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State Governors And The Beggar Bowl Leadership Approach
Tuck Magazine
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By

Jerome-Mario Utomi

It is no longer news that most of our states are currently faced with serious socio-economic issues bordering on sustainability inabilities. Although this has been the case over time, as a nation that plays politics with everything, we decided to live in denial. But as it currently stands, it has gotten to the brim and the state Governors are faced with either confess or collapse options, hence the bailout carol.

But in rushing to Abuja for a bailout, our Governors have forgotten that one of the negative attributes of borrowing is that once you start, it becomes your character. This borrowing habit of theirs has succeeded in weakening our states to a sorry level, that just about four out of the thirty-six states can presently pay their workers salaries without seeking ‘economic live support’ in the name of a bailout from the federal government.

As a matter of fact, it is not a bad Idea demanding a bailout. But mindless borrowing such as this depletes the borrower’s economic creative prowess, dwindles the propensity to achieving self-reliance and has the entity exposed to further socio-economic vulnerability.

Consequently, the feeling by some that Abuja is there to provide the needed financial succor, has rendered most of our governors lazy and uninterested in carrying out self-introspection on how to improve their state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) not minding that every opportunity to borrow as provided comes with a looming risk.

The above I am sure of, as no state can guarantee its socio-economic security by living on a borrowed fund. Most especially when it becomes incessant or a recurrent decimal of the sort as we are witnessing.

Additionally, the above development has brought to the fore the type of people that we have freely blessed ourselves with as our governors. With the exception of Lagos and a few others that are still active in sustaining their states via internally generated revenue, the rest shares a common denominator; Abuja dependants.

So, we can now understand why Lagos is witnessing massive infrastructural development today while other states are busy with a bailout sing-song.

This also points to the fact that our problem as a nation is more of leadership as the ‘strength of every state is a direct result of the strength of the leaders.’

To further support the above point as advanced, our colonial overlords very seamlessly penetrated all the nooks and crannies of this nation ensuring that all paid their taxes. That exercise did not in any way exclude my poor grandfather as he was tracked to his sleepy farm settlement to ensure compliance. So, what is going on with our present crop of leaders?

As it is at the moment, it has become crystal clear that the monthly orthodox procession to Abuja for a ‘holy communion’’ using FAAC as the sacrificial lamb and the FG seated as the chief Priest is no longer sustaining. This should be a source of worry to our state governors who could neither pay workers nor pensions of our retirees when the federal allocation was constantly dropping.

However, I am well aware of the fact that the civil servants are self-declared enemies of the states occasioned by their bureaucratic tendencies but that should not be enough reason for them to be treated like the internally displaced people (IDP) that their situation has degenerated into in some states. The recent suicide and contribution of food items and other relief materials as witnessed recently occasioned by non payment of salaries bear eloquent testimonies to these facts.

Similarly, most of our pensioners have given up hope and have resigned to fate banking on their age-long religious teaching that their reward is in heaven.

To illustrate this point, an uncle of mine, a pensioner and a man well above 80 years told me very recently that they were promised 33% increment in pension since the steady rise in inflation has made sense of what they receive as the pension. That was in June 2010, but as I am doing this piece, they have not received a kobo from that promise 7 years after. Yet, the state government in question is busy shouting prosperity for all through SMART AGENDA.

Considering my uncle’s age, he has naturally packed his luggage, checked in and is now at the departure lounge waiting for his creator to open the boarding gate. If such should take place now, when and how will he receive this amount that has accumulated for the past seven years? Very sadly, he may not.

In all these, one thing that our governors fail to remember is that ‘the grinding poverty and starvation with which our country is afflicted is such that it drives more and more men every year into the ranks of beggars, whose desperate struggles for bread render them insensible to all feelings of decency and self-respect.’

To put it differently, if the above is examined closely, one will discover that our governors are in one way or the other architects of this situation and instead of trying to ameliorate it, by providing work for their subjects and insisting on their working for bread, they denied those that have worked their just wage and pension respectively.

As if that was not enough, they now watch their civil servants commit suicide and the only defense they put up is ‘we owe him just 9 months and not 11 months salary.’ Saying it as if they were morally justified allowing the civil servants to go home at the end of every month without their salaries.

Still, on this negative light, these deliberate inactions of our governors have again portrayed them as a group that knows how to mop up our commonwealth for their personal aggrandizement while abandoning their subjects to mop up their tears. This to my mind is condemnable

Again, another fact that our state governors should remember is that no one takes a government that governs with a beggar bowl approach seriously.

As a response to the above realities, it is my submission that there is a need for our state governors to imbibe a saving culture as this attitude of eating with our ten fingers is not in any way supporting our economic growth or sustainability

In the same token, they must remember also that the people are watching closely, most especially the youths. They should remember that in a period such as this, people watch with rapt attention, noting every move they make, learning what they really believe as opposed to what they say.

Finally, the state governors should remember and take into action the fact that the shortest way to the bright future we seek lies in a creative approach.

Therefore, let the governors defocus on Abuja and focus on increasing their states’ internally generated revenues, working in a collaborative manner with their civil servants. This process, who knows, may provide a lasting solution to the restructuring of our nation.

Jerome-Mario Utomi

Jerome-Mario is a Social Entrepreneur and an alumnus, School of media and communication, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria.

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State Governors And The Beggar Bowl Leadership Approach
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Trump, disrespect and the US military in Africa
Tuck Magazine
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By

Rupen Savoulian

A political furore has erupted over the last few weeks regarding the deaths of four US Special Forces soldiers on deployment to Niger, West Africa. US President Donald Trump has caused offence – this time, for making off-handed and dismissive comments to the widow of one of the dead servicemen.

This row, revealing deep divisions within an already-factionalised and fractured Republican Party, has added to the woes of the current US administration. However, as Finian Cunningham writes in Sputnik News magazine, the ruckus over Trump’s conduct obscures a more important and deeper scandal – the increasing military operations of the United States across the continent of Africa.

Trump’s discourteous treatment of a US soldier’s widow has been discussed at length. However, disrespect for the widow of a slain solider is not the scandal we should be talking about.

We should be focusing on the larger and more serious scandal – the US wars that are secretly being waged in Africa. A number of critics are already asking – why are there American troops in Africa in the first place?

The deaths of the four US Special Forces soldiers – commonly known as Green Berets – should give us the opportunity to examine the largely secretive, yet constantly expanding, US military presence in African countries. As Cunningham discusses in his article, there are thousands of special forces, secret troops, surveillance drone bases and operations across African countries, and Niger is one of them. Indeed, as Nick Turse has documented in an article for The Nation magazine, there is a growing constellation of US military bases in Africa, organised within the US Africa Command, or Africom.

John Wight, writing in Sputnik magazine, asks his readers to consider the depth of imperial arrogance demonstrated by the United States in arrogating to itself the right to construct an empire of lily-pad bases across the African continent. Given Africa’s tragic history of colonial occupation and exploitation, this expanding military footprint must prompt us to consider the strategic and military ambitions of US imperialism in that continent. The US military’s activity in Niger constitutes only one part of an extensive network of bases and secret missions in Africa.

The counter-terrorism excuse obscures imperial motives

The ostensible reason provided by the United States authorities for the growing military presence in African countries is counter-terrorism. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, this rationale has been become a catch-all term, an umbrella under which all sorts of military and strategic activities can take place. The focus of the US military in Africa is not nation-building or humanitarian goals, but on achieving military and economic preponderance.

Lee Wengraf explains in the Socialist Worker magazine that the Niger deaths are the outcome of a deepening US military incursion into African countries. There are Islamist, fundamentalist groups operating in several states in Africa – Boko Haram in Nigeria being the most obvious example. The region of Niger where the US special forces soldiers were killed in the near the border with Mali, a country wracked by a civil war between Islamist movements and the French-backed Malian government.

The counter-terrorism excuse is flimsy at best, and hypocritical at worst, given that the main imperialist powers – the US, Britain, France and Italy among them – have a long history of training, arming and financially supporting Islamist groups to achieve their political objectives. It was Britain and France that supported and armed the Islamist-based Libyan rebels fighting in the 2011 uprising. Cultivating ties to fundamentalist groups is a long-standing practice of the imperialist states. The regional imperialist-sponsored crises afflicting the nations of Libya and Mali have spilled over into Niger.

In this connection, it is interesting to note that the US military is building a multi-million dollar drone base in Niger. Located in Agadez, the drone base will have the capability to launch missions into neighbouring countries. The US military works closely with their Nigerien counterparts, transferring millions of dollars’ worth of military supplies and equipment. In the meantime, Niger remains one of the poorest nations in Africa, where two-thirds of the population live below the poverty line – scraping together a living on less than one dollar a day.

Let us remind ourselves of the words of an Africa expert and commentator, who spoke at great length about the role of Western imperialism in that continent. He elaborated upon the underlying motives of the colonial powers’ interest in Africa. These words are quoted by John Wight in Sputnik magazine:

“They are the ones who need Africa — they need its wealth. Fifty percent of the world’s gold reserves are in Africa, a quarter of the world’s uranium resources are in Africa, and 95% of the world’s diamonds are in Africa. A third of chrome is also in Africa, as is cobalt. Sixty-five percent of the world’s production of cocoa is in Africa. Africa has 25,000 km of rivers. Africa is rich in unexploited natural resources, but we were [and still are] forced to sell these resources cheaply to get hard currency. And this must stop.”

The author of the quote above was the late Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, brutally murdered by NATO-backed mercenaries in 2011. We would do well to heed his words.

The Niger story – for lack of a better expression – has demonstrated the corporate media’s capacity for self-absorption. The scandal is not the deaths of the soldiers, but rather why they were fighting in west Africa in the first place. The extensive military operations of the United States have received little if any critical examination in the major corporate media. The deaths of the Nigerien people, their casualties and back story, is virtually ignored while the suffering of American soldiers is dramatized in powerful ways.

This view of the world ensures that the United States sees itself as the only and perpetual victim, unfairly maligned and attacking while making military sacrifices overseas. This narrative disguises the predatory and criminal nature of America’s expanding military and imperialist ambitions in Africa. The American military footprint in Africa is not a liberating force, but rather an occupying army. The Niger fatalities draw a spotlight on the imperialist offensive of the American ruling class across the continent of Africa.

Trump always adds insult to injury

Trump was disrespectful to the widow of Sergeant La David Johnson – that is not in dispute. However, why is anyone surprised at the ability of Trump to offend? Trump is the president who has consistently disrespected ethnic minorities, frequently referring to Hispanic Americans as rapists and drug dealers throughout his election campaign.

Trump has disrespected the African American community on numerous occasions. One egregious example was his defence of the white supremacist and neo-Nazi demonstrators at Charlottesville as ‘very fine people’. However, African American athletes who peacefully protest are dismissed as ‘sons of bitches’. If Trump does not have a view of the world that reflects white supremacy, then he is certainly doing an accurate impression of a white nationalist.

Trump was one of several ultra-rightist American politicians who routinely attacked former US President Barack Obama as an illegitimate occupant of the White House, advocating the lie of Birtherism. Obama was not a real president, you see, because he was not born in America, but he was actually a secret Muslim…an African, no less. Trump recycled this ridiculous, disrespectful lie for years, and has never retracted it, even though it has proven to be false.

Trump has displayed his misogynistic disrespect for women on numerous occasions, going so far as to brag about his ability to be a sexually aggressive pest. He boasted about how he ‘moved on her like a bitch’, gloating about his sexual conquests – and how he can ‘grab them by the pussy’ because he has wealth and celebrity – a social status that apparently allows him to be as obnoxious as he wants towards women.

Trump has disrespected millions of his own citizens – those living in the hurricane-ravaged dependency of Puerto Rico. The latter are American citizens – not by choice, but by force, with the United States conquering Puerto Rico in 1898. The 3.4 million citizens of that US territory are living without electricity, hundreds of thousands homeless, potable water is scarce, and the danger of disease and malnutrition hangs over the hurricane-damaged island. Trump’s response has been desultory at the very least, and obnoxious at worst.

While Puerto Rico’s people face apocalyptic conditions, Trump’s statements about the crisis involve complaining about the cost of the recovery – humanitarian aid has ‘thrown the budget out of whack’, according to the person responsible for organising the rescue effort. Dismissing the severity of the hurricane that hit Puerto Rico, Trump contended that the death toll was only low, because there were only 16 confirmed deaths, as opposed to hundreds in Hurricane Katrina. So Puerto Ricans are lucky that theirs is not a ‘real’ catastrophe, according to the Commander-in-Chief.

Trump disrespected and insulted the authorities in Puerto Rico, who swung into action as best they could in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Trump’s comments about the Puerto Rican situation? He complained that they were costing too much money. Puerto Ricans want everything done for them, Trump averred in presidential style as news about the true scale of the devastation was filtering out of the island. Danny Katch, writing for the Socialist Worker, wrote that Trump adds ignorant insults to Puerto Rico’s many injuries whenever he speaks. His complaints are not the insights of a political leader, but the whingeing ranting of an America-First financial speculator.

Whether he is shouting at the United Nations, or delivering a semi-fascistic tirade that was a poor excuse of an inauguration speech, Trump is revealing the underlying character of the American ruling class. Gone is the rhetorical commitment to human rights, global cooperation and leadership; here is the ranting, white supremacist dotard, threatening countries with annihilation, and complaining that social services upon which poor people depend simply cost too much money.

It is time to stop the imperial arrogance and treat Africa with respect.

Rupen Savoulian

Australian correspondent for Tuck Magazine, Rupen Savoulian is an activist, writer, socialist and IT professional. Born to Egyptian-Armenian parents in Sydney, Australia, his interests include social justice, anti-racism, economic equality and human rights.

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Trump, disrespect and the US military in Africa
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What do Nigerian leaders really do afterwards?
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Tuck Magazine - Online political, human rights and arts magazine

GCIS photo

By

Prince Charles Dickson

In the United States, there are three ways a president can leave office mid-term: death, resignation or impeachment. In Nigeria, there have been several impeachments especially legislative heads, and a few conspired impeachments of governors, only a handful can be recalled to honestly resign and that is rare, really it is forced resignation.

In the same clime, most presidents fulfil one or two terms and are either defeated in re-election or retire. So what’s life like for a person who’s been the leader of the free world? Generally, it’s good.

Some presidents retire to a life outside of the public eye. Many have published their memoirs. Others use the prominence afforded by the presidency to continue or even improve their work. Jimmy Carter, after leading an unpopular single-term administration, went on to create what many agree is the most successful post-presidency. The former president established the Carter Center, a human rights organization, and became heavily involved with Habitat for Humanity, which builds homes for the poor.

So, in recent times, Barack and Michelle Obama announced that, after taking a break, they’re opening a “centre for citizenship” on the south side of Chicago.

Outgoing presidents get to open a presidential library in their home states.

But Barack Obama says his library will be a “centre for citizenship,” and will take ideas from citizens on which young leaders and organizations they should be supporting.

However, after fulfilling his civic duty as president. Now comes another role as a citizen: jury duty.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans told county commissioners Friday that Obama has been summoned for jury duty next month in Illinois, according to CNN affiliate WLS.

The former president lives in Washington, but maintains a home in Chicago. With a Harvard Law School degree, experience teaching law and eight years as commander in chief, he is a pretty decent candidate for jury duty.

Obama is not the first former president to receive a notice for jury duty. In 2015, former President George W. Bush reported for jury duty at a Dallas courthouse.

Jurors in Cook County get paid $17.20 a day.

So many of our politicians and leaders are experts in the art and act of transmutation; debate on the worth and value of such is discourse for another day, these are men and a few women who move from being either governors to legislators, others have gone on to become ministers or board chair. And did I add, collecting multiple salaries and pensions apart from stolen monies (not all of them though, but almost all of them)

So where is the Chief-Servant, the big-eyed one. He was everywhere delivering papers, same way Peter Obi is currently doing and no pun intended it is good to do that, at least telling us those beautiful tales by the moonlight of power, politics and the accidents that follow, but the man on the street deserves more than those papers in terms of service from these men.

I recall a wonder working Mu’azu of Bauchi State, after the brief love affair as PDP Chairman he has vanished into some form of air, thin and otherwise. Like Bamanga Tukur, like Barnabas Gemande who is now Silent Senator Gemande representing one-place-some-where constituency in Benue State.

Apart from the Tambuwals and his Katsina state compatriot, I dare ask what does the likes of Chibudom Nwuche, Ghali Nabba or the now everywhere APC throttling Nnamani do for the ordinary Nigerians. In real terms, for real value, how are they doing real jury service to the masses.

We all know that ‘most handsome’ governor produced till date, he plays Saxophone but how many of us really get to benefit from his night octane wind instrument and heavy laced elite crowd…that are part of his performance.

Where’s Imoke, how about that governor in the South West that made sure bleaching cream remained an expensive cosmetic item, he still continues to dance around political parties in the city with plenty Kings and chiefs. His bleaching counterpart from Kogi has simply disappeared, not sure any of his carpentry sorry I meant upholstery shops are alive.

You wonder why when leaders are elected, selected they loot you and I blind? They never have to do any jury service, their morality or otherwise will never and cannot be questioned. In fact they are chastised by their own for not stealing enough or stealing well.

Where is the diminutive House of Representative corruption czar who at the height of his fame was ‘capping’ in petrol dollars into his cap and agbada pockets, he even had the entire Kano legislators tour Kuje Prisons on a visit to him. And how about the Saloonist and notice I did not call her hairdresser (no one should put words in my mouth). And after her was the always white wearing young phonetically endowed Speaker Banko…le (meaning help me carry the house). After his travails with EFCC he simply has vanished and I see few attempts to re-launch and he’s been active on Facebook (Imagine).

Nigeria is blessed with clowns everywhere, my grandad Obj went back to study Theology, and asked us his kids not to call him Mathew. IBB my uncle for life, each time he speaks you sense a bitter sponge of missed chances. I love Abdulsalam, at least if all he showed us was his white peaceful beard.

Earlier I whispered EFCC, almost all our past governors have one outstanding assignment with the anti-graft agency, but how about the people that led this agency, where is Farida, and how about the real deal Nuhu Ribadu… and if I stay put in Adamawa what is now become of Boni Haruna, one time he was chairman of Former PDP governors. We can like all forms of associations and titles that bring no worth to ordinary Nigerians.

We are blessed with leaders who we know were broke ass before they got power, but the common lines or lie, “I was comfortable before government…I had a thriving business before…” Yet we all know how they all engage in anticipatory stealing via the CCB declarations. If indeed they were, why don’t they go back to those THRIVING businesses?

So imagine Babangida Aliyu was teaching Party Politics 101 in Change University in Umuahia or Orji Kalu rather than dissipate energy fighting political enemies and a never-to-be-gotten senate seat. He could put more energy into a few of his business concerns, and be a visiting lecturer in UDU Sokoto teaching Political Economy 606.

At least grandpa has a Presidential library, where are the likes of Fashola who as SAN should have a heavy pro bono law firm. But like Ngige, whom we thank our ancestor is at least not running a hospital as a doctor that he is; they are ministers! What value can our former leaders bring to bare, with wealth they possess, how can they be the bedrock of industrialization, how can the contribute to knowledge apart from playing either opposition once they are out or technically being members of the elite Any Government In Power. While Nigeria has plenty problems, this is one that if we consciously choose to interrogate and solve, we may finally be getting one thing right, for now—Only time will tell.

Prince Charles Dickson

Currently Prince Charles, is based out of Jos, Plateau State, and conducts field research and investigations in the Middle Belt Region of Nigeria with an extensive reach out to the entire North and other parts. Prince Charles worked on projects for UN Women, Search for Common Ground, and International Crisis Group, among others. He is an alumnus of the University of Jos and the prestigious Humanitarian Academy at Harvard and Knight Center For Journalism, University of Texas at Austin. A doctoral candidate of Georgetown University

Born in Lagos State (South West Nigeria), Prince Charles is proud of his Nigerian roots. He is a Henry Luce Fellow, Ford Foundation grantee and is proficient in English, French, Yoruba Ibo and Hausa. Married with two boys, and a few dogs and birds.

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What do Nigerian leaders really do afterwards?
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Avengers and the Circle of Chaos
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Tuck Magazine - Online political, human rights and arts magazine

Dulue Mbachu/ISN photo

By

Jerome-Mario Utomi

The sudden threat to resume hostilities in the Niger Delta region by Niger Delta Avengers should be to all a reality to worry about. The reason is simple, if such outing, which they promised will be brutal, brutish and bloody, is allowed, it will again portray us as a nation that has not learned any useful lessons from history and also marks the commencement of another vicious circle of chaos.

As a people, we have traveled one road too many. We have journeyed through a part consistently without result. Yet, we have refused to make a detour. As a nation, we have traveled to the southeastern part to watch the python dance. To the south-south to witness the ugly crocodile smile. And the recent episode of this drama series code named: “Operation Octopus Grip” as declared by the Nigerian Navy in the Niger Delta region.

All these ‘dances, smiles and grips’ share but a common outcome called chaos. They have a way of leaving in their trails sorrows, tears and blood. The recent unprovoked invasion of the peaceful Ajakurama Community in Edo State in a drill code-named; Operation Crocodile Smile II, bears eloquent testimony to this fact.

Despite all these unpalatable signals and feedback from the targeted ‘beneficiaries’ of these operations, our nation’s handlers have not deemed it necessary to appraise the entire process in order to situate if the strategy is achieving the premeditated result. But instead, we have pushed on, focusing on trivial concerns while forgetting to address the fundamental issues. Now, this systematic abandonment has succeeded in giving birth to the Avengers’ declaration which, if handled with levity, may plunder our nascent economic space into a more chaotic situation.

One point our military and the federal government fails to remember when opting for the military grill is that, when soldiers are long in the field, the resources of the state are depleted.

These endless operations coupled with maybe a decision to go after the Niger Delta Avengers may further deplete our nation’s socioeconomic resources. Hence, it is my objective opinion that the hour has come for us as a nation to seek real victory via dialogue and not through conquest.

To illustrate this position further, the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) recently in a release stated that the Government is in need of money to carry out its programmes in the Niger Delta region. Even the N2b initial grant to the Maritime University at Okerenkoko for the school to commence academic activities in October last month has not been released. If the military has so much money to waste, why can’t it assist the Government in carrying out these projects?

This statement portrays a group that is development hungry and wants to see resources channeled to development-oriented projects and not military drills. Expecting victory through military operations will remain elusive as history bears exemplified testimonies.

Again, I am well aware that the Nigerian military as an institution has public relations units or departments that function prominently in information dissemination. This is commendable but looking at PR as a practice, what is expected of this good office is much more than mere press statements.

A glance through the Mexican statement postulation on PR will reveal that it involves analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organization leaders, and implementing planned programs of action which will serve both the organization and the public’s interest.

The above should be the way to go. It will not be out of place if the military PR units go a step further to monitor and analyze these incessant agitations with the aim of unraveling their root cause and advising both the constituted authorities which may include the federal government accordingly.

Who knows, their findings may also point in the direction of the ceaseless call for the nation restructuring that has refused to abate.

Already, the masses are aware that the asymmetrical posture of our political space is fuelling these agitations and efforts to calm the agitators using military drills have resulted in this vicious season of threats.

The above fact has equally made it a worrisome development that a reputable organization such as the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has not been able to make a statement stating their position on this restructuring debacle. I have not as an individual stumbled on, or heard about the Association’s position on this all-important issue. This is not good for our polity and such silence is to my mind not ‘golden but betrayal’.

The restructuring debate is a constitutional issue given the fact that it was thrown up by the federal system of government as practiced in the country. This fact favours the NBA to be at the forefront of such discourse guiding the nation accordingly. But their loud silence is doing the nation more harm than good as the entire nation has initially looked up to them at this constitutional trying moment.

But in maintaining this silence, what our lawyers and others have forgotten is that ‘’the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at the time of challenge and controversy.’’ It is my humble submission that this time is auspicious for our lawyers to speak up as a body.

Comparatively, the operation of the federal system of government on its own has become a problem not just in Nigeria but the world over. Hence, has become a discourse that we cannot shy aware from.

Very recently, Frank Luntz, an American political pollster talking about the United States federal system, remarked as follows; ‘Federalism is about taking power away from Washington. It’s not about smaller or more limited government. Almost no one I interview cares about the size of government as much as the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of government. Americans want to empower states and governors to take a more active role in that governance because they’ve given up on Washington – Trump or no Trump.’

This is a statement of fact from which we must learn a lesson. If federalism is still viewed as a work in progress in the United States, it will not be out of place if it takes the front burner of our political discourse. It is time to empower our states and make them less Abuja dependents.

Whichever way, no matter how long we live in denial as a nation, the need for restructuring has come to stay and the theatrical dramatization of ‘operations’ by our nation’s military apparatus shall remain a mere distraction.

But to make this piece valid, it is important to note that to an average Niger Deltan, development of their region is synonymous with fiscal federalism or outright resource control. So, to avert these perennial crises, it is my opinion that the time to return the ‘monkey’ to the owner is close at hand. If not, chances are that this vicious circle of chaos may continue.

God Bless Nigeria.

Jerome-Mario Utomi

Jerome-Mario is a Social Entrepreneur and an alumnus, School of media and communication, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria.

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Avengers and the Circle of Chaos
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The Lesson of Coincidence
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By

Don Krieger

Where is our shared humanity?

The lesson of coincidence.

On November 5, 26 people were murdered in a Texas church.

On that same day, 26 Nigerian dead girls and women were brought to the port of Salerno, Italy.

How many good people mourn the deaths of these people?

How many cry in passionate outrage for the madness of gun violence in America, the horror of sex slavery worldwide?

How many understand that the solution you see may never be realized?

How many have the sense to look for a real answer which makes a real difference?

How many good people must die?

How many more must live in fear, in poverty, in slavery?

How long must good Americans live in ignorance of the suffering world wide which created our wealth?

Don Krieger

I have built satellites, worked in the operating room, been in a cult, …

I earn my living as part of a group which is trying to understand and treat head injury.

In my poetry and short blog pieces, I want to express ideas with unambiguous clarity and intensity.

I willingly sacrifice rhyme and meter, art, cleverness, elegance, and beauty for these.

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The Lesson of Coincidence
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In Kaduna, Teacher no teach me nonsense
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Allan Leonard photo

By

Prince Charles Dickson

“John Bull my son, I send you to school, you don’t know how to spell your name…” – Nursery rhyme

Some five years ago I had written under the title; ‘John Bull my son and our educational malaise.’

Again I have watched with trepidation the drama in Kaduna between teachers and the governor. In 2007 it was the same drama in Kwara state. I recall teachers with fake certifications in Ogun state. How about that skit between then governor Oshiomhole of Edo state and a woman teacher that went viral.

The pain is when the teachers wig should know better are the ones that can’t spell their name.

Over the week, I could not make it to the office, I had kept a young university graduate waiting, one of those hectic travel days, was on transit. He just finished his course of study as an Economist in one of the federal universities; he sent me a text message, after waiting, which read “I has be waiting since for you sir“.

I could not reply for a while, because upto this moment “I has be trying to understand” what he meant to say. Whatever he wanted to say, he reminded me we are a nation with a short fused memory, we forget after all the noise, show little or no outrage and move on.

So whether El-Rufai sacks the teachers or not, they strike or do not strike begs the real issues. We will simply move on, after all we have moved on from the JAMB cut off mark drama. We continue with our tokenism educational methods and systems; one that justifies a person’s inability.

It will get worse, if it has got to the point of “I has come“. Failure is recorded at mass level, one wonders how after 6 years in Secondary school and qualifying exams in WAEC, and or NECO, JAMB and post-UME we record monumental failures which culminate in “I has be waiting since for you sir“.

The level of failure and rot that makes it impossible for primary school teachers to pass the same exams they set for their pupils.

Is it the teacher, student, curriculum, infrastructure, the English premier league or blackberry phones?

How can the teachers be better than the system of which they are product?

A sneak into the answer sheets of some of the teachers revealed the repeated flaws made by these supposed teachers. The question papers not only met the required standards, but were the same the teachers ordinarily set for their pupils. The questions were also unambiguous and within the scope of the syllabuses. The marking schemes were exhaustible and comprehensive enough to accommodate all possible answers. Yet some of these teachers did not know the name of their state.

“However, apart from the dearth of basic instructional materials and infrastructure, poor remuneration of teachers, among other social factors that are facing particularly public schools in the country, one cannot help but observe many teachers had shallow knowledge of the subject matter, poor command of the use of English language, poor knowledge of the examination techniques, as well disregard for correct interpretation of questions before attempting them.

If the handwritings I saw of those teachers are correct; many illegible and their answers scripts are full of spelling errors. I cannot begin to imagine if they possess any manipulative skills for subjects involving calculations.

I am not surprised that many candidates try to cut corners by engaging in various forms of examination malpractice in order to obtain marks. When clowns like these called teachers teach them.

Despite all these lamentations, one good point “I has noticed” was the girl with nine A1s in WASSCE: reports say she is so brilliant her teachers feared her result would be seized. Miss Tolulope Falokun, an indigene of Ondo State; emerged as the overall best candidate in the 2011 West African Senior School Certificate Examination.

17 year old Tolulope had distinctions (A1) in all the nine subjects she attempted, she was described as intelligent, hardworking, serious-minded and above all, highly disciplined pupil.

In an interview Tolu had told reporters, “Our teachers prepared us early for the exams. We had special lectures everyday more than four months into the exams because we had covered our syllabus since first term SSIII.

My Government teacher designed a timetable for me, which I followed religiously to make sure that I cover all my subjects. Our teachers also set up study groups for us and I did not miss any of these arrangements. I prayed hard and worked hard, using my timetable as a guide. I denied myself a lot of things especially social events.

I used to have a Ghanaian teacher who is very good in English language and Mathematics and he really taught me well when I was in the primary school”.

Tolu scored 290 in the 2011 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and emerged the second overall best student in the Post-UTME conducted by the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile –Ife with 336 marks.

Also a 24-year-old graduate from Zamfara State, Muhammad Usman, presented a paper at the 2012 session of the World Renewable Energy Forum (WREF) in Denver, Colorado, United States.

Usman’s paper is entitled “Rural Solar Electrification-Renewable Energy Potential and Distribution for Development in Nigeria”. He is a 2010 Economics graduate from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Programme Officer at the Gusau-based Centre for Energy and Environment in Zamfara State.

Two sides of a nation–hope and despair, either a case of “we can” or “we can coming“. While we battle the scourge of local terrorism, bad leadership, kidnap, health, and countless issues, there is need to come up with some measures that could help both the students and schools to improve on their performance in future examinations, by extension resuscitate a nation’s dying if not dead educational sector.

Our students need to develop a good understanding of questions and also learn the basic rudiments of English language for better and clearer presentation of their answers. The sex for grades, bribe for certificates syndrome needs to be checked.

There is a need to ensure the appropriate textbooks in all subjects are procured and studied side by side with the examination syllabus, syllabus should be completed before the commencement of examination.

Libraries need to go info-tech, not littered with books of 1914. While practical on-hands learning away from just examination should be incorporated.

There is a need to provide basic infrastructure, and conducive atmosphere in schools, only qualified and committed teachers who will teach their subjects effectively and guide students to become exemplary in their studies should be employed.

Not like the teacher in Bauchi State (SUEB) that inherited his grandfather’s Grade II certificate and was teaching with it or University dons that have become experts in plagiarism, selling handouts pirated from other works.

Beyond sacking the Kaduna and in fact Nigerian teachers, questions such as whatever happened to the old school inspectorates system should be addressed. If these and even more rigorous steps are taken, we may be saved the irony of “we has failed” or we will continually be tied to teachers that are nonsense and will churn out the same, for how long—Only time will tell.

Prince Charles Dickson

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What The National Stadium Told Me
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Jerome-Mario Utomi

That was a few days ago, I was invited to a religious programme at the National Stadium. When queried about the appropriateness of using a sporting facility for a religious function, my friend promptly told me that considering the number of worshippers expected, the national stadium remains the most suitable for the exercise. With this explanation given, I have no reason to probe further.

So, capped with my prayer intentions, I arrived at the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos that faithful morning for this all-important religious exercise. I had no time looking at the environment as I was slightly running late for the programme. So I made straight to the entrance gate leading to the main bowl. At this point, I had no premonition that something was amiss apart from observing the dusty and abandoned looking gate that heralded us into the main bowl of the ‘national monument.’

Setting my eyes at the main bowl pitch, my inner self-left my body, my fire-fire prayer and mood all turned contemplative at the sight of the unkempt place. From there, my confines descended into a feeling of desolation, and I became speechless for a moment and my inner self without my consent muted; what a nation.

As if that was the comment the stadium was waiting for, ‘he’ immediately responded to my inner self, saying; this is what I have been going through. Going further, the stadium narrated to me his sorry story of abandonment by his successive parents and guardians. How he has suddenly become cheerless, how the paint on his body has faded out, how the pitch has become grassless or patches, dotted with potholes and garnished with undulations.

The stadium further painted a picture of how the rodents and reptiles are now the caretakers as well as the tenants of this one-time magnificent edifice. He further expressed his profound gratitude to the religious groups that now periodically comes to know how he is faring as part of their corporal work of mercy.

There he was, silently bemoaning his fate lamented that he would never have believed that his parents would abandon him to this level of misery and decay. He, however, explained that he is not holding it against anybody while adding that I should convey his best wishes to his brothers and sisters whom he listed as – Hospitals, Economy, Schools, Industries and Infrastructures.

That was when I realized the family he comes from. But as a Christian, I started by encouraging him to ‘weep not child’ for he is not worse-off when compared with his brothers and sisters. I explained to him that his eldest brother, Hospital by name is actually in the hospital as we speak.

I informed him that his elder sister called Education has been in the coma for years. I further pointed out to him that the younger brother called industry, is in comatose while his immediate younger brother, Electricity was recently discharged from the accident and the emergency Ward of one of our nation’s teaching hospitals and I now see him indulge in walk therapy on my street once in two days while his twin brother Infrastructure, was declared missing over 16 years ago.

Again, I did point out to him that their mother is now pushing for divorce, separation or restructuring of the family setting. A development occasioned by your father’s high propensity to marginalize. But the most worrying part of this narrative, I explained is that their ‘last born, Naijade alias Crude Oil, whom God blessed with multiple talents thereby making him the breadwinner of the family is threatening to possess his possessions and possibly pull down the house on all.

He is accusing your father of not doing anything to better their living condition despite all the ‘’chop money’’ he has been contributing. After listening to my litany of challenges facing his family, he queried but rhetorically, ‘Where do I go from here?

Leaving the environment called the national stadium, just by the exit gate. I was again confronted by the statue of the late Sam Okwaraji screaming, Sir, come and listen to his basket full of stories. I immediately replied, no, I have heard enough. He fired back, ok I can summarize it using one sentence. With that addition, I pleaded, please make it snappy. And in a very hush voice but succulently said, please tell Daddy that the onetime ‘Good Boy’ is still waiting.

At the end, I had all my personal petitions granted but still went home sad. Why? Simply because the condition I saw our national monument portrays us as a nation lacking in disciplined actions and culture.

Significantly also, my visit to the stadium on that day has provided an answer to my age long belief that our leaders do not have the intention of developing sports at heart. Again, from the sorry state of our sporting facilities, it will take our leaders the strength of a bulldozer to convince our youths that they have their interest at heart.

I say this ‘with malice to none but with charity to all’. Looking at the national stadium as I saw it, one may be forced to ask if we have ever had a ministry of youths and sports development in this country.

The stadium remains a metaphor for a nation that is lacking in maintenance culture and visible level of neglects which cuts across the board; education, health, infrastructures and so on.

In all, this national monument in desolation speaks volume of what is going on in the other sectors even as we have forgotten completely that we cannot achieve the hypermodern transformation currently preached the world over with this form of laid-back leadership style.

For us, as a nation to achieve greatness, we must be holistic in approach. We must recognize that ‘the end is never cut off from means because the means represent the ideals in the making and the end of the process.

From the foregoing, what we urgently need to begin with is the act of restructuring, not our resources but that of our minds and the right time to start this shift in paradigm is now. Otherwise, we shall continue as a people to achieve the same result and chances are that we may bequeath this inactivity to our youths.

Jerome-Mario Utomi

Jerome-Mario is a Social Entrepreneur and an alumnus, School of media and communication, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria.

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Forced evictions in Nigeria leave 11 dead and 30,000 homeless
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By

Amnesty International

Nigerian authorities must halt a violent, unlawful campaign of demolitions and forced evictions of waterfront communities in Lagos State which has so far left more than 30,000 people homeless and 11 dead, human rights NGO Amnesty International stated.

A new report, The Human Cost of a Megacity: Forced Evictions of the Urban Poor in Lagos, details repeated forced evictions of the Otodo-Gbame and Ilubirin communities carried out since March 2016 without any consultation, adequate notice, compensation or alternative housing being offered to those affected. Some evictees drowned as they fled police gunfire, while at least one was shot dead.

“These ruthless forced evictions are just the most recent examples of a practice that has been going on in Nigeria for over a decade in complete defiance of international law,” said Osai Ojigho, Amnesty International Nigeria’s Country Director.

“For the residents of these deprived communities, many of whom rely on their daily fish catch to make a living, the waterfront represents home, work and survival. Forced evictions mean they lose everything – their livelihoods, their possessions and in some cases their lives.

“The Lagos state authorities must halt these attacks on poor communities who are being punished for the state’s urban planning failures. The instability and uncertainty created by forced evictions is making their lives a misery as they are left completely destitute.”

Amnesty International spoke to 97 evicted people as part of its research, all of whom told a similar story of being made homeless and losing almost all their possessions.

Communities under attack

Between November 2016 and April 2017, Lagos state authorities forcibly and violently evicted more than 30,000 residents from the Otodo-Gbame community on the outskirts of Lagos city.

In the first eviction, at midnight on 9 November, police and unidentified armed men chased out residents with gunfire and teargas, setting homes on fire as bulldozers demolished them.

Panicked residents tried to run to safety amid the chaos, with eyewitnesses reporting that some drowned in the nearby lagoon as they ran from gunfire.

Evictee Celestine Ahinsu told Amnesty International: “After a couple of days we started seeing the bodies floating. I saw three – a man with a backpack and a pregnant woman with a baby on her back. The community youths brought the bodies from the water. The relatives of the pregnant woman and child came to take their bodies.”

Nine people are believed to have drowned during the eviction and another 15 remain unaccounted for.

Of the 4,700 residents who remained in Otodo-Gbame after the eviction, some slept in canoes or out in the open, covering themselves with plastic sheets when it rained.

Four months later, in March 2017, state security forces backed up by unidentified men armed with machetes, guns and axes forcibly evicted residents who had remained.

When residents protested, they came under attack from police. One man, father of two Daniel Aya, was shot in the neck and killed.

The forced evictions were carried out in direct violation of court orders issued on 7 November 2016 and 26 January 2017. In some cases, residents were evicted while they showed police a copy of the court order that was supposed to prevent the government from demolishing their homes.

Meanwhile, 823 residents of the nearby Ilubirin community were forcibly evicted between 19 March 2016 and 22 April 2017.

After being given just 12 days’ written notice of eviction, Lagos state government officials and dozens of police officers chased residents out of their homes, and demolished all the structures in the community using fire and wood cutting tools.

Evictees subsequently returned to the area and rebuilt their structures, but these were demolished six months later with just two days’ oral notice and no consultation.

Inconsistent government response

The Lagos government’s explanations for these forced evictions have been repeatedly inconsistent.

In November 2016, it denied any responsibility for the forced evictions and blamed them on a communal clash that resulted in fires which razed down the community.

In March 2017, the government said its actions that month were taken to protect environmental health.

On 9 October 2016, the Lagos Governor also stated that waterfront demolitions are intended to stem a rise in kidnappings in the state, alleging that irregular structures serve as hideouts for criminals

In April 2017, the State Ministry of Justice said the government forcibly evicted thousands of Otodo-Gbame residents because it had reason to believe that “militants are hiding amongst the people in the Otodo-Gbame and are perfecting plans to attack the Lekki and Victoria Island environs using the settlement as a base”.

“While the state may need to address security and environmental concerns, destroying people’s homes and forcibly evicting thousands who live along the Lagos waterfronts is a completely disproportionate response and is not the answer. Forced evictions are totally prohibited under international law and never justified,” said Osai Ojigho.

Lack of safeguards and a need for investigation

All forced evictions in the Ilubirin and Otodo-Gbame communities occurred without genuine consultation with affected residents, adequate prior notice, provision of compensation or alternative housing – contrary to Nigeria’s international legal obligations. As a result, many of those evicted are homeless and have lost their livelihoods.

“The Lagos government must set up a panel of inquiry to investigate the forced evictions and attacks at Ilubirin and Otodo-Gbame. All those responsible for criminal acts – including officers of the state – must be brought to justice through fair trials,” said Osai Ojigho.

“There must be a moratorium on mass evictions until the Lagos state government has regulations in place that ensure evictions comply with international standards.

“Finally, the authorities must urgently launch an investigation into the whereabouts of all those reported missing following the Ilubirin and Otodo-Gbame forced evictions.”

Background

The findings of Amnesty International’s report are based on 18 field investigations by researchers, including interviews with 124 people and analysis of photos, videos and documents such as such as hospital records and court rulings.

Eight meetings were held with government officials, while 17 officials from the Lagos state government and the Nigerian Police were interviewed. Forensic experts analyzed photos of corpses of evictees, bullet casings and teargas canisters found in the Otodo-Gbame community following the forced evictions.

The report also documents at least three occasions between 9 November 2016 and 9 April 2017, when the residents of Otodo-Gbame were attacked by armed men who they identified as being from the neighbouring Ikate Elegushi community. At least 15 people sustained varying degrees of injuries, while one person died during these attacks. Also, on 16 February 2015, Ilubrin community was attacked by armed men, and two children went missing (bringing the total number of people reported missing by the two communities to 17).

Amnesty International shared its findings with the Lagos state authorities but has received no response.

Between 2000 and 2009, Nigerian authorities forcibly evicted over two million people. In February 2013, authorities in Lagos state forcibly evicted at least 9,000 people from Badia East to make way for a government building project. In September 2015, about 10,000 people were evicted from Badia West and the surviving parts of Badia East.

Nigeria is a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and other international and regional human rights treaties, which require it to realize the right to adequate housing, together with other economic and social rights, and to prevent and refrain from carrying out forced evictions.

Amnesty International is a non-governmental organisation focused on human rights with over 7 million members and supporters around the world. The stated objective of the organisation is “to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated.”

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The history of Amala and that of Nigeria
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Kristian Buus photo

By

Prince Charles Dickson

One does not eat “I almost” in a stew. (What one missed narrowly, one cannot enjoy at all)

Ladies and Gentlemen, from extensive and empirical research, it has been established that Amala and Gbegiri are 100% Yoruba food. Amala was first prepared by Aduke Agbedegbeyo Omo Onile ire, Opomoja Ilekan Omo Yakooyo, Omo Alokolaro of Abule Onipaki in Atakumosa local government in Osun state in 1052 in the days when Sango was the Alaafin of Oyo and Oya was his wife. That was the very year Sango spat fire for the first time.

Gbegiri on the other hand was first prepared by Anike Onibudo Omo Ajanlekoko, Omo Igi Tin Wo Loko Tin Pa Ara Ile, Omo Aja Tin Jin, Tin Pa Ero Ona. Omo Ajanaku Tii Mi Igbo Kiji Kiji. She prepared Gbegiri for the first time in 1156 at Tonkere village in Ibadan west local government of Oyo state. That was the time Timi Agbale Olofa Ina, Okunrin Bi Okuta was the Timi of Ede and his conflict with Gbonkaa of Oyo Empire was at its peak.

Alabi Abolonjeku Omo Buje Budanu of Molete in Ibadan tasted the first portion of Gbegiri. You guessed right. Abolonjeku happens to be one of the forefathers of Adedibu, the exponent of Amala politics. It was Abolonjeku of Molete that first combined the two when he visited Tonkere on one of his culinary related visits across the Oyo Empire in 1156.

I had to go through this much pain to explain this before one inbred Rhesus Monkey abi Spectacle-wearing Orangutan will come on CNN to say that this Yoruba specialty food originated in Futa-Jalon and was introduced to the Yorubas by a white missionary woman and that the best version is made in Botswana.

Some ten years ago, I wrote asking, what is a name and I asked us what Nigerian meant to us. And six years later I rephrased, asking; “What Does Nigeria Mean.” I find it appropriate in view of our present circumstances to re-visit that essay and ask us again some pertinent questions.

What is the history of Nigeria, do we have a history, and do we agree on our commonalities, our shared differences and unique oneness?

It is equally an admonishment to us as citizenry, and to those that have the privilege of leading us. The quicker we define, or rather re-define who we are the better…whether it be through new structures, restructuring of the non-existent ones, repair, fiscal federalism, or any high octane sounding word. We need to get our history right and address our future.

So, permit me to start in this fashion, after that amala gist.

My name is Prince Charles Dickson; each time I introduce myself most people move their heads trying to see a Caucasian, other times I am greeted with the question, where do you come from, amongst many other identity questions. Names…I am yet to see anybody who does not have one, the English language calls it a noun. Everyone and everything has one, from the very popular to those that are virtual unknown.

Most people have a vague idea what their name means, but few give them much more thought. The study of names is called onomastics, it is a Greek word that sounds like Onome, a Niger Delta name..ÉÕÉÀÉÕÉ Éø (onoma), which means, “name”. It is a field that touches on linguistics, history, anthropology, sociology, philology and much more.

Questions onomasticians try to answer about given names include:

* What they mean – their etymology or origin.

* How they affect the people, their cultures.

* Why names are chosen.

So my first question would be what is the etymology of the word Nigeria? While we ponder on that, the name Nigeria first appeared in print in The Times in 1897 and was suggested by the paper’s colonial editor Flora Shaw who would later marry Fredrick Lugard, the first Governor General of the Amalgamated Nigeria. The name comes from a combination of the words “Niger” (the country’s longest river) and “Area”. Its adjective form is Nigerian.

In writing this essay I spoke to a number of historians, spoke with Nigerians and no one could give me a satisfactory explanation, definition, in one word no one could give me the etymology of the name Nigeria, the common thread was that the name was given to us by Flora Shaw. It means Niger Area and I asked how many of us would name our kids Abuja, Lagos or Kaduna Area because they were born close to those places without as much as knowing the origin of the names.

What is in a name, why is it that the Jonahs, Daniels, Ibrahims, Mohammeds, and Isas, in our political landscape have not behaved to name. Can someone show me a stealing or corrupt government official and I will tell you the history, the origin, anthropology and philosophy of the name whether Muslim, Christian or Pagan and the question then is why are they like they are. Do they respect the values that their names stand for, and talking about values, what value does the name Nigeria stand for?

We are in the PMB era; however how much of that anti-graft stance has spread to the populace remains to be seen.

Is it because we do not know the meaning of Nigeria or could it be because we do not know the origin of the name that we have attached a phenomenon to it called the Nigerian myth or the Nigerian factor?

I dare say at this point that hence Nigeria has no meaning, can we not start to give it an etymology, after all what we want as Nigerians is simple; a Nigeria that is as good as its promise. We need a Nigeria that is a definition of principles, of idealism, of character, not birthplace, creed, ethnic group or tribe. This lack of origin is one that has led to a weakness of attitude, which translates to weakness of character.

Our name Nigeria has left a sour taste in the mouth right from time, we have become fanatical, we cannot change our mind, we cannot change the subject, so we are still grappling with the same problems, only the styles that change and new terminologies developed but the ideology, be it corruption or ethnicity, remains largely the same. So our culture has been shaped by the Nigerian factor, one that we have been forced to develop for lack of direction, for lack of a beginning. So as a nation we have continued with a culture of indifference.

When we do not know the meaning of our name, we do not know why it was chosen, our case can then be only likened to getting a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. Telling our leaders who are Nigerians to tell the truth is like un-Nigerianizing them, they lie about everything, they are loved for what they are not, they speak of changing Nigeria, but they are not changing. For lack of an origin, we do not know the why of Nigeria, we have leaders that have integrity without knowledge, thus they are weak and rather useless, the other lot possesses knowledge without integrity and this equally portends danger and a dreadful end.

We say great nation, yet the likes of South Africa loom over us, Ghana takes better strides than us, and smaller nation develop swagger-like-steps in electricity, good governance, sports and many areas that cower us.

Great people, we still live in the shadow of the Woles, Achebes, Okochas, our production line of quality people seems to be depreciating, not when millions remain jobless, millions graduate, baked in some form and milled into a nation that lacks a strong definition other than an imagined resilience.

Do we appreciate Nigeria, if we do not, we do not deserve it, we want the Nigeria of our dreams, with this and that, with leadership made in heaven but we have refused to go back and ask patiently what is Nigeria, who is Nigeria, what makes Nigeria? Today it is all talk about transformation, yet we forget that these are not new; no one catches a fish in anger. That Nigeria has gone wrong, should we also go wrong with Nigeria, can we not help Nigeria take a new meaning, animals do not hate and we are supposed to be better than them. Yet we live in hate…

To our leaders, the true measure of an individual is how he treats a person who can do him absolutely no good. For us the ordinary Nigerians we cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once. We cannot start to give a new meaning to this structure called Nigeria, we have to change it from a Niger area of corruption, an area of lawlessness, an area of bad leadership to an area of hope, an area of godly expectation, an area where all and sundry are treated fair and square. In contemporary Nigeria we have continued to exhibit that we have neither history nor heritage apart from all the scatters of cultures from Odua to Arewa, Biafra to South-South.

I end this with this encounter, a politician was charged with profanity for calling an opponent a bastard: the politician retorted, “When I call him s.o.b I am not using profanity. I am only referring to the circumstances of his birth.” What is the circumstance of the birth of Nigeria, can anything be done to bring destiny and fate to conjure up some good for us all?—Only time will tell.

Prince Charles Dickson

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26 Migrants, 180 million citizens and Nigeria’s troubling diplomatic relations
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Femi Tunde Okunlola

The recent death of 26 Nigerian Migrants in Italy, who were allegedly tortured and sexually abused before their death, seems to have brought about a diplomatic situation of sorts between the Federal Government and the Italian Goverment. Several questions have been asked over why the Nigerian government did not have a representative there for the burial, why the Italian government changed the initial day of the burial originally slated for the 26^th November, and had an impromptu burial 2 weeks prior, etc.

This has also opened up the sore matter of why the migration of youths still persists; It will be remembered that in January 2017, figures from the Italian Interior Ministry estimated the record of Nigerian arrivals at 36,000, with most of them claiming they were running away from Boko Haram insurgency or Niger Delta crisis.

Despite the debatable reasons given, the uncontested facts remain that most Nigerian youths see the grass as being greener on the other side; a reflection of Nigeria’s domestic reality at home. The constant migration scenario once again opens up the Nigeria’s problematic diplomatic relations with the international community. Hence, while it is tempting to view the Italian-Nigerian government back and forth as an episodic one, it is important to note that this is a drop in an ocean of diplomatic challenges which continue to directly and indirectly affect the country’s over 180 million citizens.

Nigeria’s Foreign Relations: the Misses

Nigeria has a foreign policy, but whether it is a working one or not, is a different discussion entirely. A number of factors shape the foreign policy of a state among which are the domestic environment of the state, how is the state organized, state of the economy, opportunities for citizens and foreigners and most importantly perception of the outside world on how we organize ourselves. All the aforementioned factors unfortunately have not been under the control of the Nigerian government. As this article is being written hundreds of Nigerians are en-route to Libya and the Sahara desert in search of the “better life”. In a nutshell, the domestic environment has come to mean a lot in determining the relationship between countries.

As alarming as the recent Italian scenario may look, this is not the first time that Nigeria has been caught in a diplomatic messy situation. Under the Gaddafi civil war era which left hundreds of Nigerians trapped in Libya, the delay by the Nigerian government in evacuating Nigerian citizens early enough led to a massive massacre of Nigerians. Life moved on.

The xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa have also elicited mere condemnations from the federal government, without any concrete actions and end in sight. Under the Jonathan administration, the Cameroonian government claimed to have informed the Nigerian government of intentions to release water from the dam, but after nothing was heard, the said dam was opened and a flood ensued; meaning that sometimes the government hasn’t exactly been proactive in its duties.

Several years ago, the media was agog with news of some citizens leaving the shores to join ISIS. The question persists about what has been done to stem the flow of these citizens. With these persistent flops, how do we expect other nations to take us seriously when even our coordination seems to be off in the aspect of the sync between the foreign affairs ministry?

It does appear that foreign policy hasn’t been placed as a priority by the Nigerian state, and there is copious evidence to back this up.

A way forward

The unemployment situation in the country remains a challenge and while individuals cannot be stopped from migrating wherever they so desire, movements made in droves tell the story of a challenge within. The perception of this has a damaging impact on the country’s reputation abroad. The truth of the matter is that once your economy starts failing, the respect given by the international community begins to deteriorate. It majorly starts from the economy.

The issue of citizen diplomacy which revolves around citizens’ rights outside the shores of the land, which has been pursued in recent years, has to be advanced and gaps covered. The issue of budgetary allocations for the foreign office becomes crucial. Over the years despite having over 100 diplomatic missions, the amount allocated hasn’t risen above 3 percent of the annual budget. These monies cover running costs, allowances of staff etc. This is alarming comparing the figures with that of other smaller countries; Benin Republic has dedicated 7% of its budget to its foreign relations; South Africa is also known to dedicate a serious portion of its budget to foreign relations.

The 2014 National Confab did lament the issue of foreign policy, even the current senate has lamented the poor funding of the Nigerian foreign policy, hence, what we have is a vicious cycle of poor funding, lowering of morale, Nigeria’s diplomatic staff not having the morale to ask the right questions. Note that Gabon, UK, US, Poland have now formed the habit of deporting Nigerians without relevant questions being asked. These gaps need to be blocked.

It is important to also get the right people, i.e. in terms of representation of those who run the foreign offices. The President of the country has the right to appoint the minister of Foreign affairs, and he has done this by appointing Geoffrey Onyeama who despite having an impressive CV hasn’t exactly satisfied questions on competence on the job, however worthy of note are the three offices responsible for the country’s imaging outside its shores, i.e. the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Presidency and the Diplomatic missions. In the Nigerian scenario, Abike Dabiri (presidency) has proven to be more active in terms of rising to the occasion, while the foreign affairs ministry has been a bit slow at this. When rights are trampled, these three parts need to sync.

Some of the basic principles guarding our foreign policies also need to be reevaluated. Professor Hassan Salihu; a political and foreign policy expert, postulates a need to comprehensively review Nigeria’s policy which still runs on that of the Balewa administration from the 60’s; a position which is totally different from that of 2017. Three things must be considered here, i.e. Nigeria’s location in the international system, resources presently possessed, and what interests we ought to be pursuing now. Doing this helps to answer the aforementioned questions and find relevance on the global stage.

While foreign relations under the present administration seem to have been boosted under the Buhari administration when compared to the Yaradua and Jonathan era, more must be done in line with our economy and perception as a leader in the continent, beyond the mere pride in the strength of its 180 million population.

Femi Tunde Okunlola

Femi Tunde Okunlola is a Development Broadcast Journalist and Writer from Nigeria, covering Africa, with a focus on Governance, security and Environment. He holds a Master’s in Peace and Development studies, is an Obama YALI RLC Fellow, and RNTC Netherlands Alumnus. Tweet @iam_fto, E-mail: tundeenglish@gmail.com

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26 Migrants, 180 million citizens and Nigeria’s troubling diplomatic relations
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World Toilet Day, and a nation’s expensive shit
Tuck Magazine
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EPA photo

By

Prince Charles Dickson

Nigeria—The dialogue of the deaf, demanding a lot of shouting, a great deal of gesticulation and a great deal of repetition; a dialogue which, despite all efforts, often ends in a misunderstanding—a most frustrating dialogue. Dim Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

Eran na goat o, for Yoruba land

Him go bend him yansh him go shit

Him go commot away from him shit

Him shit go be the last thing wey he go like to see

Because why o? (Because the shit dey smell!)

Obo na monkey for Yoruba land

Him go bend him yansh him go shit

Him go commot away from him shit

Him shit go be the last thing wey he go like to see

Because why o? (Because the shit dey smell!)

Obinrin na woman for Yoruba land

She go bend she yansh she go shit

She go commot away from she shit

She shit go be the last thing wey she go like to see

Because why o? (Because the shit dey smell!)

Okunrin na man for Yoruba land

Him go bend him yansh him go shit

Him go commot away from him shit

Shit go be the last thing wey he go like to see

Because why o? (Because the shit dey smell!)

Tell me now now

Me I be Fela, I be Black Power man

I go bend my yansh I go shit

I go commot away from the shit

The shit go be the last thing wey I go like to see

No be so for some fools wey I know

No be so for some stupid people I know

No be so for some fools wey I know

People wey go like to quench your soul

[Chorus]

En! Alagbon o

Them go use your shit to put you for jail

En! Alagbon o

And don tell my shit too expensive shit

En! Alagbon o

My shit na exhibit, it must not lost o

En! Alagbon o

And don tell my shit too expensive shit

En! Alagbon o

My shit na exhibit, it must not lost o

En! Alagbon o

So like many days that are marked, the World Toilet Day came and with very little attention till next year again. Many days are marked in these our fast paced world. And with very little or no significance attached to the days themselves.

So while a few reflected on the general state of our sanitation, the lack of toilets, how public spaces, and facilities do not possess any and how efforts are not made to cater for people with disabilities in the same regard.

I was torn by the hypocrisy of governance as I sang Fela’s all time classic expensive shit. In Plateau state there was a frenzy of activities largely painting all in a bid to deceive a visiting President (I hear he’s no longer visiting). Expensive Shit!

On the 10th September 2015, His Excellency, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, Executive Governor of Niger State, delivered a statewide broadcast on the state of affairs in the Power State.

Apart from the policy thrust of his government, and what he had done so far, he took time to reveal the sordid way and manner the last administration ran the State financially.

Amongst the many crimes of the big-eyed-one; “Selling of quoted shares of the State by the State Development Company amounting to more than N 500M, which was never remitted to the account of the state. Also the sum of N1.06Billion was disbursed in 2014 purportedly for Ramadan Iftar while N897M was spent on the purchase of Sallah Rams. Contract for digging of pit latrines was awarded at N6M each. This indeed must take Expensive Shit!

Meanwhile, no one should ask me, what kind of pit latrines cost N6M, and with the hunger in the land, what human waste was going to be disposed in such latrines, remains a big question, and sure it’s worth asking how much would a modern rest room have cost in the power state for expensive shit.

Such “lootocracy” is very well child’s play compared to many states, in some, websites were built for xyz sums, or monies disappeared with ghost contractors, and in others, they simply turned governance into family and clan affairs. Expensive Shit!

Tell me where is the toilet and I will show you exactly who is “shitting there”. The Ikoyi monies has become nothing but expensive shit, as the Maina Pension Scam continues many of our senior citizens have been denied toilets, and told to look at their faeces.

Expensive Shit is political language, until all those denying us a healthy sanitation are prosecuted, found guilty and punished for such despicable acts, nothing will change. And I dare say, no one would be punished; if the noise were loud enough, many would cry victimization, and leave him/her/them alone would be the chant! Faith, ethnicity and political affiliations would be currency, the law in Nigeria, which has a “big ass”, would equally play its role.

As a number of governors start their campaigns for 2019, they have forgotten the toilets they promised us in 2015 and are throwing Expensive Shit on us with their own “spree” of despicable acts, and are already on course to give us a repeat performance of what took place in Niger state.

In Lagos, we have seen the Hajj scam, in Plateau, the governor is reportedly buying properties like peanuts and painting roads that were constructed by other administrations, in Imo Rochas has completed his dissertation on sculpting based on the speed at which he seems to have erections everywhere in the state. I recall he was also one of those governors that inherited an empty treasury from himself. In Ekiti, governance has largely been Fayose-cracy, while he continues to play chief opposition leader.

While I remain a cautious optimist on the Nigerian project; many of us however are not ready to interrogate leadership, we are still yet to put interventionist mechanism and systems that can stop our leaders “expensive shit”, or build toilets that are masses-focused, do we want to clean the “shit” or we rather have latrines everywhere—Only time will tell.

Prince Charles Dickson

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World Toilet Day, and a nation’s expensive shit
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Investigate Shell for complicity in murder, rape and torture
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By

Amnesty International

Human Rights NGO Amnesty International is calling on Nigeria, the UK and the Netherlands to launch investigations into Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell, over its role in a swathe of horrific crimes committed by the Nigerian military government in the oil-producing Ogoniland region in the 1990s.

The organization has released a ground-breaking review of thousands of pages of internal company documents and witness statements, as well as Amnesty International’s own archive from the period. Some of the key Shell documents are available here.

The Nigerian military’s campaign to silence the Ogoni people’s protests against Shell’s pollution led to widespread and serious human rights violations, many of which also amounted to criminal offences.

“The evidence we have reviewed shows that Shell repeatedly encouraged the Nigerian military to deal with community protests, even when it knew the horrors this would lead to – unlawful killings, rape, torture, the burning of villages,” said Audrey Gaughran, Director of Global Issues at Amnesty International.

“In the midst of this brutal crackdown Shell even provided the military with material support, including transport, and in at least one instance paid a military commander notorious for human rights violations. That it has never answered for this is an outrage.

“It is indisputable that Shell played a key role in the devastating events in Ogoniland in the 1990s, but we now believe that there are grounds for a criminal investigation. Bringing the massive cache of evidence together was the first step in bringing Shell to justice. We will now be preparing a criminal file to submit to the relevant authorities, with a view to prosecution.”

The Nigerian government’s campaign against the Ogoni people culminated in the execution, 22 years ago, of nine Ogoni men, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, the writer and activist who led the protests. The executions followed a blatantly unfair trial and sparked a global outcry. In June 2017 the widows of four of the men filed a writ against Shell in the Netherlands, accusing the company of complicity in their deaths.

An individual or company can be held criminally responsible for a crime if they encourage, enable, exacerbate or facilitate it, even if they were not direct actors. For example, knowledge of the risks that corporate conduct could contribute to a crime, or a close connection to the perpetrators, could lead to criminal liability. Amnesty International’s new report “A Criminal Enterprise?” makes the case that Shell was involved in crimes committed in Ogoniland in this way.

In the 1990s Shell was the single most important company in Nigeria. During the Ogoni crisis, Shell and the Nigerian government operated as business partners, and had regular meetings to discuss the protection of their interests.

Internal memos and minutes from meetings show Shell lobbying senior government officials for military support, even after the security forces had carried out mass killings of protesters. They also show that on several occasions Shell provided logistical or financial assistance to military or police personnel when it was well aware that they had been involved in murderous attacks on defenceless villagers.

Shell has always denied that it was involved in the human rights violations, but there has never been an investigation into the allegations.

What Shell knew

Protests in Ogoniland were led by the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), in response to years of Shell oil spills which had devastated the environment. In January 1993 MOSOP declared that Shell was no longer welcome to operate in the region, forcing the company to leave temporarily citing security concerns.

While Shell publicly sought to downplay the environmental damage it had caused, internal documents reveal that senior staff knew MOSOP had a legitimate grievance, and were highly concerned about the poor state of pipelines.

On 29 October 1990, Shell requested “security protection” from an elite paramilitary police unit called the Mobile Police at its facility in Umuechem village, where peaceful protests were taking place. Over the next two days, the Mobile Police attacked the village with guns and grenades, killing at least 80 people and torching 595 houses. Many of the bodies were dumped in a nearby river.

From at least this point on, Shell executives would have understood the risks associated with calling for intervention from the security forces. Despite this, there is clear evidence that Shell continued to do just that.

For example, in 1993, shortly after it had left Ogoniland, Shell repeatedly asked the Nigerian government to deploy the army to Ogoniland to protect a new pipeline which was being laid by contractors. This resulted in the shooting of 11 people at a village called Biara on 30 April, and the shooting to death of a man at Nonwa village on 4 May.

Less than a week after the shooting at Nonwa, Shell executives had a series of meetings with senior government and security officials.

The minutes of these meetings show that, rather than raising concerns about the shootings of unarmed protesters, Shell was actively lobbying for the government and the security forces to allow them to continue work in Ogoniland – and was offering “logistical” help in return.

Financial support

Shell also offered financial support. One internal company document reveals that on 3 March 1994, the company made a payment of more than $900 US dollars to the ISTF, a special unit created to “restore order” in Ogoniland. This was just ten days after the Unit commander ordered the shooting of unarmed protestors outside Shell’s regional headquarters in Port Harcourt. The document states that this payment was a “show of gratitude and motivation for a sustained favourable disposition towards [Shell] in future assignments.”

“On a number of occasions, Shell’s request to the government for help tackling what it termed the “Ogoni issue” was followed by a new wave of brutal human rights violations by the military in Ogoniland. It is difficult not to see causal links – or to suppose that Shell was not aware at the time how its requests were being interpreted,” said Audrey Gaughran.

“Sometimes Shell played a more direct role in the bloodshed – for example by transporting armed forces to break up protests, even when it became clear what the consequences would be. This clearly amounts to enabling or facilitating the horrific crimes that followed.”

Naming communities

On 13 December 1993, shortly after a coup had brought General Sani Abacha to power, Shell wrote to the new military administrator of Rivers State, naming specific communities where protests against the company had occurred and requesting assistance.

One month later, in January 1994, the government ordered the establishment of the ISTF. Later that year the violence against the Ogonis reached its horrifying peak when the ISTF carried out raids on Ogoni villages, killing, raping, torturing and detaining people.

According to an Amnesty International report released on 24 June 1994 some 30 villages had been attacked and “more than 50 members of the Ogoni ethnic group [were] reported to have been extra-judicially executed.” The ISTF Commander boasted of these raids on television, and they were widely reported on. In July that year, the Dutch ambassador told Shell that the army had killed some 800 Ogonis.

Ken Saro-Wiwa in the crosshairs

Internal Shell documents show that Shell’s then-Chairperson in Nigeria, Brian Anderson, had at least three meetings with General Sani Abacha in 1994-5, at the height of the Ogoni crisis. On 30 April 1994, Anderson raised “the problem of the Ogonis and Ken Saro-Wiwa” describing the economic consequences of MOSOP’s opposition.

Ken Saro-Wiwa was already in the government crosshairs, and in raising him at this meeting Anderson recklessly encouraged action against him. Anderson reported that he came away from the meeting with the sense that Abacha, “will intervene with either the military or the police.”

Indeed, within a month Ken Saro-Wiwa and other MOSOP leaders had been arrested, baselessly accused of involvement in the murder of four prominent traditional leaders, and detained incommunicado. They were tortured and ill-treated in detention, before being found guilty in a sham trial and executed in November 1995.

Documents reviewed by Amnesty International show that Shell knew that it was highly likely that Ken Saro-Wiwa would be found guilty and executed. Still, it continued to discuss ways to deal with the “Ogoni problem” with the government. It is hard to see how Shell was not encouraging, even endorsing, the government’s action against Ken Saro-Wiwa and others.

Amnesty International is calling for investigations to be launched in the three relevant jurisdictions: Nigeria, where the crimes occurred, as well as the UK and the Netherlands, where Shell is headquartered.

“In his final words to the tribunal that convicted him, Ken Saro-Wiwa warned that Shell would face its own day in court. We are determined to make this happen,” said Audrey Gaughran.

“Justice must be done – for Ken Saro-Wiwa and for the thousands of others whose lives were ruined by Shell’s destruction of Ogoniland.”

Background

Internal company documents, including faxes, letters and emails sent between different Shell offices, show that responsibility for Shell’s actions during the Ogoni crisis do not solely rest with staff based in the country. These documents demonstrate that at all times, Shell’s directors based in The Hague and London were fully aware of what was happening in Nigeria.

One memo refers to the directors’ approval of a detailed strategy drawn up by Shell Nigeria in December 1994 for how the company should respond to criticism in the wake of the Ogoni protests. In March 1995 Shell executives in London had a meeting with representatives of the Nigerian military in London, at which they agreed to “meet from time to time” to share information.

Amnesty International wrote to Royal Dutch Shell and Shell Nigeria for comment. Shell Nigeria responded:

“The allegations cited in your letter against [Royal Dutch Shell] and [Shell Nigeria] are false and without merit. [Shell Nigeria] did not collude with the military authorities to suppress community unrest and in no way encouraged or advocated any acts of violence in Nigeria. In fact, the company believes that dialogue is the best way to resolve disputes. We have always denied these allegations, in the strongest possible terms.”

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Investigate Shell for complicity in murder, rape and torture
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Corruption Fight and the Lee Kuan Yew Example
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Clara Sanchiz/RNW photo

By

Jerome-Mario Utomi

The current climate of opinion in the country that looks upon corruption in public offices as a threat to society calls for celebration on the part of the government. But this celebration is also viewed as superficial by some commentators as the purported achievement only exists in the frame. The reason for this position as advanced is simple and comes double fold.

First, many believe that the corruption fight as orchestrated by the federal government is more of a well said rather than a well-done phenomenon. The second point is the feelings of some Nigerians that the original vision behind the onslaught against corruption was sharp but the current goal of the fight is blurred.

An effort to bridge these opposing views will necessitate an objective evaluation of the entire process with special emphasis on the strategy used so far. This inward recalculation exercise becomes imperative as the beauty of every strategy can only be pictured in the result.

With the above in mind, history becomes the only credible source of information needed to bridge this understanding disparity. That needed history and solution I have situated in the actions and inactions of Lee Kuan Yew, the pioneer prime minister of Singapore. A man that within a short space moved Singapore from the third world to first world economy.

My decision to use him as a signpost in this analysis is hinged on my conviction that he walked this part and came out beautifully victorious. Such achievement has made it crucial that we draw from his wealth of experience. Again, for the reason of clarity, it is important also for all to realize that the degree of corruption in Singapore at the period under review was more complex than the situation we are currently faced with here in Nigeria.

In light of the above, upon ascending the leadership mantle, Lee, left no one in doubt of his personal resolve, clarity of vision and singleness of purpose to end the reign of corruption in the country. How?

In his words,’ we made sure from the day we took office that every dollar in revenue would be properly accounted for and would reach the beneficiaries at the grass roots as one dollar, without being siphoned off along the way. So from the very beginning, we gave special attention to the areas where discretionary powers had been exploited for personal gains and sharpened the instruments that could prevent, detect or deter such practices.’

Conversely, when the above is juxtaposed with what we were told in 2015, you will without labour discover a gap. We were told that President Buhari is a man of impeccable character which I still believe. PMB himself told us that we must kill corruption before corruption kills us, but unlike Lee Kuan, he was silent on how the nation is going to kill corruption. That to my mind is the missing link. That hanging statement presented the President as a General surrounded by many lieutenants but lacking in command and control. Lee and his group worked as a team but the PMB handlers are lacking in the collective commitment that is needed in a team. To illustrate this point, we have witnessed recently some of his lieutenants perform the role of the Biblical Alexander the Coppersmith.

Again, at some point in the fight against corruption in Singapore, Lee, very undauntedly pointed out that ‘It is easy to start off with high moral standards, strong convictions and determination to beat down corruption. But it is difficult to live up to these good intentions unless the leaders are strong and determined enough to deal with all transgressors, and without exceptions.’

The above point is again at variance with what is obtainable in our political space. The propensity of this fight is fading and the vigour is visibly diminishing. This administration needs to borrow the body of Lee Kuan Yew in order to raise the soul of this fight against corruption

On the strategy used, Lee Kuan Yew has this to say, ‘we decided to concentrate on the big takers in the higher echelons and directed the CPIB on our priorities. But for the small fish, we set out to simplify procedures and remove discretion by having clear published guidelines, even doing away with the need for permits and approvals in less important areas. As we ran into problems in securing convictions in prosecutions, we tighten the laws in stages. Brief and Simple!

Very instructive, this is another area where we have to draw some good lessons if we are to be taken seriously by other nations. First, is the need for us to strengthen our existing laws and possibly enact new ones to suit the ever-changing legal environment. Our President must find a way to work with the National Assembly in a seamless manner if this war must be won. But let me quickly add that all laws to this effect must be made with a human face. This has become necessary as we have observed recently that suspects are left off the hook because they harnessed the loopholes and technicalities as engraved in our existing laws.

In making this call, I am well aware that there is nothing more ‘difficult to handle, more doubtful of success, and more dangerous to carry through than initiating such changes as the innovator will make more enemies of all those who prospered under old other’. But any leaders that do, come out powerful, secured, respected and happy. This is an opportunity that Mr. President must not miss.

In the same vein, efforts and energy need to be redirected to chasing the big fishes as they are the people doing the real damage to the nation’s economy. I am not in any way trying to exonerate the small takers. The security agencies should on their own part, learn the art of diligent investigation, investigations needing to be completed before prosecution. This is very germane as half-hazard investigations create escape routes for suspects. Efforts should be made to prime and position the EFCC, the ICPC and the Nigeria Police Force.

Equally important is the need for proper information management of the entire corruption fight process bearing in mind that we are now in the era of ‘let the people be informed’. The efforts and contributions of the donor agencies toward this fight should be made known to all and appreciated. Hoarding such information can only but portray us as an ungrateful nation and can equally be viewed as a corrupt practice on its own.

If efforts and contributions of donor and development agencies to save Detroit state from bankruptcy in the United States of America were made public, why must ours be different?

This time is obviously auspicious for us as a people to learn from the nations that have passed through this part as the masses are expecting from this administration not just the stamping out of corruption but a total creation of a sustainable socio-economic prosperity.

Jerome-Mario Utomi

Jerome-Mario is a Social Entrepreneur and an alumnus, School of media and communication, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria.

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Corruption Fight and the Lee Kuan Yew Example
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Naija and the Alamajiri’s Wind
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Carsten ten Brink photo

By

Fatimah Bakare-Dickson

During the third week of the twelfth month, it blew so hard, the wave whistle, you could tell on your feet, hands and face. The skin turned to scales and the feet like a broken fingernail. We all covered our hair from the harsh glare of dusty wind. The weather spared no one, even the green grass changed to rust.

In this harsh weather, I was out early in the morning for the naming of my neighbor’s son.

The women in the community gathered around the field burning firewood, mounting heavy pots and cooking for the well-wishers. From afar you could perceive the two Shinkafa and Miya Toshe. No one could resist such a wonderful meal.

Our firewood burned like images of hell that we see in church papers, maybe my exaggeration but it was the perfect fire for big pots that contained two gallons of water.

I spotted an image from afar, about the size of three rulers or 30 centimeters long, it was in the dust mixed with the smoke of the firewood. As it approached I could see a dangling bowl by the left tied to the arm of a shredded cloth and the right hand had a nylon that looks like a leather glove under the other arm, to protect him from the cold I suppose.

It was a shaking object as it approached, the two arms were underneath each other and maybe slightly breakdancing because of the weather. My heart melted as I bewildered this image.

Like they always say, the eye of a woman is the doorway to her heart. At close range I realized he was a young lad of about 8 years old. His face was wrinkled and his cheeks cracked like fingernail scratches. A penny could fit in the middle of his lower lips, they were cracked with dried blood. I could see his bruised face covered with dust. He had about five layers of clothes on, each oversized, dirty, shredded and his legs bare. His body was covered in dust and he had a pitiful look.

My interpretation of his look I believe was pathetic, but he was calm. If I could read his mind, he was born like this boy, the reason we are all gathered. He grew up like a normal child, he had dreams when he was three years old or at age four even at age five we all had a childhood fantasy of what our older self would look like. I wondered what happened on the day of his naming, was there a feast like this one we are having now or was he born homeless.

I keep wondering where he went wrong. Even society could not give him a good cloth to put on but rags.

He had parents, how much they love him I can’t tell, but I believe I cannot love him better than his parents who sent him to a boarding school, a Muhammediyah boarding school under the supervision of a Mallam. We all call them Almajiri, simply being one who migrates from the luxury of his home to other places or even to a popular teacher in the quest for Islamic knowledge, this making him a pupil.

Alongside other pupils they are supervised by a learned man called Mallam. The followers of the Holy Prophet of Islam are the Muhammediya and the initiator of this boy’s faith.

His Mallam gave him the cloth he was wearing I believe. Lost in my thoughts the little Almajiri boy walked closely to me and gave me an innocent smile. Further walking towards me and in a calm voice he greeted, Sannu, meaning Hello, his smile was of hope and contentment.

As he smiled at me, blood dropped from his broken lips which he quickly cleaned with the arm of his shredded cloth.

So many questions on my mind to ask him, but he is only a child so I need to be careful so as not to infringe on the right of his Mallam. And suddenly he let the cat out by asking first. He spoke in Hausa, the Language of Northern Nigeria, What ceremony is this? Naming I replied.

Then he smiled with his mouth squeezed so as not to further break his lips. A closer look at him I noticed he had a bright eyeball and a very full eyelash covered in dust.

Then he stretched his bowl toward my direction which I think was rude but he meant to say he was hungry. I can understand how it works especially with the homeless people. The place of merry making is an avenue for good food not even leftovers. You get yourself fed first then look for leftovers that can be taken home. Things like this happen once in a while.

I gently ask him of his parents, his reply I seem not to get at first but later I imagined it over again. He stretched forth his left hand and placed the right back hand on the left palm and in a shaking voice, I can’t remember where they are but Mallam said they are in Ilayla, a village close to Niger Republic.

It was written all over him and I clearly saw his life’s struggle and wondered how he came to be in such distress. Perhaps he was born expecting the kiss of mercy, he was born out of passion and he quickly progressed like a normal child, he was born like the reason we all gathered, he was born full of hope and aspiration, to rule and dominate the world but Instead he got the opposite of mercy; you can call it callous if you wish but the world is not just for the weak Almajiri boy. How frustrating to watch the world pass you by knowing it will never be your turn.

His outstretched hands asked for money and old rags to put on. There is no mother to put the old rags together just like Dolly Parton says in her music coat of many colors.

Hardened by circumstances and surrounded by systemic failed system.

Almajiri, an age long tradition, little boys treading life path wherever it leads choked with thorns, scales turmoil and weed. Facing the evil days with courage, hope and anguish. They are broken by the same faith they proclaim.

Fatimah Bakare-Dickson

Fatimah Dickson is a Bachelor of Film Art Graduate, she is a homemaker, and a documentation affectionado, involved in civic discuss across gender and children issues. She runs REEL DOCUMENTARIES, a not-for-profit outfit that utilizes the media in promoting change amongst women and children, and can be reached on 234 8034740500, fanightingale@yahoo.co.uk

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Now that Atiku Has Gone Beyond The Last Bus Stop
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Reuters photo

By

Jerome-Mario Utomi

That Atiku Abubakar has resigned his membership of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is no longer news. The interesting aspect of this episode is that as speculated, he has finally reunited with his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). To Atiku and his teaming supporters scattered across the states of the federation, it is more of a homecoming as he explained that the issue that made him leave the PDP in 2013 has been resolved.

With the above in mind and considering our nation’s political platform where a swapping of the tent is part of the game, one can safely situate that he committed no offense. But what made this development newsworthy is the frequency of these political switches which I view as both perennial and incessant. Added to this is the fact that he in 2013 declared that the APC will be his last bus stop. These two reasons to my mind accounted for the ripple reactions that greeted his recent actions.

However, to the keen political watchers, the above remains a non-issue as our nation’s political space has become a ‘perfect market’ characterized by free entry and free exit. It is also seen as a platform where promises are not kept and words not honoured. These developments we have seen politicians demonstrate in recent times, so Atiku might have learned from our political history which is littered with a long list of politicians that took this part in the past.

To further illustrate the above, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, shortly after the demise of General Sani Abacha, and Obasanjo’s subsequent release from prison in 1998, told the world that he was not interested in the nation’s presidency. He went ahead to query how many presidents Nigeria wants to make out of him? But the rest is now history as we all witnessed what later played out. On his part, Peter Obi stated in the past that he would never leave the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). But today, he is a card-carrying member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Again, our dear President Muhammadu Buhari after the 2011 presidential election stated that he will no longer contest the presidency. But today, he is our President and the chances are that he may go for the second term.

Having looked at the above, Atiku as a political veteran may have learned that in war, whoever arrives first and takes a position is at ease while he that arrives late labours. This fact to my mind must have informed his decision for this early departure while using the non-inclusion of youths in the APC scheme of things as a political bullet-proof. This is permissible as he is entitled to the freedom of association as enshrined in the nation’s constitution.

Critically important in my opinion is that these inter, counter and cross opinions may not be necessary as our nation’s political climate is neither hot nor cold and as a result, allows anybody to be at any place he/she may deem suitable.

In the same fashion, Atiku, driven by personal ambition to become the Nigerian president someday, must have realized that the APC, as it is currently positioned, is an encamped ground where he cannot do political battle and win, hence his decision to hand in his resignation in order to reunite with his first love, the PDP. But in doing this, the Waziri of Adamawa again failed to remember that hearing the sound of thunder does not translate to a keen ear.

The above position is hinged on my conviction that he may not be aware that the people’s support is the greatest assert he enjoys. That alone should have compelled him to honour his word as whispered in 2013.

But, with his sudden decision to move beyond the final bus stop, will he ever be trusted by his followers? Moreso, Atiku is oblivious of the fact that what binds every follower to their leaders is unwavering fate built on trust. Correspondingly, no one seems to have reminded the former VP that as a leader, he is watched closely, that people are noting every move he makes, that his followers are learning a great deal about him and what he really believes as opposed to what he said. This time to my mind is both a trying and defining moment for Atiku Abubakar.

Still on the negative side, while this waiting game continues, it is imperative for the former VP to remember that the switching of political tents shares two sorrowful characteristics with borrowing. First is this belief that once you start borrowing, it becomes your character. Based on this fact, the chances are that we may see more political movements coming from his quarter in the near future. Secondly, in borrowing, your reputation depletes. Invariably, in the estimation of Nigerians, this switching of political camps must be depleting the hard earned reputation of the one time vice president of Nigeria.

In the same manner, it is pertinent that Atiku is aware that switching is not the major solution to becoming the president as he has other stumbling factors to contend with. One of such is the ‘’I dey laff’’ phenomenon as loosely used by former president Olusegun Obasanjo during the build-up to the 2011 election. It will be a practical demonstration of wisdom on the part of Atiku to use this moment to unravel what prompted that laughter in the first instance and go a step further to turning that laughter to a welcoming smile.

In the same token, it will also not be out of place if the Turaki Adamawa can tell us the programmes he has in stock for the youths as they are waiting anxiously. This is pivotal because not having any useful programme for the Nigerian youths was one of the reasons he gave for opting out of the APC, so he should be in a position to provide leadership in this direction.

Finally, his triumphant entry to PDP on December 3, 2017 has again changed the political game plan in both the APC and PDP while reminding Nigerians that 2019 is just around the corner.

Jerome-Mario Utomi

Jerome-Mario is a Social Entrepreneur and an alumnus, School of media and communication, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria.

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Stepping Out: The Hypocrisy of Restructuring Nigeria
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By

Prince Charles Dickson

Our diversity or differences is not the problem but our will to unite is at fault. A people together not united, a people confident but not strong. The tail wagging the dog, rather than the dog…Dim CO-O

So I was invited to be guest speaker at Victor Kuchili’s annual stepping out convention, precisely the eighth one. I was asked to speak on the demand on leadership in a dynamic Nigeria; with a focus on regional agitation. I had been given the latitude to engage the subject matter as I deemed fit.

Congratulations Victor and his wonderful team who were equally launching two books, and the first caught my attention; Wealth Creation, simply because somehow it was tied to the issues I sought to address as speaker at the event, and the second stepping out was emphatic in my message that for a Nigeria of our dream to become reality we needed to take a step out of our current state of mind.

So how do we create wealth on a faulty premise? How do we become a truly wealthy nation when indeed we are at the hypocritical dichotomous T-junction? It is not possible that a nation like ours can hit half our potential when the desirable see-saw of the nation’s socio-economic and socio-political interactions cannot take place when the sheer weight of one participant ensures, at any given time, that one end of the bar firmly remains rooted to the ground.

The hypocrisy of restructuring is that we negate facts such as the need for unity for that to take place. In the absence of this, we cannot possibly see true leadership emerge, except our relationship as a people are allowed to be recreated by us abandoning our long held primordial attachments.

A nation that wants to restructure needs not fear unity, because as long as this is the case, virtually nothing can function with the requisite efficiency. We need to step out.

In my presentation I took on the late respected literary icon Chinua Achebe‘s thesis of there was a country…stating that with all the noise about the Nigerian state, one simple hard truth stands out, and that is “There was never a nation”. On the contrary, there was a collective of individuals; all with different purpose and directions, none willing to create space for the other, all sorts of mutual held suspicion and pretence of oneness, and having gone a near full circle we again think restructuring a non-existent structure will solve our forlorn migraine state.

So, as I watch even the debate on restructuring simmer down, I am amused that it is still within the parameters of a nation’s long suffered ailments. We suffer selective amnesia – we conveniently forget certain unpleasant facts about our journey as a polity. We suffer selective myopia, our vision skips areas we find unpleasant no matter how recent, and then from the not distant past we are afflicted with an equal degree of selective hyperopic; perceiving and drawing lessons only from convenient happenings in our history, convenient sources. We listen but our hearing is defective, so our hearing is equally a case of selective audition, we hear the calls and narrative we wish to hear.

Our souvenir is also selective. When we display certain indignation it is never for general application, rather it is hood based indignation, a selective morality, such that our approach to restructuring is one that what is good for the goose is almost never good for the gander.

Whether, it is fiscal federalism or state police, resource control or otherwise, a sizable construct of the conversation does not take into cognizance the ‘we’ narrative. Sadly it is a cloth of tribalism as a social philosophy, which is a construction of imaginary boundaries, which establish the ‘us’ and ‘them’ dichotomy. Based on this dichotomy we all are displaying our hypocrisy; we even look at who the restructuring would hurt most and who benefits most. We do not see it as a need to step out of old behaviors.

As long as there is no clear structure we cannot restructure, for example as long as there is no definition of, and clear concept of home, for as long as Nigerians already in Nigeria intend to eventually return home because Nigeria is not home to all Nigerians and state of origin is home, then we cannot be seen to changing anything. Wealth in Nigeria cannot be wealth until it is wealth at home, so systems for creating wealth by default are faulty.

From all I said, it becomes very clear that Nigeria rhetoric is very much at variance with concrete realities of our Nigerian situation. In many of our conversations, including this one on restructuring, it is not only at variance, the reality is a diametrically opposed question; who is deceiving who?

So we have not created wealthy persons nor a nation that is wealthy but a pseudo-wealthy nation, pseudo-elites and pseudo-middle class. Most things about us are pseudo, an alienation from that which is the truth and which is true. Life and appearances are generally untrue; acquisition of privilege has become the only criterion valid for the measurement of success.

The bane of the Nigerian society is the obsession of her citizenry to acquire wealth and the privileges it can buy. We profane tradition to acquire titles, we buy degrees, when we are not cheating during exams, and we join exclusive and secret fraternities. We wear any conceivable uniform, expensive clothes; drive expensive cars that carry exclusive numbers, build the most expensive palace, go to expensive clubs, and drink expensive beverages, put our wards in expensive schools, throw the most lavish parties and mate the most mercenary mistresses. The object is neither comfort nor luxury, just to be recognized and to further assault the underprivileged, as addicts of privilege we do not create wealth.

A Nigerian is and must be a Nigerian, as Nigerian as any Nigerian in the context of Nigeria or we continually chase shadows, fearing realism, and hating the truth. A Nigerian must feel deep inside his Nigerian-ness as a state of being that enables him or her to be Nigerian anywhere and pursue wealth legitimately and contribute to the betterment of his immediate society first and step out with the same mindset or else what we see in the mirror currently is only but the real us for now; the question therefore is, for how long—Only time will tell.

Prince Charles Dickson

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Lagos, The City I Have Always Known
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Ogunniyi Abayomi

Lagos is the commercial hub of Africa a city ascribed as the strength and heart of Nigeria’s economy. It is a state that consists of diverse cultural and religious groups, multinational companies and organisations, social infrastructure, along with a high population density that comprises of migrants from different states across Nigeria.

Lagos is considered by Nigerians a place of dreams and ambition, home away from home, city of hustlers and a place for shows and unprecedented drama, yet we neglect the challenges and tussle we encounter to survive. In Lagos, the stench and filthy aroma of waste disposals are the inconvenient environmental challenges we encounter despite the developmental projects and construction we observe daily across the street.

Lagos has its unique identity within the rowdy atmosphere of ordinary individuals who define what living in Lagos means by the zeal and aura to survive in a city that consists of 20 local governments, likewise 37 local council development areas across its territory. It’s chaotic, stressful and draining to endure the intensity and drive a cosmopolitan city offers as a middle class citizen whose pursuit is to remain a Lagosian.

Attractive is the phrase that describes the urban lifestyle in the city of Lagos, only few acquire the lifestyle, many are stranded and deprived of it, raising the doubtful dichotomy of Lagos as a city for all. Should everyone be a resident of Lagos, to make a living, to be successful in Lagos is a pertinent question many Nigerians cannot answer, its rapid development enacts the drive but the reality remains within the realm of few whose affluent position enables them to enjoy the luxury of Lagos.

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A historical land, Lagos had been occupied by several leaders in Nigeria before its status as the capital was stripped and given to Abuja, Lagos had been a major city of importance during the colonial and independent eras in Nigeria. Lagos is a land of many artefacts and a place of historical facts and importance that have been acclaimed as a global phenomenon.

Lagos state is described as the state of its own, Lagos having its lifestyle and culture likewise an identity of a unique aura no one survives if you cannot endure the intensity the cosmopolitan offers you in the business and economic sector. How descriptive can I frame living in Lagos, its rigourous and tough conditions to attain a satisfactory level beyond the charismatic nature implored.

Certain locations in Lagos are echoes of a restless city, Lagos a city in its frame and identity of its own struggle, a city that is never weary, breathing life into a huge population within its environment arousing the question; what makes Lagos thick? A city surrounded by water is an abode, individual across each geo-political zone fighting to reside on irrespective of their status and position.

These premonitions about making it big in Lagos endeared individuals to the city, observing its vibrant and energetic atmosphere as a factor to be successful, discarding the struggles encountered daily for food and shelter. Livelihood in Lagos creates a different scene and tale for everyone, few overcame its challenges, many struggled to live to its expectations irrespective of the struggles to attain its position.

Lagos is an accommodating state for strangers and indigenes of different tribes, religion and languages. Lagos as a city has no permanent occupant or indigene, it is likely seen as a land for no one, a place anyone can be sent from if you cannot afford the luxury.

The demolition of buildings and structures establishes this truth hereby various individuals are rendered homeless by voluntary actions of the government, erecting a structure for the comfort of the rich and mighty, discarding the poor. These acts have thrown the masses off balance while they seek shelter, many killed while protecting their people from the oppressive execution of order by the government.

Flickr photo

Lagos state government, in its anticipation towards the megacity project, neglects the poor people, the average market women and ordinary citizens struggling to survive, evoking an act against the mases to satisfy the elite that can afford its luxury. We observe the scene within the suburb, the presence of police and security agents at the garage chasing innocent people away with guns across the suburb, an action that is not implemented while searching or chasing a suspect.

The young man settling beneath the bridge, jobless, homeless, hapless and no regard for the future rather strive to steal, mock, assault and harass individuals hereby he is neglected and unidentified, a dramatic situation raising an alarm of ironic safety we claim to possess in the city that never sleeps. Dreams abound in the mind of an ordinary boy who arrived in Lagos on his own, his premonition about the city could be a place where he can succeed yet extort from individuals across the road, likewise being involved in illegitimate trade hereby they are not caught or prosecuted by the law.

Events are unpredictable in Lagos, every second, minute and hour are tuned to be controversial unexpectedly in Lagos, despite its ongoing development and socio economic growth, Lagos had not considered the efforts and tasks of ordinary citizens within its environment, the affluent benefiting from the struggles of the poor yet the poor are not acknowledged by the efforts to ensure Lagos is lively and effective.

Lagos is the story that is continuous, a drama that has its beginning without an end, yet it has been a city that has survived by the initiative of various political leaders whose business, economic and social acumen has built the reputation of Lagos as an economic and business driven city. Lagos has generated much revenue via the payment of tax by corporate bodies and organisations operating in the city, it has generated much that would sustain the state yet it does not change the status of living.

The uncertainty and raging issues of our transportation system are controversial. Inspite of the hard work to ensure the transportation system is effective, we encounter reckless accidents on our highway by drivers of our commercial vehicles, private cars not excluded also. Lagos has recorded a high rate of casualties via accidents despite the daily construction of roads; traffic congestion popularly known as ‘go slow or hold up’ in our Nigerian tongue, remaining a riddle that is unresolved.

The tale of the city still persists on the page of doubt despite the safe environment built for the rich, meanwhile the poor are killed along the roads, robberies persist and there has never been an end to the story of criminal activity despite its efforts to tackle crime within the suburb. Lagos is a story mixed within the realm of the affluent, the poor, the middle class and ordinary citizens whose dominant struggles explicitly define what makes Lagos thick and vibrant.

Ogunniyi Abayomi

Ogunniyi Abayomi was born July 11, 1991 in the city of Lagos, where he resides. A poet and essayist whose works have been published in various journals.

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My village and the twin plants of technology
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Fatimah Bakare-Dickson

My approach to life is to learn daily, especially by the mistakes I have made, look forward to corrections and a new life. I live in a beautiful, natural and serene environment, devoid of air pollution, electricity, telephone and whatever thing that will influence negatively. This is our belief and it has worked for us.

The village square is our pride, it is fenced with Agave plants, a lot of people mistake it for an Aloe vera plant. My father told me it was the decision of the elders to do so years back when wrestlers ran after one another just to portray the anger that lies in their strength.

Aloe vera fits the description of an Agave plant. Looking at the two plants, it has a similar appearance but Aloe vera has a gel in it while the agave has more thorns on the body, thicker and grows bigger naturally. The Agave is commonly used for fences in the rural area. It can also help during the rainy season to divert water away from the walls of the house. Physically the Agave and Aloe Vera plants have the same looks but entirely different functions.

I am a twin, the younger one by five minutes. I do not know how it is calculated but was so I was told since I was a child. Just like the Aloe Vera and Agave plants, we are two of a kind. My brother is quick to anger while I rarely pick offense.

Close to my father’s hut is his brother’s, a middle age man with scanty gray hair on his head. He is quite huge and fair skinned. He talked very fast whenever he was angry and he was one of the few that resisted technology in our village. In his argument, he believed that technology corrupted the future and it gave sight like Adam and Eve after they had contravened the law.

During the harvest season of Cassava, we were all home after a hard day at the farm. Then suddenly we saw a car approaching our compound. It is strange, we all knew and an important thing must have necessitated this visit. Masquerades they say just don’t appear at one’s doorstep without a reason.

They were two men in European dressing, one had eyeglasses and the other had hair on his upper lips close to his nose. Moustache they call it but in the village we call it “mouth hair”.

They called out for my father and my uncle at the front his hut. The four men spent time in what seemed a heated debate on issues I do not have knowledge of, but it made sense to the four. I remember they talked about masts for a network in our community and the stream for electricity generation. They were there after sunset and the moon began to appear before the four adjourned their meeting for the following day.

My brother walked in from nowhere and started singing one of Akin’s songs “In my journey through the world over land and over seas, I see different cultures and different people’s ways, I was born where the sun never sets and never rises, I was born where the heat is like a second skin. Children crying on the streets automobiles are making noise the land is growing dry and week spirit dying low. The forefathers are calling me never tired never weaken the pride in me is bursting loose am an African boy”.

There was complete silence in the compound as he was singing and chanting life experience. I expected him to study the mood of father and uncle so as not to get into trouble but instead his fearlessness pushed him on.

My uncle whispered, “the pride in me is bursting lose.” He sat looking downwards with his two arms on his thighs, nodded his head and looked at my father in confusion.

“An African boy” my father replied. I wondered what my father meant by that statement, an African boy, could it be that technology is at our doorstep and we are refusing it, are we the only technology disadvantaged people in Nigeria?

As my father and his brother continued to ponder on their discussion, my brother continued his melody; “… seven goats seven beads, seven cowries seven nuts seven lives that’s what I’ve got I am an African boy, over seas over lands over mountains in the wild I’ll be brave and I’ll be strong I am an African boy”. My father looked in amusement, what a time to sing this kind of song.

My twin brother being a fearless person, I threw a stone towards his direction, he looked at me and I blinked my eyes which could mean “Shshsh, silent”. I expected him to understand that simple sign. Instead he shouted, “what is wrong with you?” He looked towards my father and raised the stone up to make a statement and then threw it back at me. Everywhere was silent and waiting for someone to lighten the atmosphere.

Then my brother continued again, “Automobiles are making noise, never tired never weakened.” My father looked at him and this time cut in at the middle of the song, “Where are the Automobiles?”

He smiled and gave a vivid description of the tractor on the farm and the noise of the bullock that carries it. He further gave a description of how he enjoyed riding on the back of the bull once he is done working on the farm, the bulls are usually slow and it walked sideways even when going forward. I enjoy it when they do the walking for you. It is always a sweet ride after a hard day at the farm, they are the automobiles in this village.

My father and uncle are trying to weigh what the future holds and brings to our generation and indeed, time alone will tell.

Fatimah Bakare-Dickson

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Nigeria: Do you have a Gallon of Fuel?
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By

Prince Charles Dickson

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics” – Mark Twain’s Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review

You see the Nigerian looks upon Nigeria as a theatre and the entire population representing and manifesting the full spectrum of acts and actors. In this revelry, life is the theatre; the nation is the stage upon which we perform. The politicians and a few of us are the actors, very often mediocre. When stars appear it is more often because a play must have a star rather than because the player is possessed of some dramatic genius. We falter and we muff our lines; sometimes our performance takes on an aspect of the grotesque; nobody takes this seriously because it is perceived as being the nature of the play. Our people become the audience.

I once watched with bemusement, a deaf and dumb boy who caught his mom with a stranger in bed. When his father came home, the poor young boy was at a loss on how to communicate his discovery. After several futile attempts, the boy ceased trying. The father on the other hand patted him, walked into the bedroom and was scolding the wife, he asked her why she was sick, rolling on the bed and could not call for help from the neighbors or the family doctor.

So while we were engaged with movies such as Atiku rejoins PDP, and allied PDP politics of convention. From far away Imo state’s Rochas continued his nights of 1000 laughs by adding to his collection the commissioner for happiness and something-onething. In our education sector, SSANU, NAAT began an indefinite strike, also the Social Media remained lively with the #endsars. My President was equally in Kano state throwing jabs at the opposition PDP or rather opposition Atiku, and reiterating his promises on anti-graft and other mouthing.

And in all these events, the main movie of the year, one that has become a reoccurring decimal…Fuel Scarcity was silent released, from Lagos, it crept into Ogun, soon as usual Abuja had the queues and Jos, and environs are feeling the heat already. Black marketers have since resumed work.

It can only get interesting and clownish, as with all things Nigeria and Nigerian, reporting national daily Guardian had this “The Federal Government has blamed the ongoing fuel scarcity on increased demand by nations in temperate regions. Addressing State House correspondents after a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said: “This is winter period. There is always more demand for refined products from petroleum during winter in the colder countries. This is what we are experiencing now.”

Notwithstanding, he said the Council directed the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu and the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, to end the situation before the end of the week. Mohammed also insisted: “The government has no intention at all to increase the pump price of petrol.”

Marketers meanwhile are blaming the NNPC for alleged favoritism in distribution of petrol. The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) monitoring team visited five depots: Obat, Sahara, Nipco, Dee Jones and Aiteo and discovered an uneven allocation of products.

Consequently, the Assistant Director, Retail Outlets Monitoring, Downstream Division, DPR, Mrs. Ijeoma Otti-Onyeri, who led the team, compelled private depots with products to give priority to Lagos State in order to end scarcity. She ordered that 80 per cent of what was being loaded should be delivered to Lagos

“This is winter period. There is always more demand for refined products from petroleum during winter in the colder countries. This is what we are experiencing now.” Are we doomed to fail, is this man for real, how did we really get to this point?

Meanwhile, Kachikwu at a press briefing in Abuja the following day blamed the fuel crisis on gap in supply of petroleum products. “There was obviously some level of gap in terms of volume. That gap arises from the fact that NNPC is the only one that is importing products currently. Most of the private sector, who are expected to import, were not able to bring in products. And some of them are pushed back till January. So, you have NNPC trying to fill up 100 per cent capacity.” An explanation that contradicts one earlier given by same government he serves in.

To an already horror movie, is that, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) equally issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government vowing to shut down all oil and gas installations.

In a statement signed by its general secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN alleged some indigenous oil and gas companies and marginal field players were operating unfair labour practices. It also expressed displeasure over alleged mass sack of Nigerian workers.

For Nigerians all this remains tiring, this is a nation that is hungry and not in protest mode. There’s no fuel scarcity but fuel criminality with a leadership that lacks will.

Where are the refineries promised, and all that propaganda of refineries that received budgetary allocations called ‘Turn Around Money’ and were working at various percentile capacities?

As usual no PMS in the fuel stations but unregistered and black marketers all have the commodity. For decades we continue to suffer the December Fuel Flogging with all those responsible rationalizing and justifying absurdities. It is even more disheartening when the intellectual efforts and voice of elites are at the heart of such theatricals due to ethno-religious cleavages birthed on economic disenfranchisement.

The future of Nigeria is bright and interesting, but scary if we reflect on it. Teachers are illiterates, students can’t go to school because schools are closed down and alternatives unaffordable, the change is bleak…with minds largely improvised and constantly in the queue at the end of the year.

In a functional society, a working democracy with a strategic plan, a modern mass transit system, which connects cities to towns, workers to businesses and government facilities, in order to foster the productivity of the entire economy would have been a part recipe.

The fuel management chain is a lucrative cankerworm of corruption, a serious government can yet tackle it, and it’s beyond committees and white papers. The question that has almost been fully answered is, this really may not be a serious government.

Mr. Buhari can, I believe he can but he doesn’t know that he can, I doubt if he’s ready. The hawks are having a field day but each fleeting moment, three facts of life beckon; the rising of sun, setting of the moon and truth—Only time will tell.

Prince Charles Dickson

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Baggage of the 2030 Sustainable Agenda
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By

Jerome-Mario Utomi

There was a veiled agreement among stakeholders at a recent gathering in Lagos that the governments in Nigeria at all levels are shirking the traditional but universal responsibility of provision of economic and infrastructural succour to the citizenry which the instrumentality of participatory democracy and election of leaders confer on them. The passionate plea for government-private sector collaboration for sustainable development underscores this assertion, thus eliciting this jigsaw: If it has been said that the government has no business in business, what business does the private sector have helping the government to do its business of providing quality governance to the populace?

Essentially, participants at a recent one-day international conference were unanimous that the 2030 sustainable agenda has partnership and collaboration at its centre. It was clearly stated that the scale and ambition of this agenda calls for smart partnerships, collaborations, ecosystem thinking, co-creation and alignment of various intervention efforts by the public and private sectors and civil society. The conference which had as a theme; Partnership for sustainable development and innovation, was jointly organized by the First Bank sustainability centre and Lagos Business School, Lekki, Lagos.

The event was among other goals aimed at finding an ‘urgent need for creative and innovative thinking by all strata of the society-public and private sector and civil society to promoting sustained and inclusive economic growth, social development and environmental protection’.

Different speakers present at the event brought to the fore the reality of infrastructural deficit facing the country and government’s helplessness in this regard hence the clarion plea: “Government partnership with the private sector is needed for the provision of infrastructure for sustainable development”. After listening to different speakers present at the event, it has dawned on me that this must be a trying moment for our nation especially when it was mooted that bridging the infrastructural deficit, which will form a major indicator for determining the success or otherwise of the agenda, will require a whopping sum of 2.3 trillion US Dollars. That obviously got me thinking as it reminded me also that we are in a nation that is characterized by policy inconsistency and lacking in committed leadership

Still ruminating on this whole thought of sustainability as discussed, I had the opportunity of driving through Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okojie ‘way, in Ikoyi, a street that houses the now abandoned federal secretariat. Casting a glance at the complex, the question that readily flooded my mind; If we draw on this federal secretariat building as a key performance indicator to appraising the government effort to bridge the infrastructural deficit in Nigeria as explained at the conference, can Nigeria achieve this 2030 sustainability agenda?

Indeed, critical minds will not take the federal government seriously in its bid to attain the 2030 sustainable agenda or consider the corruption fight as orchestrated after looking at this abandoned edifice, as this is worse than corruption.

Adding context, this issue raised is not the primary concern of this piece but apparently will point at the bigger frame of obstacles that may prevent us as a nation from achieving the said 2030 sustainable agenda. Again, the sorry state of the onetime edifice also reminds me of our penchant for project abandonment which may likely blur this vision and damage the goal as envisioned by the United Nations.

Synoptically, I must acknowledge the fact that I am aware of the transaction gone sour and the inherent friction created between the federal government and the parties involved. Also noteworthy is the federal government elusive search for a truce. But while this search is ongoing, the complex is telling our sorry story to the world.

So using the above scenario as a dashboard to correcting our leadership challenge which is gravitating towards becoming a culture, it would be important for us as a nation to openly admit and adopt both structural and managerial changes if achieving this agenda is at the centre of our goal. This to my mind will necessitate our leaders welcoming approaches that impose more leadership discipline than conventional, and creating government institutions that are less extractive but more innovative in operation.

This shift in action is important as ‘we cannot solve our socio-economic challenges with the same thinking we used when we created it’. And this time is auspicious for our government to bring a change in leadership paradigm by switching over to a leadership style that is capable of making successful decision built on a higher quality of information while dropping the age long mentality which presents execution as more important than idea incubation.

This leadership fence mending becomes crucial as it is considered by many that if Nigeria fails to get it right, Africa as a continent will in turn not get it right. Correspondingly also, if Africa as a continent fails, it means the 2030 sustainable development agenda as planned will be considered a failure the world over. This position underscores the consciousness and industry that is expected from Nigeria as a nation and supports my belief that government rather than the private sector should provide the needed drive of this agenda.

To further buttress the imperativeness of this needed commitment from all the parties in tackling the agenda, the conference stressed that the partnership is at the very centre of the sustainable development agenda as It is both a means to an end, since it is a crucial enabler for the attainment of the other goals and an end to in itself since goal 17 is a means of implementation and revitalized global partnership’.

Catalyzing this needed partnership between the government and private sector in the race for massive infrastructural development will again call for a higher level of transparency on the part of the government. Transparency will remain the cornerstone as it will increase the confidence expected by these interventionists’ private sectors as well as the civil society groups who may not be disposed to investing in an environment that is devoid of transparency and accountability.

Very instructive also, finding a solution to the societal problems vis-a-vis youth unemployment and developing a climate of sustainable future and innovation is another part of the goal that needs a disciplined attention if this agenda is to be achieved. Talking about the youth unemployment in Nigeria, a report recently puts it this way ‘we are in dare state of strait because unemployment has diverse implications. Security wise, large unemployed youth population is a threat to the security of the few that are employed. Any transformation agenda that does not have job creation at the centre of its programme will take us nowhere’

Youths challenge cuts across, regions, religion, and tribe, and have led to the proliferation of ethnic militia as well as youth restiveness across the country. This may, in turn, hamper the peace needed if handled with levity. But this threat has become more pronounced in the oil-rich region of the country with the chunk of the proponents spearheaded by the large army of professionally-trained ex-militants currently without a job. Proper management of these teaming youth is the panacea to determining the success or otherwise of the 2030 sustainable agenda, It is only by engaging these teaming youths through employment creation that the incessant youth restiveness can be abated.

One fact we must acknowledge is that the 2030 sustainable goal was formulated to, among other aims, promote and cater for people, peace, planet, and poverty but nurturing to bear the premeditated result will depend on not just the private sector but our government.

Jerome-Mario Utomi

Jerome-Mario is a Social Entrepreneur and an alumnus, School of media and communication, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria.

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Baggage of the 2030 Sustainable Agenda
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