The National Assembly yesterday waded into the controversy generated by the Federal Government’s plan to peg the age limit for students to write the West Africa Senior Secondary School Certificate, WASSCE, examination at 18 years.

It will be recalled that the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, announced plans on Sunday by the federal government to set the age limit for the examination to 18 years.

This is even as the government’s decision yesterday elicited more condemnations, as former Vice President Abubakar Atiku and civil society organisations, CSOs, described it as archaic and draconian.

They also asked the government to put it on hold and call a meeting of stakeholders in the education sector to deliberate on the matter.

It’ll be subjected to public hearing — Senate

Reacting to the development yesterday, the Senate said it would subject the issue to public hearing when it comes before senators.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South), said: “The Senate will consider, through it’s relevant committee, public views on any government policy brought to our legislative notice. Whatever is brought to the Senate for constitutional and statutory stamps shall be subjected to legislative crucible which includes public hearings.”

We haven’t been briefed — Reps

On his part, spokesman of the House of Representatives, Akin Rotimi, said the Green Chamber has no position on the matter yet, as members have not been briefed.

‘’I cannot say anything for now. When the House resumes and the matter is brought before it, it will be looked into,” he said.

However, aside from the former vice president, others who reacted included founder of Concerned Parents and Educators Network, CPE, Mrs Yinka Ogunde; the National Coordinator of Education Rights Campaign, ERC, Hassan Soweto; Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education, CHRICED; and Global Rights Nigeria, among others.

They were reacting to the statement by the Minister of Education, on Sunday night that the government had pegged the age at which candidates would sit for the examination at 18 beginning from next year.

The development would also mean that such candidates would not be able to write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, for placement into higher institutions until they are 18, since candidates need WASSCE results to back up their admission processes.

Mamman had earlier in the year, suggested making 18 the admission age into higher institutions during a stakeholders’ meeting called by JAMB, but was opposed by most of the participants

Policy archaic, barrier to academic freedom — Atiku

Condemning government’s declaration yesterday, Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 elections, described the policy thrust as absurd and a barrier to academic freedom.

Atiku aired his thoughts in a piece, titled “Tinubu’s policy on age limit for tertiary education admission belongs in the Stone Ages,” posted on his Facebook page.

He wrote: “The recent policy of the Federal Ministry of Education pegging age limit for entry to tertiary institutions is an absurdity and a disincentive to scholarship.

“The policy runs foul of the delineation of responsibilities in a federal system of government such as we are practising, and gives a graphic impression of how the Tinubu government behaves like a lost sailor on a high sea.
“Otherwise, how is such anti-scholarship regulation the next logical step in the myriad of issues besetting our educational system?

“To be clear, the Nigerian constitution puts education in the concurrent list of schedules, in which the sub-national governments enjoy more roles above the Federal Government.

“Therefore, it is extra-constitutional for the Federal Government to legislate on education like a decree.

“The best global standard for such regulation is to allow the sub-national governments to make respective laws or rules on education.

“It is discouraging that even while announcing this obnoxious policy, the government inadvertently said it had no plan to cater for specially gifted pupils.

“The statement is an embarrassment to the body of intellectuals in the country because it portrays Nigeria as a country where gifted students are not appreciated.

“The irony here is that should the Federal Government play any role in education, it is to set up mechanisms that will identify and grant scholarships to gifted students, not minding their ages, before applying for admission into tertiary institutions.

“This controversial policy belongs in the stone ages and should be roundly condemned by everyone who believes in intellectual freedom and accessibility.”

FG should not act like a military regime —CPE

In her reaction, the founder of CPE, Mrs Yinka Ogunde, noted that the Federal Government has not considered many things before deciding on the policy.

“The Federal Ministry of Education cannot be run by making arbitrary decisions. It has created dilemmas and confusion all over the country. We need to start from the foundation. If stakeholders in the sector agreed that students should be at least 18 before seeking admission to tertiary institutions, among others, it is not something to be done by fiat.

“We will have to start from primary school where no pupil is allowed to be in primary one unless he or she is six years. Then we enforce such and if any private school defaults, the owner can be penalised and if it is a public school, the head teacher can be sanctioned too.

“But to wake up and say from next year, we would do this, is not realistic. We are not in a military regime and people should be consulted.

“If we are starting it this year, what becomes of millions of secondary school students who are not going to clock 18 before they graduate from their schools? We are not in a dictatorship and necessary consultations must be done and if we are starting now, it should be from the foundation, which is primary school,” she said.

No minimum age for marriage but education —Global Rights

Also reacting, Executive Director, Global Rights Nigeria, Abiodun Baiyewu, called on the Federal Government to review the policy.

Baiyewu said: “I think the policy needs to be reviewed, given the global competition Nigerian children will be confronted with, aside taking away their right to be self-determining, and right to development, which are fundamental human rights.

“Most advanced countries mandate that children remain in school till they turn 17 to ensure they get as much education as possible, given that in most systems, they can complete secondary education.

“In Nigeria, education is not compulsory. Nigeria has the most number of out-of-school children in the world (20 million).

“Barring children from accessing higher education till they turn 18 does not guarantee them the security of staying in secondary school till they turn 18. A break in their education might mean the end of their education.

“It is amusing that the government has a minimum age for accessing tertiary education but no minimum age for marriage!
“Thousands of girls are withdrawn from school and married off before they are equipped physically, psychologically and/or economically to contend with marriage and the responsibilities it comes with.

“Even in countries where there are minimum access age, there are exceptions for exceptionally gifted children to access tertiary education or their curriculum before they attain the minimum age.

Another retrogressive policy — ANEEJ

Executive Director, Africa Network for Environmental and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, Rev David Ugolor, disagreed with the policy, describing it as retrogressive.

Ugolor accused policymakers of having their children school abroad and failing to consider children back home.

He said: “This is another retrogressive policy that will retard the progress of the country. Unfortunately, most of the policy makers have their families outside the country and they continue to release policies that have no basis for progress.

“The issue of age looks absurd, considering global best practice. I would like to see evidence why this policy will be a good option because the government hardly cares about data.”

Suspend policy immediately – ERC

Similarly, the National Coordinator of Education Rights Campaign, ERC, Hassan Taiwo Soweto, called for immediate suspension of the policy because the minister did not follow due consultation before making such a directive.

“We ask for the immediate suspension of this policy, pending democratic consultation by stakeholders in the education sector. Our call for suspension is based on the following.

‘’First and foremost, the sudden enforcement of this policy has negative implications for thousands of young people who have applied for admission into tertiary institutions and were supremely qualified to do so until the minister of education suddenly decided to enforce this policy.

“As far as we are concerned, we do not agree that the lives and future of our young ones should be forfeited as a result of this policy, which has been dormant for years. Many of these young children and aspiring undergraduates knew nothing about it.

‘’They applied to primary school at an early age, completed this, and moved on to secondary school meritoriously. It is not their fault they graduated from secondary school at an age earlier than the standard prescribed in law, so they should not be punished for something they know nothing about.

“Two, the minister cannot suddenly wake up to remember a policy that has been dormant for years and begin to enforce it just like that. Where is the space for consultation? Where is the respect for the public?

‘’This policy has been routinely flouted by school authorities for decades. The greatest culprits are private primary and secondary schools, which admit pupils at ages earlier than what the standard prescribes.

‘’To make matters worse, the policy of double and triple promotions of brilliant students by these private schools has added to the distortion of educational standards by ensuring that many pupils jump over different stages of their education.

“These are the issues the minister should address first. Where is the inspectorate directorate of the Ministry of Education in all these? To us, what should be enforced first is the respect of school authorities for laid down educational standards.

‘’What the Ministry of education is trying to do now is to ambush students when the real problem is the irresponsibility of the ministry towards the discharge of its function as a monitoring and inspectorate agency for both public and private schools.

“The last reason we are calling for suspension is that this policy does not appear relevant to our reality at present, especially at a period when our understanding and conception of the age of adolescence and adulthood is evolving before our very eyes.

‘’Particularly, in this millennium, adulthood often comes earlier than 18 years. This is why many countries in the world are reviewing the legal framework for the age of adulthood in their respective jurisdictions.

“At the same time, we recognise the concern that many have, that children are being robbed of their childhood because of the demand and pressure of early and rushed education. This is a valid concern, but it is not something that can be imposed, especially by a Ministry of Education that has been brazenly irresponsible in the discharge of its functions.
“We need a middle point, and the only way to arrive at that is to subject this policy to a thorough discussion by stakeholders before rushing to enforce it.

‘’To this extent, we ask the minister to convene a summit of stakeholders in the education sector, including parents, unions, and civil society organisations, to have a thorough discussion that can link Nigeria’s national policy on education with current realities. In the meantime, this policy should be immediately suspended.”

Policy’ll lead to capital flight — Don

Also, a university lecturer, Dr Stella Aririguzuh, said the policy would lead to capital flight.

Aririguzuh, who is the Head, Department of Mass Communication, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, said this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sango-Ota yesterday.

“More parents will send their children to schools outside Nigeria, further depleting our resources,” Aririguzuh said.
She explained that the policy would kill the zeal of students to push themselves to achieve more in their younger days.
Aririguzuh, however, noted that the advantage of the policy was that the country would have matured students coming into the universities.

CHRICED, Northern Youths Blast FG over policy

In their reactions yesterday, the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education, CHRICED, and Arewa Youth Assembly faulted the policy, describing it as absurd and unconstitutional.

According to Dr. Zikirullahi Ibrahim, Executive Director of CHRICED, the policy violates the 1999 Constitution which lists education as a concurrent responsibility of local governments, states, and the Federal Government.

Dr. Ibrahim noted that the federal government’s move was absurd and doubted anyone would comply with it.

He warned that the policy might lead to increased forgery and age falsification, undermining its intended purpose.
He stated: “I believe this is the problem we face with the current regime; the government continually makes ‘wrong’ decisions.

“Education is part of the concurrent list in the 1999 constitution, as amended. Local government councils and states also have roles to play in education. Is the Federal Government attempting to override that section of the constitution?

“If a state government decides not to comply with the Federal Government and the SSCE is conducted nationally, will the state be exempted?

“Therefore, the Federal Government’s move is absurd, and I’m not sure anyone will comply with it. Such actions may push Nigerians toward forgery of birth certificates and age falsification.

“Every child has unique potential and is endowed differently. Insisting that 18 years is the minimum age for WASSCE will not work; it is a flawed idea because Nigerians are unlikely to comply.”

Reacting in the same vein, Mohammed Danlami, Coordinator of Arewa Youth Assembly, argued that the policy will hinder Nigeria’s progress by stifling the intellectual growth of young prodigies.

He questioned whether rapid promotions due to natural intelligence or intellectual gifts should be halted because of age.

Danlami also raised concerns about its impact on Nigeria’s education system, already plagued by ASUU strikes and prolonged JAMB registration processes.

He stated: “Some students experience rapid promotions due to their natural intelligence or intellectual gifts. Are we going to halt their educational advancements because of their age? This is not the kind of law we need in Nigeria.
“If we can have university graduates at 18, it should be a source of pride for the nation. Do we want to be a country that graduates its youth at the age 30 or 35?

“If we want Nigeria to progress, we should focus on empowering our young people early in life. How do we harness their agility and idealistic perspectives? By educating them early and helping them graduate in their early twenties.
“With ASUU strikes and multiple attempts at JAMB before admission, many may not graduate before turning 30. In the job market, employers prefer graduates in their early twenties.”

Vanguard News Nigeria

Wale Edun, minister of finance, says the whistleblowing policy has helped the federal government to recover N83 billion, $609 million, and €5 million.

Edun spoke on Wednesday at a one-day sensitisation workshop on implementing the policy in Nigeria.

The policy was introduced by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016, but attempts to enact a legislative framework have failed repeatedly.

“The policy has already shown promise, with significant recoveries made since its inception in 2016,” Edun said.

“The whistleblowing policy has recovered funds totalling N83,019,178,375.86; $609,083,391.91; 5,494,743.71 Euros between 2017 and 2023.”

Edun, however, said more needs to be done to encourage Nigerians to own the fight against corruption and report financial misappropriation.

The minister said the bill is being prepared and will be presented to the national assembly soon.

He said the proposed bill seeks to provide a robust legal framework for protecting whistleblowers and ensure that reports are handled with confidentiality and prompt action.

Edun assured of the Tinubu-led administration’s commitment to ensuring that the policy is pursued with strict compliance with the rule of law to achieve transparency and accountability in governance.

‘POLICY PROVEN TO BE A TOOL IN UNCOVERING CORRUPT PRACTICES’

In his remarks, Okokon Ekanem Udo, the permanent secretary of special duties at the ministry, said the whistleblower policy, since its inception, has proven to be one of the veritable tools in uncovering corrupt practices within the public and private sectors.

Udo said it intends to empower citizens to report identified misappropriation of public funds and other fraudulent activities to the relevant authorities, thereby contributing towards the institutionalisation of transparency and accountability in governance.

The permanent secretary said the implementation of the policy has encountered some challenges just like other government policies.

“At the initial stage, there was widespread enthusiasm on the part of Nigerians about the introduction of the policy. The momentum and popularity that heralded its introduction need to be reinforced and sustained,” he said.

Udo said the sensitisation workshop was designed to deepen the understanding of the policy in Nigeria and also foster cooperation among the key stakeholders.

These stakeholders, he said, include the implementing team, the civil society organisations, as well as members of the media.

Also speaking, Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary at the ministry, said it is important to focus on strengthening the protection of whistleblowers and safeguarding their identities.

This, she said, would encourage more individuals to come forward and contribute to the fight against corruption and misconduct.

Jafiya, who was represented by Olusola Dada, the ministry’s director of human resources, said there is a need to improve reporting mechanisms to make reporting channels more accessible, user-friendly and effective.

“It is essential that these mechanisms not only facilitate the reporting of concerns but also ensure that those concerns are addressed promptly and transparently,” Jafiya said.

She said the journey towards an effective whistleblowing regime is a collaborative effort.

According to the statement, with the reinvigoration of the whistleblower policy, the government aims to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of public finances and preserve the country’s assets.

The ministry said the draft bill is a significant step towards achieving this goal and demonstrates the government’s commitment to fighting corruption and promoting good governance.

The Right Honourable Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker of the house of representatives, has recently blundered into one faux pas after another. These embarrassing social gaffes and transgressions are happening far too frequently. The latest ones give the impression that he is losing touch with the nature and psychology of his Igbo roots. Ndigbo are republicans and no one in authority at any level can sway them in any way against their will.

Simply because you are in a position of authority does not mean that you can dictate to Ndigbo, treat them shabbily, or force anything down their throat. When they do push back, they don’t take prisoners, and Honourable Kalu should avoid such a collision.

That was why when viewing the two most recent videos of Honourable Benjamin Kanu, in which he addressed Ndigbo both directly and indirectly or pledged allegiance to his political party or the president on their behalf, one had his heart in his mouth. With certain ethnic groups, it could be feasible to keep such pledges, but not with the Ndigbo. They will use their blood to resist it.

The first video was that Ndigbo shouldn’t participate in the End Hunger protest. Not only were the justifications he offered banal, but even more so, the method he delivered the message was demeaningly offensive. There was no appeal. It sounded more like an order or command as if he had the authority to choose when Ndigbo should protest and when not to.

The consensus was that Ndigbo should avoid the protest in the south-east and elsewhere before Kalu even spoke because some government officials and some e-rats had already labelled and gaslighted Ndigbo as the protest organisers thus setting them up to take the blame and they had to dodge the bullet.

So, it wasn’t really necessary for Deputy Speaker Kalu to speak at that moment, and he ostensibly did so in an attempt to claim credit for persuading Ndigbo not to get involved—which was untrue. This is a prime example of “eye service,” as we call it in local parlance, and a desperate attempt to appease the ‘Oga at the top’. A real Igbo leader does not yield, falter, or bow down to outside forces to appease their whims. True Igbo leaders speak truth to power and do not throw their people under the bus to get into any good book.

If there was any doubt about Benjamin Kalu’s true motivations and his desire to appease the Tinubu presidency, the second video dispelled it. Therein he warned Governor Alex Otti that he would be the final Labour Party governor of Abia state. He explained his strange and presumptuous reasons. According to Kalu, Tinubu provided the south-east with the South East Development Commission, and the president and the APC should get credit for it by winning control of the Abia government house in the next guber election. He didn’t explicitly announce that he wanted to conquer the entire south-east, but it was inferred that the president ought to be rewarded with control over all of the south-east’s states by the ruling party.

While warmly acknowledging that Governor Otti is doing a great job and “would do the needful at the appropriate time,” Kalu stated, “Monkey should not be working and baboons will be chopping.” The question then becomes: Given Kalu’s declaration that the Labour Party cannot survive past Otti’s current tenure, what must Otti do? In all logic, Otti has two options: he may either join the APC or lose the election by any means necessary, democratic or not, legal or extralegal.

It cannot be deemed a coincidence when one takes into account how Alex Otti became governor. The people of Abia state voted for change and succeeded in getting rid of the PDP’s bad governance in the state since 1999. Therefore, is the deputyspeaker saying that Abia cannot keep the Labour Party and Alex Otti in office even after he freely admitted that Otti is doing well?

The threat of Deputy Speaker Kalu simply means votes will no longer ensure the Abia people will keep Otti and the Labour Party in office come election time if they so desire. If so, it is a warning sign for democracy. Democracy is based on the majority’s right to rule while allowing the minority to express their opinions through vote. However, Kalu’s claim makes it quite evident that it won’t be the case this time since Otti’s hopes of using his good deeds to win back the governorship in the next governorship election cannot happen if he does not dump the Labour Party for the ruling party, the APC, as decreed by Kalu.

When Benjamin Kalu was chosen as deputy speaker, he held out so much promise. With the older Igbo leaders succumbing to the corrosion of time, many saw in him a new hope for producing a new generation of leaders. The Igbo people now need a great deal of new leaders with the deaths of men like Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, and Dr Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu. Even the relatively young Arc Ferdinand Agu and Senator Ifeanyi Ubah have also joined their ancestors, leaving behind very large shoes.

The hope had been that Deputy Spreader Kalu, who is ranked sixth in the Nigerian polity’s hierarchy of protocol, has a great historical opportunity to emerge as one of the new Igbo leaders. However, the way he has been acting lately leaves a lot to be desired, which challenges the trust and optimism that people once reposed in him.

Kalu deserves praise for initiating the south-east security and development programme and for being instrumental in the passage and signing into law the South-East Development Commission legislation. He shouldn’t throw away his good works by undermining Ndigbo or believing that his position automatically grants him the authority to speak for the Igbo people. By the time he realises that he is mistaken, it will be too late.

Kalu is however free to make a case that the south-east needs to join the APC to have a bigger say in the party and the country, but he cannot insist that President Tinubu or the APC has the right to take over the south-east without working for it. Kalu also needs to remember that the mutual mistrust that existed between the Buhari government and Ndigbo could not be cured by his construction of the Second Niger Bridge or any other project of that nature.

A candid piece of advice would be that making sure the Igbo people receive their due share in Nigeria is the only way Kalu can win over the Igbo people’s hearts. Asking for this isn’t too much. Kalu’s current strategy is doing more harm than good because it is further alienating the south-east from himself and the Tinubu government.

The deputy speaker can, however, correct these errors by regaining perspective and by remembering that Ndigbo are republicans and will never yield to coercion or threat. Taa bu gbo, as Ndigbo would say, which means today is still early to begin retracing the missteps. For the wise, a word is sufficient.

Dr Law Mefor, an Abuja-based forensic and social psychologist, is a fellow of The Abuja School of Social and Political Thought. He can be reached via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Twitter: @Drlawsonmefor.

To say that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is enmeshed in a crisis of credibility is to put the situation mildly. For a man who got to office with a statistically narrow mandate of 37 percent of total votes cast, many expected Tinubu to rise above himself in order to establish an enduring legacy. That expectation now appears misplaced. Even more worrisome is that despite being in a ditch, the president and his handlers continue to dig by displaying a behaviour the Yoruba would describe as “tani o mu mi”. As I once explained on this page, it is the kind of impunity that carries a certain sense of hubris, not only for the perpetrator(s) but also for the larger society.

It all began with a report in TheCable, which supplied the proof for what most already suspected or knew: The federal government has been spending trillions of Naira to pay for fuel subsidy even when officials continue to parrot the presidential deceit that “subsidy is gone.” Then, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar released a scathing statement that Nigeria “has been effectively mortgaged to President Bola Tinubu, his family, and associates,” citing how the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) allegedly put its retail arm under the control of OVH, which he claimed (it has been disputed by NNPC Ltd) is controlled by Wale Tinubu’s Oando.

These issues were still playing out when Nigerians got to know that a new presidential jet had been surreptitiously purchased by a government that has been doubling down on policies that make life difficult for the ordinary Nigerian. “The new plane, bought far below the market price, saves Nigeria huge maintenance and fuel costs, running into millions of dollars yearly,” was all the explanation from the villa, even when Nigerians still don’t know the cost of this plane and how it was acquired. And we probably would not have been informed about it had the Chinese firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co Limited, not impounded three presidential aircraft in Paris, following the order of a French court on their dispute with Ogun State. It was the court that included one ACJ330-200, 5N-FGA (msn 1053), “recently bought from AMAC Corporate Jet (AMK, Zurich) and still stationed at Basel” while authorising the bailiffs “to go any place where the aircraft registered 5N-FGU, 5N-FGT and 5N-FGA are located and seize them.”

That was how Nigerians got to know that we have a new presidential jet. The aircraft, we would later learn, was released as an act of benevolence to our president by the Chinese company so that it would not affect his travel plans, including to China next week for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit. Incidentally, I am currently in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China for the 2024 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road where I was among the speakers yesterday on the theme, ‘Enhancing media cooperation for common development.’ I will also be attending the 3rd Belt and Road News Network (BRNN) Council meeting today before heading back home on Sunday.

In his column last Sunday explaining how Tinubu’s fuel subsidy reform efforts unravelled, Waziri Adio concluded that for the administration, “an open acknowledgment” that subsidy is still very much with us “is a necessary starting point, for you cannot address what you haven’t even accepted exists or is a problem.” And “after coming clean, the government needs to level up with Nigerians about how it plans to manage the subsidy in a transparent and accountable way.” But that is precisely where the problem lies: This president is exhibiting a contempt for transparency and accountability in the conduct of government business. We saw that with the award of the contract for the multi trillion Naira Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project and the manner several budgets are running concurrently.

So much has been said about Tinubu’s political acumen and the fact that he plotted his way to power without being beholden to any interest. That may well be true. But a leader must embody not only political skills to secure power but also the right values that would enable him to govern in the interest of the public good. When a president calls citizens to a greater national purpose or makes decisions that are broadly seen as driven by good impulses, according to Michael Hogue, they can drive extraordinary results. “He’ll have the public on his side, even when many people disagree with his policies if what he is pursuing is fair, instils pride in national action, or serves laudable goals.” While Hogue’s thesis may be on the American presidency, the moral authority he canvasses is indeed true of all presidencies.

Due to the policy choices being made by the Tinubu administration – which may not necessarily be wrong but have been implemented in a cavalier manner, Nigerians have had to bear an unprecedented hardship occasioned by astronomical costs of goods and services in the past 15 months. Effectively, local air travel has been placed beyond the reach of most Nigerians as can be glimpsed from industry statistics. We pay several times more at the pump than at any time in history. Electricity tariffs have gone through the roof, regardless of whether one is categorised under Band A, B or F. Parents have had to withdraw their children from schooling abroad following the collapse of the Naira. And any middle-class professional who doesn’t know the prices of basic foodstuffs like garri, rice, tomatoes etc. in the market must belong to the Godswill Akpabio exclusive club of those who are “eating”.

Unfortunately, the president believes he can continue to live like an emperor and revel in ostentatious lifestyle at a time millions of Nigerians are attempting to cope with harrowing times. I saw this quite early, in fact within the first month of the administration and I warned in a column, ‘My convoy is longer than yours’, following his first official visit to Lagos. “What was on display is a metaphor for profligacy and abuse of public resources that have come to define officialdom in Nigeria,” I wrote in response to the video of his long convoy of vehicles, which was posted on social media by a bragging supporter of the president. “The real issue is whether a government that preaches sacrifice can continue with such indulgence, especially at a period when many people are going through hard times.”  

I then stressed the need for President Tinubu and his handlers not to misread the public mood. “That he has used his honeymoon period to strike when the iron is still hot on two critical policy issues may have earned him momentary applause on decisive leadership. But there are no predictable outcomes for those choices in an environment where several variables are beyond his control. So, there is a need for caution,” I counselled in what has turned out to be prescient before I concluded: “While human nature predisposes people to act mostly in pursuit of self-interest, the essence of government is to subordinate the personal convenience of individuals to the imperatives of the common good. Yet, the crisis of present-day Nigeria is that there is little in our code of public conduct that encourages moderation or sacrifice. Rolling back conveniences, no matter how little, are usually some of the first steps public officials take when their country battle economic downturns.”

The times we are in call for a different leadership template than the one currently on display. Public expectations of leaders who seek sacrifice from the people are enormous and no president in contemporary history has demanded more from Nigerians than Tinubu with the policies he has initiated. He must therefore begin to embrace transparency if he wants to earn the trust and respect of Nigerians. He must also begin to set high standards for himself and take responsibility for mistakes. On that score, he should own up to the fact that we continue to commit enormous resources to paying fuel subsidies. Nigerians also want to know how much was paid for the newly acquired presidential jet and the process through which it was procured. When citizens see leaders being honest and open, trust and loyalty flourish. And that creates a sense of ownership without which no reform measures can succeed.

Meanwhile, it would seem the administration thrives on announcing policies by whims, with little thought to implementation. In February, an eight-man committee headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume was given a 12-week deadline for the full implementation of the Oronsaye Report through mergers, scrapings, and relocations of some agencies. That, of course, was after Tinubu had created more ministries than any previous administration. It is therefore no surprise that more than seven months after that sensational announcement, nothing has happened. Now, the Chief of Staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila, is saying there is no timeline for implementing the Oronsaye Report!

The president and his handlers must understand that public officials who believe in their invincibility are poor students of history. Malcom Gladwell, famous American journalist and author made that point rather poignantly in his book, ‘David and Goliath’. Power, according to Gladwell, has an important limitation. “It has to be seen as legitimate, or else its use has the opposite of its intended effect”, which may then come with dire consequences. I stated earlier that Tinubu has elevated himself to the status of ‘Ta ni o mu mi’. But the danger with ‘Tani o mu mi’—a strange place where both the codes of morality and the boundary between right and wrong have simply disappeared—is that it is a two-edged sword.

Having achieved presidential power and the unlimited privileges that go with it in Nigeria, the dominant school of thought is that Tinubu has reached the destination he longed for. That may well explain why he is courting authoritarianism with the acquiescence of a pliant National Assembly and the seeming resignation of a docile populace. But I still want to believe that we are misreading the president. He must know what he is doing, and I therefore expect he will end up on the right side of history. From 1992 when he was a Senator during the aborted Third Republic of General Ibrahim Babangida to his period as Lagos State Governor and then as a private citizen, with enormous political clout, I have had the privilege of close personal interactions with Tinubu. And if those experiences count for anything, it is that Tinubu is empathic and is interested in the welfare of the people and the broader good. But if I am wrong, and all his exertions in the last two decades were to become president of Nigeria as an end in itself, or simply to enjoy the trappings of the office, then there can be no greater tragedy. For him, as well as our beloved country.

• You can follow me on my X (formerly Twitter) handle, @Olusegunverdict and on www.olusegunadeniyi.com  

We have been watching with trepidation, great angst and baited breath, the unfathonable macabre dance exhibited by the nation's Police Force against the leadership of Nigerian workers, most notably, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero.

Our seeming silence was observed in the hope that the Police would beat a hasty retreat from their actions and tread the path of caution and civility.

We have no bones to grind with the Police authorities and as citizens of this greatly beloved but much beleguered country, we are ever willing to cooperate with the authorities whenever demanded by national imperatives and exigencies, the Police included, but it must never be at the expense of our Union, our people and our country.

The importance of fighting for and defending our nation state, Nigeria, cannot be over-emphasized. We are patriots, we are Nigerians and we love our country, inspite of deeply inherent socio-economic contradictions that are threatening our very existence as a nation.

Let it be very clear to all, that the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, is in full solidary with the national President of Nigeria Labour Congress, its entire leadership structures and affiliates nationwide at all times, especially at these trying moments.

We urge the Police and security forces to exercise maximun restraint in their engagements and interactions with Nigerians, who hold views that are different from those of the status quo; free speech and the right to hold opinion are fundamental to our liberty as a free people.

We are in this wise, putting all our Councils and members across the federation on notice, over the unfortunate attacks on the labour leadership.

Be prepared!

The NUJ FCT Council is by this wise, especially enjoined and directed to fully mobilize in concert with other affiliates of the NLC to accompany the NLC President as he goes to honour the invitation of the Police by 8a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, August 29, 2024.

Achike Chude
National Secretary, NUJ.

Financial experts and economists have told President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that Nigeria’s 3.19 percent Gross Domestic Product growth rise in the second quarter of 2024 has failed to reflect on the living conditions of citizens.

This comes as the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday disclosed that the services sector pushed Nigeria’s economy to achieve two consecutive GDP growth of 3.19 percent in Q2 up from 2.98 percent recorded in the preceding quarter.

The GDP growth rate is higher than the 2.51 percent recorded in the corresponding quarter in 2023.

According to the NBS data, the industry and services sectors contributed more to the aggregate GDP in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023.

Only the services sector contributed 58.76 percent to the total GDP.

A further analysis showed that while the non-oil sector contributed 94.30 percent in real terms to the Nation’s GDP, the oil sector was 5.70 percent in Q2 2024.

Meanwhile, despite the GDP growth, economists query why the two consecutive rises in economic activities have not impacted the living conditions of Nigerians.

This collaborates with the Director General of the World Trade Organization, WTO, and Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s recent statement that the country’s economic fortunes recorded a reversal since 2014 with steady GDP growth decline.

Recall that NBS July’s data indicated that inflation slowed down to 33.40 percent from 34.19 percent in June 2024.

Meanwhile, prices of goods and services have remained high for the majority of Nigerians despite policy interventions by President Tinubu’s government.

Speaking with DAILY POST on Monday on the development, Prof Segun Ajibola, a renowned economist and former President and Chairman of the Council of Chartered Institute of Bankers said that Nigeria’s macroeconomics variables have yet to have the desired impact on the living conditions of Nigerians.

According to him, macroeconomic indicators such as GDP must touch the micro indices to change the narrative.

He urged that the government needed to gear towards transmitting the mechanisms between the macro level such as GDP and the micro level such as household income, and consumption.

He added that the country’s rate should be holistic and all-encompassing across the primary (such as agriculture, mining); secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary (services) sectors to have a balanced, fully integrated growth trajectory that can more easily translate to development.

“The truth however is that the macro variables may not have the desired impact on the living conditions of the people unless the macro performance is cascaded down to the populace, especially the masses that are eking out a living.

“The macro must touch the micro to change the narratives. It is the end that justifies the means.

“The improved growth rate is good news no doubt. As a country, we need to work on the transmission mechanisms between the macro level such as GDP and micro level such as household income and consumption, so as not to be entangled in the trap of growth without development, which is ravaging many developing nations.

“It is also important for growth to be driven across the primary (such as agriculture, mining); secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary (services) sectors to have a balanced, fully integrated growth trajectory that can more easily translate to development”, he told DAILY POST.

On his part, a financial analyst and the Chief Executive Officer of SD & D Capital Management, Gbolade Idakolo said that the latest GDP growth is not a pointer that the economy is out of the woods.

Idakolo stressed that the figure is at variance with reality.

In his words, “The economy, in reality, is shrinking and needs a drastic measure to bounce back”, he told DAILY POST.

“The NBS GDP is at variance with reality just like the inflation rate decline. The statistical data used by NBS does not take into cognizance the declining productivity in the economy.

“Most businesses are closing while some are downsizing or relocating because of the harsh economic environment.

“The CBN has continued to increase the interest rates while the Naira continues its downward slide against the US dollar.

“The government needs to rejuvenate the economy by implementing policies that would increase the capacity of SMEs, big businesses and the manufacturing sector.

“The single-digit interest rate loan facility promised by the Federal government should be jumpstarted, as well as the plans for the agricultural sector.

“The GDP figures are not a pointer that the economy is out of the woods. The government should be comparing NBS data with independent sources to have a fair idea of how the economy is performing”, he added.

Also, Prof Godwin Oyedokun, a don at Lead City University in Ibadan said the growth rate might differ across different regions of Nigeria.

“To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the factors driving the industrial sector’s growth, it would be helpful to analyze: Regional Variations: Growth rates might differ across different regions of Nigeria.

“Sector-Specific Data: A breakdown of growth rates within the industrial sector (e.g., manufacturing, construction, mining) would provide more insights.

“Business Surveys: Surveys of businesses in the industrial sector can reveal their experiences, challenges, and expectations.

“By conducting a more in-depth analysis, it would be possible to identify the specific factors contributing to the growth in the industrial sector and assess its sustainability in the face of ongoing challenges”, he told DAIlLY POST.

[DailyPost]

The United Kingdom has increased the number of organisations licensed to sponsor workers on the worker and temporary worker immigration routes.  

Checks by The Nation, show that the list which was updated on Friday, August 23, has 119,195 approved companies.The approved updated list now contains 119,195 companies.  

Interested Nigerians are advised to visit the listed company’s website and search for available vacancies.

A breakdown shows that the approved companies are in technology, commerce, education, media and advertisement, and engineering sectors, among others.

According to the UK government, a Skilled Worker visa allows you to come to or stay in the UK for an eligible job with an approved employer.  

“You must have a job offer from an approved UK employer before you apply for a Skilled Worker visa.

Approved employers are also known as sponsors, because they are sponsoring you to come to or stay in the UK.”  

Here is a list of some of the approved companies: 

1. McMullan Shellfish
2. (IECC Care) Independent Excel Care Consortium Limited
3. *ABOUTCARE HASTINGS LTD
4. £ ESS LTD
5. @ Architect UK Ltd
6. @ Home Accommodation Services Ltd
7. @ Home Accommodation Services Ltd
8. @ Ur Eaz Ltd
9. @@@ FILER LIMITED
10. [AI] INFINITI LIMITED
11. `Brunswick Stores Limited
12. #NAME?
13. 003 Ltd
14. 007 Taxi Limited
15. 0086 Ltd
16. 00Nation Limited
17. 00Nation Limited
18. 01 ACCOUNTING SERVICES LTD
19. 012 Global Ltd
20. 023 LTD
21. 09 Care Limited
22. 0xA Technologies Ltd
23. 1 ACE TRAINING LIMITED
24. 1 ALS LIMITED
25. 1 AND 1 ROUGAMO LIMITED
26. 1 And 5 Tech Ltd
27. 1 Answer Insurance Services LTD.
28. 1 Bishops Avenue Limited
29. 1 Digitals Europe Limited
30. 1 Eclipse Care Solutions Limited
31. 1 Green Foods Ltd
32. 1 Homecare ltd
33. 1 Indus Limited
34. 1 Key Solution Limited
35. 1 Kings Dental Limited
36. 1 Life London Limited
37. 1 MODEL MANAGEMENT LONDON LIMITED
38. 1 Oak Home Care
39. 1 Oak Leisure Ireland Ltd
40. 1 PhysioUK Limited
41. 1 REPAIR LTD
42. 1 Stop Print Ltd
43. 1 STOP REC LIMITED
44. 10 Europe Limited
45. 10 Europe Limited
46. 10 Squared Ltd
47. 100 Percent Cornwall Ltd
48. 100 SHAPES LTD
49. 100% HALAL MEAT STORES LTD
50. 1000 Trades Limited
51. 1000heads Ltd
52. 100Starlings Ltd
53. 101 A+D Ltd.
54. 101 Harley Street LTD
55. 101 Healthcare ltd
56. 101 Ways Limited
57. 1010 Restaurant @ The Blacksmiths arms
58. 105 West Architects Ltd
59. 1066 PLUMBING AND HEATING LTD
60. 107 Cannon Street Limited

The full list of approved companies can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66c84b0007733cc4df618245/2024-08-23_-_Worker_and_Temporary_Worker.csv

[TheNation]

The Asset Management and Corporation of Nigeria has said Arik and Aero Contractors airlines may be merged and converted to a national carrier.

The AMCON Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Gbenga Alade, stated this on Monday at an interactive session with media executives in Lagos.

According to Alade, both Arik and Aero Contractor are owing so much money that they may not be able to pay.

He stated that the corporation presented the idea of converting Arik and Aero Contractor to the former aviation minister but it was rejected.

“The former management of AMCON presented the idea of converting Arik and Aero to a national carrier. But the former aviation minister did not buy the idea. We will present it again because that is the best option.

“Unfortunately, the special purpose vehicle that was created by the former management of AMCON for the conversion of Arik and Aero to a national carrier had been sold. But we can create another SPV this,” he explained.

Recall that the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, launched the Nigeria Air three days before the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The development had elicited concerns among stakeholders over the ownership arrangement which gave Ethiopian Airlines a 49 per cent equity stake in the company.

The Federal Government had a 5 per cent equity, while a consortium of three Nigerian investors had 46 per cent.

Reacting to the deal in June 2023, the House of Representatives asked the Federal Government to suspend the operations of Nigeria Air, describing it as a fraud.

In August 2023, the incumbent minister, Festus Keyamo announced that the national carrier project was suspended till further notice.

Keyamo said, “It remains suspended. It was never Air Nigeria. It was not Air Nigeria. That’s the truth. It was only painted Nigeria Air. It was Ethiopian Airlines trying to flag our flag.

“If it is so, why not allow our local plane to fly our flag? So nobody should dispute that it was Nigeria Air.

“Air Nigeria must be indigenous, must be wholly Nigerian, and must be for the full benefits of Nigeria, not that 50 per cent of the profit is for another country.”

Recently, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos halted the sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines.

The court declared null and void, the sale of the shares of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines after determining the issues in the suit.

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa ordered that the Federal Government’s plans to establish a national carrier, Nigeria Air, should be halted.

The judgment was delivered in favour of the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria and five other aviation industry stakeholders.

At the briefing on Monday, Alade said the present status of Arik and Aero Contractors had been giving him sleepless nights.

“Believe me, it is a very difficult problem to resolve, and it is giving me sleepless nights, particularly Arik.

“Arik is owing so much that they cannot pay,” he stated.

Speaking further, Alade said, “There is a way out. We have met all their major international creditors. Afreximbank is one of them. They (Arik) are owing Afreximbank about $52m.”

After negotiations, he said the airline was only willing to take $8.5m out of the $52m.

“However, where will that $8.5m come from? Where? AMCON doesn’t have money of his own to put there? And then they negotiated and said, okay, ‘let’s take some of the engines of those things away in full and final settlement’. And the truth is that, if they took those engines away, Arik is finished.

“But we said ‘no, we cannot allow you to take it away. Let AMCON give you a kind of bank guarantee. And we will stretch it so that three planes are flying now and by the Lord’s grace, by February next year, we want to make seven planes fly for Arik,” he stated.

The PUNCH recalls that the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency grounded aircraft owned by Arik over a court order instituted by the airline’s creditor and billionaire businessman, Arthur Eze.

Eze had approached the court in protest against his unpaid $2.5m by the founder of Arik Air, Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide.

In a statement by the spokesperson of NAMA, Abdullahi Musa, the agency said the development stemmed from an enforcement action by the FCT High Court on July 19, 2024, which involved attaching Arik’s planes to secure the debt.

In 2016, AMCON took over the management of Aero Contractors after it dissolved the board of the company, appointing a manager to run the affairs of the company in an interim capacity.

AMCON said in a statement by its media consultancy firm that the decision to take over the management of the company was in furtherance of its responsibility of acquiring eligible bank assets and putting them to economic use in a profitable manner.

Similarly, Arik Air, founded by Mr Arumemi Johnson, was taken over by AMCON in 2017 after the carrier’s management failed to honour its debt obligation running into several billions of naira.

AMCON had taken over debts from local banks owed by Arik.

Last year, the corporation asked the owners of Arik to present a credible debt resolution plan to the bad debts manager if it hopes to recover the company from the Federal Government.

AMCON’s asset recovery efforts

In a move to recover outstanding debts of nearly N5tn, Alade announced plans to engage international asset tracers to locate and recover assets hidden by recalcitrant debtors offshore including those masqueraded under special purpose vehicles.

Alade stated that since the new management took over about five months ago, they have successfully collected approximately N100bn from several high-profile debtors and revised the sale of some assets.

He emphasised that the organisation had been receiving strong support from President Bola Tinubu, the Central Bank Governor, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Attorney General of the Federation, and the National Assembly in their efforts to recover debts transferred by banks to AMCON during the different phases of eligible bank asset acquisition.

The AMCON CEO mentioned that the chairman of the House Committee on Finance had pledged to name and shame obligors, who had yet to repay their debts at a major stakeholders’ conference that would be held before the end of the year.

He revealed plans to organise a conference where senior officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria, relevant ministries, banks, and the judiciary would be invited to discuss the challenges posed by non-performing loans in the country.

He expressed confidence that resolving issues surrounding assets in the oil and gas sector would boost production, generate more foreign exchange, and create employment opportunities for citizens.

He noted that the corporation had achieved remarkable results in two of those assets in less than five months.

In the power sector, he disclosed that AMCON had made significant progress in one of the biggest distribution companies and an abandoned power project in Kaduna.

Alade emphasised the potential impact of addressing power challenges in Nigeria, stating that some banks with approximately 400 branches across the country spend as much as N500bn annually on diesel for their generators.

He believed that tackling the power sector would significantly improve the overall business environment.

According to Alade, AMCON is also working on assets in the telecommunications sector, aiming to revive dormant assets and bring them back into operation.

[Punch]

A Texas judge on Monday ordered a temporary pause on a policy that would streamline the process for spouses of US citizens to obtain legal status in the country, a blow to one of US President Joe Biden’s biggest immigration reform policies.

Judge J. Campbell Barker granted a 14-day administrative stay in a case brought by the Republican attorneys general of 16 US states challenging the Biden administration’s policy.

In June, Biden announced the new policy, which streamlined a pathway to citizenship for an estimated half a million immigrants married to US nationals.

The 16 states bringing the lawsuit, however, say the policy is costing them millions of dollars in public services — including healthcare, education and law enforcement — used by the immigrants.

“The claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date,” Judge Barker wrote in his order.

“This is just the first step. We are going to keep fighting for Texas, our country, and the rule of law,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose state is party to the case, in a post on social media platform X after the order.

The Biden administration has been struggling to address immigration, a hugely divisive issue for many Americans ahead of November’s presidential election, which will see Vice President Kamala Harris take on Republican Donald Trump.

The Democratic Party is walking a fine line of seeking to be tougher on illegal migrants while also introducing reforms to the country’s inefficient immigration system.

Trump’s campaign for the White House has centred on portraying the United States as under assault by what he calls a migrant “invasion.”

• ‘Extreme measure’ –

The new rules would streamline the process for those who already qualify for permanent residence by removing a requirement that they leave the country as part of the application process.

The rules applied to those in the country for at least 10 years and married to a US citizen before June 17, 2024, and also applied to an estimated 50,000 stepchildren of US citizens.

Those approved would be granted work authorization and the right to stay in the United States for up to three years while they apply for a green card, which is a pathway to full citizenship.

Monday’s ruling suspends the granting of this “parole in place” status, but does not halt the government from continuing to accept applications for the status.

In a statement, US Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed it would continue to take applications but would not grant any until the stay was lifted.

“The District Court’s administrative stay order does not affect any applications that were approved before the administrative stay order was issued,” USCIS said.

Immigrant rights group Justice Action Center said the order was an “extreme measure.”

“To halt a process for which Texas has not been able to provide an iota of evidence that it would harm the state is baffling,” said group founder Karen Tumlin.

“This is heartbreaking for our clients and the thousands of couples who hope to benefit from this process and be able to live without fear that their family will be separated.”

The Justice Action Center earlier Monday filed a motion seeking to intervene in the lawsuit to defend the programme.

Barker wrote that the court did not “express any ultimate conclusions about the success or likely success” of the plaintiffs’ case while the stay is in place.

The court announced an expedited hearing schedule in the case, but Barker noted that the two-week stay would likely be extended while proceedings are underway.

AFP.

BEYOND the protests, there are a number of issues the government should pay attention to:

One, though the protesters might have different motives, they seem all united by alienation from the government and even the state system. Rather than use blackmail and strong-arm tactics, government should use credible opinion polls to articulate and aggregate the various grievances against it and the state – and then evolve sustainable strategies on how to address as many of them as it can.

Boxing shadows or creating enemies where they do not exist will only exacerbate the legitimacy crisis around the government. It will be a mistake for the government to believe that it can successfully stifle speech using intimidation and blackmail. Our history shows that such a strategy has a very short shelf life – as Buhari, in his first coming as a military dictator, and Abacha – can testify to. In his second coming – as a civilian President- a coalition of those Buhari disdained as a dot in a circle and those Femi Adesina called ‘wailing wailers’, fought back in their own ways such that even before Buhari completed his eight-year tenure, he openly complained that he was tired, and would, on leaving office, want to be as far away as possible from Abuja and politics. 

The truth is that citizens, in the face of oppression by those who wield state power, often adopt asymmetric strategies to fight back. This can range from misinformation, caricature and outright fake news. In this age of social media where anyone who owns a mobile phone can be a publisher, citizens are especially empowered to fight back oppression. I believe that for a government which currently has a  low social capital owing to the harsh effects of its economic policies, its policy somersaults, propaganda and non-inclusive style of governance, what it needs is more friends and less enemies. It needs to find a way of winning over the hearts and minds of as many Nigerians as possible.

Two, while it is not unusual for a relatively new government to start on a wobbly note, the government, for now at least, seems confused on what it wants to achieve. For instance, while it said it wanted to implement the Oronsaye Report (which recommended the merging of ministries and departments and abrogation of some) it also runs the largest cabinet of 48 Ministries and recently created another – the Ministry of Livestock Development.

Similarly, while the Tinubu government initially seemed desirous of moving away from the cantankerous mode of public communication of the Buhari era, by appointing the very urbane and affable Mohamed Idris as the Minister of Information and Chief Ajuri Ngelari as the government’s Spokesman, it also contradicted this by appointing the self-confessed ethnic irredentist Bayo Onanuga as Special Adviser on information and strategy.

By so doing, it negated  what would have been a new and courteous approach to public communication  to complement the commendable bridge-building efforts by the wife of the President, Senator Remi Tinubu   and a few others in the government. Similarly, some of the policies of the government raise confusion on whether Tinubu wants to be remembered as a great Nigerian President or simply wants to be more popular than the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in Yorubaland.

Three, President Tinubu should be mindful of two key features of Nigeria’s democracy since 1999 which has always backfired but which our politicians remain funnily crazily attracted to: these are god-fatherism and clannishness. With the exception of Tinubu in Lagos, nearly all political godfathers invariably fall out with their political godsons, raising questions of why politicians remain fixated on selecting and bankrolling their successors. For clannishness and ethnocentrism which Buhari took to a previously unseen level, and which Tinubu seems eager to match, if not better in the negative, this also usually boomerangs.

For instance, some of the most vicious critics of the Buhari government were Northern Muslims who were supposed to be the beneficiaries of his clannishness. Similarly, even before the protests started on August 1, many Yorubas, openly say the clannishness in Tinubu’s mode of appointments and governance  “does not represent who we are”. In fact, that many of the faces of the protests are from the Yoruba ethnic extraction is enough to warn the government that Yorubanisation of political life will not be enough to buy Yoruba adulation.  If anything, it will likely backfire because there is a spark of the divine in all of us which makes most people to abhor injustice. Besides, clannishness attracts odium to innocent members of an ethnic in-group even when they are opposed to the leader’s nepotism.

Four, the protest has now shown that no part of this country has a monopoly of providing poor leadership to the country. In fact, that the protest was organised under the banner of #EndBadGovernance is instructive. At least for now, there seems to be a consensus that the Tinubu government is grossly underperforming. And since most Nigerians appear to believe that the fundamental problem of the country is “squarely that of leadership” (apologies to Achebe), the use of innuendo to blame the North (which has produced most of the country’s leaders), has now come under critical scrutiny.

In this thinking, there is always the unproven assumption that the leadership problem of the country would be solved when the South, in particular, the “progressives” (a moniker appropriated by South-West politicians when they were in the opposition) come to power. So far it has not happened under the Tinubu presidency. Even the “reforms” embarked by the Tinubu government are mere uncritical rehash of the policies implemented by the Babangida government between 1986 and 1993 when the country adopted the IMF/World Bank supported structural Adjustment Programme, and which only succeeded in further impoverishing the country and emasculating the middle class.

Alan Greenspan, who served for five terms as chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve Bank (August 11 1987 to January 31 2006)   – the equivalent of our Central Bank- was famously quoted as saying that he owed his success during his tenure to the fact that he always did the opposite of the advice he received from the two Bretton Woods institutions (i.e. the IMF and the World Bank). President Tinubu should seriously consider that approach. It may amount to committing class suicide for him. But that would be the surest way of putting himself on the path of being a great Nigerian President.

*Jideofor Adibe is Professor of Political Science at Nasarawa State University, Keffi.