It has been seven seasons now since banner headlines, “OAU TO GENERATE 8.03 MW OF ELECTRICITY”, announced to the world that Obafemi Awolowo University was poised to become the first university in Nigeria to generate its own power and, in addition, cater to the needs of its immediate neighbour, the Ile-Ife community. In the beginning was the promise and the promise was visionary but the promise has now been dashed.

In the place of round-the-clock provision of electricity leading to increased productivity, enhanced quality of research and improved health, the university now has an abandoned project with sundry installed equipment and facilities rotting away as yet another symbol of the Nigerian government’s corruption and medieval backwardness.

The Power Project

In 2017, Obafemi Awolowo University entered into a working relationship with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to provide a gas-powered turbine that would produce the institution’s independent power needs. The project was to be delivered within two years.

When the project was launched amidst pomp and pageantry, the institution’s then Vice-Chancellor, Professor Eyitope Ogunbodede, revealed that with the coming to fruition of the project and consequent disengagement of OAU from the national grid, the institution would save between N35 million and N65 million monthly. He added that their daily energy requirement was below six megawatts. The gas-turbine-based system being installed was projected to produce eight megawatts daily, hence the assurance that the institution would be in a position to share the excess with neighbouring communities.

Seven other federal universities were also approved to self-generate electricity: Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; Bayero University, Kano; Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto; Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi; Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; University of Lagos, Akoka; Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Warri; in the first phase of the federal intervention.

For OAU, trouble started in the form of what appeared like a personality clash on the surface but was actually the monster of corruption gripping the federal system under the Buhari administration. The Rural Electrification Agency was headed by Clara Ogunbiyi at the time. For some reason, there was no love lost between her and the newly appointed Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman. If you put your ears to the ground, you would hear that the lady was considered uncooperative with the various sleaze schemes brought to her table. Eventually, she left Nigeria to its peccadilloes and resumed a new job in a saner environment at a global agency.

Corruption Problems

She was replaced as managing director by Ahmad Salihijo, who did nothing to facilitate the completion of the Ife project but soon demonstrated that he had demons of his own to contend with. As soon as the Buhari administration expired, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), swooped in. Salihijo was suspended by the new Tinubu administration. Many eyes popped when the EFCC made public the kernel of its findings. One of the pegs of the investigation was the uncovering of 27 accounts linked with the suspended REA Managing Director.

The commission said, among other things, that about N1.2 billion, which immediately accounted for Ahmad’s suspension, had been wired into the accounts of eight staff members, including two directors. The allegations against the top officials of REA are criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of public funds, procurement fraud and money laundering.

In announcing Salihijo’s suspension in a statement signed by Ajuri Ngelale, the presidency had said,
“In the light of new findings unearthed during a comprehensive investigation into the financial activities of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), President Bola Tinubu has approved the indefinite suspension of the managing director/CEO of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, alongside three executive directors of the agency, from office.

“Furthermore, President Tinubu has ordered a wider investigation into the conduct of the aforementioned officials in a fraudulent mis-expenditure amounting to over N1.2 billion over the past two years, some of which has already been recovered by anti-graft agencies”.

Cynical Nigerians said it would all end up as a game of musical chairs. Abba Abubakar Aliyu was appointed as the MD/CEO to replace Ahmad.; Ayoade Gboyega as executive director, corporate services; Umar Abdullahi Umar, executive director, technical services; Doris Uboh, executive director, rural electrification fund (REF); and Olufemi Akinyelure, head of project management unit, Nigeria electrification project.
Although Ngelale reiterated President Tinubu’s determination to elevate the yearnings of Nigerians for good governance and qualitative service delivery above the narrow interests of individuals who are entrusted to provide critical services to Nigerians the Ife power project stalls still.

Anxiety

The institution’s stakeholders who have been anxiously hoping that all encumbrances in the way of the completion of the project would immediately be removed were surprised that so far nothing concrete is happening. The Asian staff who came for the installation of the last set of equipment on site have since returned home. Then, some sources indicated that the Tinubu government wants to convert the project to a solar-powered facility instead of the gas originally designed and upon which the 75 percent completion already achieved is based.

There’s also talk of introducing a new player who had never been part of the project before. Nigeria!
Now, being a self confessed Engineering illiterate, I will refrain from laughing in vernacular or composing panegyrics concerning this project; neither is required, although this tragic stalling of a developmental project is both galling and dispiriting. For Goodness’ sake, how does corruption dog every attempt to gain an inch?

Rather than news about project completion, we have been regaled with tidings of a different kind. It will be recalled that throughout his tenure, President Buhari removed only two ministers. The man posted to the Ministry of Power was one of them, having been sacked for alleged corruption in September 2021.

Last July, hearing in his case was stalled because he was said to have suddenly taken ill outside the court premises and had to be sprinkled with water to revive him. While granting Saleh the benefit of the doubt, there have been too many incidents of government officials dramatising fainting spells or showing up in wheelchairs when dragged before the law. Those are mere distractions.

The buck stops at President Tinubu’s table. Will he allow the present scandalous situation regarding the OAU power project to continue, or will he direct the incumbent Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, to expeditiously resolve this matter to ensure that, for once, corruption is put to shame? When will Tinubu declare, “Let there be light?”

ASUU’s 21-Day Notice

Last week, the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities issued a fresh 21-day ultimatum to the federal government to meet its demands. So far, I am not aware that any high profile ambassador of peace, cleric, traditional ruler, socio-cultural organisation, emergency NGO, concerned stakeholder or any of the usual interventionists who usually pop up once the strike takes effect — has waded in.

The Ministry of Education has probably reconciled itself to the notion that an ASUU strike must be a regular feature of their educational calendar. It’s the habitual fire brigade approach. In the next three weeks, they will roll out their fire trucks with neon lights and long convoys but, as always, the fire hydrants will be waterless.

You’ve got to feel sorry for our unborn tomorrows!

HAVE you ever read Heidi Holland’s Dinner With Mugabe? It was published in 2012 by a Zimbabwean journalist and columnist who worked with Illustrated Life Rhodesia magazine. The book is a very penetrating portraiture of Robert Mugabe. It is a psychobiography of a freedom fighter, liberal lawyer and revolutionary who later became, first Prime Minister and later, President of Zimbabwe. The book’s title was a product of a 1975 sudden call from a Holland friend. He wanted her to arrange dinner and meeting with a friend she had no idea who he was, in her home in Salisbury, now Harare. “It wasn’t until we stood under the veranda light and looked up as we greeted each other that I recognised him. It was Robert Mugabe,” she wrote in the Preface to the book.

Mugabe had a train to catch that night and intermittently looked at his wrist-watch. He had just come out of an eleven years prison and was about to escape through the border into Mozambique to begin war against white rule. Holland, who later became a leading authority on the enigmatic mind of Robert Mugabe, drove Bob that night to the railway station.

For over 30 years, Holland observed Bob morph from a guerrilla-leader-in-waiting into a sadistic and grotesque dictator. Page by page, the psychobiography uncovers how tyranny took hold of Mugabe and the roots of his ruthlessness. It gradually unfolds the horrific consequences of his presidency of Zimbabwe. In all this, Holland reveals that Mugabe had a more complicated persona than his fearsome image the world had.

Heidi’s psychobiography unwittingly shows that emergence of leaders is through two routes. First are the ones whose portraits are known, pre-power, ab-initio and without psychoanalysis. Such leaders the Yoruba call the e-ti- m’oko-l’óko-ikún-kí-e-tó-gbin-èpà-si type. Ikun, the land squirrel, is a rodent smaller than the widely known species called ọ̀kẹ́rẹ́. It lives on the ground as against trees that ọ̀kẹ́rẹ́ is known by. This rodent is renowned for its obsession with devouring nuts in a groundnut plantation. If a farmer knew that the plantation he was about to cultivate was in a squirrel-infested field, and, yet sowed his seeds in it, when he whimpers at its devastation by squirrels, Yoruba blame him for his stupidity. He should have known that a fatal failure awaited him; what the Yoruba, again, call “ofo l’ehin oja.”

The second kind of leadership is Mugabe’s, as profiled by Heidi. At the outset, they wear the garb of innocence. Suddenly, these leaders transmute into wearing the visage of Dracula. They then pounce on the people with their ferocious teeth.

When life is as sour as 2024 Nigeria, the Yoruba compare existence to the taste from licking the sour seed of Iyeye. Iyeye is however Janus. As sour as its seeds are, its generational benefits are legends of folklores. Botanically named spondias mombin, in English, Iyeye is the hog plum. In Igbo, it is Ijikara while Hausa call it Tsardar masar. Its seeds are sour-sweet but the medicinal barks and leaves are used for inducing labour in women. In those days in Iwo, old Oyo State, I picked two songs that still ring in my head till today. As pupils of Ajangbala D.C. Primary School, we sang, while marching from the “Assembly” to our classes, “Odíderé eye Ìwó, Àlùkò eye Òsà, Lékelèké eye Òsun, ìwà re wù mí, màá bá e lo…” (Parrot, the bird totem of Iwo people; Woodcock, bird of the Sea and Cattle egret, bird of the Osun River goddess, your characters fascinate me and I will go with you, wherever you go…).

The other was mostly sung by our mothers in eulogy to the Iyeye. They sang, “Ewé ìyeyè, igba ni o, owó tí mo ní, kò ‘ì tó o, omo tí mo ní, kò ì tó o, ewé ìyeyè igba ni” (as the leaves sprouting out of the Iyeye are two hundred-fold, (may) my wealth and the children I will birth be similar in number; the ones I have are not enough). While the Iyeye song espouses and extols the multiplicity of children that a good tree begets, the two songs, taken together, speak to character and pedigree. The first extols the desirability and aesthetics of character of birds. Odidere, for instance, also called Ayékòótó, (the world scoffs at the truth) is a friend of man and the Iwo. It is domesticated and is said to understand and speak the language of man. It mirrors the purity of mind that its trustworthiness connotes. Such trust is reflected in the deep Yoruba saying that, Odidere should remember the tenets of the agreement it entered into with its master (Odíderé, t’ó bá j’oungbé, má j’oùngbé o!). The birds’ sterling character binds, like a twine, a whole people in friendship with the Parrot, Woodcock and Cattle egret birds.

Unlike Iwo, Sea and Osun River’s friendship with the above birds, our land has always been unlucky to be in besotting friendship with the Abyssinian hornbill bird. Yoruba call this bird Àkàlàmàgbò or Àkàlà. Àkàlà is a bird in whose veins, metaphorically, blood does not flow. It is audaciously bold in doing the unthinkable. It enjoys eating sumptuous sacrifices, food of the gods. These sacrifices are products of the innermost recess of pains suffered by those who offer them. Àkàlà also feasts on carrion, corpses of human and carcasses of non-human beings.

How did Nigerians get here? It is as a result of the fatal consequences they always suffer due to their uncritical profiling and friendship with their leader-tormentors. They once wanted a man who didn’t have shoes while growing up… Again, they desired a Spartan. They got one whose brain was as vacant as a Venetian graveyard. Lastly, they mis-read, mis-profiled and mistook Akala for the Odidere, the latter a bird whose sense of character imposes remembrance of agreement. Have they forgotten that the Vulture comes from a family of sacrifice and cadaver eaters (ìran Igún níí je’bo, ìran Àkàlà a j›òkú)? Why did they think they could make the corpse walk, apologies to James Hadley Chase, by reshaping the fatal consequences of their own hypocritical estimation? They deified a Capon whose heart is as cold as mutton as a potential Messiah. Now, they are wailing. Right by their bedside is their choice, the one they knew so much about, yet so little of the fatal damage that his pedigree they knew so well could do on their lives.

On Thursday, as fuel was being funneled inside my car, I ‘prayed’ for everyone who brought this tragedy on Nigerians. To me, my blood was the petrol from the expensive nozzle majestically flowing into the car. It was N1,000 a liter! It is a very distressing time to be a Nigerian. I instantly remembered that, on October 10, 1998, almost 26 years ago, in Yaba, Lagos, with Nigeria locked in a similar chokehold of petrol scarcity, I asked today’s bird of carrion, who, pretending to be Odíderé, had just flown back to Iwo, what his impression of Nigeria was. In his usual cockney, he thundered: “Retrogression, rolling backwards, on reverse gear; that is my impression. Sad! That people are still queuing at the petrol stations, spend more productive hours at the petrol stations than in economic sector. It is a very sad story… You see poverty, glaringly on the faces of the people, in a nation that has so much resources to thrive on. It hurts.” I wrote this and more in my offering of December 10, 2023.

If poverty and suffering (glaring on the faces of the people) can be measured, I wonder which would be plentier – the ones now or the gnashing of teeth under the military in 1998? But, in unmistakable warnings, we foretold this tragedy. I did in a viral piece published on January 16, 2022. We were Heidi Holland and we literally had dinner with the harbingers of the present pains. Unlike Holland, whose portraiture of Mugabe was post-mortem, ours was ante-mortem. We were demonized as prophets of doom. Nigerians said they had discovered, right on their thumbnail, a great builder who could turn ruins to Ruby. His bio, they said, spoke volumes. Didn’t we know he built Òkun (the Sea) and Òsà (the Lagoon) from nothing and made both a glittering expanse of aquatic modern wonder?

In their excitement, they even foretold life in abundance and plenty under the incoming builder. So they excitedly sang “L’áyé Olúgbọ́n…”, a historical song sung in the old Oyo Empire during the reign of Aláàfin Abíọ́dún. The song was to buttress their anger at what they called our  prophecy of doom. Indeed, during the reign of King Abiodun of Ọ̀yọ́-Ilé in the Empire, his government typified the height of an empathetic and benevolent administration. It prioritized the people’s welfare. There was plenty. There was peace, economic growth, prosperity and development. People praised and sang the goodness and huge financial stability that Oyo witnessed under him. So, women were renowned for singing this hate-laced, scurrilous attack song against the opposition to Abiodun: “During the reign of King Olugbon, we had such plenty that we bought and sewed seven exotic scarves; during the reign of King Aresa, we bought and sewed six scarves; during the reign of Abiodun, we bought and sewed velvet, silks and other pricey clothing materials…” (L’áyé Olúgbọ́n, mo dá’borùn méje, e ó maa ko yìi l’órin, l’áyé Arèsà, mo dá’borùn méfà, e ó maa kò yí l’órin, l’áyé Abíódún, mo ra kókò, mo rà’rán baba aso, e ó maa kò yí l’órin…” They ended their mockery-laced song by calling us lazy drones who only foretold hunger and pain. They asked us to carry our baggage and seek comfort in another land: “Àf’òle l’ó le pé ilè yìí ò dùn; eni bá pé ilè yìí ò dùn, k’ó yára k’érù s’ókò, k’ò gb’oko lo.”

We didn’t relent in telling them how wrong they were. We told the people that no one can build, nor renew any skyscraper of hope on a cracked pedigree. The “Oba Abiodun” they were bringing to sit on the Rock was actually Alaafin Aole. You can check who the original was. He would steal, plunder and despoil farmlands plus their future. He was a lover of the good things of life and would go on a saturnalia with your patrimony, we warned.

Today, the land tastes like a sour Iyeye fruit (Ìlú kan gógó). As our elders say when there is famine and maladministration, our birds chirp in awkward manner; our rats squeak in ways they had never done hitherto. Our situation is almost synonymous with the biblical Samaria where parents entered into consensus to eat their children. Hope is the scarcest on the horizon. The people suffer needlessly. They queue in serpentine, snake-like kilometers-length to buy fuel that oozes out of their own soil. Nothing seems to work. Yet, the people in power live recklessly the proverbial fàmílétèntutó life. They fly glittering jirigin sama, a $100m-worth ACJ330-200, VP-CAC (MSN 1053), while their people wallow in abject squalor and poverty. Those who daily eat eggs forget easily that the cock that lays the eggs suffer anal pains. In our face, they flaunt the latest Cadillac Escalade and tell us to go jump inside the lagoon. A country where the groaning of the people does not grate the ears of their leaders is gasping for breath. Being a Nigerian at this time is like wearing a thorn-filled crown and carrying the heavy biblical Jesus’ cross.

To worsen matters, subterfuge and a coterie of lies are official responses to our anger. When you are seen as one who heaves a tall ladder (àbà) to the furrows in order to climb a heap (ebè) you are an Alágàbàngebè – a serial liar – so say the Yoruba. A person or government which lives a life of decet; one who daily tells scores of lies, is labeled Ajíp’ogúnn’ró.

Jamaican reggae music sensation, Peter Tosh, was at the emotional crossroads we are today as Nigerians. A very religious Rastafarian, Tosh preached redemption through his songs for decades, yet none came. He was often brutalized by the police. So, in frustration, he asked a rhetorical question in the track, Jah Se No,“Must Rastas bear this cross alone and all the heathens go free?” No. There is redemption. History tells us so. To ram home the fact that no evil goes unpunished, the Yoruba say nemesis is next door for every enemy of the people, Ìtàdógún kù sí dèdè, ojó elésìín k’òla.

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is threatening to shut down the country’s economy if its president, Joe Ajaero, is arrested by the police. Ajaero has been invited for questioning by the police authorities over serious allegations that border on the security of the country and the wellbeing of Nigerians. That’s on one side. On the other side is the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) giving notification that it could soon resume its suspended eight-month strike action that crippled most federal and state universities and threw the entire university system into a tailspin that it is yet to recover from. According to Professor Ishaq Oloyede, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s Registrar, there are at the moment two or three sessions’ backlog of admission in these universities, with hundreds of thousands of admission-seekers – and their parents and wards – the victims. Another downing of tools by the eggheads will not only completely smash the system but will also totally demarket the Nigerian university system in the international community. Already, more and more foreign countries have stopped recognizing Nigerian university certificates – and the academicians themselves to boot – denying them the pride of place hitherto accorded them when our educational system was respected as one of the best not only on the continent of Africa but also all over the world.

Put mildly, these are not the best of times for both the NLC and ASUU to embark on another round of strike action, no matter their grievances. Our patriotic instincts should demand that all hands be on deck now to fight the Chinese threat to strip the country of its vital assets because of a contractual disagreement between a Chinese company and the government of Ogun State, one out of the 36 states that make up the Federation. In what appears as a calculated and orchestrated plot to embarrass the Nigerian government and people, Nigerian assets worth far more than the amount in dispute are being seized, not just in one country but in multiple countries in Europe and the Americas. This is sheer blackmail and a well-crafted plot to tarnish the image of every Nigerian. It is a design to give Nigeria and Nigerians a bad name and image. The negative backlash that this international conspiracy will hewn on every Nigerian is better imagined than felt. For a country already suffering one form of image problem or another, this is one scandal too many. Any Nigerian that does not see it this way should have their head examined.

This, however, is not to say that we should not apportion blame where it is due; be they individuals or corporate organisations. Anyone and everyone who has a hand in getting us into this mess must be uncovered and punished. This is one case that must not be swept under the carpet in the usual Nigerian style. But – and this is a big but – we must first drive away the fox before returning home to warn the hen not to wander too far away from its secured zone. For one, the assets being plundered are our assets; I mean, they are the assets of all Nigerians and we cannot say it serves President Bola Ahmed Tinubu right. We will be cutting our nose to spite our face if we reason that way. We should not even wash our hands off it and ask the Ogun State Government and\or its former and sitting governors to clean up the mess. It is only after we have risen like one man to call the bluff of the Chinese gold diggers that we can return to give due recompense to the culprits that got all of us into this sorry pass.

That said, we must advise the government that if Nigerians are to rally round it to face the external aggression that the Chinese businessman’s action typifies, it cannot afford to fish in troubled waters. The police invitation to Ajaero appears one provocation too many. I hope the police authorities were not acting irresponsibly with its invitation to the NLC president because the allegations against him are very grievous – criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion and cybercrime. None of the allegations is lightweight. If the police have evidence and can establish a prima facie case against Ajaero, then, the NLC president must face the music. No one is above the law. Put differently, the law is no respecter of persons. As our people will put it, it is the finger that offends the king (the law) that is cut off. If the police are able to prove their case against Ajaero, then, the NLC will be wrong to think of shielding him from having his day in court. The offences or crimes he is alleged to have committed is against all of us; it is against the Nigerian state; it is against present and future generations of Nigerians; it is against the wellbeing of every Nigerian, including the same NLC buffs threatening to shut down the economy just to protect their man, be he guilty, be he innocent. That, I dare to say, is irresponsible. What I expect of them is to insist that Ajaero must not be victimized or oppressed; that his rights must be respected and that he must have his day in court. That should have been the most reasonable path for them to tread.

I expect Ajaero to still insist on having his day in court. It will not be right if, after the NLC’s grandstanding, he hides in a corner and chooses not to clear his name of the damaging allegations leveled against him by the police. The police, too, if they fail to press their case against Ajaero, would have unimaginably dented their own image and destroyed whatever is left of their reputation. In addition, the Inspector-General of Police will have to resign. In addition, he will have to tender an unreserved apology to Ajaero and Nigerians. Ajaero will then also be at liberty to sue him for libel and defamation of character and demand hefty sums as compensation. If none of the two parties follow these recommendations, then, they have something to hide and are not serious-minded fellows. Their integrity becomes suspect.

Now to ASUU! It is too early for the university teachers to threaten to further disrupt an already-disrupted university calendar. No matter their grouse and no matter how long it takes for commonsense to prevail, another strike action should not be on the cards. If we have a sense of shame and responsibility, we must choose to suffer in silence rather than destroy the university system completely. It is like a man setting fire on the roof over his head simply because the landlord was tardy in effecting the repair of a leaking roof. At the recent stakeholders meeting of JAMB held in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, spoke eloquently of the benefits the ministry – and the country as a whole – has reaped from his new approach of encouraging dialogue among the various stakeholders in the country’s university system and the government. He admonished the university authorities to bend over backward to maintain peace on campus by toeing the line of dialogue. So, whatever happened to those homilies? Is he not practising what he preaches? The Federal Government must bend over backward to prevent another strike action by ASUU.

Now, if I may ask, what are the government’s excuses for not meeting ASUU’s demands? Is it that there is no money? A country that gifted N90 billion on Hajj subsidy (much of which was found to have ended in some individuals’ pockets); a country that spent billions renovating the vice-president’s quarters; a country that bought multi-million Naira bulletproof cars for its National Assembly members; that just purchased a customised private jet for its president, with a limo that will make the American president green with envy to boot; a country that is preparing for another earth summit jamboree; a country where senators go home with N21 million every month; and a country where the CBN top-wigs are reportedly revelling in the opulence reserved only for Arab oil sheiks  – such a country cannot, in good conscience, claim not to have the means to end the rot in our institutions of higher learning.

“There are only two families in the world, my grandmother used to say, the haves and the have-nots” – Miguel de Cervantes, 1547-1616, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 87 – available online.

Once upon a time, there were three classes in Nigeria – the Upper Class, the Middle Class and the Lower Class. Only God knows how it happened. Under colonial rule, even those in the Lower Class still managed to eat three times a day. Extremely few Nigerians starved; and, even most of them were taken care of by the well-entrenched extended family network – until Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and Ahmadu Bello decided that the wicked Britons must go.

Nigerians must rule themselves. If our so-called Founding Fathers could rise from their graves today, and tell the truth, they must admit that they committed a blunder. They rescued us from people chastising us with whips and handed us to Nigerians chastising us with king cobras. Never in the history of Nigeria has such a preponderant percentage of the citizenry been made so destitute and bereft of hope for tomorrow – not to talk of next week, next month, or next year. We are now in the vice grip of five councils – all literally choking us to death in their own way. Whether they enjoy the sadism is difficult to say; but, there is obviously no eagerness to stop killing us softly with their activities. Permit me to list them one by one.

COUNCIL OF STATE

“In every community, there is a class of people profoundly dangerous to the rest. I don’t mean the criminals. For them we have punitive sanctions. I mean the leaders. Invariably, the most dangerous people seek power” – Saul Bellow, 1915-2015, VBQ p 124. 

The NATION newspaper, on the day after the last Council of State meeting, published a picture on its front page. President Bola Tinubu was in the middle; flanked on the left and right by former Presidents Jonathan and Buhari. The paper, published by Tinubu, was too happy to inform the entire world that the Council of State passed a vote of confidence on Tinubu. A picture is always worth more than a thousand words – as advertising practitioners know too well.

Without realising it, if anybody were to be asked to point to how Nigeria found itself in this perilous situation, The NATION provided the shortest and most accurate answer. Nigeria’s last three Presidents, ably supported by Obasanjo and their appointees into various offices, led us into this economic and political quagmire from which escape is almost impossible without dire consequences. Permit me to start with shocking economic facts which even their most ardent supporters cannot refute in any language known to sane people anywhere.

When Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former Minister of Finance, persuaded Jonathan that the Nigerian economy needed to be rebased, the two of them had more than economics on their minds. The 2015 Presidential Election was uppermost. To suddenly announce that the national Gross Domestic Product, GDP, had grown from USS270 billion to USS510 billion would certainly help win the election – never mind that Fellow Nigerians experienced no improvement in their welfare. As an added dividend from the meaningless exercise, Nigeria was pronounced the biggest economy in Africa – a claim which visits to South Africa and Egypt could easily reveal as fake news. 

For ten years, Nigeria had paraded itself in the borrowed robes of biggest economy in Africa. Irrespective of how long, every lie has an expiry date. Today, the estimated GDP for the top African countries are as follows:

*    South Africa      373.23

  *    Egypt                  347.59

 *    Algeria                266.78

 *    Nigeria                252.74

Three obvious facts stare Nigerians in the face. One, the nation’s GDP today is only 49.6 per cent of what it was in 2014 or approximately half. Two, our dear country is no longer the biggest economy in Africa; it is now number four. Three, Jonathan, Buhari and Tinubu brought us down to this level.

Two hidden facts which could not be deduced from the figures above are the following. First, in 2014, the population was about 65 per cent of what we have now. Second, with the disastrous decline in GDP, per capita income has gone steadily down; such that, today, poverty in Nigeria has exceeded anything experienced in our history. Third, none of the three leaders can claim to be poorer today than in 2014. Not even self-righteous Buhari. But, we are.

Right now, the three of them control the Council of State – a council of the overfed – who don’t really give a damn whether the rest of us starve to death or not. Deep in their hearts, they know that the palliative measures have failed; that they only opened another opportunity for party members and state officials. In order to protect themselves, the game of mutual back scratching has to be played in the open.

Who among them, as well as other members of the Council, actually believes that we will end this year in better condition than we started it?  “It requires wisdom to understand wisdom…” (Walter Lippmann, 1889-1974, VBQ p 275). How can two failures, as Presidents, know what good governance is? And, if Tinubu is basking in the endorsements by those losers, then we are in deeper trouble than we realise. Vote of confidence my foot.

COUNCIL OF ‘LEGISLATHIEF’ HOUSES

“My monthly salary is less than N1 million. After deductions, the figure comes down to a little over N600, 000. Given the increase in the Senate, each senator gets N21 million every month as running cost” – Senator Kawu Sumaila, NNDP, Kano South.

It is difficult to understand if an inadvertent slip of tongue was responsible for the distinguished senator’s disclosure while speaking on the BBC Hausa Service; but, it has shocked Nigerians normally docile to the marrows. Sunday, August 18, 2024 was unusual in the print media. Virtually every major newspaper had a report or columnist writing about the outrageous amount. One newspaper sympathetic to government had three entries – each adding additional information to what Kawu told us; and all leading to the same conclusion.

Nobody knows exactly how much federal legislators actually take from the national purse each month. But, it is far in excess of what the Revenue Mobilisation and Allocation Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, would lead us to believe. Indeed, if the entire take home pay of senators were to be N600, 000, few Nigerians would contest for the position. Those going there, irrespective of how rich before, still know that there is a pot of gold into which they can dip their fingers without questions asked.

However, those carpeting the federal lawmakers have ignored the same game being played in all the 36 states’ Houses of Assemblies; where a conspiracy of silence reigns. Instead of playing the constitutional roles assigned to them, the Speakers serve as arrowheads to negotiate with the Governors: “Pay us well and there will be no checks and balances”. Just as Ministers “bow and go” during screening in Abuja, Commissioners undergo the same ritual in the states. Thereafter, ‘executhief’ and ‘legislathief’ lawlessness prevails. Invariably, the Auditor General is drawn into the stratagem. His role is simple: “See no evil, write no evil and say no evil about the two branches of government.” To make sure that there is no leakage, the Auditors’ Reports are never read by anybody.

The Auditor General of the Federation’s Report from 2017 to 2021 already provided sufficient information to alert the National Assembly, NASS, to the fact that Buhari’s government was colluding with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to loot trillions from the bank under Ways and Means, W&M. But, the NASS, led by Saraki, 2015-2019, and Lawan, 2019-2023, was never interested in saving Nigeria from eventual calamity. Keeping the scheme going was more important than being patriotic. The CBN Governor would be called; and he would ignore the NASS; and Buhari would not call the Governor to order.

If Nigerians want to know how we tumbled from US$510 billion in 2014 to US$273 billion in 2024, all that is required is to look at the quality of leaders we have had since 1999.

COUNCIL OF UNJUST JUSTICES: THE WAY WE ARE

“The worst form of justice is pretended justice” – Plato, 427-347 BC.

Nobody raised objections when a recent report alleged that the Nigerian judiciary is among the most corrupt institutions in the country. That told us all we need to know about leadership in this country. Taking poor people accused of stealing goat before any of our corrupt judges is akin to asking a mass murderer to judge a wife-beater. Yet, the Nigerian bench is crawling with them…

To be continued next week…

The next governorship election in Edo State is some 3 weeks away, making it obvious that politicians and their political parties in the state have had at least 4 months beginning from April 24, 2024 to officially engage in public electioneering campaigns. For the first time since 1999, we have about 4 strong candidates in their own rights representing the All Progressives Congress APC, the All Progressive Grand Alliance APGA, the Labour Party LP and the Peoples Democratic Party PDP.

One would have thought that with such an increase in the number of parties that have nationwide presence as well as the visible strength of the credentials of their flagbearers, the electioneering campaigns would be vibrant and articulate. But that has not been the case; instead, the campaigns have been largely pedestrian and in some cases boring as well as bereft of substantive governance issues.

One irritating element in the campaigns is the unending refusal of members of ruling political parties across Nigeria to differentiate their parties from the government of the day. In Edo State, media reports did reveal efforts by some officials of the PDP – the ruling party in the state to deprive other parties from holding campaigns in public spaces like schools.

For this reason, some APC leaders felt they too could stop the PDP from accessing anywhere through the federal roads supposedly owned by the federal government. Apart from the fact that it is nauseating to claim ownership of dilapidated federal roads in the state, all public institutions and structures – schools, roads, stadia etc. belong to the people and not to any ruling political party. Anyone approaching electioneering campaigns with that puerile mind-set is not likely to articulate issue-oriented messages for the electorate.

Indeed, political campaigns in Edo State have so far, depicted too many superficial and outdated issues. We are told for example that one of the candidates cannot be voted for by his people because he never showed care for them by establishing one branch of his previous enterprise in his own village. In 2024, is Edo State still looking forward to the old inclination of governors focusing more on developing their personal villages?

Of course, all Edo villages deserve to be developed and constantly improved upon. It is against the same background that those who argued at length that it was time for a governor to be an indigene of their senatorial district patronised a weak argument. Accordingly, the attack on a candidate that reportedly cannot speak his own dialect is a non-issue as none of the candidates has a goal of becoming the governor of his village or ethnic group. If all that a governor can do is to speak his own language, how does he, as the governor of all, relate with citizens of other villages?

A few weeks ago in Abuja, when I had an opportunity of speaking with the APC candidate, he sounded quite coherent and different from how he is now portrayed in the media. I suspect that his party leaders are the ones inadvertently disorganizing his thought-process. Considering that the young man is the candidate, he should be allowed to be the major speaker at any rally. To start with, if the party wins the election, he is the one to serve as governor.

It is therefore important for the voters to hear from the proverbial horse’s mouth. For as long as party stalwarts are stealing the show from him at every rally, for that long would the party be misfiring. The point to be made is that the so called ‘orators’ who at every rally suddenly dictate topics/ideas that are different from what the candidate had prepared to discuss are the ones unconsciously provoking attacks on the candidate.

Another candidate that has been a victim of attacks is that of the Labour Party. On entry into the race, many voters may have been excited over a candidate who had held the prestigious office of President of the Nigerian Bar Association NBA. Other parties perhaps out of fear for his personality have since been using fake news and or hate speech to diminish his person. At first, it was reported that he was a PDP mole and that the state governor to whom he was allegedly close brought him to disparage the main opponent of the ruling PDP. He was beginning to come out of it when a new rumour dominating the social media said he has now sold out to the ruling party at the centre. The report had LIVE pictures of his alleged meeting with Femi Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff to the President where the deal was reportedly sealed.

The candidate has since shown that the pictures are old ones taken when as President of the NBA he met with Gbajabiamila who was then the Speaker of the House of Representatives. While some people might see the strategy as tactical because it is capable of destroying an individual, we need to restate here that tactical destruction of an opponent based on falsehood is not part of the approved rules for determining the winner of an election. Bearing in mind that it is the electorate that has the sole mandate to make the determination, we ought to allow the public to hear out every candidate for the purposes of making informed electoral choices. Those who win through the illegal process of undermining others are likely to use same strategies to outwit the people during governance. Consequently, society should not encourage scammers to surreptitiously crawl into office.

Godwin Obaseki, the out-going governor is another person that political party chieftains attack at rallies. It is wrong because rallies are not occasions for intemperate criticisms that can lead to crisis. In other climes, the current campaigns would not dwell on an outgoing governor but on the capacity of each candidate seeking to come to office. We have heard enough of how the last 8 years of Obaseki have been characterised by ‘ineffectual’ Memorandum of Understanding MoU which they suspect he might handover to his preferred candidate. 

What we want to hear next in clear terms is what those they want us to vote for plan to do and more importantly how they intend to implement such plans. We hope and fervently pray that the next administration will not attempt to resurrect the obnoxious practice of ‘yesteryears’ when public funds were shared among party leaders which is the main trait by which great Nigerian politicians are known.

Quite often, those who criticize Governor Obaseki forget that they are talking to citizens who have personally watched his performance over the years and therefore have their own individual feelings about the governor. Based on that, I suggest that those seeking office in Edo State should stop taking the people for granted by seeking to think for them. Instead, they should focus on and publicise their determination to do what the outgoing governor failed to do or could not complete.

Edo State led the nation in increasing the minimum wage. Do those seeking office now intend to improve on it or at least sustain it? To get into office before telling us how difficult it is to pay N70, 000 that a predecessor seemed to have paid with relative ease would be a disaster. There is no better time than this period of electioneering to deal with such issues through public enlightenment.

This is why the government of the day must allow a level playing field for all candidates to copiously brief our voters. To do differently is to short-change the people. The coming election must be free, fair and above all transparent like that of 2020 when the people’s choice prevailed. We do not want the 2016 type when several ballot papers were destroyed while the security operatives employed to secure the process turned a blind eye.

We also deprecate the other aspect of that election where some of its segments were postponed by unknown powers and forces without the knowledge and consent of an electoral body that is supposed to be always independent. Edo voters must ignore violent politicians and reject political parties that send their experts in rigging to manipulate the election process in any part of the nation where election is holding. God bless Edo State, the heartbeat of Nigeria and the cradle of African civilization.

During the seventh edition of the Kaduna Investment Summit (KADINVEST 7.0) held in October 2022, His Highness Emir Muhammad Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano, reminded the audience of the grim realities facing the Nigerian economy and presented sobering projections for the country’s economic future if the current mismanagement continued. The emir emphasised that any politician who downplays these realities and portrays solving them as an easy task should not be trusted.

In setting the stage for then-presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s remarks, Governors Bagudu and Badaru attempted to counter the emir’s data-driven analysis with an uninspiring rebuttal that lacked substance, relying instead on political theatrics and empty rhetoric. When Tinubu took the stage, he acknowledged the challenges but suggested they were easily solvable, yet offered no concrete economic crisis management or mitigation plan.

In 480 B.C.E., Xerxes I, the Persian King determined to invade Greece, was cautioned by his uncle and advisor, Artabanus, just as he was about to cross the Hellespont. Artabanus warned of numerous risks, including unfamiliar terrains, insufficient supplies, and the exhaustion and starvation that would likely occur from traversing seas and lands that could not sustain such a large army. Xerxes, dismissing these concerns, replied: “If you were to take account of everything…you would never do anything. It is better to have a brave heart and endure one half of the terrors we dread than to calculate all of them and suffer nothing at all. Big things are won by big dangers.” He crossed, invaded, and ultimately failed—falling victim to all that Artabanus had predicted.

John Lewis Gaddis, in his book On Grand Strategy, elaborates on Isaiah Berlin’s conception of the hedgehog and the fox, defining them as the difference between those who view the world through the lens of a single, unifying idea (the hedgehog) and those who draw on a wide variety of experiences and ideas (the Fox). In Gaddis’s categorisation, Xerxes was a hedgehog, focused on the grand idea of invading Greece, while Artabanus was a fox, emphasising the imperative of situational awareness before the invasion.

Interestingly, the Tinubu-Sanusi exchange mirrors that of Xerxes and Artabanus on many fronts. Tinubu, in typical hedgehog fashion, was focused on winning the presidential election with a central vision encapsulated by the “Renewed Hope” slogan, which seemed disconnected from the situational realities that Sanusi, the fox in this case, and others emphasised in the buildup to the election. All Tinubu saw was a vision of himself solving Nigeria’s problems without fully considering the true state of the country and economy, the resource imperatives for solving the problems and their availability, the conformity (or not) of the prevailing sociopolitical configuration with his reform plan and other critical factors.

While it would be unfair to judge the success of his administration at this nascent stage, it is clear that some of his landmark policies have not yielded the desired results. The combined effects of these policies—the removal of the fuel subsidy and the adoption of a managed floating exchange rate regime—have led to widespread dissatisfaction with the country’s economic situation, sparking protests across Nigeria, particularly in the north, where tensions turned heated and violent. Although the policies may have been well-intended, their implementation has produced outcomes that now demand a strategic review.

The “subsidy is gone” pronouncement by the president during his inaugural speech immediately led to a sharp increase in petrol pump prices, which, in turn, caused significant hikes in the production costs of commodities and transportation. This exacerbated the already high inflationary pressures in the country. The subsequent floating of the Naira against the dollar further fueled inflation through imported inflation, given Nigeria’s unhealthy dependence on imported goods.

These effects were initially expected to stabilize over time. The removal of the subsidy was intended to unlock greater revenues for socioeconomic development, while the new exchange rate regime was supposed to allow the Naira to find its true value in the foreign exchange market, thereby enhancing stability, improving global confidence in the Nigerian economy, and attracting foreign investments.

One of the goods most affected by the government’s exchange rate policy was petrol itself (our biggest import), yet again, which saw a further price hike due to the naira’s devaluation. The conflicting effects of these policies have significantly impacted the livelihoods of citizens, compounding other socioeconomic issues such as insecurity and food inflation. Additionally, the Central Bank’s restrictive monetary policy, intended to curb inflation, only appears to be attracting foreign portfolio investments into the fixed income markets, creating a facade of stability via increased hot forex inflows while failing to address the root causes of inflation.

In his book, Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy, Henry Kissinger argues that every political system is in perpetual transit between “a past that forms its memory, and the vision of a future that inspires its evolution.” The function of good leadership, I deduced, is the successful navigation of the system towards a future that is bright. He further explains that “leaders think and act at the intersection of two axes: the first, between the past and the future; the second, between the abiding values and aspirations of those they lead.” Whether or not a leader aligns with the aspirations of the people, they are expected to adopt the principles of Grand Strategy, which Gaddis defines as “the alignment of potentially unlimited aspirations with necessarily limited capabilities.”

Were President Tinubu’s aspirations, as exemplified by these two policies, examined for alignment with the capabilities of the economic system? Is this a case of premature load-bearing in policy implementation, exerting a tremendous burden on an economic structure that cannot yet support it—a classic case of being stuck in a capability trap?

Perhaps if President Tinubu had listened more to the likes of Emir Sanusi, who were willing to complement his hedgehog disposition with some fox-like tendencies by offering lessons in situational awareness, he might have approached things differently. Had he also recognised that the intellectual capital he amassed from previous experiences, including his time as the Governor of Lagos, was insufficient for the challenges at hand, he might have understood that his grand vision was akin to knowing his destination was north but only having a compass to guide him. With this awareness, he might have tempered his heightened yet unsubstantiated optimism and fortified his approach before the elections.

As in the case of Xerxes and his uncle Artabanus, Lewis accurately deduced that “Xerxes was right. If you try to anticipate everything, you’ll risk not accomplishing anything. But so was Artabanus. If you fail to prepare for all that might happen, you’ll ensure that some of it will.” What was required of Xerxes, and what is still required of leaders like Tinubu, is what F. Scott Fitzgerald described as first-rate intelligence: “The ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” This means combining, in Lewis’ words, “within a single mind, the hedgehog’s sense of direction and the fox’s sensitivity to surroundings”—all while retaining the ability to function effectively.

Given that the subsidy removal lasted only two months before subsidy payments resumed due to the risk of further hikes in petrol prices beyond what the public could endure, rendering the policy statement void and the policy itself a failure, and that the exchange rate is still unstable, it is time for President Tinubu to break free from the shackles of the groupthink phenomenon – this collective mindset, where the President and his cabinet members and aides think in the same direction, has hindered effective policy evaluation – and review his policies with Grand Strategy principles in mind.

Abdulhaleem Ishaq Ringim is a public policy enthusiast, he writes from Zaria a

There is no denying the fact that palliatives, by their very nature, are designed to provide short-term relief in times of crisis. While they may offer a brief respite from immediate hardships, they do little to address the root causes of the economic difficulties that plague the nation. Given the foregoing backdrop, it is not out of place to argue that Nigeria’s current economic challenges, ranging from skyrocketing inflation to widespread unemployment, cannot be remedied by handing out token gestures of assistance. Instead, these challenges require a comprehensive and sustainable approach that tackles the systemic issues head-on.

In fact, the drawbacks that are inherent in dishing out palliatives to the people might had been the reason why the People’s Democratic Party Governors’ forum on Friday called on the federal government to subsidize agriculture, health, Education rather than distributing palliatives.

In a Communiqué issued at the end of the meeting in Jalingo, Governor Bala Muhammed of Bauchi State, and also the chairman of the forum described the distribution of palliatives by the federal government as an insult to the sensitivity of Nigerians.

The governors, who urged President Bola Tinubu to reconsider the distribution of palliatives, argued that these temporary measures are not sustainable and, in reality, amount to nothing more than crumbs offered to the masses. This perspective is not only valid but also necessary for guiding the nation toward a more stable and prosperous future.

In fact, it is not an exaggeration to opine that the experience of other African nations underscores the limitations of palliatives as a solution to economic hardships. In Kenya, for example, the government has repeatedly turned to palliative measures in times of crisis, only to find that they offer little more than temporary relief. The underlying issues, such as high unemployment, poor infrastructure, and economic inequality, have persisted, leading to continued struggles for the Kenyan people. This highlights the need for long-term strategies that address the root causes of economic difficulties rather than simply applying short-term fixes.

It will be recalled in this context that the PDP governors rightly pointed out that palliatives, however well-intentioned, create a dependency that does not empower citizens to rise above their circumstances. The focus should not be on providing temporary relief, but on implementing policies and programs that will foster long-term economic growth, job creation, and social stability.

Given the outcome of the PDP’s Governors meeting, it can be opined in this context that to truly uplift the nation, the Tinubu administration must prioritize initiatives that go beyond immediate handouts. In fact, policies aimed at revitalizing key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and technology will create jobs and stimulate economic activity. Furthermore, investing in education and skill development will equip the youth with the tools they need to contribute meaningfully to the economy.

Another critical area for attention is infrastructure development. Improving transportation networks, power supply, and access to clean water will not only enhance the quality of life for Nigerians but would also attract investment and spur economic growth. The government must also focus on improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria, reducing bureaucratic red tape, and fostering an environment that encourages entrepreneurship and innovation.

Additionally, addressing corruption and ensuring that public funds are used effectively and transparently will help restore trust in government institutions and ensure that resources are allocated where they are needed most.

In fact, while palliatives may offer short-term relief, they are not a sustainable solution to Nigeria’s economic woes. The experience of other African nations like Kenya, as earlier mentioned, shows that such measures do little to resolve long-term hardships. The Tinubu administration must heed the advice of the PDP governors and shift its focus toward implementing policies and programs that will create lasting change. By addressing the root causes of the nation’s hardships, the government can build a stronger, more resilient economy that benefits all Nigerians, not just today, but for generations to come.

In fact, it is expedient for the leadership of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) with specific mention of Mr. President in this context to heed the voice of the Opposition.

The reason for the foregoing view cannot be farfetched as in a thriving democracy, the role of opposition parties is not merely to challenge the ruling party but to provide constructive criticism, offer alternative perspectives, and suggest policies that could benefit the nation. Often, these suggestions are dismissed outright, perceived as politically motivated or baseless. However, history has shown that ignoring the voice of the opposition can be detrimental to the health of a democracy and the well-being of its citizens. It pays for the ruling party to always listen to the suggestions made by opposition parties, as not every piece of advice or criticism can be adjudged as wrong.

Without a doubt, the opposition parties are an essential part of any democratic system. They serve as a check on the ruling party, ensuring that decisions are made in the best interest of the people. When opposition parties critique policies or propose alternatives, they do so not just to gain political mileage, but to offer different viewpoints that could lead to more balanced governance. The diversity of opinions is the bedrock of a vibrant democracy, and it is this diversity that prevents the concentration of power and encourages accountability.

There have been numerous instances globally where ruling parties have ignored the warnings and suggestions of opposition parties, only to regret it later. In Nigeria, for instance, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has at times been accused of dismissing the warnings of the opposition, particularly regarding economic policies. The opposition’s criticism of the government’s handling of issues like inflation, unemployment, and the devaluation of the naira has often been brushed aside as mere political posturing. Yet, these issues have persisted, suggesting that a more inclusive approach to governance might have yielded better results.

Similarly, in the United States, the Democratic Party’s opposition to certain policies of the Trump administration, such as the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, was initially dismissed. However, the eventual outcomes highlighted that some of the opposition’s concerns were valid, and a more collaborative approach could have mitigated the situation.

Criticism, when constructive, should not be feared or dismissed. Instead, it should be seen as an opportunity for growth and improvement. President Tinubu should remember that opposition parties also represent a significant portion of the population. Their perspectives and suggestions are a reflection of the concerns and aspirations of the citizens. By considering opposition viewpoints, the ruling party can create more inclusive policies that address the needs of a broader spectrum of society.

Moreover, embracing opposition suggestions can foster a sense of national unity. When the ruling party demonstrates that it is willing to listen to and act on good ideas, regardless of where they come from, it builds trust among the electorate. It signals that the government is truly working for the people, not just for those who voted them into power.

Analyzed from the foregoing perspective, governance should not be about winning arguments but about making the best decisions for the nation. Ruling parties must, therefore, adopt a mindset that is open to suggestions, even from those across the political aisle. This approach will not only enhance the quality of governance but will also contribute to the stability and progress of the nation.

In fact, while it is natural for the ruling party to be wary of the opposition’s motives, it is crucial to recognize that not all criticisms or suggestions from the opposition are wrong. By listening to and incorporating valid points from the opposition, ruling parties can avoid the pitfalls of echo chambers and ensure that their policies are robust, inclusive, and in the best interest of the nation. After all, in a true democracy, the best ideas should always win, no matter where they come from.

As I was saying…Among the mails this column regularly receives was one from Ghana in which the sender raised a thought-provoking and interesting question. Why does a Ms Blessing live in misery, begging for data, Favour is struggling to feed; Wisdom does not get sense; Victory failed exams and Courage even fears dogs whereas “in the United States, you see names like Bush, Stone yet they make progress. Why is it so?” Confirming the enquirer’s observation, I did state that in Europe, in the United States and Canada, people bear Mr. Brown, Dr. (Mrs.) Green and as rightly noted, Mr. Bush and Mr. Stone. There is Mr. Gladstone. If we go by the dictionary definition we can claim to know the meaning of Bush and Stone. Brown and Green denote colours. We then ask, how come a man bears Mr. Green and another Mr. Brown or Miss White and they are the ones who make self-evident progress? They are developed, they are endowed materially, and once people are developed, their nation must be developed, reflecting the state of being of the people. The radiant state of the inner being already gives a hint of why the United States is developed. Again, why is it so?

As I did state last week, each person comes with his or her name. He is the name he or she bears. The name each person will bear in future in the event of another opportunity of a reincarnation is partly being put together in the present earth life while he still carries the previous one that he has not discharged. Plants and trees have names for identification. There is a picture that flashes before our gaze when we hear lilies mentioned. And there are different kinds of lilies. We have Touch Lily, Peace Lily, Canna Lily, and St. Joseph’s Lily, each presenting its own unique picture before our eyes. It is a different picture that forms before our gaze when Sunflower is mentioned. Sunflower is different from Yellow Trumpet florists call Costus Spectabilis. Look at Bougainvillea with its compelling rays and enthralling colours. Trees have their names, so do rocks and soils. All names come about from the pressure of the Law. Colour, content, and form all vibrate and emit rays that enable us distinguish one plant from the other, and one flower from the other. In the rays precipitates fragrance. The wonders of Nature, the work of the house builders, the loyal servants of the Most High—the Nature Beings, weaving and tending. What does man, the arrogant modern man, know!

In Africa, a great many names are supplicatory and hope-filled. A Blessing could mean gratitude for an opportunity of another earth life and the experiences, one of which is a lack of purchasing power to the extent that she is begging for data. The experiences are only to polish her and get her to focus more on the higher goal. If blessed too soon, she may lose focus. For a Victor, it is a pledge that he would apply himself unremittingly to the demands of the higher goal in which alone lies victory, a manifestation of the victory of the Light that blesses his exertions.

The Jews went through excruciating experiences, and hard blows from the Romans, including being subjected to slavery when they began to deviate from the cause for which they were prepared as the first race on the surface of the earth to come to the recognition that there is only one God, the Creator of all the worlds. In 586 B.C. Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. Being the closest to the Truth, however, it was only natural that they would be and they were the Chosen People, blessed with Grace and privilege to receive the Lord Jesus Christ in their midst. The harrowing experiences served to keep them on course for the fulfillment of the sacred promises. The prophets did not give up on them. In the account by Dr. E. Walkhoff titled From World History During the Past 3,000 Years, “After the death of Solomon (Ca. 925 B.C.) the Jewish tribes separated into the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Feuding among themselves and becoming at last mere puppets in the hands of their enemies. The prophets Elijah (Ca. 830 B. C.), Isaiah (720 B. C.), and Jeremiah (Ca.630 B. C.) waged a desperate battle against the growing superstitions. In the year 621 B.C., however, the Ark of the Covenant, with the Ten Commandments –assumed to be lost—was found again in the Temple of Jerusalem. Once more the ancient faith was restored to its rightful place.” Ezra waged his own battle, after they returned from Babylonian captivity by enforcing the Ten Commandments.”

The same point as in the case of Blessing can be made for “Favour” who cannot feed. What is being pointed out to us is that in accordance with the Law of Sowing and Reaping and Law of Movement, a person who bears Favour is expected to do good to harvest goodness and change of her condition. She is also to work hard to unfold the talents and abilities contained in her name. The name is not a licence for her to go to sleep. The Law of Movement does not permit a standstill in any part of Creation. The name is thus a reminder that it is in the heeding of the Law through the unfolding of talents and abilities that lies the promise of a Favour. The experiences keep us awake, on the alert, and polished and if the right lessons are learned, there will be a turning around of fortunes. In his great work, Christian and Reincarnation, Dr. Stephen Lampe states: “The bitter fruits of the bad seeds we sowed are spiritual helpful reminders that we strayed from the way ordained by the Creator. Any adversity, pain or suffering should be seen as cues, hints of the need to re-examine our understanding of the Laws of the Creator and how we stand in relation to them…As we learn the right lessons and make necessary adjustments so that we sow only sweet seeds, the Law of Sowing and Reaping assures us bountiful harvest of sweet fruits, at the appropriate time. And this, surely, is Love.”

There has been a variant of the question as to why the United States is the most prosperous with the largest economy in the world, a country inhabited by Messrs Stone, Bush, and Brown. How come it is a land of opportunities, the dreamland of most young men and women? It is the most technologically powerful nation, indeed, a nation that went to the moon as far back as 1969 while African countries with all the prayers are backward, riddled with diseases. There is depravity; a great many of the leaders are lawless, so the argument goes.

However, it is little remembered that the United States was established between 1096 and 1300 by immigrants from Europe. Several parts were ravaged by wars and intractable social unrest brought about at the time of the Crusades. The experiences shook them, got them polished and matured. Following the experiences they recognised the essence of nobility as a virtue, and sought after it. The mature state of their inner being, of the penitent souls, came to recognize the Laws bearing the Will of the Most High. They put themselves, in consequence, in a different class of human beings who turned their gaze upwards in collective thanksgiving and the United States became what is generally, up till today, referred to as “God’s Own Country,” a land of hope founded on high principles derived from the uniqueness of refinement of the founders’ inner being. Any polished inner being is bound to attract the help of the Light. It is even more so when the majority of a people are refined inwardly. The blessing of such a land is a certainty. Are we not told that righteousness exalts a nation? Never mind that decline is overtaking everywhere on planet earth today, including the United States.

As for the Jews who are recorded as first in several economic and technological indices, their ascendancy follows the anchorage of the Light power in their land, Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ walked through the land as a result of which His Light Power was anchored therein. Even though the Jews, with their priestly and political establishments in the lead, out of envy and fear of loss of power and public acknowledgment, rejected Him as the expected Messiah and got Him murdered, their depravity and treachery could not dampen the Rays of the anchorage of the Light attendant to the Lord’s mere presence there. He traversed the length and breadth of the land. As they tap from the Rays even if unconsciously, the land will continue to manifest wonders in a variety of human endeavours. However, it should be stated that the present communities of Jews living in Israel have not necessarily always been Jews nor have all Americans always been Americans. We are distributed at reincarnation to different parts of the world in accordance with the degree of the development of our inner being. The Laws, including the Osmotic Law, perfectionists and incorruptible that they are, will always place everyone where he belongs and deserves, parents and communities.

While on reincarnation, I may as well share with us a YouTube post to which my attention has been lovingly drawn. In it as if to confirm the revelation In the Light of Truth, The Grail Message, the incomparable gift to all mankind, that states that each child is unswervingly led to its parents, the post contains what it captions Kids Reveal Memories of picking Their Parents. One said to its mother after a parable about blue birds: “You are my mother; I saw you from above the clouds. I had to slide down, came through the crown of your head. I saw you. I could see you and I chose you.” Another by name Jane said to her parents that she was glad to choose them as her mother and father– according to her mother: “People that would serve her needs.” Yet another child, Ryan, is filled with compassion for people with disabilities. And he said to his mother that he would like to go into the military and also be a policeman. He said to her: “I picked you as my mummy; I followed you in the snow.” Here is a child of two who has never seen snow and has never been exposed to violence. He shocked his mother one day saying he had a “different mom and daddy. They were shot and killed in their bed.” Confidently, according to his mother this time, he said that his name was Eric Johnson.

There is also on YouTube, the story of the reincarnation of a victim of year 2001 attack on the Twin Trade Centre in New York. The elaborate and moving account reads: ”There was always something extra-ordinary about Cade from the moment he was born. His parents, Molly and Rick had been told they could never have children and felt blessed to have a miracle son. But by two-and-a-half months old, he was trying to walk and reached all of his infant milestones extremely early. Even his own grandmother admitted he was different. ‘He was like an old man. He wasn’t like a bouncy baby. He just looked at you like: ‘Who are you?’ she said. By the time he was two, he was using ‘very intricate, intelligent words’ and could ‘hold conversation with adults,’ according to his mother.

“It was around the age of three when the youngster started saying he remembers dying. Speaking to LMN for a programme called The Ghost Inside My Child in 2011, Molly recalled: ‘I would be in bed and Cade would just start crying in the middle of the night and he would wake up screaming about working in a tall building and he could see the Statue of Liberty from his office. He told me that he was falling with the building like the way he died. It’s surreal to have a three-year-old talking about New York and talking about death. Honestly, I started to think…could he have been in the World Trade Centre? But there was a huge part of me that said, wait a minute, that can’t be.”
Cade’s dad, Rick added: ‘We didn’t show him anything, there was no way he could’ve known about it. It was before pre-school.’ The family didn’t know anyone involved in the terror attacks at the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, and Cade, who was born in 2004, had never been to New York. I noted it as oddism but I never thought anything of it. I just thought he had a vivid imagination’, Molly told the programme. But as Cade got older, he became ‘obsessed with planes’ and was ‘frantic’ around tall buildings. His gran, Fae, said: ‘Cade was totally petrified by the airplanes, like they were monsters. He wasn’t scared of them being in the air. It’s more like he was scared of where they were going.’

Video footage shows a seven-year-old Cade in the car while driving around a busy city with tall buildings. He states: ‘That feels creepy. I just don’t like to look up. I would not like to go in that tall building…that big shiny one looked just like the Twin Tower. It brings back a lot of memories but I’m not going in it, ok?’ Molly admitted that she would make excuses for her son’s behaviour for a while but it got to a point where she ‘couldn’t deny it anymore.’ She said: ‘he just flat out, said that he was in a building that was hit by something, that it exploded and that he had fallen.‘The pieces suddenly came together like a puzzle, the planes, the tall buildings. This person was at the World Trade Centre.’ Cade tells programme-makers: ‘The plane hit the World Trade centre then it got stuck in the building.

‘When I was falling, I was still alive and then all the rubble hit me. I didn’t feel anything because I died.’ Molly was left feeling helpless, unable to know what to do to help her son get past the memories admitting she feels ‘very sad for him.’ He even started asking her to change his name insisting that he wasn’t called Cade. He told her what his name was and she set to work, investigating. She shared her son’s story on a web board hoping to find answers and discovered there had been a man who worked and died at the Twin Towers whose ‘life mimics what Cade describes his life and death was.’ I was absolutely shocked. I pulled up the obituary, the pictures, but I’d never thought about contacting the victim’s family,’ she said.

‘Continuing to follow through with anything to do with 9/11 may interrupt their mourning process. But also, what would you say? Your son didn’t die, he is just someone different now. I would imagine if someone called me with that, I would hang up the phone.’ Molly said she now knows the truth about who the man was but added: ‘as a mother, I am feeling very helpless. I can’t make this memory go away. I don’t know what to do; I don’t know how to fix this.’ She described her and her husband’s heartbreak at being ‘lost for years’ over their situation and said Cade struggled to make friends because other children would call him a liar and laugh at him. Teachers also took a dislike to him.

Molly and Rick said their priority was to help their son to ‘be comfortable in his Cade body’ admitting they ‘wouldn’t trade him in for anything in the world. I need him learn to be Cade, to learn to be a kid again, learn to laugh and I think we’re going to get there, I do, Molly added.

The programme ended with news that Cade had started playing in a football league and was improving in school but was still having nightmares. No further information about Cade has been published since. He would now be aged 20.

After the interview recently surfaced on YouTube, many wondered how Cade was getting on as some recalled similar situations.

The foregoing is yet another account of, indeed, proof of reincarnation. I have treated this subject directly and indirectly in this column about four times. Since our world is a school, in the wisdom of the Creator, like in the earthly school patterned after the cosmic school, allowance is made for a repeat class so that areas of deficiencies can be corrected. It is a phenomenon in which the inflexible justice of the Most High can be read. There is no human being on earth today who has not lived here before, some about 50 times. It takes some 200, others 500 years to come back. Many as short as within four years of their death as is shown in the account of Cade who came back barely four years after he died in the disaster of the World Trade Centre. The knowledge of reincarnation is practically in all cultures. Try as the modern man may have tried, he has not succeeded in getting his fellow men to deny the phenomenon. How do you explain Babatunde, Nnena, or Yetunde if these do not touch on the African concept of reincarnation? The denial by a number of priests is based on the misinterpretation of the scriptures that “It is given unto man to die but once, after which is judgment.” The passage refers to spiritual death, not the earthly exit during which the earthly cloak is discarded and the man enters the beyond in an ethereal garment which serves, together with the animistic, as the wrappings for the spirit. The spirit encased in the wrappings is recognized as soul. Didn’t even the Lord say: “But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased”? (Matthew 17:12). The Lord’s response was in answer to the question: “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” We are in the time of enlightenment and judgment. The intensification and acceleration of events in the world today are features of the judgment. It is the time everyone here on earth and on the material planes in the beyond is faced with the choice: Salvation or damnation! When the ongoing purification reaches the crescendo, all men, all nations will fall on their knees and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Love, and Imanuel as Justice, Both Arms of God, and with God in Holy Trinity!