Nigerian corporate influence and that of the West continue to collide. The rationale is straightforward: whereas corporate activity in Europe and America is part of their larger local and foreign policy engagement, privately owned enterprises in Nigeria or commercial interests are not part of Nigeria’s foreign policy ecosystem, neither is there a strong culture of government support for privately-owned enterprises’ expansion locally and internationally.

Nigerian firms’ competitiveness on a global scale can only be enhanced by the support of the Nigerian government. The relationship between Nigerian businesses and foreign policy is important to the national interest. When backing domestic Nigerian companies to compete on a worldwide scale, the government should see it as a lever to drive foreign policy and national strategic interest, promote trade, enhance national security considerations, and minimise distortion in the domestic market as the foreign airlines were doing, boost GDP, create employment opportunities, and optimise corporate returns for the firms. For example, the South Korean mega conglomerates within the chaebol corporate structure, such as Samsung, Daewoo, SK Group, LG, and others, have become globally recognisable brands thanks to the backing of the South Korean government. For Chaebol to succeed, strong collaboration with the government has been essential. Also, in telecommunications, Huawei would only be such a well-known brand worldwide with the backing of the Chinese government. The opposite is the case with Nigeria.

Admittedly, nations do not always interfere directly in their companies’ business and commercial dealings, and there are always exceptions. I can cite two areas of exception: military sales by companies because of their strategic implications and are, therefore, part of foreign and diplomatic policy and processes. The second is where the products or routes of a company have implications for foreign policy. Air Peace falls into the second category in the Lagos–London route.

Two events demonstrate an emerging trend that, if not checked, will disincentivise Nigerian firms from competing in the global marketplace. There are other notable examples, but I am using these two examples because they are very recent and ongoing, and they are typological representations of the need for Nigerian government backing and support for local companies that are playing in a very competitive international market dominated by big foreign companies whose governments are using all forms of foreign policies and diplomacy to support and sustain.

The first is Air Peace. It is the only Nigerian-owned aviation company playing globally and checkmating the dominance of foreign airlines. The most recent advance is the commencement of flights on the Lagos–London route. In Nigeria, foreign airlines are well-established and accustomed to a lack of rivalry, yet a free-market economy depends on the existence of competition. Nigeria has significantly larger airline profits per passenger than other comparable African nations. Insufficient competition has resulted in high ticket costs and poor service quality. It is precisely this jinx that Air Peace is attempting to break.

On March 30, 2024, Air Peace reciprocated the lopsided Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and the United Kingdom when the local airline began direct flight operations from Lagos to Gatwick Airport in London. This elicited several reactions from foreign airlines backed by their various sovereigns because of their strategic interest. A critical response is the commencement of a price war. Before Air Peace’s entry, the price of international flight tickets on the Lagos-London route had soared to as much as N3.5 million for the economy ticket. However, after Air Peace introduced a return economy class ticket priced at N1.2 million, foreign carriers like British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Qatar Airways reduced their fares significantly to remain competitive.

In a price war, there is little the government can do. In an open-market competitive situation such as this, our government must not act in a manner that suggests it is antagonistic to foreign players and competitors. There must be an appearance of a level playing field. However, the government owes Air Peace protection against foreign competitors backed by their home governments. This is in the overall interest of the Nigerian consumer of goods and services. Competition history in the airspace works where the Consumer Protection Authority in the host country is active. This is almost absent in Nigeria and it is a reason why foreign airlines have been arbitrary in pricing their tickets. Nigerian consumers are often at the mercy of these foreign firms who lack any vista of patriotism and are more inclined to protect the national interest of their governments and countries.

It would not be too much to expect Nigerian companies playing globally to benefit from the protection of the Nigerian government to limit influence peddling by foreign-owned companies. The success of Air Peace should enable a more competitive and sustainable market, allowing domestic players to grow their network and propel Nigeria to the forefront of international aviation.

The second is Proforce, a Nigerian-owned military hardware manufacturing firm active in Rwanda, Chad, Mali, Ghana, Niger, Burkina Faso, and South Sudan. Despite the growing capacity of Proforce in military hardware manufacturing, Nigeria entered two lopsided arrangements with two UAE firms to supply military equipment worth billions of dollars, respectively. Both deals are backed by the UAE government but executed by UAE firms. These deals on a more extensive web are not unconnected with the UAE’s national strategic interest.

In pursuit of its strategic national interest, India is pushing Indian firms to supply military equipment to Nigeria. The Nigerian defence equipment market has seen weaker indigenous competitors driven out due to the combination of local manufacturers’ lack of competitive capacity and government patronage of Asian, European, and US firms in the defence equipment manufacturing sector. This is a misnomer and needs to be corrected. Not only should our government be the primary customer of this firm if its products meet international standards, but it should also support and protect it from the harsh competitive realities of a challenging but strategic market directly linked to our national military procurement ecosystem. The ability to produce military hardware locally is significant to our defence strategy. This firm and similar companies playing in this strategic defence area must be considered strategic and have a considerable place in Nigeria’s foreign policy calculations. Protecting Nigeria’s interests is the primary reason for our engagement in global diplomacy. The government must deliberately balance national interest with capacity and competence in military hardware purchases. It will not be too much to ask these foreign firms to partner with local companies so we can embed the technology transfer advantages.

Increasingly, other companies, especially in the banking and fintech sectors, are making giant strides in global competitiveness. Our government must create an environment that enables our local companies to compete globally and ply their trades in various countries. It should be part of the government’s overall economic, strategic growth agenda to identify areas or sectors in which Nigerian companies have a competitive advantage, especially in the sub-region and across Africa and support the companies in these sectors to advance and grow to dominate in the African region to compete globally. Government support in the form of incentives such as competitive grants, tax credits for consumers, low-interest capital, patronage, G2G business, operational support, and diplomatic lobbying, amongst others, will alter the competitive landscape. Governments and key government agencies in the West retain the services of lobbying firms in pursuit of their strategic interest.

Nigerian firms’ competitiveness on a global scale can only be enhanced by the support of the Nigerian government. Foreign policy interests should be a key driver of Nigerian trade agreements. How does the Nigerian government support private companies to grow and compete globally? Is it intentionally mapping out growth areas and creating opportunities for Nigerian firms to maximise their potential? Is the government at the domestic level removing bottlenecks and impediments to private company growth, allowing a level playing field for these companies to compete with international companies? Why is the government patronising foreign firms against local firms if their products are of similar value? What was the rationale for flight tickets from Lagos to London costing N3.5 million for economy class just a few weeks ago only to come down to N1.3 million with the entrance of Air Peace to the market? Why are Nigerian consumers left to the hands of international companies in some sectors without the government actively supporting the growth of local firms to compete in those sectors? These questions merit honest answers.

Nigerian national interest must be the driving factor for our foreign policies, which must cover the private sector, just as is the case with most developed countries. The new global capitalism is not a product of accident or chance; the government has choreographed and shaped it by using foreign policies to support and protect local firms competing globally. Nigeria must learn to do the same to build a strong economy with more jobs.

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace, says the federal government is set to arrest and sanction illegal flights and non-certified personnel.

Keyamo spoke in an interview on Channels Television on April 14.

According to the minister, the federal government has received credible information about them and would not hesitate to persecute them.

He said new private jet owners approach aviation regulators to request approval to use their aircraft to fly family or friends, however, after obtaining the required licence, they begin commercial flights.

“And we give them very low fee paydays. The moment you give them, they begin to carry passengers all over Nigeria, doing six or eight flights a day. And nobody checked them before I came,” Keyamo said.

“This is a notice to them on camera. I am coming for them. I am coming for them because the president has given us marching orders. We are not going to allow this to happen.

“First of all, in terms of the regulation, tracking them, making sure passengers that you carry are safe, regulating them and all that is low. Secondly, you are cheating the federal government. It is economic sabotage and I’m not going to allow that to happen.

“So people who are even my friends or friends of Mr. President, we are going to come hard on all of them, ground their planes, withdraw their licences and come very hard on them.

“We are not going to allow that to happen. And I’m about to do something on that, and guess what? I’m tying it down to the issue of training and retraining because it’s in most of these private aircraft you now see those people who have not gone for their normal routine training, they are the ones flying them (private aircraft).

“We have a complicity within the system. People who are also supposed to check and carry out sting operations on them do not.”

Keyamo also said he has received intelligence on persons involved, adding that in a matter of days or weeks, his ministry will go hard on them.

[TheCable]

The seemingly intractable conflict in Africa’s volatile Great Lakes region, sparked by the Rwandan genocide 30 years ago, is raging anew, as local and foreign-backed forces plunder the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s vast mineral deposits. Resolving the crisis will require close coordination among regional and external actors.

LAGOS – Violence is once again surging in Africa’s volatile Great Lakes region. This month marks the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide that left 800,000 people dead and another two million displaced. These refugees fled into the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which became the epicenter of an increasingly intractable conflict – what some now call Africa’s Thirty Years’ War.

Since the ouster of the kleptocratic dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997, successive DRC governments have been unable to secure the country’s borders and govern large areas in its east, where about six million people have been killed and another seven million internally displaced. The lawlessness of this vast territory has enabled local and foreign-backed forces’ systemic looting – especially in recent years – of the DRC’s large deposits of cobalt, coltan, copper, gold, diamonds, and other minerals.

African regional bodies, external powers, and the United Nations – which has deployed peacekeeping missions in the DRC for 25 years – have failed to curb the violence. To prevent an escalation, and ultimately end the conflict, the DRC’s domestic, regional, and international interlocutors must understand the complex dynamics at work.

At the heart of the current crisis are severe tensions between the DRC and Rwanda, whose autocratic president, Paul Kagame, is expected to extend his almost quarter-century rule in July’s election. Kagame has accused the DRC government of supporting genocidal Hutu militias, seeking to expel Congolese Tutsis, and refusing to negotiate an end to the fighting. The DRC, meanwhile, has rejected talks with the March 23 Movement (M23), a Rwanda-backed rebel group in eastern Congo, and called on Kagame to withdraw Rwandan troops from the DRC and demobilize the M23.

Neighboring Uganda and Burundi have played a more ambiguous role in the conflict. Both are accused (as is Rwanda) of smuggling gold and other resources out of the DRC. But, despite its uneasy truce with Rwanda, the Ugandan government has launched a joint operation with the DRC against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamic extremist group operating in both countries. Burundi has accused Rwanda of supporting Burundian rebels in eastern Congo and recently sent troops to the region under a bilateral agreement with the DRC government.

Exacerbating the dire situation in the mineral-rich eastern provinces of Kivu and Ituri are the widespread human-rights abuses committed by the Congolese army and some Mai-Mai (local self-defense forces) vigilantes. And this is to say nothing of the more than 100 militias that operate in the region. Last year alone, these armed groups displaced one million people. In February, violent clashes broke out as the M23 surrounded the large city of Goma, North Kivu’s capital. The ADF and the Coopérative pour le développement du Congo (CODECO) have reportedly killed hundreds and committed acts of sexual violence.

Peacemaking efforts in the Great Lakes are equally complicated. In 2022, Félix Tshisekedi, the erratic Congolese president, brought in peacekeepers from the East African Community (Burundi, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda), of which it is also a member, before criticizing their unwillingness to fight the M23 and engineering their departure. Then, last December, Tshisekedi invited in a Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission – comprising 2,900 troops from Malawi, South Africa, and Tanzania – despite vociferous opposition from Rwanda. But the SADC peacekeepers are unlikely to engage in a full-scale war with Rwanda and the M23, which is what Tshisekedi ultimately wants. Moreover, the recent deaths of two South African soldiers in the DRC has caused alarm among South African policymakers.

Worryingly, the UN peacekeeping mission is set to withdraw from the DRC, at the request of the Congolese government, by the end of 2024. The three African members currently on the UN Security Council – Algeria, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone – are working closely with Guyana to ensure continued financial and logistical support for the SADC mission, while cautioning the UN against leaving a “security vacuum” in the DRC.

Foreign governments are also active in the Great Lakes region. The United States, which was instrumental in halting the M23’s march toward Goma in 2013 by withholding aid from Rwanda, has recently sought to mediate between the DRC and Rwanda. It has also taken a tougher stance toward Rwanda in recent years, suspending military assistance, urging the country to withdraw troops and surface-to-air missiles from the DRC, and condemning its support for the M23. Equally important, the US has questioned Rwanda’s contributions to UN peacekeeping efforts in the Central African Republic and South Sudan, which Rwanda often uses to deflect pressure from its actions in the DRC.

Self-interest has motivated most other foreign powers. Despite partly echoing America’s criticisms, France has increased its financial support for Rwanda, which has deployed 2,500 troops to Mozambique to protect a gas-processing plant owned by French oil giant TotalEnergies from local insurgents. In February, the European Union signed a memorandum of understanding with Rwanda for the exploitation of critical minerals (despite its plundering of the DRC’s resources), incurring the wrath of Congolese officials. China, with which the EU is competing for raw materials, has invested heavily in the DRC’s cobalt sector.

Resolving the Great Lakes crisis will require coordination among regional and external actors. Western countries must condition aid to Rwanda on its withdrawal of troops from the eastern DRC and its ending support for the M23. Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi should also face severe consequences for the looting and illicit trafficking of the DRC’s minerals. Lastly, Rwanda’s role in UN peacekeeping missions must be scaled down substantially.

Domestically, the DRC must tackle widespread corruption, improve democratic governance, and rein in genocidal forces and Western mercenaries. And the African Union should bridge the gaps in peacemaking efforts, including by bolstering the SADC mission so that it can work more closely with UN peacekeepers. But most importantly, the UN must avoid a hasty, ill-planned withdrawal from what Secretary-General António Guterres has rightly described as “a protracted and largely neglected humanitarian crisis.”

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A price war has broken out in a submarket of the nation’s aviation sector, and the passengers are the major beneficiaries. But in the long term, this may hurt the airlines and put the fliers in a bind. A price war or price competition occurs when businesses in a particular industry compete against each other by repeatedly lowering their prices in an attempt to gain market share and drive out competitors. Since Nigeria’s carrier, Air Peace Airlines, launched its Lagos-London route over two weeks ago with a drastic slash in airfare, its main competitors on the route, BA and Virgin Atlantic, have announced reduction in ticket prices to levels not seen before. From N15 million for a first -class seat and N5 million in an economy, the two British carriers are now charging over 80 per cent lower in response to Air Peace’s introductory offer of just N5 million for first-class and N1.5 million for economy.

For a six-hour flight, this was the most outrageous pricing in the industry. Other carriers like South African Airlines, Morocco Air, Ethiopian and Turkish Air who do not fly direct from Lagos to London have equally reduced their fares. There has never been such a fierce price war in the nation’s aviation business before. Allen Onyeama, Chairman of Air Peace, said in a TV interview last week that the foreign carriers are engaging in price war to drive his airline out of business so as to return to their cut-throat pricing. He appealed to Nigerians to fly Air Peace, not just out of nationalistic considerations, but also for their strategic self-interest. Price competition is rampant in many industries. Notable examples of recent price wars include the 1992 airline price war in the US during which American Airlines, NorthWest Airlines and other US carriers matched and exceeded the reduced prices of one another, resulting in increased sales volume but huge losses. There was also the 2020 Russia-Saudi Arabia oil price war which led to a 65% quarterly fall in the price of oil.

Price wars could hurt the competing businesses as revenues and profits dip; and in some cases, weaker competitors who cannot cope may go out of business by the time prices eventually stabilize at lower level. But in this case, if Air Peace is forced out of the London route, the international carriers, which apparently have the tacit support of their home governments, will jack up the fares again, and Nigerians would be the ultimate losers. This is why we must stand by the Nigerian flag carrier. Companies that typically win price wars are those with better cost structures and widest profit margins. Among the three – BA, Virgin and Air Peace – the British carriers have deeper pockets and can cope better with the raging price war. This war will last for the remaining part of the year, but I suspect that the British authorities will employ other tactics to frustrate the Nigerian flag carrier and weaken its resolve and resilience. The British carriers may also continue in the fight by lowering the quality of inflight services just to cut costs.

By entering the market with impressively high standards, Air Peace has captured a good size of the market. Its mostly Nigerian passengers are clearly enthusiastic about its offerings, and from all indications, the Nigerian carrier is currently enjoying overwhelming home support from both the public and the government. But it is not enough for the airline to rely on emotional nationalism alone. The airline should create loyalty programs to keep its customers. Many passengers have also accused Air Peace of price gouging and price discrimination in its domestic routes, especially during the peak seasons of Christmas and Easter holidays. The airline has a responsibility to be fair to its domestic passengers too.

On a final note, competent management and good corporate governance are important for the success and sustainability of any business. Many family-owned Nigerian businesses have failed to thrive once the founder is no more. For how long will Air Peace remain as a one-man business? With the rapid expansion and growth of the airline, Onyeama may consider bringing it to the capital market to open up the business for wider ownership, more diverse management, good governance and market discipline. He should also fortify the airline’s communication portfolio with competent professionals so that he will appear less and less on TV, and cede that responsibility to others.

The son of the District Head of Miri in Bauchi State, Malam Hussaini Abubakar, was murdered in a violent clash between two groups during Eid-el-fitr.

Muhammadu Ghani, the traditional ruler’s son and three others persons were killed as the two rival groups clashed.

The two groups engaged in the bloody fight were Yan Ba Beli, an armed group that has been assisting in combating bandits, and a group of hunters who were part of the entourage of the District Head of Miri in Bauchi local government area.

The duel occurred on the second day of the Sallah during the traditional obeisance to the Government House by the Emir of Bauchi in the convoy of all District Heads and other traditional title holders in the Emirate.

It was reliably gathered that the District Head had mobilised his subjects, and horse riders on the trip to the Palace of the Emir of Bauchi to join the procession to the Government House when the incident happened.

The bloody fight ensued when Yan Ba Beli interrupted the procession and started hitting some of the horse riders with sticks, which provoked the entourage of the traditional ruler.

It was further gathered that the hunters in the entourage of the Bauchi traditional ruler started shooting their dane guns into the air in response, which led to bullets hitting two members of the Yan Ba Beli who also shot back.

Consequently, the son of the District Head was said to have been hit with a sharp object which inflicted a serious injury on his head, leading to his death.

Apart from the four people that met their demise, several others were seriously injured before security operatives arrived at the scene to end the clash and arrested a few of the suspects.

Meanwhile, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed on Saturday evening, paid a condolence visit to the Palace of the District Head of Miri over the death of his son, Ghani.

The governor who expressed sadness over the unfortunate incident said that an investigation has been launched to unravel the circumstances leading to the death of the young man.

According to the governor who led other top government officials on the condolence describing the incident as very unfortunate to have happened on a day when people were rejoicing over the successful completion of the 30 days of Ramadan fasting.

[DailyTrust]

Bayo Onanuga, spokesperson to President Bola Tinubu, says the United States of America and the United Kingdom owe the world the responsibility for peace in the Middle East.

Onanuga said the duo should ensure that the Israeli response to Iranian drones and missiles is not disproportionate.

His statement is contained in a post on his X handle on Sunday.

He said the view is his personal opinion and doesn’t come from the Presidency, where he serves.

DAILY POST reported that Israel witnessed an unprecedented air attack from Iran on Saturday, being a retaliation against the Israeli attack on its consul in Syria.

Israelis breathed easier in the early hours of Sunday after an unprecedented air attack from Iranian drones and missiles largely fizzled in the face of the Jewish state’s powerful air defenses with assistance from the U.S. military and other allies.

However, Onanuga says the conflict could degenerate, urging the UK, and the US to mediate.

According to him, there is a need for caution all round, adding that, with Gaza yet unresolved, the world does not want another war in the Middle East.

He said: “United States of America and the UK owe the world the responsibility for peace in the Middle East by ensuring that Israeli response to Iranian drones and missiles is not disproportionate. Israel first drew blood by attacking the Iranian embassy in Damascus, killing some Iranian military officials. Iran promised some retaliation against Israel which it did Saturday by raining drones and missiles in Israeli direction. Many of them were intercepted. Times of Israel has reported one injury.

“Iran said it has concluded its retaliation to Israel’s first attack. But Israel is planning a massive response. With Jordan, Syria and other countries closing their airspace, Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani threatened a firm response to any country that “opens its airspace or territory for attacks on Iran by Israel”. This conflict can degenerate.

“The UK, USA should mediate. There is need for caution all round. With Gaza yet unresolved, the world does not want another war in the Middle East.”

[DailyPost]

• Govs, NASS members mobilise for NWC, BoT meetings
• Ex-Rivers gov’s group breaks 60 lawmakers’ ranks
• Why Acting National Chairman Damagum may survive

Ahead of Thursday’s meeting of the National Executive Committee(NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the camp of ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar and  Nyesom Wike/G-5 group have retreated into the trenches over plot to remove the party’s Acting National Chairman, Umar Ilya Damagum.

Although there are indications that Damagum may survive, Atiku’s camp is understood to be poised to fight to the end.

The Wike/G-5 group has thrown its weight behind Damagum.

Most party leaders and NEC members were last night also mobilising for Damagum.  Apart from breaking the ranks of the 60 PDP lawmakers in the House of Representatives, who recently demanded Damagum’s resignation, an aspirant for the office of National Chairman, David Ombugadu from North-Central, has declared his support for Damagum.

These developments have created anxiety in Atiku’s camp which is struggling to sell the “Operation Rescue PDP” agenda to party leaders and members.

Party sources told The Nation that PDP governors and many members are not convinced by Atiku’s camp’s campaign on salvaging the party.

Many of them cite his intermittent shuttles between Nigeria and Dubai.

Many leaders suspect that Atiku’s renewed interest in PDP affairs stems largely from his interest in the party’s presidential ticket for 2027.  But Atiku’s camp is not prepared to give up on seizing PDP from the control of Wike/G-5 group.

A party source said: “It is going to be a battle royale at the NEC meeting.

There are two opposing sides, namely those seeking to maintain the status quo from Wike/G5 Group and Atiku’s camp which wants to rescue PDP and return it to the 1999 era.

“Those sympathetic to Atiku’s agenda are also pushing for a virile opposition.

“But the situation is complicated by the 2027 poll hidden motives of some of the leaders in the two camps.

“All the groups/camps have retreated into the trenches ahead of the meeting. There is intense lobbying going on now. “

At the last count, those who want to unseat Damagum from the North-Central are Senator Gabriel Suswam and Dr. Emmanuel Agbo (Benue State), ex-Minister Humphrey Aba (Kogi State) and the 2023 governorship candidate of PDP in Nasarawa State, David Ombagudu.

There are two opposing sides, namely those seeking to maintain the status quo from Wike/G5 Group and Atiku’s camp which wants to rescue PDP and return it to the 1999 era.

“Those sympathetic to Atiku’s agenda are also pushing for a virile opposition.

“But the situation is complicated by the 2027 poll hidden motives of some of the leaders in the two camps.

“All the groups/camps have retreated into the trenches ahead of the meeting. There is intense lobbying going on now. ” At the last count, those who want to unseat Damagum from the North-Central are Senator Gabriel Suswam and Dr. Emmanuel Agbo (Benue State), ex-Minister Humphrey Aba (Kogi State) and the 2023 governorship candidate of PDP in Nasarawa State, David Ombagudu.

The kingmakers

Findings revealed that those who will determine the fate of Damagum and other aspirants are mostly officers of the party.

Some of the NEC members include PDP governors, the Chairman and Secretary of the Board of Trustees, members of the BOT (who have no voting rights), minority leaders in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, two Senators from each of the six geopolitical zones; the Deputy National Chairman; all National Vice Chairmen; the National Secretary and the Deputy National Secretary; the National Treasurer and the Deputy National Treasurer; the National Financial Secretary and the Deputy National Financial Secretary; all state chairmen of PDP, all former National Chairmen, Deputy National Chairmen, National Secretaries, Chairmen and Secretaries of the BOT who are still members of the party, the National Legal Adviser and the Deputy  National Legal  Adviser, six ex-officio members, among others.

A party source said: “Going by the composition of the NEC, Damagum may survive. Most members are drawn from the National Working Committee and other organs of the party.

“So far, most officers of the party are on the same page with Damagum. Atiku has an uphill task to pull his agenda through.”

Will Damagum allow selection of a new Acting Chairman?

It was confirmed last night that the agenda on the choice of a new Acting National Chairman at the NEC meeting will be determined by Damagum and his team.

“I don’t expect Damagum to come up with an agenda to remove him from office. But Atiku’s camp can invoke some clauses in PDP’s constitution at the meeting to amend the agenda,” a member of the National Working Committee said.

When contacted on the intrigues ahead of the NEC meeting, Damagum simply wrote: “I have no comment for now.”

Atiku’s dangerous gamble/G-5 threat

Also, there was fresh anxiety that the G-5 group may take over the party in the event that Damagum is removed.

It was learnt that as part of its Plan B, the G-5 will want Danagum’s successor to be from the South instead of the North-Central where four aspirants have emerged.

It was learnt that the G-5, some party leaders and NEC members have proposed power shift from the North to the South to solve the prolonged crisis in the party since the suspension of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu as the National Chairman of the party.

A source said: “If their scheming for power shift succeeds as the last option, the Deputy National Chairman (South), Taofeek Arapaja from the G-5, may take over.

Another source said: “The NEC meeting is another litmus test for Atiku.

He needs to watch the slippery terrain before deciding on his next direction.

“If Atiku’s Camp sacks Damagum, Arapaja may take over, which will be fatal to the career of the former presidential candidate of the PDP.”

But another source told our correspondent that “the G-5 members have lost their potency because they are no longer in government.

“Except for Wike and Governor Seyi Makinde, I don’t think the G-5 can match Atiku’s political dexterity.

“In fact, from the grapevine, we learnt the G-5 is divided because some clauses in pre-2023 Presidential Election Gentleman’s Agreement have not been met. They are not as united as we may assume.

“There are lots of issues on this NEC meeting. Let us leave everything open.”

 I’m duty-bound to abide by party decision – Ombugadu

Damagum, in a statement yesterday, said ahead of the Thursday meeting that he was being supported by some PDP members to settle for a party leadership position.

He said he was “duty-bound to abide by party decision.”

“Lately, various groups of well-meaning members of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have intensified a clarion call for me to be given a responsibility by the party at the national level,” he said.

He added: “I feel humbled that much of these calls emphasise our antecedents,  especially with keen references to our creativity, stamina, innovation, the populist enthusiasm that was aroused as well as the  dividends of democracy that our mandate yielded all over Nasarawa State; worthy attestations from the good people of Akwanga/Nasarawa Eggon/ Wamba Federal Constituency whom I represented between 2011-2019 and the very positive impacts of our keen pursuit of the gubernatorial ticket of Nasarawa State in 2019 and 2023 remain very relevant.

[TheNation]

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged President Bola Tinubu to disclose the agreements and spending details of loans obtained by the administrations of Nigeria’s past presidents since May 1999.

SERAP urged Tinubu “to direct appropriate ministries, departments and agencies to provide our organisation with copies of the loan agreements obtained by the governments of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari.”

This was disclosed in a statement issued by the organisation’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, which was made available to PUNCH Online on Sunday.

SERAP is also seeking “the spending details of any such loans as well as the interests and other payments so far made on the loans.”

Nigeria’s four past democratically-elected presidents include Obasanjo, who ruled for eight years from 1999 to 2007.

Obasanjo’s administration was succeeded by the late Yar’Adua (2007 – 2010); followed by Jonathan (2010 – 2015); and then the immediate past president, Buhari, whose administration ruled from 2015 – 2023.

The organisation stated that “widely publishing the agreements would allow Nigerians to scrutinise it and to demand accountability for the spending of the loans.”

SERAP lamented that the details provided may help to explain why “despite several billions of dollars in loans obtained by successive governments, millions of Nigerians continue to face extreme poverty and lack access to basic public goods and services.”

This latest demand by SERAP is coming two weeks after it gave the Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani; the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and other 35 state governors one-week ultimatum to provide the loan agreements and spending details of the loans obtained by their states and the FCT.

As contained in the latest sub-national debt – domestic and external debts, which were released by the Debt Management Office as of December 30 and June 30, 2023, respectively; PUNCH reports that “for the sub-nationals, Plateau got N16.32bn; Rivers borrowed N7.07bn; Zamfara, N14.26bn; and the FCT under the leadership of Nyesom Wike borrowed N6.75bn from domestic creditors,” amongst others.

However, in its response, the Zamfara State Government refuted the DMO’s report that it borrowed N14.26 billion, adding that it has “never applied for loans or approached the state Assembly or National Assembly for such a request.”

Also, the Kaduna State Government, through the Ministry of Finance, denied procuring a fresh $17.69m loan.

“We did not borrow the said amount or any other amount as reported. The claims are entirely false and fabricated,” said the state Commissioner for Finance, Shizzer Bada.

However, SERAP demanded that Tinubu establish an “independent audit on the spending of the loans obtained by the governments of the former presidents,” and make its results available to the public.

“Democracy requires accountability and accountability requires transparency.

“Nigerians are entitled to information about what their government is doing in their name. This is part of their right to information,” SERAP said.

The statement noted that publishing the agreements and details of spending of the said loans “would demonstrate” Tinubu’s “oft-expressed commitment to openness in government and to promote accountability,” adding that it would also “improve public accountability” in the MDAs.

Quoting the DMO, SERAP said that “the total public domestic debt portfolio for the country is N97.3 trillion ($108 billion). The Federal Government’s debt is N87.3 trillion ($97 billion).”

It said that the interest paid on loans by the FG in 2015 was $5.5 billion; in 2016, $4.4bn; in 2017, Nigeria paid $5bn as interest; in 2018, $6.5bn was paid; while $6.2bn was paid in 2019.

“We would therefore be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest,” the organisation said.

It noted that Tinubu’s administration “has a responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability in how any loans obtained by the Federal Government are spent, to reduce vulnerability to corruption and mismanagement.”

“Our requests are brought in the public interest, and in keeping with the requirements of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the Freedom of Information Act, and the UN Convention against Corruption, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to Nigeria is a state party.

“The Nigerian Constitution, Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s anti-corruption and human rights obligations rest on the principle that citizens should have access to information regarding their government’s activities,” the statement concluded.

[Punch]

There’s always the tendency to ascribe our failings and flailings in our developmental and democratic growth as a nation, to our amoeboid leadership recruitment process. I differ slightly though from this perspective. I contend that prospective leaders must first be identified and groomed before they can be deployed to the various sectors we expect them to function. Tunji Olaopa’s 2022 essay titled “Nigerian Civil Service and the Trajectory of Public Administration” illuminates the evolution of Nigeria’s civil service which was inaugurated in 1954. He alludes in the paper to “a very strong and professional civil service regarded as perhaps the strongest of the colonial legacies bequeathed to Africa”.

Olaopa speaks to the “quality of the officers who founded the civil service and the institutional quality of the public service itself.” He lists Nigeria’s “civil service pioneers” to include: Simeon Adebo, Jerome Udoji, Samuel Manuwa, Ahmed Talib, Abubakar Koko, Sule Katagum, Joseph Imoukhuede, Ojimiri Johnson and Fola Ejiwunmi. This generation of public servants Olaopa notes is what we now describe as the “golden age of the public service in Nigeria.”

The second generation of public administrators and civil servants who grazed the limelight between the 1960s to the early 1970s are those popularly described as “super permanent secretaries.” This is the generation of Allison Ayida, Sunday Awoniyi, Liman Ciroma, Philip Asiodu, Abdul Aziz Atta, Festus Adesanoye, Olu Falae, Solomon Akenzua, Francesca Emmanuel, Ahmed Joda, Gilbert Obiajulu Chikelu, Gray Longe, M.A. Ejueyitchie, among others. Olaopa reminds us that the actual core of this generation who were festooned with the broche of “super permanent secretaries” were so described because they were called up at a period of grave national emergency. It was during the Nigerian civil war and they were requested to avail the country of their “administrative acumen, competencies and wisdom,” to steer Nigeria through the war and stabilise the polity thereafter.

Olaopa observes that beginning from the 1975 civil service purge by the Murtala Mohammed/Olusegun Obasanjo government and onwards to the era of the Ibrahim Babangida Structural Adjustment Programme, (SAP), a de-institutionalisation process had begun. The concomitant value-orientation of the inherited civil service had been damagingly eroded. He laments that his generation of permanent secretaries came at an age when, according to him, the service “was already deeply embroiled in the dynamics of the bureau pathology that had debilitated the civil service”. He laments that his generation of public servants was mentored by the icons of decades past who connected them to the ideals of the golden age “in terms of their passion, professionalism and knowledge-propelled zeal for service.” Such was the archetypal stuff the pioneering Nigerian civil service was made of.

I needed to lay this background to underscore the rigour, the exertion, the perspiration which typified the discovery and grooming of those who operated the levers of public administration in decades past. They were an integral part of the conceptualisation of government policies and also contributed largely to their actualisation. I should equally remind us that the famous, now ancient, “fattening rooms” of the Kalabari, Efik and Ibibio in south-south Nigeria admitted women in their puberty and prepared them for womanhood. Among others, they are grilled on marital etiquette, their culinary capacities improved upon even as they were tutored in acceptable social customs and comportment. They were usually admitted to facilities away from their families and could be so boarded for various lengths of time, the minimum being for one month.

Reports in recent weeks and months have alluded to the disappearance of Yahaya Bello, the immediate past governor of Kogi state from the prying lenses of the public and press. The initial rumour was that he had made himself a permanent guest of Lugard House, Lokoja, the government house of the intriguing state capital which sits at the confluence of Nigeria’s two largest rivers, the Niger and the Benue. Not satisfied with the eight full years of his despotic, even demonic over-lordship in Kogi state, he has chosen to encamp permanently within the same facility on an extended post-disengagement vacation. Elsewhere in the media, it has been suggested that Bello is now a permanent member of his successor, Usman Ododo’s convoy on all his travels. Ododo is his official shield from investigators on his trail.

After hectic, sweaty public service immersion over long spells, the tradition has been for public officers to embark on extended holidays and rest. Willie Obiano, the immediate past governor of Anambra state, left for the United States on extended rest, immediately after he handed over to his successor Chukwuma Soludo in March 2022. Babatunde Fashola was chief of staff in Lagos state; governor of the state for eight years and minister under the Muhammadu Buhari regime for eight years. He served notice during his valedictory conversations that he wanted to return to be “president” of his home, after being a virtual absentee for 20 years! The practice of former governors pursuing “residency programmes” in the very same addresses where they operated for years, is novel.

As governor of Kogi state, Bello hailed and serenaded himself, by himself with his oriki whenever he had a microphone. He introduced himself with flourish as “His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, CON, the Executive Governor of Kogi State”. Humility, civility and restraint had no place in his thesaurus. He beaded himself with the moniker of “white lion” and rechristened Government House, Lokoja the “lion’s den”. Yahaya Bello apologists and boot-lickers defaced the public space with billboards celebrating their idol, throwing him in the face of a populace so mercilessly trampled upon by him. He never left people in doubt about his limitless powers as a governor cum demigod who could do whatever he wanted and get away with it.

Bello cast a permanent pall on the people of Kogi state. Mentions of his name were in cover-mouthed whispers. Remember the depiction of the former Ugandan carnivore, Idi Amin Dada, in the film titled The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin. The character, Maliya Mungu was his undisguised hitman. Bello reportedly recruited spies in various WhatsApp groups who reported the direction of discourse to him and fed him with the names of his critics. He mutilated the payrolls of hapless civil servants and paid them preposterous percentages. Workers and pensioners dropped dead like flies during his reign, unable to cater for the basic needs of their families. By its very characteristic, the economy of Kogi state is fuelled by the civil service. Staccato remittances of workers’ salaries were therefore going to affect the burgeoning business community in the state.

Elections were weaponised in the vilest of fashions. Bello’s goons were condemned to win every and any election “by force, by fire.” There were mortal consequences for failure. His aides moved around on election days with platoons of vagrants and policemen, scaring voters with gunshots, seizing ballot boxes and rewriting poll results. For dissenting with poll riggers in her unit, hapless woman politician, Salome Abuh was on November 18, 2019, burnt to death in her home in Ochadamu. Bello’s men reportedly dug trenches around Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s community, Ihima, all in a bid to disenfranchise her during the February 2023 senatorial election which she contested. Yahaya Bello indeed corroborated the action saying he was helping to build a security hedge around her during the election.

Yahaya Bello is the first governor I ever heard about, who launched a post-disengagement media and public relations salvage project. Some officials and members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, (NGE), about a month ago honoured an invitation to visit Kogi state to tour some of Bello’s so-called legacies. Curiously, for all the time the team led by the president of the NGE, Eze Anaba, spent in the state, the most senior state official they encountered was the Kogi state information commissioner. They could neither meet Bello at whose instance they visited nor his successor, Usman Ododo. I sent private notes to some of our colleagues who went on the needless voyage asking them a few questions: Apart from being herded through so-called Yahaya Bello’s achievements, did you go to the streets to find out the last time civil servants and pensioners were paid their monthly entitlements 100%? Did you check about the last time workers were promoted after writing promotion exams? Did you find out how many permanent secretaries own official vehicles? Did you try to obtain contract award documents about Yahaya Bello’s so-called “legacy projects”? Did you endeavour to compare with the costs of similar projects elsewhere? Did you ask for example to be driven through the “State Secretariat/House of Assembly/DSS road”? Do you know that all through his years in office, Yahaya Bello didn’t rehabilitate that all-important road?

Bello is validating the title of a classic novel by the legendary American thriller writer, James Hadley Chase. Back in 1957, Chase wrote The Guilty Are Afraid a blockbuster which gained global appeal and readership in its days. This is the same Bello who was showcasing his boxing skills to the world on social media, virtually calling for a match with Anthony Joshua. We have seen him working out on the treadmills too, thumping his chest as he reminded us that he will flatten Mike Tyson in a fitness contest. So why wouldn’t Bello move around freely, “flex” as we say in contemporary Nigerian lingo, the way his former contemporaries are free birds? It is uncharacteristic for the lion, king of the wild to be mirrored cringing beneath the bed of his successor.

We are indeed talking here about a “white lion,” a very rare albinoid species native to the Timbavati region in South Africa. Public discourse in recent weeks has thrown up the thesis about Bello evading arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) for the monumental heist his regime committed against Kogi state during his reign as King Herod. The weekend edition of Aljazirah newspaper of April 6 and 7, 2024, had Bello’s photograph and that of the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede with the headline: ‘Ex-Gov Yahaya Bello Seeks Safety in Kogi Govt House’. Bello is said to be reaching out to former first lady, Aisha Buhari, even as the EFCC is hot on his trail. The president, Bola Tinubu, is said to have distanced himself from Bello’s plea to be given a soft landing in his matter.

Yahaya Bello is a very good example of the post-1975 degeneration of the public service to which Olaopa alluded. He was neither scouted for leadership nor was he trained for the job. He was reportedly an anonymous personnel of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission, (RMFAC). He reportedly made good for himself ostensibly through corrupt enrichment and floated a transport company, Fairplus Transport with a handful of minivans. With this, he sold the impression of a nouveau riche to delegates to the 2015 gubernatorial primary of the All Progressives Congress, (APC). Bello emerged second behind the late governor Abubakar Audu in that contest. He was hoisted to the gubernatorial high stool courtesy of some unprecedented judicial interpretation of the constitution, upon Audu’s mysterious death before the results of the governorship election!

We must revert to the leadership grooming process of the pre-independence era and its immediate aftermath to begin the sanitisation of governance and leadership. And beyond the EFCC, Bello should have his day in court to defend his appalling human rights record during his eight-year sojourn in Government House, Lokoja. Hopefully, victims of his queer and insensitive governance model will have the last laugh.

Olusunle (PhD) is a Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA).