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![[OPINION] Is there really right to life in Nigeria? - Tonnie Iredia](/media/k2/items/cache/c8580b08752d3a0d2df8c676d26ed8b7_L.jpg)
In developed democra cies, citizen patriotism is exceedingly high because the right to life in such countries is a priority both in theory and in practice. For example, the US government would take every possible step to stop whatever can bring harm to any American citizen. Indeed, the death of one American citizen especially outside the country ’s shores is enough to lead to war.
Commendably, they generally don’t wait for a calamity before action is taken. This is why the country’s embassies by convention issue periodic advisory releases to serve as early warning signals for their citizens wherever they are. It is therefore not by accident that such citizens are able to develop a high degree of affection for their country.
In the developing world on the other hand, the reverse is the case; not because people have no knowledge of the value of patriotism but because the right to life of a citizen is not similarly a priority in governance. Until the recent creation of the Diaspora Commission, which now seems to put everyone on notice, officials of government were not used to bothering about the fate of their country’s citizens. The common narrative has been that our embassies are frequently hostile to their citizens abroad – a situation that is yet to substantially change. At home, the people are themselves eyewitnesses of daily avoidable deaths which the authorities do nothing about. This seems to explain why Nigerian citizens openly chorus the saying that their country is not worth dying for.
Right to life is one of the fundamental rights provided for and documented in Chapter 4 of the Nigerian Constitution but in all honesty do our people enjoy the right to life? Hundreds of people die daily from basic ailments and even hunger, yet the same Constitution says the security and welfare of the citizenry is the primary purpose of government. In reality however, it is an open secret that the real primary purpose of government is the luxury of the ruling class. In the last few weeks, cholera, a contagious but preventable disease has been recorded in not less than 30 states in Nigeria with no concerted efforts to stop the fatalities. Painfully, this is an annual occurrence during the rains between December and June.
Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) had announced a spike in cholera in several regions of the world, with about 195,000 cases and over 1,900 deaths reported in 24 countries since the start of 2024, Nigeria is one of the countries that appear taken aback. In Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, Cholera death toll increased to 24 in Lagos State alone some 48 hours ago. Professor Akin Abayomi, the state health commissioner who announced the increase advised residents to ensure personal and environmental hygiene. It is however simplistic to imagine that it is Lagos that has been most hit simply because other states are as usual playing down the epidemic.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, over 1,141 suspected cases with about 40 deaths in 96 local government areas in 30 states have been recorded in the first half of this year. This establishes that right to life is not really a priority of government if these preventable deaths were allowed to happen. If the truth must be told, the priority in Nigeria is politics. In Edo and Ondo states where the governorship elections are around the corner, nothing else interests anyone. Even in states where there are no elections until 2027, it is politics, politics and politics.
In Rivers state, the priority today is whether or not the tenure of local councillors and the chairmen have ended. Already deaths have as a result occurred.
This is therefore not the best time to monitor the status of cholera in Rivers state even though 9 people were reportedly killed a few months back following an outbreak of cholera in Soku community in Akuku-Toru local government area of the state. Some community elders told the media that the outbreak was as a result of bad and contaminated drinking water. Similarly, whether or not there is cholera in Kano cannot be the issue at stake now. Following judicial pronouncements that do not mean the same thing to any two lawyers, the state government has been forced to concentrate on the Emirship of the ancient city. The fact that the court concerned is a federal high court that has chosen to deal with matters assigned to state high courts has also forced the entire nation to see the subject as the matter of the moment.
It is however observed that some efforts have been made in Kano to advise residents against drinking rainwater which the health authorities in the state say can prevent the spread of cholera as the raining season has set in. Other states are also restricting themselves to issuing guidelines on the subject. In Oyo state for instance, the Education Board has asked food vendors and handlers in public schools to follow hygiene practices to prevent contamination. In Akwa Ibom State, the government says it has initiated precautionary measures to prevent outbreak of cholera in the state. Last Friday in Uyo, the state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Augustine Umoh, said the state government had commenced sensitisation of residents in all its 31 Local Government Areas on the need to maintain personal and environmental hygiene.
Whereas counselling people on hygiene is good health education, it is important to observe that contaminated water is the only readily available source of drinking water across the rural areas of Nigeria. In the circumstance, is it irrational to conclude that the welfare and security of the people is not the priority of government? This question is relevant when it is realized that the country does not budget enough funds to stockpile certain essential items like vaccines in anticipation of health emergencies. For this reason, Nigeria has remained incapable of providing adequate cholera vaccines to meet the needs of its people. Jide Idris, the boss of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention was in fact quoted by the media to have said that the date of delivery of an order placed by the centre for more vaccines from donor agencies is unknown.
Each time a legislator moves a motion on what is usually described as a matter of urgent national importance, it is often about the welfare of the lawmakers and never about the people they represent. Once a speaker is unable to increase the luxuries of his colleagues he is removed. At least 4 speakers have since been so removed in the last one year. But for the timely intervention of Governor Bassy Otu, the current speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly Alver Ayambem would have been out. He was saved after a closed-door meeting with the governor where the grievances of the legislators were addressed. Why can’t our legislators use same strategy to get governors to prevent unnecessary deaths of their people from ailments like cholera?
Some of our governors themselves do not believe in the mandate which makes the welfare and security of the masses their priority. Although Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba intends to construct several projects such as schools and hospitals to transform the state, it is instructive that the intention was disclosed at the commissioning of the remodelled governor ’s lodge in Abuja. It would have been salutary if the remodelling of the lodge was thought of after schools and hospitals had been built. Instead, the opening of the lodge got a LIVE television coverage showing clearly that it was considered a priority. From the commendation which Kefas got from Usman Ododo, his Kogi state colleague, it is clear that some other governors would follow the same example while the masses remain in penury and want.
During electioneering campaigns, some contestants always argue that their political ambition is not worth the life of any fellow citizen, yet the same politicians recruit several thugs to harm fellow contestants. While in office, they earn incredible salaries and allowances. Our current federal legislators are spending billions of naira to procure official cars and to construct parking lots for the cars. But the masses are left to live in squalor and be subjected to contagious diseases such as cholera while the ruling class watches on.
![[OPINION] Tinubu and Nigeria’s rising global profile - Fredrick Nwabufo](/media/k2/items/cache/95e867b45af605949e0e2b224dc75d31_L.jpg)
Nigeria’s rising global profile is not the conjuring of luck or the divination and contrivance of some dissociated variables. It is the result of purposeful, diligent, and experienced leadership. The workings of President Bola Tinubu’s leadership.
Nigeria has always mattered in the chat rooms and chopping tables of global discourse — as pertaining Africa. It has always been significant as the largest democracy in Africa, and as the most populous nation and one of the biggest economies on the continent.
But the world is paying more attention to Nigeria. It is taking more interest in the nation for good reasons. Effective domestic leadership, reinforced with a deliberate and well-designed foreign policy, reflects critically on global perception. A broad-minded and enlightened leadership at home will, by a good shot, colour the grey canvas of global disinterestedness.
The past one year has not been without some challenges, but there has been a driven and efficient leadership with clear direction to help the nation navigate through any vortex. Reports from credible rating agencies and global financial platforms betoken stability and the return of vibrancy to critical sectors of the economy.
Early this month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) commended the government of Nigeria for clearing 98 percent of airlines’ trapped funds, which the carriers had previously been unable to repatriate.
The director-general of IATA, Willie Walsh said “as of April 2024, 98 percent of these funds have been cleared. The remaining 19 million dollars is due to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s ongoing verification of outstanding forward claims filed by the commercial banks”.
And months before, in March precisely, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that it had settled valid outstanding foreign exchange obligations. On October 23, 2023, at the 29th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) in Abuja, the President pledged that his administration would honour legitimate foreign exchange obligations and restore market confidence. This pledge he is following through ever so dutifully.
There is a strong, focused, disciplined, and patriotic leadership at home, and this is influencing global perception of Nigeria on governance.
President Tinubu, Nigeria’s chief promoter, has brought a fine hue of respect, command, and dignity to the brand Nigeria by his audacious, candid, cerebral, and deep declarations on seminal matters as regards Nigeria, Africa, and the world around them, on important global platforms.
Just about two months ago at the World Economic Forum Special Meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, President Tinubu stirred interest and applause with his profound asseveration on the imperativeness of collaboration and inclusiveness to achieving global food security, addressing collective challenges, and driving innovation across a chain of interests for a more stable and prosperous world.
“The capital formation that is necessary to drive the economy, agriculture, ensure food security, innovation, and technological advancement must be an inclusive programme of the entire world. No one should be left behind. I am glad the world is recognizing the need for (cooperation), and that with the type of population growth that Africa is experiencing; the diversity of its resources must be married with economic opportunity. We must collaborate to do that,” the president said.
On June 6, at a meeting with a delegation from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, led by its Managing Director, Mr. Makhtar Diop, President Tinubu spoke not only as the leader of the largest black nation, but as an African patriot. He beseeched international development financiers to see Africa as a destination for growth and prosperity, and not as an axis of eternal misery and chaos.
“The IFC and the World Bank need to see Africa differently. I am glad an African is at the helm of affairs at IFC, and as an African, understands that the potential for growth, peace, stability, and prosperity is here. The world has to see us as a continent that can help the rest of the world, and not perceive us as backwards, unstable, and with leadership problems. The expectations of the rest of the world on Africa have to change. By looking at Africa as a potential opportunity and not a danger to the rest of the free world, we can stimulate growth and propel inclusiveness.
“I am an African and proud to be and will maintain the strong position to collaborate with the rest of the world to see Africa as a destination for growth and prosperity,” the president said.
Effective leadership is appetising. It is like a honey-badger to honey. Inclusive of the tactile substance of development and growth, it attracts goodwill and bolsters the nation’s global stature. With President Tinubu’s effective leadership, Nigeria’s global profile will stay on the rise.
Fredrick Nwabufo is the senior special assistant to the president on public engagement
![[OPINION] My Jet is Bigger Than Yours - Chidi Amuta](/media/k2/items/cache/d6002d42abfb5d6b337963b2f462ba9e_M.jpg)
In 1989, the call of duty and pull of family necessitated that I travel from my London partial base to New York. I was checked in on a British Airways flight from London to New York. We were set to leave Heathrow shortly after the usual pre-departure rituals.
I was seated on an aisle seat on row 2 in the First Class cabin courtesy of my employers then. I noticed that on both sides of the aisle in my front, the two seats on each row were unoccupied. It was a bit curious. I reckoned it was either a VIP reservation or there would be air Marshals on board. But marshals do not occupy prominent front row seats on aircraft they are protecting. Those were the days when it had become mandatory for major Western airlines on international routes to have armed marshals on board in the event of terrorist hijack attempts.
As the pre- departure announcement was about to commence, the four ‘missing’ First Class passengers boarded. I looked up. There was a stately lady accompanied by three smart- suited gentlemen. They allowed the lady to take her seat before they sat down in a manner that flanked the lady in a window seat on the left side of the aisle. Before the lady took her seat, she courtsied and flashed a brief plastic smile at those of us seated immediately behind her with a hardly audible “Good afternoon”.
On came the Captain’s voice: “Honorable Prime Minister and valued guests, welcome to this British Airways intercontinental service taking us straight to New York’s Kennedy Airport….Flight time is… En route weather…Mild turbulence on the Atlantic crossing….”
The female last minute passenger was none other than the then British Prime Minister, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher. That was her penultimate year in office. She was flying a commercial airline as a passenger to New York, obviously en route Washington.
On arrival in New York, Mrs. Thatcher courteously disembarked, accompanied by her three self -effacing security escorts. They just disappeared through the crowd followed by the rest of us passengers. No limousines at the foot of the aircraft. No long assault rifles, horsewhips, combat gear and orchestrated commotion. etc.
As Chairman of the Editorial Board of the renascent Daily Times under Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, I went to Harare to interview President Robert Mugabe in 1992. He was scheduled for a state visit to Nigeria on President Ibrahim Babangida’s invitation. I flew to Harare via Nairobi on what used to be Balkan (Bulgarian) Airlines. After my interview, Mugabe kindly asked me how I was returning to Lagos. I told him. Then he politely offered me a seat in his jet: ‘ we have a large plane and can offer you a seat.’
The next day, I showed up at the airport. After the president’s ceremonial departure rituals, his aides took me on board the aircraft and got me seated. It was an Air Zimbabwe Boeing 727 with clear commercial livery. The crew were Air Zimbabwe pilots, cabin crew and co-pilots. The president was proudly flying a commercial aircraft and was proud of it. As soon as we reached cruising altitude, the president walked round the cabin for courtesy chats. He stopped by me to express delight that I accepted his offer of a ride. He told me Nigeria trained most of their combat pilots prior to independence.
I provide these anecdotal experiences against the backdrop of a simulated debate that is brewing in the country. A few voices have been raised in the National Assembly in support of buying two new aircraft for the presidential fleet to replace the current aircraft. If the kite flies, the President and the Vice President respectively would jet around the world in brand new luxury jets. To all intents and purposes, the aim of the brewing noises in the NASS is to give legislative legitimacy to a decision that may already have been made. I am not sure whether there is any provision in the 2024 budget for these aircraft or the idea is just a whiff of presidential wish that needs some legislative stamp. It is too early to tell but clearly, the matter of new presidential jets is on the table of public debate.
Those who are pushing this agenda have cited recent hiccups in the performance of the jets in use. When the president recently travelled to the Netherlands on an official visit, his follow -on trip to Saudi Arabia for the World Economic Forum had to be undertaken in a hired aircraft as the presidential jet reportedly developed problems in Amsterdam. Shortly after that, Mr. Shettima who was headed for the United States to represent Nigeria at a major foreign policy event reportedly had to make an air return early in the flight as his own aircraft also reportedly developed a fault mid air. The conclusion is that these aircraft are either too old or poorly maintained to be trusted to ferry the two first citizens around safely. Whatever the political nuisance value of our first two citizens, we want them alive and safe.
The matter of safety of high level aircraft in use by heads of government has been elevated by two recent air accidents that claimed the lives of incumbent high level government officials. The first was the helicopter crash in the mountains of northern Iran that claimed the life of the Iranian president, Mr. Raisi. The second is the incident that claimed the life of Malawi’s Vice President, Saulos Chilima. In the absence of detailed accident investigation reports on both incidents so far, the easy conclusion has been that faulty aircraft may be the prime causes of these unfortunate events. The lazy and convenient conclusion is of course that the only way to get presidents and their deputies to arrive their destinations in one piece is to equip them with brand new aircraft. The Nigerian purveyors of this lazy option have spared no time for possibilities of weather, sabotage, bad maintenance or indeed human error.
Consequently, those advocating the purchase of new aircraft for Tinubu and Shettima have tacitly accused opponents of the huge expenditure on new aircraft of wishing our president and his deputy dead if they continue flying in the old aircraft.
Irrespective of such morbid thinking, opponents of the purchase of new presidential jets are predicating their contention on purely socio economic reasons. The self evident argument is that the purchase of new presidential jets cannot qualify as a priority given the sorry state of the national economy and the avalanche of problems and hardships that Nigerians are currently living with. The facts are self -evident.
The nation is in a poor shape. Hunger and poverty are too prevalent. Everyone is unsafe as swarms of bandits and casual killers are all over the place taking lives and inflicting harm sometimes for the fun of it. Healthcare is beyond reach as the prices of essential drugs and medications have shot through the roof. The state itself has its back on the wall as most economic indicators –inflation, exchange rate, interest rates, unemployment, foreign investment etc- are all flashing red. The matter of new presidential jets in those circumstances becomes a matter of deficient prioritization. Why would we prioritize the procurement of luxury jets when the vast majority of our people are in desperate deprivation while the government is preaching sacrifice and imposing a battery of inexcusable taxes of everyone for the most essential service and public goods?
The political opposition has weighed down heavily on even the mere suggestion that any government of Nigeria in these circumstances would even dream of additional luxury jets for Tinubu and Shettima in these times. Justifiably, the opposition has pointed at recent instances of unnecessary luxurious indulgence by the administration in the 2024 budget. They point at the purchase of countless expensive luxury SUVs for legislators and high government officials, the contentious presidential yacht, the expensive new habitations for the Vice President, the expensive refurbishment of official residences and offices of the already over indulged executives etc. The obvious conclusion is of course that a government that can prioritize unnecessary items of luxury at huge costs while the people wallow in poverty and extreme deprivation can only be insensitive and callously indifferent.
Yet the transportation of Presidents, Vice Presidents and other key officials of state have become part of the architecture of the modern nation state. The Presidential jet in particular has become an emblem of national prestige and status. In some ways, the size, functionality and opulence of a country’s presidential jet has become an unstated indicator of the diplomatic gravity of the nation in question. However, the presidential jet as an indicator of national strength and grandeur is more meaningful when the nation in question is an industrial power and therefore produces the aircraft used by the leader to project and exhibit national power and greatness. America’s Air Force One, Vladimir Putin’s clone of the American model or Mr. Tsi Jiping’s aircraft or that of Narendra Modi have all become emblems of the greatness and technological advancement of these countries.
As a matter of fact, Air Force One is not a badge name permanently affixed to any one aircraft. It is merely a call sign. Any aircraft in which the US President is travelling at any given time is called Air Force One! The customized Boeing 747 normally associated with the Air Force One label is merely an emblematic showpiece. It is not only one. There are more than one with the same specifications, outfitting, self-protection counter measures and communication gear such that the president of the United States can literally run his country and the world from the aircraft anywhere in the world.
On the basis of its stature as the biggest black nation in the world, the Nigerian president should not travel in dilapidated aircraft that park up at every stop. Minimally, our presidential aircraft should be air worthy and reasonably impressive without being ostentatious. The current aircraft in use is a modest Boeing 737 Executive jet that actually understates Nigeria’s stature. Any two penny American company Chief Executive owns or flies in something better and more impressive. We should do better. But the time is wrong to even contemplate a fleet of new aircraft. It is not just enough to purchase one aircraft each for the President and Vice President respectively. Ideally the shopping list ought to be for at least two – a main and a back up – for each of them. But we cannot afford these now.
There are options that could be cost saving. The first is to fly the present Boeing 737 Business jet in use by the President back to the Boeing factory in Seattle, Washington for a thorough comprehensive factory overhaul. That would be less expensive than ordering a brand new custom made aircraft. The overhauled and updated aircraft should serve our president another couple of years while the pressing issues in the nation’s economy are hopefully fixed. The amount of savings made on such an overhaul alternative should be made public.
A more realistic, politically savvy option would be to hire one of Air Peace’s Boeing 777 long range aircraft each time the president has to make a long distance journey. For the purpose of such a hire, the hired aircraft will carry the call sign of “Nigerian Air Force One” till it finishes the mission. For the purpose of such an arrangement, the Nigerian Air Force should have a presence in the cockpit of the aircraft in question. This arrangement would be realistic, cost effective and patriotic. The political capital would complement the economic gains and give the president a win-win dividend at home where his popularity rating is at best abysmal.
If reason fails, the Kamikaze option would be the one that is already being rehearsed. Get National Assembly approval for new jets, submit a supplementary budget to accommodate the cost of these new jets, order the aircraft but continue to hire or travel by commercial aircraft till the new jets are delivered. There will be both turbulent headwinds and violent tailwinds with this option. But for a government that can withdraw fuel subsidy, devalue the Naira, revert to the old national anthem overnight and sign the N18 trillion Lagos- Calabar Alaskan highway contract and damn the consequences, mere controversy over aircraft purchase may just be a passing noise. Heavens will not fall, so their thinking at the Villa goes. But what if Nigeria falls apart?
![[OPINION] The black market called marriage - Funke Egbemode](/media/k2/items/cache/c142ddc99ef5c8c1e88462488ec1df2e_M.jpg)
Many times, the rich fruits expected are so late in coming, some wives lose faith and sight of what they saw and married. Some women give up and move up the road in search of ripe fruits waiting to be harvested. However, there are scores of women whose predictions paid off and are indeed living in mansions, being waited on by uniformed stewards and ferried around by liveried chauffeurs.
To many, marriage is about love and passion. To others, it is an investment, and to someone like me, it is all of that and also black market. You can love all you want and not be able to keep the glow. You can be as passionate as you can and still not be able to keep the fire burning or your spouse in your bed and within your vows.
As an investor, we all know you can’t get it right all the time. Some investments are just not destined to last long or become blue chip. Many just fizzle out. You watch your profit margin diminish as the operations cost soar until you are in the red, bankrupt and then you go into receivership, if you are lucky.
Some women get a second chance to re-invest, others have to live sadly forever thereafter with their first bad investment choice.
Whatever your description of marriage – passion, love, investment or even a divine call, what is common to all marriages is that it is about flying blind, with only faith providing the wind for your wings. Think about it, even when two pastors marry, they are not sure of anything, except their faith that tomorrow will be all right and God will see them through. You just set out on this long journey, hoping for the best, not sure what tomorrow will bring or if tomorrow will come at all.
Let’s look at the investor-bride for instance. There are women who for reasons of background, or whatever, are clear-eyed when choosing a husband. He’s either rich or not. There is no middle road. Maybe not Dangote-rich but he must be able to afford the good things of life. This bride is not turned on by humble-beginnings or aroused by let’s-start-together-from-the-scratch pitch. The soup must not only be cooked and ready to be served, there must also be a servant to serve it. But what is the guarantee that that is a wise choice, that the soup will not go sour one year down the road?
There are dozens of cases of once-upon-a-rich men who are today barely picking their bills. There are tons of women who used to be pampered silly but are now breadwinners. You see what I mean by flying blind? You just take off and hope you’ll land safely, with faith and determination as your wings and wheels.
A dear friend once told me to take a census of women; wives driving choice cars in and out of Banana Island, Lagos. His point? That I’d see they are the ones in their 40s to early 50s in Mercedes Benz G-Wagons, Lexuses, Porsches, etc. They are not overly dressed or wearing heavy make-up. According to my friend, “these are women who made the right choices years ago. They saw prospect in certain young men and married them and today they are reaping the fruits of their labour in the lap of luxury.”
What do you think? I didn’t, still don’t agree with my friend. First, his theory credits women with clairvoyance, the ability to see tomorrow. Yeah, women have uncanny intuition but we are not always on point, our choices and prediction not always on the money. In other words, not all gambles on prospect in a ‘toaster’ pan out. Some just peter out into near penury. Many times, the rich fruits expected are so late in coming, some wives lose faith and sight of what they saw and married. Some women give up and move up the road in search of ripe fruits waiting to be harvested. However, there are scores of women whose predictions paid off and are indeed living in mansions, being waited on by uniformed stewards and ferried around by liveried chauffeurs.
I once watched a movie that got me thinking, again, about the import of the choices we make when it comes to marriage and the staying-power we all must have to wait for our dreams to come true, as women. I’ll not reveal the synopsis of the movie, so I don’t spoil the fun in case you have not seen the movie. I’d tell you another story you and I can relate with.
I read in the City People magazine the interview of a man who used to sell rat killers, rat gum, local insecticides, then planks and later cows. For years he suffered. His wife, whether she saw the millions in his future, stood by him. Until four years ago when he hit it big with an herbal drink that is now raking in the big bucks, with choice automobiles packed on the premises of their mansion.
I once watched a movie that got me thinking, again, about the import of the choices we make when it comes to marriage and the staying-power we all must have to wait for our dreams to come true, as women. I’ll not reveal the synopsis of the movie, so I don’t spoil the fun in case you have not seen the movie. I’d tell you another story you and I can relate with.
Benita and Joe met when they were in their final year in the University of Benin at the graduation party of Joe’s roommate. Joe studied Geology, while Benita did Biochemistry. It was that kind of relationship that graduated smoothly into marriage plans. The two surely wanted to be together forever. They knew the number of children they’d have, where and what they would be and live in 20 years.
Benita was sure Joe would be rich, even if not filthy rich. He’s a geologist and his eyes were on any of the oil companies.
Twenty years ago, when they both graduated, those oil company jobs were not as scarce as they are now. Joe promised Benita they’d have a huge fifth year wedding anniversary since he couldn’t afford a big wedding. Their wedding ring was from roadside shop. Each time she came home with an ‘Okada burn’ or torn skirt from alighting from a moving bus, he promised to buy her the latest Range Rover.
The couple had non-stop landlord trouble because they were never able to pay their rent as at when due, even though they lived on the outskirts of the city.
Joe applied to every International oil major, then he scaled it down to oil service companies, yet nothing happened. Benita had a teaching job which could barely keep them fed and clothed. They made two babies in four years and life just got harder. She took on private teaching and selling ‘this and that’ to her fellow teachers and neighbours. She moved from wearing old dresses to second-hand dresses. Her kids too. Joe’s promises and reassurances began to sound like unrealistic dreams. She began to be irritated by his consolation. She simply got tired of the ‘I will make it, just be patient’ stories. She was perpetually tired and stressed from being breadwinner, running around. Joe’s golden fleece didn’t seem like it would ever materialise.
Long story short, all those good things of life that he promised Benita went to another woman, Joe’s new wife who seemed to have arrived just in time for prosperity. She was the one who got the diamond ring, the society wedding, the G-wagon and the beautiful house on rich people’s island. She got it all.
Yet, Benita trudged on, living on hope, though her determination was waning by the day. Then her second child, her beautiful daughter died in her arms because they got to the hospital too late. The poor girl had been running temperature for days and she had been giving her the anti-malaria she bought down the road. She told herself that she would take her to the hospital for test and better treatment when she got her salary the following week. Then the baby started convulsing. She barely made it into the consulting room before the beautiful girl took her last breath.
Benita went berserk. Her daughter died because her husband didn’t have a job, they were poor. She was just tired of the struggle. She needed a man to take care of her. She was done with this life of dream and promises. Joe just brought her bad luck. The doctor already told her she might not be able to have a third child. Now she was left with one. She was not going to risk losing the remaining one to ‘this poverty-infested life’.
And so Benita moved out, left Joe to sort himself out. It was over, she said. She filed for divorce. Joe was disconsolate. He couldn’t even insist on the custody of his son. He loved his wife and could see her in pain. It was a sad end.
Then barely 18 months after Joe and Benita parted ways, fortune smiled on Joe. A friend called him to supply diesel to a company. It was the beginning of open doors. One supply led to dozens and then several. In less than six months, he was able to rent an office, move into a decent apartment.
Long story short, all those good things of life that he promised Benita went to another woman, Joe’s new wife who seemed to have arrived just in time for prosperity. She was the one who got the diamond ring, the society wedding, the G-wagon and the beautiful house on rich people’s island. She got it all.
Benita’s investment did not lead to harvest. Her stress, pain, and loss were just seeds for another’s comfort.
Was she impatient?
Was she right to leave after her daughter died?
Was she wrong when she saw Joe’s prospect all those years ago?
Why did fortune smile on Joe when Benita had lost a child and her space?
My conclusion? Only God knows the dreams that will come true, the prospect that will materialise. The bride can only gamble, fly blind and hope she lands safely and not on her bare buttocks.
![[OPINION] Minimum wage review: My take away - Babatunde Raji Fashola](/media/k2/items/cache/c4ca4f412fc4f215a1c6c43cd23d7506_M.jpg)
During my participation at the Covenant Nation’s The Platform event, on June 12, 2024, I promised to provide a reasoned contribution to the conversation on minimum wage. Here it is. The extant law on minimum wage is the National Minimum Wage Act 2019, which came into force on the 18th April, 2019; and it provides in Section 3 (4) that:
“The national minimum wage expires after five years, and it shall be reviewed in line with the provision of this Act.”
Please note that it is the “minimum wage” that has expired but not the Act, and as is shown in the underlined portion above, the review of the 2019 minimum wage provisions, after the period of five years, shall be in line with the provision of the 2019 Act.
What is the minimum wage?
The answer is to be found in Section 3 (1) of the law where it provides that: “Every employer shall pay a national minimum wage of not less than N30,000 per month to every worker under his establishment, except as otherwise provided under this Act.”
Please note the words used in the underlined portion of the provision, namely; “wage” and “per month”.
Bearing in mind that this is a federal law, there must be constitutional authority for the Federal Government through the National Assembly to make laws on wages.
This authority is to be found in item 34 of the 1999 Constitution as amended in the Exclusive Legislative list which confers power on the NASS to legislate on: “Labour, including trade unions, industrial relations, conditions, safety, and welfare of labour; industrial disputes, prescribing a national minimum wage for the federation or any part thereof; and industrial arbitrations.”
On the face of it, all will seem to be normal until we examine closely what a wage is.
In my recent monograph: “The Nigerian Public Discourse: The Interplay of Empirical Evidence and Hyperbole,” I had made the point at page 89 that: “…the word…used in item 34 of the Exclusive Legislative list is minimum wage.”
It does not talk about salaries. I further stated that “…it has also been shown, wages and salaries are different and should not be conflated.” I posited that: “…efforts to improve minimum wage must be that and nothing more. It must not translate to a salary overhaul by accident.”
What then is the difference between “wages” and “salaries” and what has NASS legislated?
All the definitions available recognize that wages and salaries are common methods of compensation open to the employer.
However, a salary is a fixed annual amount, payable at specific intervals subject to agreement. It can be paid weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
On the contrary, wages refer to payment based on an hourly rate and the number of hours the employee works.
Therefore, it seems obvious from this definition that by making a law in Section 3(1) of the Minimum Wage Act that the minimum wage of N30,000 shall be paid monthly, the NASS may have acted unconstitutionally by legislating on a SALARY (monthly payment) when they only have power to legislate on WAGES, an hourly payment. This is important while the conversation on minimum wage is being had in 2024 because in Section 3(4), the minimum wage “shall be reviewed in line with the provisions of this Act” which includes Section 3(1) that has prescribed a monthly amount instead of an hourly wage.
If we follow the proper definition of wages as an hourly rate and apply the global method for computing it, which is to divide the gross annual sum by 52 weeks, and further by 40 hours recommended per week, we will have for Nigeria a minimum wage that is not N30,000 per month, but rather N30,000 X 12 (months) = N36,000 divided by 52 (weeks) = N6,923.07 divided by 40 (hours), which will give a minimum wage of N173.07 per hour.
In other jurisdictions where the minimum wage is applicable, amendments to increase them do not necessarily translate to massive distortions across the salary compensation scheme.
Those who are bound to pay minimum wage can also adjust their ability to pay by limiting the hours that employees work and maximise productivity, while employees cover the gap by working the additional hours in other places.
What we have done is to erroneously fix monthly minimum salaries as wages, and then effect consequential adjustment for all other SALARY EARNERS, which results in a bloated compensation wage that employees find difficult to meet.
It would seem that since the employer has a choice to compensate the employee by either salary or wages, it must be presumed all institutions whether of Government or the private sector that have opted to compensate by salary payment are not bound by the minimum wage Act provisions if they do not pay hourly rates.
This perhaps explains in part, why some employees observe the law in breach than in compliance.
The exemption provided in Section 4(1)(b) of the Act for “an establishment employing less than 25 persons” from being bound by the provisions of the Act to pay the minimum wage also raises serious doubts about whether we have enacted a minimum wage Act if small businesses who barely have 25 employees but who employ the largest number of the most vulnerable people are exempted from the law as currently legislated. Who then is the law protecting?
Of course, if and when we decide as a country on the implementation of a proper minimum wage, we must then design a formula to review salaries of those who do not earn wages in order to assist them deal with cost-of-living challenges.
This may yet be the most fruitful outcome of the dilemma of appropriate employee compensation as it may lay the foundation for national productivity, wealth creation and prosperity. The opportunity is too big to miss or waste.
When cost of living rises as they have now, the lowest and the highest income earners are impacted to varying degrees and therefore deserving of reasonable adjustments whether they earn wages or salaries.
This is the time for the experts in labour law and compensation matters to put their thinking caps on and to seek help from the best faculties around the world.
As we do this, we must be mindful of the need for a POSSIBLE amendment to item 34 of the Exclusive list in the constitution to include SALARIES because it currently does not.
. Fashola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, was a former Minister of Works and Housing.
![[OPINION] Loading: Asymmetrical National Security Challenges - Okey Ikechukwu](/media/k2/items/cache/671c8dc6976cff30dd2318864806d8aa_M.jpg)
As the security challenges facing the nation grow in leaps and bounds, the efforts at their containment multiply by the hour. These efforts range from the direct commendable interventions of individuals and institutions of state charged with the responsibility of securing the nation, to the well-meant suggestions of regional sociocultural organizations, as well as the actions of militant groups, wishing to proffer solutions of their own. They are all eager to see the situation change for the better.
In all of this however, especially in the many retreats, conferences and summits on national security held all over the country for decades now, there seems to be a preponderance of what can best be described as “lamentational” and descriptive submissions. Yes, many of them offer detailed descriptions of the problems, their historical origins and their negative impact on our lives. Then you also find many generalized recommendations, devoid of clear implementation strategies. In all, we remain on the same spot, complain about, and condemn, the military and security agencies, especially the Nigerian Army.
There are also, presumably very insightful and patriotic Nigerians, who never get tired of insisting that the solution lies in the declaration of a State of emergency on national security, followed by a complete overhaul of the nation’s security architecture. The problem here, however, is that no two members of this clan of patriotic Nigerans can give you the same definition of “Nigeria’s security architecture’, or what is so wrong with it that it needs a comprehensive overhaul. They are also usually not in the position to say what aspects of this supposedly faulty architecture need urgent medical attention.
Concerning declaring a State of Emergency, we should all ask ourselves what is to be gained by a simple verbal declaration that there is now a state of emergency on national security. Will that make uncooperative communities suddenly start plying the military and security agencies with the local intelligence they have been holding back for a long time now? Will it improve the availability of arms and ammunition, or will it dramatically raise the morale of officers and soldiers who are overstretched and also hamstrung by the missteps of a civilian ruling elite that has created a massive pool of impoverished and unemployed youths?
It was the need for a purely solutions-based engagement that is driven by objective and clear-sighted third-Party narratives that led to the Partnership between the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) and Development Specs Academy (DSA) to refocus the direction of all our conversations about national security. Yesterday, NARC and DSA held a well-attended press conference in Abuja, as part of activities leading up to their planned national Roundtable designed to interrogate “Asymmetrical National Security Challenges, the Army and National Development”. This is an event that would call from very specific, and implementable Action Points from the participants.
Also at the conference yesterday were the Strategic Partners of DSA, all who teamed up to make the roundtable a phenomenal success. They include, but are not limited to the Nigerian Institute of Public relations (NIPR), the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Voice of Nigeria (VON), the News agency of Nigerian (NAN), the Institute for Strategic Development Communication (ISDEVCOM), Nnamdi Azikiwe Business School, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and the Institute for Peace, Security and Development Studies (IPSDS).
The point of securing the buy-in and deep commitment of these Strategic Partners was to make these credible and highly regarded professional bodies, institutes and institutions, as well as agencies of government that are headed by professionals in public communication, professional information management and the media to make these pillars of credibility part of the dominant voices that are heard on core issues of national security.
The organizers of the Roundtable went round, consulted with these Partners and other stakeholders, achieved some measure of consensus on the core issues at the heard of asymmetrical national security challenges and came out with a template for pragmatic and realistic solutions. The Roundtable thus stands out as a Third-Party initiative, designed to distil Implementable Action Points (IAPs) on pressing asymmetrical national security challenges in the country.
These are security challenges that do not take the simple form of easily-identified, routinely compartmentalized, properly isolated and unilaterally targetable problems. No! They range from embedded targets, refusal to help the army and other security agencies with local intelligence, the targeting of military personnel for hostile civilian attention, unproductive community engagements, deliberate misrepresentation of the activities and achievements of the Nigerian Army through fake news, to deliberate misinformation and disinformation, among other disruptive environmental variables.
What we need today is a people’s RoundTable that will drive non-partisan national interest narratives. Believable national communication needs the twin elements of objectivity and professionalism, while promoting public understanding of the roles, and achievements, of the nation’s military and security agencies and platforms. In the end, it is all about creating a groundswell of that aspect of public communication that is usually best described as National Interest Communication without Propaganda (NIC–P).
From the pre-event investigations, surveys and consultations of the organisers, this forthcoming RoundTable needs to bring out the roots of growing spate of attacks on military personnel, as well as the crisis of targeted general hostility towards the Nigerian Army in particular.
It is unacceptable that more and more people see and treat national security problems as purely the business of the military and, especially, the Nigeran army. That such problems are also so clear and present as to be threatening their lives is a matter of little concern to many of them. That is why this RoundTable must drive a new narrative, by getting Nigeria’s various publics to see and understand their roles, and the roles of other key actors, in the wider national ecosystem of synchronized security.
For good measure, this Roundtable seems set to re-emphasize, as much as possible, the specific and general roles of the military, particularly the Nigerian army, in the cocktail of structures, activities and processes that constitute the national security architecture. It would, in the process, address the emerging challenges and deliberate misrepresentations of our men in uniform as objectively as possible.
Thus, we are looking at a national Roundtable on “Asymmetrical National Security Challenges, the Army and National Development that would, among other things, showcase facts-based reviews of current asymmetrical national security challenges. It should also highlight the achievements of the Nigerian Army in the war against banditry and insurgency, as it presents a holistic perspective on the imperatives of a “whole of society approach” to national security challenges.
As the organizers have declared that the event would be strictly guided by Chatham House Rules, the use of Third-Party presentations, narratives and suggestions to problematise asymmetrical security and the solutions to such challenges should be a harvest of the best possible indicators for those looking for Action Points and plans for an end to some of our most telling national security challenges. This will, no doubt include many things that the Nigerian Army and other players in the national security framework may not be a able to put in the public domain, because of the constraints of professional protocols and political considerations.
The Roundtable should also establish informed linkages between the negative fallouts of political decisions, overlooked multiplier effects poor civilian leadership and emerging national security challenges in different parts of the country. This should be in addition to presenting the nation’s general and specific security challenges and the efforts and achievements of the military, particularly the Nigerian army, in a way that does not try to mask any ugly truths. But the aim shall be to find and present realistic solutions, rather than the mere fact of discovering and celebrating problems alone.
Of course, it may be objected here that there has been so much talk and meetings about our security challenges. That is correct. The question for us is whether such talks and meetings, even where and when they do not deliver certain results, are necessarily pointless. Sometimes, all it takes for a presumably pointless conversation to make meaning is for the content, mode and desired results of those conversing to change. That change is expected in next week’s Roundtable.
It is left for us who are interested to head to the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Mambilla Barracks, in Asokoro, Abuja on Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th, next week, since admission is free.
A Note on Kano-Ju-Nastics
We are all looking at the ancient city of Kano with bated breath. Two monarchs are at war in the “peace” of Kano. There is no seating monarch, since the two claimants to the royal stool have both been asked not to sit on the throne. So, if we must call either of them the monarch of Kano, depending on which of the court judgments flying around we subscribe to, we must say that they are “standing”, not sitting, monarchs.
We must also say that both monarchs, in so far as two people can be the kings of a kingdom that has provision for only one king, are in a state of partially suspended animation, since neither can live fully as monarch; or exercise the full constituent powers of that office.
All said, the situation in Kano City and Kano State at the moment defies even the best attempts at a semi comprehension. It is a combination of the convoluted politics of the state and the roundly confusing gymnastics of the judicial officers who have been rendering contradictory, or at least conflicting, judgments. The moves, the formulation of the sentences in the judicial pronouncements, the near-equivocation and contrived befuddlement cannot remove the fact that there are some truths some people are not determined to tell us.
How it plays out remains to be seen, but one thing is sure: there are deeply entrenched interest on this matter that are not anywhere physically close to Kano city and kano State. Bayero’s inexplicable return to Kano to contest his ouster, after seeming to have calmly accepted same, was not done on a whim. Sanusi’s sudden reinstatement, without almost anyone seeing it coming, was not thought up on the spur of the moment. Enough said.
![[OPINION] I am Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired - Farooq A. Kperogi](/media/k2/items/cache/7c0deb8ff5bd9c968fe56b56ad163572_S.jpg)
When I sat down to write my column this week, I was overwhelmed by the multitude of issues I wanted to address: the presidency’s pushback against New York Time’s factual reporting on the unprecedented economic crunch in Nigeria that was exacerbated by President Bola Tinubu’s twin policies of subsidy removal and floating of the naira, the political and judicial shitshow in Kano regarding emirship, the unabating suffering in the land, minimum wage, etc.
Every country, including the United States where I live, has problems. I always recognize that. But it seems to me that Nigeria’s problems are peculiar because they are always the same year in, year out, and people who should solve them don’t even pretend to be interested in solving them. They repeat the same motions, mouth the same sterile and predictable defenses, and hurl the same insults at critics.
So, I asked myself if there was even any point in my writing. Who reads what I write anyway? Of those who read, who cares? Of those who care, who is in a position to change anything? Am I wasting my time by writing about issues that won’t change? Should I take an emotional break from Nigeria?
This isn’t the first time I am grappling with these questions publicly and privately. I am sure I am not the only person who struggles with these questions.
Many people have wondered what I stand to gain from my passionate interventions in Nigerian affairs when I am not a direct victim of the dysfunction of the country and won't be a direct beneficiary of the systemic overhaul I desire for the country.
I used to think people who asked me these questions were shortsighted. I still think they are.
But I am, right now, just sick and tired of being sick and tired. We owe debt for this colorful expression to the late African-American civil rights activist from Mississippi by the name of Fannie Lou Hamer.
At a memorable speech she delivered at a rally with Malcolm X in Harlem, New York, on December 20, 1964, in support of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party's Congressional Challenge, Ms. Hamer said, among other things, “And I've been tired so long, now I am sick and tired of being sick and tired, and we want a change.”
My own emotions are different from Hamer’s. I am not even in the emotional state to ask for a change because I’ve been doing exactly that for more than 20 years. I think I am once again suffering from what I called outrage fatigue in a 2021 column.
It is, as I pointed out, instigated by sustained sensations of powerlessness, hopelessness, mental exhaustion, and cynicism, which ultimately lead to indifference and even compassion fatigue.
My outrage usually flows from a wellspring of righteous indignation over injustice, avoidably missed opportunities, elite cruelty, and preventable existential catastrophes. It is nourished by expectations that its forceful ventilation will jolt people to act and cause policymakers to make amends for the good of the society.
That was what Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist James Earle “Jimmy” Breslin meant when he said, “Rage is the only quality which has kept me, or anybody I have ever studied, writing columns for newspapers.”
But outrage, rage, and even compassion, are not a permanent condition; they are intrinsically temporary. It’s impossible to keep your sanity while you are in a perpetually agitative emotional state. In other words, outrage fatigue is an unconscious self-defense mechanism. It’s the mind’s way to decompress and regain equanimity.
It’s bad enough when outrage changes nothing and when both the people on whose behalf you’re outraged and the people whose bad behavior activated your outrage use you for target practice in throwing vituperative darts for daring to be outraged. But it’s worse when people pretend that the consequences of ignoring well-intentioned outrage are unanticipated.
I wrote scores of articles warning that the neoliberal path to development that the Tinubu administration has now wholeheartedly embraced would result in exactly what Nigeria is going through. In fact, before Tinubu was sworn in as president, I wrote that removing petrol subsidies would instigate an unmanageable economic catastrophe that would make governance difficult.
It turned out that more than a decade ago Tinubu himself had written almost exactly what I have been writing about the consequences of subsidy removal on the economy. Now his media aides are pretending that they don’t know that his policies are responsible for the unexampled inflation that’s destroying the lives of common people.
Today, every section of Nigeria is enveloped in profound existential turmoil thanks to both the inability and unwillingness of the government to confront the problems that afflict the country.
In Kano, we now have two emirs, a federal emir and a state emir, and the judiciary just added fuel to the kingship fire raging in the state through what Professor Auwalu Yadudu fittingly called a “strange and baffling” judicial pronouncement.
Meanwhile, Kano State governor Abba Yusuf (who I used to like) has reverted to his default destructive vengeance that I advised him against in previous columns. He has reportedly sent bulldozers to tear down the palace where the “federal” emir lives. Recall that the governor’s first major “project” upon being inaugurated as a governor was to go on a frenzied destruction spree of opponents’ properties.
In my September 23, 2023, column titled “Why the Kano Verdict Can’t Stand,” I wrote:
“After its expected victory, though, NNPP’s Abba Yusuf and his benefactor Rabiu Kwankwaso need to rule with grace and maturity, not vengeance and infantilism. Destroying buildings is no governance. Plotting the dethronement of monarchs that didn’t support you is a page from Ganduje’s sordid playbook. They need to be different. Success, they say, is the best revenge.”
Like the federal government, they didn’t listen. Well, the law is clearly on the side of the Kano State government on the controversy regarding who is the emir of Kano. Although I think Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is a debauched egomaniac, he is right now the rightful emir.
The federal government has no power to determine who is a king in any state of the federation. Femi Falana has also pointed out that federal courts have no jurisdictional competence to sit in judgement over kingship matters.
So, the Kano State government just needs a little more maturity to let the judicial process play itself out. Destroying the residence of Aminu Ado Bayero is the sort of destructive infantilism I counseled against, but which seems to flow in the DNA of the governor.
To be honest, I am just tired. A popular leftist American bumper-sticker slogan says, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” Well, I am paying attention. It’s just that I have reached the elastic limit of my outrage because Nigeria’s tragedy is self-inflicted, predictable, and preventable.
![[POMR PRESS RELEASE] Obi tackles Tinubu, stop downplaying our situation](/media/k2/items/cache/9e7d71eb9e69a87cd9acb8bdc7af8f44_S.jpg)
......we are the poverty capital of the World.
The Labour Party Presidential Candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi has reacted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's downplaying the hardship in the country with his view that it's not peculiar to Nigeria alone
Obi said that rather than face the reality that we are the poverty capital of the World and the most insecure people and take decisive steps to stem the situation, the government is trying to play the ostrich even when the people are overwhelmed by the situation.
Writing on his X handle the former Anambra State Governor said "The problems facing Nigeria are well-known to all Nigerians. We are the poverty capital of the world, among the most insecure people on earth, among the hungriest, have poor education quality and the highest number of out-of-school children, high infant mortality, corruption, unemployment, the highest income gap between the poor and the rich, high corruption perception index, infrastructure and healthcare challenges, and more.
"It's disheartening to hear those in charge, who were hired to address our problems, make statements like "we are not the only ones struggling with poverty and hunger." Instead of merely acknowledging that other countries face similar challenges, we need to hear a thorough plan of action to tackle our unique struggles. We require concrete solutions and a clear vision to address these issues, not comparisons that downplay our circumstances. I urge those in leadership positions to offer tangible solutions, not mere reminders that others face similar challenges. We need a comprehensive approach to tackle our specific challenges, not generalizations that dismiss our experiences.
"A true leader provides direction, guidance, solutions, and reassurance in times of crisis. This is the hallmark of visionary leadership and a trait of nations that are making progress and advancing their development. They don't simply state the obvious but offer a roadmap for overcoming obstacles. Just like a pilot, who doesn't just announce turbulence; they assure passengers that they will do everything possible to ensure a safe journey.
"Only then can we begin to trust that our country is in capable hands, working towards a brighter future for all Nigerians.
Signed.
Yunusa Tanko
POMR SPOKESMAN
21 June 2024.
![[OPINION] Hunter Biden, Donald Trump Should Be Pardoned and Sentences Commuted - Lanny Davis](/media/k2/items/cache/d7beb42961d59cbbd4cc749b2c38f909_S.jpg)
There is much to differentiate between the respective felony trials of Hunter Biden and Donald Trump. For starters, even Trump supporters should agree that Hunter Biden’s crime – that he falsely stated on a gun purchase form that he was not using controlled substances – occurred in the middle of his addiction. It was not part of any planned criminal scheme, which is what a New York jury concluded in Trump’s case.
Nonetheless, the facts and circumstances underlying both convictions argue in favor of a pardon and commutation of prison terms, if any, for both men.
To his credit President Biden has already stated he would neither pardon nor commute the sentence of his son. However, if Trump happens to win the November election, his supporters with family members who have suffered the effects of addiction should support Hunter Biden’s pardon and commutation of any imprisonment sentence imposed on him. I once wrote a favorable review about Sen. J.D. Vance’s remarkable book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” in which Vance recounted the ravages of addiction in his own family and local community in rural Ohio. I would hope Ohio’s junior senator also weighs in supporting a pardon and commutation for Hunter Biden.
Trump’s case is much different, of course. The former president is not an addict in any clinical sense, though a layman would say he’s addicted to attention. That’s not a crime. What is a crime is paying hush money prior to a campaign and then filing deceptive paperwork about it. Trump and his acolytes have criticized District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution as partisan. I’ve explained in previous columns why I think that criticism is wrong, but Hunter Biden’s conviction in Delaware has moved the debate past that point – or, at least, it should have.
Trump supporters claim that the New York trial was tainted because of its very venue – that the verdict was a result of a politically partisan jury pool (Manhattan County voted almost 80% for Biden over Trump in 2020). But they can’t have it both ways. Hunter Biden’s Wilmington trial took place in a city just as Democratic – and in Hunter Biden’s hometown. If 10 citizens (presumably Joe Biden-voting jurors, based on the overwhelming Biden vote in Manhattan) were biased when they voted for guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, how does that explain the conduct of the Delaware jury? It’s time for MAGA-style Republicans to accept both verdicts. But now what? History provides a guide.
I was once angry with Gerald Ford when he pardoned Richard Nixon for his Watergate crimes days after assuming the presidency in 1974. With the benefit of hindsight, I (and many leading historians) believe President Ford made the right decision. “Our long national nightmare is over,” Jerry Ford said after taking the oath of office. And in his wisdom, Ford realized that the healing process could never begin as long as Nixon’s behavior was the subject of criminal prosecutions. Since Donald Trump was tried and convicted, a cornerstone our democracy – the rule of law – has been upheld. Incarcerating Trump would undermine that message by making him a martyr to his followers.
So now I recommend to President Biden he would show grace and the necessary deflating of the hyper-partisanship of the 2024 presidential campaign by announcing his support for a pardon and commutation for his opponent by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. It’s not Biden’s decision to make, as it’s a state case, but I believe she would be receptive to the president’s entreaties, especially if he assured her privately of his sincerity. And I would hope that Trump – were he to win in November – would personally pardon Hunter Biden. I also hope, fervently, that it doesn’t come to that. There’s an irony here, however: A Trump pardon could forestall that disaster – it might actually help Biden politically.
Here’s my reasoning: Although Jerry Ford’s decision in 1974 was politically courageous, and right for the country, it came with a steep political cost. Ford almost certainly lost the 1976 presidential election because of the Nixon pardon.
But President Biden is in a different situation. I believe that in this case the right thing for the country would also be politically popular, albeit not among most of his most vocal anti-Trump Democratic base. Donald Trump was indicted and convicted by a jury of his peers. So, a fundamental principle of our Constitution – that no person is above the law – has been upheld.
By announcing his support for a Trump pardon, Joe Biden will also be upholding another fundamental principle: that the most important decision in our Republic – the election of the president of the United States – should be decided at the ballot box and not in a courtroom.
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Lanny Davis is the founder of the Washington, D.C., law firm Lanny J. Davis & Associates. He is co-chair of the global public affairs and strategic communications firm Actum LLC. From 2018-2024 Davis served as a legal advisor for Michael Cohen, but for the N.Y. DA trial Cohen is represented by experienced N.Y. counsel. Davis uniquely operates at the intersection of law, media, and politics to solve client problems. From 1996-98, Mr. Davis served as special White House counsel to President Bill Clinton. In 2006, he was appointed by his Yale College friend, President George W. Bush, to serve on a special post-9/11 White House panel to advise the president on privacy and civil liberties issues. He is the author of six books on politics, government, law, and crisis management. He has been writing his “Purple Nation” column since 2010.
![[OPINION] Dissecting Soludo’s solutions for democracy and economic recovery - Law Mefor](/media/k2/items/cache/37e44506871634f58f260098452c6fdb_S.jpg)
On the June 12 Democracy Day event on The Platform, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, the governor of Anambra state, gave a masterful speech. It was about how democracy could have helped development in Nigeria if things had been better managed in the past decade. After 25 years of continuous democratic experimentation under the 4th Republic and 64 years of independence, many have questioned if Nigeria is anywhere close to where it should be.
Nigeria has experienced both military dictatorship and varied democracy over this time, moving from a parliamentary to a presidential system and military rule to a military presidency (whatever that means). And now, the nation has returned to democracy yet again, which is still more of a civil rule even though it is working towards becoming truly democratic.
Speaking in his capacity as Professor Chukwuma Soludo rather than the governor, Soludo took a critical look at the flaws in our kind of democracy as well as development and nation-building. “We have made so many efforts over the past 20 years, but as a nation, we are still largely going in circles,” he said, referring to gaping deficits in the liberty, freedoms, security, wealth, and happiness of the people. His view was that if these goals are not met, neither democracy nor the economy will survive in the long run.
Soludo pointed out that a sustainable democracy endures the test of time, gains fundamental legitimacy and acceptability regardless of the political party in power, produces dynamic dividends of justice and equity, good governance, peace, and fundamental freedoms, accelerates economic development, and supports and defends property rights and private enterprise. Put another way, since democracy is merely a form of government, it cannot be valuable unless it fosters development and happiness, and all efforts must be directed towards achieving that synergy.
In general, Soludo said that though democracy and the market economy are the preferable systems, fundamental reforms are needed “as we muddle through politics without ideologies” and to achieve the kind of democratic or free-market arrangement that will maximise welfare.
Regarding the relationship between democracy and development, Soludo warned: “The woman who has no food to eat or place to sleep will not care much about whatever intrinsic values that democracy bestows.” In other words, the health of the economy determines the viability of democracy. Soludo believes that democracy, and indeed any form of governance, has to deliver tangible social and economic benefits to the majority of citizens to be credible and sustainable.
Is Nigeria a rich or poor country? was the question that the international economist, Soludo, attempted to address and summed it this way: “Let’s admit a fact that most Nigerians don’t seem to appreciate, Nigeria is an extremely poor nation with severely damaged public finances”. One agrees with Soludo that this acknowledgement is essential to any rational conversation about the pathway out of the present quagmire.
He said that the ups and downs in the oil industry have primarily shaped Nigeria’s uneven economic trajectory for more than 50 years, since the country’s initial oil boom. Nigeria has been “reacting” to the volatility in the oil sector ever since President Shagari’s Economic Stabilisation (Austerity Measures) Act, 1982; President Buhari’s extreme austerity of 1984–85; President Babangida’s Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP) (1986–92); President Obasanjo’s National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS); and finally, President Buhari’s command and control regime, 2015–2023. This displays just one thing: unpredictability.
He recalled how, even though the public debt was growing uncontrollably and FGN had been borrowing money since 2010 to finance its ongoing expenses, the country’s GDP was rebased in 2014 and its dollar value skyrocketed to $574 billion, making Nigeria the “biggest economy in Africa.” Soludo noted that the economy was latently and structurally in an avoidable crisis and that public finance was broken.
According to Soludo, the “largest economy” in Africa with a GDP per capita is now roughly $1,200 down from over $2,500 a few years ago. Despite the country’s great advancements, he observed, it appears to remain stagnant—like a barber’s chair! He highlighted the money illusion that is the mistaken hope of higher revenue resulting from the removal of subsidies due to the naira’s rapid depreciation.
For the same reason, for more than 130 million Nigerians who live in multidimensional poverty, times are inevitably difficult.
Indeed, the basic concerns must be addressed to begin to address the current appalling situation of the Nigerian economy. The reasons why companies are fleeing Nigeria and why the vast majority of Nigerians are significantly poorer now than they were ten years ago cannot be concealed by any amount of spin from government officials in the country.
The headwinds that Soludo identified as presently destroying Nigeria are the improper practice of democracy, corruption, insecurity, and mismanagement. These headwinds stem from the Buhari administration and continue to pose a threat to foreign direct investments, diaspora remittances and investments, entrepreneurship, enterprises, and the country’s ability to grow its wealth.
The country has to act quickly to complete the following tasks to produce adequate dollar revenues, receivables, capital inflows, and remittances to provide surplus dollar liquidity in the Nigerian economy and guarantee forex and price stability. For the reason of returning the country to productivity, Soludo questioned on The Platform as to why Nigeria is averse to restructuring.
Nigeria’s present security setup has been accused of being ineffectual, reactive, submissive, and corrupt, and some of its officers and men are believed to be complicit in the current chaos the country is going through. The terrorists, criminals, bandits, and kidnappers are not ghosts. If given the proper training, tools, and legal rights, Nigerians can simply drive the bandits and terrorists out and destroy them. Nigerians know where they are and locations of their camps, and their identities but can’t do anything about it due to lack of capacity and legal framework such as state police.
As the target of these killer herdsmen, bandits, and terrorists, Nigerians are morally obligated to defend their families and ancestral homes. Soludo would have preferred for the populace to be in charge of their security, put the nation back on track, and help resolve the issues of insecurity in the country.
The Bola Tinubu administration needs to gather the guts, political will, and sincerity to implement real reforms and restructure the country.
Soludo pointed out that by blaming President Tinubu for the state of affairs, Nigerians are ignoring the fact that the country arrived at this predictable sad situation after more than a decade of reckless economic management and denial. “We are bearing the consequences of misguided and delayed adjustments,” he said, adding that from the perspective of macroeconomics, the economy that President Tinubu inherited was akin to a dead horse standing.
Soludo called the situation an emergency requiring deliberate systemic disruptions to undo the knots and pointed out that Tinubu has the historic responsibility to mobilise Nigerians to clean up the mess for future generations. Soludo is concerned about the struggle between the need for statesmanship for the next generation and the pressure to be a good politician to win elections, which will hamper the hard but necessary unpopular decisions.
According to him, resolving the systemic insecurity, damaged public finances and economy, damaged oil and gas industry, deteriorating infrastructure and environmental degradation, increasing social tensions, and regaining the public’s trust will necessitate taking a few less-travelled paths. He strongly noted that there are no simple or fast fixes to restore the country’s economy, security, food security, and natural resources.
Nigerians were reminded by Soludo that competitive federalism was the framework that our founding fathers agreed upon for Nigeria. “We have tried hard to develop with unitary federalism since the military incursion, but we are still moving in circles,” he said. For a fact, to keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome is absurd. Soludo wants the country to revert to the original federalism that the founding fathers left us.
He observed that the attempts to reshape Nigeria from the centre have failed. For how the nation can move forward, Soludo wants Nigerians to try a drastic devolution of powers and resources to the States and encourage cooperative competition. He suggested giving the States greater control over the duties outlined in the Exclusive List as well as at least 60–65% of the revenue. He equally wants each state to choose the local government structure that works best for it, just like in any other federal system. In addition to other deep reforms, he argued for a unicameral National Assembly.
Soludo thinks the overarching reforms needed are reminiscent of The “New Deal” of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1938), the “Great Society” programmes of President Lyndon Johnson (1965–1967), and the European Recovery Plan (often known as “the Marshall Plan”) following World War II. Indeed, a major reordering of national priorities is now inescapable, along with significant investments in infrastructure and social programmes (particularly in the areas of health, education, and social safeguards). Without it, the poor and angry Nigerians, who are now in the absolute majority, will soon no longer allow the rich to stroll down the street or sleep.
He demanded the creation of a new public officer code of conduct and the reinvention of MAMSER of the Prof Jerry Gana days. Soludo lamented that though Nigeria is a poor nation, governments’ and their officials’ lifestyles don’t reflect that stark reality, particularly about the outrageous flamboyance of public displays. For example, the 10th NASS took off by gifting each member an N160m SUV to add to their jumbo pay. Nigeria had the largest contingents to the AUC trade summit and ILO Annual Convention. NASS as a matter of priority wants brand new jets for the President and Vice, and so on. All this ostentatious spending occurs in the face of a buckling economy, to use the words of the New York Times while describing Nigeria’s economic downturn.
With an estimated 440 million people expected to live in Nigeria in the next 26 years, Soludo wondered how Nigeria would be able to maintain democracy in the ensuing decades without development. Even though he considers himself to be an unrepentant optimist about the potential greatness of the Nigerian nation, Soludo does not envision a wonderful future without major reforms that will unleash the youth of the country and provide Nigeria the opportunity to become the world’s and the twenty-second century’s great nation.
Bottom line: To justify democracy as a better form of government, Soludo showed a clear practical pathway to firming up democracy and economic recovery.
Nigeria, we hail you.
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![[OPINION] Paradox Of Tinubu’s Democracy Day Speech - Sheddy Ozoene](/media/k2/items/cache/03cbdbc5ef84e9959c362316ca69d376_XS.jpg)
“Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy.”
– Walter Cronkite
For the second time since his inauguration last year, President Bola Tinubu has made a show of the Democracy Day, and using it as a reminder to the public of his democratic credentials as an activist, protester and a man who deployed the media in setting the nation’s political agenda. The last one was even more so, as he virtually raised the dead heroes of Nigeria’s Democracy, with an uncommon outpour of encomium.
It all started 31 years ago, when the fairest and freest election ever conducted in Nigeria and which was presumably won by Chief Moshood Abiola, was annulled by then military President, General Ibrahim Babangida. It would lead to a torrent of political activities and struggles that ultimately resulted, 6 years later, to the return to civil rule. The struggle not only claimed Abiola‘s life, his wife, Kudirat, and several other political figures including General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and Pa Alfred Rewane, among others, paid the supreme price.
While many others were hunted down, the likes of Tinubu were hounded into exile, from where they intensified their advocacy and put it on the international agenda. Fittingly, the man who paid the tributes, is one of the leaders of the struggle.
There also lies the contradictions.
Since his inauguration last year, many had expected that the Tinubu federal administration would be a shining light in upholding the tenets of democracy, free speech and human rights. The expectation was based on his antecedents as a private citizen, but to say that some actions of his government have disappointed, is to state it mildly. His administration has displayed a rare attitude of intolerance of dissent and this has been glaring, especially, in the way journalists have been treated in the past year.
In a very absurd effort to muzzle the media and free speech which is guaranteed by the 1999 constitution, as amended, many journalists have been abducted and incarcerated without any charge. The case of Segun Olatunji, the editor First News, is a case in point: he was seized by 15 government security operatives in the presence of his wife and children in the Alagbado area of Lagos on March 15, 2024, and locked for a news report against a top official of the government. The Defence Intelligence Agency eventually released him after spending nearly two weeks in custody without trial.
While he was blindfolded and his whereabouts kept secret, media enquiries was spurned until the government succumbed to pressure and released him in the most bizarre manner, under the Asokoro bridge. In this ordeal, Olatunji is not alone, as no less than 4 senior journalists have experienced this bitter taste of detention without trial, on Tinubu’s watch. It took the pressure from rights groups before another journalist, Daniel Ojukwu, a reporter at the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, who was abducted in Lagos on May 1, was released after nine days without trial.
In similar gestapo fashion, Jones Abiri, editor and publisher of the Weekly Source newspaper, was also abducted by security operatives in Bayelsa state and detained without charges. International watch dogs, including Amnesty International, described the manner of his arrest as ‘humiliating’.
The media was one of the institutions honoured by Tinubu last Wednesday, at least in words. He had declared “we could not have won the battle against military dictatorship without the irrepressible Nigerian journalists who mounted the barricades along with the pro-democracy activists”, adding that despite the might of the past military governments, the walls of dictatorship have been pulled down and they no longer exist.
Really? While the military is gone, it is not exactly true that the obnoxious ideals they enthroned have all gone. The media and the extent of freedom individuals enjoy in the exercise of free speech, is a more plausible indicator of democracy than the length of the President’s babanriga. For a President who, according to Comrade Shehu Sani is the grandfather of protests and activism in Nigeria, Tinubu’s records does not show it. The press do not only feel used and dumped by Tinubu, they are now struggling to be allowed to breathe.
The President was right to say that we cannot reduce our democracy to “the mere holding of periodic elections where one candidate and party outdo another”. Most Nigerians would agree, except that even that mere ritual of periodic election, has been reduced to one big farce. The election that brought him last year, would count as an inglorious example.
For a plural society like ours, a country of over 250 nationalities cobbled together in one nation, we should be more liberal to free speech, differing opinions and diverse perspectives. The application of force to virtually every dissenting viewpoint, indiscriminate arrest of journalists and observed hatred against the Igbo, do not have a place in a democracy like we mouth.
The wastefulness of government and the greed, haughtiness and avarice by its officials, are all antithetical to the concept of democracy that puts the people, especially the majority poor in Nigeria, at the center. What obtains is that public office has become an avenue to massage narrow personal interests rather than for the service of the common good.
Those are among the real threats to our democracy and the President should not only pay lip service to the ideals of democracy, but make it a point to uphold the rights and freedoms of the people, ensure free speech and ensure all are treated fairly in a nation we should all be proud of.
Sheddy Ozoene is the Vice President (East) of the Nigerian Guild of Editors
![[OPINION] Towards a More Perfect Democracy (1) - Anthony Kila](/media/k2/items/cache/231ab5e91f72e5d85f2f67512f67ce86_XS.jpg)
Anthony Kila reflects on the one year in office of President Bola Tinubu as well as the celebration of the 25th anniversary of uninterrupted democratic rule in the country with a submission that a people’s constitution that respects the nation’s diversity is needed for Nigeria to grow democratically
Dear Readers,
IIn the last two weeks, we witnessed two significant and related Republican events in Nigeria.
29th May 2024 marked the one year in office of the present government led by President Bola Tinubu. Lest we become guilty of what we accuse others of, it is crucial to remind all that the same date also marked the one year in office of most state governors across the federation. So far, governors in Nigeria tend to enjoy so much power and so little scrutiny and accountability.
More than about celebration, my take is that the one year in office should be more about responsibility for the service of the government of the day than any other theme. If you are not a family member, friend or beneficiary of those elected into office, a year in office should be more about accountability and reflection than celebration for you as a citizen or a legal entity.
June 12th, 2024, marked twenty-five years of uninterrupted democratic rule in Nigeria.
For me, June 12 is a date truly worthy of Republican celebration and reflection for all, regardless of our proximity or stance to the government of the day.
Aptly described as “Democracy Day”, June 12 (1993) was the day an extraordinary majority of Nigerians with one voice and in clear terms expressed the way they wanted to be governed and thought they would get it, but alas, very few people annulled the legal and clear will of the very many.
Readers of these notes will know how critical we have been here of former President Muhammadu Buhari, but we must readily admit that it was his administration that recognised June 12 as Democracy Day.
As I have said elsewhere, June 12 is a memorable date and a symbol of national expression of desire and vision, a collective action of resistance and resolve, and a personal tragedy for many.
The story of June 12 is a personal tragedy for many who lost their lives in the battle to defend the democratic choice that Nigerians made on June 12 and for families who lost their loved ones.
It is also the day Nigerians, with one voice, regardless of their ethnic and religious divide, clearly expressed their desire and vision of the kind of Nigeria they wanted and who they wanted as the leader of such Nigeria. Sadly, a very few annulled that clear decision and vision of the very many.
June 12 then became the rallying point of those who decided to resist the imposition of the very few on behalf of the many. It is important to note here that not all resisted; some sat on the fence, and some even conspired with those who were against the people’s will. To each its own.
We celebrate today and forever all those who stood for something noble when it was challenging and risky to stand for the common good. Allow me to pay special homage to those who, since 1993, have not allowed time and the opportunities and challenges of life to blur their vision or corrupt their souls.
Twenty-five years later, we have an uninterrupted democratic process to celebrate because of those who resisted, dreamed of, and fought for a democratic system of government. Any capable and objective observer will agree that we still do not have the kind of democracy that was dreamed of and fought for 33 years ago.
Unluckily for the ego of those in power and, unfortunately, for the sanity of the rest of us, there is a general tendency to interchange democracy for good government.
The expression for good democratic government in Nigeria is “dividends of democracy”. In the context of the prevailing mindset that equates good government with democracy, it is easy to see why we cannot but observe that we still have a lot of issues alien to democracy afflicting the people of Nigeria. I refer to issues of police brutality, dysfunctional bureaucracy, nepotism, corruption, distrust among ethnic groups, religious division, and a federation that is not genuinely federal, not to mention the dire economic condition of most Nigerians today.
Yes, it is safe to say that while some things have been done, much more needs to be done for our democracy to be a true democracy we can trust and be proud of.
To ensure that June 12’s essence and even magic are not wasted or regretted, those who care about democracy must remind themselves and educate others that democracy is a spirit-like process that needs to be continually nurtured and worshipped. Those with clarity of mind and courage of voice need to remember at all times that the minimum and the best they can do for all is to work towards a more perfect democracy by improving on what we have and making sure the good in democracy does not turn to evil. These will, of course, require sacrifice and vigilance.
An excellent place to start is to push for a people’s constitution that allows the people of Nigeria to democratically decide the kind of country they want to live in, the rules they want, and how much power they want to cede to the federal, state, and local governments. No amount of amendments will suffice; a people’s constitution is the answer.
This year, the Patriots, led by Chief Emeka Anyakou and the June 12 Movement, once again resolved to help create the atmosphere for the emergence of a people’s constitution. I want to call on people of goodwill to join us in working towards a people’s constitution that will create a Nigeria that respects our diversity and is designed for our peace, progress, and prosperity in dignity.
A true reflection on our 25-year democratic journey towards a more perfect democracy requires us to consider how some critical participants in the democratic journey have fared so far. If done honestly and deeply, such reflection will allow us to see what we must reconsider and pay attention to in our democratic process.
Let’s delve deeper into these political events and their implications.
Join me on Twitter @anthonykila to share your thoughts, ask questions, and continue these engaging conversations.
![[OPINION] UN diplomacy: Half peace, better than no peace - Owei Lakemfa](/media/k2/items/cache/5991e1abbff4641da9913913dc0a510c_XS.jpg)
THE visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to North Korea and the United States yelling against it have diverted world attention this week. It has drawn attention from the immediate needs and steps to save Palestinian lives, especially those of babies and children.
How does Putin visiting his North Korean ally, Kim Jong Un, constitute a threat to world peace? US Defence Spokesperson, Pat Ryder, wailed that the visit has implications for peace in the Korean Peninsula and the war in Ukraine without substantiating such claims. White House spokesperson, Karine Jean-Pierre, lamented that North Korea supplies weapons to Russia in the war in Ukraine, implying that the visit may lead to more supplies. So what? Don’t the US and its allies supply weapons to Ukraine? There are tons of analysis that the visit may strengthen the trilateral relations amongst Russia, North Korea and China. So? Does the US not strengthen its own trilateral relations with South Korea and Japan?
Closely followed are the reports of Hezbollah threatening retaliation against Israeli bombings of Lebanese villages. The tit-for-tat attacks by both sides have been on for years. Maybe the only two pieces of news are the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, revealing: “We now have new weapons. But I won’t say what they are…When the decision is made, they will be seen on the front lines.” The other news was Nasrallah declaring that if war were to break out, Hezbollah would also attack countries like Cyprus which are allegedly aiding the Israeli military.
The attention of the world should focus on the United Nations, UN, which has taken two potentially live-saving actions on the needless deaths in the Middle East. The first is the release of the Report of its Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel.
It concluded that the Hamas attacks against Israel from October 7-8, 2023 had elements of war crimes. These included deliberate attacks on civilians, wilful killing and employment of inhuman or cruel treatment against the victims.
The UN body pointedly confirmed the allegations of on-going Israeli genocide in the Palestine. These had been brought before the International Court of Justice by South Africa on December 29, 2023. Also, the International Criminal Court, ICC, Chief Prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Hamas and Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for war crimes.
Due to direct Israeli military actions, the UN has lost 190 of its staff, 108 journalists are dead, 493 doctors, nurses and other health workers have been murdered and over 13, 800 children sent to untimely graves. It was therefore not surprising that the UN Report conclusively found that Israel is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It reported that Israel violated international humanitarian and human rights laws, and weaponised the provision of life-sustaining necessities for political gains. These, it reported, include denial of food, water, fuel and electricity to the Palestinian populace as a means of collective punishment.
Israeli soldiers were also found to have carried out sexual and gender-based violence as weapons to dehumanise the Palestinians.
The second major action taken by the UN was by its Security Council which voted 14-0 for ceasefire in Gaza. Tragically, the resolution is not designed to take immediate effect, an action that might save more lives. Rather, it is in three phases. The first are negotiations, freedom for Israeli captives and release of Palestinian prisoners. This is to take place within six weeks. It states that within those weeks: “An immediate, full and complete ceasefire would come into force.” Also, Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes across Gaza. Apart from humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians, it is also envisaged that Israel would withdraw its forces from the “populated areas” of Gaza. The issue here is which areas of Gaza, a territory laid desolate, qualifies as “populated”? It is envisaged that the ceasefire would continue if the negotiations exceed the six-week period.
The second phase calls for a permanent end to hostilities, the release of any remaining captives and the complete withdrawal of Israel from Gaza.
The third phase envisages Gaza’s reconstruction and the return of the remains of any deceased captives that might still be in Gaza.
The resolution rejects any loss of territorial land space, “including any actions that reduce the territory” of Palestine.
China said the draft was “ambiguous” but voted for the resolution in the face of mounting deaths in Gaza. Japan which had voted for the resolution, added: “The catastrophic humanitarian situation is indescribable.”
To Algerian Ambassador Amar Bendjama: “This text is not perfect, but it offers a glimmer of hope to the Palestinians as the alternative is continued killing and suffering.”
Russia, which has a veto, abstained. Its ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said it did so because the exact terms Israel was supposed to have agreed to, were not explicitly stated. He added that: “The Council should not agree to any agreement that has vague parameters…what specifically has Israel agreed to?”
President Joe Biden who had guaranteed Israel’s acceptance of the peace deal said the resolution was “not just a ceasefire that would inevitably be fragile and temporary” but also one that would provide a “durable end to the war”.
US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, claimed that if Hamas agrees to the resolution, fighting could stop immediately. She said Hamas should realise that the international community is “united behind a deal that will save lives and help Palestinian civilians in Gaza start to rebuild and heal. United behind a deal that will reunite hostages with their families after eight months in captivity.”
Hamas immediately accepted the resolution. Its official, Sami Abu Zuhri, added: “The US administration is facing a real test to carry out its commitments in compelling the occupation to immediately end the war in an implementation of the UN Security Council resolution.”
Although the resolution claimed Israel had accepted it hours after it was passed, Israel carried out deadly attacks across the Gaza. Its Representative to the UN, Reut Shapir Ben-Naftaly, said there would be no end to the war unless Hamas capability to fight is destroyed. Israel’s objectives, she added, are clear: “To bring all our hostages back home and to dismantle Hamas’ capabilities…and ensure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future.” Ben-Naftaly added: “As we have echoed several times in this very chamber, once these goals are met, the war will end.”
The UN’s resolution sidesteps its 1967 Resolution 242 of November 22, 1967, which provides a permanent solution for the Israeli-Palestine crises. Its body language is that half peace is better than no peace. But even this resolution may not be implemented.
![[OPINION] Return Of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi - Abdu Rafiu](/media/k2/items/cache/93eca5b489e0c1e9780bc5f15e54590e_XS.jpg)
I am not in the practice of crystal gazing. Something, however, told me at the time of his dethronement that he would be back. How and when my inner crystal ball did not say. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had certain things going for him: Education of the right kind, exposure and courage of his convictions. He is an activist Emir, breaking traditions. He was saying certain things that were hitting at the problems of the North, the far North which the Northern Establishment saw as poisonous arrows but which served as an awakening tonic for the emergent youths. But the Northern Establishment failed to note the power of education and exposure and they thought the solution lay in removing the carpet from under his feet and disrobing him. The enduring pronouncement of Dr. Tai Solarin would appear to have been lost on them and that is: An educated citizenry is easier to rule but difficult to ride, easier to govern but impossible to enslave. And we are talking about Aminu Kano’s vanguard in a radicalized City of Kano, and about an exposed Emir who was frequently on speaking engagements in different parts of the free world.
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, for his first and Master’s degrees in economics. He lectured there as well from 1983 to 1985. He had a visiting Fellowship offer at Oxford University and an honorary doctorate in finance from the University of London. At Oxford, he was asked to write a book on his years at the Central Bank as Governor. Of course, I must state that Emir Aminu Bayero is also well-educated. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication. He was at Flying College, Oakland, USA. He first served as Public Relations Officer for Kabo Air and later as Flight Engineer for the airline. But he is more on the quiet side, carrying himself with effulgent and dignifying royal majesty. So, I had this deep sensing that given the circumstances of his dethronement, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi would be back and I dropped veiled hints in this column of 12 March 2020. After all, In the Light of Truth, the Grail Message of Abd-ru shin says intuition can never be wrong. In other words, it is man who is disobedient to the admonition or warning flowing out of the intuition we all recognize as that quiet voice. When we fail to heed its admonition or warning, biting our lips, we say, “Oh, if I had known! Something within me warned me I should not go that way.” It is called the sixth sense and it is sharper in women than in men because of the special spiritual abundance they bear. What the implications of the re-enthronement would be I had no idea. I here reproduce the column run four days after Sanusi was deposed.
“In any controversy that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (SLS) is at the centre there can be no sitting on the fence. You would either be for him or against him. Those for him love him passionately and those against, hate him fiercely. It is a mark of greatness. All who stand for something attract deep affection from some and at the same time, exceeding hate from others. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi always has strong views on issues. He does not have to be right; sometimes, there is a display of misguided patriotism; sometimes you wish for a touch of a higher degree of maturity and display of sensitivity in some of his actions and pronouncements, but you can trust he will take a stand. He is, therefore, seen as a rebel in the garb of conservatism. It is the fears of the revolutionary garb that have dogged his ascension and tenure as the Emir of Kano. In his kingdom, he is seen as a thorn in the flesh of conservatives who are in slumber and red-blooded elite circles, and outside the kingdom a monarch with an air of royal arrogance clutching some unguided missiles. It could not have come as surprise that his dethronement has dominated the headlines in both print and digital media. Step forward, His Majesty, Muhammad Sanusi 11 and take a bow.
“Lamido Sanusi is more of a Lagos boy. He started out his impressionable years at King’s College that could rightly be described as mini Nigeria. He met compatriots, mixed freely, was punished by his seniors and he made everlasting friends. It was the age seniors punished their juniors. The experiences helped him to form his views about liberalism, without losing grips of his roots. When he travels he does so with his eyes open. This has made him come to the conclusion that education is the catalyst for development and a gateway to yet other levels of education, education that opens the book to knowledge, and knowledge that leads to refinement. It does away with anachronism. It is in getting his people to throw out of the window hampering and anachronistic tendencies that has pitted Sanusi against the Northern Establishment. His downfall from the exalted Kano throne, temporary or permanent, will be seen by a great many—as a clash of entrenched retrogressive culture and reformation. One man, commenting on the Almaijiris phenomenon, for example, vigorously defended what he called the culture of the North. ‘How do you throw away your culture?’ he asked. ‘Reform, yes, but it should not be thrown away.’ That is what Lamido is seeking to do with the system. The commentator referred to can certainly not be said to have any of his children in the burgeoning community of Almaijis, so Sanusi believes.
“Two weeks ago, Emir Muhammad Sanusi 11, armed with his missiles, showed up in Kaduna, the erstwhile seat of what used to be Kaduna Mafia in the days of Yakubu Gowon and Olusegun Obasanjo, a powerful gathering of Northern elite drawn from professionals, but largely from the rank of senior federal permanent secretaries. The body is more known today as Arewa Consultative Forum after Ibrahim Babangida moved the federal capital to Abuja in 1991. This time, the gathering is to celebrate the 60th birthday of Nasir el-Rufai, the Governor of Kaduna State. The event had in attendance prominent Emirs like Sanusi himself and several other members of the Northern Establishment, and naturally his brother governors from several parts of the country. It was the occasion Emir Sanusi decided to throw his arrows to make the desired impact in the quiet bid to fight feudalism. It was like taking the war to the camp of the “enemies” who had caged his people. From then any discerning person would know the Northern Establishment would fight back. Hear what Sanusi had said in Kaduna:
’The truth is nobody who is leader in Northern Nigeria today can afford to be happy with 87 percent of poverty in Nigeria being in the North. You can’t be happy with millions of Northern children out of school. You can’t be happy with nine states in the North contributing almost 50 percent of the entire malnutrition burden in the country.’
“He spoke on the sore issue that has been a divisive factor in the country which has been spoken openly about and in closets by other parts of the country, but by which the core Northern Establishment was unmoved: the repugnant quota system. Said Emir Sanusi: ‘If the North does not change, the North will destroy itself. The country is moving on. The quota system that everybody is talking about must have a sunset clause. As we celebrate Nasir at 60 we need to celebrate him as a public officer who is addressing the core problems of his constituency. It is education; it is child begging, parental irresponsibility, demographic growth…You need not come from the North or be a Muslim to get a job. You come with your credentials, your competence.’
“He spoke about overbreeding in the North which does not take account of the capacity of the parents to look after them. Such children populate the Almaijiri system. He also touched on the drug abuse among the Northern youths and the lingering Boko Haram insurgency. It was Emir Muhammad Sanusi’s second bombshell in Kaduna, again invited by Mr. el-Rufai on the occasion of the State’s economic and investment summit. He accused states of misplaced priority. The innuendo was unmistakable. He was referring to the Northern states. It was on the occasion he accused people of marrying more wives than they can cater for with their offspring swelling the rank of the Almaijiris who account for more than 70 percent of Nigeria’s 13 million out-of-school children.
“His home government tried to shut him up and cut him to size, accusing him of blasphemy and misinterpreting the Qur’an. The State Government tried to whittle down his influence by creating new emirates where in some cases District Heads used to be. The final straw, therefore, would seem to be the dethronement as Emir of Kano. The government is in error. The government appears to be oblivious of the fact that it is dealing with an educated, exposed and highly informed public figure. He has a rich library. He has at his fingerprints indices of economic direction around the world every split second. He is the twin brother of Peter Obi, erstwhile governor of Anambra State and a banker like him. Call up Peter Obi any time he would tell you the stock position in Texas or in Beijing even in the face of COVID-19 ravaging the country in these times. Whether in the cage or out of it Sanusi Lamido Sanusi 11 will always be Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
“Governor el-Rufai obviously considers the action of Kano State Administration deposing the emir a slap on his face. Within 24 hours he has offered two appointments to Muhammad Sanusi 11. He appointed him onto the Board of Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency which is hoping to tap into what the governor calls ‘his solid reputation in global financial circles.’ A government statement quotes Malam Nasir el-Rufai as saying “Kaduna State is honoured to be able to call on the services of a man of such caliber to drive its development.” He has also been appointed Chancellor of Kaduna State University, succeeding pioneer Chancellor Tagwa Sambo, the Chief of Moro’a. Malam el-Rufai said of the appointment: ‘In public life, His Highness has demonstrated a strong commitment to education. Kaduna State Government has no doubt that as Chancellor, His Highness Muhammad Sanusi would provide symbolic and substantive leadership in raising the profile of KASU as an emerging centre of learning at the national and global levels…Kaduna State Government is grateful that HH Muhammad Sanusi continues to support and assist the realization of the governance objectives of Kaduna State Government.’
“There is also an international appointment from the United Nations Secretary-General. Antonio Guterres has named him and 16 other influential figures around the globe as Sustainable Development Goals Advocates ‘to push the agenda of the global development to a new height.’ The appointment has Mr. Nana Ado Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana; Ema Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway as Co-chairmen of the committee. And from Graca Machel, wife of Nelson Mandela, and founder of Graca Machel Trust as well as Foundation for Community came a message of solidarity. The message reads in part: ‘Your Highness we hold you in very high regard, and count on your knowledge, expertise, experience and wisdom to continue to lift the continent to higher heights. We proudly count you among the Grace Machel Trust’s International Board of Advisors and stand with you in your courageous efforts to speak truth to power. We are here for you should you feel there is something we can do to assist during the challenging time.’
“The Kano State Government accused the Emir of insubordination, the same transgression that was leveled against him by the Jonathan Administration. Jonathan was right given the recklessness in the claim that $20 million revenue could not be accounted for by the NNPC. In the end, this could not be proven. He also had a brush with the National Assembly. It would appear Muhammad Sanusi 11 has not come to terms with the doctrine of Magna Carta and years later with constitutional development engendered with the ascension of William of Orange in 1668 after James the Second was deposed. A new Bill of Rights and a constitutional agreement were passed which firmly put power in the elected representatives of the people. Since 1689 British Monarch has been a constitutional head but does not rule, although it could occasionally veto bills. It was barred from raising taxes, dismissing Parliament and forging foreign policy. Since 1911, the Monarch cannot intervene in parliamentary debate. It can only be briefed and it can deliver Speech from the Throne and invite the Prime Minister to assume office. The British are content with the Monarch setting the tone for public life and being the symbol of the British life with dignified carriage. Emir Sanusi would have been too delighted that we have such an arrangement, to be the symbol of his people, open parliament and sign bills into law. Having said all this, I hasten to state that the star of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi cannot be dimmed. Not with the glittering testimonials from the international community.
“The Emir is at home in the gathering of youths. I recall his speech at the launch of a book by Sir Olaniwun Ajayi in 2009 when he called out to them: ‘My grandfather was a Northerner, I am a Nigerian. The problem with this country is that in 2009, we speak in the language of 1953. Sir Olaniwun Ajayi can be forgiven for the way he spoke, but I cannot forgive people of my generation speaking in that language.’ He added: ‘Tell me how many governors has South West produced after Awolowo that are role models of leadership? How many governors has the East produced like Nnamdi Azikiwe that can be role models of leadership? There are only two major tribes in Nigeria: The Elites and the Masses. Once you make lots of money, you belong to the Elite tribe …youths are the worst victims of power play: they kill one another, call each other’s tribes, unprintable names, do terrible things and sometimes even lose their lives, thinking they are fighting for their rights., not knowing they are fighting for the personal welfare of someone whose children are probably safe in America or London…So youths, don’t hope on government. If you don’t have a job, create one. There is abject poverty in the South as well as in the North. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it well and never remain idle. Think clearly and deeply and you will realise that empowering yourself is the best course of action, not fighting one another. Youths, shine your eyes! Don’t always fall for these tribal and religious sentiments over and over again. Nigeria is bigger than these corrupt elites. They are the problem, not the poor masses.”
Today, there are two Emirs in Kano. The direction the pendulum will swing is hard to say. Aminu Bayero has Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje behind him with the Villa suspectingly lurking in the shadows; and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has Dr. Rabiu Kwankwoso the strong man with the youthful crowd solidly behind him, the huge crowd weaned on the revolutionary, anti-Establishment Talakawa doctrine of Aminu Kano. Yet, to ditch Ganduje in the contestation will be costly with 2027 beckoning in the horizon in a place where just 25 percent can perform magic, providing a lot of mileage on the return flight to the villa! Resolving the problem will require out–of–the–box dexterous political engineering or better still, we await the intervention of the courts!