A mong the pantheon of today’s political godlings, perhaps Senate President Mr. Godswill Akpabio is the epitome of the spirit of the times. An embodiment of power and delusion, Akpabio’s pronouncements on the state of the nation resonate with echoes of emptiness and grand hallucinations. The impression is that of a man who is either deliberately out to misinform or is so thoroughly intoxicated by the aroma of supreme power that he mistakes his own delusions for portrayals of reality.  For some reason, he probably thinks that his elevated office and the grand toga of Senate President will glorify whatever nonsense he mouths on national affairs. A typical man for all seasons as characterized by my friend Segun Adeniyi a few weeks back, Akpabio will stop at nothing in his serial adulations of Tinubu and his government. After over six months in office, most people would expect that the nation’s number three citizen should have fulfilled his gratitude obligations to President Tinubu for elevating him to dizzying heights. But not Akpabio. He is intent on usurping the role of the Minister of Information or the nabobs that are crawling around the corridors of Aso Rock Villa to natter endlessly and be paid for it.

A few weeks ago, Akpabio was variously quoted as claiming that the Federal Government has doled out a frightening N30 billion a piece to each of our 36 governors and the Minister of the FCT. He was forced to disown the naked falsehood by some sensible governors. Just last Thursday, Mr. Akpabio was at it again. He was quoted as waxing lyrical on how insecurity has receded and declined under the Tinubu administration. Meanwhile, he was in attendance barely a fortnight ago when insecurity forced his principal to summon a meeting of all governors and security chiefs to initiate moves towards  the introduction of state police. The terrorists and bandits heard Akpabio this time. On the same day, they struck in Kaduna State. They attacked a school and carted away over 287 children and their teachers including the head teacher of the school. The world has heard it.

A day earlier, Boko Haram or ISWAP or both struck an IDP in Borno state. They took away over 100 inmates mostly women and destroyed some of the new buildings erected by humanitarian agencies to house the displaced persons. On the same day as the Borno attack, inter militia violence in Benue state claimed 30 lives. Just last Friday, the terrorists struck again in Kaduna state. Gunmen attacked a mosque during Friday prayers and killed a number of worshippers. No one knows what further acts of brazen insecurity will be visited on our hapless people any time. So much for Akpabio’s delusionary and self- ingratiating propaganda.

But this piece is not about the Akpabios of this world. It is about a much more fundamental trouble with government and governance in Nigeria. From the forests of our recurrent troubles, an unsettling reality has unfolded. It is a simple observable problem. Hardly does our successive governments achieve closure on any national problem. Be it insecurity, economic disaster or the scourge of ever increasing poverty or terrorism, no job ever seems to get completed by government in Nigeria. Everything remains an unfinished business which is carried over to subsequent years or handed over to the next administration. Isolated troubles even graduate into permanent features of public life as to acquire separate charges and allocations in our annual budgets. We now make annual budgetary provisions for insecurity,  poverty alleviation, cybercrimes, new forms of corruption and even for combating self inflicted economic disasters . 

Year in, year out, our troubles regenerate , multiply and assume lives of their own. Nothing ever gets resolved nor does any task get completed. The Nigerian state never puts anything behind it in order to face new challenges. Nothing bad comes here and ever goes away again. Everything that afflicts us becomes an endemic ailment and we add it to our ever expanding basket of troubles and vocabulary of abnormality. We budget for bad things and assume them as part of a new normal that grows by the day. The pile heaps on the heads of our helpless and hapless citizenry.

Our economy hardly ever improves. Our GDP growth rate never remains on a rise for more than two quarters. Our exchange rate has steadily worsened for over two decades. Our poverty index rises every year as more and more people enroll in the poverty republic. Even more people exit the miserable middle class as they lose jobs and living standards. Familiar places become more dangerous with the years as rail rolling stock and passenger coaches are routinely stopped by bandits and ransacked for captives to be held for ransom. In this place, nothing ever improves neither does a government declared emergency been known to end. Every Nigerian public business remains forever unfinished.

Soon enough, new government positions are created, even new ministries spring up and an industry of sorts is born in honour of the unfinished businesses of state. Take poverty alleviation and the empowerment of the under privileged. Nigeria as the new Poverty Capital of the World has necessitated a whole gamut of government actions to address poverty. From the onset of the Buhari government, a department sprang up first in the office of the Vice president with varying nomenclature. Then it was yanked out of the VP’s office and granted independent full ministerial status. Humanitarian Affairs. National Emergency Relief Agency. Poverty Alleviation, any group of names.

Soon enough, new ways of dispensing government money in pursuit of these maladies emerged. Cash transfers to the poor. N-Power. Palliatives. Helicopter Money. In a nation of too many illiterate people, it is easy to come up with target figures of people whose lives will be made better by these new phantom schemes- cash transfers relief for 15 million, 20 million, 25 million families of individuals. Just name a figure. No questions asked about the relationship of these arbitrary numbers to the mass of impoverished humanity.  Some agencies of government speak of households, others prefer individuals and yet  others opt in other wild directions. Some want to assist traders with Trader Money, Artisan Money, Vulcanizer Support etc. In spite of these diverse epithets, nothing changes. Poverty as the poet said, “stands there like an elephant, huge and unmoved”.

In one recent instance, a new Minister was placed in charge of one of these schemes for which a ministry had been created. Before our very eyes, the elegant new Minister had ordered over half a billion Naira of government cash to be paid into her friend’s private bank account. Her friend had become a government ATM through whom beneficiaries  of government poverty alleviation in a number of states would be paid! Her patrons and principals were embarrassed that she did not spend enough time to learn the trade before swooping! She lost her job within weeks of being sworn in. Investigations are still ongoing and may be completed on the eve of the 2027 elections, just in time for her to rejoin the re-election campaign trail!

Similarly, a Buhari era Minister of Humanitarian Affairs has reportedly been called in to explain how N37 billion of the poverty alleviation money entrusted in her care developed wings. Reports indicate that a few billions of the unaccounted funds have been returned to the EFCC. Again, investigations are said to be ongoing. In a situation where the reality of poverty has also become a business, government is not likely to be in a hurry to either scrub the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs or take it off the budget. Poverty alleviation is likely to remain an unfinished business for a long time.

Insecurity is easily the most entrenched area of our culture of unfinished national business. For more than 12 years, insecurity has come to occupy a central place in the language of our social and political discourse as a nation. Our insecurity has created its own industrial momentum of unfinished business. In the absence of a formal war, our entire security and military apparatus has become embroiled in the last ten years or more in combating forms of insecurity in all of our 36 states and the FCT.  Countless prison breaks have taken place all over the country. No one knows how many children have been adducted from school dormitories and hurled into slavery or sadistic ‘marriages’ to jihadists and nasty zealots. Many have died unnecessary death either in the hands of sundry gunmen or badly trained security personnel. Yet many more have been abducted, kidnapped and ransoms totalling billions of Naira paid. Children have lost their parents to enemies they cannot recognize just as parents and husbands have watched their children or wives abused before their very eyes. 

The world has come to brand Nigeria as a permanently unsafe and insecure place. In furtherance of this brand identity, our citizens have been branded, our passport held in permanent disdainful suspicion with our citizens subjected to all manner of indignities at airports and land borders across the world. Of course the global arms business has benefitted from our permanent insecurity status. The United States, Turkey, China and all manner of black market arms dealers around the world have benefitted from our institutionalized insecurity. We have , for the past decade or more, been buying  all manner of instruments of war to combat what is widely regarded as an internal security problem. We now need sophisticated fighter jets, helicopter gunships and all classes of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) to suppress bandits, terrorists and community based common criminals. No one cares to ask about the human rights implications of using disproportionate force to discourage common criminals from disturbing the peace. “War is war. All is fair in war”, I can hear the arms merchants and their Nigerian agents chant in unison.

The recent spate of insecurity incidents has come at a time when most Nigerians thought that the critical emergency of the hour is the epidemic of hunger and government inflicted hardship  ravaging the country. That in itself is manifesting in hitherto unimagined ways. In the various theatres of the hardship war, new forms of anarchic trends are being witnessed. Destitutes and children have taken to way -laying and looting trucks in transit especially those loaded with food items. Private and government warehouses are being breached and ransacked. In Abia state, a hungry man has reportedly shot dead his teenage son for ‘eating the only food left in the house’. In Lagos, two children have reportedly been sold in exchange for some bags of rice.

There needs to be a way out of these multiple crises. The upshot of all this is to challenge our government to call this anomaly of multiple crises its rightful  name. Are we in a war or at peace? Does any of our troubles have an end in sight?  Why must we consecrate transient problems that other nations put out in months into permanent conditions?

Government needs to summon up the courage to become pragmatic and unconventional. Government must attach a deadline to its exertions in the various areas of the troubles that afflict us. Our security forces now need to give all bandits, terrorists, armed agents,  non- state actors and trouble makers a deadline to surrender beyond which deadline they qualify as enemy combatants with full consequences. On the economy, I guess it is time that the government of the day gathers the nation’s best economic brains in one room with a simple task: come up with workable solutions to rescue our economy within a 12 month window.

It is also time to dissolve the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and other related poverty enabled government efforts. They are enriching a few opportunists and deepening the poverty of the majority. Poverty was not created by any ministry. It was created and widened by a succession of bad inhumane governments presided over by politicians. Our poverty and economic calamity are the products of the politics of bad table manners: eating too much when the majority are starving! Therefore, all those who have held executive political positions from local government to federal level since 1999 should voluntarily let us know how much they are willing to “lend” to the Central Bank in both Naira and foreign exchange within  the next three months to help us revamp the economy. That is probably all the money we need to revamp the economy. No need for World Bank or IMF loans. No need to go camp in hand to Qatar, Saudi Arabia or UAE. We shall repay our politicians the ‘soft loan’ within an agreed time frame for as long as the loan amount can be justified as legitimate income in their period of public service.

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet…” (Matthew 24: 6).

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet…” (Matthew 24: 6).

AS Nigerians are drenched in cries of agony, so is the air also thick with rumours of a coup d’état or military take-over. Those not marching on the streets and shouting “ebi n pa wa” (We are hungry!), like the multitudes that have done so across the country, are, like my brother, Azu, who, in his latest column, complained about the heat wave and the parlous state of power supply. I sleep in a room that is naturally well aerated; still, anytime the air ceases, sleep takes a flight. To divert sleep time to work becomes impossible with no power supply. Running generators in the middle of the night is simply unconscionable and without electricity to charge the batteries, the inverter cannot work. The cost of the other alternative, solar, has shot through the roof! Like another of my PUNCH-day colleagues, Godwin Nzeakah, aka Ogbuefi, would say, it does not rain for hapless Nigerians, it pours! Yet, we saw it coming but neglected to act. Crying after the head is off, bolting the stable doors after the horse has bolted and crying after the milk has been spilled is all we are doing now. Worse are my fears that we may recourse to taking rash decisions in our habitual manner of cutting corners and adopting fire brigade approaches to matters that demand painstaking fidelity with due process.

We risk going back into the thick forest of jackboot dictatorship that we exited at great pains and sacrifice; we shall be making our situation worse should we resort to another military take-over at this point in time. The military top brass has spoken out forcefully against a coup but can we take their word for it? Are they themselves not at risk should their juniors decide to upturn the apple cart? It has been said that the antidote to military coup is good governance: Can anyone say, in good conscience, that this country has witnessed good governance since the present civilian rule began in 1999? Rather than improve, things have gone from bad to worse; the worst of all the civilian governments being that of Muhammadu Buhari. The incumbent, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is stuck in the miry clay that Buhari engineered deliberately or otherwise, leading to the immense suffering that Nigerians experience today. Unfortunately, there is no easy and fast way out of the quagmire, even though the patience of Nigerians is already running thin. Agent provocateurs are cashing in on the situation mostly to serve selfish interests. A population that worships the belly and that only knows of temporary pleasure, like biblical Esau, wears their ignorance like a badge, harassing every voice of reason and ready to cudgel every contrary opinion into submission.

If democracy teaches us anything, it is that the majority is not always right. Interestingly but also ironically, the tyranny of the majority has been one of the most damning drawbacks of democracy. So, then, did the German playwright, Henrik Ibsen, posit that the strongest man is he who stands alone. Oftentimes, we need the services of a telescope to differentiate between democracy and mob action. Strong leaders, ready to stand alone and chart the course, however unpopular, have made the most profound impact on our world. Galileo, for instance, was sent to the inquisition for affirming that the Earth was spherical and not as flat as a trencher that the authorities had claimed it to be.  Had Martin Luther not dared to be different, what would our world have been without the Reformation?  My message to Tinubu is: Dare to be different! Listen to the people but all the same chart the course that will take Nigeria out of the dark tunnel engineered by Buhari and his cabals. Speak to us more often. Explain your actions more plainly. Be more forthright in exposing the shenanigans of the past. No cover up of Buhari or anyone for that matter! On your own part – and on the part of your family members – be more sensitive to public perception of your actions. While you need to take all the precautions that need to be taken to contain the rumours of coup, don’t allow it to clip your wings.

Despite the rash of coups around us in the West African sub-region in recent times, military take-overs have generally become an aberration. In Nigeria especially, the military not only destroyed the fabrics of our society, it also overstayed its welcome. From the first military coup that was Igbo-dominated and one-sided in the political leaders and military officers it executed; to the first military government led by another Igbo-man, Gen. JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi, that destroyed our federalism and instituted centralism and military-style command structure; to Yakubu Gowon whose rash decisions (together with Chukwuemeka Ojukwu’s) led to the civil war and the subsequent fritting away of our oil wealth; to Murtala Muhammed who destroyed the Civil Service with his rash “with immediate effect” dismissals and retirements; to Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration when Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) was allowed to collapse and pronto surfaced Obasanjo Farms Nigeria (OFN); to Muhammadu Buhari whose draconian rule led to retroactive  executions, the trampling of the people’s fundamental human rights and the disappearance of huge oil windfalls; to Ibrahim Babangida whose SAP began the destruction of the Naira, who introduced corruption and the settlement syndrome, and destroyed seniority and esprit de corps in the military; to the vilest of them all, Sani Abacha, who stole this country blind and who wasted MKO Abiola away in detention and, finally, to Abdulsalami Abubakar whose administration has the blood of Abiola on its hands – we have had more than enough of military rule. No more! Perish the thought of military take-over if no one wants Nigeria to perish with it!

The House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review recently received a bill for an Act to make provisions for rotation of power among the geo-political zones, senatorial zones and federal constituencies in presidential, governorship and senatorial elections in Nigeria.

This stems from cries of marginalisation by different regions of the country and some localities even within states.

DAILY POST reports that the bill which was sponsored by member representing Apa/Agatu Federal Constituency, Benue State, Ojema Ojetu, if passed and assented at the end of the review, may bar zones that have produced the President of Nigeria since the return to democratic governance in 1999 to allow other zones.

According to the copy sighted by our correspondent, the bill would alter Section 133 of the constitution by inserting some sub-sections to the nation’s extant laws.

Sub-section 2 of the proposed law opined that “The Office of the President of Nigeria shall revolve round the six geo-political zones, with each state holding the office for a maximum of two terms of four years each, to give every section and state in Nigeria a sense of inclusion, participation and representation in Nigeria’s democracy.”

Sub-section 3 reads, “Any zone in Nigeria which has produced a President of the Federal Republic shall not be eligible to produce another President until the other zones take their turns.”

Sub-section 4 says, “The effective date for consideration in the rotation of power shall be 29th of May, 1999 when the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) became effective.”

Meanwhile, sub-section 6 says “The office of the governor of a state in Nigeria shall revolve round all the three senatorial zones in the state, to give every indigene of the state a sense of inclusion, participation and representation in the development of the state.

Sub-section 7 states that “Every senatorial zone in a state which has produced governor of that state in a democratically conducted election shall not be eligible to produce a governor, unless and until other senatorial zones produce governors of the state.”

DAILY POST reports that since the country returned to democracy in 1999, only South-West, North-West, and South-South had produced a Nigerian President.

While Olusegun Obasanjo from South-West was elected in 1999 and re-elected in 2003, Late Yar’ Adua from Katsina State, North-West succeeded him in 2007.

Goodluck Jonathan from South-South succeeded Yar’ Adua and handed over the mantle of leadership to Muhammadu Buhari, another North-Westerner.

The current Nigerian leader, President Bola Tinubu from Obasanjo’s region (South-West) succeeded Buhari in 2023.

Some stakeholders, who spoke to DAILY POST on Saturday, expressed support for the bill, saying it was long overdue, considering the ethnic violence that usually erupt during general elections.

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko lamented that the rational presidency ought to have been a law since the country returned to democracy in 1999.

Onwubiko told DAILY POST on Saturday that even some political parties that earlier adopted zoning to enable rotational presidency failed.

While declaring support for the bill, Onwubiko, however, expressed pessimism that the bill may not get the nod of the majority of lawmakers.

He said, “The concept of zoning of political offices even made it into the constitution of some political parties, including the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party which dominated politics for 16 years from 1999 before the All Progressives Congress came on board in 2015.

“Unfortunately, even the PDP failed to uphold this critical aspect of its constitution and for over two times, conceded its Presidential ticket to Atiku Abubakar even when the Eastern zone of Nigeria has never gotten to the office of executive President since independence.

“So, for the purposes of social justice, we may give the bill for rotation of political offices some form of support. The problem is that politicians in Nigeria are not known to follow the law so they will undermine that provision of the bill.

“Some may even get it quashed in the court of law. The best way to safeguard the objective of such an idea is to include it as part of the amendments of the Nigerian constitution so it may be difficult for politicians to abuse.

“By and large, that bill should be included in the current process of amendments of the Nigerian Constitution”.

Similarly, the factional Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro told DAILY POST on Saturday that the bill, if passed into law, would ensure the sustainability of Nigeria’s democracy.

He said, “in a momentous stance, Ohanaeze Ndigbo throws its weight behind the bill advocating for the rotation of power as a pivotal step towards stabilizing Nigeria.

“With all eyes, especially those of Ndigbo, keenly observing the progress of this bill, the proposed provisions for the rotational allocation of power among various geo-political zones, senatorial zones, and federal constituencies in presidential, governorship, and senatorial elections hold immense significance.

“Ohanaeze commends this progressive development aimed at breaking the cycle of ambitious politicians exploiting weak state institutions to wangle their way into power through collusion with cabals, corrupt INEC officials, and clandestine networks.

“If enacted, this bill will not only put an end to the incessant over-recycling of power-hungry individuals but also prevent the dominance of powerful tribes, clans, and factions over marginalized groups at the national, state, and local government levels.

“We hail this opportunity as a crucial step towards upholding the unwritten pact of the Rotational Presidency, transforming it into a binding legal instrument.

“This legislative move is vital for ensuring democracy’s sustainability, eradicating ethnic hegemony, and fostering a more inclusive political landscape where all regions have an equitable opportunity to lead”.

Also, a chieftain of the ruling APC, Mailafia Gwamna lamented that the North Central had only produced military Heads of State but never an elected president since 1960.

Gwamna, a native of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, told DAILY POST, “It is a good thing that the bill is coming up now but this law should have been enacted immediately when Nigeria exited military rule.

“Since 1960, North Central, comprising the FCT, Benue, Kogi, Plateau and Niger State have not produced a Nigerian President.

“This is not correct. We are all Nigerians and everybody needs to have that sense of belonging. How do I even tell my children that one day they can become president?

“Since 1999, the presidency has been going round the South-West, North-West and South-South. So, it will be a thing of joy if the bill scales through, but we should not put our hope in it, otherwise, we will be disappointed.”

[DailyPost]

A new government  in Ni geria came on board, on May 29, 2023, that is  some 9 months ago. Although the new administration headed by former Lagos governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu is sponsored by the All Progressives Congress, APC, which had earlier sponsored his predecessor, optimists believe that this time around, change is around the corner.

If it is actually on its way, it does not appear that any such movements concern the pervasive insecurity of the Buhari years. As if nothing has changed, several students and their teachers only 3 days ago faced threats of kidnapping resulting in no less than 287 missing persons in Kaduna State. The modalities of the abduction as well as official reactions to the development suggest that at least as far as the subject of insecurity is concerned, Nigeria is yet to move from where it stood before May 29, 2023.  

Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has quickly visited the scene – from where he has given the assurance that the abducted pupils would be rescued soonest. While addressing members of the affected  community, the governor said, “In my capacity as your elected governor, I am assuring you that by the grace of God, all the children will return unhurt.” The stereotype statement is a very familiar one. His predecessor, Nasir El Rufai gave similar assurances 8 years earlier. President Tinubu has also promptly waded in with a directive to the security agencies to swiftly rescue the abductees including those affected in Borno State. Again, this is not new because former President Buhari spoke similarly all through his tenure. The only difference is that Tinubu is more assertive and better forthcoming with his acceptance of vicarious liability for several incidents.

If some citizens believe the relevant agencies will do as the President directed, nothing shows that insurgents are also as simplistic. Evidence that they are emboldened to remain lawless is provided from the same state – Kaduna, where in less than 48 hours after attacking and abducting about 287 students from  Kuriga community, the bandits struck again killing at least two worshippers during Friday prayers.

According to one of the community leaders, Hudu Kwasakwasa, the attack took place at about 2 pm on Friday, a day after the school abductions;  with the bandits opening fire indiscriminately on the worshipers. When incidents like this occur who precisely should be held accountable? This is probably the appropriate junction to ask the question that is yet to be answered in the country making it appear that no one is in charge of security anywhere in our clime.

There is also a possiblility that identified security agencies may do little or nothing about security breaches and that they would not be held accountable. Here, we recall the 2018 story of former Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, who disobeyed President Buhari’s orders to prioritise government’s response to insecurity in Benue state by personally relocating to Makurdi. It is not only that Idris did not relocate as directed, the President did not know that the Police boss disobeyed his orders. Buhari got to know only in March 2018 during his own belated visit to the state whereas the directive had been given in January, that is, 3 months earlier when gunmen invaded some Benue communities and killed 73 persons. Even when the President became aware of Idris’s non-compliance, he was surprisingly allowed to remain in office as IGP.

By the suspension of Minister Beta Edu and a few removals of some office holders for one lapse or the other, Tinubu has shown that it may not be business as usual but actions taken so far are too few to make the desired impact on the level of impunity and prevalent indiscipline which he inherited from his predecessor. In all honesty, so many things happened in the past for which no one was held accountable; a good example being the series of jail breaks in the country.

Between 2015 and when President Tinubu assumed office in 2023, there were no less than 18 prison breaks in Nigeria, with nearly 9,000 inmates released. The Kuje prison at the heart of the nation’s capital, Abuja, presented a scandalous jailbreak which followed the same pattern of attacks on security forces with the use of explosives. When Buhari visited the location and was showed round the facility, all he said via a  tweet was that  he was “saddened” by the attack and “disappointed” with Nigeria’s intelligence system.’

With the way the jaibreaks were handled it is easy to imagine that in future, Nigeria  may not be able to develop strong correctional centres or indeed any viable societal institution . Here, the attack on an Abuja-Kaduna train service in March 2022 is instructive. According to media reports,  terrorists emerged from the Kateri-Rijana forest of Kaduna State, setting off explosives to derail the train carrying 362 passengers. Shots reportedly came from all directions as the attackers surrounded the train and managed to abduct over 100 of the passengers while 8 people died. Government did nothing thereafter to allay the fears of citizens that there was no safety anywhere in Nigeria.

Instead, the nation was left to hear claims and counter claims on the subject. The then Kaduna governor El Rufai was sure the blame ought to have gone to the military for failing to attack the terrorists, despite identifying them long before the train tragedy. On his part, former transport minister, Rotimi Amaechi,  said he had long warned of possible attacks on the rail line. Amaechi claimed he had requested some digital security and crime detection equipment that could forestall such terror attacks on the rail line but his requests were turned down.

If a minister got approval to spend huge sums to put the rail into use, those in the corridors of power who turned down a smaller request to technically secure the system may have to be unravelled by posterity. And that would come several decades after the lapse had led to the holding of several passengers as hostages who were released in batches following negotiations with their captors after the attack. The abductors were believed to have collected huge ransoms from the families of the abductees. This confirms that in Nigeria, the security of the people along with their welfare which our consitution says is the primary purpose of government is handled halfheartedly with no one held accountable for its unending  breaches

Unfortunately, information on future developments after the initial passing of the buck has as usual been poorly managed.  For example, although the military later claimed to have apprehended one of the masterminds of Abuja-Kaduna train attack, nothing substantial emerged as to who the sponsors of the attacks are or the extent to which the capture of the said mastermind could have led to getting to the root of the national embarrassment.

The military only said the suspect was apprehended by the troops at Damba community in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna state. Such incomplete  stories could only make citizens doubt the capacity of our men in uniform to help get a secured Nigeria.  

Benue State citizens are probably among the most prominent Nigerian citizens who lost faith long ago. During the tenure of the immediate past Governor Samuel Ortom, a few people imagined that daily killings in Benue communities were exaggerated for political purposes.   Now that the new governor belongs to the same ruling party as the President and  therefore have no cause to be ‘intransigent’ as Ortom allegedly was, everyone had hoped that peace would return to Benue after May  2023.

It would seem that the hopes are misplaced as the new Governor Hyacint Alia has started vowing to fish out killer herdsmen in Benue state. Alia says  his administration will not rest until the armed herdsmen responsible for the recent brutal murder of innocent persons in Wandoo community, Mbalom in Gwer East Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, are brought to justice. Who should the nation hold responsible for the unacceptable deaths? Why can’t government move faster on the issue of state police and isolate external bandits creating homeless people in Nigeria?

Many citizens are probably impressed with President Tinubu’s approach of accepting responsibility unlike his predecessors who hid comfortably under excuses. But because the approach visibly needs a buffer, it is time for Tinubu to be encouraged to show many officials charged with specific duties the way out when such duties fail. If such officials in charge of security in a state are asked to step aside for others to take control when security breaches occur in such a state, everyone will be become conscious that to hold an office is premised on the capacity and alertness of the office-holder to ensure that nothing under the office goes wrong. They should not only step aside but be made to account for each lapse. This task of holding people accountable must be differentiated from the camera talk-shows which the legislature often organizes with their so-called invitations to heads of Ministries, Parastals and Agencies. It is time to see changes  in security matters in Nigeria.

Rwanda’s ruling party has officially selected President Paul Kagame as its candidate for the upcoming July election.

The latest development sets the stage for what is anticipated to be another term for the long-serving leader.

Naija News reports that Kagame, who is 66 years old, has been at the helm of the landlocked African nation for several decades, having secured victory in the presidential elections held in 2003, 2010, and 2017 with overwhelming support exceeding 90 per cent.

His candidacy was uncontested during the Rwandan Patriotic Front congress, which concluded on Saturday, as confirmed by the party.

Despite his acceptance of the nomination, Kagame emphasized the importance of the ruling party preparing for a future transition beyond his leadership.

“The burden of responsibility to lead our country can be equated to a shock absorber against the challenges we face daily. It requires the right mindset,” AFP quoted Kagame as saying.

“I accept this burden of responsibility, but with a call to get someone to relieve me of this responsibility,” he added.

Naija News understands that the leader of the opposition Green Party, Frank Habineza, is currently the only known challenger to President Kagame in the upcoming July polls.

In the previous election, Habineza secured only 0.45 per cent of the vote, placing third. However, this election was criticized by rights groups for irregularities and voter intimidation.

Another potential challenger, Victoire Ingabire, leader of the unregistered Dalfa Umurunzi movement, has been disqualified from running due to a previous conviction. A court decision regarding her eligibility to contest the presidency will be announced on March 13.

The presidential and parliamentary polls in Rwanda will take place on July 15, following the government’s decision to synchronize the dates. On July 16, electoral colleges and committees will select twenty-four women MPs, two youth representatives, and a representative for disabled Rwandans.

The campaign period for candidates will run from June 22 to July 12, as stated in the election calendar.

Despite Rwanda being considered one of the most politically stable nations in Africa, human rights organizations criticize Kagame for governing under an atmosphere of fear that suppresses opposition and freedom of expression.

Kagame, who previously led a rebel group, assumed the presidency in April 2000, effectively becoming the country’s leader after the conclusion of the 1994 genocide.

In 2015, he oversaw contentious changes to the constitution that enabled him to seek additional terms and extend his tenure until 2034.

The celebrations last week of the life and times of Herbert Wigwe sent me retrieving some Philosophy books from my study. There had to be a philosophical meaning to it all. How could a man at the peak of his professional career, with a network of friends and associates spread over all the continents, literally vaporise from our midst with his wife and first son in tow? 

But the more I combed philosophy the more fuzzy I was. We are made up of body and soul, right? We leave the body behind when we expire and the soul rises to the afterlife where we are no longer constrained by the limitations of the physical world. Death, says Seneca, is a release from all suffering, and a boundary beyond which our ills cannot pass.

But this is little comfort. Based on the assumption that God is all good and all merciful, man continues to wonder why He would allow evil in the world. For, stripped of all niceties, as we say in Africa, there are very few happenings in the world that could be more horrendous than people predeceasing their fathers and mothers and uncles and aunts…

Philosophy Of Death

Even nature mourns when a green leaf falls from the Iroko tree while its withered, yellowed neighbours hang on as the fresher, healthier leaf falls to the earth. How cruel!

One of the few consolations I got from my philosophical foray was provided by the German, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche who encouraged us to strive for greatness. He said the fear that we might die young should not deter us from striving to be great. The influence of great people lasts longer than their earthly lives — and that is good for society. 

Therefore, he contends, death is not a misfortune. He emphasises the importance of “dying at the right time,” while our lives still call for celebration, and before we risk undermining the legacy we otherwise would leave others.  “In your dying, your spirit and virtue should still glow like a sunset around the earth….”

Donald Robertson, in a piece titled “The Philosophy of death”, tries to soften the blow of death’s rude intervention. As everything has a season, so does the individual, he says. Your season, in the macro, is your life, and as the seasons pass, so too will you. In a paraphrasing of the Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, don’t ask yourself how long you’ll live, but rather, how you’ll live… In so doing, death may not be something terrible, but rather, a natural end to a life well-ordered. 

Little comfort to grieving families, friends and associates! 

The Real Wigwe

It is said that a corpse being ferried to its final resting place by pall bearers across the neighbourhood might as well have been a log of wood because it does not exact any emotional toll on passersby. He who feels it, knows it. In the case of Herbert Wigwe, however, even those not connected with him in any way found out that he shared the same humanity with them in many profound ways to such an extent that a colleague asked me how the 57-year-old banker and entrepreneur could have been such a well kept secret all these years!

Many people found out the real essence of the relatively young man after his death. Nigeria may be a country of 200 Naira-trillionaires and 200 million beggars, but there is still so much unsung goodness in the land as evidenced by tributes paid to Herbert last week. 

Herbert Wigwe’s paths and mine never crossed. I have no reason whatsoever to be partial, one way or the other, in my assessment of his life and times. Unbelievably, despite being in the public eye everyday for the past quarter of a century, the real Herbert was largely unknown. The revelations made at the events organised by his family, friends and associates, and broadcast live on national and international networks, etched out the portrait of Herbert the humanist.

The cumulative effect of the tributes was that they painted a portrait of a human being with a heart of gold behind the name. Operating in the shark-infested waters of the Nigerian banking industry, was it realistic to expect operatives to conduct their affairs with a different set of rules, especially realising that the graveyard of Nigerian banking had many headstones of erstwhile top dogs? How did Jesus Christ handle that kind of ‘holier-than-thou’ situation? “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone”! (John 8:7).

Speakers at the event told stories of how the 57-year-old banker and corporate player became their friend and earned the respect of  the high and mighty around the world: from former President Bill Clinton of the US, to Emmanuel Macron of France, Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice-President Osinbajo, a bagful of European and African presidents and prime ministers, top diplomats and the cream of the business and political leadership in Nigeria. He had something special going with each and every one of those whose paths crossed his.

Number Your Days

On January 19, 2024, Wigwe had shared his thoughts on his X (formerly Twitter) handle: “Today and always, let us remember that life is a precious gift – a chance to breathe, feel, love, experience and connect. Let’s honour this gift by living with purpose, kindness, and gratitude, making every moment count. Let us number our days.”

 He apparently took his own advice.

 Spellbinding narratives were shared, of how this unassuming banker carried out his philanthropy without fanfare and how his life positively affected those who knew him. There were so many stories of man’s humanity to fellow man to cement a legacy of giving, of lifting other people up, of being the candle whose light was not diminished by lighting other candles. There were very few dry eyes when the leader of the Tijaniyya movement and 14th Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, finished his testimony.

Governors, senators, rolled over each other to share their attestations. Also in attendance was the President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, Nigeria’s Finance Minister Wale Edun and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso. It couldn’t have been stage-managed. Without being so tagged, this was virtually a state burial.

Nigeria’s Vice-President Kashim Shettima, in his speech titled, “Herbert Wigwe: The Flower That Bloomed Before Spring,” waxed lyrical: “Herbert left us in winter before the season of bloom. Spring was just about to arrive at his last location, the United States when the Lord called for him.

Spring is not the symbol of Herbert’s bloom; his journey was defined by peculiar seasons. He loomed long before his co-travellers. This spring, for us, isn’t the season of festive flowers; it’s the season of wreaths….”

Legacy

Wigwe’s legacy is assured. That much was evidenced by the pan-Nigerian, pan-African, even global outpouring of love on his demise. His family and friends have pledged to ensure the completion and sustenance of his Wigwe university project.  

Posterity will not have cause to ask, “Who was Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe?” They will encounter him in his contributions to a future that he wasn’t privileged to see. There will not be any iota of doubt that Herbert passed through these mortal shores. 

To his family and friends, I commend you to the soothing lyrics of Lynda Randle:

The God on the mountain is still God in the valley When things go wrong, He’ll make them right And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times. The God of the day is still God in the night.

The country’s petroleum products distribution and supply chain may face more challenging complexities going by current foreign exchange market intricacies.

At a media forum yesterday Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria(MEMAN), complained that the perplexity of the forex market uncertainty has stopped members from embarking on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), known as petrol importation.

They said, it is not easy to put together a correct mathematical calculation of the products landing cost as to further determine the appropriate pump price.

The executive secretary of the association, Clement Isong, in sharing his members position on the present industry value chain conundrum said, their investment is not fully protected with dollarisation of certain charges.

The market and consumers are not immune to government policy that allows Nigeria Ports Authority(NPA), and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, continuous charges in dollar, said Isong.

He also informed that though marketers receive products form Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) retail, ship-ship products products offload is transacted in dollar all of which pushes up cost of pump price.

“We are presently concerned about sustainability, efficiencies and affordability of energy for Nigerians and we are encouraging shift to energy transition specifically into gas space.” the ES said.

Giving further analysis, Isong said though the federal government has been faithful in its avowed intervention process since it exited the petrol subsidy regime, yet the dollarization policy is weakening the industry and discouraging investment.

He placed the blame mostly on fluctuating dollar movement and unpredictability of the rate.

For instance, he said, marketers pay NNPC about $10 per metric ton and given current exchange rate would translate to higher pump price .

Analysing the forex market impact on the business, he said, in 2023 when President Bola Tinubu removed the subsidy, and with exchange rate at that time the cost on a liter was about N4.85k and with the dollar at about N1,600 today it has added up to about N11.83 a liter, and at $30 per metric ton which was N14.54 today with dollar at N1,600 that has pushed it up to N28.44 which is adding up to the pump price.

On the transportation side, he said, even with separate negotiations by marketers, transporters charge between N5-N8 per liter.

He said with the unbearable rising cost, the Association’s ongoing advocacy is towards leveraging gas as alternative source of energy.

Speaking on the transition shift to gas, Femi Fanoiki, a consultant on Liquified Petroleum Gas, LPG, said efforts are currently moving towards driving LPG application in both the industrial and automotive services.

Fanoiki explained that interventions by the government is encouraging investment in that space but said more infrastructure deployment will further boost adoption process.

Speaking on the advantages of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Adelanke Bayo-Adepoju, Gas and Renewable Energy Specialist at MEMAN analysed benefits in shifting focus on CNG as alternative to petrol.

She said, concerted efforts have been made to convert about 1 million vehicles to run on the fuel by 2027 and establishment of over 1,000 conversation workshops across the country.

Clarifying on the issues of return of subsidy, Isong, said the industry is witnessing consistent intervention initiatives by government which perhaps public may have misconstrued as subsidy payment.

He said, President Tinubu, in July 2023 promised that the administration will continue to monitor inflation and exchange rate movement and would be intervening to manage market operations to ensure energy security.

“We have seen those interventions at different times and it providing a level of stability but our advocacy is to encourage a paradigm shift to affordable energy options “ Isong explained.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has voiced his support for the initiative by 60 members of the House of Representatives advocating for Nigeria’s return to a parliamentary system of government.

He expressed his stance while speaking to a delegation of lawmakers led by the House Minority Leader, Rep. Kingsley Chinda, and Rep. Abdulsamad Dasuki, who visited him in Abuja over the weekend.

The legislators visited the monarch to seek his counsel, blessings, and support for the proposed bills aimed at restructuring elections at the local, state, and federal levels.

Addressing the legislators, he described the current presidential system as accidental, expressing regret that the parliamentary system of government practiced after independence was short-lived due to military incursions that toppled democracy.

Ooni praised the lawmakers, stating the importance of fostering healthy competition among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. He also emphasised that a parliamentary system would effectively unlock and harness the country’s vast natural and human resources for development.

His words: “It’s a mistake of the past that people are saying it’s the northern people that are holding it; they want to. It’s a lie. If the people see the data of what is in the north now, I am very sure they will be the ones who say, Let us do that thing now.

“Some people call it restructuring; some people call it true federalism; some people call it devolution of powers; all in all, it’s the same thing.

“The white elephant—we don’t want to talk about it; it has gotten to the point unless we want another problem for us in this country. We have gotten to the wall, but you have made names for yourselves.

Earlier, Hon. Chinda, expressing deep concerns about the numerous challenges facing the country, expressed optimism that the ongoing consultations were aimed at gaining the support of key stakeholders in the Nigerian project.

He said, “If we try the local government system and it works, we graduate to the stage, where members from the state assembly among themselves elect a governor. If that works, while that is happening, we are looking at the faults, the problems, and the loopholes, and we keep making consequential amendments to our law before we get to the national level.

“So, that’s why we are looking at 2031 for the presidential; then we would have tried the local government, we would have tried the state, and then before we come to the presidential. If there’s a need and Nigerians think that we need to put A, B, and C in place, we will have time to do all that.

“But your Majesty, what we have come to do, like I’ve said earlier, is to seek your consent, seek your blessings, seek your advice, and tap from your wealth of knowledge.”

Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki, on his part, expressed optimism about the ongoing consultations and argued that the transition to a parliamentary system of government would help address various concerns raised by all Nigerians.

He said, “Sir, the elections are over. The court cases, by God’s grace, are over. We all know from all parts of the country that there are complaints that things are not going as they should. Some are clamouring for decentralisation, and some are saying restructure. We, as parliamentarians, are saying the system is a parliamentary system of government. I think there’s no better time to put our words into action than now.

“So, your Majesty, we are here on behalf of the 60 of us who have started this very important journey, together with you and all leaders, in fact, all Nigerians, to start the action immediately because we believe something needs to be done to arrest the current situation we are in in Nigeria today. And I believe by the time we leave here, by God’s grace, it’s going to be action, and action to see is through the challenges that are before us.”

“The total amount of such advances outstanding shall not at any time exceed five per cent of the previous year’s actual revenue of the Federal Government” – Section 38 (2) of the CBN Act.

Every Nigerian now knows that the Buhari government obtained N30 trillion under Ways and Means, W&M, from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in eight years. Every naira represented pre-meditated economic sabotage; particularly when the transactions were undertaken without prior approval of the National Assembly, NASS, as required by another Section of the CBN Act.

Furthermore, we are now aware that there is no record of how the funds illegally collected were spent; and who were the recipients – again as required by law. Buhari and his co-conspirators were not only brazen, the former President is still not remorseful about actions bordering on treason committed under his watch. During a recent book launch, he actually said his government acted with transparency and accountability. That was despite the fact that the NASS was only aware of N23.7 trillion overdrawn from the CBN in a letter he wrote to them in January 2023. 

Records now available have revealed that the infractions started from 2017 when his government was allowed to collect N1.1 trillion in W&M, against N2.95 billion revenue for 2016. What he collected in 2017 represented 37.2 per cent of the previous year’s revenue instead of the 5 per cent allowed by law. The truth was deliberately concealed by the FG, CBN and the Ministry of Finance from NASS and from the Nigerian people.

Obviously, his statement was deliberate and colossal lie – unbecoming of a former President.

Despite his poor education, it is difficult to understand how a President, who colluded with others for seven years to cover-up gross misdeeds, can stand in front of an audience and claim transparency and accountability long after he had revealed only part of the truth.

We now know that N30 trillion was illegally carted out of the CBN under cover of darkness; we also know that Buhari has ruined the efforts of his next four successors by asking a complaisant Senate, headed by Senate President Lawan, to convert all the funds to 40-year bond, with three years moratorium.

What all that means is this: The present generation of Nigerians and the next will be forced to pay for funds, literally stolen, from the CBN, without having an idea what we are paying for and why?

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
“A judge [or President] who cannot punish willful criminals, in the end, associates themselves with the criminals” – Goethe

Tinubu, a judge now, has not spoken about what his government intends to do about these unprecedented atrocities. Irrespective of his feelings as a founding father of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the fact that he admittedly brought Buhari out of voluntary retirement, bank-rolled his successful bid for President and, therefore, shares responsibility for the disaster confronting Nigerians at the moment, he cannot shirk from punishing a serial, lawless and remorseless former President – who lacks the decency to apologise after the truth has blown up in his face. Just in case ethnic jingoists and other die-hard Buhari supporters think the indictment is too harsh, below is the evidence.

                                                  TABLE

                                               NTRILLIONS

YEAR FG REVENUE W&M COLLECTED %

2017 2.70 1.1 37.2

2018 3.87 2.1 77.8

2019 4.12 3.3 85.3

2020 4.04 4.4 107.0

2021 4.64 4.3 106.4.

2022 6.49 6.4 138.0

Clearly, we are not dealing with a President and co-conspirators, who deviated just once and inadvertently from the five per cent legal limit. What we have on our hands is Executive lawlessness beyond comparison with anything this nation has ever experienced. Buhari and Co have proved, once again, that appetite indeed grows with eating. Each year’s larceny emboldened them to commit more transgressions with impunity.

Readers who must be wondering about what happened to the former Buhari we all regarded most highly only need to remember that the acid test of honesty is money; of integrity is power. Buhari, in 2015, had both in his grasp because millions of us trusted him. There is evidence beyond reasonable doubt that we were mistaken. Just look at the table; and ask yourself if a person with a reputation to protect, and anxious to do so, could have done that to his country. He drove the Nigerian economy into a ditch from which we might not get out for 20 years.

Unless Tinubu is tired of his job, the first priority of his government is to stop chasing bush rats when buffaloes and other big games are waiting to be brought down. Certainly, N30 trillion has not vanished into thin air. A great percentage of it might still be traced in Nigeria and abroad. Without wasting too much time, Tinubu should address the nation, proclaim a state of economic emergency and round up all those involved in the heist of N30 trillion. 

Court orders should be obtained to seize all their assets – including homes until they are ready to vomit as much as possible of what they illegally took from the nation’s treasury. And, since the Buhari administration has proved, once again, that fish rots from the head, the man who was at the head of it all cannot expect to sit in comfort at Daura while Nigerians suffer. It will amount to injustice of the worst kind.

To be quite candid, Buhari treated and still treats the entire country with disdain. Otherwise, how does one explain a situation in which he belatedly sent a letter to the NASS asking that money already spent, without prior approval be converted to a long term loan – WITHOUT DETAILS!!! This is bold-faced criminality without remorse. The only plausible explanation would shock Nigerians to the marrows. It is quite possible that there are no details; no records. Designated people apparently just drove to CBN in the middle of the night, waved bogus documents, and loaded trucks with newly-minted cash.

WAS EMEFIELE BLACKMAILED OR THREATENED?

“Russia is a riddle wrapped up in a mystery inside an enigma” – Sir Winston Churchill, November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965

Of all the culprits, Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor, will remain, like Russia, the most baffling. We met once in 2019 and that was when his re-appointment was still in doubt. Before then, he had struck me as a great achiever as CBN Governor. Working with an FG headed by an economic illiterate and Ministers of Finance, just a little bit better than the boss, Emefiele was called upon to handle all of monetary policy as well as a great deal of fiscal policy management. No previous CBN Governor ever enjoyed such powers – it was almost absolute. But, we all know what absolute power does to humans. Our meeting lasted approximately one hour. My questions focused on professionalism, how he was handling the inherent problems involved in managing both monetary and fiscal policies; and the ethical dilemma involved in that situation. His answers were convincing. But, we now know that there was no hint of W&M violations.

Now that the truth is out, Emefiele has the most difficult defence. Although, ignorance has never been an acceptable plea where grand larceny repeated committed is concerned, Buhari can still try it by pointing to his poor education.

Emefiele cannot pretend not to know the meaning of Section 38 (2) of the CBN Act. For that matter, none of the Deputy Governors from 2017 to 2023 should escape prosecution for this gross and planned violation of a basic regulation. What puzzles me is this: Was Emefiele blackmailed or threatened to go along with the greatest scam in CBN history?

To be continued…

FUND ME TO WRITE THE TRUTH ABOUT BUHARI

“I always look very hard at any one who is above suspicion” – Agatha Christie, 1890-1976
Christie was the most prolific writer on crime in the last century. I must have read at least fifteen of her books while researching for quotes for the VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS. She was being interviewed on NBC TV one day, in 1973, when the question was asked: “How can one summarise your books?” The statement above was her short and sharp answer. I quickly jotted it in my notebook; it has remained my guide ever since. 

Today, 51 years after that declaration, and with Nigerians wondering how N30 trillion was illegally withdrawn from the CBN; and the crimes covered up until last year, nobody can convince me that Buhari did not orchestrate the illegal withdrawals. To convince Nigerians, Tinubu would have to conduct a full probe into the episode – document by document.

Pastors of some Pentecostal churches, bearing false witness, after collecting “30 shekels of silver”, can never be relied upon to tell the truth. They have written their own books. In it, you will not read about N30 trillion illegally taken from the CBN.
In mine, you will discover how reckless Buhari was.

Let us write the true history of Buhari’s misrule together. Get in touch.