Manchester United boss, Erik ten Hag is optimistic that Sergio Reguilon, Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay will return to his matchday squad for this weekend’s clash with Crystal Palace.

The trio were unavailable for the 3-0 Carabao Cup victory on Tuesday over the same opponents due to illness.

Reguillon failed to report to the club’s Carrington training complex following Saturday’s clash at Turf Moor, with United protocol seeing players who are unwell sent home or told to stay away to prevent a spread of illness through the squad.

The Spaniard is said to have felt ill before the Burnley win, but requested to play and made it through 79 minutes, when he was replaced by Raphael Varane.

Meanwhile, Eriksen and McTominay were expected to feature against Palace. Although they both reported for training on Monday, they subsequently felt under the weather and missed the match.

[DailyPost]

The National Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress, Tommy Etim, on Thursday, berated moves by the Federal Government to hamstring the Organised Labour from embarking on an indefinite nationwide strike from Tuesday, using the courts.

Etim stated that labour leaders would not succumb to any threat by the government, noting that they were ready to go to prison in their fight for better lives for Nigerian workers.

The TUC deputy president said this against the backdrop of the warning by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, that the  proposed strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress and TUC was in contravention of a subsisting court order restraining the unions from declaring an industrial action.

 The NLC and TUC Tuesday announced an indefinite strike with effect from October 3, 2023, to protest the alleged failure of the Federal Government to provide post-subsidy palliatives for workers and implement policies that could alleviate the sufferings of the masses after the removal of the fuel subsidy.

 However, the AGF in a letter addressed to the counsel to the NLC and TUC, Femi Falana, SAN, reminded them that it was as a result of the disobedience to the order that the ministry of justice filed a contempt proceeding against the labour leaders.

He added that the ministry withdrew the suit following the intervention of President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly.

The letter read,  “You are kindly invited to recall the antecedence of previous steps/actions on this matter, particularly the exchange of correspondence between this office and your firm, before and after the nationwide “action/protest” declared by the NLC on August 2, 2023.

“Whilst your clients had maintained that the nationwide protest by the NLC is in furtherance of its constitutional right to embark on protests, the ministry has repeatedly advised on the need to advise your clients to refrain from resorting to self-help and taking actions capable of undermining subsisting orders of a court of competent jurisdiction.

“It is also to be recalled that based on the conduct of the said nationwide action/protest, this office instituted contempt proceedings against the labour leaders. However, upon the intervention of the President and National Assembly, coupled with the decision of the labour unions to discontinue their action/protest, the contempt proceedings were not prosecuted further. This was advisedly done to enable the government and labour union to engage in further negotiations without any form of encumbrances.

“However, in its communiqué issued at the end of its National Executive Council meeting on 31st August 2023, NLC resolved to embark on a total and indefinite shutdown of the nation within 14 working days or 21 days from August 31, 2023.

‘’Also on September 26, 2023, the Presidents of NLC and TUC, jointly issued a communiqué stating that organised labour had resolved, “to embark on an indefinite and total shutdown of the nation beginning on zero hours Tuesday, the 3rd day of October, 2023.”

AGF writes

 Fagbemi stated that from the contents of the communiqué and available media reports, the proposed strike action is connected with the removal of fuel subsidy and provisions of palliative for workers.

 “These are undoubtedly issues that have been submitted to the National Industrial Court for adjudication. Therefore, the proposed strike action is in clear violation of the pending interim injunctive order granted on  June 5 2023 restraining both the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress from embarking on any industrial action/or strike of any nature, pending the hearing and determination of the pending Motion on Notice”, he added.

Fagbemi said irrespective of their disposition on the matter, the court order must be obeyed unless it is vacated.

He called on Falana to advise the labour leaders to abide by the court judgment to protect its integrity.

He said, “We wish to reiterate that a court order, regardless of the opinion of any party on it, remains binding and enforceable until set aside. It is the expectation of the public that the labour unions would lead in obedience and observance of court orders and not in its breach.

‘’It is therefore the earnest expectation of this Office that your distinguished law firm will advise the labour unions on the need to protect the integrity of courts and observe the sanctity of court orders.

“Consequently, you are kindly requested to impress it upon the organized labour unions to note the fact that their proposed strike action is in gross breach of the subsisting court order, as well as the appropriateness of addressing their grievances/demands within the ambit of the law hence, the need for them to be more accommodating and show greater appreciation of the effect of the order of the court, by shelving the strike action.

‘’The foregoing will afford parties more room for further mutual engagements, for a holistic and sustainable resolution of all outstanding issues on this matter in the overall national interest.”

But the TUC Deputy President waved off the AGF’s warning, saying the contempt threat would not make the organised labour shelve their planned walkout, noting that the labour leaders were ready to be jailed for their convictions.

He stated, ‘’It is a threat but power belongs to the people. Let them carry all of us to the prisons. I can only answer by saying the end justifies the means. If that is what they want, let’s see what would happen on the 3rd of October. The good thing is that Nigeria is our country. If he would pack all the Nigerian people to prison, there is no problem.

‘’If the government wants to put us in prison, let them put us in prison. Going to prison is not a death sentence. After all, even a (former) president passed through the prison. Didn’t (Segun) Obasanjo go to prison? We are used to threats and it is not going to deter us, we are not cowards.

‘’We are working for the country and if the government feels it wants to put us in prison because we are working for the country, so be it. Let the end justify the means.’’

Falana could not be reached for comments on Thursday but senior lawyers in separate interviews with The PUNCH aligned with the AGF and advised the NLC and TUC to respect the order of the court.

Lawyers react

Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, argued that the labour unions would be in contempt of the court and Section 287 of the Constitution, which enjoined every person or group to obey the order of the court.

 He added, “Where the order of the court is being ignored, it is an invitation to anarchy. What they should do is to have that order set aside before they can embark on any industrial action. 

‘’So, to do so (embark on strike) will amount to contempt of court which they may face. I think they should do something about the order, and either appeal against it and then ask for a stay of the order, or get it set aside by the Appellate Court or that same court.”

Speaking in the same vein, Rasheed Adegoke, SAN, underscored the importance of respecting judicial orders.

The appropriate thing to do, he counselled, was to apply for the order to be set aside or appeal.

He held that disobeying a court order could lead to contempt charges which he said is a grievous offence.

Adegoke said, “Once there is an existing court order, it is binding on all persons and authorities concerned. Where they fail, refuse or neglect to obey the court order, the AGF can bring them to court for contempt and that is a grievous offence because it undermines the integrity of the court.

“It equally destabilises the judicial system otherwise where everybody feels that he’s right and courts are wrong, choosing not to obey the court order is a licence to resort to self-help and the implication is that others can behave the same way.

‘’What we will have is a society not regulated by the rule of law; that means there will be breakdown of law and order.  The appropriate thing to do is to apply to set aside that order or go on appeal against it.”

Another senior lawyer, Afam Osigwe, SAN, warned that willful disobedience of court orders could attract serious consequences for the labour leaders.

He contended that if the AGF asked the unions not to go on strike, it meant there was an order of the court that restrained them from carrying out the action.

He added, ‘’If there is an order and the labour union leaders violate that order, it may amount to contempt of court for a person to willfully disobey an order of a court. It will be wrong for any person, whether it is a labour union,  to violate such an order and act contrary to do that which the court has restrained the person from doing.’’

Speaking further, the former General-Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association averred, ‘’When you disobey a court order, there are contempt committal proceedings that will be followed up within the court where the person would be allowed to defend him or herself and if the court at the end of the proceedings finds the person liable, then the person will get appropriate punishment. “

But a lawyer and activist, Deji Ajare, stated that no order of court could perpetually restrain the labour unions from embarking on industrial action as that would mean removing the right of the members to organise actions to negotiate their demands.

He submitted, “I am minded to believe that the order of the court was to enable the parties explore an opportunity to amicably resolve the issues. And if for the past six weeks since that order was allegedly made, the Federal Government of Nigeria has not been able to provide the necessary leadership that the labour unions and Nigerian citizens need to develop some level of confidence and comfort that the government is sincere and genuinely pursuing a resolution of the issues, I do not think any court will reasonably make that order.”

Against the backdrop of the expected impact of the strike on the economy, the Senator representing Abia North at the National Assembly, Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu, has appealed to the NLC and TUC to reconsider their proposed strike as it would increase hunger and hardships in the country.

He assured that the workers’ salaries would soon be reviewed in a few weeks in response to the demands of the unions, arguing that the President cannot approve funds without appropriation.

He stated, “I am pleading with the NLC to see reason with the people of Nigeria, not even with the government. They are thinking that President Tinubu and his cabinet are the owners of Nigeria, no. Nigeria belongs to all of us, including President Tinubu.

“The budget is coming and workers’ salaries will be reviewed. It is a question of a few weeks or months. We will make sure that the Nigerian budget will be implemented and workers salaries will be looked into.

“President Tinubu is not going to manufacture money without appropriation to do anything and I am sure that within six to eight weeks, the budget will be before the National Assembly. Workers should take it for granted that the President will work out the details of how to set up the emolument of all levels of workers.”

 He further pleaded, “for the sake of Nigerians who are eating as labourers, if there is a strike, they cannot eat. If there is unrest, they cannot feed. I hope the NLC will find reason and reconsider going on strike this week because it is going to hurt the economy so much.

‘’Manufacturers, stock exchange, truck pushers, everybody will be in a mess. During budget deliberation, we will make sure we consider what is good for all.”

He used the opportunity to also plead with the state governors not to use their party structure in distributing the Federal Government palliatives.

“The palliative is not a party matter, it is for Nigerians. Please, do not share it through your party structure as we heard that many governors are sharing it through party structure. It is not the right thing to do,’’ he admonished.

Governors beg NLC

The National Economic Council on Thursday said state governors would negotiate with the organised labour in their respective domains to avert the nationwide strike slated for Tuesday.

It also appealed to the unions to reconsider their stance, warning that such an exercise would devastate Nigeria’s economy, currently grappling with double-digit inflation, forex shortages and low oil production.

Addressing State House correspondents after the 136th NEC meeting, which was held at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, said, “Labour is represented in all the 36 states and the FCT and NEC is appealing that discussions should continue at the state levels because there will be peculiarities as to the issues to be addressed concerning the demands of labour. Therefore, dialogue is the way to go.”

Relating the NEC’s appeal to journalists after the monthly meeting, the governor explained that the council was aware of the strike notice issued by the national leadership of the NLC and TUC.

He said, “The Council noted further the implication of this strike for the economy and the nation and thus urged members to continue to engage with the leadership of their respective states and to appeal to them to shelve the action and continue on the path of dialogue with the federal government. This is the appeal of Council.”

Explaining the grounds for NEC’s appeal further, Mutfwang noted that most first-term governors inherited a striking labour force and have only managed to get them back to work recently.

Therefore, enforcing a new strike would further damage the economy, which, he observed, is in a “critical” phase.

“The nation is at a very critical moment at this time. In some states, when they took over on May 29, the workers were on strike; some of those issues have just been resolved for the workers to return to work. To ask them to go back immediately it’s going to further damage the economy.

“Therefore NEC, while expressing genuine concern about the situation in the country, appeals for calm and patience and I want to believe that the leadership across the nation at this point in time wants to truly address the issues that concern Labour and the general populace and move the country forward,” said Mutfwang.

He appealed for more time for the government to work on addressing the concerns of Labour, affirming that President Tinubu will address Labour’s concerns in his Independence Day address on October 1.

“NEC actually expressed genuine concern on the situation in the country and appreciated the concern by Labour to have those issues addressed.

“That is why NEC is appealing for patience, appealing for time to be able to address the concerns of Labour.

“We also believe that Mr. President will be addressing the nation on October 1 and some of the concerns of Labour will be appropriately addressed in the President’s speech,” the governor revealed.

Meanwhile, in his opening address at the NEC meeting titled, ‘Planning for Stability: Our Agenda for Economic Growth in 2024,’ Vice President Kashim Shettima reminded the governors and other council members that the weight of the tough decisions to rescue Nigeria’s economy depended on their cooperation and goodwill.

He noted that what has set Tinubu apart as a leader ‘’is the courage to embark on fixing the country’s economy through bold reforms.’’

Identifying stability as a significant priority in the 2024 economic agenda, the VP said, “It took courage to embark on fixing an economy hindered by decades of political lip-service. But that has set President Bola Ahmed Tinubu apart: his bold reforms to reposition the economy and save it from further erosion.”

Shettima said the federal, state and local governments must remain committed to re-evaluating their priorities, streamlining processes, and making bold decisions reflecting key social issues, including social protection, social investment and nutrition.

[Punch]

FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron loves acting on the world stage. In the on-going drama about the West and some West African leaders threatening to use force against the military regime that came to power in Niger Republic on July 26, 2023, he chose to play the outlaw.

Exactly a month after they came to power, the new authorities in Niger declared French Ambassador Sylvain Itte persona non grata saying he “no longer enjoys the privileges and immunities attached to his status as a member of the diplomatic staff of the embassy”. He was given 48 hours to leave the country. The deadline expired on August 28. The Nigeriens also withdrew the diplomatic cards and cancelled the visas of his family.

But Macron sent a counter-order, directing Ambassador Itte to defy the order and refuse to leave the country.

The 64-year-old Itte who was born in Bamako, Mali, as an experienced ambassador having served as ambassador in Uruguay for three years from 2016, Angola for four years until 2020 before being sent to Niger Republic in October, 2022, knew once expelled he had to leave the country.

He doubtlessly would be conversant with Article 9 of the 1961 Vienna Treaty on Diplomatic Relations which states that: “The receiving state may at any time and without having to explain its decision, notify the sending state that the head of the mission or any member of the diplomatic staff of the mission is persona non grata or that any other member of the staff of the mission is not acceptable. In any such case, the sending state shall, as appropriate, either recall the person concerned or terminate his functions with the mission.”

So he knows he cannot play the outlaw, but that role is what his principal, President Macron, asked him to play. Consequently, the poor ambassador sat put in the embassy which became a type of prison as neither he nor his fellow diplomats could leave and return to the embassy. While the French diplomats were holed up, Nigeriens who were in support of their country’s government converged daily with a public address system in front of the embassy, singing, dancing and chanting: “Down with France!” In Macron’s unique mind, this was an indication that Itte and the embassy staff are “being held hostage”. This is wrong because an hostage is a person seized by an abductor; in this case, nobody seized the French.

Macron had also rejected the expulsion of I,500 French soldiers from Niger on the same laughable basis that France does not accept the new rulers in that country and that only ousted President Mohamed Bazoum whom he described as the “sole legitimate authority” in Niger Republic, could order the French out. As a claimed democrat who believes in democracy, how can Macron claim a single individual is the “sole legitimate authority” in a country?

In response, the Nigerien Government said its diplomatic victory over France is “a new step towards sovereignty” and insisted that the pull-out of the French military “must be set out in a negotiated framework and by mutual agreement”. This, of course, is the correct way countries should relate rather than one country assuming to be the master of another and thinking it can continuously dictate terms.

Macron might have thought he could hold out in Niger as there was an expected military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS. However, that invasion did not materialise as the African people were clearly against the blood of fellow Africans being shed. In any case, what gives France the impression that it has a right to determine the leadership of an African country?

France might also have thought the incensed Nigerien populace would storm its embassy or military base and thus give it an excuse to invade the country in the guise of protecting or saving French lives. But the Nigeriens were wiser, they rather elected to wear out the ambassador and his team.

Finally, one month after refusing to leave the embassy, the ambassador and six others, with their tails between their legs, left, defeated, arriving Paris on Wednesday, September 27. It reminded me of the French Army in Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam which after 57 days of being besieged threw in the towel on May 7, 1954.

The French having finally succumbed, tried to put up a bold face when Itte arrived. He was received by Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna who purported “to thank him and his teams for his work in the service of our country under difficult conditions”.

Reacting to the French ambassador’s forced departure, a Nigerien who spoke the minds of the majority of the people said: “Today is a very proud day for me, and especially for the Nigerien people, hearing of the French ambassador’s departure who stubbornly stayed in Niger to show that the new government was not a real authority. But today, he saw that Niger was not a little country.”

Macron who announced the recall of Ambassador Itte in his Sunday TV interview also announced that French troops would be withdrawn from the African country in “the months and weeks to come”, with a full pull-out “by the end of the year”.

He cheekily added that the Nigerien government “no longer wanted to fight against terrorism”. This once again, is a manifestation of the presumptuous character of President Macron: that only the French can fight terrorism; so asking the French forces to leave means the African country has accepted terrorism and is no longer interested in fighting the scourge.

France with a beautiful cultural history is known to be quite fastidious and tricky in foreign relations, refusing to stop its exploitation of other peoples. This it has done for centuries. So although it seems diplomatically defeated in its stand-off with Niger, it cannot be trusted to truly depart.

France cannot live a healthy life without nakedly exploiting other peoples, so it is likely to fight back. This is why I am not surprised by Tuesday’s attempted coup in Burkina Faso against its anti- French government.

By the way, we shouldn’t forget that it is not only France that has military presence in Niger Republic. The United States, US, maintains some 1,100 military personnel there. Although it has not been as noisy as France, but it remains in that country despite Nigerien demands that the soldiers be pulled out. It is only in the light of the announced decision of France to pull out its unwelcome troops, that the US says it will “evaluate” its future in the small African country. But like France, Nigeriens and Africans should not assume that they would pull out quietly and stop meddling in African affairs.

It just seems like a National emergency everywhere you look. The despondency seems matched only by the desperate sense of helplessness. The curiosity about this pall of disquiet led me to put my ears to the ground.

I have been navigating Whattsapp groups. Saying little but feeling the temperature and letting the Barometer gauge. Despair reigns in the land. Most think the economy is in free fall. Some think Band aid is being applied where even bandage may not do the job. A band of outliers  even pronounce Nigeria dead.

Thank God some people of faith believe that dry bones have been known to rise and walk.

The poor are stunned but voiceless, sometimes with a feel of being castrated. They turn to texting for begging, in desperation and hope. But it is the Middle Class Professionals and intelligentsia that bother me the most.  They seem to think the Buhari era was wholesale looting and borrowing to steal. But they sound genuinely ignorant that what the ancient regime inflicted on Nigeria was that deep a cut of the artery of life for the economy.

Really?. I am so surprised that people are so surprised by the scale of the damage. I thought it was so obvious from long ago.

Some are calling for the Saudi Crown Prince treatment of locking all the prominent up in a hotel till they vomit the loot. Hmmmmn.

Others suggest instant Japa for those who do not want to go down with the ship.

They turn to the fuel subsidy and crude Oil theft and wonder what corner of Hell those who have been running Nigeria come from. I chuckle because I know some of the people expressing frustration and I remember when some whispered behind me that I was crazy speaking up. And they tangoed with money and power. Now they turn to prose to lament.

But the beat goes on. Even with the mess so complete money is still borrowed to give to Legislators to enjoy the weekend and those feigning anger at yesterday still say nothing.  At best they mu murmur among friends lest they get in the bad books of those with the largesse of the public treasury, even for a near bankrupt state. They make it seem like Misgoverning and malgovernance were invented by Buhari. He may have been the champion but many more are guilty. They also forget they were promised continuity by the APC and they just may be getting it.

I have become more cynical with age and the nature of the times but what gets to me is depth of the hypocrisy of the AGIP (Any Government in Power) business elite and quasi intellectuals converting social media to books of lamentation and intellectual masturbation. Sure the roads are immotorable across the country, the young cannot find work, power is not there to produce or live decently, insecurity has driven the farmer off the farm into IDPs, the courts signal to the world that justice cannot be found in Nigeria so investors local and international keep away, and we wonder why we produce so poorly that the Naira has passed the 1000 rate against the dollar and the price of a liter of petrol is in hot pursuit. Will we soon be like Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe?

Where are the patriots. Did someone line them up and use them for shooting target practice..

Everywhere you look an undeclared state of emergency holds sway as getting confirmed LCs become matters of miracle and manufacturing buckles down as foreign reserves shrink. It seems all bleak but in a culture that has lost a sense of shame who cares but the poor, the vulnerable and the weak who are discovering conditions people are suffering through like in the time of Biafra when Kwashiokor came to many who were unable to pronounce the word, Kwash..or..kor

and their neighbors whose hands were too weak to find sources of protein exhibited the ugly side of being malnourished.

In most countries the angry poor would have poured unto the streets but this is Nigeria the country where Professor Ikenna Nzimiro gave the same lecture  every week during my days at UNN and for a generation after. ‘ The unfinished revolution’ was offered for a generation of students who either tired of listening or found it comic relief.

This may be cold comfort to those who grab power for self aggrandizement but they should not rest too easy. It takes just one straw for the proverbial Camel’s back to be broken. Even mass  affliction of the Stockholm syndrome, where the victims identify with the oppressors, can yield to a singing of Bob Marley’s Redemption song in a massed Choir.

My problem is not whether the Nigerian revolution is imminent, it is knocking on the door. The burden on my soul is that it could be the dawning of Robert Kaplan’s Coming Anarchy that may be a chauffeur driven passage unto the road to Somalia.

This is why if the patriots have not all been shot at target practice, and the Citizen wannabes have not all fallen to the ranks of tribesmen and idiots, a clarion call must go out for a gathering of tribe of patriots for a salvage operation to reclaim a technically bankrupt economy, morally collapsed political order and paradise lost where the dream of the founding fathers are traded for hubris.

We need to begin again with a constitution that enthrones the people as sovereign and not, as Prof Fr Anthony Akinwale suggests about the extant grand norm, one that elevates agents of those who grab power as sovereign. We must in that document enshrine the right to secede so that politicians who know the people can pull out,  in exercise of their fundamental human right to self determination, will strive to serve the people and not their own greed which we can see from the Buhari looting knows no bounds.

As I think of the urgency of this grand document of our modus vivendi I can understand why the British historian Niall Ferguson sees the making of the US constitution, which recognized these norms  as one of the greatest exercises of institution building in human history.

Once the moral tribe of patriots arise we will find that countries have overcome the deep hole into which the political class have sunk Nigeria.

India was in a deeper hole in terms of its foreign reserves when in 1991  what was supposed to be a placeholder ‘transition’ government of Natsima Rao who was well advanced in age and was expected to do nothing unveiled Manmahon Singh as Finance Minister and the foundations of India Riding were laid

Ditto for the first coming of Instio Lula Da Silva in Brazil.

Nigeria is salvageable but new values, stronger institutions, a place for a meritocracy must be advanced by these patriots. In many ways a key role exists here for the Nigerian Diaspora who live with the evidence of a better way and the confidence of succeeding in the global north. They deserve a special place at the table of the remnants of patriots as the tribe gathers for a rescue mission.

The patriots whose tribe must arise urgently can be found among these judges the youth want to feed to Lions, the Soldiers tired of chasing terrorists and the Businessmen who currently will dine with politicians whose horns are more evident than the devil has at Halloween.

People need to search deep inside and find the patriot inside.

To save Nigeria is to look at the coups in the Sahel and realize that Africa has gone full circle back to the 1960s. The young are rethinking the state in post colonial Africa and sounding like they have just read Walter Rodney and Fran’s Fanon on how Europe underdeveloped Africa and created the wretched of the earth.

Here I owe a full apology to the International political economy scholars of the 1970s, Immanuel Wallerstein, Osvaldo Sunkel and even Henrique Fernando Cardoso who acquitted himself well in latter years, as President of Brazil when he saw the promise of globalization for his country and embraced it as against prescriptions of some traditions of the Dependency thesis school he led which called for selective de-linking from the international capitalist order. Some of his fellow dependistas would have found Cardoso’s practical shifts treachery.

Back in those days I had been impatient with the Dependistas as I looked for a quick path to overcome poverty and so embraced quickly the Asian Tiger models just them emerging. I complained that Dependency theory was elegant theorizing with limited redemptive value.

But today as I watch a legitimacy drought-stricken Abuja rush to do what it perceives as the desire of Paris and Washington DC against the interest of the people of Nigeria and Niger, I have new respect for the Centre-Periphery thesis where the interest of elite at the periphery is aligned to those of elite in the Global North to subjugate the poor lumpen proletariat, the masses at the periphery of the periphery. the Nigerian masses from which Abuja is alienated and seeks to use force to keep down. These International Political economy models clearly have explanatory power and suggest why Nigeria drifts aimlessly as transactions driven titans of state capture trade favours that cannot solve the problems of the economy in a sustainable way or allow for nation building.

The big challenge is that progress is improbable until governing becomes about these people, the people, and not those the 1979/99 constitution wrongly identifies as sovereign.

The duty of the tribe of patriots is to help the people find their voice. Stephen R Covey already celebrated this as the key habit of the 21st century in his 8th habit. The patriots have a moral duty to help the voiceless find their voice.

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 poll, has asked the United States court for the Northern District of Illinois to overrule President Bola Tinubu’s objections to the release of his academic records.

Atiku had secured an order for Chicago State University (CSU) to make the president’s academic records available to his legal team.

The Nation reports that President Tinubu also filed an appeal against the order of the court directing the CSU to release his academic records to Abubakar.

Tinubu had argued that he ought to have been joined in the suit since it is his personal information that is being sought.

The President had also argued through his lawyers that what Abubakar was doing amounted to a “fishing expedition” because the deadline for the use of fresh documents in Nigerian courts had elapsed.

However, in a fresh application to the US court dated September 27, Abubakar through his attorneys, Angela Liu, Andrew Levander, Alexandre de Gramont, Tooba Hussain, argued that the documents he is seeking can still be used in election litigation back home in Nigeria.

Abubakar is also asking the court to overrule Tinubu’s objections in their entirety. 

“The court should overrule the objections in their entirety,” the application reads.

“If the court overrules the objections, applicant respectfully requests that it enter an order requiring production of documents no later than October 2, 2023, and the deposition scheduled no later than October 3, to allow time for transcripts to be finalised.”

Abubakar said: “The discovery obtained” should “be sent to Nigeria (which is six (6) hours ahead) by October 4 so that such evidence may, in turn, be filed with the Supreme Court by October 5, which is when applicant’s Nigerian counsel intend to submit any new evidence to the Supreme Court”.

Abubakar also argued that “the Supreme Court of Nigeria can consider new evidence in ‘exceptional circumstances’ under the Nigerian Electoral Act of 2022 and/or in its discretion.”

The United States (US) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a free, fair and transparent governorship election in Bayelsa state on November 11, 2023.

The US Consulate-General in Nigeria made this call during the recent visit of Chief Mike Ervin from its Political Economic Section to Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa as they monitor activities in the state ahead of the governorship poll.

Ervin further emphasised the need for a transparent gubernatorial election in Bayelsa and said that he expects the process to be peaceful and credible.

Ervin said the delegation was in the state to monitor the activities because the United States was a partner of the Nigerian government.

“As you well know, the United States is a fundamental partner of the Nigerian government in the conduct of elections,” he said.

“We are friends, and we learn from one another when it comes to democracy and how it can thrive. We are also here to see how Bayelsa is experiencing democracy at work.

“We want to know how things are going in your state and to also give you our good wishes for a peaceful election. We expect that the democratic process will reflect the will of the people on November 11.

“We will continue to be partners of INEC, and we look forward to a very healthy democratic day in a number of weeks.”

Responding, the governor of Bayelsa state Douye Diri said his administration was open to partnering with the international community to advance democracy through a free, fair and transparent electoral process.

“I believe that your coming will motivate us and add to the growth and development of democracy in Nigeria and in our state,” Diri said.

“My government is of the Peoples Democratic Party, and our key opponents are from the APC and the Labour Party. Of course, there are other parties.

“Like you rightly said, the will of the people should prevail, and they should be able to elect who they want.”

[guardian]

Text of the Lecture, as delivered, marking the Nigeria’s 63^rd Independence Day under the overarching Theme: “Nigeria at 63, Renewed Hope for National Unity and Prosperity”.

Protocols

I am honoured to be invited as the Lead Speaker at today’s event of Public Lecture cum Symposium marking the 63^rd Anniversary of Nigeria’s Independence Day. I am grateful to the SGF as the Chairman and other members of the Inter-ministerial Committee on the 63^rd Independence Anniversary for identifying me to discharge this function. It is my hope that my presentation will do justice to the confidence that they have reposed in me.

Actualizing the Vision of Renewed Hope For Socio-Economic Development of Nigeria Through Effective Leadership is the topic that I have been assigned. It is not a light topic, or one meant for /borne out of banters. Renewed Hope is the Theme of the Manifesto under which our President ran his campaign. My understanding is that Renewed Hope is borne out of a consciousness of missed opportunities in a country widely recognized for its immense and limitless potentials and the determination of a man of vision to galvanize the entire populace to believe in the immense possibilities that this nation offers, while offering himself to lead the way.

I do not need to get us bored by reeling out the sad tales of our statistics on national development from Independence in 1960 till today. It might just suffice to remember where we were in 1960 in relation to China, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, The United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Brazil etc and where those countries are today. Or by just comparing us with ourselves, to remember where we were in 1980, in terms of our manufacturing industries, oil production, security of lives and property and individual honour as human beings, compared to where we are today. We rank poorly not just on Human Development Index but on all global indices of a nation’s performance, namely: Government Effectiveness; Corruption Control Index, Poverty Index; Social Cohesion Index and Peace Index.  

Our global ranking on Government Effectiveness Index which measures perceptions of the quality of public services, the civil service, the quality of policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of the government's MDAs’ commitment to such policies has been hovering between 162nd and 169th in the last 7 years compared to South Africa’s at 62^nd. The only measurement where we have been on a steady and unmitigated rise is our population, which has serious implications for our national planning, more so that the median age of our population at 18.6 is one of the lowest in the world and contrasts sharply with the figures for South Africa at 28.0, Mauritius at 36.3, United Kingdom at 40.6, Cuba at 42.1, Germany at 47.8 and Japan at 48.6.

These sad statistics are certainly what must have been troubling a Bola Ahmed Tinubu as to envision what he would want his dear country to be under the Renewed Hope agenda of his Manifesto. The 8 Point Agenda are:

• Food Security
• Poverty Eradication
• Economic growth
• Job creation
• Access to Capital
• Inclusion
• Rule of Law, and
• Fighting Corruption

Through these 8-point agenda the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is, according to one of the key members of team Mr Wale Edun, seeking to “move away from the frenzied borrowing of the last government, check the unacceptable high jobless rate, achieve economic growth, prosperity for all and end poverty” with a matching order to Ministers to deliver the first phase of the agenda within 3 years.

Indeed, as we all have now witnessed, the President could not wait to begin to lay the building blocks for the realization of this avowed vision. Right from the grounds of his swearing in ceremony, he started to plug the leakages in the economy with his pronouncement on the removal of the opaque subsidy to premium motor spirit (PMS). Then there were the sector specific appointments of replacement in CEO positions and/or of Special Advisers and Investigators to unravel what is going on in the Revenue generation and economic crime agencies, the CBN, the EFCC etc.

His assemblage of ministers has answered many floating questions of inclusiveness be it on gender, youth, national unity and/or political stability, and technical know-how. His cabinet set up has recognized the enormous potentials of certain sectors for the economy as to propel him to free them of any institutional encumbrances to enable them to unleash the opportunities that abound in those sectors for global competitiveness (Culture & Creative Industry; Blue Economy; etc.). His deployment of ministerial portfolios is challenging hitherto biases and stereotypes on religious and/or ethnic appropriation of certain posts, and through his actions he is restoring a sense of belonging to every Nigerian, irrespective of their religious or ethnic background (FCT).

His foreign trips so far have been driven mainly by the need to attract investments for our country, and the trips to India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are classic examples. Even his attendance of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) still witnessed positive news on investment in the oil sector. These investments are coming in magnitudes that have appeared elusive in the last 10 years. At all times during those trips, he ensures that he meets the Nigerian community in the Diaspora to avail them of his programmes; and the feedback that people like me have been receiving have been encouraging. Where mistake appeared to have been made, he has responded promptly with more acceptable options.

It is obvious that every aspect of these set ups has been deliberately considered and put forward by the President, as none appears to be a fortuitous coincidence. I have been around the top level of the bureaucracy since the commencement of the 4^th Republic in 1999 but this is the first time that I am seeing all these factors play out in one man. Nigeria is at a new dawn, and I would like to employ one of our main national symbols to illustrate my take.

The Nigeria Coat of Arms is composed of a black shield denoting our fertile soil that is traversed from both the northwest and northeast by two great rivers, Niger and Benue respectively, which meet almost at the center of the vast land to continue their journey southwards to discharge their contents in a maze of Delta-induced distributaries to the Atlantic ocean. There are two Horses holding aloft the shield and they represent dignity while the Eagle represents strength. Unfortunately, it appears that that eagle has lost its feathers, not by moulting - the natural process of feather shedding that is bound to induce regrowth, but by bacteria and virus-induced losses, symptomatic of years of mismanagement, corruption, and leadership deficiency at all sectors of our national economy and human endeavors across all tiers of government at national and subnational levels. And so, the great Eagle continues to perch on the Torse. Right now, however, a new spirit is awakening the Eagle – the spirit of a Visionary.

In line with section 147 of the Constitution, which vests in the President the powers to establish office of Ministers as he may wish, he has appointed his ministers and assigned portfolios to them. These Ministers as the principal representatives of the President are already working with the Permanent Secretaries and the CEOs of Parastatals, Agencies and Corporations on ground in their respective ministries as Accounting Officers. Together, they (I mean all of you sitting here and others like you) are to provide the required leadership in their respective offices. It is with them that the powers for the Nigerian Eagle to fly now lies.

As leaders sitting here, how far we can go in mustering the muscles of effectiveness on our various desks, and by so doing regrow the feathers of the Eagle to make it fly, will depend on:

• Our ability as political office holders and career bureaucrats to key into the vision of the President and to work in synergy as co-reinforcing components to drive that agenda; and
• Our ability to appreciate the depth of certain factors that have posed challenges to our public services over the years and our determination and commitment to overcome those challenges.

Actualizing the vision of Renewed Hope For Socio-Economic Development of Nigeria through Effective Leadership is contingent upon appreciation of certain issues, namely:

• Government Structure
• Effective Coordination and Clear Cut Responsibilities (SGF, CoS-P, HCSF)
• Imperative of Consultation, Cooperation and Collaboration
• Responsiveness, Proactive Initiative
• Managing the Capacity Challenge of the Service
• Pay & Labour Issues
• Minister- Permanent Secretary Relationship
• Fighting Corruption
• Citizen Responsibility

The Structure on Ground

Our first task is to appraise the Structure that is currently unfolding from the appointment of the largest number of Ministers in our history and the portfolios that have been assigned to them. There are 3 observations here, namely:

• The Number, at 48 going 50
• The creation/carving out of new Ministries
• The return of the concept of Coordinating Minister

Large Number of Ministries

The sheer number per se should not pose a problem if the checks and balances cost-cutting measures in extant circulars and the Public Service Rules and Financial Regulations are enforced. The salary of Ministers is not where the headache of Government lies, as the remuneration of a Minister is just slightly above those of Commissioners in Executive Bodies like the Federal Character Commission. The real problem is with unrecognized and under the table perquisites of limitless dimensions that we seek and the manipulation of projects to satisfy personal interests and the interests of political party stalwarts. The role of the SGF in bringing these checks and balances cost-cutting measures to the attention of all political office holders through service-wide circulars and ensuring their enforcement is crucial. As a first step, he himself will have to set the example in his official dealings.

The creation/carving out of new Ministries

The creation and/or carving out of new ministries is positive for the economy as it will unlock the potentials hitherto hidden because of fund migration from their vote heads to satisfy requirements in other areas of the Ministry. A classic case as the fate of Culture and Tourism sub sectors under the now defunct Federal Ministry of Information and Culture. Even with a Permanent Secretary that made her career as in Culture, Information consumed most of their funds.

The creation, carving out and/or realignment of Ministries in any administration are bound to elicit some form of struggle for mandate capture or retention. The main challenge however is how quickly the required alignment of ministerial structure and consequential movement of personnel is made to take place. In this regard, it is expected that the professional expertise that exists under Establishment Matters, Management Services and Organizational Design units within the OHCSF as well as the guidance of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) have been activated to carry out the expected alignment, as objectively as possible and without compromising institutional integrity. The idea of some people moving by themselves or lobbying to migrate to perceived new juicy ministry must not be condoned by the HCSF.   

Return of the concept of Coordinating Minister

In my book RGGN vol 1 p. 222-225 I have X rayed the concept of Coordinating Minister of the Economy title bestowed on Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala stating that “Governance structures are not created to sway to ego or conform to the personality stature of an appointee but on the premise of the long term vision that whoever occupy the post will be empowered to perform the functions attached to the office”, and further stressing that “political appointees should fit into governance structures and official titles in a manner that tenants are made to fit into rented apartments as that is what political appointees are – tenants in official positions”.

Now we have two Ministers so designated in this administration. I believe that there must be an on-going thought between the each of these two Ministers that currently carry the Coordination prefix to their respective titles with the Office of the HCSF as well as the OSGF as to their line ministries of coordination, and that the bureaucratic support to service the coordination is being assembled. Personally, I would like to see the concept extended a little further by having a Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and to expand the scope of the coordination under the Minister of Health to cover Human Development so that Education can come into the fold as it is in Indonesia. In our setting and bearing in mind the focus of the 8-Point Agenda, an inter-Ministerial approach to bring line Ministries to relate with one another to articulate common grounds for programme initiation and execution will be a positive thing, provided that we will ensure geopolitical balance in assigning the coordination.

Effective Coordination and Clear-Cut Responsibilities between OSGF, OCoS-P and OHCSF

Actualizing the vision of Renewed Hope For Socio-Economic Development of Nigeria through Effective Leadership is contingent upon effective coordination and clear-cut Roles and Responsibilities among the leadership of the central bureaucratic offices of Government, namely: SGF, HCSF and CoS-P

There is the need to appreciate the constitutional limitations and structural gaps that do not foster effective coordination of the public service by either the SGF or the HCSF.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF)

The centrality of the OSGF to the effective coordination and performance of the presidential bureaucracy holds the key to the success of the administration. While the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) is not constitutionally empowered to control any Service, at any given time it is supported with at least 6 permanent secretaries many of whom are charged with responsibilities that have cross cutting impact, such as Economic Affairs, Political Affairs, Special Services (Security), Ecological Fund Office, apart from the Cabinet Office and the General Services Office. In addition, the establishment of the Office of Policy and Coordination in the office, though at a political office holder level at the moment, provides the crucial platform to track the implementation of the Renewed Hope agenda, as the Office can work in collaboration with the Economic and Political Offices and through them to the entire public service.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation

By the same token, notwithstanding the constitutional interpretation of “Civil Service of the Federation” as: “Service of the federation in a civil capacity …” the scope of the responsibility of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) is confined to the mainstream civil service comprising of officers carrying the employment letters issued by the Federal Civil Service Commission, constituting less than 10% of the federal workforce. Therein lies the structural gaps-induced challenge of coordination of the public service, where a sitting head of the civil service of the federation is looked up to for guidance and resolution of issues across the entire public service, and yet is not able to exercise control over these other services.

Chief of Staff to the President

The Office of the Chief of Staff to the President is the inner ring of the Presidential bureaucracy. It designed to manage the time and space of the President.

Synergy in the official relationships of the three offices is sine qua non to the actualization of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Imperative of Consultation, Cooperation and Collaboration

The creation, carving out and/or realignment of Ministries in this administration are bound to elicit some form of struggle for mandate capture or retention. It is imperative that ministers involved working with their Permanent Secretaries are able to resolve this as quickly as possible so that they can settle down to work. No matter how the mandates are spelt out, there will always be some form of overlap. Duplication is what we should strive to avoid but overlap in function are an inescapable outcome of organizational operations. As I once said in my address to the 40^th National Council of Health in 1995 “Ministries, extra-Ministerial Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are enjoined to close ranks and plug the loopholes in their laws to enable them translate their seeming overlapping functions to strong bonds of strength and effectiveness, as each organ of government is like a building block in the national structure and no building can stand if the component blocks do not have some overlap”.

Responsiveness, Proactive Initiative

How promptly do CEOs of Government agencies respond to issues within their mandate brought to their attention? The general complaint is that correspondences are either attended to very late or not responded to at all. Calls are often not returned under the pretense of being too busy or attending to meetings. We must constantly be reminded of the key requirement that Government offices and agencies must be alert to their responsibilities and responsive to the yearnings of the citizens. In the face of the many local challenges that have begun to coalesce and snowball to national problems, this requirement has now become an urgent imperative. Public servants are servants of the public not their bosses.

We need to turn the table of low public confidence in the capacity of our public services across all arms of government at national and subnational levels, as reflected in the quality of policy formulation and implementation as well as enforcement of laws and regulations, the degree of their independence from political pressures, and the credibility of the commitment of government itself to such policies.

The capacity for proactive initiatives is a defining key attribute of professionalism and leadership. It is an innate quality that sits at the nexus of inspiration and reflex. When it is lacking in people holding executive positions, the safety valve lies in their dual capacity for receptiveness to creative problem-solving ideas by others and the courage to leverage those ideas to take prompt actions. Premium importance needs to be placed on capacity for proactive initiatives, receptivity to ideas, and the courage to take prompt actions in making appointment into top executive positions in government offices and agencies.

Job Creation

Job creation as one of the key pillars of the Renewed Hope Agenda demands a critical review of our current approach to Recruitment, The Youth Challenge, and the Crisis of Succession in the public service. The Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries (CORFEPS) is advocating that “a scientific and predictable system of relieving the system of non-performing officers across the strata of the Civil Service should be in place to enhance its slimness and efficiency under an overarching pro-youth recruitment strategy of Nigerian Public Service Rejuvenation and Reinvigoration”. Toward this end, the Council is calling on Government “to embark on structured recruitment processes to ensure that the best talents are hired into the public service and back it up with an attractive and competitive compensation system to retain them in the service”. The current trend of clamour for increase of retirement age from 60 to 65 years should be discouraged as it runs counter to pro-youth policy and strategies. Instead, policies that promote renewal and career progression of talents such as the Tenure Policy is what should be implemented in all their ramifications. The median age in Nigeria at 18.6 and retirement age in the public service at 60 gives the age band of 41.4 years  compared to less than 30 years for most countries.

The Council of Federal Permanent Secretaries (CORFEPS) is also further recommending that the status of the Nigerian Foreign Service be settled without delay to bring it in line with the international best practice by abiding with the Nigerian Foreign Service Regulations. Towards this end, the Council is advising that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be granted full autonomy through the establishment of a Foreign Service Board to take charge of the recruitment, promotion, discipline, and career management of Foreign Service personnel. It goes without saying that a full-fledged Foreign Service will not only enhance professionalism of career diplomats, by insulating it from non-diplomatic career officers from the pool of the HCSF, but grant the service the opportunity for self-renewal, rejuvenation, and reinvigoration.

Pay Policy and Labour Union Issues

Issues of Pay and Labour relations, though not directly obvious as factors to consider in discussing the actualization of a vision for development in Government, they no doubt constitute underbelly challenges to effective execution of any vision, especially as Labour Union agitation is currently dominating the airwaves.

Pay Policy

Despite the Multiplicity of heterogenous salary structures and scales, HAPSS, CONJUSS, CONTISS, CONMESS, TSS etc there is still an endless agitation by every professional organization for a separate scale for their sector/members. The issue of dichotomy between Treasury-funded and Self-funded Special Salary Structure; and the skewed perception of greater importance attached to revenue generating/collection agencies over their policy department counterparts (e.g. Customs, FIRS versus OAGF and the mainstream supervising Ministry) are  potentials for institutionalized corruption.

The importance of civil servants in policy desks should never be under-estimated in remuneration packages. The undue burden on Government in payment settlements, arising from cases of questionable procurement leading to default as in the CERPAC (Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Alien Card) contract and of the Process and Industrial Development Ltd (P&ID) where Nigeria is currently facing a UK arbitration settlement of over $11 billion and several others like them should be a lesson to Government.

The capacity of a nation or State to grow its economic base is contingent on its ability to move state resources in the direction of capital expenditure for the provision of infrastructure, social services, security, etc., which in turn would affect what can be available for salaries. It is imperative that Government develops a national Pay Policy

Labour Issues

It is important to draw our attention to certain basic facts:

• Labour unions seem to ignore the basic fact that the business of government is to deliver development and services to the populaceand that workers’ salary should appropriately be contingent on: (a) how well this sacred duty of Government is achieved, and (b) ability to pay. Government is not set up merely to pay salaries.
• Their focus on the present, without consideration for future workforce, is against sustainable development principle as enshrined in the constitutional provision of “equal access to gainful employment”which essentially implies intergenerational equity;
• The percentage of workers under the umbrella of the unionized labour is small compared to other Nigerians struggling to make ends meet in their micro and nano businesses.
• There is low productivity of many workers in Government employment, the absence of whom do not dent the performance in Government agencies, as proven by the COVID 19 protocols.
• Labour issues are often used to exert pressures of political relevance rather than shape the public sector for the better; hence their agitations are strategically timed at points of political weakness of the ruling party e.g before a new administration settles in or just before elections.
• Labour unions’ place undue focus on remuneration, leaving out Human Resources (HR) issues. For example, their struggles in the last 2 years are on minimumwage, whereas the majority of public servants across MDAs have been agonizing their stagnation predicament arising from the suspension of the Tenure Policy and the absence of consequential vacancies for their promotion.

Minister- Permanent Secretary Relationship: The Imperative of Mutual Respect between Political Heads (Ministers) and Bureaucratic leadership (Accounting Officers)

Ministers as political heads must strive to accord respect to their Accounting Officers if they want to succeed. Of course, those accounting Officers must also conduct themselves in manners that will earn them that respect.  As I stated in RGGN p. 275 “In order to command the respect of their Ministers, permanent Secretaries should bring the experience of their years of service to bear on their job, through proactive initiatives in the quality of their advice, the maturity of handling sensitive and volatile situations, the timeliness of their response to issues particularly on the directives of their ministers, and their strong commitment to uphold the ethics and values of the system.”

“Ministers, in particular, would need to exercise great restraint so as not to be perceived as operating under the illusion of absolute knowledge and authority. Neither should they be seen as exploiting the advantage of their unfettered access to the President and the Press to undermine and/or ridicule their Permanent Secretaries”.

That there are permanent secretaries and Directors that are in the 35^th year of their service should minister to the youthful ministers in the cabinet about the limit of their “know-it-all” postures.

To restore the integrity of the Permanent Secretary corps, in assigning Permanent Secretaries to Ministries, the “musical chair” mentality of deployment must give way to a “fit for purpose” Ministry assignment and permanent secretaries found wanting after two rounds of deployment on account of irreconcilable differences with their Ministers, and in the absence of sound defence by the HCSF should be retired in the public interest.

Merit should determine appointments and promotion NOT PATRONAGE

There should be no room to entertain questions about capacity, professional competence or corruption of accounting officers in MDAs, as the President is at liberty to determine who is his appointee as a Perm Sec and/or DGs, ES etc

Fighting Corruption

Corruption has festered more despite our multiple anti-corruption laws and their enforcement institutions. Across all sectors, whether it is the NNPC Limited, the CBN, FIRS, Customs etc the nation’s woes have continued to mount. With the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), the Treasury Single Account (TSA) etc in place, humongous amounts of leakages have continued to occur in the treasury of Government. These speak if the integrity of many in leadership positions.

The search light of public sector corruption is always on the career public/civil servants rather than the political office holders. This is because, as I stated in my book RGGN p. 38 “In the kitchen of public sector corruption, the civil servant is the Cook that carefully selects all the ingredients and bakes them into an appetizing “cake”, the Waiter that takes the ready product to the laps of the political office holder, and the Cleaner/Steward that ensures that any fall-out is carefully tidied up that whosoever comes into the system later would not see a sign that anyone had eaten anything therefrom”.

There are at least 18 channels that I have identified through which Recurrent appropriations are abused regularly by Accounting Officers in collusion with their political heads. Indeed, the art of budget manipulation for personal gains as a mode of operation of yearly appropriations of MDAs has become a coveted expertise that certain political office holders usually headhunt in the deployment of Permanent Secretaries and the appointment of DGs as accounting officers in their MDAs.

It is incumbent on the Accounting officers to checkmate their political heads and themselves from bloated and unrealistic Paraphernalia of office in terms of an endless list of perquisites, spanning support staff, fleet of vehicles, working tools, energy source and office space layout; Hiding under the cover of purchase of project vehicles betrays the public trust.

The success of the President is actualizing his Renewed Hope Agenda is contingent on his commitment to really deal with corrupt officials in leadership positions, be they political appointees or career public servants. Doing that at the topmost level is critical as the integrity backbone of the occupants of those positions is what the Accounting Officers and their subordinates would rely upon for the courage to do their jobs.

Conclusion: Counting Our Blessings as Nation, Citizen Responsibility

Two years ago, on the occasion of Nigeria’s 61^st Independence Anniversary, at the Lux Terra Leadership Foundation Town Hall Meeting on Solution Driven and Forward-Thinking Approaches, I issued a Statement titled Nigeria @ 61: Where Do We Go From Here? saying that Nigeria has the best Balance Sheet of Natural Endowments to Natural Hazards and Disasters in the World and I likened our situation to the proverbial “Akebaje” – the Spoilt brat in Yoruba folklore. I stated that Nigerians are like Spoilt brats in the presence of God Almighty. As the Yoruba would say: “Akebaje ti nba omo olowo je” meaning over pampering/undue indulgence is what has rendered the child of the affluent useless: First, you find him crying, and when he is asked “what is the matter”, he says it is because he is hungry; So, you instruct the stewards to serve him a good plate of food. Barely a minute after the plate of food has been placed in front of him, he bursts out crying again; and, patiently, you ask him what the problem is this time; and he answers, “the pile of meat in this plate is not allowing me to reach the soup below”!

Consider the abundance of our minerals, our biodiversity with as many as 1000 species within 1 kilometer in some cases. Ask Minister Dele Alake and the Minister of Environment; and if I may borrow the communication swagger of Minister Nyesom Wike of the FCT: Gold we get am, Gypsum we get am, Bentonite we get am, Gemstones e dey yanfu yanfu; BUT Earthquake we no get am, Tsunami we no get am, Hurricane, Tornadoes, no be our portion. Even the flood that we get, our own in Nigeria na chikinni compared to what other countries face; Our malaria gets treatment, it is not like SARS of East Asia countries or Ebola in our neighbouring countries. Throw maize or yam to the soil in your backyard, you will harvest something in a few months.

As citizens of this great country, we need to stop acting like spoilt brats. We must sit up and appreciate the enormous opportunities that God has placed before us by virtue of our natural resource endowments, His protection over us from natural disasters, and the beauty of our triple intertwining diversities across biological, physical terrain and culture spheres. These are wholesome blessings that present themselves to us as opportunities as a nation; opportunities that will elude us if we choose not to embrace them and cling to primordial sectional agenda.

We owe it a duty to ourselves, our children, and the generations yet unborn to play our parts as leaders at whatever level we find ourselves. The election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, despite all the odds on his path, must minister to us as a nation about the awesomeness and grace of God. As the President, he has placed before us his Vision of Renewed Hope. At this time in our nation’s history, he is the Eagle on our nation’s Coat of Arms. The Visionary has perched. But his plumage is going to be provided by all of us in leadership positions at all levels across the three arms of Government in this nation at national and sub-national levels. The issues that I have identified in this paper are the feathers to be regenerated by the effective leadership that he is expecting you all to provide in your respective positions. He is anxiously waiting for these feathers to enable him to spread those wings to their full span and lift up for Nigeria to soar to the skies, the skies of its socio-economic development, national unity and prosperity.

Happy 63^rd Anniversary of our nation’s Independence!!

I thank you all for your kind attention!

Goke Adegoroye, PhD, OON                                                                                            

The Chief Executive Officer of X, Linda Yaccarino is confident that the company will become profitable in early 2024.
Yaccarino stated this in an interview at the Code Conference.

• “The confidence in profitability is hinged on the disclosure that “90% of the top 100 advertisers have returned to the platform in the last twelve weeks alone.”

Several advertisers were reported to have left the platform formerly known as Twitter as Elon Musk took over last year. Their return means an increase in revenue for the company.

She added that the time users spend on X has gone up since June, apparently as a result of the ad revenue sharing program which has more users posting on the platform to drive views and engagements in order to have a share of the ad revenue.

Earlier in August, Yaccarino had also stated that the company was “pretty close to breakeven” in terms of operational run rate.

• “Now that I have immersed myself in the business, and we have a good set of eyes on what is predictable, what’s coming is that it looks like in early ’24, we will be turning a profit,” Yaccarino said.

The profitability journey

X, formerly Twitter, was acquired by Elon Musk in October last year. The billionaire has since been doing everything possible to bring the company, which he said was on the verge of bankruptcy, to profitability.

Part of the new changes introduced by Musk was the paid monthly subscriptions for the blue tick with new exclusive features and ad revenue-sharing program, which encourage content creators to remain on the platform.

X also reduced its spending by cutting the size of its staff from 8,000 to about 1,500; further, laid-off employees still have not been paid severance.

Misinformation concern on X

With the increase in users on the platform, the European Union earlier this week accused X of being used by pro-Russian forces to push misinformation and disinformation about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The EU said these actors are more in number on X compared with other social networking platforms such as TikTok, and Facebook, among others.

The company has, however, debunked the claim saying the EU’s position is not a reflection of its data. X said it has also been addressing misinformation on its platform through its community notes feature.

[Nairametrics]

The Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, on Thursday, locked out staff of his ministry over their late resumption to office duties.

LEADERSHIP reports that the workers consequently staged a protest following the Minister’s decision to lock them outside.

The protesting staff, who were chanting “Umahi Must Go”, lamented that they reside far away and there was no way they come come to the office early.

One of the senior staff, who who spoke with LEADERSHIP on condition of anonymity, said the major reason for their coming to work late was because of the distance of where they are living.

He explained that some of them reside as far as Gwagwalada, Keffi, Abaji, Kuje, Kwali, and Kaduna Road satellite towns and sometimes they join others who have cars to reduce the cost of transportation.

“That some of them are on hundred thousand naira salary a month, some are on N80,000 salary a month and they are married people. So by the time you subtract both transport and everything, you have nothing left with nothing. So, they have to rely on one way or the other to come to office,” he said.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the minister later allowed them in but they refused to enter the Ministry’s building, insisting that the minister must come out and address them.

According to them, their desire was for the minister to take measures about their late coming, adding that he did not warn or issue any circular to inform them that he was going going to lock them out.

[Leadership]