Many Nigerians are curious as to why the government has not yet implemented the recommendations of the Oronsaye Report.

There are rumours of political manoeuvring and lobbying by some powerful individuals who stand to lose from the proposed merger of ministries, departments and agencies of government (MDAs).

Others speculate that the government may face logistical and financial challenges in the mergers. However, the delay is causing anxiety among civil servants and citizens alike, who are eager to see a leaner and more efficient government.

They say the government must provide clear and transparent communication on the progress of the mergers and address any concerns or obstacles hindering the implementation.

LEADERSHIP reports that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved the merging, scrapping, and subsuming of some MDAs  in February this year in line with its policy of reducing the cost of governance.

The president’s special adviser on policy coordination, Hajiya Hadiza Bala-Usman, said the decision was based on the Steve Oronsaye Report on Civil Service Reforms inaugurated under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in 2014.

According to the report, the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria will be merged with the Voice of Nigeria, while the National Commission for Museum and Monuments will be merged with the National Gallery of Acts.

The National Theatre will merge with the National Troupe of Nigeria, while the National Meteorological Development Centre will merge with the National Meteorological Training Institute.

National Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA) is to be merged with the Centre for Disease Control in the Federal Ministry of Health, while National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is to be merged with the National Commission for Refugee Migration and Internally Displaced Persons.

The Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa will be merged with the Directorate of Technical Aid to function as a department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission is to be merged with the Bureau for Public Enterprises. The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission will merge with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, while the National Agency for Science and Technology and Science and Engineering Infrastructure will merge with the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation and the Project Development Institute.

The special adviser further revealed that the National Biotechnology Development Agency will be merged with the National Centre for Genetic Resource and Biotechnology, while the National Institute for Leather Science Technology will be merged with the National Institute for Chemical Technology.

The Nomadic Education Commission will merge with the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult Education, and Non-formal Education.

The Nigerian Army University will be merged with the Nigerian Defence Academy to function as a faculty within the latter.

Similarly, the Air Force Institute of Technology also will be merged with the Nigerian Defence Academy to function as the faculty of the Nigerian Defence Academy.

The Border Communities Development Agency will be subsumed to function as a department under the National Boundary Commission.

The National Salaries Income and Wages Commission is to be subsumed into the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission while the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution is to be subsumed under the Institute for International Affairs.

The Public Complaints Commission is to be subsumed under the National Human Rights Commission while the Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis is to be subsumed into the Institute for Veterinary Research.

On the agencies to be relocated, Hadiza Bala Usman said the Niger Delta Power Holding Company is to be relocated to the Ministry of Power while the National Agricultural Land Development Agency will be relocated to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

Meanwhile, a director in the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, who pleaded anonymity while speaking on the expiration of the 12 weeks given to the presidential committee to develop a workable plan for implementing the merger of MDAs, said it was wise to give the committee this week to see what they will come out with, since the deadline just expired.

Responding on whether he was aware of the preparedness of the MDAs for the merger, he said the Office of the Head of Service does not have such information, and that it is the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation that is in charge of the merger because MDAs are under the SGF, not the Head of Service.

“The 12 weeks given to the presidential committee to implement the merger just expired, and today is Monday; you people should be patient and hold forth. Let us see what this week brings out. It is too early to ask what is happening.

“On if the MDAs are prepared, I would not know how prepared they are, because MDAs are under the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. They are in charge of parastatals, not the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation,” he said.

[Leadership]

The Debt Management Office (DMO) Wednesday clarified that Nigeria’s fresh borrowing was N7.71 trillion in the first quarter of 2024.

It explained that the fresh borrowing includes N2.81 trillion as part of the new domestic borrowing of N6.06 trillion provided in the 2024 Appropriation Act and N4.90 trillion as part of the securitization of the N7.3 trillion Ways and Means Advances approved by the National Assembly.

The DMO made the clarification in a statement titled, “Explaining the Q1 2024 Public Debt Data,” saying the N24.33 trillion increase in the total debt was a result of a combination of fresh borrowing and naira devaluation.

The DMO noted that the exchange rate shifted from N899.39/$1 in Q4 2023 to N1,330.26/$1 in Q1 2024 which represents a depreciation of 32.39%, causing the naira value of external debt to rise sharply despite the actual dollar-denominated debt remaining relatively stable.

In Q1 2024, the total public debt in naira terms stood at N121.67 trillion, up from N97.34 trillion in Q4 2023.

The DMO explained that while the total external debt stock remained almost flat in dollar terms, the naira value surged due to the devaluation.

Since about N7.71 trillion was fresh borrowing, it means that about N16.62 trillion increase in total debt was due to naira devaluation.

This N16.62 trillion increase, combined with new domestic borrowing of N7.71 trillion, accounts for the total spike in Nigeria’s public debt stock.

The statement read: “Returning to the trend in the Total Debt Data between Q4, 2023, and Q1, 2024, the increase in Naira Terms of N24.33 trillion is being misinterpreted as New Borrowing. The amount actually represents New Borrowing of N2.81 trillion as part of the New Domestic Borrowing of N6.06 trillion provided in the 2024 Appropriation Act, New Domestic Borrowing of N4.90 trillion as part of the securitization of the N7.3 trillion Ways and Means Advances approved by the National Assembly, as well as, the depreciation in the official Naira Exchange Rate from USD/899.39 in Q4, 2023 to USD/N1,330.26 in Q1, 2024.

“Consequently, whereas, the Total External Debt Stock was relatively flat at USD42.50 billion and USD42.12 billion in Q4, 2023, and Q1, 2024 respectively, the Naira values were significantly different at N38.22 trillion and N56.02 trillion respectively, representing a difference of N17.8 trillion. This explains the perceived sharp increase of N24.33 trillion in the Total Debt Stock in Q1, 2024. The difference in the Exchange Rate for the two (2) periods also explains why in US Dollar Terms, the Total Debt Stock actually declined in Q1, 2024 (USD91.46 billion) when compared to Q4, 2023 (USD97.34 billion).”

[DailyTrust]

Yoruba people have a proverb that translates, “When a youth stumbles, they look ahead; when an elderly stumbles, they look backwards.” As a child, I thought the proverb was talking about how children and elders contrarily process the embarrassment of falling in public. I assumed that an elder looks backwards when they fall because it would be too shameful to look elsewhere. Growing older helped me appreciate the wisdom the proverb encodes. The youth and the elderly look in opposite directions when they miss their footing to draw upon sources of wisdom available to them.

Foundering during one’s youth is a chance to look ahead and learn from the experiences of those who have walked a similar path. There is always someone ahead whose wisdom, insight, and experience one can readily call upon. An elder looks behind them to review their stumble because they are expected to have accrued enough experience to reflect and make amends.

 When President Bola Tinubu fell on his face during the Democracy Day celebrations, I briefly wondered what the Yoruba in their wisdom had to say about the direction an elderly president looks when they lose their balance.

What happened to Tinubu was, of course, a physical fall and not the metaphorical one that the proverb reflected on. Yet, tripping up on Democracy Day of all days— especially for a man who boasts he helped fight military dictatorship—symbolises his presidency more than anything else. He is a faltering leader, and I want to believe that even he knows that this presidency of a thing is way beyond his much-vaunted abilities. Forget the repeated excuse of him inheriting a bad situation (every president since 1999 has said the same anyway), this man has confronted a situation whose scale neither his administrative abilities nor the propaganda machine that propagated his managerial capabilities can possibly sustain. His second year as president has started counting, but his leadership remains as unexciting as it was on Day One.

I observed two sets of responses to Tinubu’s fall. Younger people, especially those with social media accounts, thought it was funny and were quick to restage the moment he slipped in many satirical skits that instantly flooded social media. Given the anonymity social media platforms offer, the moral accountability and cultural codes of respect that would otherwise restrain us from laughing at the pitiable sight of an old man falling down are far looser. When you are young and vibrant, I suppose an old person whose body has succumbed to the will of nature can be a comic spectacle. Even if it occurs to you that you could one day end up the same way, the possibility will still be so remote that you could laugh.

Older people, especially those closer to the generation of the president, did not think his tripping over was funny. Not only did they demonstrate a fellow feeling for the president, but they were also mortified by the irreverence of youths laughing at an elder. Despite the justified criticisms, I do not see the satirists as lacking either empathy or even good manners. The man who stumbled on Democracy Day was no random elder but a political figure already despised by a younger generation for everything he represents. Few things in life can possibly be as delightful as the irony of a person who sells their soul to acquire invincible political power losing their physical balance. It was the same reason the internet went wild when former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe tripped and fell on a red carpet in 2015.

Perhaps because I am caught between the older and younger generations, I am ambivalent at the sight of a president falling on his face. When you have seen videos of people falling on the road out of the hunger Tinubu’s policies induced, his awkward situation loses even its schadenfreude worth. Even if you want to laugh, you are reminded that millions of us are only divine grace away from collapsing either due to hunger or the stress of living in Nigeria under his leadership. Nigeria is tough at the moment; so tough that survival is a traumatising sport.

Things have reached the point where everyone is advising everyone to take to farming. On the surface, this looks like a wise counsel but it is a non-solution. How is a country supposed to survive the real challenges of the 21st century when the majority of its citizens resort to subsistence farming just to alleviate hunger? Would they also need to take up animal husbandry to meet other dietary needs? Given how much agricultural produce Nigeria wastes every year due to the broken value chain of agriculture, our troubles are not food shortages. There is food, but the majority of us just lack purchasing power. Give it a maximum of one year, and it will eventually dawn on the proponents of mass farming that the agricultural practices that led to what is called “food security” in richer nations have long gone beyond the pre-modern planting methods we are being encouraged to take up in 2024.

Tinubu himself was embarrassed by the Democracy Day fall given how he tried to ameliorate the embarrassment with a joke as soon as he got the chance. For him to have alluded to the pillorying he received on social media, he must have been self-conscious about it. What I truly wonder is the nature of his shame: that he fell on his face or that the physical fall metaphorises his presidency? Tinubu’s reaction to his own stumble brings me back to the earlier question: when a president stumbles, in which direction is he supposed to look? I suppose a quick retort will be that a wobbly old person like him should look into their past to draw the necessary wisdom to process their fall.

Trouble is, which past would a man with Tinubu’s history be looking into? His past is pretty recent. Virtually every biographical detail about the man pre-1999 (family history, educational path, and even career trajectory) when he became the Lagos governor is under contention. The rest is so enshrouded in overlapping scandals that he is one president who will probably never be able to launch his autobiography. Whatever he has to say about himself (or his biographers’ document) will instantly be investigated by the online sleuths who, with their access to a world wide web of information, will puncture through the façade.

If his pre-1999 life is draped in the mystery of who he truly is and the road that brought him here, his personal history that unfolded after he became governor is no less fabricated. His alleged leadership record, wildly celebrated by a band of hired intellectuals and professional sycophants, has been a hyperbolic celebration of what is essentially mediocre leadership. His praise singers drummed him up and trumpeted his praises to Aso Rock. Now that he is up there, it turns out there is very little quality in his past that he can draw on to salvage Nigeria.

He is not stumbling because Nigeria is a difficult state to administer. No, he is falling because he was promoted beyond the degree of what suffices as his past—his administrative record, experience, and leadership sagacity—can sustain. The incoherence and lack of coordination in his government give him away as a man who has subsisted on propaganda rather than a true achiever.

So, here we are, stuck with a stumbling president who is too old to look in the forward direction and has very little in his past to call upon at a crucial juncture in the life of the nation. Without the benefit of a past and a future, the best he can do is to look lost.

Georgia stunned former champions Portugal 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the knockout stage at Euro 2024 —- their first-ever major tournament.

The match was settled by an early Khvicha Kvaratskhelia strike and a Georges Mikautadze penalty kick.

The win, albeit against a largely second-string Portugal who had already made it into the next round, represented the greatest result for Georgia.

This was since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. 

But there was nothing undeserved about the way Willy Sagnol, a former Bayern Munich and France defender, and his side claimed a third-place finish in the tournament’s Group F.

It was a win that had now set them up for a last-16 meeting with three-time Euro winners Spain.

Georgia’s win also means that England will line up against Slovakia, Romania take on Netherlands and Portugal face Slovenia in the round of 16.

Hungary, who had been in contention for a spot in the next round, were edged out.

The tournament debutants took the lead in the second minute when Kvaratskhelia, the Napoli winger, raced away after a careless pass by Antonio Silva.

He then powered a low shot past Diogo Costa in Portugal’s goal.

Cristiano Ronaldo —- one of only three starters for Portugal who also played in their 3-0 win over Turkey on Saturday —- stretched and strained for every ball.

This was as he sought to become the oldest goal scorer at a Euro tournament at the age of 39.

But Georgia defended as if their lives depended upon it and sought to catch Portugal on the break.

In the 53rd minute, Silva compounded his earlier error by committing a foul in the penalty box which led to an award of a penalty kick after a VAR check.

Mikautadze, who had provided the pass for Kvaratskhelia to open the scoring early on, steered his kick past Costa, making him the top scorer at Euro 2024 so far with three goals.

Ronaldo was booked in the first half for arguing and he cut a frustrated figure when he was substituted after the break, kicking out at a water bottle.

Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili made late saves to keep Portugal at bay in the final minutes.

At full-time, Georgia’s squad and coaching staff sprinted onto the field to celebrate in front of thousands of their fans.

Reuters/NAN

IN his 1961 book, The Theatre of the Absurd, Martin Julius Esslin, a Hungarian-born British journalist and professor of drama, lamented what he called absurdism, “the inevitable devaluation of ideals, purity, and purpose.”

Esslin, who died in London, United Kingdom on February 24, 2002, aged 83 years, couldn’t have had the oil-rich state of Rivers, Nigeria, in mind when he wrote his famed book 63 years ago.

But nothing captures the state of affairs in Rivers State today more profoundly than Esslin’s “theatre of the absurd”.

What manner of democracy is this where one man captures an entire state and all citizens become mere pawns on his political chess board?

Adept at self-deceit, on June 12, the Federal Government rolled out the drums in celebration of democracy. At the end of the day, it amounted to idolisation and deification of the powers that be with the unveiling of a large painting portrait of President Bola Tinubu at the Eagle Square, Abuja, touted as a message of hope for Nigerians and the African continent.

How a painting, even if it is the world’s largest painting portrait on a canvas as claimed by the promoters could translate to a message of hope for Nigerians and the African continent beggars belief. But it is typical of the theatrics of the new kids on Nigeria’s power bloc and the country’s descent into the odious valley of hero-worshipping. But I digress.

Back to Rivers State where the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, would rather let the state he ruled with iron-hand for eight years burn than let go his “structure of criminality,” apologies to Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, be dismantled.

But dismantled, the structure must be, if the state will have any fair chance of breathing and making any appreciable progress. And this is not about Governor Siminalayi Fubara but the health of the country’s much-abused democracy and public good.

Truth be told, no one captures a state in the manner Nigerian politicians are doing and use same in promoting public good. It can only be for self-serving purposes and that is exactly what has happened in Rivers State.

This week, Rivers is burning and grenades are exploding, a very dangerous dimension to the lingering political crisis just because local government chairmen whose three-year tenure expired recently are refusing to gracefully bow out.

And they are demonstrating unchallenged because the police that had earlier warned against such public nuisance are looking the other way all because they don’t want Wike’s structure to be dismantled.

Like the axiomatic tortoise on a senseless journey, which said it will not return until it has been thoroughly disgraced, the former chairmen are spoiling for a war in defence of their godfather’s political structure.

Explaining what he did at a New Year luncheon in his country home, Rumueprikom, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area on Sunday, January 7, 2024, Wike said: “Those who open their mouths to talk don’t know anything. I was the one who paid for the forms for anybody who wanted to run for elections as governor, House of Assembly and National Assembly. Let one person raise his hand and say he bought forms.”

Nobody disputed his narrative because it is true. He also mentioned those who were at the meeting where he unilaterally took the decision to include 71-year-old Chief Onueze Chukwujinka Joe (OCJ) Okocha, OFR, SAN, JP, DSSRS, former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Rivers State, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, life member of the Body of Benchers, former member of the National Judicial Council, NJC, and one-time Chairman of the Council of Legal Education; 72-year-old Sergeant Chidi Awuse, traditional ruler of Emuoha Kingdom and chairman of Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council; and 65-year-old Sir Celestine Ngozichim Omehia, a senior lawyer who was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1986 after obtaining a Masters Degree in International Law, LLM, from the University of Hull, England and former governor of Rivers State, who was already Commissioner for Education in 1992 when 56-year-old Wike was an undergraduate at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology.

Apparently, none of them saw anything wrong in the idea of a democracy where only one man usurps the role of the people in deciding who governs them.  

Boasting about how he single-handedly made Fubara governor, Wike thumped his chest: “If I had wanted another person, nobody would have stopped me. Nobody had what it takes to even be near me… If I wanted an Ikwerre man, nobody would have stopped me.”

This is not the language of democracy which is a government where people exercise the power of deciding who governs them.

Granted, godfatherism is a global phenomenon. But godfathers elsewhere use their personal resources to influence, not dictate, electoral outcomes. They support their preferred candidates by throwing their considerable weight behind them using moral suasion but they don’t foreclose competition because the ultimate decision lies with the people.

But here, those who have never worked anywhere else other than in government, corner the resources of the state entrusted in their care for the promotion of common good and use same to subjugate the people.

Take the case of Wike, for instance. He had barely graduated from the Nigeria Law School where he proceeded to in 1997 after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in law from Rivers State University of Technology before he became chairman of Obio Akpor Local Government Area in 1999. In 2007, he was appointed chief of staff to Governor Rotimi Amaechi and in July 2011, he became Minister of State for Education under the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, substantive Minister of Education in September 2013 and ultimately two-term governor of Rivers from 2015.

There is no evidence that he inherited any family fortune that would account for the wealth he is using to finance the structure that has become a problem for Rivers State.

Yet, as at the time Wike left Port Harcourt for Abuja to assume duty as the Federal Capital Territory Minister, the entire Rivers political superstructure that included governor, state lawmakers, federal lawmakers, judiciary, local government chairmen and council of traditional rulers, was in his pocket.

As it were, his godson, Fubara, was supposed to be in government, a mere figurehead, while he will be wielding the ultimate power from Abuja.

But there is no perfect crime. Wike didn’t realise that the man he thought would be the strongest link in that conspiratorial chain of state capture, Fubara, would fall through the cracks sooner than later and the minister is battling to reconfigure his political structure, which he has vowed not to surrender.

The people must ensure that that does not happen. For Rivers to survive, Wike’s political structure must be dismantled because it is not for the common good. The structure was set up in order for someone to maintain a vice grip on the resources of the state for personal aggrandisement and to service political loyalty.

The quarrel between Wike and Fubara is a divine intervention and the people cannot afford to sit on the fence. It is not going to be an easy battle because a lot is at stake but that is one battle that the people of Rivers must win and decisively too.

But beyond Rivers, Nigerians must fight against this cancer of malevolent godfatherism and culture of state capture, without which this democracy is doomed. Freedom does not come cheap. It has a price, which in the immortal words of Thomas Jefferson, philosopher, statesman, U.S. Founding Father, who served as the third president, is “eternal vigilance.”

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has alleged that the failed attempt to detonate an explosive device at the Hotel Presidential, a five-star hotel in Port Harcourt, was a deliberate ploy to strengthen the call for a state of emergency by haters, who want to undermine the state to achieve their evil plans.

He clarified that he was not fighting anybody but rather defending the state against predators and protecting Rivers state against those who feel that they own the lives of others.

Meanwhile, the prime suspect in the failed detonation of the alleged explosive device outside the perimeter fence of Hotel Presidential, during a protest on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, has been nabbed, revived and is now receiving intensive care at the State University Teaching Hospital.

This came as the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, warned politicians in Rivers State to shun violence and prevent the current political crisis from escalating, stressing that such a situation would work against the interest of the state.

In another development, a faction of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state has expressed concern over the possibility of an outbreak of guerilla warfare.

Governor Fubara, when he received on a courtesy visit, a delegation of the Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, led by its Chairman, Senator Orji Kalu, to Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday, said: “As a matter of fact, let me tell you, I know of everything that is happening. On Tuesday, they (protesters) were aware that you are in the state. So, there was an attempt to create serious problem.

“In fact, there was a plan to detonate dynamite at the Hotel Presidential because you people were there. But this God that we serve, it happened that the man, who was trying to do it, detonated it but just few seconds after, it blew his hands off.

“The plan was that as you were hearing of state of emergency, it will be such that by the time they finish, when you return to have your sitting on Thursday, the debate will be from somebody from this state, who called you to tell you not to come to Rivers State. He will now raise issue of state of emergency, and say after all, distinguished colleagues saw it happen while they were in Rivers State, that you saw what happened.

“But you see, when you are with God, even your child who is planning evil, will go and tell somebody that God is with this man because he is clean, this is what my father is planning. That is what is keeping us in this state.”

He wondered why it seemed that the law was silent or inactive to take its course over offenders as somebody appeared to be bigger than the law on the agitation, but there is nowhere in the country where tenure elongation for former local government chairmen has been an issue.

He pointed out that no governor in Nigeria can take 10 per cent of the abuse rained on him by former local government council chairmen.

Fubara said he had taken those insults and attacks in his strides without going hard on the purveyors because they planned to distract him, stressing that he had remained focused on delivering good governance and democratic dividends to Rivers people.

In his address, Chairman, of the Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, Senator Kalu, said they were in Rivers State to carry out oversight duties on some projects under their purview.
Kalu, who is the member representing Abia North senatorial district, commended Fubara for his love for peace, determination to offer quality governance and keep pace with providing the right climate to engender economic growth to all residents in the state.

The Senate committee chairman also urged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to shealth the sword, and call his supporters to order as a commitment to fostering peace and putting the interest of the State above all considerations.

Prime suspect of explosion nabbed

Tuesday, a middle-aged man, yet to be named had blown up himself during a protest by some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory in support of police occupation of the 23 local government area secretariats over the LGA leadership crisis in the state.

It was alleged that the suspect was among the protesters and that he had the suspected dynamite that went off in his hand.

It was gathered that the dynamite had exploded and shattered his hand as well causing panic in in the area.

According a source, Obinna (surname withheld) said the suspect was whisked away by other protesters as security agents trooped to the location where the explosion happened.

At press time, the Public Relations Officer of the state Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, who did not deny the report, had said she was yet to find out the full details of what transpired but promised to get by to our correspondent later.

But, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Olatunji Disu, while appearing on a television programme monitored in Port Harcourt, confirmed that a young man blew up himself with an explosive, noting that investigations were still on into development.

However, police have mounted tight security around the RSUTH with a mandate to secure law-abiding citizens, and particularly patients and staff of the facility.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh, said on getting information of the incident, the state government immediately alerted the Ministry of Health and all medical facilities in the state to be on the lookout for the patient(s) with suspected injuries arising from blasts.

Oreh said the severely injured patient was brought into the facility by some persons, who claimed that he was taken from a road traffic accident scene, adding that on close observation, it was discovered that the injuries were not related to any road traffic accident.

Oreh said the management of RSUTH and the state government were working in collaboration with the Police which has been duly notified and already playing its role in investigating the incident and the suspect.

MOSOP warns against violence, demands respect for rule of law

President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, who issued the warning in a statement in Port Harcourt, yesterday, also condemned calls for the declaration of a state of emergency in the state, noting that the situation in Rivers can be resolved if politicians respect the court and the constitution.

Nsuke said it was the constitutional duty of Rivers people to defend the state, by refusing to be tools for violence and by cooperating with the relevant security agencies to ensure that peace was maintained through “a strategic and honest management” of the crisis.

The MOSOP president urged the feuding camps to show maturity and decency in the interest of peace and stability and commended Rivers people, the police and other security agencies for preventing the crisis from escalation and bloodshed.

APC faction worries over guerilla warfare in Rivers

The party said the detonation of an improvised explosive device (IED) on Tuesday at the Hotel Presidential axis of Port Harcourt was worrisome, adding that the protest was organised against all advice and caution by a political group.

A statement by Darlington Nwauju, spokesman of the APC faction, yesterday, said: “The protests appear to be orchestrated and stage-managed to justify their call for state of emergency, even where no such situation ordinarily exists.

“We are miffed by the deployment of guerrilla warfare to our polity and wonder why this ugly narrative must always headline political activities in Rivers State.

“Regrettably, this shameful and unfortunate incident reminds us of the January 19, 2023, bombing of the APC campaign venue at Rumuwoji town hall, another suburb of Port Harcourt, which left six APC members injured, and all the signs point to the same group, which seem to have the privilege of getting away with whatever violent crime they launched.

“We challenge Police authorities in Rivers State to rise to the occasion this time by quizzing sponsors/leaders of the protest of June 25, 2024, who are not only known political honchos, but apostles and sympathisers of the call for a state of emergency in Rivers State.

“They seem to apply the notion that whatever you can’t get you destroy. Their modus operandi, which is now common knowledge, is that whatever they want to launch, they first raise public outcry and point fingers to the opposite direction to deceive the public.”

[Vanguard]

Orji Kalu, senator representing Abia north, says he will work with his colleagues in the red chamber to seek President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in the political crisis in Rivers state.

Kalu spoke on Wednesday when he led a delegation of the senate committee on privatisation and commercialisation on a visit to Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers.

Rivers is engulfed in a political crisis over a power tussle between Fubara and Nyesom Wike, his successor, who is now the minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).

During the visit, Kalu said Fubara and Wike needed to end their feud to avert anarchy in the state.

“We should not derail democracy; we should support democracy because democracy needs to be supported. If we don’t support democracy, democracy will collapse,” he said.

“So, I would like to plead with you and the former governor that you people should take the interests of your people foremost in your hearts.

“Continue to be holding your people, because if your people demonstrate like other people, we will have a state of anarchy, and it’s not good to have anarchy.

“Few of us here have access to President Bola Tinubu, and we are also going to plead with him seriously to see how we can shorten everything happening here.”

In his remarks, Fubara said he is not to blame for the political crisis in Rivers.

“We should be bold enough to look at the faces of people to tell them the truth,” he said.

“I am not fighting anybody; if I am fighting, people will know, and my pattern will change.

“What we are doing is to defend ourselves. We can’t just fold our hands. It is only a tree that will be standing, only for some to come and chop it off.”

In October 2023, Tinubu intervened in the political feud, facilitating the signing of a peace pact agreement by both parties involved.

However, hostilities have continued between the governor and his predecessor as well as their supporters.

[TheCable]

Led by a top general vowing to “restore democracy,” armored vehicles rammed the doors of Bolivia’s government palace Wednesday in what the president called a coup attempt, then quickly retreated — the latest crisis in the South American country facing a political battle and an economic crisis.

Within hours, the nation of 12 million people saw a rapidly moving scenario in which the troops seemed to take control of the government of President Luis Arce. He vowed to stand firm and named a new army commander, who immediately ordered the troops to stand down.

Soon the soldiers pulled back, along with a line of military vehicles, ending the rebellion after just three hours. Hundreds of Arce’s supporters then rushed the square outside the palace, waving Bolivian flags, singing the national anthem and cheering.

The soldiers’ retreat was followed by the arrest of army chief Gen. Juan José Zúñiga, after the attorney general opened an investigation. 

Government Minister Eduardo del Castillo said that in addition to Zúñiga, former navy Vice Adm. Juan Arnez Salvador was taken into custody.

“What was this group’s goal? The goal was to overturn the democratically elected authority,” del Castillo told journalists in announcing the arrests.

Late Wednesday, Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo said “everything is now under control.” Surrounded by the new military chiefs appointed by Arce, Novillo said that Bolivia lived a “failed coup.”

The apparent coup attempt came as the country has faced months of tensions and political fights between Arce and his one-time ally, former leftist president Evo Morales, over control of the ruling party. It also came amid a severe economic crisis.

The clashes have paralyzed the government’s efforts to deal with the economic crisis. For example, Morales’ allies in Congress have consistently thwarted Arce’s attempts to take on debt to relieve some of the pressure.

Zúñiga referenced that paralysis during the rebellion, telling reporters the military was tired of the infighting and was seeking “to restore democracy.”

“We are listening to the cry of the people because for many years an elite has taken control of the country,” he said, adding that politicians are “destroying the country: look at what situation we are in, what crisis they have left us in.”

“The armed forces intend to restore the democracy, to make it a true democracy,” he said.

The rapidly unfolding crisis began in the early afternoon as the streets of La Paz started filling with soldiers. Arce tweeted that the troops deployment was irregular and soon he and other political figures warned of an attempted coup.

Still, the apparent attempt to depose the sitting president seemed to lack any meaningful support, and even Arce’s rivals closed ranks to defend democracy and repudiate the uprising.

In a twist, Zúñiga claimed in comments to journalists before his arrest that Arce himself told the general to storm the palace in a political move. “The president told me: ‘The situation is very screwed up, very critical. It is necessary to prepare something to raise my popularity’,” Zúñiga quoted the Bolivian leader as saying.

Zúñiga sajd he asked Arce if he should “take out the armored vehicles?” and Arce replied, “Take them out.”

Justice Minister Iván Lima denied Zúñiga’s claims, saying the general was lying and trying to justify his actions for which he said he will face justice.

Prosecutors will seek the maximum sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison for Zúñiga, Lima said via the social media platform X, “for having attacked democracy and the Constitution.”

The spectacle shocked Bolivians, no stranger to political unrest; in 2019 Morales was ousted as president following an earlier political crisis.

As the crisis unfolded Wednesday, Arce confronted Zúñiga in the palace hallway, as shown on video on Bolivian television. “I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination,” Arce said.

Surrounded by ministers, he added: “Here we are, firm in Casa Grande, to confront any coup attempt. We need the Bolivian people to organize.”

Less than an hour later, Arce announced new heads of the army, navy and air force amid the roar of supporters, and thanked the country’s police and regional allies for standing by him. Arce said the troops who rose against him were “staining the uniform” of the military.

“I order all that are mobilized to return to their units,” said the newly named army chief José Wilson Sánchez. “No one wants the images we’re seeing in the streets.”

Shortly after, the armored vehicles roared out of the plaza, tailed by hundreds of military fighters as police in riot gear set up blockades outside the government palace.

The incident was met with a wave of outrage by other regional leaders, including the Organization of American States, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, the leader of Honduras, and former Bolivian leaders.

Gustavo Flores-Macias, a professor of government and public policy focusing on Latin America at Cornell University, said it’s important that world leaders and organizations keep up their condemnation of the coup attempt as developments unfold.

“If we allow the interruption of the constitutional order to take place in Bolivia, it could serve a demonstration effect,” Flores-Macias said from New York in an interview with The Associated Press. “It could send a signal that if this is OK to happen in Bolivia, it could happen elsewhere.”

Bolivia has seen intensifying protests in recent months over the economy’s precipitous decline from one of the continent’s fastest-growing two decades ago to one of its most crisis-stricken.

Arce and Morales have been battling for the future of Bolivia’s splintering Movement for Socialism, known by its Spanish acronym MAS, ahead of elections in 2025.

Following Wednesday’s chaos, reports on local media showed Bolivians stocking up on food and other essentials in supermarkets, concerned about what will come next.

But addressing supporters outside the presidential palace, the country’s vice president, David Choquehuanca, vowed: “Never again will the Bolivian people permit coup attempts.”

[apnews]

Nnamdi Kanu was apprehended in Kenya in June 2021 by security agencies and brought home to face trial. First arraigned on 14th October 2015 before eventually securing bail and fleeing the country, the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) leader was slammed with an 11-count charge bordering on terrorism, treasonable felony, managing an unlawful society, publication of defamatory matter, illegal possession of firearms and improper importation of goods. Kanu was also accused of inciting violence through television, radio and online broadcasts that resulted in the loss of lives and property of civilians, military, paramilitary, police forces as well as the destruction of civil institutions and symbols of authority in the Southeast.  

Following his arraignment, I wrote a column, ‘The Tricky Trial of Nnamdi Kanu’ where I drew parallels between his travail and that of his friend-now-turned-foe, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari who was charged with similar offences under President Olusegun Obasanjo. “Because some people cannot differentiate between Biafra and the Igbos, Kanu has been able to create a ‘We’ versus ‘Them’ narrative on what remains an emotional injury in the Igbo collective psyche,” I wrote before reaffirming the point I made in my 1st October 2017 ‘Platform Nigeria’ presentation, ‘A Nation on the Edge: Which Way Nigeria?’, where I spoke about the danger Kanu posed to ethnic relations in Nigeria. “By his conduct and utterances, Kanu has succeeded in alienating many open-minded Nigerians (outside the Southeast) who appreciate the legitimate demand of Igbo people for fairness, equity, and justice in an inclusive nation they can call their own,” I pointed out while referencing a number of his reckless diatribes, especially against Yoruba people.   

Egged on by a mob, with online support from several of his kinsmen in the Diaspora, “Kanu was allowed to take hate speech to an unprecedented level. Even when he was presented a golden opportunity to champion the genuine grievances of his people with civility, following an ill-advised treason trial that catapulted him into national limelight and prominence, Kanu could not rise beyond the mediocrity of the adulation of some street urchins,” I had said at my 2017 ‘Platform Nigeria’ presentation. “Kanu felt that by making incendiary statements to offend, insult, intimidate and threaten people from other ethnic groups, he was helping whatever his cause was. At the end, he made a strategic miscalculation.”

Given the foregoing and other interventions, I cannot by any stretch of imagination be described as a fan of Kanu. In fact, in my first column in November 2015, ‘The Man from Biafra’, I made that very clear. But I also cannot deny that Kanu is a huge factor in Nigerian politics today or pretend that his continued detention is helpful in the circumstance in which we find ourselves. I am delighted that many critical stakeholders are gradually waking up to that reality.

Last week, no fewer than 46 House of Representatives members under the aegis of ‘Concerned Federal Lawmakers for Peace and Security in the Southeast’ wrote President Bola Tinubu, calling on him to invoke Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 107(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 to release Kanu from detention. The membership of those who signed the letter cut across major political parties: the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Labour Party (LP) and New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). And the signatories represent all the six geopolitical zones in the country and from 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

It is significant that the federal lawmakers who advocate Kanu’s release have chosen the civil approach of a letter to the president rather than the political option of a motion in the House of Representatives. “We collectively believe this is long overdue and would be instrumental in opening the door for much-needed conversations surrounding peace and inclusivity, as well as addressing the issues that led to the agitations, especially at this time when Nigeria is going through several constitutional reforms,” the House members wrote in their letter. “We resolutely believe that this singular act can serve as a pivotal gesture towards national unity, as it would address some of the political, security, and economic concerns in the region. It would encourage stakeholders from the Southeast to engage more actively in the national discussions on the renewed hope agenda, thereby promoting inclusivity and addressing long-standing grievances. This, we believe, will also help dismantle the apparatus of violence and restiveness that has plagued the region, allowing for a focus on economic growth and development. This comes at a time when the nation-state is under enormous pressure, including but not limited to unemployment, insecurity, hunger, and poverty, thereby de-escalating tension from all sides.”

After reminding the president that a similar gesture led to the release of Omoyele Sowore and Sunday Igboho, the members concluded their letter with what the administration stands to gain by Kanu’s release: “…the benefits of such a bold and compassionate act are manifold. It would pave the way for peace initiatives, economic revitalization, and a renewed sense of belonging among the citizens of the Southeast. It would also enhance your administration’s legacy as one that prioritizes national unity, peace, and progress. We are hopeful that you will consider this request with the gravity it deserves and take the necessary steps to bring about a new era of peace and inclusivity in Nigeria.”

Incidentally, just a week earlier, Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, had made a similar appeal, also in a letter to the president, where he stated that “…the political freedom of Nnamdi Kanu will no doubt complete the reconciliation of Nigeria and bring an end to the needless Monday sit-at-home order, which has disturbed businesses and civil activities in the South-East.”  

One point I have consistently made over several years is that ours is a fragile polity where many of our citizens are yet to imbibe the values of group living or how to compete without resorting to primordial hate when they do not prevail. But given the numerous appeals made by Ohanaeze Ndigbo, now joined by members of the House of Representatives, President Tinubu must consider the political option on the Kanu issue. While it may be difficult to conclude that his release would put ‘unknown gunmen’ out of business in the Southeast, there is no doubt that it would aid the process of finding a solution to the security challenge that plagues the region.

I subscribe to the sentiment expressed by the House members. Despite the challenges we face today, not even the most implacable enemies of Nigeria will deny its socio-economic potential and the enormous capacity of its people. Yes, we cannot dispute the fragility of the Nigerian state. But there is a country in our consciousness that many indeed want to see—a Nigeria that works for citizens and would take her rightful place as the leader in Africa. That dream is also shared by many of our Diasporans despite the toxicity of a few on social media.

I returned to Abuja yesterday after two weeks visiting Canada and the United States. Perhaps because I attended more social events in the two countries—graduation ceremonies, birthdays, church services etc.—than at any point in the past, I encountered several young Nigerians. I could hear the longing for home, even by those who are doing very well for themselves and their families. My conclusion: What we need to do is put our act together to reverse the ‘Japa’ syndrome to our advantage. But we are not going to do that if we cannot rise above certain prejudices. That is why I join in the plea that Kanu be released. We need all stakeholders onboard to rebuild our country for peace and prosperity. In any case, three years of incarceration is enough punishment, even if we discount the September 2017 military ‘Operation python dance’ that wreaked havoc at his family compound in Abia State.

In the famous 26th August 2000 speech delivered by then visiting American President Bill Clinton to the Joint Session of our National Assembly which I once referenced on this page, he raised certain critical issues about our country. “I know that decades of misrule and deprivation have made your religious and ethnic divisions deeper. Nobody can wave a hand and make the problems go away. But that is no reason to let the idea of one united Nigeria slip away,” Clinton admonished while speaking to those who delight in magnifying artificial differences. “After all, if we started trying to redraw the map of Africa, we would simply be piling new grievances on old. Even if we could separate all the people of Africa by ethnicity and faith, would we really rid this continent of strife? Think of all the things that would be broken up and all the mountains of progress that have been built up that would be taken down if that were the case.”

Where there is much deprivation and too little tolerance, according to Clinton, “differences among people will always seem greater and will always be like open sores waiting to be turned into arrows of hatred by those who will be advantaged by doing so.” President Clinton then reiterated the point many have also made about our national potential and the global expectation of Nigeria as the most populous black country. “The world needs Nigeria to succeed. Every great nation must become more than the sum of its parts. If we are torn by our differences, then we become less than the sum of our parts. Nigeria has within it the seeds of every great development going on in the world today, and it has a future worth fighting for.”

The ultimate responsibility now lies with President Tinubu. But there are growing concerns. Having caught the Buhari disease, most critical appointments are going to Lagos and in the process, he has created for his administration the impression of an excessive Yorubaness or what a friend from the Southwest has dubbed ‘Lagosification’ in the distribution of opportunities. Releasing Kanu may relieve the president of some of the ethnic burdens he has unwittingly placed on himself. He may also need to be reminded that he cannot build a restorative presidency by positioning only his Lagos loyalists in the front row of national ‘renewed hope’! That, of course, is an issue for another day.

I don’t know whether Kanu still sees Nigeria as a ‘zoo’ rather than a country, but it really doesn’t matter. What is important is that his continued incarceration is now pointless. And for those who peddle the nonsensical ‘let the law take its course’ line, the Australian deal with the United States that saw Tuesday’s release of Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange is proof positive that even the most powerful of countries can be pragmatic in dealing with such matters. Therefore, all factors considered; President Tinubu should take the high road on Kanu. The IPOB leader should be allowed to go home.    

On the evening of Tuesday, 16 January, 2024, an explosion rocked Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state. The location of the explosion was later identified as Aderinola Street, Adeyi Avenue, Old Bodija Estate. The explosion was of such magnitude that people in the vicinity thought the world had come to an end!

Close to 100 houses were seriously damaged or totally reduced to ground zero while not less than seven lives were immediately lost to the blast. Other losses owing to collateral damage caused by the blast followed. Hundreds of people suffered various degrees of injuries while property valued at billions of Naira were lost.

According to the Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde, preliminary security findings indicated that the explosion was caused by illegal miners who had stored Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the house they lived in, in the area, thereby causing the blast. Makinde vowed that those responsible would be “brought to book” and that the victims would get the back of the government.

A statement posted on the governor’s verified Facebook page read as follows: “I have directed that the medical bills of all victims be covered by the government. We will also be providing temporary accommodation for those whose houses were affected and ensuring that they are supported to rebuild their lives” That was six months ago.

On Tuesday, 6 February, 2024, Gov. Makinde received an official report of the incident. A news medium reported the event thus: “Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Tuesday received an official report of the January 16, 2024 explosion at Adeyi Avenue, Old Bodija in Ibadan, the state capital.

"The report, however, said three ‘persons of interest’ have been identified in connection with the cause of the unfortunate incident, adding that they will face the full wrath of the law based on the investigation carried out.

"It will be recalled that five persons died, 77 others sustained injury and 55 houses were damaged during the explosion that rocked Aderinola Street, Adeyi Avenue, Old Bodija, Ibadan.

The report, which comprises findings of the Medical, Security and Engineering teams, was submitted to Makinde, on Tuesday, at the Executive Chamber, Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.

" Addressing newsmen shortly after the presentation of the report, the Special Adviser on Security to the Governor, Fatai Owoseni (retd. CP), said, “Three persons of interest have been identified in connection with the cause of the unfortunate incident, and they will face prosecution based on the investigation carried out.”

He explained that a Closed Circuit Television in one of the affected houses gave footage of how the incident happened, insisting that the state government would bring the perpetrators to book.

“The character of the explosive is known as 'Water Gel Type Based Explosive' and the explosion was triggered by an electric spark. The government will check on the immigration status of all the people of interest since a majority of them are from Mali. The street where the incident happened was Aderinola Street and not Dejo Oyelese Street, as earlier reported. The epicentre of the tragedy is No. 8A and No. 8B…

“The EOC has so far collated information, data of things that happened there and some of the data collated include census of the respective houses and the fatalities that were affected, including the extent of losses suffered. As of 6 p.m. on Friday, February 3, which was the 18th day of the incident, a total of 335 affected persons had registered at the emergency centre, including 16 companies or business operators, churches, mosques, three schools and the University College Hospital also approached the centre to report on their losses.

“The losses reported also include fatality, injuries of various degrees, damages ranging from total collapse and submerging of houses, houses that suffered collateral damage and the ones that suffered minimal damage…

The Head of the Emergency Operation Centre, Temitope Alonge, said 80 victims in total were managed across various hospitals following the incident but that only five patients were on admission as of the time of the press conference. He explained that four of the patients are being treated at the University College Hospital and are at various levels of recovery, while one patient is at the Redeemers Hospital being managed for spinal cord injury”.

As with everything Nigerian, the explosion attracted attention from far and near. The Minister of Mines, Dele Alake, vowed a diligent investigation to get to the roots of the matter. He also pledged that explosives storage rules would be reviewed. Despite official investigations and statements, all manner of conspiracy theories were still flown like kites. And the victims of the blast also accused the government of neglecting them. All is quiet now on the Ibadan front. Everyone is back to their daily chores. Statements made in the heat of the explosion now belong to the archives while the victims are left to lick their wounds.

Early this month - Friday, 7 June to Sunday, 9 June, 2024 to be precise, I was in Oyo state, together with other top Nigerian journalists, on a facility tour of some of the legacy projects of the governor. We visited a plethora of projects. I took advantage to ask Makinde questions on the explosion. Yes, he made promises to the victims and is ready to fulfill them but the Federal Government is tardy with coming clean on its own promises. Makinde has written letters, paid visits and made efforts - all to no avail. In the event that the FG continues to drag its feet on the matter, Makinde said he would go ahead and give what he has to the victims and close the chapter. That will be sad!

I also asked the governor questions on the Strabag precious stones (gems) international market located at the Ojoo area of Ibadan where foreigners, their local godfathers and fellow felons strip the state of precious gems, with nothing beneficial accruing to the state. Is Makinde aware? My first report on that saga was in April 2021 and a special adviser to the governor at the time got in touch with me to say they were aware and were doing something about it. Makinde confirmed they were aware but Federal policies that tied the hands of State governments on the issue of mining made them impotent on the matter. Now that the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, mercifully, has reviewed the law, States can now acquire mining licences and tap into their God-endowed natural resources. Has Oyo state began to reap in this regard? Not yet, said Makinde, but efforts were in the pipeline.

This is one area where Labour leaders and our egg-heads in the Ivory Tower should focus attention instead of fighting over the peanuts they call minimum wage. I heard one Labour aristocrat complain that some state governments were yet to pay the old minimum wage of N30,000 per month and now you want them to pay N250,000 or whatever! Sit on the neck of state governors to begin to take advantage of the new policy by Tinubu to tap into the mineral resources of their respective states and create wealth for their people, instead of the present system where Malians and other foreigners are those making hay with our gems and precious stones.

Why are the states not getting licences to mine gold, gems, etc? I have it on good authority that rather than apply for licences in the name of their state governments, many governors are doing so in their private capacity as individuals! Traditional rulers and top politicians are also involved in illegal mining all over the country. These are real issues that Labour leaders should concern themselves with.

The Ibadan trip opened my eyes to the quality of leaders that the Western Region had in the First Republic. At the Government Secretariat, we saw the Independent Power Project (IPP) that the Action Group government of Chief Obafemi Awolowo conceived and was constructing as far back as at that time. The structures stood solid after decades, despite wear and tear and the forays of the elements. At Fashola farms in the Oke-Ogun area of the state, we saw relics of Awo’s farm settlements (including cattle ranches) of yore, with the structures still standing solid, weathering the storm and neglect of decades.

Makinde echoed Chinua Achebe repeatedly: There was once a country! “With the vision of the leaders then, there was a country!”, he said. His government was expanding the scope of the IPP and would restore and preserve other Awo-era structures at Fashola, including files and documents recovered from them. “The buildings are still standing after decades. It shows the integrity of the buildings and of the leaders of that time. We will restore and preserve them so that people will know that there were men and women of vision in this country. There were men and women of diligence and integrity”, he added.

The first military coup of January 15, 1966 and successive military coups and governments truncated the only leaders with vision that this country ever produced. Military incursion into politics is the greatest havoc visited upon this country. Unfortunately, present-day politicians give no one cause for cheers. To whom, then, do we turn?