There is a sense in which both Nigerians and Mr. Tinubu share a place in purgatory in the last one year. Both leader and people are dwelling a house of incendiary troubles in waiting for admission into either hell or heaven. To that extent, we all have been in purgatory for the last one year and still counting. The questions are mutually reinforcing: Will Nigerians emerge from here into greater anguish or splendid glory? In turn, will Mr. Tinubu emerge from this place into a place of glory and honour given his troublesome past and current travails at the helm?

Twenty five years of unbroken democracy in Nigeria has taught me something about presidential democracy. The four -year cycles between administrations resolves into three time segments. The first year is for learning the ropes, making mistakes and stumbling  to establish an identity. The next two years are for effective governance and head -on confrontation with the promises that inspired a particular presidency. The final year is for succession politics , playing to be re elected if possible.

Effectively then, given this four year template, Tinubu has only the next  two years of effective governance to tackle the myriad problems tormenting the nation. He has two years to ensure improved security and chase away all bandits, kidnappers, abductors and sundry criminal gangs from the face of the nation. He has two years to reduce the poverty population to a manageable level, There are only two years to fix dilapidated infrastructure, reduce the national debt burden, return the Naira exchange rate to Buhari levels at least. He has two years to reduce official corruption to an acceptable minimum and put away an accumulated crowd of previously indicted corrupt officials. That is not all. Tinubu and his team have just two years to find food for the hungry, jobs for the army of unemployed youth and reprieve for threatened businesses. Most important of all, Tinubu has to use the next three years at most to restore the hope of Nigerians and friends of Nigeria in the Nigerian promise of a free, diverse but prosperous and united nation.

This may sound like a tall order indeed. After all, the litany of problems that today define the Nigerian reality  were  not created by Mr. Tinubu. He may have inherited most of them. He succeeded a president who is easily the most unfortunate thing that has happened to the Nigerian nation since inception. Mr. Buhari literally ran the Nigerian state aground and destroyed the very basis of our national cohesion. An economic illiterate and bureaucratic nonentity, Mr. Buhari brought to bear on the affairs of the Nigerian state his trademark incompetence, epic ineptitude and cruel aloofness. His aloof indifference enshrined the idea that perhaps Nigeria did not need a president as the affairs of state and society went on to the exclusion of any perceptible executive responsibility. Worse of all, he reopened old wounds, reignited the hatred that led the nation to war and sought to invade the nation with armed jihadist monsters of his own creation. The dot in a circle president !

But Buhari and Tinubu share a common political ancestry and party platform, the APC. It remains one of the most baffling aspects of Nigeria’s democracy that a party that ruined the nation should be returned to power. Given the complicity of the APC in creating the crises that define today’s Nigeria and Mr. Tinubu’s reluctance to call his predecessor by his real names, he in turn is a co -architect of the present national disaster.

Therefore, as President Tinubu prepares to graduate from the apprentice year in office, he cannot outsource the responsibility for the state of the nation. Democracy elects leaders to solve problems, not to read out an inventory of blames on previous dispensations. And we all are entitled to the stubborn hope that those we elect to rule over us will leave us in a better place than they found us. Buhari failed that most elementary demand of democracy,

Arguably so far, in all fairness to the man, Tinubu may have given the job his best shot. Simultaneously, he has deployed the judiciary to wriggle out of a controversial electoral victory, assembled an inchoate collection of ministers and key officials and tried to give his presidency a character and a name. No one can as yet call the exact name. No one can accuse Tinubu of not trying so hard to lead and to be appreciated by Nigerians.

He literally charged on to the presidential dais with a hell fire storm of controversial policies. He used his inauguration podium to withdraw a controversial gasoline subsidy. Shortly afterwards, he embarked on devaluation of the troubled Naira. Both policies set off a vortex of policy repercussions that have kept him busy ever since. Arguably both policies may end up defining what remains of his tenure and tenancy in Aso Villa because he failed to do one thing: he did not think them through before  reaching for  the mic.

In what is emerging as a basically reactive presidency, Tinubu has tried to address the yearnings of Nigerians mostly as they arise and not necessarily in any ordered and systematic prioritization format. He has tried to emplace an economic policy to ameliorate the impacts of his  initial disruptive policies. The Central Bank of Nigeria has literally engaged currency speculators in open street fights to dampen the deterioration of the exchange rate of the Naira to major currencies with minute success. The exchange rate continues to do a yo yo dance which has escalated inflation and made uncertainty a permanent feature of the economy in the last one year.

An untidy students loan scheme is about to go into a trial run.  But no one is sure that this populist scheme, desirable as it is, can in any way redress the decades long decay in the nation’s tertiary education sector. Similarly, an initial reaction to the spread of hardship in the land gave birth to efforts at palliatives. No one knows what has so far happened to earlier efforts to release grains or supply food or cash to the most vulnerable. The general hardship graduated into an epidemic of hunger across the nation. Food riots have occurred in major urban centres while efforts to increase access to food among the poor and vulnerable have been at best chaotic in places.

 The president has fared poorly in healing the wounds of divisiveness in the nation that he inherited from his friend and predecessor, Mr. Buhari. His key appointments unfortunately drip of a sickening level of  xenophobic sectionalism. Most strategic appointments have gone to Tinubu’s Yoruba ethnic home base: Army, Customs, CBN, Finance, Police, Power , Transportation, Internal Affairs, Marine economy etc. etc.

In a bizarre backlash, even among the Yoruba South West elite, there is discord. The most outspoken elite of the region accuse Tinubu of favouring mostly the Lagos, Osun and Ogun axis to the exclusion of other components. The core northern elite that helped him onto power have in recent times begun making threatening political noises. The South-east and South-south feel outflanked and excluded. If Tinubu fails as president,  it would be deemed that the Yorubas ran the nation into another ditch.

If the current state of the Nigerian economy and society are anything to go by, then we are in a worse place than in the darker Buhari days. Gas station queues are back all over the country as routine supply and logistics planning seem to have overwhelmed the corrupt and inept NNPC. Healthcare costs have shot through the roof as the prices of essential drugs have reached for the skies. Prices of basic need goods are beyond the roof . To worsen a bad situation, we have become a virtual Federal Republic of Taxes as all manner of taxes, levies and tariffs are unleashed on the hapless and already impoverished populace. These range from astronomical electricity tariffs to proposed levies on phone calls, cyber security, increased custom duties and airport  transit and car parking fees.

Tinubu has tried his hands at reaching out to the world through a plethora of foreign junkets. In particular, he has tried to deploy his Muslim identity to reach out to the economic powers of the Middle East for economic lifelines. He has visited Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Promises of resuming normal diplomatic and citizen visitation relations with the UAE have been sugar coated but yet unfulfilled. Qatar has refused to play ball yet on investments. The Saudis remain skeptical but are reluctant to tell Tinubu to his face that they cannot trust Nigeria to abide by any lasting agreements as the nation is half Christian.

Europe and the United States remain reticent, knowing that Nigeria only needs to go home and fix its troubles through responsible governance, transparency and greater accountability. For whatever reasons  that are only known to Tinubu, the CIA an the Department of State, I cannot see an imminent joint press conference at the White House lawns between Mr. Tinubu and any US president any time soon.

The attitude of the West to Nigeria’s need for economic bailout remains unchanged. If you need assistance, go through the World Ban, the IMF or enter into bilateral agreements with Western nations that trust you enough,

Back in Africa, Nigeria remains something of a fading empire. Our influence and stature has been tested in the West African sub region with regrettable outcomes. As leader of ECOWAS, Tinubu failed woefully in containing the coup in Niger Republic. Our failure in that regard led to the eviction of France and the United States as security guarantors in the Sahel, thus opening up the nation to greater jihadist terror while shrinking Western hemispheric influence in the region to the advantage of an ambitious Putin’s Russia.

In terms of style and character, Tinubu has displayed the typical African modern political trait of mixing up constitutional republican democracy with elements  of decadent monarchical absolutism. His motorcades are too long and rowdy. His immediate family is too conspicuous in the affairs of state including official delegations to important foreign countries. Worse still, the National Assembly has seemed all too eager to pass nearly every legislation emanating from the presidency while the judiciary is yet to recover from its perceived compromises in its verdicts on election cases that arose from the 2023 contests.

In matters of governance, there is  a disturbing lack of method in the  ways of Tinubu’s maddening crowd. Sometimes the government speaks with too many voices. Communication between president and people is very often mismanaged as the all too frequent presidential absences and disappearances are conveyed through either eloquent silences or conflicting speculations. 

The road to the future is defined by the mood of the time: it is an interesting time to be alive in Nigeria if you are that lucky to survive till the morning after.

Recently, two incidents openly challenged Nigeria’s quest for a policing regime where peace and order or the overall safety of the citizens would take pre-eminence.

While one was the maiden edition of the Nigeria Police Awards and Commendations Ceremony, the other was the one-day National Dialogue on State Policing, organized by the House of Representatives. Vice President Kashim Shettima represented President Bola Tinubu at both events that were held in Abuja. 

Sequel to the first, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh, authored a piece titled The Police and Akpabio's Sermon on the Mount. Although Eyiboh, the media adviser to the president of the senate, described it as one targeted at "reputation management" and "constructive stakeholders’ engagement", the outing was rather an impetus to a national discourse which will remain endless until there is a Nigeria Police Force that embodies the ideals and aspirations of an enlightened democracy. 

Buoyed by his composite knowledge of the private and public sectors of the economy, Godswill Akpabio intervened from a broader perspective. 

He was blunt, but truthful, that “in this country we have had a deficit of heroes. Not because Nigerians are not heroic but because we do not celebrate our heroes. Yet heroes play a vital role in society through the provision of inspiration, motivation, hope and serving as representations of values and character. Celebrating heroes could bring the much-needed change we need in the fabric of our society and make our country a better place". Also, he was unequivocal that Nigeria deserves a police force that is defined by “internal ethical regeneration, restoration of professional standards, and the enhancement of the anti-corruption drive".

Then as one of the pathways to this vision, he acknowledged that "recognizing the gallant, selfless, and patriotic contributions of individual officers, will not only motivate them for higher performance but also reinforce the new policing agenda of the force”. 

Furthermore and putting on the garb of a quintessential representative of the police, Akpabio made a strong case for them. His first argument was that "the ever-evolving landscape of crime and the increasing sophistication of criminal gangs pose significant obstacles" for the force. 

He therefore called for concerted efforts in this regard, stressing that "we must address these issues and work together to find solutions. The police need the support and cooperation of all stakeholders, to overcome these challenges and build a stronger and more effective police force".

Again, Akpabio defended the force against prejudice by declaring lamentably that "many have sought to hang the police to dry for all our many vices. But the truth of the matter is that the police are all members of our society. Down the ages the popular philosophical thinking was that man could not be better than the society because the society makes the man, socializes man, and orients him with a sense of right and wrong". In other words, the police are what the citizens and the government make of it.

Not done, he reassured the force that "as the leader of the National assembly, I pledge our full cooperation and support to the better policing of Nigeria. We recognize the importance of a well-equipped and motivated police force in ensuring the security and well-being of our citizens. We will continue to work tirelessly to provide the necessary legislative framework and resources to enable the police to carry out their duties effectively".

Incidentally, the Nigeria police force and the national assembly are the two most vilified institutions in the country. Deliberate misinformation and disinformation about them abound and grow unabated by the day. It is such that despite the laudable accomplishments of the ‘present generations’, these critical institutions of governance continue to suffer the inherited image and reputational crises occasioned by certain misdeeds of their predecessors.

Thus, apart from his leadership and governance antecedents, and also, having variously been a victim of uncritical judgement, Akpabio is well versed in the implications of collective labelling or stereotypical views. So, his empathy with the police is not far-fetched after all.

Nonetheless and typical of a dispassionate advocate, the senate president in concluding his homily, acknowledged the existence of bad eggs in the force. He therefore counselled that "as we honour the good officers, let us weed out the bad ones because a chain is as strong as its weakest link" adding that “it is imperative that the police uphold the highest ethical standards in carrying out their duties”. 

Empirically, the takeaway from “Akpabio’s Sermon on the Mount” is three-pronged. One, while the police should be strategic in their overall conduct starting from recruitment through training and operations to the general management of their affairs, the society should not be subjective in their engagement and assessment.

Two, the moral lecture was an agenda-setting intervention or a catalyst in the perennial quest for a police force that Nigeria and her citizens can be proud of. 

Then lastly, it was a clarion call on the need to reward excellence in every aspect of our national life.

Undoubtedly, these messages are worth internalizing towards our dream police force!

Akpabio was to take his advocacy to the second event. 

Reiterating his support for the establishment of state police, which according to him “is a complex issue with no easy answers”, he re-echoed that “security is not a privilege, but a fundamental right of every Nigerian”. He thus warned that “if we are to set up state police departments, we must ensure that they are free from the shackles of politics, religious extremism, tribalism, and ethnicism. We must empower them to serve and protect, without fear or favour.” 

Then of paramount note “let us never forget that the power of the state police should never be used as a tool of oppression or witch-hunting. Let us ensure that political powers do not manipulate the state police to silence dissent or target their enemies. Let us ensure that the influential do not exert undue influence over the state police and that justice is blind to wealth, power, politics, or status. Let us build a system that is fair, just, and equitable for all”. 

Instructively, these expressed positions have nothing to do with his current status. 

Godswill Akpabio has been a regular voice in the national quest for an effective and efficient police force. He only stood up to be counted for the umpteenth time. 

As governor of Akwa Ibom State, he had in 2012, advocated that “state police remains an answer to the numerous security challenges facing Nigeria. It is the solution to resolving most of the intra-conflicts in the country. He was emphatic that “if Kogi had state police, Boko Haram probably would not have reached the state. In the Niger Delta, kidnapping would not have reached the level it had reached at that time because the indigenes that would make up the force know the criminals among them and would fish them out. Every family knows who is who. That is why I say state police remains the answer”.

Again, it is noteworthy that towards efficient and effective policing, the Akpabio-led Senate has since intensified actions on the Police Pension Bill, aimed at removing the police from the contributory pension scheme, having passed the Police Trust Fund budget in addition to resolutions bordering on manpower and hardware.

Perhaps, these interventions informed President Bola Tinubu’s proclamation, of his administration’s commitment to transforming the police into “a modern, professional, and accountable institution that mirrors the aspirations and values” of Nigeria. He was precise that “our idea of a modern police force goes beyond superficial changes like repainting office buildings and residences or simply procuring firearms. True reform of our security doctrine and its architecture necessitates recognising the importance of administering justice and adhering to our ethical values to foster stability and order in the nation. The transformation we seek must transcend mere policy and infrastructure; it requires a fundamental overhaul of our institutional mentality and memory.” 

These words, though reassuring, still face a high level of scepticism. 

With hindsight, some of the critical questions include:

Would the police sustain this laudable initiative to improve the welfare of its workforce? Can there be a police force that thrives in “internal ethical regeneration, restoration of professional standards, and the enhancement of the anti-corruption drive"? Can the federal government deliver on its promise (s)? Is the police ready to reinvent themselves even with these anticipated supports, especially given the results of other previous interventions such as the Police Trust Fund and Police Equipment Foundation? Will Nigerians support the national assembly with viable ideas, through the already kick-started constitution amendment processes, to reposition the force, particularly concerning the raging state police debates?

These are some of the cardinal items on the agenda set by Akpabio as the conversation continues.

However, a police force that is alive to its roles and responsibilities might sound utopian, but it is attainable if strategically approached. It only requires sustained citizens’ actions. And gratifyingly, Senator Godswill Akpabio has offered direction and also shown resolve to lead from the front.

So the ball is now in the court of Nigerians, and primarily, the police force itself.

Egbo is a parliamentary affairs analyst

A video featuring House of Representatives member, Ahmad Satomi, has gone viral on social media.

The representative of Jere Federal Constituency, Borno State, challenged the Green Chamber regarding the recently passed National Anthem bill.

Satomi questioned the bill’s relevance to Nigeria’s pressing issues, sparking widespread discussion and debate.

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed for a second reading a bill seeking a return to the old national anthem, PUNCH Online reports.

Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, the sponsor of the proposed law, Julius Ihonvbere, anchored his argument on the need for patriotism and nationalism.

But many Nigerians on social media questioned the relevance of the move, wondering if it would help salvage the nation’s economy, being Nigeria’s biggest challenge at the moment.

In the video, Satomi addressed his colleagues, questioning the practicality and impact of the bill, which mandates reverting to the old National Anthem, “Nigeria we hail thee.”

His concerns highlighted the disconnect between legislative actions and the real-world problems faced by Nigerians.

“I do not know how this national anthem will affect the well-being of the common man in Nigeria. Let’s be realistic.

“How will this support either hunger, banditry, or improve insecurity?” Satomi asked.

He emphasised the need for legislation that directly benefits the populace, rather than symbolic gestures.

Satomi urged his colleagues to prioritise development-oriented policies that would attract positive international attention and foster growth.

He expressed frustration over the focus on the national anthem while the world advances in technology and innovation.

“There is a saying that goes thus, ‘Countries that rely on prayers will rely on the ones that do think.’

“Please, let’s think of something that will bring progress, stability, and prosperity to the economy of this nation and improve the lives of the common man,” he urged.

Despite his objections, the House of Representatives, on Thursday, May 23, passed the bill with accelerated consideration.

The bill’s passage has sparked debate among the public and lawmakers about legislative priorities amid the nation’s ongoing struggles with hunger and insecurity.

[Punch]

Former England and Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney was appointed as the new manager of Championship side Plymouth on Saturday.

A move to Argyle is the fourth managerial role of Rooney’s coaching career, which has so far failed to live up to his stellar playing days.

“Taking this role at Plymouth Argyle feels like the perfect next step in my career,” said Rooney in a club statement.

“This is an opportunity to be part of an exciting project. I look forward to helping to build a squad of players to play expansive football – and to entertain the Green Army.”

The 38-year-old was sacked after just 83 days in charge of Birmingham earlier this year.

Rooney won just two of his 15 matches in charge of the Blues, which contributed to their relegation to League One.

He previously had a short spell with former club DC United in Major League Soccer.

But United’s all-time record goalscorer did thrive in difficult circumstances during his first job at Derby as the club entered administration.

“Throughout the interview process, Wayne showed himself to be a passionate, intelligent, and knowledgeable candidate with an appetite to prove himself and develop his managerial career,” said Plymouth chairman Simon Hallett.

“His ambitions and aims match ours perfectly and we feel he is the perfect candidate to provide the exciting and attacking brand of football that we all like to see and help us achieve the club’s mission.”

Plymouth narrowly avoided relegation in their first season back in English football’s second tier for 14 years, finishing 21st in the Championship.

AFP

A great-grandfather living in Fairfield, Ohio, in the United States, has been chronicled in the Guinness World Records for living longer than others before him with one lung.

The 83-year-old Donald Cantrell has even run marathons and taken on triathlons, with one lung turning 84 on 2 June, 2024. 

GWR on its X disclosed that the octogenarian has  marked the longest time to survive with one lung as a male with a total of 66 years 204 days, as of 15 January.

It added that very soon, “it’ll be 67 years since Don had his left lung surgically removed.”

Despite having just one lung for the majority of his life, Donald Cantrell popularly known as Don has never considered himself to be disabled and has lived a very active life.

He told GWR, “I feel blessed to have lived long enough to achieve a Guinness World Records title that I never tried or even thought of accomplishing.”

Don’s record-breaking journey began when he was just two years old and contracted pneumonia after getting the flu. He was hospitalised in April 1943 and spent almost a week in a coma.

He regained consciousness and was allowed to return home, but his health condition deteriorated over the next few weeks and he found himself back in hospital.

When he was 17 years old, after finishing his second year of high school, Don said he was continually troubled by bad chest colds and coughs.

A doctor examined Don and found that his left lung had been destroyed by an abscess and the best course of action was to remove it.

Abscess is an enclosed collection of pus in tissues, organs, or confined spaces in the body, and it is a sign of infection and is usually swollen and inflamed.

Disturbed about how the family would afford the surgery, Don disclosed that  his mother assured him they would find a way, even if they had to sell their farm.

Don was admitted to hospital in June 1957 for the surgery, and soon discovered members of his church had pulled together to raise the money to pay his bill.

“I was discharged on 4 July, with instructions to return for a follow up in a month,” Don said. “I never went back. I was doing so well it did not seem like I needed to go back.”

The first ever lung transplant did not take place until years later in 1963, according to Guinness world Records.

When Don had his surgery, it simply was nott a possibility to replace his damaged lung with a healthy one.

He said, “By the time this possibility became known, I was healthy and strong, having run many road races, including four 26.2 mile marathons. 

“Transplant never crossed my mind. In fact I did not think of myself as having a disability.

“Only my family and close friends ever knew of my lung removal. In competitive racing I never told anyone. Even today, most of my acquaintances do not know. I will tell them soon when the certificate arrives.”

Don went on to work in the manufacturing industry, marry his loving wife Janette in 1960, and welcome two sons and a daughter, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

And he also found his passion for running.

“I remained active in sports, I played basketball, softball, disc golf, bowling with my wife, and golf. Eventually running would be my sport of choice,” he said,

With practice and hard work, he went on to compete in over 100 races, running five marathons and completing several 30-mile triathlons too.

Don found that running had a huge positive impact on his health. His remaining lung even got bigger.

Don continued running until he was in his late 70s and unable to because of his neuropathy, a type of nerve damage.

His final race was The Shark Tooth 10k in Venice, Florida, in 2011.

He believes he has even run a marathon quicker than any other one-lunged athlete – completing one in Colombus, Ohio, in 1984 in 3 hr 37 min 2 sec.

Don said, “My competition in sports brought only benefits. I was never injured and never trained for a race I didn’t run and finish. It certainly strengthened my lung. 

“My lungs doctor, whom I visited for the first time earlier this year, in order to complete the application for the record, said that my right lung had expanded, so that my lung capacity is equal to 3/4 of a man with two good lungs. 

“My overall health dramatically improved when I began to run and become more active all the time. 

“I have rarely been sick in the last 40 years. The Lord blessed me greatly through running.”           

Don said he did not know what kind of longevity he could expect after having his lung removed.

He said, “I’m not sure what I expected, but I do know that other people that know about the surgery did not expect me to live very long.

“My brothers and I were at a local country store soon after my operation and the subject came up about me being scheduled to return to the hospital in Lexington for my check-up, and the store owner commented, ‘You will probably be doing that for the rest of your life.’

“Perhaps that is one reason I didn’t ever go back for a check-up. But I truly think I just didn’t let others influence what I thought, it was not up to me or them, it was in the Lord’s hands.”

Although Don cannot run anymore, he still walks an average of two miles every day.

[Vanguard]

As if addressing the current political situation in Nigeria, especially the diverse submissions of prominent leaders about democracy and the way forward for Nigeria, the philosopher, David Hume said: “There is nothing which is not the subject of debate, and in which men of learning are not of contrary opinions. The most trivial question escapes not controversy, and in the most momentous questions we are not able to give any certain decision. Disputes are multiplied, as if everything was uncertain; and these disputes are managed with the greatest warmth, as if everything was certain.”

While it is in the nature of things for disagreement and diverse points of view to emerge in human affairs, while it is also true that politics and democracy always go hand-in-hand with competing interests, and while some of them are altruistic and others are not, we must admit that disputation cannot be an end in itself. The endless thrashing about is becoming tiresome and too uninteresting to bear further endurance.

Again, let us remember the words of David Hume in his Treatise on Human Nature, where he admonished philosophy and philosophers thus: “NOTHING is more usual and more natural for those who pretend to discover anything … than to insinuate the praises of their own systems, by decrying all those which have been advanced before them. …. ‘Tis easy for one of judgment and learning, to perceive the weak foundation even of those systems, which have obtained the greatest credit, and have carried their pretensions highest to accurate and profound reasoning. Principles taken upon trust, consequences lamely deduced from them, want of coherence in the parts, and of evidence in the whole, these are everywhere to be met … and seem to have drawn disgrace upon philosophy itself…even the rabble without doors may, judge from the noise and clamour, which they hear, that all goes not well within.”

Hume’s words resonate so strongly with our present situation, does it not? Everything is in dispute, including the time of day and the condition of the weather. 

One year into the Tinubu administration, the nation and its people stand perplexed and too worsted to even still articulate a clear complaint anymore. Yet, in the midst of it all, those who have any voice at all in the wider political landscape are screaming as if they are really sure of what they are saying. Thus, it is not just raining, but pouring down everywhere. The doubly irritating babble adds avoidable befuddlement to everything. Besides the regular grumblings about almost every measure taken by the government on any issues whatsoever, the opposition has not demonstrated any clear trajectory in its thinking and carryings on. And one year has rolled by.

On July 7, 2023, this column took a preemptive strike at those who were most probably warming up to celebrate President Tinubu’s first 100 days in office. The submission then was this: “…before his handlers prance off, in a frenetic pace to make a good impression and show off their superstar, they should first answer this question: Does this government need to organize a State Event, complete with government officials, snivelling crumb-crunchers, genuine stakeholders and the president’s party members all lined up to reel off his specific and general achievements? I think not. We have had more than enough of such charades over the years. Tinubu can create a new precedent by putting an end to it. Tinubu must keep his eyes on the ball. Let us begin to do things differently.”

The article further said, concerning the celebration of 100 days in office which this column did not want to happen: “Now we need to move on, as a serious people. This pointless national engagement has cost the nation hundreds of billions of Naira in perfectly avoidable expenses for decades. Past governments at all levels have put too much energy, funds, fanfare and needless floodlights and festoons around it. And to what purpose? To tell Nigerians that the person they elected had been working for the first three months after being sworn in? Really? What else was he supposed to be doing? Why was he elected in the first place?

So, let us show some sobriety and maturity here; knowing that the money to be thus squandered can be put to better use in these days of starving citizens, abominable inflation, unaffordable automotive fuel and much more – including trekking under the sun because of high transport fares.

Tinubu should, instead, let his foot soldiers do more work of explaining and justifying all the moves he has made so far. Some of them are clearly unsettling for many people. Even the supporters are unable to present a coherent narrative. Yes, whoever must make an omelette has to break some eggs; but the government must avoid a situation wherein the perception is that eggs are being broken just for the heck of it. 

The Federal Government’s current decisions, actions and policy initiatives are foundational measures on which it is expected to build. They will make or mar Tinubu’s tenure. That is why their intent and purport should be simplified in the public domain.”

The above three paragraphs were penned some ten months ago. The spirit of it still applies today, as the government clocks one year in office. As was also said, then: “A leader is supposed to lead, is he not? This leading means, first, designing a comprehensive engagement strategy. It means thinking through the appropriate policies for dealing with various problems. It also means finding and deploying the right type of human capital for implementation. The criteria here must include competence and sensitivity to the existing, and subsisting, socio-politicalrealities; two paradigms on which Buhari performed disastrously and delivered miserably. “

If things are not going as well as we all expected, that is partly the results of a subsisting national problem of a deeper nature; beyond the actions and inactions of specific governments. The nation has been a complete riot of political gymnastics for some time now; having acquired a political reputation that is peculiarly its own since the return of democracy in 1999. Party lines exist in name only, while political loyalty is mostly contrived. Political godfathers are still all over the place. 

The opposition politicians, threadbare as their template for effective opposition is in real terms today, are still too self delusional to accept that they are probably bungling much more than those they are complaining about. Everyone believes he is right, at least as far as he/she is concerned, in all matters concerning what is good for the Nigerian state today. 

It is all so very reminiscent of the crisis among the early Christians of the Church of Antioch, mentioned in the Bible. It was like a congregation, or fraternity, that was cheerfully affiliated to Bedlam. Nearly everyone had his own prophesies and visions. The Doctrine of Grace suffered diverse interpretations. Greek and Jewish converts, as well as those who came from Jerusalem to sort things out, nearly became the greatest enemies of the new faith. 

Their behaviour was peculiarly their own. Their diverse views filled many otherwise interested and intelligent observers with misgivings. Thus, “Church of Antioch” became a metaphor for confusion, doctrinal inexactitude, apostacy heresy and arbitrary self-inflation. That seems to be the texture, and tenor, of our national politics today.

The damage done by Buhari to the APC, to national cohesion, to service delivery, to leadership sensitivity, to equity, to natural justice, to genuine democracy in a plural society, to the very idea of leadership and to the long-term interests of the north is incalculable. Everything that spoke to a better, and greater, humanity, suffered shipwreck under Buhari.  Nigerians lived for eight years with a president who did nothing, knew nothing and who was bothered about nothing. 

It took Tinubu’s predecessor six months to appoint ministers. It took him practically one year to dissolve the Governing Boards of MDAs, and more years to reconstitute them. He retained most government functionaries for eight years, thereby forcing many carrier officers to either stagnate or retire without deserved promotions and fulfilment. 

Has Tinubu set out new paradigms for leadership and statecraft? Is there a framework which, whatever it may be and in whatever way it is conceptualized, runs on the path that will eventually lead to lasting economic recovery, equity and holistic national cohesion? Is the government making the right type of investments that would lead to national development, instead of merely recording expenditure on all manner of projects; with neither positive impact nor tangible benefit? It is beyond hitting the ground running, or rolling out several decisions in a hurry. It has more to do with sustainability. The Tinubu government has much to make good, and for several reasons; as we trudge on; bruises and all. 

Concerning the Banex Plaza Imbroiglio

It has been in the news for about a week now. The drama started with some controversy over a telephone handset that was returned to the original seller by a buyer after some weeks of us MIage. The customer’s desire to take a new phone, instead of allowing the seller to resolve the identified battery problem, led to some disagreements. The fact of two soldiers getting involved in the matter, and the invitation of the plaza police to quell budding hostilities between the parties, was the next stage of the eventually unpleasant drama. 

Then came further escalation of the disagreement, following consequential verbal hostilities, and the subsequent attack on the soldiers by some people around the plaza. 

The plaza has been shut dy, following the incident, with the Director, Army Public Relations, Maj-Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, calling on the traders and managers of the plaza to identify and bring out those who attacked the soldiers. 

A trending video in the media on the beating of two soldiers gives very bad optics. It looks like the National orientation Agency (NOA) has a job to do, in getting Nigerians to understand the near-sanctity of the military uniform.

All things considered, we have been told that the presence of the two soldiers in the plaza at the time, their involvement in a phone dispute and the circumstances under which they were laid hands upon would be thoroughly investigated and the plaza reopened for business. 

The lesson for the genuine traders at Banex plaza, and other malls all over the country, is the need to get rid of Ndi oso afia, who do not own any shops; but who hang around markets and malls, to mislead and harangue innocent people into paying more than they ought to for goods. They would pretend to be part owners of shops they see anyone walking into and then swoop in to announce inflated prices.

City FM is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Programme: CITY TALKS WITH REUBEN ABATI

Time: 12:00pm

Guest: Bayo Onanuga 

(Special Adviser to the President on information and strategy)

Topic: "One Year of President Tinubu's Administration"

Date: 25th May, 2024

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/92877141732?pwd=VEJWb29OL2VVekZUTHRpdWYxK0xxZz09

Meeting ID: 928 7714 1732

Passcode: 600206