The Spokesperson Coalition of Concerned Civil Society Groups, Comrade Nelson Ekujumi stated that the panel arrived at a conclusion without premise

The human right and good governance advocate, said this in an interview as a guest on CityTalks with Reuben Abati where he seemed to have agreed with the position of the Lagos State government on the White Paper Report.

Ekujumi opined that the Whitepaper has come to do justice to inconsistencies.

The White Paper on the Judicial Panel of Inquiry report set up to investigate the Lekki Toll Gate incident on October 20, 2020 has elicited mixed opinions.

On October 20, 2020, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu launched a judicial panel led by Justice Doris Okuwobi to investigate petitions alleging police brutality in the state and alleged protester shootings.

The panel issued two reports on November 15, one on police brutality cases and the other on the probe into the Lekki incident.

Following the panel's report's submission, Sanwo-Olu formed a four-member team to draft a white paper on the panel's recommendations.

The white-paper committee will be chaired by Lagos Attorney-General Moyosore Onigbanjo.

The Lagos State Government revealed in the 24-page document that it accepted eleven (11), rejected one (1), and accepted six (six) with modifications out of the 32 recommendations made by the Judicial Panel of Inquiry in its Report dated November 15, 2021.

Fourteen (14) proposals fall outside of Lagos State government's powers and will be referred to the Federal Government for consideration.

Ekujumi stated that he found it worrisome that the findings of the Judicial panel were not based on facts and evidence, but was premised on “hearsay.”

According to him, there are many inconsistencies and contradictions in the report that was submitted by the Justice Okuwobi’s panel.

He recalled three observations he had noticed in the report; “Nathaniel Solomon who said that his younger brother, Solomon Abuta was killed at the Lekki Toll gate.

“In the findings, I saw his name among the deceased.

“And that tells you that something is wrong with the Judicial Panel report and findings,” Ekujumi said.

He added, “When you look at the story concerning the death of his brother, this was a petitioner whose story was not corroborated by any utter of evidence.”

Another instance, Ekujumi mentioned was that of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Maroko Police Station and his men who were alleged by petitioners of being responsible for deaths of protesters on October 20, 2020 after the army had left.

The DPO was allegedly wearing white jalabia when he led his men to the toll gate and shot at protesters and killed them. 

He said, when the petitioners were asked about photo or video evidence of the DPO with white Jalabia bearing arms with his men; they didn’t have.

He stated further, that when the counsel summoned the DPO, he challenged his accusers to produce any iota of evidence to back up their claim. In addition, he told the panel that wearing a jalabia is not part of the police uniform, and that he could never have done so for safety and security reasons while on an operation.

Ekujumi added that when the petitioners were called for a rebuttal; they had no evidence.

Another mention by Ekujumi, was that of someone who was awarded N10 million who was not a petitioner.

He said, “From my own little understanding of the Judiciary, they are not a father Christmas.

“The person is not a petitioner; how did the panel resolve that they should give her N10million?”

When field with question concerning by Dr Reuben Abati about the position of Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), where the SAN said that the Lagos State is not in the position or has no power to either accept or reject recommendations of the panel, and what is regarded as inconsistencies are basically computer errors and there are more revelations that he will be willing to bring to the table.

In a reaction by Ekujumi, “if Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN, has any quarrel with the findings of the panel’s report and as well as the white paper released by the government, he has the option of going to court to challenge the white paper or the legality of the white paper.”

The world’s greatest fear about the coronavirus pandemic was confirmed last week with the discovery of a new mutation of the virus, known originally as the B.1.1.529, a development which reminded us strongly that the pandemic was far from over. More than 20 months after the virus was detected in Wuhan, China, the world has gone through many twists and turns, with lockdowns, travel restrictions, a global demand and supply crisis, the struggle to find a vaccine, and the politics of vaccine manufacturing and vaccination. By the middle of 2021, economies began to return to the path of recovery. Economists had also started thinking of better possibilities in the new year. But the emergence of a new coronavirus variant has sent shock waves around the world. Last Friday, currencies and markets plunged. Crude oil lost as much as $10 per barrel. The Dow Jones Average dropped 900 points. By yesterday, the Australian dollar, the Japanese yen and the Mexico peso had rebounded slightly but Omicron as the new variant has now been named clouds the economic outlook for the immediate future in many countries around the world. What comes next will be dictated by what scientists end up with as they buy time to understand the nature and transmissibility of this new mutant.

What is certain is that economic uncertainty has risen. Economists have been compelled to be a bit humble with their scenario planning. Omicron is a major setback in the battle against COVID-19 and a dent to whatever progress may have been made so far. We face the prospect of a compromised Christmas season, and a long-running conversation about COVID-19. There is a ring of familiarity to it. We have been here before but the uncertainty is deeper this time around because of the threat of “vaccine escape”; that is a new strain of the virus which may evade immunity responses and prove to be resistant to existing vaccines. Omicron is said to be most likely more deadly than the Delta variant, with 30 or more mutations in the spike protein which raises the risk of immune evasion.   

Evolutionary virologists often talk about the infinite capacity of viruses to evolve, but the only consolation is that no virus can transform itself forever, it can only evolve until it reaches a genetic end-point. But who knows how much more havoc COVID-19 would cause before it reaches that end-point? Angelique Coetzee, the Chair of the South African Medical Association who alerted health officials to a certain variant with a “clinical picture that doesn’t fit Delta”, and who treated 30 patients has been quoted as saying the symptoms of Omicron are relatively mild. Whereas such statements may give hope, the truth is that no definitive scientific statement has been made yet on the latest variant. In South Africa, COVID positivity rate jumped from 3.6 % on Wednesday to 9.2% by Saturday. In the UK, Health Secretary, Sajid Javid says government is nowhere near imposing further restrictions. But the truth is that around the world, Omicron has sparked a chain of reactions. From Europe to Asia, to North America, travel restrictions have been re-introduced, stringent travel protocols have been imposed on travellers from certain parts of the world, especially Southern Africa where the strain was first reported in Botswana, and then later confirmed through genome sequencing by South African scientists. The new strain was brought to international attention by November 25.

The unfortunate part of the Omicron saga so far would be the initial attempt to stigmatise the countries of Southern Africa and label B.1.1.529, an African variant. By weekend, one country after another including the United Kingdom and Israel had banned flights to and from six Southern African countries; South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini and Zimbabwe. Israel added Mozambique, and then later banned travel from all foreign countries. By Monday, Indonesia had surprisingly added Nigeria. The US had a list of eight countries. It added Malawi to the existing list of Southern African countries. Paraguay has restricted entry form 10 African countries. The push back from Africa was prompt and swift. South Africa protested an attempt by the international community to mischaracterize it for making information available to the global community. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has accused Western countries of discriminating against South Africa by imposing “scientifically unjustified” travel restrictions. Dr Matshisido Moeti, Africa WHO Regional Director added that the travel restrictions would place a “burden on lives and livelihoods.” President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akiwumi Adesina also spoke against stigmatization and called for vaccine equity as a more important target for the world. Malawi’s President, Lazarus Chakwera, has accused Western countries of “Afrophobia”. The attempt at stigmatization was brief, and perhaps, it died abor-ning. For a brief moment, however, attention was drawn to the politics of COVID-19 or perhaps the politicization of the international public health system. In 2020/2021, former US President Donald Trump insisted on referring to coronavirus as the China virus. The WHO eventually introduced the Greek alphabet classification of COVID variants of concern in order to eliminate stigma and emphasize the international character of the pandemic.

Omicron is the fifth variant to take on a Greek alphabet identity.  Alpha. Beta. Gamma. Delta. And now OMICRON. The conflict between man and pathogen is perhaps one of the most momentous events of the century. It has advertised not just the divisions in international politics, but also the inequities in the world. Developed countries have been able to vaccinate more than 60% of their populations – 64% in North America, 62% in Europe.  They have excess vaccine doses. In the UK, for example, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recommended that children aged 12 -15 should be offered a second jab after their first.  Adults over 18 can now get booster jabs. The gap between second doses and boosters has been reduced from six to three months. In comparison, low- and middle-income countries have not been able to vaccinate up to 10% of their populations. A combination of inadequate supply, infrastructural challenges, vaccine hesitancy, lack of syringes and other facilities, together with a new mutant strain is bound to put additional pressure on those vulnerable countries of the world. US top infectious diseases adviser and President Joe Biden can afford to tell their people not to panic, but the poorer countries of the world should panic. They have every reason to do so.  This should be the focus of the emergent conversation. How can the world save its most vulnerable people? What should be the priorities for policy makers? What kind of new challenges is the world facing, and what is the best way to address those challenges for the benefit of the larger majority irrespective of geography, colour or faith?

This is why in fact, it makes sense that a group of Nigerian virologists has been calling on the Nigerian government not to leave anything to chance.  Amid the subtle labelling of South Africa as the source of Omicron, which it is not, Nigeria plays host to President Ramaphosa on his first state visit to the country. This is a demonstration of African Brotherhood, a strong element in the foreign policy process of many African countries. What is confusing, however, is that as of the time of this writing, the Nigerian managers of COVID-19 do not even know whether there is the Omicron variant in the country or not. About this same time, Nigeria has been included in a list of countries from which travel had been restricted by the Indonesian authorities. Similarly, the Ministry of Health in Ontario, Canada reported that three persons who had travelled to Canada through Nigeria have tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19. What is the truth about Nigeria? Does anyone know? Why would Nigeria be mentioned in Indonesia and Canada in association with Omicron, and all that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) can tell us is that the agency is still busy with surveillance? Is there something that is known to Indonesia and Canada about us that we need to find out?  Whatever the truth may be, Nigeria must like other countries take necessary precautions. The country has so far managed to survive every other strain of the virus. It is a miracle how Nigeria is not a hotbed of infections. On December 1, the Federal Government’s COVID mandate will come into effect in all Federal establishments. Federal workers who may not be vaccinated by that date are expected to stay away from work, or get vaccinated immediately. Leaders around the world are treating Omicron with caution. They do not want to repeat past mistakes. Nigeria must not fold its arms.  It is not impossible that the Omicron variant is already present in Nigeria.

Vaccine makers – Moderna, Pfizer and BioNtech are racing against time to come up with Omicron-specific vaccines, but this could take weeks, if not months. No one knows. This moment calls for leadership. President Joe Biden stepped up to be counted yesterday when he took charge of the narrative in the United States and addressed the people. The key point for me in President Biden’s intervention is his submission that travel restrictions may slow down the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, but it may not prevent it. The surest protection still lies in vaccination. Which is why the main challenge is in getting the under-privileged parts of the world vaccinated.  But where would the poor find the vaccines? The United States has no plans to fight COVID with shutdowns or lockdowns but with “more widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing and more”.  Can any of the poor countries say the same? If the new variant proves to be deadly, it is the poor that will bear the brunt. Nigeria recently launched a mass vaccination campaign that would be driven by private-public sector collaboration to get the vaccine to the people in all possible places including the market place. It is important to secure the buy-in of the sub-nationals, the level of government closer to the hinterlands where the majority of the people live.

Nonetheless, the biggest challenge in Nigeria is what can best be described as the people’s COVID fatigue. In the early days of the pandemic, it was possible for the Nigerian government to impose nationwide lockdowns, restrictions of movement and compulsory use of masks in public places. Nightclubs, and restaurants were shut down in major cities and towns. Places of religious worship were required to follow strict COVID-19 protocols. I recall how in those days, even super markets observed social distancing rules. Only a specific number of persons were allowed on the shop floor at any time. Temperature checks were enforced and of course, the use of the mask was compulsory. But life has since returned to normal in Nigeria. Nobody cares anymore. Events centres are now filled to the brim every weekend. Those task forces in the Federal Capital Territory and in Lagos which used to monitor the space and enforce compliance have all been disbanded or have been downgraded. I hardly see anyone wearing a mask these days. The few who still wear the mask seem as if they are doing so to fulfil all righteousness. I have seen masks used as chin-guards, or as fashion items - those masks whose designs blend with the main attire, conveying the impression that the main consideration is not public health but the vanity of the mask wearer. Some people have different colours to match different attires. They now regard COVID-19 as a joke, a source of amusement. The minimum that a country like Nigeria can do is to urge a return to the general COVID protocols: wear a mask; wash your hands and observe social distancing, and get the people vaccinated.

Nigeria is not doing enough to combat the virus. In one report, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) indicates that only five state governments are taking the COVID mass vaccination seriously: Ogun, Nasarawa, Oyo Osun, Ekiti. Lagos state shows up as No. 6 on the chart. Civil society groups have a responsibility to save the populace from the increasing threat of COVID-19. OMICRON should be a wake-up call, a reminder of how as human beings, we remain almost fatalistically, at the mercy of the vagaries of the environment and its many pathogens.

The Former Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr Muda Yusuf stated that Nigeria is between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Dr Yusuf said this on Saturday on CityTalks with Reuben Abati on City 105.1.

However, the fuel subsidy removal is not a new subject to Nigerians. The Jonathan-led administration attempted it in 2012 but resulted to protested from Nigerians that was tagged “October 22” which known as “occupy Nigeria.”

Recall recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank recommended to Nigeria that if they don’t deregulate petrol by the first quarter of next year; it may become very difficult to pay salaries.

Dr Yusuf opined that there is an invest angle to conversations that the petroleum downstream sector, and have been staffed of investment.

He added, that they have effectively blocked private capital into that space.

“When you have a policy that is blocking investment into a very critical sector, then it is the economy and the people that will pay for it,” he said.

The economist raised some major arguments which has a social effect on our economy: “One strong argument he raised, is that we need a policy regime that will allow investments to be private capital to go into that sector.

“Second major argument, is what he called the revenue argument. Close to 40% of government revenue is used for payment of subsidy.

“As a country facing challenges in infrastructure, roads and education and we are spending close to 50 % of our revenue on payment of subsidy; that calls to question what kind of priority we have as a country.

“The debt profile is increasing, the fiscal deficit is increasing, debt service component is increasing, and all of this thing is also affecting us one way or the other as citizens.

“The employment effect: the private sector is a source of generating quality jobs for that matter and once they are blocked from investment, how can jobs be created.

“Our foreign reserves: our refineries are not working, consequently putting a lot of pressure on our foreign reserves,” he said.

He raised his observation that only the technocrats, and NNPC have said much about the removal od subsidy but the political actors are not speaking much.

In his view, “People who want to aspire to offices, wouldn’t want the chances to be jeopardized by this very big issue but the impression that have being given that the government is ready to ensure that these things go ahead.”

When fielded with question on the N5000 proposed for 40million Nigerians, he said “it is still a proposal for further engagements but what is important is that government has demonstrated a willingness to at least put something on the table to cushion the effect in the short term.”

He added, “There are concerns about the integrity of the database itself.”

According to him, “there is no difference btw now and 2012 but for now the message has to be stronger and the people should understand that this is the way to go otherwise if we spent all our recourses on fuel subsidy, we all suffer for it.”

Dr Yusuf recommended engagement and communication so that it can be implemented.

City FM is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Programme: CITY TALKS WITH REUBEN ABATI

Time: 11:45am

Guest: Dr. Muda Yusuf (Former DG LCCI)

Topic: Proposed fuel subsidy removal

Date: 27 November 2021

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In a recent interview with Arise TV, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN had indicated that the Federal Government of Nigeria may consider a political solution to the matters involving Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples Organisation of Biafra (IPOB) and Sunday Igboho, the self-determination, Yoruba Nation activist, currently in custody and on trial in Benin Republic. But only if an approach in that direction was proposed to the Federal Government. It is therefore not surprising that within two weeks after this declaration, a delegation of Igbo elders led by 93-year-old statesman, former Minister of Aviation in the First Republic, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, the trade unionist known as “The Boy is Good”. Known as the Highly Respected Igbo Greats, the delegates included former Anambra State Governor, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Bishop Sunday Onuoha of the Methodist Church, former President of Aka Ikenga, Chief Goddy Uwazurike and Tagbo Amaechi.

Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, speaking on behalf of the Igbo Greats (representatives of Igbo Greats actually because there are so many of them across the globe), pleaded for amnesty for Nnamdi Kanu. This request must have been made in full knowledge of the fact that a political solution is indeed possible under the circumstances, as opposed to a strictly legal or authoritarian approach, and that whereas the former could result in healing, reconciliation, a sense of justice and accommodation, when in the past the Nigerian government relied on authoritarian and heavy hand choices, the country ended up paying a heavy price. Remember the trial and murder of Ken Saro Wiwa in November 1995. Against all counsel to the contrary, the Abacha military junta went ahead and killed Ken Saro Wiwa on November 10, 1995.  Nigeria has not yet recovered from that error of judgment.

Decades after, the world continues to memorialize Ken Saro-Wiwa and the ideals for which he lived, fought, and for which he ultimately paid the supreme sacrifice – the rights of the Ogoni people to self-determination, their right of control over their own resources, and the need to sanction the abuse of the environment by the oil multinationals. In contrast, the men who ordered his death, those who danced on his grave are either dead or forgotten, their legacy a faint memory of shame, and evil. Saro-Wiwa was a champion of his people’s rights to be treated fairly and justly. He was President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). The Nigerian state, like a colonial overlord, deployed divide and rule tactics among the Ogonis. Ken Saro-Wiwa was turned into the fall-guy and scapegoat in the unfolding spectacle of intra-fratricidal conflict. For those who remember history, this is a fairly, contemporary cautionary tale.  Leaders who wish to avoid the mistakes of history must first appreciate the value of it not merely as narrative but as a source of learning and wisdom.    

We are not in a position to teach history to President Buhari’s guests nor to the President himself who have all been major witnesses to Nigerian history and indeed architects of it, each in his own way. President Buhari’s response was loaded, rather cautiously, he gave nothing away. The best that the Igbo Greats went home with was the promise that he would consider their rather difficult request. Hear him: “You have made an extremely difficult demand on me as leader of this country. The implication of your request is very serious. In the last six years, since I became President, nobody would say I have confronted or interfered in the work of the judiciary…The demand you made is heavy, I will consider it…”

The meeting with the Igbo Greats on the matter of Nnamdi Kanu is perhaps the most noteworthy attempt in that regard so far. It was initiated and led by persons who were not seeking any immediate political gain. If that meeting had been led by politicians or state Governors, nobody would have taken them seriously. But can the President grant the Amnesty? Yes, he can. And there is a precedent in that regard. The President’s powers to grant Amnesty, otherwise described as the prerogative of mercy, exist under Section 175 (1) of the 1999 Constitution. Section 175 (2) and (3) define how such powers may be exercised. This section of the law was applied in the Henry Okah case in 2008/9. Okah, based in South Africa, was identified as a major leader of the then notorious Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). The group, fighting for the rights of the people of the Niger Delta, kidnapped foreign oil workers, destroyed strategic oil installations and posed a threat to the economic interests of the country. Okah was arrested in Angola and deported to Nigeria in February 2008. He was charged with 62 counts of treason, terrorism, illegal possession of arms, arms trafficking, with the possibility of a death penalty. Like IPOB today, MEND also had a spokesperson - one Jomo Gbomo. MEND also had a militant wing led by self-styled Generals. In 2009, the then President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, acting on the recommendations of the Presidential Panel on Amnesty and Disarmament for Militants of the Niger Delta proclaimed Amnesty for Okah and other militants pursuant to Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution.

The other ground on which the accused person can be set free is under Section 174 (1-3) of the 1999 Constitution, where the Attorney General of the Federation can intervene in any proceedings in any court of law in Nigeria other than a court-martial, with regard to any offence at all, and either take over the case or discontinue it through the instrumentality of a nolle prosequi. The AGF is required to do so however, in person or by proxy, with “regard to the public interest, the interest of justice and the need to prevent the abuse of legal process.” Further, the Constitution grants the Attorney General full and express authority here, without recourse to the President but because the offices of the AGF and that of the Minister of Justice are combined under our jurisdiction, the AGF is not just a Chief Legal Officer of the Federation, he is also a political appointee, Cabinet Minister, in his capacity as a Minister of Justice. Hence, he hardly acts independently, without the approval of the President. In effect, under both Sections 174 and 175 of the 1999 Constitution, the Executive arm of government can free or grant amnesty to any accused or convicted person, before, during or after a trial. The argument that this would amount to a violation of the doctrine of the separation of powers is mainly academic. However, there may be other issues of concern that define the President’s circumstances.

A notable difference between the request for amnesty by the Igbo Greats seeking amnesty and the MEND case, for example, was that both Henry Okah and the Niger Delta militants in MEND, agreed to the disarmament and amnesty plans as outlined by all parties involved. The second is that the amnesty was not for Henry Okah alone but all militants who were willing to cease hostilities. The long-term effect was the gradual return of normalcy to the Niger Delta and the eventual creation of a Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. In the recent Igbo proposal, the only name that was mentioned for amnesty was that of Nnamdi Kanu. What about lieutenants and sympathisers of the IPOB cause? Who will plead for them?  The “many soldiers of the revolution” languishing in detention centres. Chief Amaechi said of Kanu to President Buhari that if he was released to him, “he would no longer say things he has been saying.” He added that “he could control him not because I have anything to do with IPOB but I am highly respected in Igboland today.”  

But did Chief Amaechi and the Igbo Greats consult with Kanu and his followers? Were they notified about the visit to Aso Villa? It is culturally acceptable in Africa for elders within the community to step forward to protect their children when they seem to be at war with external forces. It is part of the duty of the “ummuna” to protect its own. There must a proverb for this in one of Chinua Achebe’s novels most certainly! But even the children that need to be saved must be carried along, particularly the children of nowadays. Before now, some other Igbo elders advised IPOB and members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) to moderate the tone of their self-determination demands. Nobody listened to them. Other elders appealed to the people to ignore IPOB’s declared sit-at-home order in every part of the South East. Even when IPOB came forward to announce that it had vacated the same order, the people stubbornly refused to follow IPOB’s lead. Till today, they stay at home on Mondays. IPOB is a more powerful force in the South East today than any state government. Many Igbo families have stopped going home out of fear.  Will the release of Nnamdi Kanu douse tension? More so as there are some other youth groups and stakeholders who are arguing that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has not committed any offence and that he should be allowed his day in court and treated fairly. They don’t want any sympathy from the Federal Government. And Ndigbo should not go to Buhari to beg for anything. Same subject, different reactions across generational lines.  Who should General Buhari listen to?

President Buhari’s hands may also be tied by the realization that the issue of amnesty has become far more sensitive in Nigeria today than when it first became popular in the early part of the century. The scope of its meaning and context has been expanded to cover all kinds of issues: including religion, ethnicity and societal prejudices. We have heard cases of requests for amnesty also by bandits and terrorists, farmers and herders, husbands and wives. Thus, when certain stakeholders in the North asked for amnesty for Boko Haram, the ISWAP, and other members responsible for the tension in the country, the sharp retort was that this would amount to amnesty without justice. If the President is not allowed to grant blanket amnesty to Boko Haram, ISWAP, and herders, why should he grant amnesty to the leader of IPOB?

In addition, Nnamdi Kanu violated the terms of the bail previously granted to him. If he absconded a second time and continues to fight for the self-determination of their people, which in itself is a right under Articles 1 and 55 of the UN Charter on people’s and civil rights, then, where does that leave Nigeria? Will Ndigbo appreciate the release of Nnamdi Kanu, who they believe was unjustly arrested, in Kenya? And shabbily treated? Will the same Kanu if he were invited by the government, agree to sit down for any negotiations, without first consulting his followers?  The times have changed indeed. The same interests involved in the Okah case in 2008/2009, have now been amplified to the third degree.

So, what should President Buhari do? He should grant Nnamdi Kanu, Sunday Igboho, their followers and collaborators in different parts of the country amnesty to pave the way for the emplacement of a structure for dialogue, healing, reconciliation and justice. He has a duty to demonstrate that there is no war against the Igbos of Nigeria or any other group within. The big challenge for Ndigbo goes beyond amnesty for Nnamdi Kanu. Jobs for young Igbos. Equity in appointments to Federal positions. Equitable distribution of resources and opportunities. Investment in education in the East. The completion of the River Niger Bridge. The lesson that should be learnt is that no group in Nigeria should be marginalized or maltreated. It is when this is not done that you find many youths on the streets claiming that they are better off in a land-locked independent country of their own than to stay in a Nigeria which flows with milk and honey, the access to which is monopolized by a minority, and that includes the milk and honey in other people’s backyards.

President Buhari has his personal issues. As Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, what would he say to his troops that have engaged IPOB and Kanu’s followers in the past few years? The President himself once pointed out that the intention of the radicals of the East was to sabotage his government. The number of security agents and agencies deployed to Anambra during the last Gubernatorial election in that state is in itself, a proof of the government’s determination to do battle with IPOB, ESN or any other group of non-state actors. It is indeed, a difficult decision to make.  

The President should look into the matter, nonetheless as promised. The Igbo Greats can only nurse the optimism that President Buhari would indeed do so. For how long? Nobody knows. As in Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” we wait.      

Comrade Declan Ihekiare, human right activist and an independent observer of the EndSARS panel report is of the opinion that the bulk of the blame should go to the Federal government in charge of security agencies.

Ihekiare said this on Saturday on CityTalks with Reuben Abati, where he stated that apology should come from the Federal government.

The EndSARS panel, headed by a retired judge, Doris Okuwobi, had on Monday submitted its reports on the Lekki shooting and police brutality during the October 2020 EndSARS protests, to the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

However, due to trust concerns, a member of the panel allegedly leaked the report to the public.

The Nigerian Army, Police, and other complicit persons were charged in the killings at the Lekki toll gate, according to the report.

The Panel report, has generated a lot of controversies, whereby the counsel for the State and for the victims were controverted.

In a reaction from the state government, “whoever leaked the report is not following due process.”

He expressed his displeasure on the attacks coming from both the lawyer from the state and that of the panel.

The human right activist stated categorically that the EndSARS report needs to be subjected to critical analysis.

However, he made a few mentions of discrepancies he observed in the report.

According to him, “I was not comfortable with the report where 4 protesters were presumed dead.

“I wanted a situation, where the panel will come up to confirm their demise.

“I saw a situation where the panel was saying that we are equating what happened that day to a massacre.

“In my view, a massacre is a massacre, you don’t need to equate anything.

“It is either there was a massacre there or not.”

He added, the report should be all sided, which implies that everybody that was affected in the struggle that led to the establishment of the panel should be included.”

In Ihekiare’s recommendations, both the federal government, Lagos state government and the military need to come up with their own white paper.

City FM is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Programme: CITY TALKS WITH REUBEN ABATI

Time: 11:45am

Guest: Comrade Declan Ihekaire

Topic: EndSars Panel Report

Date: 20 November 2021

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I was at a reception for our brother and colleague, Dele Momodu, a life-long reporter, author, publisher, media-preneur, community chief, politician, public intellectual, Chairman/CEO of Ovation Magazine, Ovation Carol and Boss Magazine on Sunday, November 14, 2021 at the Reds Chinese Restaurant of Eko Hotels in Lagos. It was meant to be a drink up, eat, celebrate our brother kind of event put together by a committee of friends led by Aremo Olusegun Oniru, a Prince of Lagos, an entrepreneur, and a former Commissioner in charge of the Waterfront of Lagos. Bob Dee as we call him, invited me in my capacity, I guess, as one of his very loyal brothers. I ended up being drafted by Aremo Oniru as the person to present the citation of Aare Dele Momodu.

The notice was short. But I was ready. Momodu is one of those characters who are just in your life, because they are perpetually looking out for you. As a certified busy-body myself, in this our line of business, I don’t need to be prompted to talk about some people who have shared the same field of experience with me. Dele Momodu is one of such persons. I didn’t need a script. Or any long notice. Tee-A, the Master of Ceremonies announced that I would speak but just then Prince Damola Aderemi, also a dear brother, one of those quiet ones, seized the microphone, and implored the gathering to stand up and observe a minute silence in honour of two friends, who died in the Ikoyi Building Collapse incident on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi. He mentioned Femi Osibona, the developer, and Wale Bobs-Oseni, a friend of the developer who was on his way back to the United States, but was called back to come and see the 21-storey building being put up by his friend. Oseni turned back and headed towards Ikoyi. It turned out to be the call of destiny.  

Aremo Oniru is a good host. He made everything available and the managers of Eko Hotel and Suites ensured that we got excellent reception. The event was star-studded. Should I point out that this was Dele Momodu being celebrated? What do you expect? It is no big deal for a master of celebrity journalism to light up the space, and in some of his recent events, I have observed an attempt by him to downplay his reach and influence in the Miliki space while cultivating the serious end of the social and political space. There was more than enough to eat and drink. I would have stayed longer if I was not reminded that it was Sunday evening and I would have to appear on early Morning TV. Good food, good drinks have a way of tying down even the most prudent of all men.  Sir Shina Peters, life-long friend of the honoree had taken the microphone, crooning: “Ore mi o, Ore mi o, Dele Momodu, Oko Bolaji, aya Momodu, oni te mi o, Ore mi o, Ore mi o ooo h”. There was no shortage of anything. Segun Oniru was clearly up to the task. But I had to leave.

And as I did, in my head was the one-minute silence in remembrance of the men that died at the 21-storey building at Gerrard, Ikoyi. If Femi Osibona and Wale Bobs-Oseni had not died, they probably would have been at the Dele Momodu reception, organized in appreciation/celebration of the recent conferment on him of the title of Aare of Iwo and Yeye Aare of Iwo land on his wife, by His Majesty, the Oluwo of Iwoland, Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi, Telu II. Both men or their friends would have been at that cosy, Reds Restaurant at Eko hotel clinking glasses along with us.  In life, shit happens, pardon my language, and it did happen at the Fourscore Homes site on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi Lagos. Every time I drive past this site of destruction, I pause a bit to reflect on the unpredictability of life, the very emptiness of it, the supremacy of the unknown, and the smallness of man in the presence of the immensity of the Cosmos.

On November 1, a 21-storey building, under construction, collapsed like the Tower of Babel.  The state government may have been able to rescue some of the survivors, 15 survived, 44 died, but hopes were lost. Memories were destroyed. Lives disappeared. It is possible to imagine that more than a week later, the tragedy is complete. It is sad. So sad. Our commiserations with the affected families. What happened in Ikoyi was a classic case of human tragedy, a truly elemental case of the failure of the human story. Can you imagine persons going to work, all the way from different parts of Lagos only to be buried beneath a building that crashed like a pack of cards? Can you imagine the story of a man who was already on his way to the international airport, called back by a friend to come and have a look at a project, only to die in the process? A certain young woman whose wedding had been scheduled for December and who had only spent a week with the company also died. There was also the story of the National Youth Corps member who travelled many miles down South to work at a construction site but ended up dying. Or the many young men and women who work at construction sites every day for companies that have no structure, no manifest, no safety protocols, no evidence of professional compliance, and yet when things go wrong as they may, they die, they disappear without trace. The Ikoyi building tragedy was a comment on the construction industry in Nigeria. The failure of standards. My driver, Egunje, has been lamenting about how two persons from his neighbourhood managed to survive as the building crashed. And how others were not so lucky. They travelled from over 100 kilometres away to work in Ikoyi. I see them every day at round-abouts in the neighbourhood. They work on the island, many miles away from their homes, to be able to feed others and remain relevant. The building that collapsed is now a graveyard of dreams. The fact that both the poor and the rich perished in one instant moment is a poignant fact about the collective anguish that we all share in the face of omissions. Death knows no billionaires. It does not differentiate along class lines.  It is why everyone must do the right thing. 

The Lagos State Government has done what it can to show empathy. Both the Governor and his Deputy and other state officials have been at the site. It is curious how Governor Babajide Sanwoolu’s tenure, his first term, that is, may well be remembered eventually for the management of tragedies: gas explosion, COVID-19, EndSARS protests and killings, buildings collapse, kidnappings, and other bad stories. The superstitious residents on the streets of Lagos are beginning to wonder if the incumbent Governor picked the calabash of pepper at his celestial moment of emergence.  I speak in parables in that regard. My comment is not necessarily an endorsement. What we know is that in reality, the state government has suspended Gbolahan Oki, the head of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA). However, I have seen stories indicating that any offence with regard to approvals, building supervision and control of standards may have been committed without him and beyond him, long before he assumed office. Excuses. Don’t be surprised if the Lagos State Government reinstates him tomorrow. I won’t be surprised either. He is not the problem. It is the system that is the problem. The 21-storey building in Gerrard was not the first of its type. Many collapsed before it. One other building collapsed in fact, a day after, in the Osapa, London-Lekki area of Lagos. Nobody has talked about that because nobody died. Other buildings will collapse tomorrow. And of course, all the relevant questions were writ large in the Femi Osibona project in Ikoyi.  Since the tragedy occurred, nobody has stepped forward to represent the company. This was obviously a one-man project. How on earth can anyone in Lagos build a 21-storey, three structures project with direct labour! In the heart of Ikoyi, a high-brow neigbourhood!  Who gave the approvals? Nobody has shown up to represent the company oh! The apartments in the development project were also said to have been fully sold. Nobody has shown up to claim losses. Real estate is big business in Nigeria. People invest in many of these construction projects. They pay up to a million dollar. But it is money that they dare not identify with in public. When the investment goes up in smoke as in the 21-storey Gerrard case, they scratch their heads and padlock their mouths, and pray that nobody will investigate anything. I sympathize with those silent losers, many of whom may end up dying silently.

One more thing: Nobody has talked about insurance. In the face of the tragedy that we have seen, who is going to step forward to make insurance claims? Was the project insured in the first place? The developer was said to have been an ardent priest of a spirit-filled, Pentecostal church. In the 21^st Century, God and angels are the only insurance agents behind million-dollar projects in many parts of Africa. When tragedy occurs, the people take it in good faith and move on. I suspect that this is what may have happened in the Gerrard Street, Ikoyi tragedy.

The state government has set up a five-man independent panel of inquiry, a panel of experts and lawyers. When government in Nigeria does not want to do anything about anything, it sets up a panel, announces terms of reference, but it is all for the purpose being seen to be doing something. Who are the “gods” involved in the Ikoyi building collapse whose egos needed to be massaged with all that high-profile government eye-service? I imagine that the tribunal of inquiry as it is called, will make all the right noises:  statements about approvals – who approved what, a few comments about negligence, structural engineering and a bit of gobbledygook. But who can compensate the affected families for their loss? The one-man business owner died with his business. Those who invest in real estate in Nigeria have many lessons to learn from this.

There are life lessons as well beyond investment. There are stories out there about how family members have been fighting over Femi Osibona’s estate. He reportedly had a nuclear family of a wife and four children. Within two days of his remains being rescued from the rubble, his family members reportedly went after his properties, resulting in all kinds of struggles over his cars, his homes, cheque books, and whatever anyone could grab. His wife and children who are based abroad, reportedly relocated to Nigeria to keep the family at the gates. Femi Osibona’s brothers, one report indicates, brought Mobile Policemen. The wife and children also rented their own Police!  I have not seen a rebuttal of this story out there. But it is the most painful part of events like this. You live, work hard and struggle to make people around you happy, then tragedy happens, no man can live forever, but nobody even spares a thought for you. They don’t even wait for you to be buried. While you are still in the mortuary, the same scavengers you spent your entire life trying to help, helping them to pay bills and have hope, descend on your home and children. They fight over your belongings. They behave like a South African crowd on rampage all over your properties, looting this, carrying that, threatening your biological children and their mother to dare them if they could. Why are people like this? I have heard people say that if you don’t want such home trouble then do not die interstate. Write a will. I am sorry. The extended family system in Africa is so bad, a written Will is not always a guarantee. In the same manner in which our people have a sense of entitlement to the proverbial national cake and their claim to a part of it, a rich man or woman within the family is also seen as a source of oxygen. It is a sin to be rich or privileged in Africa, within the family and the larger society. If you drop dead, you are not safe. They will come after your remains like vultures and fight your wife and children while doing so. Why are we like this? There may be exceptions but the crisis of poverty in Africa defines everything else.

The trucks have begun to leave the site of the tragedy at Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. I can see that. The road is now free on both sides. Visiting VIPs have had their photo-ops and mouthed their sweet-nothings and moved on. The public made all the necessary noises. And stopped. It will rain heavily tomorrow and the day after, and everything will die down. In due course, eventual winners of the family squabble among the Osibonas will take over the property, sell it to another developer, everyone else will look the other way, and life will continue as if nothing ever happened. So why do we all bother so much, knowing that life, no matter how beautiful, always ends up as an irony?  May the souls of all the departed beloved who died at this construction site, victims of a country where death is cheap, and life is expensive, rest in peace… Na so we see am.     

Dr Amselm Onuorah, the spokes person for the Kwechiri N’Oganiru opined that the presence of security operatives deployed for the Anambra stand-alone guber election brought insecurities to prospective voters.

Dr Onuorah made this know as a guest on CityTalks with Reuben Abati on City 105.1 on Saturday.

The Anambra governorship election that was conducted on the 6^th November 2021 and supplementary election in Ihiala Local Government Area, in Anambra State on the 9^th November, 2021 generated a lot of apprehensions from many people.

Prior to the scheduled date for the Anambra gubernatorial election, there was a report on new media that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has declared a sit-at-home order in the South East between 5-10 November, 2021 which of cause falls within the date for the election.

However, the President of Nigeria and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari, had given clear directives to that effect, stating it clearly that whoever tries to disrupt the election will meet with the full weight of the Nigerian State.

According to the Office of the National Security Adviser, any non-state actor that tries to challenge the state's will be dealt with full force. According to the Office of the National Security Adviser.

The election was conducted in 21 Local Government Areas, over 5,000 polling units and 18 candidates of various political parties involved and also over 34, 500 personnel, 45 Commissioners of Police,48 ACPs, 2 DIGs, 5 AIGs, 3 Helicopters.  The Civil Defence Corps sent in over 20, 000 men.  The Department of State Security deployed its men and women. 

The spokesperson of the IPOB in a bulletin said that the sit-at-home order is cancelled and the group encouraged people to come out in their numbers to take part in the election.

In retrospect, Dr Onourah blamed the voters turn out on the humongous number of security personnel.

According to him, deploying such a number of personnel could have a negative impact in an election. “Some persons that didn’t come out may have thought that something may happen. However, their presence helped the atmosphere for those that came out,” he said.

Dr Onourah disagreed When fielded with the question by Dr Reuben Abati, if the presence of those personnel was there to justify the means to an end.

He said, “It is because of the failure of a system that accumulated to the event seen in Anambra.

“The federal government wanted the elections to hold to make a statement.

“The state didn’t want a state of emergency to be declared, so they have to deploy all that security apparatus to conduct an election in Anambra

“If the challenges in Anambra was handled before the election, it won’t be necessary to deploy all those security personnel.

“But at the end we had a peaceful election.”

A comment from Adeboyga Adedeji via whatsapp reads, “in as much as I want to congratulate Pro Charles Solution Soludo, for having the largest number of votes, I think we as a nation has not experienced what true democracy and democratic process entails. This idea of militarization of election, is another way of denying the right of the people in an election. Indirectly paving way for malpractices.”

The recent Governorship election in Anambra state, held on Saturday, November 6, 2021 was meant to be a major turning point for Nigeria. Most commentators said the election would be characterized by violence or that it would amount to a blow-out for Nigeria and the entire South East. Pundits told everyone to be careful. There were permutations about voter turn-out, the preparedness of the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the character of the main gladiators in the contest and their supportive stakeholders, divided as they were and still are, along religious, ethnic, clannish and party lines. A few days to the 2021 Anambra Governorship election, indeed, every one prepared more or less for war, and bloodshed. The police deployed over 34, 500 personnel, 45 Commissioners of Police,48 ACPs, 2 DIGs, 5 AIGs, 3 Helicopters.  The Civil Defence Corps sent in over 20, 000 men.  The Department of State Security deployed its men and women. The Office of the National Security Adviser announced that any non-state actor who made any attempt to test the will of the state will be met with maximum force.

Previously, the President of Nigeria and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari, had given clear directives to that effect. All of this is understandable. Anambra in the lead up to the election had proven to be a major security challenge, a hotbed of violence and grief, and a key spot for self-determination agitators, operating under the umbrella of the Indigenous Peoples Organisation of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network (ESN). We were faced with a test of wills, between the state and those non-state actors who were seemingly determined to use the November 6 election to humiliate the government of the day, in a spectacular manner. This was not, to borrow from the rich repertoire of Nigerian English, “a laughing matter”.  

I became part of that drama, in spite of myself when the Chairman of Arise News, Nduka Obaigbena decided to team up with the Chairman of Channels TV, John Momoh to do a joint Governorship candidate debate ahead of the election. Meetings were held on both sides and on a certain Wednesday, we were supposed to meet online and do so repeatedly to fine-tune the arrangements. At our end, we held a long meeting which involved policy, management, technical crew and operational persons. Yemi Ajayi, Director, News (Lagos) and I were mandated to meet with the Channels Team later in the day. And we did. Online. It wasn’t a very pleasant meeting.  The Channels Boys rejected every proposal that we made. They decreed that Anambra was too toxic and unsafe and on no condition would they ever risk anything to go there for a debate.

We argued that at Arise, we were determined to go in there to prove that an election was possible and that the security situation could be managed in a way to give confidence to the electorate. We were told to forget it. They gave us the option of a debate to be organized in Lagos or Abuja. Mr. Ajayi and I told them to check with their Chairman. They said they were “the Supreme Council” of Channels TV, and whatever decision they took was final. I found that curious. Then they made matters more complicated by pointing out that they did not want Reuben Abati as the moderator from Arise TV. They would prefer another co-moderator to join Seun Okinbaloye from Channels TV. I was left with no option but to state categorically that long before many of the persons from the other side joined Channels TV, I used to moderate interviews for Channels TV, and analyse elections for the same station and I have letters of appreciation and commendation to show for this, signed by the same Chairman they say has no say in anything decided by a “Supreme Council.” It was also useful to point out that I was the first and only mainstream journalist so far, at that time who had moderated a Governorship Manifesto Defence Debate in the Anambra 2021 election. On September 25, 2021, Arise TV had in fact organized a Governorship debate in Anambra State in collaboration with the Kwechiri Unity Forum, aired live on Arise TV, Anambra State Television, and Ogene FM. I was the main anchor. As it turned out, the proposed collaboration with Channels TV, which could have been a phenomenal demonstration of partnership, innovation and the pooling of talents from both sides, in a unique show of solidarity within the Nigerian media, did not happen. Arise TV decided to move ahead. And we did.          

During the last weekend of the month of October, leading up to November 1, Arise News deployed personnel and materials to Awka for a Gubernatorial debate involving three of the leading adjudged candidates in the election, chosen across platforms by experts and pundits: Senator Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and Mr Valentine Ozigbo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in that alphabetical order. The debate was held at an undisclosed location, under tight security. Held in conjunction with a Civil Society Group, Enough is Enough (EiE) led by Yemi Adamolekun, the debate was broadcast live simultaneously on Arise TV, Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) and Ogene Radio, 98.3 FM. I was co-moderator of the debate alongside award-winning Arise TV anchor, Ngozi Alaegbu.  I understand the debate was successful and memorable, and that is my own modest way of avoiding Agama-lizard-like self-praise. The three candidates provided both information and drama, exquisite television gold moments, and diverse, controversial feedback that set the tone within the days leading to the election. It was a notable demonstration of how the media can help set agenda, act as a catalyst for nation-building and peace-making, and help generate positive momentum in society. Those who said going to Anambra to do a debate would be suicidal missed the point. The debate was delivered without any untoward incident. We went into Anambra, with security arrangements provided by the Nigerian Army.  Nobody harassed us. Nobody intimidated us. For us, it was the first sign that the election will be held without tragedy and that enough effort had been put into preventing any calamity. In the weeks leading to the election, there had been killings in Anambra, attacks on jails and communities and tension at a higher degree that raised anxiety levels.

Of interest and relevance in this regard is the massive deployment of security personnel, the announcement by the Indigenous People’s Organisation of Biafra (IPOB) that it had suspended its proposed sit-at-home order originally scheduled for November 5 – 10 across the entire South East. IPOB not only withdrew the order, it became a mobilizing agent urging Ndi Anambra to turn out en masse to vote on November 6. IPOB had the support of traditional rulers, market women, mothers of Anambra, civil society groups. The Nigeria Police also became an arm of INEC. It placed enlightenment jingles in the media to mobilise voters. On Saturday, November 6, the scheduled election took place – in over 5, 000 polling units, 21 Local Government Areas, with 18 candidates in the race, thousands of election monitors and observers, with the international community watching. There were glitches during the election: late deployment of voting materials, malfunctioning of the Bi-modal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) -  a fingerprint and facial recognition device introduced by INEC to replace the Z-pad, lateness of officials in commencing accreditation, electoral malpractices including vote buying (even if in one polling area, Anambra women openly rejected monetary inducement!), disruptions in some registration areas – Idemili North, Idemili South, Aguata, Anambra West, conflict between Electoral Officer and Collation Officer in Orumba North, and generally a poor voter turn-out of between 10 and 15% in most of the polling units.

The big consolation was that the worst that was expected did not happen. Anambra did not become a killing field. The political parties and the politicians did not engage in bloodshed. Very few incidents of intimidation, violence and ballot snatching were reported. The surprising thing after a fashion is that when everyone writes off Nigeria and there are fears about Nigeria tottering at the edge of the precipice, about to tip over, this country always pulls back. It has happened before now during every election season. It has just happened again in Anambra state. The explanation for this must be an interesting subject for sociological inquiry into political behaviour and power negotiation systems. In Anambra: This is what happened - by 12: 20 am on November 8, 2021, the Returning Officer for the Anambra State Gubernatorial Election, Professor Florence Obi, Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, had announced results in 20 LGAs. The election in Ihiala LGA did not take place in all 20 Registration Areas due to the outbreak of violence in that border area of Anambra State (the border with Imo State), and on that basis alone, the Anambra Gubernatorial election of November 6, 2021 was declared inconclusive.

INEC has announced a supplementary election in the affected LGA to take place today, Tuesday, November 9, 2021. It would appear as if the election has been lost and won already but it is important that no local government area is excluded, and that nobody is willfully prevented from exercising his or her franchise. This is the point of the Ihiala Supplementary Election: inclusion, fairness, representation and legitimacy.  We do not look forward to any earth-shaking developments in Ihiala LGA today. Still, the security agents must remain vigilant. The political parties and the candidates must keep faith with the peace agreements that they signed ahead of the election: brokered by INEC and also, the National Peace Committee led by General Abdusalami Abubakar. Even with the results from 20 LGAs announced and published by the INEC, which shows the candidate of APGA in a firm leadership position, it would be to the eternal credit of all the candidates involved in the process that they and their supporters gave peace a chance and proved the bookmakers, naysayers and sooth-sayers wrong on Anambra election 2021 till the very last minute.

Already, Professor Charles Soludo of APGA, has been reported as winner in 18 LGAs of the state, including Aguata where he and the two other leading candidates hail from and the strongholds of some prominent politicians in the state – Anaocha, Orumba South, Idemili and Njikoka. Soludo is unlikely to repeat the “21- over-21-feat” of the incumbent Governor Willie Obiano in the 2017 election, but he is comfortably in the lead with over 50, 000 votes. Nnewi North was declared for Senator Ifeanyi Ubah (candidate of the YPP- Young Progressives Party) and Ogbaru for Valentine Ozigbo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Soludo has also won the mandatory two thirds of the votes across the local government areas. Ihiala, the only remaining LGA has a registered voter number of about 148, 000. It will be a battle ground, but with voter turn-out estimated between 10 to 15%, even a 100% turn out may not change the existing reality. Soludo seems set to become the next Governor of Anambra State. If and when his victory is affirmed by the INEC, he would be the second former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to emerge as Governor of a State. Before him there was, Clement Nyong Isong (1920 – 2000), Governor of the Central Bank (1967 -1975) and Governor of Cross River State (1979 – 1983).

Soludo, a First Class Honours graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1984) and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (2004 – 2009) is a Professor of Economics.  He will be a welcome addition to the growing list of Nigerian technocrats who defy the characterization of the political arena as a dirty space that should be left to those who brand themselves as professional politicians, the majority of whom are in actual fact, hustlers, political parasites, national cake hunters and former henchmen and touts who managed to legitimize themselves. The best and the brightest in Nigeria should be the ones to occupy leadership positions, but as we have seen in Mexico, raw intelligence is however, never enough, not even technocratic brilliance is a perfect proposition. For about two decades, technocrats led Mexico substantially: Miguel de la Madrid (1982 -88), Carlos Salinas (1988 – 1994) and Ernesto Zedillo (1994 – 2000). China is another country where the technocratic stereotype holds sway. In Nigeria, we see a growing trend in that direction. I consider technocrats a positive presence in democracy and politics, a country should not be run by dinosaurs and speculators, expertise helps, but technocrats in politics must also have a high dose of emotional intelligence to be able to walk the tightrope of patron-client relationships. The technocratic elite in a political position carries a heavier burden: and if it fails, the regret is double-fold.                     

However, without prejudice to the eventual outcome of the Anambra Gubernatorial election 2021, given that the responsibility for making an affirmative announcement is that of the electoral commission, whoever becomes the next Governor of Anambra State has his job cut out for him. He must be a bridge-builder and the Governor of everyone. Anambra is sharply divided along clannish and religious lines. This is one state in Nigeria where it means a lot whether you are Catholic or Anglican or Pentecostal, or what part of the state you hail from. The next Governor of Anambra State must therefore promote unity and consensus. Security is also a major challenge. Anambra is often projected as the headquarters of the separatist IPOB group, and the hotbed of agitations. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the head of IPOB, is not even from Anambra. He is from Abia State. But it is the youths of Anambra who are carrying Biafra on their heads like the load of Sisyphus. And you may well argue that Anambra is the spiritual source of the idea of Biafra. The next Governor cannot ignore the security implications. Roads. Infrastructure. Direct investment, local and foreign. Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Debt burden. Economic promotion: gas, rice, innovation. He must hit the ground running.

INEC has been put through the test in Anambra with electronic transmission of results and BVAS. It has lessons to learn. The security agencies have done well so far in managing the Anambra situation. They must not mess up as INEC conducts the supplementary elections today. The Anambra process should be a wake-up call for the South East leadership elite.