Akwa Ibom state government has the largest social welfare programmes in almost every sector in the country, but adding free football tickets could be counterproductive. The government provides free education for all primary and secondary school students with free books, and this has been going on since 1999. It pays about N700 million yearly as WAEC fees to its students and, in addition, there’s a scholarship and bursary scheme for university and polytechnic students.

Gov. Umo Eno has increased the bursary to N100,000 per student from what his predecessors offered. He is also extending generous financial help to all students with disabilities, including those who are not from the state as recently published lists of beneficiaries indicate. In terms of medical care, there is free health care for pregnant women and children under five years of age. Women who have multiple births are also generously provided for. The government also routinely sponsors people on pilgrimage to Israel. It is common to see some persons with the suffix ‘’JP’’ attached to their names. It stands for ‘’Jerusalem Pilgrim’’.

The current governor has gone a step further to provide free foodstuffs to thousands of the very poor across the state. A new body known as Akwa Ibom Bulk Purchase Agency has been set up by law to drive the program whose aim is to offer succor to vulnerable citizens facing hard times. The Umo Eno administration has also introduced a free housing scheme for widows and the poor.

Known as the Arise Shelter Initiative, the scheme plans to deliver 100 homes for the poorest of the poor in the 31 LGAs. The gesture was first introduced by Mrs Unoma Akpabio as a pet programme of her NGO when her husband was governor, but the incumbent governor has upgraded it into a government programme.

It all started when Gov. Eno watched a video of a young girl celebrating the completion of her NYSC with her aged father at home in Obubra, in neighbouring Cross River. Reports say the governor was so moved by the wretchedness of what passed as her family home that he ordered a brand new three-bedroom house to be built for her father.

Civil servants are not left out. Some 150 of them are getting free housing units out of the 236 apartments being built at Grace Housing Estate in the outskirts of Uyo.

Of all these, I detest pilgrimage sponsorship and offering free football tickets whenever the Super Eagles play at the state-owned Godswill Akpabio Stadium. It happened last Friday when the national team played against South Africa in a 2026 World Cup Qualifying game. The three categories of tickets cost N1,000; N2,000 and N3,000. These are quite affordable to the people, but the government chose to pay over N40 million to the NFF to buy off the tickets and fill up the 30,000 seats in the iconic stadium.

This is an ill-advised policy that was started by the Akpabio administration. Gov. Udom Emmanuel continued with it and now it would seem that it has become an agenda of the government. Over N600 million might have been spent on free tickets since the stadium was built ten years ago. We have to scrub the practice because the disadvantages are many.

In the first instance, watching football games (or any other games) at the stadium is a luxury pastime. It is not a necessity that the poor needs to survive. It is, therefore, wrong for the government to fund a hobby or lifestyle for people who can afford it. Second, the tickets are quite affordable and football fans in the state and neighbouring states can afford them.

Third, by asking Akwa Ibom people to go watch the games free, the government is unwittingly shutting out those who are able and willing to pay for the tickets, including hundreds of fans who would have come from Calabar, Benin, Aba, Port Harcourt and other places with enough money to buy the tickets and spend on hotels accommodation. Think of the economic benefits lost. By hosting the UEFA Championship league final last week at Wimbledon, the London economy is said to have gained $68 million.

Putting people on football welfare encourages indolence and is antithetical to basic economics and business principles. I understand the assumptions behind this practice. Football is the people’s favourite hobby, and whenever the national team is in an international competition, it deserves our support at the stadium. The government probably believes that the people are too poor to afford N1,000 ticket; and that it owes us a duty to provide the opium that football matches have become in these difficult times. That’s not true.

Truth is the games are organized by FIFA and it is the duty of the NFF to market and sell the tickets. Akwa Ibom government has done enough by providing the stadium free to the NFF who should actually be paying handsomely for its use. The stadium was built at a great cost and is maintained expensively by international facility managers. That is why it is still as beautiful as it was when it was completed in 2014.

This is not your typical federal government assets that are rotting away all over the country because of quota-driven incompetence. Akwa Ibom has done well for itself in just 15 years. We have an iconic stadium; we have a splendid airline; we have our own airport, with a first-class international terminal and an MRO soon to be put to use. We must benefit from these assets.

Football is a huge global business. It was wrong to have started this football welfare. Now, it may be difficult to wean the people off it, but we must do it. I implore the government to engage a reputable marketing communication firm to drive corporate advertisements for the stadium and discontinue the practice of giving out free football tickets. Interested fans can buy for themselves.

Dauda Lawal, governor of Zamfara, says President Bola Tinubu is not getting proper security briefing on the operations of bandits in the state.

After meeting with the president on March 26, Lawal described Zamfara as the “centre of banditry” in northern Nigeria.

He said the spate of insecurity in Zamfara may consume the northern part of the country if not urgently addressed.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, Lawal said if the government is committed, banditry could be eradicated in two weeks.

“While we are trying to take care of the situation, somebody, somewhere, somehow, behind our back, is negotiating with bandits… as a governor of a state, without my knowledge,” he said.

“When the situation really got bad, I had to meet Mr President and complain one-on-one, and I told him the true situation of what Zamfara is facing in terms of security.”

When asked if he believes the president is “properly briefed” on the actual state of things, the governor said: “Based on the conversation we had, the answer is no. And I had to explain everything to him, what we are going through and what needs to be done.

“Zamfara state has become the hub of banditry in northern Nigeria. If you can take care of Zamfara today, believe me, you’d have solved 90 percent of the banditry issue in northern Nigeria as a whole.

“If we are committed, if we are serious, we can take care of this situation within two weeks maximum. But the political will is not there.”

THE STATE POLICE DEBATE

Lawal said as a governor, he does not have control over the military, police or personnel of the civil defence.

He said such a situation has rendered his government helpless in suppressing the operations of bandits in Zamfara.

“In most cases, you get frustrated in terms of where do you get help from,” he said.

“When you need these people, they would be nowhere to be found. And therefore the best thing to do is to set up that kind of security outfit.

“There are a lot of security undertones in the security issues. Some of you find it difficult to come and say but I know what we are going through. But like I said, sometimes you are helpless and when you need them they are not there or even when they are there, they are given certain instructions on what to do and not to do.”

[TheCable]

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in 2023, says South Africa’s recent election was hitch-free and devoid of technical glitches.

Obi made the claim on Saturday while making comparisons between the elections in Nigeria and South Africa.

“The outcome of the recent South African election results remains a shining example of what a transparent and efficient democratic electoral process should look like,” the former Anambra governor tweeted.

“With about 60% voter turnout, over 90% of polling open on time, allowing diaspora voting, the results and updates were real-time without any form of technical glitches during the election.

“This demonstrated the robustness and transparency of their system. The seamless online dissemination of results further highlights their commitment to democratic principles and technological advancement.”

South Africa’s national and provincial elections were held on May 29. Later that same evening, results began to trickle in with the outcome eventually announced on June 2.

The elections grabbed global attention as the ruling African National Congress (ANC) lost the majority of seats needed to win the country’s parliament, forcing it into a coalition.

It is the first time the ANC, which has been in power since the end of apartheid in 1994, would fail to secure a majority of the votes.

President Cyril Ramaphosa accepted the outcome, saying it reflected the people’s wish.

Ramaphosa’s smooth concession earned him commendations from political stakeholders in and outside the country, including Obi.

But how factual were Obi’s claims in his observations?

CLAIM 1: SOUTH AFRICA’S ELECTIONS WERE HITCH-FREE

Verdict: False

One of Obi’s claims was that there were no technical glitches during the election.

This is incorrect.

In the early hours of May 31, the results page of the country’s Electoral Commission (IEC) went blank for roughly two hours.

The IEC apologized for the glitch without citing a reason for the disruption but assured that results were not compromised.

The development did not sit well with the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party backed by former President Jacob Zuma which accused the IEC of “serious transgressions”.

Zuma claimed that the MK party has “proof” that vote-rigging allegedly went on “in the background” when the IEC dashboard crashed, threatening that his supporters would be provoked if the results were not amended.

CLAIM 2: ‘60% VOTER TURNOUT, DIASPORA VOTING’

Verdict: Partly correct

Obi claimed that the elections had a 60 percent voter turnout.

According to the South African Government News Agency, voter turnout was 58.57 percent.

The turnout was a steep decline from the 66.05 percent recorded in the 2019 national elections.

However, Obi’s claim of diaspora voting was correct.

The IEC has been mandated to organise out-of-country voting since 2009 and the process was also used for last month’s election.

Citizens who wish to vote out-of-country must be registered to vote and must be able to produce a South African identity document (ID) when voting at an international voting station at an accredited mission.

VERDICT

Obi’s claims about the South African elections being hitch-free were mostly false. The elections had hitches and the voter turnout was lower than 60 percent. However, diaspora voting was in place.

The Correspondent Chapel of the Kano State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has declared boycotting all activities related to the Kano State Government, effective immediately. 

This development followed an emergency congress meeting summoned by the Chairman of the chapel, Aminu Ahmed Garko, on Monday.

The outcome of the meeting attended by the correspondents was unanimously taken in response to the persistent and unacceptable maltreatment of members of the chapel in the state by the government and its agents while discharging their primary assignments.

The resolution reads: “Despite our efforts to engage with the government and its officials to address these issues, we have seen no improvement in the situation.

“Members of the chapel continue to face harassment, intimidation, and even physical assault while performing their duties.

“It is particularly concerning that the government has prioritized non-professionals over trained journalists, making it a state policy to sideline those who are best equipped to handle the job.

“As a result, we regret to announce that we will no longer participate in press conferences, cover government events, or conduct interviews with state officials until we see a tangible commitment to press freedom and the safety of journalists.”

The chapel urged all members to comply with this directive and join in the protest against the ill treatment of members in Kano State.

“We believe that a free and independent press is essential to a functioning democracy, and we will not stand idly by while our members are mistreated and intimidated,” the resolution concluded.

[DailyTrust]

Saudi Arabia Pro League club, Al Ahli are ready to meet Victor Osimhen’s release clause.

According to Italian news hub, II Mattino via Calcio Napoli, Al Ahli are, however, yet to convince the player to make the move.

The release clause in Osimhen’s contract is reportedly around €120- £130m.

The 25-year-old rejected a move to another Saudi club Al Hilal last summer.

The Nigeria international is expected to leave Napoli this summer.

He has consistently been linked with Arsenal, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.

[DailyPost]

The organised labour has vowed to reject any ₦62,000 or ₦100,000 minimum wage proposal for Nigerian workers by the federal government.

Speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Monday, the Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Chris Onyeka, described such a proposal as a “starvation wage”.

Onyeka insisted that labour won’t accept the latest government’s offer of ₦62,000, saying that its latest demand as the living wage for an average Nigerian worker remains ₦250,000.

He said, “Our position is very clear. We have never considered accepting ₦62,000 or any other wage that we know is below what we know can take Nigerian workers home. We will not negotiate a starvation wage.

“We have never contemplated ₦100,000, let alone ₦62,000. We are still at ₦250,000, that is where we are, and that is what we considered enough concession to the government and the other social partners in this particular situation. We are not just driven by frivolities but the realities of the marketplace, realities of things we buy every day: a bag of rice, yam, garri, and all of that.”

Onyeka said the one-week grace period given to the Federal Government to review its proposal last Tuesday, June 4, 2024, would expire by midnight on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.

He said organised labour would meet to decide on the resumption of the nationwide industrial action if the Federal Government and National Assembly fail to act on workers’ demands by tomorrow.

He added, “The Federal Government and the National Assembly have the call now. It is not our call. Our demand is there for them (the government) to look at and send an Executive Bill to the National Assembly, and for the National Assembly to look at what we have demanded, the various facts of the law, and then come up with a National Minimum Act that meets our demands.

“If that does not meet our demand, we have given the Federal Government a one-week notice to look at the issues and that one week expires tomorrow (Tuesday). If after tomorrow, we have not seen any tangible response from the government, the organs of the organised labour will meet to decide on what next.”

When asked what the decision of labour would be should the government insist on ₦62,000, he said, “It was clear what we said. We said we are relaxing a nationwide indefinite strike. It’s like putting a pause on it. So, if you put a pause on something and that organs that govern us as trade unions decide that we should remove that pause, it means that we go back to what was in existence before.”

Minimum wage talks

After weeks of failed talks on a new minimum wage for workers in the country, organised labour, comprising the NLC and TUC, embarked on a nationwide strike last Monday to demand a new wage and the reversal of the electricity tariff hike.

The labour unions said the current minimum wage of ₦30,000 can no longer cater to the well-being of an average Nigerian worker, saying the government should offer workers something economically realistic in tandem with current inflationary pressures.

However, the labour leadership suspended the strike for five days after signing a commitment with the Federal Government to resume negotiations and come up with a new minimum wage within a week.

The suspension of the strike followed a six-hour meeting between the leadership of labour and the National Assembly in Abuja, on Monday night.

To fast-track the talks, the President, last Tuesday, directed the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, to present the cost implications for a new minimum wage within two days.

Tinubu also directed the government representatives to work collectively with the organised private sector and the sub-nationals to achieve a new affordable wage award for Nigerians.

On Thursday, the finance minister presented the cost implications of implementing a new national minimum wage to Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, alongside the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu.

Before the directive, the minister described the proposal made by organised labour as “unaffordable. Also, the 36 state governors said labour union demand was not sustainable.

However, on Friday, June 7, 2024, labour and the government failed to reach an agreement. While labour dropped its demand again from ₦494,000 to ₦250,000, the government added ₦2,000 to its initial ₦60,000 and offered workers ₦62,000.

Both sides submitted their reports to the President, who is expected to make a decision and send an executive bill to the National Assembly to pass a new minimum wage bill, which the president will then sign into law.

[Punch]

IN my visit to the United States from May 22, 2024 to deliver a Lecture, I was determined to meet a man I had never met. I wrote him from Nigeria and we agreed to meet. At the crowded Port Authority train station in New York, we easily picked out ourselves; his image was etched in my memory. We went into a locked embrace.

I first heard about him 46 years ago. I was a student at the Methodist Boys High School, Lagos and a frantic military regime was threatening students at all levels with dire consequences if we dared joined the on-going nationwide protests led by the National Union of Nigeria Students, NUNS.

To show it was deadly serious, the regime had not only shot dead four undergraduates and an unspecified number of persons across the country, it had also in Zaria, killed 13-year-old Lasisi Abubakar, a Primary Six pupil and, 15-year-old Alhaji Shehu. An unidentified secondary school student had also been killed in Ile-Ife, home of the University of Ife, now renamed, Obafemi Awolowo University.

To us, the protesters were heroes. When in the new session that year, I was admitted into Ife, the first student rally I attended, was a demand that the four expelled leaders of those protests must be re-admitted to complete their studies. One of them was Offiong Offiong Aqua, the 22-year-old pioneer President of the University of Calabar, UNICAL, Students Union.

Back in 1978, the country was like a conquered territory of the military top brass. It had three years earlier, decimated its own ranks. It destroyed the public service and judiciary through arbitrarily mass sack. It had also proscribed the central labour organisation for three years and banned for life, eleven leading labour leaders from trade unionism.

Finally, it took on the education sector by imposing fees, increasing feeding costs by 200 per cent and generally, tried to transform education into a commercial product only the affluent could afford.

The regime had befriended student leaders and so, did not expect any protest either from the students nor from a populace it assumed it had conquered.

But the NUNS rejected the moves and embarked on “Operation Consultation” to “Operation Consolidation”. When these would not make the regime rethink its ruinous policies, NUNS met at the University of Ilorin to review its strategies and weigh its options. This was where Aqua came firmly into the scene. He had seconded a motion for collective action, including lecture boycotts and protests moved by the teenage President of Ife, Tunde Babatunde. But no firm decision could be taken. So it was decided to hold a further meeting. Aqua on behalf of UNICAL offered to hold the meeting, but the NUNS leadership was uncomfortable because he was the most outspoken advocate of the need to move to “Operation Confrontation”. More so, when he was already advocating regime change.

An angry Aqua announced that if the NUNS leadership did not want UNICAL to host the crucial meeting, it would pull out of the national union. Frantic consultations ensued, and the follow up vote gave UNICAL the hosting right.

Aqua arrived from Ilorin in the night and immediately convened the UNICAL parliament which voted for protest. The parliamentary approval meant the student executive was empowered to utilize the union funds to actualise its decision. Back in 1978, that was no small money: one dollar was equivalent to 66 Kobo. So, the UNICAL Student Union budget was the equivalent of $2.5 million!

The Aqua leadership hit the road and took to the air campaigning across the country for lecture boycott. When the NUNS met in UNICAL, it endorsed “Operation Confrontation.” That led to the historic April-May, 1978 protests.

The protests spread like wildfire across the then 13 universities, other tertiary institutions, on to the streets.

After brutally suppressing the protests, the regime went on a revenge mission. It identified the four core student leaders and expelled them from school. Segun Okeowo, the NUNS President, was detained for 43 days. Ekpein Appah, leader of the University of Benin Students Union and Buka Mbaya, President, Ahmadu Bello University Students Union, were detained at the Kirikiri Prison, Lagos. Aqua was detained in Calabar for months.

If Aqua’s aunt, Elizabeth Weyen Henshaw, later Professor, had her way, he would not have attended university in Nigeria. She taught at the New York University, NYU, and had secured admission for him, but his father preferred he schooled in Nigeria. Now, with his expulsion, she secured a new admission for him. He applied for a passport, but was refused on the basis that he was banned from not only processing a passport, but also leaving the country. Similarly, he was barred from attending the World Youth Festival in Cuba.

At this point some socialists led by veteran journalist, Dapo Fatogun, and labour leader, Wahab Goodluck, secured a scholarship for him to study in Moscow and also got a flight ticket.

When preparatory to civil rule, electioneering began, Aqua’s mentor, the journalist, Bassey Ekpo Bassey, gave him a note to the Secretary General of the Nigerian Peoples Party, NPP, Paul Unongo, who was able to secure a passport for him. But he was still barred from travelling.

In Lagos, he met a sympathetic Army Lieutenant who asked if he had a visa. When he answered in the affirmative, the officer asked him to get a ticket that can fly him from Cotonou, Benin Republic. Luckily, he had the Lagos-Moscow ticket that was part of his scholarship. He got it changed to Cotonou-Moscow.

The young officer in uniform then drove Aqua in a military vehicle through the border into Benin Republic. But they got information that security men were waiting in Cotonou to pick up Aqua, so they drove on to Lome, Togo, where luckily, an Aeroflot Airline accepted his ticket.

After settling down in Moscow, he applied to the Nigerian Embassy that he had lost his passport. This was to cover up the fact that his passport had not been stamped out of Nigeria. He came home on holidays in 1980, but his name was still on the no-fly list. So his passport was seized, he was under house arrest for 14 weeks. Since he had presidential pardon, Presidential Political Adviser, Dr Chuba Okadigbo, intervened and got his passport returned. Aqua returned to his studies in Moscow where he obtained medical post-graduate medical training in Maxillary Surgery.

As my wife and I sat with him in his NYU office where he is a Clinical Professor, I could not but reflect that Aqua who was twice offered admission into the same university, but could not take them up, has for over a decade been producing doctors in the same university.

With the conclusion last Wednesday, June 5, 2024, of the first-ever South Korea-Africa summit attended by no fewer than 30 African heads of state and South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol, the big question on the lips of many analysts is whether a new chapter has been opened in the relations between the Republic of Korea and Africa, which began in the 1950s. This question has become pertinent because, though the relationship between the two has always been cordial, it has not been impressive enough in terms of economic cooperation, particularly in the areas of trade and investment.

Africa is a huge consumer market with a population of 1.4 billion and a GDP of $3.4 trillion and currently, South Korea’s trade with Africa accounts for only 1.9% of total trade, according to statistics gleaned on Wikipedia at the weekend.

In fact, the chairman of the Africa Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat lent credence to this when he declared that the trade volume between Africa and Korea remained insignificant. “In 2022 Africa accounted for 2% of Korea’s trade,” Mahamat said, while advocating the promotion of bilateral trade relations and more exchanges in the private sector and focusing on key value-added areas.

However, it would appear the situation is about to change. At last week’s two-day summit, held in Seoul, South Korea’s capital, important agreements were signed between South Korea and Africa, and pledges of economic cooperation and assistance were made.

President Yeol and the leaders of African countries agreed to forge deeper trade and business cooperation. They also resolved to launch a “critical minerals dialogue,” which will be convened later this year. Indeed, given the desire of South Korea to tap into Africa’s mineral resources and potential as a huge export market, the summit expectedly had a heavy focus on critical minerals. Africa is estimated to be home to 30% of the world’s reserves of critical minerals, including lithium, chrome, cobalt, and manganese.

Apart from the minerals dialogue, a major highlight of the summit is the declaration by the Republic of Korea to commit $14 billion in export financing to support Korean companies investing in Africa, while also increasing its official development assistance (ODA) to $10 billion over the next six years.

In a joint resolution agreed to by South Korea, the African Union (AU), and its member nations, the leaders pledged to speed up talks about economic partnership agreements, trade and investment promotion frameworks. They called for advancing cooperation for Africa’s food security with South Korea’s support, harping on Korea’s agricultural technology and smart farming. African leaders also lauded South Korea’s “Tech4Africa” initiative aimed at supporting education and training of Africa’s young population.

President Yeol also promised that Korea would extend its Trade and Investment Promotion Frameworks, and Investment Protection Agreements to African countries.

On their part, the African leaders praised Korea for its open and mutual approach to strengthening cooperation with the continent based on shared prosperity. They highlighted investment opportunities in their own countries and across the continent. Speaking at a joint news conference with President Yeol, AU Chair and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani said African countries were looking forward to learning from Korea’s experience in developing human resources, industrialisation and digital transformation.

South Korea has done excellently well for herself given that a couple of decades ago, it was a poor and aid-dependent country wracked by the Korean war. Today, South Korea is a developed economy and a superpower. Many African leaders turned up for the summit in their bid to draw from the impressive development trajectory of South Korea and her giant accomplishments as an economic power by strengthening economic cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation. This is perhaps why Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa said at the summit that, “the Journey travelled by Korea is a beacon and source of encouragement to Africa as it works to lift its people out of poverty.”

In total, up to 48 African countries either had their presidents or prime ministers in attendance at the summit or represented. Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggah, represented President Bola Tinubu. The theme of the summit- “The Future We Make Together: Shared Growth, Sustainability, and Solidarity-” resonated well with Africa and its present challenges. It was the largest multilateral event organised by South Korea since President Yeol mounted the saddle in 2022. South Korea’s overture to Africa comes at a time its recalcitrant neighbour North Korea seeks to break out of diplomatic isolation.

It is important to highlight some of the speeches and other useful aspects of the summit. Ambassador Tuggah said Nigeria was at the event to further strengthen ties and explore new cooperation opportunities, emphasizing Nigeria’s commitment to bilateral relations and addressing shared global challenges.
He spoke of the country’s readiness to boost trade and commerce, saying under President Tinubu, the country has put in place the right policies to engender a favourable business environment for foreign investors.

African Development Bank Group President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who was also present at the summit, while referring to the theme of the summit said: “To show solidarity with Africa, for the ‘future we make together’, I wish to request that Korea solidify this Korea-Africa Summit by agreeing to re-channel SDRs (Special Drawing Rights) to the African Development Bank.”

“The approval by the IMF Board for use of SDRs of $20 billion for hybrid capital, as championed by our institutions, with immense advocacy of African heads of state and government, marks a new way to scale up development financing,” he said.

“The IMF-approved $20 billion limit for SDR re-channelling for hybrid capital, channelled through the African Development Bank and other multilateral development banks, will deliver $80 billion of new financial support.”

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said Korea’s experience had shown that a country could be radically transformed in the course of a generation. Then pricking the conscience of the African leaders on why the continent has remained poor and at the bottom of the global poverty ladder, he asked: “Is there any reason Africa hasn’t become a high-income region?”

President William Ruto publicly acknowledged the African Development Bank’s financial innovations. He told Korea to consider channelling some of the SDRs through the African Development Bank.

Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, the president of Mauritania and chairperson of the African Union, and co-chair of the summit alongside host President Yeol described the summit as an opportunity for both sides to renew their commitment to shared growth and partnership based on mutual respect and trust.

King Mswati III of Eswatini spoke like an African statesman, encouraging the Korean business community to invest in any part of the continent they like. “Choose a location to establish industries. Choose anywhere. We are no longer competing but collaborating.”

Has Nigeria benefited from the conference? I think so.

South Korea’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Kim pan Kyu, told this writer that the gains accruing to Nigeria from participating at the highest level of the summit were unquantifiable. Apart from providing opportunities to strengthen relations between South Korea and Nigeria, it has helped to boost business for Nigerian institutions on the basis of shared prosperity because Korea “is a genuine partner of Africa.”

Indeed and as if to confirm Kyu’s assertion, on the sidelines of the summit, the Korea Exim Bank, International Finance Corporation, AfDB, Afrexim Bank and KIND all declared their readiness to fund projects and programs in Nigeria including infrastructure projects, which cuts across the continent like the Mombassa-Lagos Corridor and the Lagos-Abidjan corridor.

Former secretary to Edo state government Taiwo Akerele who attended the summit said the country’s delegation also had high-level side events that featured Nigerian organisations such as the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), etc.

A non-governmental organisation from Nigeria, Policy House, among others, also participated in the green energy transition event- Accelerating Access to Green and Climate Finance for Africa- featuring former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

In the end, I cannot agree less with both President Yeol and Cote d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara who both described the summit as a turning point in the relationship between Korea and Africa.

Rahman is a senior presidential aide

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it has secured a seven-year conviction for Quadri Adeyinka, a staff member of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

The convict was said to have committed a travelling passport fraud.

In a statement on Monday, Demola Bakare, spokesperson for the ICPC, said the convict was arraigned before Jude Onwuegbuzie, a high court judge in Abuja, on a four-count charge bordering on gratification, conferment of corrupt advantage, and cheating.

Bakare said the offence contravened the provisions of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act of 2000 and the Penal Code Act.

The spokesperson said Osuobeni Akponimisingha, counsel to the ICPC, led evidence before the court on how Adeyinka defrauded Ovie Ojeffia under the pretence of regularising his international passport.

He said that the convict received the sum of ₦100,000 from Ojeffia to regularise her passport but reneged.

Bakare added that the victim later petitioned the ICPC, which led to the investigation and arraignment of the convict before the court.

Onwuegbuzie, who found Adeyinka guilty on all four counts, sentenced him to seven years imprisonment each for counts 1 and 2, five years for count 4, and two years for count 3.

The sentences are to run simultaneously.

[TheCable]

There is currently no evidence to support the claim that democracy is a perfect system of governance. However, humans still need to figure out a better means to guarantee the freedom and consent of the governed. Democracy remains the most practical choice available. We must keep working on it until it accurately reflects our goals because it’s an evolving idea even after many years. Because Nigeria, Africa’s largest democracy, is fashioned after the United States (US) model of liberal presidential democracy, whatever threatens democracy in that land becomes of interest to us. Recent unsavoury developments around the candidature of Donald Trump called for Nigeria to look inward and reflect on the ability of the institutions to prevail over considerations of status and sentiments. 

America, the flagship of democracy, may face its first real test of the elasticity of democracy and democratic institutions. For the first time in its history, there is a likelihood that Donald Trump may be campaigning from prison or as a convicted criminal to be elected as President of the US. A Manhattan Jury has convicted Donald Trump for falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star. On July 11, a New York court will give him a sentence. This raises a moral conundrum, a constitutional issue, a dilemma for the party, electoral questions, and a logistics challenge.

Some pertinent rhetorical questions merit consideration: can Trump run for office, and what does the US Constitution say?  Can the Republican Party replace Trump, and is there a precedence? Can the party system survive a deadly jolt in the event that the law eventually disqualifies Trump? Mr Trump is registered to vote in Florida, and the law of that state bars convicted people; can Mr Trump vote? Can Mr Trump be elected while in prison, and is there a constitutional provision to guarantee this? What if Mr Trump is convicted in other states where he is facing more criminal proceedings? What are the implications? These questions will test the US Constitution and presidential transition tradition as it has never done before.

Although I will not attempt to answer most of these rhetorical questions, I boldly posit some facts that deserve attention. The US Constitution does not disqualify a person convicted from running for the office of President. Consequent to the preceding, a court’s conviction of Donald Trump will not prevent or disqualify him from running for the said office. In the case of Nigeria, Section 137 lists grounds for disqualifying a person standing for election to the office of President, and it includes a trial Court conviction that must have taken place within a period of less than ten years before the date of the election to the office of President,  and the said conviction must be in respect of an offence involving dishonesty or the person has been found guilty of the contravention of the Code of Conduct. In essence, not all court convictions apply in Nigeria. A sentence that does not border on fraud, financial crimes or forgery will not count or lead to the disqualification of a person running for President. We may recall that this issue arose at the last presidential election petition trial, and legal experts argued this point.

Besides, the US Constitution overrides any State law, particularly the Florida State law prohibiting a convict from voting. This Florida State Law will only apply if such a conviction occurred in Florida or was made by a Florida Court. In this way, Donald Trump has not been convicted by the State of Florida, and the said Florida State law will not apply or be enforced against him. However, while a convict can still run and win a presidential election in the US, the nature of the sentence may prevent him from occupying the office.

The implications of all of these are still on us. This marks the first-ever conviction of a sitting or former President in American history for a criminal offence. A triumph for accountability and the fundamental idea that no one in a democracy is above the law—not even the highest elected official—this momentous milestone is also a victory for soberness. Trump’s conviction shows how a working democratic system can achieve justice. It serves as a reminder that we cannot discuss democracy without bolstering the judiciary’s independence built on solid political culture and institutional resilience. This is a painful spot in Nigeria’s democratic journey right now. The only thing that can ensure the preservation of democracy and our freedom is an impartial, courageous, and independent judiciary.

The stress tests American democracy faces reveal the resilience and fragility of democratic systems, especially the institutions. Learning from these challenges allows Nigeria to build a more robust and responsive democracy. This stressor provides valuable insights into the strengths and vulnerabilities of democratic governance, which can be instructive for countries like Nigeria, which has a complex democratic landscape.

The first lesson is the supremacy of the rule of law. No one is above the law, and no matter how highly placed, they must be subjected to the accountabilities and dictates of the law. Reminding future generations that nobody is above the law in a democracy is essential, and we must strengthen our democratic institutions so they can withstand any bully. Creating strong institutional structures is vital to withstand the most heinous attacks on democracy. 

The second lesson is that we must fortify the other two arms of government – the legislature and judiciary against executive capture. Any attack on democracy from the executive arm, either still in power or out of power, must be resisted by the legislature and judiciary. The legislature must make clear laws that can easily overcome divisiveness, not opaque ones that become easy political tools. The judiciary must dispense justice equitably and responsibly. The weaker a legislature or the judiciary is, the easier it is for leaders from the executive arm to exploit the system, either to expand their power or to take down an opponent. Furthermore, weak institutions of democracy could manipulate facts like supple political stupidity.

The third lesson is that the Nigerian state must declare a war on corruption and hold all corrupt people accountable. The fight against corruption should not be limited to politicians and politically exposed people but must cover corrupt businesses, public servants, and civil society. Like the case of Trump, his first conviction was not based on his action while in office but based on his seemingly private affair that hovers around how he handled his books and hush money for the porn star he was accused of having sexual entanglement. The question we must ask ourselves is, can a seemingly innocuous thing, albeit a crime, force a former president in Nigeria to be convicted of a felony? We know of media sleaze of infractions and alleged corruption by high-powered politicians, but after a while, we hear nothing again about the prosecution of the case, and sometimes we hear of such people receiving national awards or portfolios of office without being acquitted by a court of law for the alleged crime.    

The fourth lesson is that no criminal should be allowed to become the President of Nigeria. Americans did not foresee a future where a strong candidate like Trump would emerge as a party frontrunner with convictions hanging on his neck, but now it has happened. The example of Eugene V. Debs, a socialist leader who appeared as a candidate from prison and ran for the presidency, should have guided their legal framework, but America has a way with a history that their democracy does not fall apart. That cannot be said of an emerging democracy like Nigeria. Just like it happened to us during the death of Umaru Yar’adua and for days, lawyers were struggling with the instrument to use until the “doctrine of necessity” was invoked, this is the best time to review the constitution to amend any ambiguity in our laws to protect our democracy. 

The fifth lesson is that Nigeria must tackle economic inequality, which creates a huge class divide that makes some feel above the law. Policies to reduce economic disparities through education, healthcare, and social welfare programmes can strengthen social cohesion and democratic stability. Developing strategies that promote inclusive economic growth and providing opportunities for all segments of society is critical for maintaining long-term democratic health. 

Nigeria must fortify its democratic foundations and ensure a stable and inclusive political future.

Building solid institutions and an excellent democratic political culture steeped in democratic principles and ethos deemphasizes the power of political agents, especially those so powerful that they exert a considerable influence on the entire political system. Everyone across the political divide must work collaboratively to defend our democracy. Encouraging dialogue across political divides and fostering a culture of bipartisan cooperation can mitigate polarization. Civic education that promotes understanding and respect for diverse viewpoints is essential.  We must protect our democracy at all costs!