WEST Africans on July 7, 2024, witnessed the tragic split of their region into two opposing blocs. The first time since the 1975 establishment of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.

Eleven regional Heads of State met in Abuja under the ECOWAS umbrella while three of their counterparts: Presidents Assimi Goita of Mali, Ibrahim Traoré, Burkina Faso and Abdourahamane Tchiani, Niger, met in Niamey for the inaugural Summit of the Alliance of Sahel States, AES.

Given these separate meetings, the matter is no longer a question of recalling those three countries, or their returning to ECOWAS. It became more an issue of how to merge both organisations that are developing different structures and have two diametrically opposed political views.

The ECOWAS, which is set in its old bureaucratic ways, is more conservative with clear pro-West sympathies. In contrast, the AES which is manifesting more radical inclinations, seems impatient with economic and political integration and is manifestly pro-East.

While the latter has made up its mind to move on and may want other countries to join it, ECOWAS is playing an elder brother’s role of urging its siblings to return to the homestead. But in doing so, ECOWAS does not seem to understand that as far as the AES members are concerned, they are fighting a war of survival in which they are in the firing sights of France and the United States. Also, ECOWAS seems oblivious of the fact that the troika have rejected the old model of trade in which the underdeveloped countries are brutally exploited and impoverished by the West. For instance, Niger Republic is irritated that while it is the fourth largest producer of uranium in the world and lights up one third of France, 80 per cent of its populace have no electricity. So it had to rely on neigbouring Nigeria for electricity supply, which was cut off following the July 26, 2023 coup. It is also angry that while additionally, the country is rich in gold, iron ore, phosphate, tin, salt, gypsum and petroleum, Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world. Furthermore, it was unhappy that while its territory had been turned into French and American military bases, terrorists and bandits were freely running around.

Burkina Faso does not see why as one of the largest producers of gold, copper, zinc, manganese, limestone and phosphate, 40 per cent of its populace should live below the poverty line. Similarly, Mali is angry that despite its huge gold, marble, salt and kaolin deposits, 42.5 per cent of Malians are under the poverty line. So, they not only decided that the trade relations with the rest of the world should change, but that they also need an urgent mutual defence pact to jointly tackle the terrorist challenge they face.

ECOWAS seems comfortable with such exploitative trade relations. It also seems at home issuing bland statements and declarations. For instance, its July 7, 2024 communiqué contained flat statements like welcoming “the positive economic outlook for ECOWAS in 2024”, noting “the persistent inflationary pressures and growing public debt ratio” and, asking Member States to continue implementing economic and financial policies “that will lead to compliance with the macroeconomic convergence.”

The ECOWAS lack of seriousness was visible last week on the basic issue of a common currency, the Eco. It had announced its birth in 2000 and, promised to introduce it in 2003. But last week, two dozen years later, it was just directing its Commission to submit a “draft Supplementary Act defining the modalities for the participation of Member States in the Monetary Union at its first Ordinary Session in 2025.”

So, when ECOWAS declares it wants the three countries back, what is it offering them? Security? Economic, political or currency integration? Better economic integration or a common front against exploitation?

Unsurprisingly, ECOWAS is bungling even the issue of setting up a team to negotiate with the AES countries. The basic ECOWAS claim against them and why it decided to sanction them was allegedly because they are military regimes whereas ECOWAS is wedded to constitutional rule.

ECOWAS choice of Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye as its facilitator with the three countries, is brilliant. He symbolises the insistence of the populace to exercise sovereignty over who presides over their affairs. Even after then President Macky Sall had thrown Faye and his pro-democracy comrades into prison in a vain attempt to stop their election, ECOWAS, rather than condemn this, was praising Sall as a fine democrat and encouraging “him to continue to defend and protect Senegal’s long-standing democratic tradition”. Despite these obstacles, Faye moved from prison to the Presidential Palace.

But the ECOWAS choice of two coup plotters: President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé of Togo, and Guinea Bissau’s General Umaro Sissoco Embaló, as co-facilitators, were blunders.

Faure’s father, General Gnassingbé Eyadema who had on April 14, 1967 overthrown the Togolese government, died in office on February 5, 2005 after 38 years in power. Faure immediately overthrew the government. When some countries denounced his coup, he was forced to step down. But his regime immediately organised elections and he was declared elected. After 19 years in power, Faure in April, 2024, changed his country’s constitution from presidential to parliamentary, a move which extended his stay in office to 2031 after which he could be appointed into the new position of President of the Council of Ministers.

In his own case, retired General Embaló had been elected President on December 20, 2019. In May, 2022, when he had differences with the parliament, he dissolved it and ruled as a dictator. But when new parliamentary elections were conducted, his party lost. A clash in December 2023 between the National Guard and the Presidential Guard in which two persons were killed, provided Embalo an excuse to, again, dissolve the parliament. It was his second coup against the constitution. Unfortunately, ECOWAS has continued to support this civilian coup in Guinea Bissau.

At its meeting last week, rather than demand that the Embalo regime allow the parliament to reconvene and continue its constitutional duties, the ECOWAS Heads of State urged “the Government to accelerate the process of holding new legislative elections to re-establish the Popular National Assembly…”

The choice of Faure and Embalo as part of the three-person ECOWAS team to facilitate negotiations with the AES is an avoidable blunder.

At the AES inauguration, Captain Traoré thundered: “The imperialists see Africa as an empire of slaves (that) Africans belong to them, our land belongs to them, our sub-soils belong to them…this is why we have decided to revolt and to take the fate of our countries in our own hands…we came to break the chains.” Is this a voice ECOWAS recognises and wishes to accommodate?

It is a platitude to restate that Africa has been impacted negatively by colonialism and imperialism. In varying degrees, English has come to supplant Nigerian languages as the dominant mode of communication. Inevitably, this has bred an attendant recession of pre colonial traditional languages. Moreso the Yoruba, who were unarguably the first to receive Western education in Nigeria and had been receiving mass education literacy since 1842. With the legacy of this head start comes a collateral damage. 

Growing up, inability to speak fluently in Yoruba language and concomitant ability to speak fluent English was a trademark of upper class elitism and belonging in the hierarchy of social class perking order. Quite often, in such upper crust families, English was the first language of communication. A cultivated inability to speak Yoruba qualifies you to be complimented as ajẹbota ( those whose family menu substantially tends towards English/continental dishes).The popular comic, Gbenga Adeyinka, is a veteran of the dramatisation of this mockery. 

The bias against Yoruba in primary and secondary schools is illustrated in the classification of Yoruba as vernacular language. Prize awards for the best students in English and other subjects were routine save Yoruba language. Other than Dele Momodu, I don’t know any of our peers who graduated from the University in Yoruba studies. The fact that Nigeria comprises several multilingual cultural groups practically makes English our lingua franca. As an aside, baulking this neutrality and objectivity, President Muhammadu Buhari holds the dubious distinction of the first Nigerian President to address this unfortunate country in Hausa language from his sick bed in London. 

The extent to which we have become sheepishly enchanted with the English language was demonstrated by a friend living in Germany. He referred to Germans as illiterates because they could not speak English! In the spirit of the saying ‘physician heal thyself’ I once considered myself an object of pity. It was at the University of Hamburg where my hosts, all four of them, mischievously chose to converse in the Hausa language, in the full knowledge that I comprehend next to nothing of the language. Yet, I am from Nigeria.

I accept as a personal failure the substantial limitations of my own children to communicate in Yoruba. Moreso, when in the consciousness of a deepening and widespread ignorance of Yoruba tradition, I have dedicated the latter part of my educational and cultural development to proficiency in the propagation of Yoruba tradition and religion. The greater my sadness when I have the anecdotal evidence that relative to other Nigerian cultural groups ie Igbo and Hausa-Fulani, the Yoruba are worse off in the ability of their children to converse in the language of their forefathers. I needed to understand the wherewithal of this dilemma. 

Originally, it was to the Berlin conference (prior to colonialism) that we owe the sociocultural disarticulation of the Yoruba and other African nations. This was the occasion in which ‘African nations were divided and taken over by European nations. The preexisting African groups, tribes, and nations were arbitrarily divided, even if the divisions didn’t make any sense according to the indigenous peoples’. In Nigeria, prior to and after the amalgamation of 1914, colonial rule took the form of indirect rule and the partition of Nigeria into three protectorates namely the Eastern, Western and Northern protectorates.

The language of the majorities in these protectorates were the Igbo, Yoruba and the Hausa-Fulani. The essence of the indirect rule (dual mandate) was the employment of the preexisting traditional administration organs as delegated authorities of governance on behalf of the British colonialists. Of the three protectorates, the Yoruba has been the least successful in the intergenerational transfer of their mother tongue to subsequent successor generations. In the formation of the culture of the colonial and post colonial WAZOBIA the imperialist religions of Christianity and Islam have exerted varying influence on the ability of the language groups to preserve their culture. 

In the Pan Islamic North, (after the colonial military subjugation of the Sokoto Caliphate), the theocratic rulers successfully negotiated the insulation of the region from Christian proselytization and evangelism (and a concomitant preservation of the emirate system) with Lord Lugard. The latter readily granted the concession because it roundly suited the deployment of the indirect rule and his innate bias for the region. This provided the North an ample opportunity to preserve their Pan Arabic culture and language in opposition to Westernization/ Modernisation.

Prior to colonialism and contemporary Nigeria, the Igbo dominated (hitherto) Eastern region had remained impermeable to the jihadist spread of Islam thus ceding the playfield to the monopoly of Christian proliferation and acculturation (Igbos’ sense of common identity as a single people is said to have grown particularly in the last century, in the face of colonialism, and grew even into a national identity when Igbo people tried to declare their independence from Nigeria in 1967. Despite their inability to achieve that independence, Igbo have continued to standardize the language and build a somewhat more shared pan-Igbo identity).

Unlike these two colleagues, the Yoruba were simultaneously rendered prone to the incursion of the two imperialist religions under whose influence they became more culturally diffused and liberal. You will likely find more mixed marriages among the Yoruba than other ethnic groups. Whilst Christianity penetrated through the South West coastal city of Lagos and adjoining provinces of Abeokuta, Islam burst forth from Ilorin and the ruins of the destruction and dislocation of the Oyo empire. Recent data suggests that the Yoruba population are evenly divided between Christian and Muslims thus precluding the cultural enclave mentality. 

The phenomenon of the diaspora returnees equally fostered the unintended consequence of reinforcing the attenuation of intergenerational transfer of the Yoruba language. The returnees were, in the main, culturally English following their Euro-American diaspora acculturation. A byproduct of this cultural background was its instrumentality to socioeconomic upward mobility and assimilation into the ranks of the mid echelon of the colonial elite. This is in contrast and juxtaposition to the self-conscious anti colonialist cultural posture manifested in such variables as the replacement of their European names with Yoruba names. Consciousness of this collateral damage to the preservation of Yoruba culture has manifested in the resurgence of scholarship on Yoruba traditional religion, Ifa.

As elaborated by the he President of the International Council for Ifa Religion, (ICIR), Dr. Fayemi Fatunde Fakayode “The issue of Yoruba Language and Religion can be compared to a Computer whose hardware cannot function without the software. In the case of Yoruba culture, Language and other components are hardware while Yoruba Religion is the software on which other components rely.

“Today, Yoruba Language is an International Language because, all the people who practice Yoruba Religion irrespective of color or race need to be versed in Ifa, the scripture which can only be rendered in Yoruba Language. As Arabic is the language of the holy Quran so is Yoruba the language of Ifá.

“Therefore, as the spread of Islam throughout the world makes Arabic international so is Yoruba Religion makes Yoruba Language international. This is because, once one accepts a religion, one automatically accepts the culture of the source of the religion”.

“The future of Yoruba Language and Culture is promising because it is witnessing a renaissance. Yoruba religion is said to be in the sixth position among the religions of the world today. It is certain that as Yoruba Religion continues to grow, so will the language and culture continue”

It is equally the opinion of this writer that versatility and proficiency in spoken Yoruba language is concomitant with highly informed familiarity with Ifa inspired Yoruba vocabulary and idiom which ‘often convey deep theological or metaphysical meaning.

According to Professor Wande Abimbọla “The decay we are seeing everywhere in Nigeria is the result of the large scale abandonment of the traditional way of our fathers and mothers. We have condemned our way of life and embraced foreign culture. You can be a Christian or Muslim and still see some values in the way of life of our forefathers. Today, parents give their children Mary, Michael, Rasheed or Isiaka. Where are our own names? That kind of life is ruining our culture and our view of the universe in which we live. It leads to hopelessness”

“Professor Bolaji Idowu highlights the significance of the religion of the Yoruba that permeates their lives so much that it expresses itself in multifarious ways. It forms the theme of songs, makes topics more minstrelsy, finds vehicles in myths, folktales, proverbs and saying and it is the basis of philosophy.” (Bolaji Idowu)

It is noteworthy, that as African indigenous religion (the core element and organising principle of Yoruba tradition) was steadily losing adherence, legitimacy and acceptance at home, a contrary trend ensued in the diaspora especially in South America where ‘African descendants in Brazil adopted the Yoruba religious culture (as Afro-Brazilian) and built an all embracing African identity around its universal character’. The phenomenon prompted the remark by Robin Horton on a contemporary ‘Ifa distinctiveness being dramatically revealed, not in Yorubaland itself, but in the Afro- American societies of Brazil’.

A Refresher On Colonialism 

It is often unnoticed for instance that the only non Western nations to have successfully modernised-Japan and China-are those that have not been colonised. Is it an accident that all Asian and African nations formerly colonised by Europeans have a uniform history of failure in attempts to modernise? (Professor Peter Ekeh)

Professor Festus Ade-Ajayi deployed the proclivity of the colonial rulers to employ “as a weapon of domination the demoralization and frustration that came from denying basic humanity to peoples of Africa descent by denying that they had a history”

Jean-Paul Sartre (in wretched of the earth) calls colonialism ‘the sinister strategy of erasing native identities in which the aim is to supplant Indigenous culture with the colonizer’s own, leaving the population in a vacuum of identity’.

“It was not the benevolence of European nations that attracted them to Africa. It was the search for wealth that they could exploit. Indeed, some of the coastal nations of West Africa were once known by the commodities that lay beneath their soils: Gold Coast (now Ghana) was known for its gold; Ivory Coast or Cote D’voire was known for its ivory and Guinea, or Republic of Guinea was known for its gold coins from which the guinea as currency was made” (WalterRodney). 

Indeed, only a person with Nnaji’s faith in Nigeria could insist, for a whole 20 years, on proceeding with the 181Megawatt Geometric Power Plant in Aba and the Aba Power Electric Company; both are valued at $800m. All these investments were in the face of spirited sabotage by top Federal Government officials between 2012 and 2015. The fact that the Aba Independent Power Project was commissioned last February 26, is nothing short of a miracle. It is frequently difficult to comprehend what drives Nnaji’s optimism against all evidence and rationality. This is all the more so because, as the great American thinker, Francis Fukuyama, notes in The End of History and The Last Man, we live in a world where pessimists are considered profound and optimists are regarded as naïve, even in instances where events eventually vindicate optimists.

Embattled Kenyan President William Ruto has dissolved his cabinet in response to lingering youth-led national anger against bad governance characterised by economic hardship, insensitivity and extravagance by government officials and police brutality.

“Upon reflection, listening keenly to what the people of Kenya have said and after a holistic appraisal of the performance of my Cabinet and its achievements and challenges, I have… decided to dismiss with immediate effect all the Cabinet Secretaries and the Attorney-General from the Cabinet of the Republic of Kenya except the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs,” he said in a four-page statement released by State House on Thursday.

He added: “I will immediately engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations, with the aim of setting up a broad-based government that will assist me in accelerating and expediting the necessary, urgent and irreversible, implementation of radical programmes to deal with the burden of debt, raising domestic resources, expanding job opportunities, eliminate wastage and unnecessary duplication of a multiplicity of government agencies and slay the dragon of corruption consequently making the government lean, inexpensive, effective and efficient.”

The public disaffection against Ruto’s government policies came to a head on June 25, when youths stormed the Kenyan Parliament and chased away MPs who assembled to pass a controversial Financial Bill 2024 that sought to impose more taxes on the long-suffering citizens.

The National Human Rights Commission reported at least 39 deaths, hundreds injured and a score of persons missing from the clashes between the protesters and security forces across the country.

After his initial tough stance, President Ruto backed down. He withdrew the controversial bill and promised to cut drains on the public treasury, such as the office of the First Lady.

In Thursday’s statement, the president said: “During this process (of extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations), the operations of government will continue uninterrupted under the guidance of Principal Secretaries and other relevant officials.”

He also pledged “additional measures in due course,” adding: “Recent events that necessitated the withdrawal of the Finance Bill, which will require a review and reorganisation of our budget and fiscal management, have brought us to an inflexion point.”

Continuing, President Ruto said “… I announced last week barring State and public officers from engaging in Harambee, I want to inform the country that the Public Fundraising Appeals Bill is now ready for publication tomorrow. Even with the progress we have made, I am acutely aware that the people of Kenya have high expectations of me and believe that this administration can undertake the most extensive transformation in our nation’s history.”

When Ruto assumed office in 2022 at age 55, leading an opposition party after resigning as deputy president, there were high hopes that a new sheriff with fresh ideas had arrived in the Kenyan divisive political scene.  

After his recent trips to the U.S. and Asia, the impression created in official quarters was that Ruto had become a darling of the superpowers. He was quoted as saying the “right things” during meetings with his interlocutors.

To reinforce this notion, Kenya recently dispatched a police contingent to assist in the stabilisation of troubled Haiti, America’s neighbour that has known more crisis than peace since its emergence as the first independent nation of freed black slaves in 1804.

The deal for the police deployment was negotiated between Nairobi and Washington under the aegis of the United Nations.

As is usually the case, this played a huge part in the budget support promised to Kenya by the IMF.

This is despite the well-documented unsavoury legacy of the Bretton Woods institution in most developing countries, hence the uncomplimentary saying: “IMF in a country today, riots tomorrow,” due to the anti-people conditionalities attached to their financial support.

Despite warnings by even former senior officials of the IMF and its cousin, the World Bank, it beggars’ belief that African leaders still fall victim.

Otherwise, why did it take the avoidable death of almost 40 Kenyans and the material losses during the protests for President Ruto to realise that his government had to consult extensively before imposing more hardships on the citizens of his country?

Perhaps, it is a credit to him to have engaged a reverse gear. However, Kenyan youth have made it clear that the citizens can no longer be taken for granted.

The same message should not be lost on Ruto’s colleagues in other African countries, who may want to carry on as if governance is about arbitrariness, impunity, self-service and the looting of state treasury for the benefit of themselves and their families at the expense of the majority.

The responsibility of every government is to improve the well-being of the people; and to protect lives and property in an environment of equal opportunity to all inspective of political affiliation, status, tribe, religion or creed.

The vault face of Kenya’s fifth President, who morphed from a PhD in Botany and Zoology into a tough politician, should be a good case study in government subjugation to people power.

It should also encourage the people to demand accountability from the leadership instead of a lukewarm attitude or support for oppressive leaders.

*Ejime is an Author, Global Affairs Analyst, and Consultant on Peace & Security and Governance Communications

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has called for prompt action on its earlier decision to remove public universities from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) platform.

Naija News reports that the Council has instructed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to expedite the implementation of this decision, made several months ago.

This move aims to address a long-standing grievance of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has consistently opposed the use of IPPIS for university staff salaries.

ASUU argues that the system fails to accommodate the unique peculiarities of the academic environment.

Additionally, the Council has approved the establishment of a new National University of Science and Technology in Abuja. This decision follows an initial approval granted by former President Muhammadu Buhari on May 28, 2023, during the final days of his administration.

The new university is set to be a pioneering institution, marking the first in a planned network of Pan-African Institutes of Science and Technology.

Its primary mission will be to educate and train African scientists and technologists, thereby boosting the continent’s capacity in these critical fields.

The move to exempt universities from IPPIS and the creation of the new university signal significant steps towards resolving long-standing issues within Nigeria’s higher education system and advancing scientific and technological education in the region.

[NaijaNews]

The federal government has said that it is awaiting the report of the ombudsman, following the complaint it made challenging a report by the Daily Trust on the Samoa Agreement signed by Nigeria.

This was part of the issues discussed at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) Wednesday.

Addressing reporters after Wednesday’s FEC meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris said: “There was also a discussion on the report by Daily Trust and the position of government on that report is that the federal government insisted that the report was misleading, it was false and designed to create confusion in the land.

“We expect that the industry’s ombudsman will look at the government’s complaint dispassionately and FEC will be patient to await the report of the ombudsman,” Idris said.

Idris noted that the present administration “believes in the freedom of expression, believes in the role of the media in ensuring that there is continuous and uninterrupted democracy in our land.

“So, the government is not desirous of doing anything that will harm that freedom of expression. But like we have said, where we feel there is an infringement, where we feel that the media itself or a section of it, in this case, Daily Trust has erred, because the government still believes that the report by Daily Trust is not correct, Nigerians have been misinformed, and in the process, a lot of damage has been done on the psyche of our people.

“We have made a complaint to the ombudsman to look at the report and we have sighted examples of where Daily Trust got it wrong so that Daily Trust can come clean and also mention or apologise to the nation and the government”, he said.

Also speaking, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, said: “The disturbing report by Daily Trust is being handled because we are conscious of press freedom, and if you notice this administration has not and will not tamper with press freedom because if you know the President, he has been an ardent supporter and believer in press freedom, in fact that is what got him up to this point.

“He is conscious of that, not only in press freedom but in fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitution.

“Generally, government MDAs are available if there is any area that members of the Press would like to clear and the Freedom of Information Act is alive and is being rigorously honoured and in operation. So, I will advise that if there is any information that the members of the press require, it should be channelled to the appropriate MDAs before going to press”, he said.

Reps make U-Turn

In a related development, the House of Representatives yesterday made a U-Turn, saying it did not call on the federal government to suspend the implementation of the Samoa Agreement.

The clarification was made by the House spokesman, Akin Rotimi.

Rotimi, who represents Ikole/Oye Federal Constituency, Ekiti State, said that contrary to media reports, lawmakers resolved to investigate controversial clauses in the agreement to ensure that they do not violate the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker noted that the House urged the government to engage in widespread consultations and stakeholder engagement concerning the agreement.

He said, “During the debate, concerns were raised regarding alleged clauses purportedly mandating support for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community as a prerequisite for financial and other aid from developed nations.

“Additionally, apprehensions were expressed about several specific articles within the agreement, including Articles 2.5, 29.5, 36.2, and 88, which some lawmakers believe may not align with Nigeria’s national interests and values, especially in the absence of a reservation clause.

“Rep Aliyu Sani Madaki had argued that Article 97 of the agreement, which asserts the supremacy of the agreement over any conflicting treaties involving European Union member states or the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States, potentially infringes upon Nigeria’s sovereignty.

“In response, House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere (APC, Edo) clarified that the agreement, as officially presented, does not include provisions related to a $150bn fund or any clauses promoting LGBT rights in Nigeria, contrary to public speculation.

“Emphasising the importance of parliamentary oversight, House Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) underscored the need for transparency in treaty negotiations, citing Section 12 of the Nigerian Constitution (1999, as amended), which mandates parliamentary involvement in such matters.

“It is important to clarify that the House of Representatives did not resolve to call for the suspension of the agreement nor the suspension of its implementation, as has been erroneously reported by some media houses.

“Instead, the House resolved to thoroughly scrutinise the Samoa Partnership Agreement for all contentious clauses through legislative hearings,” he said.

Former PUNCH Chairman, Chief Ajibola Ogunsola, is going to be 80 on Sunday. As someone who has worked under his management, it is fitting to take out this week to celebrate a man I have come to regard as one of my “destiny helpers.” Every story has multiple beginnings, and I will nail the start of this one down to sometime around 2008 when I joined PUNCH as a postgraduate student. I did not set out to be in journalism; it was the hand of fate that nudged me towards applying for their job when they were recruiting fresh graduates (which I was not). At the time, I had a novel titled “Under the Brown Rusted Roofs” in the works, and I thought I had my life mapped out.

I gave a copy of the published book to my then editor, Mr Steve Ayorinde, who asked me to send another to the company chairman, a proud Ibadan son. I did, and I did not think about it any further. Shortly after, Mr Ayorinde came to the newsroom to inform me that the chairman wanted to see me. My head swirled. If there is something I always try to avoid, it is attention. Depending on what is at stake, it is a good and bad habit which I do not know if I should shake off or retain. Anyway, they scheduled a time and up the stairs to his office I went with trepidation.

Anyone who has worked in PUNCH knows how much the man was feared and revered. He is a no-nonsense man with high professional standards. He brooked no sloppiness and approached any slack in quality with the sternness of a colonial-era village headmaster. In those days, he would scan a newspaper piece written by a journalist, make corrections with a red pen, put the copy in a white envelope, and address it to the writer. Even without further words, receiving that envelope would feel like your soul had been weighed and found wanting.

That day, I walked into his office with my fingers cold from the apprehension of approaching the throne of judgment, but what I met was a genial man. The first question he asked me was, “That character (in the book), was that your father?” It was an icebreaker, and from there we talked about everything else. He put me at ease, and what he did next, I can never forget. He offered to buy 100 copies of my book. It was a grand gesture.

When publishers print the first print run of your book—usually 1,000 copies—they dump a chunk with you and expect you to do part of the marketing. So, his offering to buy that many copies was a literal weight lifted off the corner of my one-bedroom apartment. But he did not stop there. He sent out those copies to people at home and abroad—prominent Ibadan people, journalists, professors, professionals and so on—whom he thought should read the book. For years afterwards, I encountered people who would tell me, “I read your book. Your chairman sent it to me.” But it still did not end there.

Months later, he sent another message asking the editor to make me (and another lady) a columnist. I thought things were going too far. If you had asked me then to list 12 things I could possibly do in this life, writing a column would not have made number 121. I had several favourite columnists, but joining their league never crossed my mind. Besides, I was new at PUNCH. Becoming a columnist would change my professional relationship with people around me.

I thought I should tell him that he had gotten things all wrong. The fact that I wrote a book he liked does not mean I could write a column. That was a different skill set (and discipline) that I simply did not have time to muster because I was already working towards graduate school abroad at the time. I would return from work late at night, start studying for the GRE examination, and leave home to pursue work again. Where was the time?

I asked to see him, and they scheduled an appointment. When I met him, I was so flustered that I botched my carefully rehearsed speech. His response was kind. When I left his office that day, it was with the resolve that I would live up to his expectations of me. Choosing someone as young and inexperienced as me was, no doubt, an “unmerited favour.” I know the term has now been bastardised, but the idea of “unmerited favour” was not that you were miscast for a role but that you represent a bankable promise. It is your responsibility to prove yourself worthy of the faith invested in you.

Starting the column was a rough ride worsened by the paralysing fear that Chief Ogunsola was somewhere upstairs, looking down and waiting to judge me. And for years, I wrote for an audience of one. The fear of letting down someone who believed I would rise to the challenge was petrifying. I waited, but the white envelope with the red pen markings never came. Good or bad, I never heard from him and that was hard.

Learning on the go meant part of your mistakes would have been published. You would learn, but you would also cringe. I did my best, supported by then editor and sister, Ayo Adesola-aderele (and later, Joel Nwokeoma). A couple of years later, the new editor, Mr Joseph Adeyeye, moved the column from the inside pages to the back page. I still wonder what he was thinking when he did that because I expected to be let go, but I was promoted instead.

After the first column was published, I received an unexpected call from Chief Ogunsola. He first congratulated me, and then brought me up to speed on the complexities of the world I was about to enter. If he had not taken that initiative, maybe my feet would have stumbled somewhere. I should also add that he sent me some money to buy a dictionary and thesaurus.

Years ago, he was in Austin, Texas, for his friend’s daughter’s graduation ceremony. During our lunch together, he happened to mention that one of the people who took over from him in one of the companies he managed told him how fearful they were that he, Chief Ogunsola, was always judging their managerial competence against his record. I stared as he explained that he understood that everyone’s tenure would be different. Then I finally confessed that I also lived with a similar fear of letting him down. ‘No, no, no,’ he said. Then he went on to tell me how proud he was of how far I had come, and that he wished me nothing but well. To think all the while, what I saw in my mind’s eye was a magistrate. It was a liberating moment for me.

Being a columnist has brought me a long way personally and professionally. I am thankful for the foresightedness of a man who thought of me beyond myself, and the guidance he supplied along the way. I have unlearned and relearned, and I am grateful for the education. If I have ever been wrong on this journey, it was with the same sincerity with which I have been right. I made mistakes, but I regret nothing. I said what I said, and I will repeat most of it. Pushing the borders of what can be said was consistent with my belief in human freedom. Yes, freedom is not freedom unless someone uses it. I have no apologies. Also, and not to be self-righteous, I do not have the sin of gluttony for “likes” or “loves.” I do not want to be loved or hated; I just want to understand and be understood.

So, to the man whose managerial acumen contributed to making me, and who supported me as I charted the path of self-discovery, I say a happy 80th birthday.

In this article, Nduka Nwosu picks a few examples of men whose selfless efforts at moving the economy to the next level, give us hope that the future will be great someday.

Just last Monday, there was a newspaper report that the global analytics company S & P was very impressed with what it saw at the Dangote Refinery, asserting that the company with a capacity to refine 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily was capable of solving Nigeria’s foreign exchange problems through export of some of its products as well as catalyse economic development.

We as a country have been told severally that we stand to make a tremendous haul of our deliverables in the oil and gas sector if only we can put our acts together and do the needful. How many of us are doing the needful in our chosen areas of endeavour? Have we had the Aliko Dangotes in the past and are they still here working quietly to redefine our economy in the right direction despite the pains and potholes of the moment?

The private sector which should take off where the government kick starts policy implementation has been emasculated by potholes of corrupt practices that a Dangote has through painful effort successfully traversed to get to where he is. And now the US-based Standards & Poors says Dangote Refinery can help us swim to the Promised Land.

Even now Dangote is crying aloud that the enemies of the economy conspiring with the IOCs are working hard to destroy the new venture. How sad.

That is not a welcome news. We know the success of the refinery would deny many their illegitimately acquired daily bread, the same people that call Dangote names.  Think of all the scandals every great man of endeavour has passed through to have his name engraved in the hall of fame, the Nigerian Hall of Fame to be specific. What have we not heard of an Aliko Dangote? The good, the bad and the ugly? Yet he remains focused etching his name in the sand of time like great grandfather Al-Hassan Dantata.

 Dangote will be glad to say he helped to turn around the Nigerian economy with the vision from the Almighty. The man has enough accomplishments that will earn him a place in the Hall of Fame of the Nigerian economy. And there are many Dangotes all over the polity who deserve a mention and a place in the Hall of Fame, the heroes of our future economy

Alhaji Al Hassan Dantata

The success story of the Dantatas and the Dangotes is traceable to Alhaji Al-Hassan Dantata who was considered the richest man in West Africa until his death in 1955. He had a huge influence on economic development in the north, especially in shaping the business acumen of the emerging Dantatas and Dangotes. He was the great-grandson of Aliko Dangote from the mother’s side and father of Aminu Dantata founder of Express Petroleum and Gas Ltd and earlier CEO of Alhassan Dantata and Sons Group, a trading company in kola nuts, groundnuts, and foreign goods. Al-Hassan Dantata’s company’s groundnut pyramids made the north famous in the export sector of the old Northern region. His pioneering efforts in the export sector make him a fitting candidate for the hall of fame of pioneers of our new economy.

The Chagoury Brothers

I had thought many years ago that the Chagoury family were foreign to this country until recently. These are Nigerians of Lebanese extraction. Their parents arrived in Nigeria in the first half of the 20th century and had their children as Nigerians. Two distinguished members of the family the elder Gilbert, an ambassador extraordinaire to many countries, and businessman, and younger sibling Ronald, had traversed Business Nigeria like a colossus, providing meaningful employment to over 100,000 Nigerians across 50 years of active investment in various sectors of the economy. The Chagoury Brothers have made an impact in the manufacturing sector across the length and breadth of corporate Nigeria. 

Just like Dangote, the Chagourys have spread their business investment savvy to other African countries. Of course, we can talk of Nigerians who are citizens of other countries who have impacted positively on the economic development of such countries in West Africa. Ali Bongo who was overthrown in a military coup, was said to have been flown to Gabon with other Biafran kids during the war and was adopted by President Omar Bongo. In Britain, the US, Canada and Australia, Nigerians have risen to occupy high offices and as parliamentarians, special advisers and ministers. Home indeed is where you make it.

Bola Tinubu

The floods returned to Lagos last week with panic and horrible stories of victims, some of whom lost their lives. It was worse at Bar Beach before Governor Bola Tinubu with the Chagoury Brothers translated a once chilling experience of the Atlantic Ocean to that of a new city; Eko Atlantic City. Tinubu himself projects the image of an adventurer excited by new ideas and can-do possibilities. The list is quite impressive. The purchase and recognition of an idea when it comes, is part of the reason Lagos has become the leader of an economy anchored on maximisation of its internally generated revenue (IGR).

Now as president, he is constructing a 700-kilometer coastal highway (about half the distance from Florida to New York City) with the Hitech Construction Company Limited as the contractor. And there are many more such projects on the table. That is the story we want to hear with all the despondency that is afflicting the economy.

Innoson Motors

I was privileged to visit the two factories of Innoson Motors in Enugu and Nnewi shortly before the commissioning in 2010 by President Goodluck Jonathan. What amazed me the most was the revelation from the odyssey of Chief Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma (CON). Born in 1961, Chukwuma whose early beginnings sound like that of another great investor, Cosmas Maduka, was barely schooled when he went into the import business of motorbikes and the accessories. Today he has reversed the trend. Innoson Motors in my presence was hosting the then Ghanaian minister of trade interested in importing the products from his factory. From being a net importer of motorbikes, Chief Chukwuma now exports what could rightly pass as a Nigerian manufactured car brand. Chief Chukwuma has promised that if the drivers of the economy can give him steel-related products through Ajaokuta or Aladja Steel companies, a near 80 percent production of a Nigerian-made car is possible.

Yet, Chukwuma was at a point scandalised by the very system he was elevating as running away from payment of duties or was owing a bank when in fact the bank was owing him

Governor Alex Otti

Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, an economist and banker, has proved that daring uncharted territories of impossibility can come with success and greatness. He did it in First Bank and Diamond Bank and now in God’s own state Abia, long driven to abysmal heights of structural and infrastructure development from its creation. What previously looked unattainable in reconstructing Abia to compete effectively with other progressive states of the south-east and the country, is witnessing a turnaround, a dream come true by the day. Aba, the once economic hub of the south-east, is witnessing a gradual and steady reconstruction. Otti has abolished the monstrous pension and gratuity the managers of the state used to clean the economy. Prebendal politics is over because he is not accountable to any godfather. Infrastructure as a tool of economic reawakening, has taken the better part of the state in addition to clearing arrears of salaries and pensions of civil servants and pensioners. A new lease of life has come into Abia. Otti is moving on despite the efforts of the opposition to scandalise his administration’s achievements. He is a candidate of the heroes of our new economy.

Dr. Allen Onyeama

Can we ever complete discussion on heroes of our new economy without making mention of Dr Allen Onyeama, founder and CEO of Air Peace. We saw and keep seeing his war against foreign airlines who have been fleecing the economy with killing air fares. Onyeama’s entry into the euro, dollar and pound sterling fetching routes rewrote the narrative. Air fares to these routes crashed with the airlines and their home governments screaming blue murder and digging potholes of destabilisation for Air Peace, having pegged its fares to an affordable minimum. Onyeama is still in the trenches leading his squadrons against the fireworks of the enemy. He has proven that patriotism soars higher than the material dollar each time he offered to fly Nigerians home gratis, from troubled spots. 

He has been called names he does not deserve by those who want him to lose focus, but he has picked a few lessons from Michelle Obama that whenever they go low, soar higher and higher. Onyeama is a candidate of the heroes of our new economy.

Sir L.P. Ojukwu

So much has been written about Sir Phillip Odumegwu Ojukwu, parliamentarian, businessman and first Nigerian president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. His accomplishments and investments as a pace setter are non-pareil for his time, documented for research for students of business studies.

You can talk about him as the father of a “rebel,” first and last head of state of the defunct Biafran Republic, Gen Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, but Sir LP Ojukwu believed in the Nigerian project, disagreeing with his son on many issues, yet he was a trail blazer whose investments are still noticeable in the former federal capital territory of Lagos and elsewhere in the country. Post humously, Sir Phillip was a pace setter that left some lessons for the drivers of a progressive economy.

Femi Otedola

Femi Otedola’s name will always resonate as the comeback kid who went down and came up with a bang. His relevance in the Nigerian economy will be sketched in what he is doing right now in the power sector where he drives the Geregu Power Plc. As chairman of Forte Oil PLC, he moved the company to one of the best performing oil companies at the Nigerian Stock Exchange. To accelerate economic growth through sustainable power generation in Nigeria is the mission of Geregu Power under Otedola with a vision to be the leading provider of integrated power supply in the country, generating electric power supply to the National Grid managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). 

This is a tall order; Otedola whose father was once the Governor of Lagos state, knows his mission is in business, not politics.

If Otedola can rewrite the story of the Nigerian power sector, he would have made himself one of the greats in Nigerian history. He is a known name in philanthropy which makes him happy serving humanity with selfless motivation. 

Chief Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Ishola Adenuga

Chief Mike Adenuga brought positive change to the economy when he challenged the entry of foreign telecom operators, floating a completely indigenous outfit Globacom which helped to rewrite the story of telephone operation in the history of Nigeria. Chief Adenuga’s greatness is found not in his foray into the banking and oil business where he equally distinguished himself, but in his consistent effort to make Glo one of the best if not the best telecom company in the African continent.

Glo becomes annoying when it rains and its facilities experience a collapse. Notwithstanding, the telecom company is the pride of the nation, our own thing. No doubt Adenuga remains a pride of the nation

Timothy Adeola Odutola (Odutola tyres)

Chief Timothy Adeola Odutola is best known for his brand product Odutola Tyres, just like Ugo Tyres in the east. The question everyone should ask is, where is Odutola Tyres or Ugochukwu Tyres today, our early indigenous efforts in the manufacturing export sector? Was there no succession plan to sustain and expand these factories? A man was inspired to quit his job as a court clerk and went into the trading business in damask clothes and fishing with emphasis on nets. He was so successful he expanded across many cities outside his hometown Ijebu Ode. We learn the businessman traded in cocoa and palm produce before establishing factories in various parts of the country. The tyre business which came on stream in 1967 has gone under just like Michelin and Dunlop that closed shop and left the country. What happened to us that we could not protect our own? Sir Odutola, OBE CON and first President Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, is a hero and pace setter of the new economy.

Leventis Brothers

Just like the Chagoury Brothers, the Leventis Brothers were very prominent in the business development of the economy long before independence and the late 1990s with business interests that span various parts of the country. We heard of AP and AG Leventis but the pioneer was Anastasios Leventis who held the title of the Babalaje of Egbaland and founder of the Leventis Group. 

In 1982 I was in Northern Cyprus to interview cessationist President of Northern Cyprus, Rauf Denktash. Ambassador Leventis whose country Greece was backing the government of Cyprus against the cessionists conveyed the displeasure of the Greek government over my robust exposure of Northern Cyprus, expressing his willingness to have an interview with me so I can hear the story from the Greek perspective. The trip was halted because of a clause in Greek immigration law that says you cannot come to Greece if you had been to Northern Cyprus.

This is an attempt at a fair representation of the new and old heroes of the Nigerian economy. We must not forget what they have done and keep doing to keep corporate Nigeria alive in the short and long run while expecting the best in our momentary lamentations of a flailing economy. The activities of men and women like these, will take us to the promised land. They are the men of the new era of economic growth and stability, the heroes of our future economy.