(Address as Chairman of the Investiture Ceremony of the President and Chairman of Governing Council of CIPM, which held at Eko Hotels, VI, Lagos, on Wednesday, 31^st of July, 2024)

It is always a very deep and special pleasure for me whenever I have the opportunity to attend the CIPM or to be invited to any of her programs. CIPM is one organization that I have a significant relationship with, a relationship that spans many years. It is one organization I count as a partner in the struggle for transforming the public service system in Nigeria. This is why I am more than delighted to be witnessing, and chairing, this investiture of the new President and Chairman of the CIPM Governing Council. CIPM is strategic as the key umbrella body—the community of practice—for administering HR practice in Nigeria. Since its founding in 1968, it has consistently continued to push the frontiers and boundaries of the HR profession as well as being in the vanguard of HR management praxis in ways that has consolidated the status of its members, and its own status as a global organizational brand.

In this context, I have no doubt that Mallam Ahmed Ladan Gobir already has his works—and objectives—cut out for him. His status as a distinguished Nigerian, a formidable HR thought leader, astute corporate lawyer and a management professional par excellence already situates him within the challenges that CIPM is currently facing, and how the organization could be positioned as a significant stakeholder in the overall task of institutional reform in Nigeria. In this regard, one must applaud the existing achievement and experiential framework of the preceding presidents, and especially the administrative and visionary efforts of Mr. Olusegun Mojeed, the immediate past president of CIPM, for a most remarkable tenure littered with spirited strides, innovations and commendable achievements and legacies. No avid watcher of Nigeria’s public administration, and CIPM’s role, can be in any doubt as to the depth of clarity amongst CIPM’s thought-leaders regarding what is next level for CIPM, especially at this momentous time in the profession’s annals. A time when the world of work is witnessing profound rethinking and reformulation to institutionalise the post-Covid new normal, and, at that, as we navigate the unfolding Fourth and Fifth Industrial Revolutions.

I am going to use this chairman’s speech as an occasion to spotlight these challenges, and what CIPM is expected to contribute to making it a success; a success that CIPM itself can count on as part of its organizational milestone in Nigeria’s public administration trajectory. Specifically, I want to locate the public service system in Nigeria within the unfolding dynamics of HR developments and practices. This becomes auspicious because it immediately signals to the chairman the crosscutting dimension of the partnership and collaboration that are demanded of the community of service and community of practice—the Nigerian civil service leadership, the CIPM, and the larger public administration community—in institutionally reforming the Nigerian bureaucracy, and inserting its strategic and operational dynamics and processes into the current global trends in HR thinking.

My reform philosophy and advocacy have been hinged on an administrative axiom: if public administration fails in Nigeria, then all else—in terms of building a strong administrative and bureaucratic institutions that will carry the burden of good governance—has failed. This immediately underscores the fact that, given the still challenged state of the performance and productivity capacity of the public service, there is an unfinished business of institutional reform in the public service system to which all hands, including CIPM’s, must be on deck. This administrative axiom is complemented by the observation that it is practically impossible to identify any high-performing economies in the world today without simultaneously discovering that their performance and productivity are founded on the three key elements of knowledge, governance and human capital. This makes it imperative that the “people factor” plays a significant role in governance calculations and in human capital development that translates into the HR framework necessary for national productivity. This implies the transition from personnel management to strategic human resource management.

In linking the President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to the urgency of public service institutional renewal and reform, therefore, it becomes fundamental to conclude that the quality of democratic governance can only be directly proportional to the degree to which policy and managerial intelligence can be matched by dogged political will to commit to a radical transformation of the political service system through a rehabilitation of HR functions and processes in the workplace of the MDAs. The initial move in this direction was signaled by President Tinubu’s determination to constitute a government of national competence that would deploy expertise, technocracy and knowledge to energize intelligent policymaking. However, and beyond this, there is the need for the articulation of critical variables—public administration expertise, leadership sophistication, competent change management strategies and a reprofiled national value system—that would serve as the success factors for undermining the structural constraints that have hindered past and present reform efforts.

Indeed, given the trajectories of the current phase of institutional and governance reform that commenced in 1999 and reached a defining height in 2003, several cogent questions became imperative as the key to determining the direction the Nigerian public service system was heading. These questions include:

• What kind of public service Nigeria needs to successfully manage the transition from military authoritarianism to democratic governance; and

• What the appropriate personnel policies, pay structure, and operational cost ratios that are most cost effective will be, to achieve optimal productivity level in the national economy.

Unfortunately, and more than twenty-five years later, it would seem that for Nigeria, to quote the French critic and journalist, Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

This brief diagnostic analysis brings me to the challenge of the unfinished business of institutional reform that will task the collaborative partnership between CIPM, and the public administration community of service and practice with regard to the core elements of transforming the public service systems. Transforming the public service requires paying attention to workplace dynamics that have been subjected to myriads of changes, especially those that relates with the nature and frameworks of work itself. Given the changing demographics of employees and workers, the workplace now demands new orientations and innovation—like flexi-working—that take into consideration the new normal after the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of the Gen Z demographic. Such orientations demand the urgency of rethinking HR functions from multiple perspectives. This is even made more cogent by the fact that government has gradually ceased to be the employer of choice for most people given its lack of incentivization for working in the public service. To change this condition, and key into the unfinished business of reforming the public service, several issues come to the fore.

One, since the HR function is cogent in achieving performance and productivity, there is no doubt that the professionalization of the HR functions is fundamental to transforming the workplace. However, the core professionals need to know that to do this, human resource management can no longer be restricted as the exclusive responsibility of HR departments. Line managers and other managerial executives now require people management skills and competence to facilitate effectiveness and efficiency. This also relocates the HR function from the back to the front office. And rethinking the HR function implies a significant level of reform. For instance, at the basic level, it is no longer productive to treat HR in terms of personnel management, and its preoccupation with the passive role of privileging rules, regulations and procedures rather than developing and pursuing policies in manners that extract performance results and productivity bargains from people and from the processes. This automatically affects the current practice of staff performance appraisal which is very vague about what is being assessed and rewarded, or even how appraisal should be directed towards performance assessment and competences, rather than as a mere subjective protocol.   

Two, it has become almost impossible to think of public service transformation without inserting such reform within the public-private partnership (PPP) framework. Working within this framework demands optimizing the PPP contracts through imbuing public officials with commercial skills and competences that open up their capacities to engage with clients, customers and citizens, acquire knowledge of international business practices and labour laws, adopt multicultural sensitivities and multiple languages, and so on. This also brings in the growing consequences of involving artificial intelligences and robotics in upscaling the performance and efficiency of the public service system. The real challenge is how to translate the uncertainties that attend the deployment of artificial intelligence at the moment to real opportunities that will impact the public service system.

Three, to become the ultimate change agents in the reform of the public service, the HR manager is not only expected to facilitate the establishment of a new HR model that will harness the performance and productive capacities of the workforce. They are also essentially required to deepen the skills and competences with regard to risk management in ways that instigate action research as a component of management cum operation research and organisation development (OD) in the MDAs. This will also enable the HR to institute a learning culture that challenges the bureaucratic status quo, and helps it champions specific cultural transformations directed at translating desirable culture and public service values into public managers behaviour.

The CIPM is strategically located as a key stakeholder in injecting its organizational strengths into articulating a significant blueprint that insert the organization into a collaborative partnership needed to keep afloat the business of reforming the public service system. I have no iota of doubt that the new chairman will not only build on the existing architecture of achievements of the previous chairpersons, but also lay a few solid foundations of his that will keep the CIPM on course as a change agent in Nigeria’s effort to build a world class public service that backstops her democratic governance.   

Prof. Tunji Olaopa

Professor of Public Administration

& Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission,

Abuja

In the delicate dance between law enforcement and peaceful protesters, the role of police officers is pivotal. Their actions can either preserve the tranquility of demonstrations or ignite a powder keg of tension. 

The reason for the foregoing viewpoint cannot be farfetched as overzealous policemen and other security agents often exacerbate tensions during protests, especially when incidents result in fatalities or injuries. Their aggressive behavior can provoke demonstrators, pushing them toward retaliatory actions. When a protester is harmed or killed, emotions run high, and the actions of security personnel can either defuse or escalate the situation. Unfortunately, instances of excessive force, brutality, and disregard for human rights have fueled anger and mistrust between protesters and law enforcement.

Therefore, given the backdrop of the foregoing view, it is expedient for the Police and other security agents to be professional enough in the course of discharging their duties, particularly in the ongoing Hunger Protests across Nigeria so as to prevent the nationwide protests from becoming violent. In fact, it is crucial that security agents approach their duties with professionalism and restraint. 

As it is assumed in this context that the police and other security agents might have undergone training programs, it is expected that at this crucial moment that they should emphasize de-escalation techniques, empathy, and respect for citizens’ rights in the course of discharging their duties in the ongoing protests. This is as transparent investigations into any misconduct or abuse are essential. By fostering a culture of accountability and emphasizing community policing, security agencies can build trust and reduce the likelihood of confrontations. Ultimately, a commitment to professionalism and adherence to human rights principles can help maintain peace and prevent unnecessary violence during demonstrations. 

At this juncture, it is germane to opine that while officers exhibit high sense of professionalism, prioritize de-escalation techniques over force, they should equally engage in verbal communication with empathy, and understanding as they can defuse volatile situations.

In fact, as long as the protests prevail, specifically till August 10, 2024, the police and other security officials should be transparent while communicating with the protesters across the country, given the fact that clear communication about intentions, rules, and expectations fosters trust. Without a doubt, transparency helps prevent misunderstandings and minimizes the risk of clashes.

Analyzed from the angle of accountability, law enforcement agencies must be accountable for their actions, and body cameras (if equipped with), independent oversight, and swift investigations into misconduct are essential.

Again, building positive relationships with the community is crucial. Officers should actively engage with protesters, listen to their concerns, and address grievances, and they should remember that professionalism is not just a badge, it is a commitment to safeguarding democracy and ensuring that peaceful voices resonate louder than chaos.

In a similar vein, when security officials listen to advice, they gain access to diverse perspectives and insights. People offer advice with good intentions, hoping to contribute positively. By dismissing advice outright, security officials risk missing valuable ideas and information.

Again, the police and other security officials should throughout this protests listen, demonstrate respect for others' opinions and expertise. This is as such professional conduct fosters trust and encourages open communication. In fact, when people feel heard, they are more likely to engage constructively.

Good enough, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has urged police officers to be prepared, alert and professional during the protests scheduled for August 1 to 10, and added that the safety and security of the nation depends on the vigilance, gallantry, and readiness of officers in the police and other security agencies.

According to a statement on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, by the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, the IG spoke during a virtual meeting with senior officers. However, one hopes the IGP has in the same vein literarily drew the ears of his men, and urge them not to provoke the protesters by being overzealous and unprofessional in the cause of discharging their duties. 

At this juncture, it is expedient for this writer to confess that what inspired him to express this view is the violent experience that characterized the #EndSARS. It will be recalled in this context that the movement, which began as a call for the disbandment of Nigeria's notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), gained momentum in 2020. The protests were fueled by allegations of violence, exploitation, and human rights violations perpetrated by SARS officials. 

However, despite the peaceful atmosphere which initially characterized the protests, it is no more news that along the line that law enforcement agents provoked the protesters, and the protests expectedly turned violent leaving on its trail across the country tears, blood and massive destruction of government infrastructures. To aptly put it, the aftermath has been disappointing. At least 15 protesters arrested during the #EndSARS protests remain arbitrarily detained without trial in Lagos, with trumped-up charges ranging from theft to murder. The unprofessionalism exhibited by the police during the protests exacerbated the situation, perpetuating a travesty of justice. Therefore, no sane Nigerian would want what happened during the #EndSARS to repeat itself in the ongoing hunger protests. Therefore, the police and other law enforcement agencies should be well guided. 

In fact, the impact of #EndSARS is fading, and police brutality is once again becoming a grim reality for Nigerians. Recent cases of extrajudicial killings and extortion highlight that the police are failing to uphold international human rights standards. The protesters' demands for justice and accountability remain unmet, and the unprofessional conduct of law enforcement during the protests has only worsened the situation.

Given the foregoing, it is germane to opine that it is crucial for law enforcement to approach protests with restraint and peaceful dialogue. This is as violence begets violence, and a measured response can prevent further escalation, fostering an environment where grievances can be addressed constructively.

We met last on April 21. I went to Asaba from Lagos to promote my new book, Writing for Media and Monetising It, at Delta State University, which, according to JAMB statistics, is one of the country’s highest subscribers to Mass Communications in 2021.

Senator Ifeanyi Ubah was on the flight to Asaba that morning. I didn’t see him until we entered the arrival hall. He seemed to have added some weight for a man his height. I teased him about his robustly prosperous looks. He replied that journalists like me tend not to add weight because we’re too busy causing trouble, to which I replied that he should not go there.

We laughed and parted ways outside the terminal building. And then, on July 26, news broke that he had died only days after arriving in London. A few days earlier, he shared a video of himself looking slimmer than when I saw him in Asaba in April. He videoed himself singing on a London street with his family, and everyone looked happy.

Gone too soon

He was 52 and only reelected to the Senate last year under the Young Progressives Party (YPP) platform before he defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Ubah was the fourth member of the current National Assembly to die this year, bringing to 29 Federal lawmakers who have died in office from 2015 to date.

The others who died this year were Isa Dongoyaro, APC member of the House of Representatives representing Garki/Babura Federal Constituency, Jigawa State, who died on May 10; Ekene Adams of the Labour Party, representing Chikun/Kajuru, Kaduna State, who died on July 16; and APC member Musiliudeen Akinremi, representing Ibadan North Federal Constituency, Oyo State, who died on July 10.

It’s not just the number of deaths that is striking. None of all four legislators who died in office this year was up to 55. The outlier was the Federal legislator Abdulkadir Jelani Danbuga, an APC member from Isa/Sabon Birni, Sokoto State, who passed away in October at 64. He died three months after he was sworn in, bringing the total dead in one year to five.

At 52, Ubah was the oldest federal lawmaker who died in office this year. Dongoyaro was 47; Adams 39; Akinremi 51.

By life expectancy projection, you could argue that for a country with a life expectancy of 52 years, the average age of the deceased legislators shouldn’t be too unusual. Yet, if a company specialises in life policies for lawmakers, the recent events may force it to review its premium.

Beyond the numbers

There are 469 lawmakers in both chambers of the National Assembly, with the states proportionally represented in the Senate. Representation in the House of Assembly is based on population (favouring the North), among other factors.

However, the constitutionally provided numerical advantage for the North only partially explains the higher proportion of legislators who died in office from the region since 2015.

When I raised the trend of sitting legislators dying at relatively your age, one immediate response was that it’s the prayers of discontented, ordinary citizens at work. Divine recompense, if you like. Why wouldn’t the discontents come out to vote or hold their representatives to account instead?

I have only anecdotal evidence to support my theory, but the trend elsewhere does not support the view that the deaths of our lawmakers in office are the outcome of spiritual warfare. If religion or culture plays any role at all, it reinforces conditions that not only potentially increase the chances of early deaths but also increase the casualties among the affected population.

Different elsewhere?

What do the statistics elsewhere show? According to the Congressional Research Service, 84 U.S. Congress members – 69 Representatives and 15 Senators – died in 39 years between 1973 and 2012. The average life expectancy was 72, similar to that of white males in the larger population.

In 2015, relevant data about members of the British House of Commons between 1945 and 2011 showed that mortality among the 650 members was 28 percent lower compared to the general UK population. The figure in South Africa showed that in its Fourth Parliament 2009-2014, out of 103 members of parliament replaced, 18 passed away, four of them in car accidents.  

The common causes of death in these countries range from coronary artery disease to cancer, especially in the U.S. and the UK, to complications from HIV/AIDS in South Africa to diabetes, kidney-related diseases and accidents.

Because of the availability of data in these countries, it is possible to determine the cause of death and take steps to enhance safety, well-being, and longevity. It’s different in Nigeria, where disclosing the cause of death is treated as taboo.

Cost of taboo

The norm, not just in the legislature but in the broader population, is not to discuss it – an attitude more prevalent in the predominantly Muslim North, where deaths are accepted as “the will of God”, and any discussion of a post-mortem is out of the question.

Such cultural attitudes, reinforced by religion, tend to encourage poor record keeping and further nudge the population to ignore pre-existing health conditions in the fatalistic belief that “something must kill a man” when early detection or greater care could have prevented fatality. A cultural taboo that is useless to the dead and increasingly expensive for the living needs to be reviewed.

It’s bad enough that sometimes bereaved families have to bear the avoidable losses of loved ones. In the case of legislators, the death of sitting members also has consequences for the constituents and the electoral management body. The constituents are deprived of representation, and the electoral management body has to conduct by-elections.

In the last election cycle in 2023 alone, N335 billion was budgeted for elections. Still, that sum, later supplemented with N18 billion due to inflation, was not entirely for the general election but also for by-elections that have become a norm.

Court-determined results, political appointments, and, increasingly, deaths have increased legislative turnover and turned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) into one of the world’s most overworked and undervalued election management bodies. It’s a thankless job.

New approach

We can’t continue this way. Small changes could start with journalists understanding that it is vital to get and include the cause of death in their reports instead of allowing prevailing taboos to take them hostage. Of all five deaths, including Ubah’s, there was not a single case in which the press reported the possible cause of death.

The data of consequential deaths for Nigerian lawmakers cited earlier do not include deaths of sitting members in state houses of assembly, seven of which occurred in the last nine years, bringing the total recorded in that time to 36.

Knowing the cause might not raise the dead; it might help the living take greater care.

The process for replacing dead legislators also needs to be reviewed. We have a system that makes everything expensive and unnecessarily complicated. The Constitution stipulates a by-election on top of other by-elections to fill vacancies for political appointees and court-ordered reruns. Three senatorial by-elections in any state are equivalent to the cost of a governorship election.

Beyond the tears

One way to reduce such unnecessary costs is to use the example of Germany, New Zealand or South Africa, where the next candidate on the party’s list takes the deceased’s place. Or to allow the party to nominate the replacement for the deceased since a candidate holds the seat at the party’s pleasure.

Beyond the tears of this mourning period, we should find a sustainable way to fill parliamentary vacancies. That’s one way to honour the memory of Ubah and the other dead members of the National Assembly.

Ishiekwene, Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP, is the author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It.

As Nigeria battles, unarguably, its worst financial crisis since independence, it is only apposite that the most pragmatic way to pull the country’s chestnuts out of the raging economic inferno, to borrow a cliché, is to put round pegs in round holes. The appointment of Ms. Omolola Oloworaran as the new Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) ticks that box.

To understand why her appointment matters, there is need to appreciate what is at stake and the centrality of the pension industry in resolving Nigeria’s extant economic quagmire even if not wholly, at least partially.

Prior to the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2004, daunting problems, including inadequate and untimely budgetary provision, beset the discarded Defined Pension Scheme (DBS). With rising life expectancy and poor implementation, particularly in the private sector, it was not surprising that government’s budgetary pension deficit climbed to over N2 trillion by June 2004. That was unsustainable and at that point, the pension industry had collapsed, literally.

So, the 2004 Pension Reform Act, which established a uniform contributory, private sector managed and fully funded pension system for both the public and private sectors, was a bold fiscal policy to cure the malaises in the industry. Being mandatory, the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) compelled employees and employers in the public and private sectors to collectively save a minimum of 18 per cent of an employee’s monthly emolument – 10 per cent by the employer and 8 per cent by the employee – into a Retirement Savings Account (RSA), from where employees will be paid retirement benefits.

The Act established the National Pension Commission (PenCom) as the body to regulate, supervise and ensure the effective administration of pension matters in Nigeria. The result was phenomenal. National savings increased dramatically leading to a jump from a N2 trillion budgetary pension deficit two decades ago to a N19. 787 trillion Assets under Management (AuM) as at April 30, 2024. Not only that, data from PenCom indicated a record total monthly inflows of N8.18 trillion. With the proportion of total pension assets to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) standing at 8.39 per cent as at March 31, 2024, the success of the CPS is staggering.

Today, PenCom is the most thriving government’s fiscal agency and it is imperative, particularly at a time like this, that the chief regulator must be someone with the axiomatic Midas touch.

This is where Ms. Oloworaran steps in. Reputed for her visionary leadership, analytical mindset and strong work ethic, she is a financial expert. An accounting graduate from the University of Ilorin, she not only holds a Master degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Manchester Business School, she is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI) and a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). She recently completed the Transforming Business Using AI (TBAI) program at the Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD), a non-profit graduate business school that maintains campuses in France, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.

With over 20 years of cognate experience in the financial services industry, she began her career at Citibank and subsequently worked at Renaissance Capital (RenCap – an investment bank), FDHL Limited (a consulting firm), and Stanbic IBTC Bank before joining First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, where she is currently the Group Head of First Shared Services (FSS).

In all these institutions, she carved a niche for herself as a strong advocate for business growth through innovation, process reengineering, and client service reimagining by instituting strategic business solution-based operations. Whether it is establishing startup operational processes or managing internal, industry, or regulatory-driven initiatives in the banking industry, she has the knack for excellence.

For instance, she is reputed for strengthening collaboration with stakeholders, playing a pivotal role in several industry and Central Bank initiatives at the various banks she worked, including the introduction of federal government’s bonds and treasury bills trading in 2006, implementing internal policy documents for margin trading in 2008, developing market guidelines and accounting entries for repo trading in 2013, deploying the improved Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) SWIFT-based settlement system, the Scripless Securities Settlement System (S4) in 2013, and the introduction of the e-Naira, among other initiatives.

In doing all this, she demonstrated vision and leadership, overseeing the effective, efficient, and optimal utilisation of resources – human and capital – in responding to competitive pressures and in the process, earning for herself nomination and subsequently winning the First Bank Group CEO’s Award – 2022 and the Beyond Excellence Award in Stanbic IBTC.

With good industry experience encompassing regulatory compliance and operational risk, inflow management including pension receipts, strategic planning and policy development, client services, transaction banking operationalisation, treasury and investment banking operations, document and records management, she spearheaded initiatives that enhanced various innovation and automation projects, including Straight Through Processing (STP) initiatives, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Client Services Transformation, records digitisation, and system/process redesign.

These skill sets will, no doubt, serve her well at PenCom. As someone who is very passionate about people and has been involved in mentorship programmes and direct interventions, nurturing exceptional talents and enabling an empowered workforce in the banking industry, Omotola, will indubitably bring her strategic thinking skill, visionary leadership, strong work ethic, integrity and ethical standards to bear on her new job.

Notwithstanding the successes already recorded by her predecessors – Muhammed Ahmad (pioneer DG), Chinelo Anohu-Amazu and Aisha Dahir-Umar – Oloworaran, who has the advantage of two decades cognate experience in Nigeria’s financial sector, has her job cut out as so much is expected of her.

The pension industry has become the bulwark of the country’s flailing economy and has the capacity of providing answers to most of Nigeria’s economic woes because pension funds contribution has significant positive effect on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Besides, the scheme mobilises long term savings for investment thus providing capital for infrastructure projects, business expansion, and job creation. By stimulating entrepreneurship and creating jobs, the Contributory Pension Scheme is the only recipe for economic stability and development.

Not only that, experts aver that pension funds serve as a buffer against the corrosive impact of inflation, with diversified investment portfolios outpacing inflation over the long term. At a time when headline inflation is 34.2 per cent, a 28-year high, the resilience of the CPS ensures that retirees maintain their quality of life despite economic fluctuations.

The tasks before Oloworaran, therefore, include deepening the market by pulling more people into the pension net. In October 2023, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management disclosed that out of 73 million Nigerian workers, only 10 million have enrolled in the CPS leaving out about 63 million workers.

There is also need to review the contribution rates in accordance with the Act to ensure that retirees maintain their desired standard of living. Though the Pension Act stipulates a minimum contribution of 10 per cent by the employer and 8 per cent by the employee, presently the employers only contribute 7.5 per cent, same with employees bringing the total to 15 per cent.

The issue of non-payment of accrued rights by government is one problem that has deleterious impact on the scheme. Right now, the government is owing almost a two-year backlog of accrued rights, which means that no worker who retired within same period has been paid retirement benefits. While the issue remains a slippery slope, the incoming DG must deploy all her skills in persuading an obviously illiquid government to timeously release the accrued rights to mitigate the sufferings of retirees.

To blunt the edge of the incessant agitation by the police for exit, Oloworaran must seek, urgently, presidential approval of special gratuity for police retirees at the rate of 300 per cent of their last annual gross pay so that the balances in their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) will be channeled towards their monthly pension payments. Fortunately, all stakeholders in the industry are agreed on this and the request letter has been on the presidential desk since the time of Muhammadu Buhari.

Managing the country’s huge pension assets is no mean feat. The good news is that Ms. Omolola Oloworaran has what it takes to excel. All she needs do is apply herself to the job. Fortunately, she has a solid reputation for doing just that. Nigeria’s economy and her longsuffering retirees will be better for it.

The Lagos State Police Command, on Wednesday, confirmed that three domestic staff have been arrested in connection with the murder of the daughter of Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin, who made the revelation to journalists, said that the arrest of the three suspects was initiated in line with a directive from the State’s Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade, to investigate the death thoroughly.

SP Hundeyin further disclosed that the arrested three domestic staff members have been handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department, which has since taken over the investigation.

The deceased, Aribemchukwu, was reportedly killed in her Parkview Estate residence in the highbrow Ikoyi area of the state on Wednesday morning.

A family source who craved anonymity because of the current state of the family, said she was killed on Tuesday night, and her body was discovered Wednesday morning outside the gate of her residence.

“It would appear that new household staff might have been responsible and tried to stage as if she was outside when it happened.

“There are signs of an attempt to clean up blood inside the house and in the compound. This was indeed the handiwork, and we observed that they were newly employed less than a month, and she was alone in the house with them.

“Newly employed domestic staff, who had been with the family for less than a month, are suspected to have staged the scene to make it appear that Aribemchukwu was outside the house when the incident occurred. Evidence suggests an attempt to clean up blood inside the house and within the compound, pointing to a different narrative,” the source narrated.

Aribemchukwu’s father, Soboma Ajumogobia, is the younger brother of Odein Ajumogobia, SAN, a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and later one-time Minister of Foreign Affairs.

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has restricted participants in the August 1 hunger protest against the federal government to the MKO Abiola stadium, also known as the National Stadium.

Justice Sylvanus Oriji issued the order on Wednesday in Abuja while delivering a ruling in an ex-parte application brought before him by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

In the ex parte application argued by Chief Ogwu James Onoja, the FCT Minister had applied for an order of interim injunction restraining the five leaders of the protesting groups from gathering or parading themselves along any roadway, streets, offices and public premises within the FCT between August 1 and 10, or any other day thereafter, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

He also applied for another order of interim injunction mandating the security agencies to prevent the protesting leaders from gathering or parading themselves along any roadway, office or public premises within the FCT between August 1 and 10, pending the hearing of his motion on notice.

The minister, who said that the federal government was not averse to the protest, claimed that intelligence and security reports reaching him indicated that some elements within the leadership of the protesters intend to capitalise on the planned protest to cause havoc and irreparable damage to public facilities and block roadways to prevent movement of persons and vehicles and disturb public peace.

He claimed that when he contacted the security agencies to ensure that the planned protest did not degenerate into criminality and disturbance of public peace and order, he was told that they are not well equipped to manage any crisis that may arise from the planned protest at short notice; hence, they advised him that prevention is better than cure.

The minister tendered an exhibit from the “Take it Back Movement, FCT”, signed by one Damilare Adenola, in which they threatened to invade the Presidential Villa and also threatened to pull down the outer wires facing the Aso Rock villa during the protest

Besides, they demanded that the FCT provide them with light as well as toilets during the duration of the protest.

In his ruling, Justice Oriji, who recognised the rights of the protesters to embark on the protest, restricted them to the stadium because of the genuine fears expressed by the minister.

“In the light of the above, the court considers it appropriate and expedient to grant an order under the omnibus or general prayer to ensure that the rights of the protesters are guaranteed and that the protest does not negatively or adversely affect the rights of other citizens to move about and to ensure that properties and other public facilities are not destroyed,” the judge held.

He therefore ordered the 1st to 5th respondents to “use the Moshood Abiola Stadium” only for the protest.

Meanwhile, the court ordered the service of processes in the suit as well as the confinement order on the respondents by placing the same in the newspapers.

Defendants in the suit are Omoyele Sowore, Damilare Adenola, Adama Ukpabi, Tosin Harsogba, persons unknown, Inspector General IG of Police, Commissioner of Police, Director General of the State Security Service, Director General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, and Chief of Naval Staff as 1st to 12th respondents.

The omission of Favour Ofili from the Women’s 100m event of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has smeared Nigeria’s campaign, with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria and Nigeria Olympic Committee trading blames, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

In Wednesday’s release, AFN Technical Director, Samuel Onikeku, expressed shock at Ofili’s exclusion, stating, “We registered Ofili for the 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m relay. We don’t know how her name got missing in the 100m. This is our stand as a federation.”

Ofili took to her social media page to announce her omission on Tuesday, expressing her anger by writing, “It is with great regret that I have just been told I will not be competing in the 100 metres at this Olympic Games. I qualified, but those with the AFN and NOC failed to enter me. I have worked for 4 years to earn this opportunity.

“For what… to not be entered and compete at the Olympic Games because the responsible organisation failed to enter me? ‘ Please remember, in the last Olympic Games I was not able to compete because AFN, NADC, and NOC failed to release funds for athletes to be tested, which made 14 Nigerian athletes that qualified to not compete.

“Now this. If those responsible are not held accountable for taking this opportunity from me, neither organisation can ever be trusted in the future!‘ Next one is the 200 metres; I hope I’m entered.”

In a statement on Wednesday, the Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, expressed his dismay at the ugly development and promised to hold those responsible accountable.

“As Minister of Sports, I will not tolerate this utter recklessness. It is highly inexcusable, and there will be thorough sanctions after investigations into where and from whom this gross negligence originated,” he said.

The police command in Lagos says it has deactivated an improvised explosive device (IED) from exploding in the Ikeja area of the state on Wednesday.

Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesperson in Lagos, said the IED, which was contained inside a bag, was dropped by the roadside near the federal operations unit (FOU), Zone A of the Nigeria Customs along Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way in Ikeja.

Hundeyin said an officer on patrol identified the man who dropped the package, adding that the suspect came down from an unregistered Toyota Corolla vehicle.

He said the command’s anti-bomb squad immediately came to the scene to implode the IED before it went off.

“The officer sighted a young man who alighted from the car and carefully dropped a bag by the side of the FOU Zone A fence. The young man returned to his car and zoomed off,” the police spokesperson said.

“Based on the report, a team of EOD-CBRN experts from the base quickly mobilised to the scene to identify the object.

“On arrival, it was confirmed that truly the item is IED. Subsequently, the area was cordoned off, and the IED was rendered safe and thereafter detonated accordingly.

“Meanwhile, the residual of the IED was collected for further analysis and investigation.”

[TheCable]

From initially expressing unease about the protests billed to start today, the government changed its stance to advocating “peaceful protests.” It was a smart move. If they had refused people the chance to protest outrightly, they would have fuelled the rage driving them. By asking them to exercise their rights, albeit peacefully, they took the bite out of the whole affair. Almost everyone with a previously radical stance is now chorusing “peaceful protests.”  Do not be surprised if, despite all the noise about a coming tornado, we end up with a slight gust of wind.

Violent protests are not necessarily the answer; in our present situation, it would in fact be unhelpful. It will direct issues from people’s registration of their suffering with an indifferent government to discussions of the incidence of attacks. That will present the perfect distraction for an administration that perennially seeks excuses to justify irresponsibility. From my reading of their attitudes so far, I suspect that as much as they claim to be afraid of violence, they in fact need it to change the narrative from their administrative failings and make themselves out to be unjustified victims of a maniacal public. Former information minister Lai Mohammed played that to advantage after the EndSARS protests in 2020. I hope no one, no matter how much they are goaded, falls into that trap.  Look at Bola Tinubu saying that he finds it hard to forget the buses burnt during the EndSARS protest. Imagine! He has no memory of those who died, but he remembers the buses. That is telling of his mind and character.

Coming soon after the Kenyan protests and all the havoc that attended them, governments everywhere should truly be afraid. Given how much the culture of protest feeds off another elsewhere, another country might take up the refrain anywhere, anytime. The dust had barely settled in Kenya when Bangladeshi youths started theirs. Currently, the death toll stands at 200 plus. It is quite understandable why the Tinubu government has overreacted to the mention of protests. They know how many calamities they have imposed on the country in such a short time. Nigerians saw hell under Muhammadu Buhari’s government for eight years, but all the hardships of those years have been quickly outweighed by just one year under Tinubu’s government. Even God in all his rage did not send the 10 plagues in a day!

There are economic situations caused by the global downturn and which hardly anyone could have helped; there are also situations consequent of mismanagement and lackadaisical attitude; Tinubu’s government combines both. Yes, the post-COVID economy and the wars have had negative impacts on most countries’ economies, but the case of Nigeria is such that we are also dealing with an incompetent and corrupt government. Administrative decisions are about what ends up in their pockets; God help the masses! So far, they have inflicted different measures of pain. Even worse, they lack fellow feelings for the poor victims of all their poorly conceived and badly executed policies.

Despite my not supporting violence, I am still wary of well-meaning people joining paid contractors to chorus “peaceful protests.” When the people against whom you want to take a stand tell you that you can protest, but only if you do it peacefully, what they are saying is “make it very easy for me to ignore you.” Because, what good will peaceful protests really do in a political context where leaders only respond to the force of power? Now they are all over the place shouting “peaceful protests” as if peace was ever their love language. All these months, they have either ignored or even gaslit people’s groans. Now that things have come to a head, they want “peaceful protests.” If you truly believed in peace, why did you wait so long before responding to the restless cries of a people that you have systematically diminished?

With the way they have been throwing accusations at political opponents as the ones sponsoring the protests, you can tell that they are already preparing a grand narrative of political persecution that they will use to turn the protest in their own favour. Think about it, why else would Bayo Onanuga and the rest of the Tinubu “scream team” be blaming their political opponents for sponsoring the protests if not because they are readying the grounds for plausible deniability of their own responsibility in the anger that bubbled up and eventually spilled onto the streets? To delegitimise the protests, they are also alleging spurious issues (hardly of any immediate concern to anyone) as reasons people are mobilising. What they succeed in proving with all that spin is their detachment from the realities of the people they supposedly administer.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio—whom no one has ever accused of deep thinking anyway—preferred to believe that the protests are being sponsored by “election losers.” Vice President Kashim Shettima even called those planning to protest “idiots.” While no reasonable person expects better from someone like Shettima who complements his bad mouth with a bad memory and an equally bad faith, his language is still shameful. When the government views you as an “idiot”, it means they do not think of you as human enough to consider giving their policies a human face.

You wonder, do those so quick to deflect issues on their political opponents even have the capacity to understand the public sensibility and reflect on it adequately? Other than protecting their self-interests, what else have they got? They do not care about peace. They have never had peace in mind for anyone but themselves. For them, Kenya is merely a spectre to be weaponised and threaten us. Their aides now tell us to be careful, otherwise we will all end up as losers if mass violence breaks out. But at what point did flesh and blood reveal that to you? The fear of losing everything is for those who have things to lose and does not mean much to people impoverished by your policies.

When Tinubu proclaimed “subsidy is gone” without making adequate plans for how people would fare, did it occur to all these geniuses now writing facile nonsense that they were pushing people to the wall? There is virtually no area where people are not feeling the mad squeeze. What other options are they left with than to fight back with protests? Now that they realise they cannot stop the protest, they issue a set of prescriptions, “do not block the road,” “do not inconvenience anyone,” “do not do this or that.” So, what exactly is left if the protests are non-disruptive? People might as well not bother.

In any case, the Tinubu boys should perhaps not have bothered with all the drama. I do not believe it is a pre-scheduled protest like this they should worry about; it is the spontaneous ones that might erupt if things continue this way that should keep them awake at night. The Storming of the Bastille and the Arab Spring did not set a date, neither did the Romanian Revolution that drowned Nicholas Ceausescu. They all appeared unthinkable to the political establishment until they happened.

That is why all those aides crawling out of their WhatsApp group to dish us lessons about Kenya have it all wrong. This is not the protest you should fear. For all we know, it will be anticlimactic. The over-preparation and over-reaction are likely to dissuade people from participating. Nevertheless, they will do well to remember the Negro spiritual that formed the title of James Baldwin’s classic and take this as a sign of what looms on the horizon if they persist in their incompetence and indifference: God gave Noah rainbow sign; no more water, the fire next time!

In October 2019, I was in Prague, Czech Republic, at the invitation of ‘Forum 2000’ to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1989 ‘Velvet Revolution’ which brought to power then Czechoslovakia’s famous playwright and political dissident, the late Vaclav Havel. ‘Forum 2000’ was founded in 1996 by Havel (who died in December 2011), in collaboration with Japanese philanthropist, Yohei Sasakawa, and the late Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Holocaust survivor, Professor Elie Wiesel. So as scholars reflect on the 1989 ‘Autumn of Nations’—mass protests in several Eastern European, Asian and Latin American countries—an enduring lesson should be that there are no predictable outcomes to fires that start from the streets. I will come back to that shortly. 

We wake up in Nigeria today to the fear of a planned 10-day protest. With #EndBadGovernance in Nigeria as hashtag, and driven mostly by people on social media, the aim of the protests, according to the organisers, is to draw attention to the hunger and general economic hardship that most Nigerians now grapple with. As of June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), food inflation had hit at an all-time high of 40.87 percent while prices of necessities are now beyond the reach of the average Nigerian. Anger on the streets is therefore understandable. But the fear that protests could be infiltrated or hijacked by hoodlums to loot and cause mayhem is also real.

I attended a Christian programme last week where the presiding cleric asked us to pray for Nigeria – routine in many religious gatherings these days. The pastor prefaced his call with a litany of the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities and the hardship being faced by most Nigerians. Despite all these, he added, “I do not believe that street protest offers any practical solution to our problems,” as he led us to pray for God to avert the protests. But with his prayer session over, one young man in the row behind me muttered, “The prayer is too late. Nothing can stop the protests.” He was audible enough for many of us to turn in his direction. “So, if you don’t believe God can change the situation, why were you praying so fervently?”, the lady beside him asked.

And in a most provocative statement, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, yesterday mocked organisers of the protest. “All of us feel the impact of what is happening now. But we are aware it will be for a short while. MD, I want to thank you for what you said,” Akpabio stated while addressing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) delegates from Rivers State led by the commission’s Managing Director. “You said we are not interested in regime change; let us own this government. Those who want to protest can protest but let us be there eating.”

Unfortunately, the reality of Nigeria is that we don’t even know when this rain started to beat us. I am sure many readers have come across the trending letter of one of the foremost educationists in our country and founder of Mayflower Secondary School, Ikenne, Ogun State, the late Dr Tai Solarin. Written on 30th November 1983 to parents and titled ‘Feeding our 2,300 children’, Solarin lamented the skyrocketing prices of foodstuffs in the country. And that was 41 years ago. “We are frightened by the rate foodstuffs are rising madly in prices. There was an evening when we had no palm oil at all to prepare supper and a man in Sagamu offered us a drum for ₦700.00. Of course we did not buy it. At the same time, we have bought other items of food for about twice what we paid for them three months ago,” Solarin had stated in the letter which was an appeal to parents of students in his school. “I have travelled to Oyo and 22 miles further north sampling yams, tomatoes, beans and pepper. For this term we have turned some of the members of school administration to food buyers to under-cut the prices offered by our regular purchasers. Brown beans now go for ₦200 a bag.”

Now to the core issue. In a democracy, and one especially patterned after that of the United States, protests and civil disobedience are part of the package. But the challenge of the moment is to ask whether there is political salvation from the streets, especially in the Nigeria of today. In the two incidences of 2003 and 2012 earlier cited, there was no violence. In fact, Oshiomhole led almost a dozen strikes against Obasanjo, some lasting days. If anything, it was Oshiomhole himself who got brutalised, teargassed and arrested during some of these protests but never at any point was there public looting. The same with the 2012 protests during which musicians played and drinks were served in Lagos. That, sadly, was also the way the EndSARS started in December 2020 before it descended into a national tragedy. And given that sordid experience, one can understand why the federal government is agitated by the idea of protests at a period when so many people are hungry and could easily take advantage.

Going back to the ‘Autumn of Nations’, it is indeed remarkable that the 1989 revolutions produced diverse outcomes in different countries. At the ‘Forum 2000’ conference in Prague five years ago, four sessions captured two of the most significant events of 1989: ‘Chinese Superpower and the Promise of Tien´anmen 1989’ and ‘Germany: 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall’. While the uprising in the then East Germany led to the fall of the Berlin Wall along with its communist regime, what followed was economic prosperity for the united Germany. But perhaps the most remarkable of those (1989) revolutions happened in the then Czechoslovakia.

All factors considered; I doubt!

Two Generations of Saxophonists

Come Saturday 17 August, Demilade Adepegba, 15, fondly called The BOLD One, will be showcasing his dexterity with the saxophone at the Annual Teens Career Conference of The Everlasting Arms Parish (TEAP) of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Abuja. With the special guest, former Cross River State Governor, Mr Donald Duke, also a saxophonist, it will be a combination of the young and the old. But that’s not the real story. Demilade’s parents discovered his love for music very early and on his 6th birthday, they presented him a saxophone. Meanwhile, the story of Duke, 64, who sees music as a life-long passion, is similar. “I started playing music at the age of three. My parents got me a piano and sat me down, then I had a music teacher. But after the piano, the first instrument I played was the flute. From the flute to the guitar, from the guitar I did a lot of vocals. Then I tried the saxophone,” Duke explained in an interview with Daily Trust on how he fell in love with the saxophone and his passion for music. “You see, when you play these instruments it’s your fingers that find the notes. But it transports you. Every other period, I’m guarded. But when I’m playing music, I’m just myself. I can play from now till the wee hours of the morning and I’m not tired because I enjoy doing it. And it’s only when you enjoy what you are doing that your passion comes out.”

Themed ‘The Power of Music’, I find the interconnectedness of the stories of our speakers this year interesting because the parental influence that fired the imaginations of both Duke and Damilade also nudged Darey Art Alade, 42 and Mrs Bukola Bekes, 43, in the same direction. As son of the late Modupe Afolabi Jemi-Alade popularly known as Art Alade, a famous Nigerian television personality in the 70s, Darey learnt the craft from his father. As for Bekes, she was encouraged by her parents to join the church choir right from childhood and today, she is the Music Director at the RCCG, City of David, Lagos. These eminent personalities will be joined by the chief host, Pastor Evaristus Azodoh who will conclude the conference with the Father’s Blessings. Eligible participants should visit rccgteapteens.ng for online registration.

And since we are talking about music, I felt sad yesterday to learn about the death of the much-adored Onyeka Onwenu, the ‘elegant stallion’. May God comfort her family.