories that have now shut down. Another, a train ticket assistant had followed the old rail roads in endless journeys from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, from Lagos to Kaura Namoda and from Enugu to Zungeru. These men were mobile encyclopaedia of current affairs. They came to Lagos and other towns when our people shared life in ‘faceme-I face -you’ yards irrespective of nationality.

Here at the bus stop, the hunger for news used to unite us in an endless and perhaps aimless quest for something in the midst of nothing. We engaged each other often in fruitless arguments peppered with half truths and glorified hearsay. Someone would occasionally deliver an impromptu lecture on nearly every regime and administration that has ruled over our country. These were unaccredited experts on nearly every subject under the sun with travel histories that spanned Accra, Libreville, Luanda and faraway Freetown!

They would apportion blames and pass verdicts with neither fear nor favour. They would casually recall past scandals, past heroes and villains and generally deliver judgments not coloured by partisanship or ethnicity.

On most days, they have this uncanny ability to read through nearly every newspaper title on the stand with amazing rapidity in no time. They could make cross references across time and point out who killed who, who stole more money from the common till or who betrayed who in the macabre dance we call politics.

I must confess that the bus stop crowd is predictably biased against successive governments. For them, it is a ‘they’ versus ‘us’ equation, which I find excusable but disturbing. They justify their anti government stance by insisting that our present rulers have not been different from the whites who were on the ‘other’ side.

On the guiding question of “how country?”, the answer you get at any given times has kept changing with successive regimes. Most times, however, it is a function of what policies touch the people where it matters most.

Let us take the contrast between a past administration and the present one for illustration.

Under an elected Obasanjo presidency, the introduction of the GSM cellphone revolution gripped the public imagination. The new technology suddenly put a lot of power in the hands of the masses. Ordinary people in the villages, in the farms, in the markets, simple artisans and the army of youth on campuses and street corners suddenly found themselves armed with this powerful tool of communication and infinite possibility.

Nothing like it had happened previously. Added to it was a policy of financial inclusion through the banking consolidation and the popularization of the stock market. Market women and simple traders in the markets were encouraged to measure their net worth not just in the quantum of cash under their mattresses or in their bank accounts. More common people began to operate bank accounts and to invest in shares and the bond market. Telecommunications and banking expansion provided the two growth sectors under Mr. Obasanjo with infinite multiplier effects that sucked up a sizeable percentage of the unemployed. Apart from sporadic and isolated disturbances such as Odi, Shagamu and Zaki Biam which were decisively put down with a level of ferocity that offended the human rights community.

These incidents did not however graduate into nationwide insecurity. Nor did they douse the momentum of economic upliftment that swept the nation and put smiles on the faces of ordinary people. If you asked most of the people in the bus stop crowd then: ‘How Country?’, the resounding answer was most likely : ”We dey kampe!” or they simply showed you their new cell phone with pride ans a smile. This was a reaffirmation of confidence in national stability and the abilities of the national leadership of the time and the possibility of hope in the horizon.

Fast forward to the period between 2015 and now.

The prospect of a Buhari return to power elicited the resurrection of all sorts of populist myths in the popular imagination. The essential outlines of that leadership, I daresay, derive from a nightmarish past that most Nigerians would rather forget but chose to forgive.

Undoubtedly, President Buhari has a retrospective fixation, constantly relishing his brief tenure as military despot as his brightest legacy in our history.

Against the background of Mr. Jonathan’s later bumbling , Mr. Buhari was coming into office in 2015 shrouded in a larger than life messianic mythology. He had briefly headed an unsmiling military junta that abducted fleeing politicians in Western capitals, publicly flogged people in queues for scarce basic goods, jailed politicians and journalists for minor infractions and marketed an ancient austere and pastoral economic style and subsistence vision.

Buhari’s glorious past is the ancient world of state control of the economy and export of primary produce.

His golden age is that brief regrettable dark spot in national history when sirens tore through the night as the goons of state knocked on nearly every door with pre-signed detention orders. It was that period when no debate was allowed except the deafening rants of regime apologists. No dissent was brooked and freedom of assembly was treasonable. In that world, to be a politician was anathema as errors of commission or omission earned people the equivalent of several life times in jail. In that dark valley of our national history, to be a journalist was dangerous since the state defined what was the truth, how and when best to tell it.

The populist mythology around that despotic interregnum appeals mostly to two groups of Nigerians: a small group of elite ideological simpletons and a vast army of unschooled and desperately poor young Nigerians who see Buhari’s so-called ascetic discipline as the antithesis of recurrent recklessness among successive political leaders.

Five years into the return to the Buhari myth, Nigerians know better. In a video clip doing the viral rounds in the social media, a newly elected Buhari is heard bragging, fortuitously, that Nigerians will soon know the difference his return to power would make. Most Nigerians now retort that they indeed know better.

In the last three months, gasoline pump prices have been increased three times. Beyond a 2.5% hike in value added tas, tariffs on social goods and services ranging from electricity to air travel have been increased. In the trail of a rather mild incidence of the Covid-19 emergency, jobs have been lost in droves as many small and medium scale businesses have ceased to exist.

Youth unemployment has ballooned further, creating a huge army of young and unemployed people. The anger in this maelstrom boiled over recently during the ENDSARS protests.

Youth anger at the excesses of a rogue police outfit spilled into the streets in waves of angry looting, pillage, jail breaks and arson. Under Mr. Buhari, Nigeria has entered a record second recession in five years, a record never before recorded by any previous leader, elected or self appointed. The same leader who presided over a nation dogged by poverty and scarcity of basic goods in the early 1980s is today presiding over the most difficult economic landscape in the history of peace time Nigeria a an elected president. The highest demographics of poverty in any one nation in the world (over 100 million) is the distinguishing badge of Buhari’s Nigeria.

Everything is not bread and butter. But even the impoverished cannot find peace in their homes, farms or on the highways. Squads of bandits have taken over the northern half of the country just as casual kidnappers and sundry robbers roam freely throughout the country.

Major highways, though hardly passable from disrepair, have become theatres of limited wars in shootouts between armed criminals and security forces. Never since the end of the Nigerian civil war has peace time Nigeria been so unsafe, so insecure and so dangerous.

In the present circumstances, it has become hard to even pose the casual question: “How country?” The answers are benumbing. They range from ‘which country?’ to a studied long sigh and silence of the cemetery.

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NEWSXTRA

Odinkalu Leads Tanzanian Opposition’s Legal Team at African Court

Gboyega Akinsanmi Tanzania’s opposition party, Alliance for Change and Transparency Wazalendo (ACT Wazalendo) and its presidential candidate in the 2020 presidential election, Mr. Seif Sharif Hamad have dragged the John Magufuli Government before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights for alleged electoral malpractices.

Prof. Chidi Odinkalu will lead the legal team to challenge the government for allegedly frustrating Hamad and his party in the just concluded presidential election.

Odinkalu, a Nigerian human rights lawyer and a former Chairman of the Governing Council of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), will be supported by another seasoned lawyer and human rights defender from Senegal, Ibrahima Kane He filed the suit against the Tanzanian Government at the instance of the opposition party and its presidential candidate in the presidential poll Hamad dragged the Tanzanian Government to the African Court, claiming that their right to participate in the election was deliberately restricted by the government using state’s institutions to frustrate them.

The court sits in Arusha, Tanzania. Among the court’s judges is a Nigerian, Mrs. Stella Anukam.

The General Secretary of the party, Mr. Ado Shaibu is named as second applicant, while Mr Ezekiah Dibogo Wenje, a contestant for the position of Member of Parliament in Rorya Constituency, Mara Region, Tanzania is named as third applicant.

A candidate for the House of Representative in the Kwahani Constituency in Zanzibar, Omar Mussa Makame is named the 4th applicant. Other registered voters also joined as applicants.

The applicants argued that both the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), which organised and supervised the conduct of the elections in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar, were compromised.

They said: “That preceding, during and immediately after the elections, the Respondent through its agents namely NEC, ZEC, the Tanzania Police Force, Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service, Tanzania Peoples Defence Force and Tanzania Communications and Regulatory Authority, The Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, The Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation, the Zanzibar Broadcasting Corporation, the Ministry for Regional Administration and Local Government, the Ministry for Regional Administration, Local Government and Special Forces engaged in multiple acts that

‘NANS Must Engage ASUU to Rescue Varsities from Collapse’ Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The immediate past President of StudentUnion Government, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Olaseinde Adeyinka yesterday urged the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) to dialoguewiththeAcademic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to save public universities from collapse.

Adeyinka, currently aspiring to be the next president of NANS, argued that dialogue for a stable academic calendar should form part of the roles NANS should play to defend the students’ rights to first-class tertiary education.

He made these remarks at a session with journalists in Ado Ekiti yesterday, noting that time “has come for real students to take over the leadership of NANS from those

he described as “career students and profiteers.�

Adeyinka explained his resolve to contest the presidential election of the association, saying it was to lead the battle for the reformation of the value system of the students by coalescing with ASUU and university managements to transform the country’s ivory towers.

NANS National convention commences on November 27, 2020, in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory with 14 presidential aspirants seeking to lead the association.

Adeyinka said Nigerian students should start the boost #EndSars restructuring by electing real students to lead NANS against the usual practice of bringing on board old students to lead the apex students’ body in the country.

Amotekun, Hunters Rescue Wife of Akeredolu’s Chief of Staff James Sowole in Akure The wife of the Chief of Staff to Ondo State Governor, Chief Olugbenga Ale, who was abducted on Thursday, regained her freedom on Saturday after spending two days with her abductors.

The woman, who was kidnapped along with another woman, was said to have been rescued by men of the State Security Agency, Amotekun Corps.

THISDAY findings revealed that the Amotekun Corps col-

laborated with local hunters and vigilante in the area to trace the perpetrators of the crime and the synergy yielded result early Saturday morning The source disclosed that some suspects were apprehended in connection with the crime and had been transferred to the state capital, Akure for interrogation.

The source said “I can confirm to you that the wife of the Chief of Staff has secured her freedom and on her way to Akure. She was released without paying ransom as she was rescued by Amotekun and local hunters.

violated the rights of the applicants to participate in the elections as citizens of the Respondent.�

They alleged that all the institutions mentioned above worked for the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, to the detriment of other political parties.

Among other infractions, the applicants said that they were molested while their agents were denied access to polling stations and that security agencies refused to investigate the allegations even when reported to them.

They said: “That with respect to the Tanzania Police Force, Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service, Tanzania Peoples Defence Force, the following violations took place; a.

Blatant and egregious discrimination against the Applicants and their respective political parties, and in favour of the incumbent CCM party, its candidates and its officials; Violence and torture against citizens, voters and candidates includingand specifically women candidates in the presidential, parliamentary and local government elections, before, during and after the Voting Day and announcement of results; Unlawful and arbitrary intimidation, threats, arrest and detention of citizens; of supporters of the Applicants, and the Applicants themselves; Unlawful and excessive use of force leading to injury and death numerous voters; Arbitrary and unlawful denial of the right to peaceful protest to the

Applicants; Malicious prosecution of citizens; of supporters of the applicants and of the Applicants themselves; g. Denial of access to legal representation; By all of the above, the Tanzania Police Force knowingly and intentionally created an environment

that was unsafe for the exercise of the right to vote and participation.�

They also said that the government manipulated the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, the Tanzania Communications and Regulatory Authority (TCRA), Tanzania Broadcasting

Corporation (TBC) and Zanzibar Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), to violate their rights.

The applicants said that they had no choice but to apply to the court because Tanzania’s constitution did not provide them with a remedy.

STILL IN CELEBRATION MOOD...

L-R: Ogun State Governor, Mr. Dapo Abiodun and former Society Editor, THISDAY Newspapers Group, Mr. Lanre Alfred during the presentation of his new book, Nigeria @60: Foremost Nigerians in the Last 60years to the governor at the Government House, Oke Mosan, Abeoka... recently

HURIWA Blasts Umahi over False Allegations against PDP Chiefs Tobi Soniyi The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria has called on the heads of security forces not to allow the Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi themselves to use them to witch hunt People’s Democratic Party’s leaders in the state.

HURIWA in a statement accused Umahi of playing political pranks with serious national security issues by attempting to rope in PDP chieftains into a phantom allegation of funding cultists to torment crisis in his state simply because they refused

to defect to APC with him.

The group spoke against the backdrop of claims by Umahi against some PDP leaders in Ebonyi state including National Assembly members elected on the platform of the PDP who refused to defect to the All Progressives Congress with him.

The statement said: “The Ebonyi State governor should not be allowed to drag the heads of the nation’s armed forces into partisan politics and thereby scuttling their professional and institutional pride of place. “Umahi can not be the judge and prosecutor in his own case.

He can’t be allowed to use what he even admitted to be fake news to accuse innocent Nigerians of sponsoring armed cultists to destabilize peace in Ebonyi State.�

Umahi had last Friday alleged that one of his predecessors, Senator Sam Egwu, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Pius Anyim, and National Assembly members from his state who failed to cross over into APC with him were allegedly plotting to unsettle the peaceful atmosphere in the state.

The human rights organisation said the governor should

be arrested after the expiration of his immunity for making false allegations against those who refused to defect to the APC with him in exercise of their constitutional guaranteed freedom of association. “HURIWA is calling on the Nigeria Police Force to keep Mr. Dave Umahi on its watch list so he is taken in to defend why he had to frame allegations as weighty as sponsorship of armed cultists against persons who refused to defect with him to his newly found political family.

These allegations even by his own admission were not credible.�

CLASFON Tasks FG on Alarming Rate of Insecurity John Shiklam in Kaduna The Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria (CLASFON) has asked the federal government to take urgent steps to end the alarming insecurity in the country.

CLASFON, a faith based non-governmental organization for Christian lawyers and law graduates in Nigeria, lamented the increasing rate of banditry and other criminal activities evident in daily reports of killings and incessant kidnappings.

It expressed this concern in a communique it issued after its quarterly National Executive Council meeting which held between November 20 and 22, through Zoom Video Conferencing.

In its communique, the group said the nation “is plunging into

a state of complete anarchy with the recent reports of kidnapping of police officers and other security personnel for ransom, the recent killing of the Nasarawa State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lafia and the kidnapping of Pastor Polycarp Zongo of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) on his way from Jos, Plateau state to Gombe.�

The communique, which was co-signed by the president of CLASFON, Mr. Arome Okwori and its Secretary, Mr. Olatunji Omole, said in the face of this monumental collapse of security and a near total breakdown of law and order in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari had not deemed it necessary to change the service chiefs and to overhaul the entire security

architecture of the country.

The communique urged the federal and state governments to take urgent steps to secure the release of Pastor Zongo and other citizens in the hands of terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements and to put concrete measures in place to secure the safety of lives and properties of all citizens.

The group further expressed concern over the unending strike by the Academic and Staff Union of universities (ASUU) and called on the union and government to resolve the issues and reopen the universities in the best interest of the students.

It warned that the prolonged industrial action, if not urgently brought to an end, will have devastating effect on the career prospects of many young Nige-

rians as well as the social and economic development plans of the federal government.

The communique also condemned what it described as “the undue political interference� in the appointment of chief judges in the states.

The group specifically frowned at happenings in Cross River and Gombe states, where, according to it, “judges who are qualified for appointments as chief judges were sidelined on the basis of ethnicity and religion.�

CLASFON alleged that “Justice Akon Ikpeme of Cross River state and Justice Beatrice Iliya of Gombe state, though eminently qualified for appointments as chief judges in their states, were both sidelined on either ethnic, gender or religious grounds.�

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SUNDAYSPORTS

Edited by: Duro Ikhazuagbe email:Duro.Ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ Jersey Valued at $2m

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he shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored his famous “Hand of God� goal against England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico could be available for $2 million following theArgentine’s death on Wednesday, an American sports memorabilia expert announced at the weekend.

The shirt is owned by former England player Steve Hodge, who got it from Maradona after the match in which his attempted back pass led to the controversial goal that helped dump England out of the tournament whichArgentina went on to win in Mexico. “I was walking down the tunnel and Maradona was coming in the opposite direction. I just tugged my shirt and we swapped there and then,� Hodge, who had been delayed on leaving the pitch doing a TV interview, told British media.

The shirt is currently on display at England’s National Football Museum in Manchester. “It’s very difficult to gauge (the value) with the “Hand Of God� jersey, but I know that the owner was looking for a $2 million private sale,� David Amerman of Goldin Auction in New Jersey told Reuters. “It certainly could be a possibility, the values have jumped quite a bit in soccer.�

Amerman’s firm is currently involved in another auction together with Sotheby’s called � A Century Of Champions,� which features a Jules Rimet trophy which was presented to Pele by FIFA after he won his third World Cup with Brazil in 1970.

The trophy is expected to sell for up to $800,000 and that sum could be dwarfed if Hodge finds a buyer for the Maradona shirt or if he puts it up for auction, although the 58-year-old former

midfielder may not quite reach his target price. “It’s very difficult to see how it would get to the two million dollar price, but I don’t see why an individual who had the money wouldn’t want something like that – you can’t really put a number on it. If you find the right person in the right place, it’s a realistic possibility,�

Amerman explained. “Maradona’s rookie soccer card, we recently sold a copy for $10,000. This is a card that was worth maybe a few hundred dollars just a few years ago, and that was before his death. I saw one yesterday online that they were asking $20,000 for.�

But Amerman sounded a note of caution for those thinking of getting involved in the Maradona memorabilia market following the Argentine’s death aged 60 after a heart attack. “Right now we’re definitely seeing increased action – I’ve already got inquiries from people who have purchased Maradona items on our site looking to sell them back in our next auction. “We saw with the passing of Kobe Bryant this year‌ an immediate huge spike in his memorabilia‌ then it levels out because the market gets saturated‌â€?

One man who won’t be putting the shirt Maradona gave him on the open market is ex-Arsenal and Juventus player Liam Brady.

The former Ireland midfielder played against Maradona many times for club and country and the Argentine gave him an unusual number 17 shirt rather than his usual number 10 after a game in 1979. “If it went to a private collector that really wanted it, if it was going to the right place and it was going to be appreciated, I would consider selling it, but I wouldn’t put it on eBay or any of these auction rooms,� he told Reuters. “It has a huge amount of sentimental value.�

Late Diego Armando Maradona

GOtv Boxing Night 21: Babyface Emerges Best Boxer, Wins N1m

Riyad Mahrez (centre) scored three of Manchester City’s goals against Bailey Peacock Farrell yesterday evening

PREMIER LEAGUE Mahrez Scores First Hat trick as Man City Hammer Burnley 5-0 Riyad Mahrez scored his ďŹ rst Manchester City hat-trick as Pep Guardiola’s side beat Burnley 5-0 at Etihad Stadium for the fourth time in a row.

The Algerian curled two ďŹ rst-half efforts into the corner to ease any concerns about a perceived City scoring drought.

Benjamin Mendy drove home Kevin de Bruyne’s cross for his ďŹ rst City goal before half-time and Ferran Torres turned home his ďŹ rst Premier League goal after the break following a brief period of Burnley pressure.

Mahrez steered the hosts to their biggest win of the season by completing his ďŹ rst treble since scoring all three for Leicester City in a victory at Swansea City in December 2015 as the Foxes marched towards the title.

It could have been worse for visitors Burnley - and their keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell,who was making his Premier League debut with ďŹ rst-choice Nick Pope missing because of injury.

In addition to De Bruyne slamming a shot against

a post in the ďŹ nal minute, Torres and Gabriel Jesus both had goals disallowed for offside - with both having involved major mistakes from the Northern Ireland keeper. “It was important to come back with a victory in the Premier League,â€?said City boss Guardiola,whose side had lost 2-0 toTottenhamin their previous league game.

Rilwan “Babyface� Babatunde on Friday night emerged the best boxer at GOtv Boxing Night 21, which held at the Rowe Park Sports Centre in Lagos.

The West African Boxing Union welterweight champion went home with the Mojisola Ogunsanya Memorial Trophy and the N1 million cash prize attached to the prize.

Baby Face, saw off Jubril “Terrible�

Olalekan in the second round of their eight-round national welterweight challenge contest to emerge the choice of journalists who covered the event.

In the bantamweight division, Habeeb “Ige� Oladeji won the national bantamweight title, defeating Tunde “Turning Star� Olojede by a split decision in an explosive 10-round fight.

The lightweight rematch between Rilwan “Real One� Oladosu and Prince “Lion� Nwoye ended in victory for Oladosu, the WABU champion.

Oladosu, who dominated the bout all through, won by unanimous decision.

The much anticipated ring return of Olaide “Fijaborn� Fijabi saw the former

African Boxing Union (ABU) light welterweight champion given a fairly tough time Dennis “The Range� Mbat.

Fijabi, however, showed he still carries plenty of menace when he stopped the courageous Mbat in the fourth round.

A knockout victory was also recorded in the light heavyweight division where the lesser experienced Segun “Success� Olanrewaju stopped knockout exponent, Cosmos “Awosika� David, in the second round.

In other bouts, Sikiru “Omo Iya Eleja� Shogbesan stopped Kazeem “Delight� Oliwo, via a technical knockout in the super featherweight division, while Alaba Elybow� Omotola enhanced his reputation by seeing off Lateef “Akin Jnr� Akinola in the same fashion.

Saturday’s event was the first edition of GOtv Boxing Night without fans. It was stated behind closed doors because of Covid-19 protocols, but was broadcast live to GOtv subscribers on SuperSport Select 2 (channel 34).

Rahmon, Ajayi Win Maiden Ogbomosho Marathon History was made in the ancient city of Ogbomosho , Oyo State on Saturday as the maiden edition of the Ogbomosho Marathon took place amidst fanfare.

Rahmon Kareem, an indigene of Ogbomosho land won the race with a time of 34:44 .

Speaking after the race, the 20-year Old lad said “I’m happy I won this maiden edition, the guy who came second pushed me to win the race because I had to keep up with his pace.

“In life we have to start from somewhere l, have started well today and I wish to continue to excel in subsequent ones.�

Adetiba Abiodun ďŹ nished second with a time of 34:35 , while Tunde Adewumi clinched the third position with a time of 35:34.The female category was won by a 17-year Old University of Lagos Human Kinetics student, Mary Ajayi with a time of 43:37.

In her reaction, , Ajayi said:�My aim was to win

and I’m glad to have achieved it. I wish to compete in subsequent editions to make my state and nation proud�.

Former CAF and FIFA Executive Committee member, Dr Amos Adamu, Ag. President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria Olamide George, the representative of the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Kola Daniel , traditional rulers and other dignitaries graced the event.

Sunday November 29, 2020

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MISSILE

Olowolafe to Buhari “It is sad that nobody is safe in Nigeria again. We are all endangered, but our leaders must rise up and live up to their promises during the campaign to protect the lives and property of the citizens” – The Chairman of Ekiti Branch of the Christians Association of Nigeria, Revd Father Peter Olowolafe calling on President Muhammadu Buhari and Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi to rise up and protect the people from senseless carnage in the hands of marauders.

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

The Collapse of Common Sense

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n my previous article, I tried to remind us of what we have always known and talked about: that oil boom flatters to deceive. The world is, meanwhile, desperately looking for alternatives to crude oil — with several advanced countries setting dates, starting from 2025, to phase out vehicles powered by fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel. Sadly, Nigeria’s economic (and, perhaps, political) fortune is tied to the price of crude oil. The higher the price, the happier we are, and the merrier our mood.

A little fall in oil price and the entire economy goes into a spiral: naira depreciating against the dollar; government revenues plummeting; public debts piling up; and inflation digging holes in our pockets.

Typically, oil exports account for 90 percent of government’s FX earnings. For a nation that imports far more than it exports, this is absolutely scary, especially as oil prices are not what they used to be and lower production quotas mean we are losing on at least two fronts. How can the currency ever gain value? To worsen matters, half of government revenue comes from oil, although this is a form of progress as it used to be up to 80 percent not so long ago. We can blame the COVID-19 pandemic for the current public finance crisis if we want, but the truth is that we have, for decades, been failing to put our house in order. We are only reaping what we sowed (pardon the pathetic pun).

There are still people out there who keep thinking the reports of the imminent death of crude oil are grossly exaggerated. They think that the black gold will continue to be the king in the energy ring — and this is EXACTLY our downfall in Nigeria. We are always waiting for the next oil boom. We are thinking oil will hit $100 again. We think the alternatives are neither “viable” nor “sustainable”. Is this not why, during the time of plenty, we usually embark on a spending extravaganza, launching white elephant projects, ballooning the cost of running government and saving little? “After all,” we humour ourselves, “Nigeria is a rich country.”

Until the next oil price crash!

I did point out, in my previous article, that Indonesia earned $10 billion from exporting palm oil alone in 2019. That was just about 6 percent of its export earnings. In simpler words, what Indonesia made from palm oil exports alone, which accounted for a negligible fraction of their export earnings, compared favourably with what we made from our almighty crude oil.

Ironically, Nigeria is not less endowed with cash crops. Given the right thinking and conducive environment, we can do very well in cocoa, oil palm, rice, cotton, groundnuts, ginger and sesame, but the ease with which petrodollar floods (or used to flood) our treasury has been damaging our mentality since the 1973 oil boom.

It is not as if we have not been talking a good game about reducing our crude oil dependency. Even when we were swimming in petrodollars in the 1970s — doing backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly — Gen Olusegun Obasanjo, then military head of state, used to say we should tighten our belt, dramatising it on national TV with his big military belt. He launched Operation Feed the Nation, an importsubstitution initiative. President Shehu Shagari did Green Revolution. Gen Ibrahim Babangida did the structural adjustment programme (SAP) with emphasis on agriculture (and to his credit, breweries stopped importing barley and started using locally grown sorghum — till this day).

Over the years, several governments have launched initiatives in cassava, rice, pineapple,

President Buhari cattle farming and all. So you ask: if it is that easy to push crude oil to the background, why are we still where we are — awfully chained to petrodollars? My answer would be: beyond the rhetoric, can we sincerely tell ourselves we have put in our highest commitment into liberating our economy from the slavery of crude oil? Even when reform policies are making progress, there are people waiting to politicise the gestational pains and incite protests and strikes. We engage the reverse gear and go back to square one. It is like the snake and ladder game. That has been our lot, basically.

But the commonsense questions remain: why have we been talking so much about diversifying government revenue for decades and making little progress? Why does every government keep talking about green revolution but our hearts and minds and eyes are still on the international crude oil market? If we can make as much FX from palm oil or rice exports as we make from crude oil, why are we not making it then? Shouldn’t that excite and energise us? Why would you want to continue making the bulk of your FX earnings from a single product when you have so many viable alternatives? If it is so simple and profitable to diversify public revenue, why not just do it?

I don’t have the answers but I have suggestions.

My starting point would be that the oil belongs to government. All revenues coming from oil sales, after costs, go into the federation account.

Every month, the three tiers of government sit down somewhere in Abuja under the aegis of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and share the spoils. Government is not lifting as much as a finger to make crude oil happen.

The mining process is fully under the care of the oil companies. They set up the rigs and run the entire show. All the government does is to collect the fees, royalties and taxes and “FAAC” the revenue. No sweat. No pains. No stress. Oil money is so sweet.

Now compare that with palm oil farming and production. The companies will be set up by private individuals who acquire and pay for the land. So let us say I have Kolawole Oil Palm (KOP) Ltd located somewhere in Rivers state. Government thinks it is my company.

Government thinks if I export my product, the proceeds belong to me. KOP’s income is not going to be paid into the federation account for the three tiers of government to FAAC at the end of the month. Therefore, the government does not have any incentive to

pursue policies and provide amenities that will make KOP prosper. As far as they can see, it is KOP Ltd’s headache how it operates, not government’s.

But that was how common sense collapsed in Nigeria with the oil boom. In reality, if KOP Ltd prospers, Nigeria prospers. In setting up the farm or building the factory, KOP will engage all manner of professionals and suppliers, including architects, engineers and artisans.

Most will pay PAYEE, company income tax, withholding tax, VAT and other levies which will end up in government coffers. But many of us cannot see the sense. When KOP starts operations, it will employ industrial chemists, accountants, technicians, admin personnel, and so on and so forth. Not only will jobs be created, government will also earn revenue from the statutory payments if the sector prospers.

Maybe they can actually see all these things.

But it would be too much trouble for them to create the necessary environment for KOP Ltd to flourish, so they would rather focus on the easiest way out: FAAC. Why spend so much money to make the environment conducive for KOP Ltd when you can just go to FAAC and take home a cheque of N5 billion at the end of the month? Rather than make life easier for KOP Ltd with good roads, power, security and water, why not squeeze the company for more money by taxing it to death in search of IGR? That’s a good idea. Slam them with all kinds of levies for trying to turn your state into a farm and shut them down if they protest.

Talking about palm oil — which happens to just be an accidental example today — I would like to remind us that Nigeria was at a point the world’s largest producer. But that was before the unfortunate oil boom. We accounted for almost half of global production. Today, we are the fifth largest producer but Africa’s largest consumer and, sadly, a net importer. Even Republic of Benin exports more palm oil than the Giant of Africa. If we had maintained our dominance and not gone to sleep, according to experts, we would be earning about $20 billion in FX today from palm oil alone. So you know, FAAC earned $12 billion from crude oil exports for the whole of 2019. Just saying.

I don’t want to repeat the story I once heard that Indonesia and Malaysia took palm seedlings from Nigeria in the 1960s and went on to rule the world. I don’t know if this is an urban legend.

Both countries now account for 80 percent of global palm oil output. My interest is not in the past but in the present. So imagine that our palm oil industry grows phenomenally in the next 10 years. Imagine the FX revenue if we meet local demand and become net exporters.

Imagine the benefits of the taxes that will end up in FAAC. Imagine the benefits to the GDP. Imagine the positive impact it will have on tackling unemployment, poverty and crime.

Imagine. And that is just palm oil.

To be sure, I know that the federal government and some states are making efforts to encourage the KOPs and wean us off the crude oil mentality.

I am sorry if I have been sounding a bit negative.

But I find it frustrating that growing the economy is not dominating national debate. Is it because agriculture cannot inflame ethnic and religious passion? Worse still, because we don’t need to write a new constitution in order to grow industry, we are not mainstreaming the debate.

As things stand, agriculture is on the concurrent list — so all tiers of government are allowed to make things happen in the sector. Hopefully, common sense will prevail someday and we will all see clearly. Vision.

And Four Other Things…

MATCHLESS MARADONA Ahead of the 1986 FIFA World Cup final, Argentina’s Diego Armando Maradona — who had scored five goals — was expected to wreck the less gifted but gritty German team. He did, but in a different way. In the dying minutes of a match in which he was effectively shackled by Lothar Matthäus, he delivered what he was less credited for: a clinical assist for Jorge Burruchaga to score the winning goal in the 3-2 victory.

Maradona ended up with five assists. We often celebrate his dribbles and goals but hardly mention his assists and work rate.

Maradona, who later battled with drugs, died on Wednesday at 60. But people like him don’t die: they live in our hearts forever and ever. Legend.

CRUSHING COVID I was quietly hoping that we would not need any vaccine to overcome COVID-19 — just as SARS practically withered away within a year — but that is increasingly looking like fantasy. Cases are mounting and death toll is unrelenting, even if we are getting to understand the virus better. The good news is that finally, at least three newly developed vaccines will be come on board soon. Hopefully, the world will return to normal again in 2021 after this tragic 2020.

Definitely, many people will not take the vaccine because of the conspiracy theories — but at least those who have no problems with it will have an opportunity to voluntarily protect themselves. Choices.

GUNNING FOR GOWON Mr Tom Tugendhat, a UK MP, made an astonishing claim on Monday: that Gen Yakubu Gowon, who ruled Nigeria from 1966 to 1975, “stole half of the central bank”. That was the first time anyone would make such an allegation against Gowon — and without proof. When Gowon was in exile and the Nigerian government wanted him badly over the failed 1976 coup in which Gen Murtala Muhammed, his successor, was killed, “stealing half of CBN” would have been a very good additional allegation against him. Gowon has described Tugendhat’s claim as “rubbish” but there is nothing he can do to clear his name as the MP is protected by parliamentary privilege. Malicious.

ENDING SARS With all the grievous allegations — some disgusting and totally heartbreaking — being made against operatives of the now disbanded special anti-robbery squad (SARS) by members of the public, the government has a lot to do to heal the wounds. It is not just enough to pay compensation to the victims, justice must also be done to the bestial police officers.

They have to undergo proper trial and pay for their crimes. This is not about truth and reconciliation; this is crime and punishment.

More importantly, we need to reform the police comprehensively. There are a lot of low hanging fruits for now, so we must start from there before we make the wholesome changes. Imperative.

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