(Being Address at the Maiden Edition of the FCSC Monthly In-house Seminar Series held on Thursday, the 21^st of March, 2024 at the Commission’ Premises)

On the 13th of December 2023, HE President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated the newly reconstituted Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), and gave a marching order to the Commission to “competently facilitate the transformation, reorientation, and digitization of the federal bureaucracy to enable, and not stifle, growth and enhanced private sector participation in the development of the Nigerian economy, in full adherence to the renewed hope agenda of his administration.” The FCSC has since interpreted this mandate as a charge to interrogate a fundamental question: What has the FCSC failed to do to institutionally gatekeep the federal civil service and safeguard its professional integrity, dynamics of efficiency and structural parameters despite many years of consistent and sustained administrative reforms in Nigeria?

To answer this question in a resolute way demands first the admission that given the institutional degeneration of the FCSC itself in the wake of the system-wide decline of the public administration system in Nigeria, it does not have the requisite structural and institutional parameters, to complement any forthright system-wide reform to reform the civil service reform and thereby participate in bringing to fruition the Renewed Hope Agenda of HE President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. This therefore requires a concerted reflection outside the box in measure that will instigate the critical injection of fresh and innovative ideas, insights and models of performance that are potent sufficiently, to compel the repositioning of the federal civil service in terms of its operational capability readiness, redoubled managerial acumen and policy professional policy professionalism that could add up to become a game-changing event for the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Federal Government. This is the mandate of the renewed FCSC.

And in pursuing this fundamental mandate, we must never forget to situate the FCSC within the context of the ongoing service-wide reforms, especially the performance bond-enabled central policy and service delivery coordination framework of the Presidency and the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. The FCSC reforming the reform mandate is essentially a complementary task whose significance adds to the overall health of the federal public service system in Nigeria. And in complementing this ongoing reform, the FCSC is compelled to focus on the broader picture of reforming the reforms to encompass the rehabilitation of the public service in Nigeria. To clarify: this larger challenge faced by the FCSC involves answering the loaded question: Who is a Nigerian public servant? This of course looks like a very simple question. However, we begin to see how complex it is when we place it in the context of how majority of Nigerians see the public service and public servants—politicians, the police, immigration and customs, the fire system, national electricity, education boards, and many more.

How have a large majority of Nigerians encounter public servants in these ministries, departments and agencies? The answer is simple: Nigerians encounter bureaucratic inefficiency aggravated by bureaucratic corruption. And the Ease of Doing Business Index demonstrates this from year to year. It is difficult to clear your goods at any of Nigeria’s ports. It is a traumatic experience to get the police to be your friend. Nigerians pay for electricity they do not enjoy, and they are even bullied by overzealous officers in the process. Let us not even talk about the police and the politicians. Long story short: the perception of public servants by Nigerians is bad. The public service has become bureaucratic because there are so many impediments and obstacles that have prevented the system from becoming creative and innovative in rethinking its own internal operations, processes and procedures that would have made for optimal functioning.

When any ordinary Nigerian visits the federal secretariat in any state of the federation, the lack of inter-sectoral collaboration, for example, or the near-absence of technology-enabled system’s capability ensures that such a Nigerian is frustrated in making simple administrative transactions. And that terrible perception reflects badly not only on the capability readiness of the FCSC to efficiently gatekeep the professionalism of the system, but also the systemic efficiency of the public service to backstop the government’s policies that lead to good governance. And so, attending to these institutional debilitations demands a focus on three general and systemic components around which reform reflection and action must converge.

First, there is the urgent need to challenge and reengineer the traditional Weberian— “I-am-directed”—bureaucratic tradition which essentially rides on outdated administrative practices, analogue operating system, red-tape bureaucratic culture and poor stewardship with regards to the consideration given to, and the rights of the citizens as the customers who consume public services. In other words, the old Weberian system around which the Nigerian public service system still revolves crucially undermines bureaucratic efficiency. It will therefore be a wrong choice of operational mechanism to hinge the success of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration. Reforming the reform of the Nigerian public system therefore implies rethinking the basis of its institutional efficiency to get service delivery done effectively.

Second, reform must confront the low organizational intelligence quotient (IQ) of the public service workforce and especially its top echelons. This has not only impacted on the essence of public spiritedness and professionalism of the public servant, it has also triggered the breakdown of public service values that makes the public service all over the world a noble calling. The root cause of this decline in the vocational spirit of a public servant can only be redressed by a consistent, coherent and strict metrics of re-professionalization.

Third, bureaucratic efficiency must be connected with the ultimate objective of achieving an effective and efficient democratic service delivery that defines what good governance is for Nigerians. And this demands that the public service must be compelled to become a performing and productive institution that holds its workforce to metrics of performance accountability. And a culture of structural performance can only take off when reforms reduce the series of systemic constraints that limits the effectiveness of the system to deliver public goods to Nigerians. We have a good example in how the President himself has got all the key governance players in the government to sign on to a performance bond with a dedicated policy coordination backend. 

Fourth, a key component of performance management for productivity is a functional competency-based human resource management practices which, in the case of the Nigerian public service system, are already compromised. Two structural issues are responsible for this compromise. The first is the collapse of internal control mechanism, and the second is the rampant bureaucratic corruption aggravated by the lack of the culture of deferred gratification.

The consequence of all these institutional weaknesses is the bloated and inefficient status of the administrative system that allows it to keep generating redundancies and ad hoc structures and units of government agencies that compete with the existing bureaucratic structures in order to achieve what is often taken to be a flexible administrative arrangement unencumbered by administrative codes, rules and regulations. There is also the unfortunate replication of these parallel structures across each state of the federation. The result is the explosion of the cost of governance in ways that burden the capacity to allocate needed funds to critical governance projects to speaks more to the infrastructural needs of the citizens than mere overheads.

Records and information management controls have also become so porous that they are routinely manipulated to perpetuate bureaucratic corruption and the offloading of undesirable elements on the system. This is where the FCSC itself becomes a significant part of the general problems of the federal civil service in Nigeria. This is because the vision of the competent, patriotic, efficient and productive public servant comes from a rigorous determination of that administrative persona by the institution charged with the responsibility of gatekeeping public service professionalism. The FCSC remit is to gatekeep the sustenance of a meritocratic public service system that is founded on a strategic and competency-based human resources management that replaces 1000 mediocre officers as is, with just 100 competent self-motivated public managers with the knowledge and expertise to get the work done. To transform the public service into a meritocratic institution and re-form its professional standard and value orientation therefore demands a cultural adjustment programme and attitudinal change through putting in place due process, rules and regulations that privilege compliance and value-based strategies. All these could then be deployed into the series of entry level processes and procedures that are meant to safeguard the quality of those to be saddled with the responsibility of transforming Nigeria’s productivity profile and the performance of her democratic governance.

I need to add quickly that public service meritocracy as a diversity management strategy must be institutionalized in a manner that is able to undermine the tendency of the federal character policy to allow unqualified candidates from slipping through the cracks into the system. Employing civil servants on the basis of ethno-cultural diversity of Nigeria is not tantamount to employing just anyone to fill up quotas. This is where the FCSC and its competency-based HR practices steps into the breach to counter these tendencies. However, restoring competency-based HR practices and the merit system will eventually be meaningless if the intended reforms fail to address the wage and compensation policy dimension of meritocracy. This is one of the crucial sources of bureaucratic corruption. This consideration led to a very robust conversation with the Chairman, National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, whose insights during the meeting, was not just reassuring but also seminal in its solution contents.

Thus, once these entry-level requirements are undermined by corrupt practices, from patronage to nepotism, it becomes very difficult to control the influx of newly employed officers who are in the civil service, for instance, because there is no employment elsewhere for them, and whose attitudes are circumscribed by political arrogance and whose objective is to engage in transactional practices that profit them at the expense of the system. Reforming the reform of the Federal Civil Service therefore commences at point of putting in place a more rigorous, firm and incorruptible entry-level assessment tests and integrity screenings. The reform vision is that the FCSC will deploy the tests to pre-screen new recruits into the workforce in ways that increase the integrity of the system and its professional capacity.

This is just the first in a long series of reform efforts targeted at challenging and transforming the current perception of who a civil or public servant is and who she should be. The FCSC is therefore saddled with the objective of reprofiling the professional status, ethical character, and administrative competence of who is eventually recruited to the civil service in a way that fast track the fundamental goal of building a new generation of public managers that Nigeria urgently requires to jumpstart the optimal performance of democratic governance. It could only be terrifying that as the entry procedures stand at the moment, that our background check on new entrants in the civil service does not scrutinize them for any criminal tendencies or activities.                 

It is then the intention of the FCSC to translate these series of testing, due processes, and regulations into a streamlined digitized standard operating protocols which will be deployed to recalibrate the mainstream structure of the overall processes that attend the career and professional growth and progression of civil and public servants, like staff induction, confirmation of appointment, promotion exercises, disciplinary procedures and appeals, and the general enforcement of the codes of conduct and of ethics. In this regard, one of the most immediate courses of reform actions that the FCSC is commencing is the modernization and digitization of the core operations. The most obvious will be the transition from the existing analogue testing mechanisms to the computer-based tests (CBT) to manage the forthcoming 2024 promotion exercise that will hold in the third quarter of the year.

The Commission will be rolling out several other technology-enabled innovations that harness digital technologies to facilitate effective due processes, from recruitment to promotion exercises. For instance, there is already in the works the installation of an online recruitment portal that will be accessible to all Nigerians, and which will enable eligible candidates to pre-fill recruitment form and update same from time to time ahead of advertisement for recruitment into the Federal service. In addition, eligible candidates will henceforth undergo computer-based tests (CBT) and oral interviews with results collated and released real-time. The FCSC is currently negotiating an outsourcing contract with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and JAMB as technical partners with a view to taking advantage of their infrastructure, networks and experience to enable online accreditation, CBT examinations and promotion interview for officers in the Federal service starting with the directorate-level officers. Other reform packages, like those that will deal with the FCSC’s need for an enhanced staff capacity and an institutional capability, will be unveiled at the right time consequent on getting the buy-in, sign-on and endorsement of the FCSC’s principal, HE, the President of Nigeria. 

And this brings us squarely into the significance of this maiden monthly seminar series initiated to constitute a space for sustained learning and sharing discussion that open up contributions, from experiences and practices, on how key reform issues and problematics could be interrogated and benchmarked for their functional deployment in Nigeria. This is why today’s topic is important: “The Institutional Framework and Procedure for the Conduct of Directorate Level Exercise: Guaranteeing Integrity, Transparency and Accountability of Standard Practices.” It jumpstarts our discussion into how FCSC could itself be made ready, in operation and practices, for the mandate that was set for it by Mr. President. And it seems only logical to commence with a deep analysis of some of the critical first-level issues and risks that could be anticipated in the planned transition from an analogue to an online and computerized assessment processes and procedures. This will then eventually be followed by further technical conversations, I mean both those dealing with the transitioning of the due processes, and those articulating and interrogating further reform issues.

I have no doubt that the FCSC is a critical player in the efforts of the Federal Government to deliver on its mandate to make every Nigerian enjoy the dividends of democratic governance through a Renewed Hope Agenda anchored on the capacity readiness of the federal bureaucracy to achieve efficiency in the implementation of the government policies. However, the efficiency of the public and civil service depends solely on the reprofiling of who a meritocratic, efficient and patriotic public servant is. This is where the FCSC fulfils its constitutional mandate, and the hope reposed in it by Mr. President, to articulate and emplace a reform architecture that repositions the federal civil service as the engine room for making the public service an effective instrument for service delivery to Nigerians. The FCSC mandate starts with the collective and committed efforts of all members of the Commission to first reflect on the ideas, models, insights, paradigms and direction of the proposed reforms before they are implemented and monitored for successes. And that begins with this monthly seminar series as one of the measured mechanisms that will restore the lost glory of the Commission.      

So much is happening in Nigeria today. One does not need to be an admirer of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to recognize the apparent departure from the past where the nation was virtually moving one step forward and two backwards. It is easy to perceive the take-off of several development projects.

As the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is beginning the construction of at least 2400 housing units, beneficiary institutionsof the Tertiary Education TrustFundTETFUND are positioned to benefit from N683 billion allocated to the sector in the 2024 budget. Already, the Fund’s Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono has announced the commitment of his agency to provide hostels for students in 36 tertiary institutions across the country this year. Thus, amidst the pains imposed on the country by an exceedingly poor economy, many are praying for anticipated projects to materialize.

Some people are however still bothered about the numerous challenges which have always hindered the excellent performance of the nation’s public institutions. One obvious challenge is the visible lack of capacity of our societal institutions which in the last 2 decades or so has been exacerbated by excessive distractions which policy actors are subjected to. President Tinubu last week identified at least two of such major distractions which he attempted to summarily redress. The first has to do with self-induced distractions by actors who are fascinated by foreign trips. Concerning this, the President immediately placed a 3-month ban on activities of his officials outside the country. A government statement explained that the ban will take effect from April 1st 2024 while all officials who have genuine business transactions abroad must first seek and obtain presidential approval.  

The second distraction is attributed to the summoning of public officials by the National Assembly. Recognizing the ego connected to this, Tinubu employed an appropriate political language and a conducive opportunity to address the challenge.  The President, says he would appreciate a reduction in the excessive summoning of heads of agencies by the National Assembly so as to allow them ample room to plan for and execute projects. Tinubu spoke in Abuja last Wednesday while breaking the Ramadan fast with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and the leadership of the House. Now that the observation has been made by their political leader, it is hoped that the nation’s legislators would appreciate the concerns of analysts who had earlier made the same call but perhaps through a critical diction.

As the president conceded, everyone is aware that the legislature is empowered to summon relevant actors to explain certain actions and decisions concerning any public policy. But such powers should not be used to distract the same policy actors who are agents of development. Unfortunately, the distraction has become the norm in our clime. The legislators spend too much time sitting like a court to receive evidence and more often than not threaten invitees with warrants of arrest.

Yet, the well-planned out schedule of those summoned is never put into consideration while fixing the time of the summons. Of course by drawing such immutable timelines for policy actors without their own inputs, the legislators virtually turn such actors into robots especially as they are not allowed to be represented at any such sitting that is guarded by warrants of arrests. This has over the years subordinated service delivery to the task of appearing at the sitting of any of the two chambers of the National Assembly.

Quite often, the actors are required to present reports that are still at the preparatory stages where the management groups working-out the best modalities for effective implementation are yet to conclude. The immediate implication of the distraction is that the relevant agency becomes incoherent while presenting an inchoate submission. Let’s recall January 2021 when the late General Ibrahim Attahiru who was yet to fully take-over as the new Army Chief of Staff was summoned by the legislature. He eventually appeared with a distracted body language which the legislators saw as Attahiru’s refusal to subordinate the military to civil authority. With due respect that was not the case, rather it was a clear case of frustration caused by an over-active busy body who was playing to the gallery on the delicate subject of insecurity.

Whereas the objective of President Tinubu in discouraging agencies from being distracted makes ample sense, there is the bigger issue of ensuring that government agencies are strong and viable ab initio. The prevalent weakness of societal institutions in Nigeria is an old testimony where recruitments and postings to public agencies in the last 2 decades have been abysmal. Many heads and top officials are posted to agencies in breach of the enabling laws of such agencies.

It is practically impossible for example to attain a credible and impartial electoral body if it is run by partisan officials. When this government came on board, many appointees were replaced even where their tenures were subsisting. The wrong signal portrayed by this was for every Nigerian to prioritize politics rather than project execution as it was partisan officials that were retained or reappointed, just as well-meaning actors were prematurely eased out irrespective of their memorable contributions to the survival of their organizations.  

In many agencies, it has become the practice for ministers to usurp the powers of chief executive officers of agencies that they were to supervise. Yet the law places the day to day running of the agencies in the hands of their heads. Under the circumstance in which the supervisor takes over the implementation of the activities of agencies, supervision is technically scrapped at the risk of quality control. No one is bothered thereafter about hard work, dedication, commitment or diligence.

Instead, the key terms change to such prescriptive criteria as partisanship, ethnicity, religion and connection which countries desiring growth and development do not subscribe to. At other times, mundane directives are issued to agencies as if those manning such agencies have no initiative and or discretion. How for instance, can a body like the National Emergency Management Agency NEMA be directed to send relief materials to an attacked community, when that is the main purpose for establishing the agency? 

The luck of the moment is that many boards of agencies are yet to be constituted. When that is done, the predominant activity would become a search for funds and fake contracts for board members who make it clear that they have no other business in the organizations. This leaves our agencies in unstable hands making it easy to understand why our weak agencies are always unable to efficiently serve society. It also explains why our legislators are always able to induce heads of our agencies to compromise the execution of constituency projects.

Therefore, if President Tinubu really wants to put an end to the daily distractions to service delivery arising from incessant summoning of agency heads, he needs to start from the starting point. There is a place for different categories of actors in a public agency. We need to return to the old order where politicians were usually restricted to part time members of boards. In addition, posting a well-connected but unqualified person to head an agency or a technical directorate immediately introduces crass indiscipline to the entity.  

For a country to evenly develop, everyone must be allowed to exercise his expertise. This will assist each institution to become strong enough to hold the nation together. A responsible political class that leads the nation aright is good; so is a strong team of technocrats and professional experts that can build solid structures. We can be strong like the Unites States of America because we have the human and material endowments to achieve that. 

The 2020 American presidential election took out Donald Trump from office because American institutions were strong enough to stand their grounds and reject the plan of the incumbent to operate against the run of play. It would have been a different story if the location was Nigeria or some other countries with feeble societal institutions. This is why President Tinubu must help to solidify Nigeria’s polity so that our nation would not just be viable but be strong enough to stand the test of time. This cannot be achieved if our country continues to water-down the professional strength of its public institutions.

With less than 24 hours to Senegal’s March 24 Presidential election, the race has become more interesting with former President Abdoulaye Wade’s Senegalese Democratic Party, PDS, joining the main opposition Coalition’s candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

The Constitutional Council had disqualified Karim Wade, the PDS’s flagbearer and the former President’s son, from the presidential race over his dual citizenship.

The Supreme Court also rejected his bid to cancel or delay the presidential vote beyond March 24.

But the PDS in a surprise move on Friday declared its support for Faye, whom popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has chosen as his preferred presidential candidate following his disqualification after conviction for “misleading” Senegalese youths.

Both men are beneficiaries of a recent general amnesty announced by out-going President Macky Sall, whose ruling Alliance for the Republic, APR, is fielding former Prime Minister Amadou Ba in the presidential contest.

With new political alignments developing, Faye could clinch the presidency in the first round with the 50% + 1 vote required by the constitution.

Otherwise, the two frontrunners will go into a run-off.

After months of political uncertainty and tensions following President Sall’s defeated tenure elongation plans and the rescheduling of the presidential vote from February 25 to March 24, Senegal’s estimated 7.4 million registered voters are eager to put the presidential election behind them.

Reports from across the country of an estimated 18 million population indicate that all is set for the crucial election which has attracted great international attention.

The contestations and street protests that killed at least 20 people, had threatened to dent Senegal’s record as a bastion of stability in the politically restive West African region.

There have been more than a dozen military coups and the toppling of elected governments by soldiers in four of the 15 ECOWAS member States from 2020 - Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

The last three countries have served notice of their intention to quit ECOWAS altogether, hereby throwing into crisis the lofty regional integration goals set almost 50 years ago by the organization’s founding fathers

Curses and magical beliefs are woven together in African politics. A study found out that virtually all African leaders come to power emboldened by beliefs in local magical spells. Francisco Macias Nguema, first president of Equatorial Guinea from the time of the country’s independence in 1968, till 1979 when he was overthrown, was a perfect fit of this. A strongman and one of the most brutal dictators in human history, Nguema reportedly killed between 20,000, to 80,000 out of the total Guinea population of about 200,000 to 300,000 people. This led to his country being nicknamed the Dachau of Africa. The Dachau Concentration Camp, built by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany in March, 1933, is located in the medieval town of Dachau in Bavaria, Southern Germany. It was where Hitler’s hounded political opponents were warehoused. Nguema was perceived, as Nigerians perceived General Sani Abacha during his reign, to be mentally unstable. Medical reports that backed this up emerged even from his early career. For instance, a report in 1968 by the French foreign intelligence service, SDECE, claimed that Ngueman suffered mental disorders and venereal diseases. Claims of this ruthless dictator’s mental situation were further compounded by his rumoured addiction to regular usage of drugs like cannabis. This, he was said to consume through its edible drink derivatives of bhang and iboga which have strong hallucinogenic effects.

More importantly, Nguema believed strongly in magic. While he was president in the 1970s, he openly advertised steep romance with sorcery. For him, voodoo was a vehicle of instilling fear in the people of Equatorial Guinea. He often dropped the narrative at public events that his occult powers were drawn from a collection of skulls he arrayed in the presidential palace. The belief that Nguema was as well a sorcerer permeated the nooks and crannies of Guinea. He also flaunted frequent conversations he claimed to have had with the dead, most especially with the same persons he had ordered their execution. To reinforce the narrative of his spiritual invincibility and supernatural reputation, Nguema arranged his own escape from sponsored assassins. Thus, in 1979, upon his ouster in the coup masterminded by his nephew, Teodoro Obiang Ngueman Mbasogo, Nguema was ordered to be executed by firing squad. However, it became a herculean task sourcing his executioners. No one dared volunteer to execute the old sorcerer. The belief which permeated the whole of the minds of citizens of Equatorial Guinea was that Nguema was a mythical shapeshifter. He had the powers to make a return journey from the land of the dead in the form of a tiger and thus seek vengeance from his executioners. It was so bad that the government of Mbasogo had to import Muslim executioners from Morocco who eventually carried out his death sentence. As the last breath escaped his nostrils, Nguema was rumoured to have cursed Morocco. In a country plagued by belief in sorcery, sympathetic magic and witches, Morocco’s crisis which came later were attributed to the tiger, Nguema, which laid curse on Morocco for lending Mbasogo the sharpshooters who brought his life to an end.

In the light of this, how powerful are curses, or how effective is their perception? In the killing of 17 soldiers of the Nigerian Army in the Okuama Community of Delta State on March 14, 2024, discourses on the curse of oil came to the front burner. Oil resource, generally held to be a blessing to nations, is in the same mould believed to be a curse to them. Nigeria and Venezuela took their rightful positions in that narrative. Were the soldiers martyred in Okuama part of the curse of oil on the Nigerian soil?

Discourses on the link between resources and curse gained currency in the early 1970s. The proposition put forward was that, countries that are richly endowed with natural wealth are most times plagued by violence, do not do well economically, politically, and socially when compared to poorly endowed countries. Two scholars, Paul Collier, a British development economist and Anke Hoeffler, German economist, political scientist, were known for their pioneering works on resource curse. They concluded that resources directly invite loot-seeking rebellion, as well as sociopolitical and institutional decay. Indra de Soysa, (2015) too, in “Oil and the ‘new wars’: Another look at the resource curse using alternative data”, Development Studies Research, 2:1, 64-76 argued that there were empirical evidence which supports the ‘resource curse’ argument in that oil abundance raises the probability of political violence.

This can only be the explanation of the gory scene in Okuoma community in oil-dominant area of the Niger Delta where seventeen soldiers which included a commanding officer, two majors, one captain and 12 soldiers were brutally murdered. The troops from the 181 Amphibious Battalion deployed in the Bomadi region were reportedly ambushed after they heeded calls to maintain peace between two communities who were locked in skirmishes over land. After their killing, the soldiers and officers were said to have been maniacally decapitated and butchered in the most horrendous manner. While some had their hearts ripped out of their chest cavities, others’ bodies were thrown into the river. Reports claimed that some of the recovered bodies had their stomachs ripped out. Incessant clashes over land, many a times deadly and requests for compensation for oil spills by energy companies in the Niger Delta are singsongs. None of these compares to the inhuman killing of these soldiers and officers which has raised critical questions in need of straight answers.

The question that agitates the minds of many compatriots is whether and how an innocent and dispassionate intervention to keep peace among two fighting communities could have earned the soldiers this level of beastly killing. While many have volunteered tongue-in-cheek analyses of the most logically coherent thing that could have led to the horrendous killing, perhaps the most profound of such was offered by former editor of The Guardian newspaper and Niger Delta leader of thought, Abraham Ogbodo. Ogbodo granted Arise TV interview last week. And he said: “It is not true that a misunderstanding between an Urhobo community and an Ijaw community could actually bring that level of crisis, that level of tragedy that we witnessed. It is not true. It’s not about communal crisis. What level of communal crisis? The combined population of those communities will be less than 2,000 human beings. Where will they get the capacity to wreak that level of havoc? To deliver that degree of tragedy, where will they have the capacity? It’s not possible. It’s like a crime taking place in all these drug enclaves in Latin America, and you will be looking for something else other than drugs. There is no crime that happens in Niger Delta that does not have crude oil and the arising benefits, and how those arising benefits can be allocated,” he said.

A very critical issue raised by Ogbodo was the nature of the military intervention. “What was actually compelling about a peace mission in that place that will require the strategic team going for a tactical mission? So, it shows that there are so many things underlying that we are not talking about. If it was actually for a peace mission, wouldn’t it have been for those community leaders to be summoned to the base in Bomadi for discussions to be held? This was not done – instead, the entire leadership of the battalion went to Bomadi and be so exposed, and if a mission like that was being carried by the strategic team, why was there not enough tactical cover that they were just gotten and taken out like that so cheaply? The Nigerian military! That is uncalled for. So, you will see that there are so many things that are wrong.”

Those rhetorical questions are key to resolving the fog that surrounds the killing of the soldiers and officers. To be sure, their loss has bored a huge crater on the heart of the country. From whatever prism one may look at it, Nigeria and, especially, their immediate families, may never recover from the losses. Apart from the huge investment Nigeria made into their trainings, many of their family members may never be the same again after the departure of these breadwinners of theirs. Having once suffered the death of a loved gallant soldier, it is easy for me to decouple the nature of the grief that envelopes the families of those slain military men. The goriness of their deaths makes the need to unravel the crime urgent. Doing so will also bring closure to agitations that lead to life-threatening incessant violence that happens in the crime scene, apologies to Ogbodo, that the whole Niger Delta region has become.

We have heard, since the agitations from the Ken Saro-Wiwas, of how resource-wealthy states like Nigeria are perennially enmeshed in provision of lower levels of public goods in terms of education, health and general wellbeing of the oil-producing communities. Researchers of resource curse have also found out that there is a general malaise among governments of resource-rich countries which reflects in their neglect of citizens and institutions of the oil-bearing communities. There is a growing intensity of social anger accruing from communities like Okuama against the operators of state. It is anger at how their nature-endowed resource has given access to easy money and unearned income by undeserving buccaneers in Nigeria. The truth is, if successive governments had prioritized the peace of oil-bearing communities and had taken a more than casual interest in it, the officers barbecued like chickens for a festival in Okuama may be alive today.

The truth is that, soldiers and policemen posted to oil-bearing communities are not innocent peace-keepers. They are grossly enmeshed in the crude craze that is the daily existential pursuit of Niger Delta communities. It is not news that soldiers deployed to oil-rich communities are alleged to be heavily enveloped in the oil-bunkering trade. Some of them even possess their own bunkering crew. This is a pestilence in the Niger Delta. Indeed, illicit trade in crude oil and violence are said to be the only thriving industry in Nigeria’s oil-producing communities. In the words of Ogbodo, “everything is subordinated to oil.” This is in agreement with scholarly arguments which say that resource wealth gives birth to weak institutions that are lax in maintenance of peace and security. Groups within the state then capitalize on this weakness to organize armed violence which they deploy to capture rents. The result is that a resource-dependent state like Nigeria is landlord to persistent violence in its oil-bearing communities. This is because institutions that are expected to bring peace and harmony like the army and police are either too weak to monopolize violence, cannot stop the oil resource itself from inviting looting or have become part and parcel of the problem. In the process, the financing of gory violence by individual state actors like the one in Okuama becomes a fait accompli.

There is also the resource jealousy and resource monopoly angle to the killing of the soldiers in Okuama. The resource-bearing communities see the rest of Nigeria as parasites reaping where they did not sow. On visits to Abuja, the communities see glittering streets paved by their oil money, compared to the despoliation of their lands and the crude-smeared waters they drink. They also know that fat leeches in power and their accomplices from other parts of Nigeria acquire toad-like stature from the wealth of their oil. Niger Deltans thus naturally develop a revenge complex against these Nigerian bugs. Take a look at the list of 17 soldiers killed in Okuama. You will discover that a particular section of the country takes a giant share of the fatalities. None of them is from the Niger Delta. This reflects how the Nigerian state sucks the nectar of Niger Delta while leaving its withered land to its fate.

The macabre manner in which those soldiers and men were murdered was not ordinary killing. It bears the traits of a revenge killing, or a Muti murder. A widespread killing tactic in South and Southern Africa, Muti is a form of human sacrifice. It is meant to achieve power, energy or good fortune and undertaken only after body parts have been precisely harvested while the victim is still alive. The aim is to allow the victim’s shrill cry go up to the sky, in the belief that it would summon deities. Only yesterday, a media report said the Defence Headquarters had confirmed recovering decomposing hearts of some of the soldier victims of the Okuama tragedy. Gouging out hearts, if not for ritual purposes, is a sadistic revenge method that is not undertaken by run-of-the-mill criminals. Could the murderers have been allies of the soldiers and thus saw them as betrayers?

It must be said that some other scholars have said that it is not wholly true that all oil-rich countries suffer the curse of chronic instability and violence. Nor that these countries’ resource opens up warfare in the oil-bearing communities. And that, like the rumoured curse placed by Nguema on Morocco, is a figment of imagination. This was the path trodden by Ross Michael (2012) in The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. While Venezuela, Angola and Nigeria affirm the greed thesis of oil resource, states and countries like Texas in America and Saudi Arabia show that the thesis may not be entirely true. These are countries not fraught with Nigeria and her allies’ oil curse manifestations.

The way out of the curse of oil is effective practice of federalism. States where oil resource is found should be allowed to administer it while they pay royalties to the federal government. If we do this, militancy and crises over land which necessitate soldiers being drafted to make peace would be a thing of the past.

Nigeria must unravel the killing of the officers and men of the Nigerian Army who met their untimely deaths in Okuama. Unraveling it will need openness and getting to the brass-tacks of the matter. It must be done by an independent entity, independent of the military. The military cannot be the accuser and judge in its own case. The first thing to examine is the claim of the peace mission that the felled soldiers were alleged to have come to Okuama for. There are claims that the Urhobo and Ijaw that make up the community were not at war with each other; at least not to the level that could warrant “a peace mission”. So if this is the case, why would a whole battalion invade a community that is not at war, with the most plum of its officers? Second, did the “peace-keeping force” fire first at the members of the community, as claimed by some of them? At what point were the officers and men ambushed? In answering these questions, we would be drilling into the base of the issue. It must be done for the sanity of the country.

Please ensure that your brain is in gear before activating your mouth. That is the honest advice I will freely give to all public officers today to save them from everlasting embarrassment guaranteed by the damning reality that the Internet never forgets. What you say today will easily be recalled at the click of a mouse 20 years from now to the embarrassment of your grandchildren.

Nigerians have been on social media overdrive in the last few weeks, bemoaning one gaffe after the other made by public officials who ought to know better. Compared to their crocodilian counterparts of the First Republic, some of these contemporary publicity grabbers are mere agama lizards. The rot didn’t start today. But I think that it is about time we tried to halt the trend.

Thankfully, the incumbent Minister of Information has, so far,  shown that he understands what his job entails and is determined to do it without honing dissimulation to a fine art or amassing enemies for the government. Mohammed Idris has stayed on the message, demonstrating that his earlier vocational exertion as a newspaper publisher was time and money well spent.

Unlike Idris, however, some people in the public space have comported themselves in such a way as to set the social media on fire. And, since they move from gaffe to gaffe, from howler to howler, from boo-boo to boo-boo, they inspire a steady stream of lampooning diatribes and skits on social media.

Verbal Diarrhoea

Of all the afflictions with which the gods of Misspeak can bedevil a man, logorrhoea, or verbal diarrhoea, is the heavyweight champion. Since the beginning of time, wise men have made invocations to Providence to set a guard at the portals of their mouth lest they self-destruct by advertising their vacuity with that selfsame orifice in the lower part of their otherwise comely face.

Logorrhoea, is a communication disorder which manifests as a tendency to extreme loquacity and  repetitiveness, which can cause incoherency. In a private citizen, it could be a source of entertainment, but in a public official, it is a danger signal that a square peg has squeezed itself into a round hole.

All religions warn man to beware what comes out of his mouth. They say it in different ways, but the message is unmistakable: Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh! More people have been led to the gallows by the garbage that issued forth from their mouths than the lethal weapons of war dreaded by all and sundry.

Even if the various major religions didn’t say so, common sense ought to make us realise that the tongue is a double-edged sword. Elsewhere in the world, when you are appointed to public office, one of the first things you do is to engage a professional groomer or public relations expert who puts you through the mill, from personal projection to public perception. This is a professional sphere which our politicians ignore to their peril. It is therefore not surprising that whenever some of them open their mouths, a lot of garbage spews forth.

Emotional Intelligence

It is so unfortunate that the public space in Nigeria has become such an all comers affair that certified bags of gas are routinely recycled from one realm of governance to another in such a way that a former gubernatorial tornado is converted to a ministerial volcano while another ‘omniscient’ ex-governor is elevated beyond his level of emotional intelligence to turn every public speaking opportunity to an occasion of complete disconnectedness and exhibition of bad judgement.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you. There are five key elements to this quality: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.

You attend an important private event at which some government VIPs are among the guests and you are saddled with the burden of listening to a totally vacuous man who had left his mind behind at home or wherever else he had ventured from. Whether his speech is accommodated in the programme or not, he insists on hugging the microphone, and he does so until the audience is so offended that it is only good breeding that is stopping them from using the device as a battering rod to beat some sense into his head.

Instead of cursing the darkness,  I am prepared to light a candle. And, as my humble contribution to national development, I am happy to share the following ‘Public Speaking 101’ lessons with our esteemed public officers.

One of the most common types of public speaking is informative speaking which is integrated into many different occupations. Before opening your mouth, please decide what the purpose of your speech is. If it is informative, then pack the necessary info in a logical and systematic format to enable the audience to follow step by step, but don’t jumble various goals together in a rambling staccato. The audience will quickly decode that you’re just another empty barrel of wind about to explode.

If your intention is to persuade, reassure or motivate others to change their beliefs, take an action, or reconsider a decision, then concentrate on doing that instead of trying to speak like an entertainer or making a political speech at a funeral thereby advertising your lack of good breeding.

As someone in the public eye, please note that no speech is insignificant. Just one ‘minor’ speech can end your political or professional career.  Being able to think through problems and analyse the potential costs and benefits of solutions is an essential part of critical thinking and of public speaking aimed at persuading others.

Every government programme has a purpose. If you must weigh in at a public event, be sure of your facts and stay on the message. One of the areas in which our public officials have been found to be deficient is in messaging. When you tell them that correct messaging gets half of the job done, they think you’re trying to sell them an ‘otapiapia’. And God help you when you advise them to seek the help of a public relations professional— they think you’re trying to midwife a contract!

Thought Leader

The truth is that if you want people to follow you, you have to communicate effectively and clearly. Even if you are not yet in the official leadership position of your dreams, effective public speaking can help you become a “thought leader.”

In summary, you will do well  to remember the following:

Don’t just ‘happen’ at an official occasion. Practice and prepare! Know your audience. Your speech is about them, not you. Arrange your material in the most effective manner to attain your purpose. Watch for feedback and adapt as you go along. Be yourself. Let your positive personality come through. Inject a funny anecdote in your presentation, if necessary. Don’t read unless you have to. But have a prepared outline. Body language carries most of the message. Good delivery does not call attention to itself, but instead conveys the speaker’s ideas clearly and without distraction. Grab attention at the beginning, and close with a dynamic end.

If you are not interested in grasping the rudiments of public speaking and adhering to its pillars, you have no business being in public office. It was for the benefit of people like you that Abraham Lincoln said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt”.

Gumi’s World

Has anyone been taking note of Sheik Gumi’s tacit support for some terror suspects as demonstrated in stories and video clips in circulation on social media? I am the first to admit that the man knows many things ordinary mortals like us don’t know — and the authorities seem circumspect in reining him in. Strange.

The Lagos State chapter of the Labour Party, LP, has asked the National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, to resign to sustain the party’s integrity.

Rasheed Bamishe, the LP chairman in Lagos State, made the call at the party’s secretariat in Lagos on Saturday.

He urged the National Working Committee, members of the party Board of Trustees and other relevant stakeholders to prevent Abure from holding his proposed National Convention on March 27, 2024.

According to him, Abure should prioritize the party interest while a Caretaker National Chairman should be appointed to organize State Congresses before convening the National Convention.

“We urge Barrister Abure to leave the Party now because the litany of corrupt cases against him has done collateral damage to the image of the Labour Party.

“The Labour Party which was formed by the founding fathers to be a beckon of hope for millions of Nigerians is gradually being destroyed by Barrister Abure and this should not be allowed to continue,” he said.

Bamishe further stated that Abure was free to create his political party and manage its business but declared that the Labour Party, as a democratic organisation, cannot function as a one-man show.

He said that allegations of dishonesty, forgery, and fabrication of signatures have brought public shame and embarrassment to the Labour Party.

“Even if all these allegations are not true, the reasonable option open to the embattled Labour Party National Chairman is to step aside to pave the way for thorough investigations into the cases of alleged fraud against him.

“In a civilized clime, Barrister Abure should have exited office since the flurry of fraud cases against him became public knowledge but because of the culture of impunity in Nigeria, he is still clinging to power.

“Barrister Abure should tell the world where the National Convention of Labour Party in which he emerged as National Chairman was held.

“Barrister Abure is plotting to install himself again as the National Chairman of Labour Party through another illegal Convention and this should not be allowed to happen,” he stressed.

He emphasized the need for all stakeholders to unite to seek legitimate options including litigation to make sure Abure is removed from office to restore credibility, dignity, and integrity to the party.

[DailyPost]

Barely ten days after 17 officers and men of the Nigerian Army were killed by gunmen in an ambush in Okuama, Ughelli Local Government Area of Delta State, the police announced, yesterday, that they lost six of their officers in another ambush carried out by suspected kidnappers in Delta.

Six other officers are missing.

The slain officers were said to be on a mission to investigate the disappearance and rescue of three of their colleagues in Ohoro Forest when they came under attack.

Meanwhile, the police said five suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack.

The murder of two other police officers in Imo State brings to eight the number of officers killed at the weekend.

A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, said the bodies of the slain officers had been recovered after fierce search by a combined team of policemen and other security outfits while the focus is on the search for the missing ones.

The families of the deceased men, according to Adejobi, had been notified.

He gave the names of the deceased officers as Inspector Abe Olubunmi (IRT) enlisted on 1st August, 2003; Inspector Friday Irorere (51 PMF) enlisted on 1st January, 2003; Sergeant Kuden Elisha (51 PMF) enlisted on 17th October, 2011; Sergeant Akpan Aniette (51 PMF) enlisted on 17th October, 2011; Sergeant Ayere Paul (IRT) enlisted on 17th October, 2011; and Sergeant Ejemito Friday (51 PMF) enlisted on 17th October, 2011.

“The officers currently missing in action include Inspector Onoja Daniel enlisted 1st February, 2003; Inspector Onogho Felix enlisted on 1st January 2004; Inspector Emmanuel Okoroafor enlisted 1st April, 2004; Inspector Joel Hamidu enlisted 1st June 2006, Sergeant Moses Eduvie enlisted 17th October, 2011, all of 51 PMF; and Sergeant Cyril Okorie (SWAT) enlisted 17th October 2011”, the statement said.

Deployment

The FPRO said that following the sad development, the Inspector General of Police “mandated the deployment of all necessary resources and personnel to apprehend those responsible for this senseless killing of our officers”.

“This has led to the arrest of five suspects in connection with the preceding incident and the killing, who are currently volunteering information necessary for the rounding up of all the perpetrators”.

The statement reads, “The Nigerian Police force is profoundly saddened by the devastating loss of six (6) courageous officers in Delta State, who exhibited exceptional valour in the face of adversity.

“These brave officers tragically fell victim to a cowardly ambush by armed assailants while undertaking a mission to investigate the disappearance and rescue of three of their colleagues in the Ohoro Forest, Delta State, while six (6) others are currently missing-in-action.

“Our hearts extend to the families, friends, and colleagues of the fallen officers during this period of profound sorrow.

“We stand in solidarity with them, offering our deepest condolences and earnestly praying for the peaceful repose of the departed souls.

“Furthermore, the Nigeria Police Force is committed to honouring the memory of our fallen heroes by recognizing their bravery, dedication, and sacrifice.

“By this commitment, the Force will posthumously honour the slain officers for their noble service and ultimate sacrifice at the Nigeria Police Awards and Commendations Ceremony scheduled for April 5th, 2024 in Abuja.

“In response to this grievous loss, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun has taken decisive actions as expected.

“Additionally, the Inspector General of Police has mandated the expedited processing and payment of all entitlements due to the families of the fallen officers, aiming to alleviate any financial burdens they may encounter in this challenging time. “Similarly, immediate measures have been initiated to ensure that justice is served swiftly and the perpetrators of this abhorrent crime are brought to justice.

“The Inspector General of Police has mandated the deployment of all necessary resources and personnel to apprehend those responsible for this senseless killing of our officers.

Decisive response

“It is paramount to underscore that contrary to perceived notions in some quarters, the Nigeria Police Force is committed to responding decisively to the loss of its officers and men as a result of the many unforeseen hazards associated with our job due to the dynamics of crimes and criminality globally.

“Recent incidents, such as the murder of SP Angbashim in Rivers State, where the perpetrators have been painstakingly traced to their hideout and decimated during the exchange of gunfire with gallant operatives of the Force is a vital pointer.

“Notable also is the swift and robust response to the attack on the Police Command Headquarters in Adamawa State where one Inspector Jacob Daniel was gruesomely murdered, which was followed by a visit to Adamawa State by the IGP, and timeous response by Mr. President upon being briefed.

“Equally, efforts were intensified in that regard to seek redress and ensure sanctions for the attackers.

“The Nigeria Police Force unequivocally condemns any further assaults on Police Officers and other law enforcement personnel who selflessly dedicate themselves to safeguarding the lives and property of all citizens.

“He reiterated the NPF’s dedication to upholding law and order, and urged officers to remain resolute in the discharge of their lawful duties, undeterred by such cowardly acts.

”Similarly, individuals and groups peddling unnecessary and insensitive publications being circulated in the media space are urged not to make light of this loss to the NPF but to sympathize with the police in these sorrowful times.

“The Inspector General of Police assured police officers and men, as well as the public that no effort will be spared in bringing the perpetrators of this heinous act to justice as the killers have murdered sleep and will be tracked down to account for their reprehensible acts.

“He called upon well-meaning members of the public to collaborate with the Nigeria Police Force by providing any pertinent information that may aid in the apprehension of the perpetrators.
“Together, we will ensure that justice is served and peace and security prevail throughout the country”.

Imo incident

In the Imo incident, gunmen suspected to be members of the Eastern Security Network, ESN, yesterday, killed two police officers along old Gariki Road, Okigwe council.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Henry Okoye, who confirmed the incident in a statement in Owerri, said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Aboki Danjuma, has tasked operatives to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the perpetrators of the dastardly act were arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.

Narrating how it happened, Okoye said the gunmen threw dynamite at the officers while on security patrol, killing two of the officers and injuring four.

The statement read: “On receipt of the ugly incident, the CP alongside Commander Mopol 18 and 64, immediately led operatives of the Command’s Special Tactical Unit to the crime scene for on-the-spot assessment and tasked the operatives to go all out in synergy with other security agencies and hunt down the hoodlums responsible for the attack.

“More so, Danjuma has mandated the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Charge of Okigwe, the DPO, and other Tactical units deployed in the area to embark on visibility patrol, intelligence-led raids of criminal hideouts, and place watertight security to forestall any future occurrence.

“The CP calls on the general public particularly the residents of Okigwe who may have any useful information that may assist the Police in the investigation to kindly do so by reporting at the nearest police station or via 08034773600, 08103341610.

“While empathizing with the families, friends, and loved ones of the deceased officers, the commissioner reiterates that the Command under his watch would not condone any form of attack on security personnel in the state.”

[Vanguard]

Nigeria’s minimum wage, the benchmark for money receivable by workers in Africa’s biggest economy at N30, 000, is the lowest among seven selected countries across Africa, a BusinessDay’s findings have shown.

Using an average N1,500 to a dollar exchange rate, a Nigerian worker goes home at the end of 30 working days with a meagre $20, an amount not enough to afford a half bag of rice in the present economy.

Meanwhile, as at 2023, workers in Seychelles, Libya, Morocco, Gabon, South Africa, Mauritius and Equatorial Guinea have $456, $325, $315, $256, $242, $240 and $224 respectively as their minimum “take home” at the end of the month.

Nigeria’s national minimum wage has been N18,000 for seven years until it was increased to N30,000 in 2018, an amount it has remained for the past six years.

Even as the country battles with record levels inflation at 31.70 percent in February, and cost of food which gulps a chunk of Nigerians’ income on a race at 37.92 percent, Nigerian workers are at the mercy of the economic headwinds.

The labour had said the current pay receivable by workers was not realistic, citing the stifling economic crisis which has seen the headline inflation of the country hit a 27-year record.

Given that the naira is strengthening against the bullish dollar, the country’s local currency still exchanges at about N1,300/$. However, in 2018 when the minimum wage was announced, naira sold at an average of N400 to a dollar at the parallel market.

Nigerian workers’ longstanding yearnings may see an end soon as there are growing indications that President Bola Tinubu may announce a new minimum wage during his inaugural Workers’ Day address on May 1.

In January, the Federal Government inaugurated the tripartite committee responsible for deliberating on the national minimum wage which was inaugurated by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

A 37-member panel was constituted at the Council Chamber of the State House in Abuja, comprising representatives of the federal and state governments, the private sector, and organised labour. The committee’s mandate is to propose a revised national minimum wage for the nation.

During zonal public hearings in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, and Abuja, workers in the North-West requested N485,000; North-East, N560,000; North-Central, N709,000 (NLC) and N447,000 (TUC); South-West, N794,000; South-South, N850,000; and South-East, N540,000 by the NLC and N447,000 by the TUC.

However, the Adamawa and Bauchi state governments suggested N45,000 as the new minimum wage.

The NLC had on Friday said governors who fail to implement the new minimum wage when it becomes a law would be breaking the law, warning that it was working towards ensuring that tougher sanctions would be meted on such governors.

[Businessday]

In the summer of 2020, I wrote an article titled, “Tony Elumelu: God’s Gift to Africa,” which was later published as a chapter in my book, ‘My Lockdown Diary: Reflections on Nigeria and Covid-19 Pandemic.’ At the time, the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) marked its 10th anniversary and admitted its 6th cohort in the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.

Elumelu is the Chairman of UBA, Africa’s global bank, and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, an African investment conglomerate with interests in financial services, healthcare, insurance, energy, hospitality, power, real estate, and technology.

Once you have a vision to do something, avoid distractions as much as possible and don’t allow anything to hold you back. Remember that there are always days of little beginnings. The holy book even admonishes us as follows: My people perish for lack of vision (Proverbs 29:18). This Bible verse is often explored at leadership development seminars. Without a long-term plan or goal (a vision), you cannot achieve anything in life.

The flip side of that coin is to acquire knowledge so that once you pick your spot, you can become an authority on the subject – your area of expertise. We must therefore constantly seek to expand the frontiers of knowledge and craft the desired vision to accelerate growth and development in any field.

This is what Elumelu has been doing: dreaming, crafting visions and acquiring knowledge. Ideas rule the world, and the TEF founder has been running with his ideas by investing in different sectors of the economy.

On top of that, he is Africa’s leading funder of young entrepreneurs.

When he moved into philanthropy, Elumelu, with the support of his wife, Awele, a medical doctor, launched the Tony Elumelu Foundation in 2010. His primary objective was, and is, to create enduring prosperity and social wealth in Africa by empowering young men and women.

The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme began with the first cohort in 2015. I was one of the pioneer mentors.

By prioritising young entrepreneurs in Africa, the Tony Elumelu Foundation is investing in the future of the continent. These young business owners and employers have gone ahead to create over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs, grossing over $2.5 billion in revenue – a significant impact in a decade.

During that period, the Foundation trained over 1.5 million young Africans on the digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed over USD100 million in direct funding to 20,000 young men and women.

The initial goal was to empower 10,000 entrepreneurs in 10 years, but all that, as we can see, have changed with time.

TEF is funded by an annual grant from Heirs Holdings and supported by other companies in the group. In the first five years, TEF spent over N2 billion to achieve its objectives. Each Tony Elumelu entrepreneur is given a non-refundable seed capital of $5,000 to start their own business.

But the number of grantees grew gradually with support from partners such as Google, African Development Bank, EU, UNDP, etc. This is why Elumelu is calling for a global coalition to expand the reach and impact of the entrepreneurship programme, and unlock the huge economic potential of Africa.

“Instead of giving seed money to only 1,000 young entrepreneurs, I’m envisaging a time when we can fund 100,000 entrepreneurs,” Elumelu said on March 22 (his birthday) when the new beneficiaries – the 10th cohort of the 10-year-long TEF Entrepreneurship Programme – were unveiled at the UBA Amphitheatre in Lagos.

Elumelu says we should spread opportunities and democratise luck for our young ones. This is his passion, as he is on a mission to empower young Africans to become wealth creators. He is quick to remind anyone that luck, chance and mentorship helped him to get along on his journey to the top.

Indeed, most of the TEF entrepreneurs are doing well, while some are failing or have failed. That is to be expected in the topsy-turvy world of entrepreneurship. However, you only need to listen to their testimonials and see how philanthropy can be used to leverage influence and impact in the way TEF under Elumelu’s leadership has done it.

The icing on the cake is that after 10 years of impact in African philanthropy, the Harvard Business School has launched the Tony Elumelu Foundation as a case study. Harvard researchers intend to examine the role and impact of the Foundation and its unique approach to catalysing entrepreneurship in Africa.

Harvard Business School will also explore the economic philosophy known as Africapitalism created by Elumelu. Africapitalism is anchored on the strong argument that the private sector must play a pivotal role in Africa’s development, and that investment in strategic sectors must seek social and economic returns.

Other billionaires in Africa should emulate Elumelu by creating a legacy of impact in any area of human endeavour. Their interventions should aim at improving the lives of Africans by changing the existing narrative of poverty into prosperity. Humanity is a precious gift, and we have a duty to nurture and preserve it.

In 2024, over 150,000 entries were received from the 54 countries in Africa, according to Somachi Chris-Asoluka, CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, but only 1,104 made the cut through a rigorous selection process carried out by Ernst & Young (EY), with 65 percent male and 35 percent female distribution.

The criteria used were: feasibility of each pitch, market opportunity, financial understanding, scalability, and leadership and entrepreneurial skills. The beneficiaries of the 10th cohort have already identified what they will spend their seed money on, but I was not surprised that a majority of them (381) want to invest in agriculture and create agribusiness.

It is the only way we can boost food security and eliminate hunger and package agricultural products for export. Nigeria can become the food basket of Africa in view of our vast arable land.

On the industry distribution listed presented by Ernst & Young, we also have information technology (133), beauty & fashion (118), manufacturing (80), education (64), professional services (63), green economy (57), medicine & healthcare (41), media & entertainment (34), logistics and transportation (30), energy and utilities (28), construction (25), tourism & hospitality (23), and FMCG (18).

There are a few categories not listed in this article but when added, would bring the total number of beneficiaries by industry distribution to 1,104. It is always a struggle to come up with the final shortlist because the pitch is highly competitive.

From the over 150,000 entries received, 69.8 percent came from West Africa, 0.5 percent from North Africa, 21.1 percent from East Africa, 4.5 percent from Central Africa and 4.1 percent from Southern Africa. But this is not a West African event, neither is language a barrier. We need more participation from the rest of Africa.

Research, advocacy, and training are strong pillars of the Foundation that was set up with the following objectives: supporting entrepreneurship, enhancing competitiveness, policy intervention and leadership development.

Elumelu is fond of telling his young entrepreneurs to “hang in there and be positive about your future.” He also says we must spread prosperity in Africa. “The easiest way to spread prosperity in Africa is to identify young entrepreneurs and support them to start their own business,” he told the audience at the unveiling of the 2024 beneficiaries last Friday.

“We are happy to see our young ones prospering, and we would like to partner with other global institutions for more impact,” the TEF founder continued.

“Today is a day of impact, gratitude and reflection. God has been kind to me and my family. It is not from the abundance of our wealth that we are funding young entrepreneurs, but it is from the realisation that the spread of poverty is a threat to everyone. We cannot live alone in prosperity.

“I’m indeed happy that in our lifetime, we are able to impact the next generation.” Let us continue to spread opportunities, democratise luck and improve lives.

Braimah is a global public relations consultant and marketing strategist. He is also the publisher/editor-in-chief of Naija Times (https://ntm.ng) and Lagos Post (https://lagospost.ng), and can be reached via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..