Since he became governor in circumstances that remain fuzzy over seven years ago, Yahaya Bello, the governor of Kogi state, has left no one in doubt about his totalitarian grip on the north-central state. He is the be-all-and-end-all of the potentially rich, but pathetically indigent and decrepit state, whose style reminds of that of the infamous King Louis XIV in French history. Louis XIV it was who boastfully declared in 1655: “L’Etat, c’est moi,” meaning “I am the state; the state, that is me”. That phrase denotes absolute monarchy and absolutism, the type Yahaya Bello has typified in his tour of duty as default governor of Kogi state. Default, yes because of the uncanny ingenuity with which he inherited the votes and mandate of the actual contestant for the governorship who was coasting home but died mysteriously before being adjudged winner.

And since his inauguration in January 2016, Bello’s administrative style has been unequalled both in the political history of Kogi state, and unparalleled elsewhere since the dawn of the Fourth Republic. For a state which is primarily sustained by the civil service and teaching employees, life has never been as dreary, rough, tortuous, and despairing. Bello’s government entered the Guinness Book of Records within one year of his ascendancy as one which paid hapless civil servants incomprehensible percentage salaries! Senior bureaucrats receive bank notifications on their handheld devices informing them that N18,500 has been credited to their accounts as their take-home salaries for a month!! It’s been that horrendous under Bello. Please put a call through to Kogi state and kindly take the statistics of automobiles hitherto owned by civil servants, now dust-caked furniture at the front approaches of many homes in the state capital and other communities.

If the situation is this bad for public servants in the employment of the state government, the plight of local government employees is best imagined. The Joint Account Allocation Committee, (JAAC), which polls resources from the Federation Accounts Allocations Committee, (FAAC), cannibalises the funds at the level of the state governments and reverts measly tokens to the local government areas, (LGAs). Chairmen at that level simply pocket their own bits, the ubiquitous “security votes” and exhort their employees to “go back to land” and farm. Same way hopelessness, desperation, and depression pervade the state level, gloom, doom, and despair parade the alleys and bush paths of our localities.

The voices of the people have been so stifled under the Nebuchadnezzar-style governance in Kogi state, that people only discuss their conditions in muffled tones. Suicide cases were on the upsurge at some point in time, when individuals who had built their lives on their careers in public service, suddenly found themselves naked and exposed in literal terms. The inability to foot basic obligations like medical expenses, maternity bills, house rents, payment of school fees, and examinations bills for their children and wards, have unwittingly humiliated many parents under Yahaya Bello’s grimace. Juxtaposed with the regimes of all of Bello’s predecessors: Abubakar Audu, Ibrahim Idris and Idris Wada, Kogi state has never had it so bad.

On the flip side, Bello, his family, and associates are savouring safari rides of a lifetime. Rashidat Bello, said to be the governor’s senior wife, was captured on camera last year, gifting her personal aides cash. Each of her officials, security, protocol, domestic, and so on, received cash gifts of one million naira each. A news story noted that Mrs Bello’s bazaar was a follow-up to an earlier exercise where she presented automobiles to her officials for hard work and loyalty. All of these are happening in a state where not too many people are sure of one meal a day. In February this year, the same Rashidat Bello flaunted a Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Luxury Sedan 2022 edition, said to be valued at N200 million. Bello by the way, is polygamous with other wives. It is either they are genuinely conservative, or information about their closets is not as yet in the open.

Amidst all of these, Yahaya Bello’s proxies were last December, arraigned for fraud to the tune of N10 billion. Bello’s nephew, Ali Bello, and one Dauda Sulaiman were arraigned before Justice James Kolawole Omotoso of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on a 10-count charge of misappropriation and money laundering. It is very strongly believed that the money in question belongs to Kogi state, especially because a third suspect in the saga, Abdulsalami Hudu, hitherto a cashier in Government House, Lokoja, is on the run. Very conspicuously, Ali Bello and Rashidat Bello also feature in yet another N3 billion matter being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC).

Mrs Bello, named as an accomplice in the heist, was said to be on the run, while Ali Bello, Abba Adauda, Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege, and Iyada Sadat were docked before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, also for money laundering and misappropriation. The December 2022 and February 2023 episodes seemingly had the imprimatur of Yahaya Bello, given the involvement of his wife and nephew. Following a similar pattern, the funds so misappropriated were purportedly being converted into foreign currency in various bureau de change in Abuja. Such has been the lot of resources legitimately belonging to Kogi state, whose people thirst and hunger while their entitlements are being tossed about like Russian roulette.

Yahaya Bello recently accentuated his proprietorship in Kogi state, in the run-up to the November 2023 gubernatorial election. Singlehandedly, he picked the candidate for his party, the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Ahmed Usman Ododo, the little-known auditor-general for local governments in the state. Ododo is reputed as the “executioner-in-chief” in the impoverishment of local government workers many of whom lost their jobs and livelihoods in a mean-spirited and scurrilous “staff verification exercise” conducted in the early years of the Bello government. Ahead of the gubernatorial primary, Bello paid for the nomination forms of every aspirant to the office who served in his administration at state expense. This was to create a facade of providing a level playing field for all contenders before pulling out his joker. It is bad enough that Bello has demonstrated insensitivity to the loud clamour for the rotation of the governorship. It is the height of nepotism in the multicultural, multilingual “confluence” state that he has just put forward his first cousin for the top job in the state. Besides being a political neophyte and paperweight, Ododo’s naivety and provinciality sparkle from his visage.

Since the inception of the state in 1991, its politics has been dominated by the preponderantly Igala-speaking Kogi-eastern part of the state. The zone produced three governors in succession and logged over 18 years at the helm. Bello’s Ebira kinsmen in the Kogi-central zone had been joined in advocacy for power rotation with the Okun Yoruba-speaking Western zone, for power shift. Bello’s fortuitous ascent it was assumed, had opened a window to the reordering of the existing power imbalance in the state. But Bello thinks otherwise. His politics is that of “winner takes all”. To this effect, Bello is saying that the Ebiras aspire to retain power in 2024, possibly all the way to 2032!

It would seem that Bello has always had a nepotistic streak, by the way. With the benefit of hindsight, the “choicest” appointments in his government are not just from Kogi Central, they are from his home local government area, Okene. This has been so skewed as to “empower” his own kinsfolk even within the framework of the sociopolitical dynamics of his senatorial zone. His Chief of Staff; Commissioners for Works and Housing; Justice; Rural Development; Accountant-General; Chairman, State Pensions Board; Senator representing Kogi Central, are all from Okene. Yet, Kogi Central has three other Ebira-speaking LGAs, as well as the non-Ebira Ogori-Magongo area, making a total of five local governments in the senatorial zone.

Emboldened by the same faith Bola Tinubu/Kashim Shettima presidential ticket, Bello has prescribed a similar template. Ododo will be running with Sulaiman Abubakar from Kogi-east. This is in spite of the dominant Christian population in the seven local governments in Kogi-west, and the nine in Kogi-east. Every preceding democratic ticket, beginning with Abubakar Audu’s, Third Republic ticket in 1992, has always respected the religious plurality of the state. Audu ran with Samuel Akande from Kogi West in 1992, and thereafter with Patrick Adaba from Kogi Central in 1999. Idris paired with Philip Salawu in 2003 and 2007, while Wada ran with Yomi Awoniyi in 2012.

At a time when Yahaya Bello had the opportunity to stand up to be counted as truly professing new thinking consistent with the duplicitous “new direction” slogan his administration professes, he has failed this preliminary test. The November 2023 polls would have been his greatest opportunity to demonstrate his unequivocal subscription to political equity, fairness, and justice. Indeed, if he were a student of history in the faintest sense, he would have recalled that his “grandfather” figuratively, Adamu Atta who hailed from his very homestead in Okene, was democratically elected governor in the old Kwara state, during the Second Republic. This was at a time when the Ebiras were a minority in the political calculus of the erstwhile state. Kwara state at the time was overwhelmingly dominated by Yoruba-speaking ethnicities, but in the spirit of political sensitivity and accommodation, the electorate rallied behind Adamu Atta. Atta was in office from October 1979 and October 1983. Conversely, both in the old Kwara and present-day Kogi states, the Okun-Yoruba have never substantively made it to the seat of chief executive.

Happily, democratic pluralism has offered alternative platforms to political enthusiasts to pursue their aspirations. It is noteworthy that three Okun sons are in the fray for the coming gubernatorial debacle. Little-known Olayinka Braimoh; Leke Abejide who has just won reelection into the House of Representatives and Dino Melaye, who previously traversed the lower and upper parliaments variously, are in the contest. They are representing the Action Alliance, (AA); African Democratic Congress, (ADC), and the Peoples’ Democratic Party, (PDP), respectively. Each of the parties comes with peculiar attributes in terms of age, structural spread, and voters’ perception, among other attributes. Relatively new parties have been known to spring surprises like the Labour Party, (LP) and the Young Peoples’ Party, (YPP) in our recent political experience. Despite having previously sat in the driver’s seat for nearly two decades, Kogi-east is not letting up about the governorship either. At least half a dozen candidates from the zone, are flying the flags of various political parties at the off-season November poll.

This indeed may be a very good opportunity for Okunland to upstage Yahaya Bello and by so doing, put him where he rightly belongs. Remember the old adage that “he who the gods want to destroy, they first make mad?” Bello’s rule book of menacing intimidation, crude coercion, and gun violence, cannot subsist and succeed for all time. Even among his kinsmen, Yahaya Bello’s impunity vis-a-vis his sole imposition of Ododo does not sit well. His preference has bred quiet discontent amongst many of his former loyalists who are all playing the folkloric lizard. The belly of the reptile cannot be fathomed because of the peculiar manner of its posturing. Some of these malcontents are waiting to exact their pound of flesh at the appropriate time. Rigorous thinking, meticulous planning, deft strategising, consensus building, and efficient execution can yet bring down the pseudo-monarch from his horseback of straw.

Olusunle, PhD, poet, journalist, scholar, and author is a member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE)

Fela Kuti’s 1976 album, Ikoyi Blindness, featured a track documenting an encounter within Nigerian social context where violence is trite. The song, Gba mi leti ki n dolowo (slap me make I get money), is an encounter between an “Oga,” the quintessential big man who personifies the impunity of power, and an unnamed person who represents the disempowered masses. In the song, Oga reaches out to slap the Unnamed’s face. Rather than quake before Oga’s almighty power, Unnamed stands up to him. He taunts Oga to hit him saying the “systems of government in Africa” would arise on his behalf and he would ultimately become rich. Oga, stumped by the unusual rebuff, freezes in mid-action.

Fela being the activist that he was, of course, spoke from the angle of the disempowered Nigerian. Yet, the exchange he described gave enough insight into the predicament of Oga petrified by the defiance of the Unnamed. For Oga who must have been used to dehumanising the poor with such gratuitous violence, this unexpected boldness denies him the assertion of his status of power he sought through the slap. Pulling back from landing that slap would diminish his might as an Oga who can do and undo. Yet, going ahead would be imprudent if the enactment of that violence on Unnamed truly has the potential to change his fortunes. Oga’s hand suspended in mid-air as he is forced to listen to Unnamed’s taunt of “gba mi leti ki n dolowo” captures an intriguing moment of power reconfiguration. What happens if the violence the powerful enacts on the powerless is miscalculated and does not dehumanise? What if it instead elevates the Unnamed to be social equals with the powerful?

If you have followed the news on Seun Kuti’s ongoing travails for assaulting a policeman, you would have understood why I am using his father’s wisdom to divine the oracle. Who could have imagined that nearly 50 years after Ikoyi Blindness, the “Oga” in the tale would be Fela’s own son while the voice of the powerless lustily challenging the powerful power abuser would be the Police—an institution that has relentlessly abused Nigerians? It is a strange inversion, but here we are, parsing the layers of irony woven into the unfortunate encounter of Seun and an unnamed policeman.

By now, virtually everyone who has seen the video of Seun accosting an officer, unaware he was being recorded. There might have been a legitimate provocation somewhere, but the recording only showed Seun confronting the police officer and eventually slapping his face very hard before being restrained by passersby. The slapped officer—wisely, or maybe out of sheer intimidation—never fought him back. The first time I saw that video I wondered what kind of èèdì spell they cast on Seun. In a world where anyone can use their mobile phone to capture other people’s most mundane expressions without sparing a thought for their privacy, why get into a public fight? There is no winning for the person who wears the known face in such a dirty exchange. So far, nobody knows the name of the officer; his photo or any identifying details have not even been shared. It is Seun, the famous face in that encounter, that has now become a reference point for assault on the police.

That slap was ugly, even for a society like Nigeria where virtually everyone is prone to casual violence in everyday life. Whatever that officer did, whatever trauma a uniformed police officer represented to Seun, the man was—and will always be—a living breathing human deserving of dignity. There is no justification for assaulting him. Fela’s Gba mi leti ki n dolowo wisely intoned a lesson for the powerful. When you are higher on the social elevation, restraining yourself from engagement with those on the lower rungs of the social ladder is not cowardice. No, you preserve yourself because you do not want your virtue to be so cheaply transferred from your body to a moral or social unequal.

Like “Oga” found out, engaging the one you thought was powerless and could be driven over can end up with you being sapped of your worth. In that moment when Oga’s hand was suspended mid-action, debating whether to slap or not, he was diminished either way. The person he proposed to slap to assert your “Oga-ism” has become richer for the experience. They might not get cash out of it, but they could get morally richer because Oga let down his social worth to get into roforofo with them.

Seun must have imagined that since many police officers are routinely abused by the very system that employed them, by the coterie of Nigerian big men that use them like slaves, they can be treated like animals. Well, given his present tribulations, he sure thought wrong. They will fight for their own, not because they believe in justice or are trying to assert the dignity of their officer—whom the police institution dehumanises in other ways—but because they have been handed a golden chance to extract value from the encounter at the expense of Seun (and other civilians).

You only need to consider how the Ogas at the Police headquarters have been spitting into the air and using their own faces to collect it to know that they have become richer at Seun’s expense. A whole Inspector General of the Police had to order his arrest! A case of assault that should be treated at the local police precinct has now become an opportunity for the police headquarters to extract some moral coins from Seun. Even the Police Service Commission waded into the matter as if such violence is not routine in Nigeria. Delta Police PRO Edafe Bright even swore Seun would “regret his actions.”

The way they are going about his prosecution makes you wonder when they became so efficient at addressing an assault. Even though Seun turned himself in at the police station, they still had to handcuff him and parade him to the public. Then they asked the court for a remand order to detain him for 21 days claiming that the assaulted policeman was in a coma at an undisclosed hospital. For the prosecutor to spin such cheap and unimaginative yarn, you know that this case has become an opportunity to make money from a slap. As if all that was not bad enough, they raided Seun’s house and seized his wife’s phone!

Make no mistake, the assaulted officer is the least of their concerns. They do not abhor violence against their officers; they just want to be the ones to do it. If the Police institution truly cared about its officers, they would have the least proven it by improving their material conditions. Seun handed them his derrière on a silver platter, unfortunately. He not only slapped an officer but had also previously made a video where he boasted that he had slapped police officers many times before because he was Fela’s son. That is a slight the police will not take lightly. With his own mouth, he nailed himself to their cross.

The top officers might not even bother with him, but you see the lowly ones who regularly endure ridicule in the hands of the Ogas they are regularly deployed to serve? They will humble him. His humiliation will validate their self-worth. They will not stop there. In the future, they will still use him to deflect accusations of police brutality. Slapping a police officer in Nigeria is a fantastic example of overreaching yourself and making your victim richer at your expense. Seun is a very good musician who plays his father’s music very well. Honestly, he should have listened to the songs too.

In a letter dated 17^th October 2019, former Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, stated that his N10 million monthly upkeep allowance had only been paid twice since he left office five months earlier. Yari, who is now seeking to become senate president, wrote to his successor, Bello Matawalle, from the ‘Office of the Former Governor’. The letter said: “I wish to humbly draw your attention to the provision of the law on the above subject matter which was amended and assented to on the 23rd of March 2019. The law provides, among other entitlements of the Former Governor, a monthly upkeep allowance of Ten Million Naira (N10,000,000) only and a pension equivalent to the salary he was receiving while in office”.  

Although Matawalle (whose media minders must have leaked the letter which trended on social media at the time) created the impression that he would be different, the past four years have shown that in terms of profligacy, and misplaced priorities, he is probably worse than his predecessor. It is therefore just as well that Zamfara people voted to deny him a second term. But Matawalle is not the issue here. Considering the euphoria that has greeted Hilda Baci’s (yet-to-be-certified) new record for the longest period in a kitchen (cooking non-stop for 100 hours), there is an embedded message that we should not ignore. I picked it from a line in Reuben Abati’s column on Tuesday. He wrote: “Nigerian leaders can learn from Ms Baci how to cook (for) a nation and achieve results. Our leaders know how to eat, but they do not know how to cook.”  

That sums up the tragedy of Nigeria because everybody can eat while it takes effort to cook. On Monday, PUNCH published a story that no fewer than 18 outgoing state governors will retire into lives of luxury with generous pension benefits despite leaving unpaid workers’ salaries and debt obligations totalling N3.06 trillion in their states. “According to data from the Debt Management Office, the debt figure of these states included N2.27tn domestic loans and $1.71bn foreign borrowing”. Yet, the perks to be enjoyed by these outgoing governors (who were listed) “include one duplex in any city of their choice within Nigeria, one sport utility vehicle and a backup car replaceable every two years, an office with four aides, two security personnel and monthly salaries, among others. Each of the four domestic workers will earn N100,000 monthly.”  

In many of the states, the most enduring legacy is a law that compels the people to serve former governors for the rest of their lives. In 2014, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly passed an executive bill which guaranteed then Governor Godswill Akpabio (now also seeking to be senate president after stints as minister) as much as N200 million annually for life. The law, which only ‘upgraded’ the earlier version signed by Akpabio’s predecessor, Obong Victor Atta, also provides for a former governor and his spouse a sum not exceeding N5 million per month to employ domestic staff and free medical services at a sum not exceeding N100 million per annum as well as a befitting accommodation not below a 5-bedroom maisonette in either Abuja or Akwa Ibom.   

In Lagos State, where the whole madness started in 2007 when Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (now our president-elect) was leaving office, the House of Assembly in 2016 initiated an amendment to the pension law to accommodate both their speaker and deputy. The bill sought for the speaker and his deputy (after office) a residential house at any location of their choice in Lagos State; jumbo furniture allowance – payable every five years; vehicles, including a pilot car; 10 per cent of their annual basic salary as car maintenance allowance and another 10 per cent as entertainment allowance. The speaker and his deputy, according to the bill, were also entitled to domestic staff including cooks, stewards, gardeners, drivers etc. (who themselves would be pensionable) and free medical treatment abroad for themselves and members of their family as well as police orderlies–all for life! In the wake of the dollar-for-babariga-pockets scandal in 2019, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje quickly signed the law by the Kano State House of Assembly which included their speaker and deputy in the jumbo pension-for-life scheme.  

Unfortunately, this debauchery is not restricted to the political arena. The underpinning philosophy of government in Nigeria has always been about ‘sharing the national cake’ so in practically all spheres there is more emphasis on reward than productivity and service. In January 2013, the Adamu Fika-led Presidential Committee on the review of the reform processes in the nation’s public service submitted its report to President Goodluck Jonathan. “The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) fixed and allowed the gross amount for salaries and allowances to rise to N1.126 trillion. Of this, salaries took a mere N94.56 billion, while allowances gulped the whole N1.031.65 trillion,” according to the report. “It is certainly not morally defensible from the perspective of social justice or any known moral criterion that such a huge sum of public funds is consumed by an infinitesimal fraction of the people.”  

That summation tells a compelling story about our public service which, as the administrative machinery of government, is responsible for implementing policies. But as I said, this is a problem that has always been with us. Sir Richard Burton, an eccentric 19^th century British explorer who acted as Consul to the Bights of Benin and Biafra in 1860 sums up the disposition of the average West African (which can be the average Nigerian) to public service thus: “His beau ideal of life is to do nothing for six days and rest on the seventh”. That perhaps explains why at a time the world is tending towards smaller and more efficient government, what we have in our country today is a behemoth that largely serves its own interest. That point was also underscored in the 2012 report of the committee headed by former Head of Service, Mr Steve Oronsaye. According to the report, one common feature of virtually all the parastatals is the prevalence of high personnel cost as “many of them receive more budgetary allocations for personnel than they require because that component of their budget is usually inflated”.     

Nowhere is the disregard for accountability more evident than in the implementation of the Monetization Policy. No new official vehicle was to be purchased by any ministry or federal government agency under this policy, except with the express approval of the President. 20 years after the policy was introduced, expensive bullet-proof vehicles are still being purchased and rent paid for accommodation of fat cats. On travels, according to the Oronsaye report, “whereas the regulation stipulates the Business Class Ticket for top officials of government, many senior officials have been known to fly First Class in defiance of the regulation”. This lawlessness is even extended to the families of ministers and heads of parastatals, many of whom now travel only by private jets within the country.  

On Monday, the Senate directed the Director General of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to return N594 million illegal vehicle allowances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government. The resolution followed the adoption of the recommendation of the Public Accounts Committee on the 2018 report of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF) which indicted the agency. In a nation where the underpinning philosophy of government is that of sharing (and eating) the national cake that nobody cares to ‘bake’, an absence of accountability is what you find in many of our institutions. It is also a general problem that we must deal with. In a period of 16 years between 2005 and 2021, Nigeria spent N13trn on fuel subsidies, according to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha. And we have spent more than half of that amount in the past 17 months! Only a nation that places more premium on consumption than productivity would do that. 

Two months ago, BusinessDay reported that Nigeria’s champagne import volumes increased by 15.3 percent, from 559,088 bottles in 2021 to 644,452 bottles in 2022. “The value also rose by 17.8 percent to £25.3 million last year, according to data compiled by Comité Champagne, a trade association that tracks volume and value of exports from France”, the report stated. “The level of champagne imports into the country has been rising since 2020, when it plunged to a record low of 304,199 bottles from a high of 768,131 bottles in 2014, the data show. That of 2022 is the highest under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.”  

That is another medal for the outgoing Buhari administration. Interestingly, a year into office in 2016, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed launched the ‘Change Begins with Me’ campaign (who remembers that again?), “to entrench the values of accountability, integrity and positive attitudinal change” in Nigerians.” But by seeking ‘Change’ from the people rather than those elected to serve them, the administration got it wrong from the outset. It was almost like asking us to cook for them to eat, as it has always been. And we can see the consequences of their ‘Change’ in all spheres of our national life today.  

Now back to Hilda Baci whose real name is Hilda Effiong Bassey. The Guinness Book of World Record has released a statement that her efforts are being reviewed and I hope she makes it. I genuinely believe she will. And in case some people are preparing to cook Ewedu and Okro so they could also “enter the Guinness Book of World Record”, this is a rigorous enterprise that requires standing up to cook (no sitting down) non-stop with only five minute of rest per hour. That translates into two hours in 24 hours. And you cannot take any stimulant (coffee or energy drink). So, basically, this is an endurance test in the kitchen. This then leads us to the question, what can we, as a nation, learn from Hilda Baci? 

A period of transition from one government to another offers opportunities for renewal. For us to navigate our way through these hard times in Nigeria, we need exemplary leadership at all levels. A system designed essentially for consumption will not suddenly become productive without institutional change. This will require new rules of the game and several adjustments. What Hilda teaches is that Nigerians need to learn that for us to develop, the national mentality must change from eating to cooking but it must start from the top. Awarding themselves scandalous pensions and feeding fat at the expense of the people will take us nowhere.  

If Hilda’s record is eventually confirmed by Guinness, that means she worked for 22 hours and rested for two hours in one day. The ratio of work hours to rest should also serve as a lesson for all Nigerians. Many of our young people don’t see the correlation between work and wealth. They just want to hammer! But the ultimate lesson is for those in leadership positions. 

On Monday and Tuesday, the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) held a retreat for outgoing and incoming governors. Faculties includethe Director General, World Trade Organisation, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (left); Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and Deputy Secretary General of the United Nation, Ms Amina Mohammed who spoke the mind of many Nigerians. “When we fail to deliver for people on their rights and their futures, we erode their faith in power, in politics, in the state. And that results in a loss of trust, in resentment between generations and towards elites; and in greater tensions between groups, cultures, ethnicities and religions” said the UN Deputy Secretary General who advocated that the only way to build a more cohesive nation and a more harmonious world is to deliver “better services, better opportunities, better safety, better government and a healthier environment.” 

I commend the idea behind such introspection by the Aminu Tambuwal-led NGF. But I hope that the right lessons were learnt. In the United States from where we borrowed our presidential system of government, high-level public officials only begin making money after they leave office. That’s when they receive advance royalties for their memoirs. Some also go into consultancies while getting paid for speaking engagements. They don’t exploit the system to award themselves scandalous pensions. Sadly, our governors and other elected public officials hardly retire to academia or the organized private sector of think-tanks or philanthropy. Many of them troop to the Senate, ostensibly so that they can continue to ‘eat’! 

Let me now join other Nigerians in commending Hilda Baci for her feat. She struck the right note when she said that her goal was “to inspire every young girl about the possibility of achieving their dreams” and that with her success, young women across the continent would understand that they have the capacity to break barriers and make lasting impacts. And in preparation for the competition, Hilda partnered a fitness trainer and nutritionist to lose some weight and adjust her diet.  

In the critical period that we are in Nigeria today, that is the sort of sacrifice we need from our leaders at all levels. Conventional wisdom teaches that you don’t eat your cake and still have it, so we know why Nigerians are today hungry. But it’s time to move from the dining table to the kitchen. That shift in mentality requires a new leadership ethos. As we can see from the experience of Hilda, cooking is not easy. But at the end, it is extremely rewarding.  

General Gusau at 80 

Lt. General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau (rtd), who needs no further introduction, is 80 today. No ceremony will mark the occasion because that is the way he wants it. He told me last week that he would most probably render himself incommunicado today so that nobody would ‘disturb’ him. That is typical Gusau, easily one of the most respected intelligence officers ever produced on the continent and one who played critical roles in efforts to dismantle apartheid in South Africa. I have had the privilege of close interactions with the General over the past decade and I value his knowledge, experience, and wisdom. I wish him a very happy birthday, long life, and good health. 

After I was called to the bar in August 1985 on top of my class and at the end of my NYSC in 1986, I was faced with many rosy career opportunities including Commonwealth scholarship to study at the prestigious Cambridge University but the circumstances of my birth, a first son in a family of 22 children quickly narrowed my options to that of finding a job to help educate my siblings, as my father had retired as a police officer in 1985. My travelling out of the country at that time, will have been selfish and will have killed the joy of my younger ones and perhaps may have adversely affected their future. I resolved to stay behind and work and got into a partnership to practice as a private legal practitioner but as they now say “Nigeria showed me” the partnership was short-lived and I had to go for a paid employment and I eventually ended up in the banking industry where I worked for 21 years and rose to become Executive Director in Zenith bank and later Oceanic bank until the 2009 banking crisis.

For those who were very close to me, I had already indicated to them that I was retiring from the banking industry in 2010 when I become 50, to work for myself, so HRM Lamido Sanusi, (Rtd) simply retired me one year earlier and with benefit of hindsight, I am very grateful to him for this early retirement.

So I quickly started my private law practice in 2009 with a team of four lawyers explaining to them the nature of the law practise we are to create. A commercial law firm that will promote economic and social justice. We agreed that 15% of our resources and services will committed to pro bono services to our brothers and sisters in prison/correctional centres who can never afford our professional services. It quickly became our tradition that every lawyer in the law firm must engage in at least two pro bono litigation services each year.

To this end, some matters we have successfully handled include:

1. CA/B/2C/2009 – NKEM OKOLIE V THE STATE
2. CA/LAG/CV/336/2019– AZEEZ IBRAHIM V COMMISSIONER

OF POLICE & 2 ORS

3. LD/5620MFHR/2017 – ADEBAYOR RAZAQ V COMMISSIONER

OF POLICE & 2 ORS

4. LD/5624MFHR/2017 – IDRIS MUSA V COMMISIONER OF POLICE

5. LD/9287MFHR/2019 – SODIQ LATEEF V COMMISSIONER OFPOLICE & 2 ORS

6. FHC/L/CS/2319/2019- NOAH OSHODI V COMMISSIONER OF

POLICE & 2 ORS

7. LD/9368MFHR/2019- AKINTOYE GBAMILA V COMMISSIONER

OF POLICE & 2 ORS

8. FHC/L/CS/2327/2019-

MUSTAPHA OWOLABI

V

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE & 2 ORS

And we have several others that are ongoing at all levels of our Court systems up to the Supreme Court. Injustice to any Nigerian anywhere is injustice to all Nigerians became our battle cry and we soon started to encounter every serious challenges from the Attorney General‟s offices across the Country and sometimes from our Courts. We found that the courts are constitutionally compelled by laws made by the politicians for the benefit of the politicians to pay

more and special attention to election petitions and political justice and had little or no time for social justice for the poor masses,in spite of Fundamental Right Enforcement Procedure Rules made by the CJN pursuant to section 46(3) of the Constitution (as amended).

From our experience the earliest we got fundamental rights matters through, the High Court was 18 months, sometime we stayed for 3 years and through the Court of Appeal was 2 years.

There is no doubt about it that the courts have a constitutional obligation to hear and determine election matters within the time prescribed by S285(6) and (7) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended)

This is nothing short of discrimination against the poor who are in the majority in every society, in favour of the political class. In FHC/L/CS/2327/2019- MUSTAPHA OWOLABI V COMMISSIONER OF POLICE & 2 ORS, the victim, our client had stayed for over 8 years in prison without trial for offence of unlawful possession of firearms, which if he was tried and convicted he will have been imprisoned for a maximum of 3 years!!!. What injustice? how can you repay him for 8 years of his life that has been taken away from him?

As I always opened my address in the High Court and in the Court of Appeal, I tell the noble justices, that the only reason my client, was forgotten in prison without trial was because, he is not the son of the President, of a Governor, a Senator, or a House of Representative member, Ministers, Commissioners and Hon. Justices. They usually responded in protest and order me to add “(lawyer) or “Senior Advocates” and I always humbly obliged.

Constitutional law in Nigeria through the Judgement of the Supreme Court as authored by my humble self has just been published by the

Law Report Network, Lagos.

It is a discourse on the topical issues on the Constitutional law of Nigeria including, the rule of law, locus standi, election petitions, jurisdiction of courts, human and fundamental rights and their development through the judgements of the Apex Court of the land.

The importance of the judiciary, as the 3rd arm of the Government of Nigeria is illustrated by the very important roles that the judiciary plays in the adjudication of disputes, between the Government and the Governed, between various Governments in Nigeria, and between different organs of the Federal and/or the State Governments and between Citizens and/or other individual entities in the country.

Unfortunately, undue emphasis has been placed on political justice epitomised by pre and post-election disputes and petitions by express constitutional provisions over, social, and economic justice. Section 285 (6) & (7) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Don‟t get me wrong, political justice – the determination of who our leaders are, at Federal, States and Local Government levels is very important. After all, they make our laws and determine how our limited economic and human resources are allocated and channeled with huge effects on social and economic justice. But the priority given election petition matters over all the other court suits, criminal, human rights applications, economic and business disputes has left a huge segment of our population denied of justice, including the poor, the weak and the needy in our society, who the law ought to give better protection.

Too many of our citizens are in jail awaiting trial for so many years, without any chance of seeing a court room, other than an appearance before a magistrate who has no jurisdiction over the matter for which they are charged on “holding charge” Most of these awaiting trial inmates, have no persons to speak or fight for them. They are not children or relations of politicians, Governors, Senators, Legislators or judges or justices or senior Advocates of Nigeria or even lawyers, or the big time journalists. But they are Nigerians.

Worst still, these are Nigerians whom our system, the Nigerian system has cheated in many respects. The system has denied them economic and social justice. Our and their common wealth has been embezzled by the political class. Their economic rights and their future have been

taken away by the conspiracy of our business and industry leaders and the so called multinational companies in connivance, with SEC and

other regulators.

Even the crimes they have been accused of have not been investigated at all or properly because either the police and other law enforcement agencies have not been properly funded or their funds have been embezzled. These in mates are hungry and sick because either the prisons or corrective centres have not been funded or their funding has been embezzled.

Any yet, a few of them who are lucky enough to have lawyers on pro bono basis file applications for enforcement of their fundamental rights, have their applications not given the urgency it deserves.

Some of these applications stay up to 3 to 4 years before being heard in the High Court and the few that go to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court suffer the same long delays. This is in spite of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Rules 2009 made by the CJN pursuant to his constitutional powers which expressly provides that fundamental rights application should be given the urgency it deserves.

As a Senior Legal Practitioner, I can attest that this is honoured more in breach. Furthermore, when these applications are heard, and indeed the Courts find that these fundamental rights have indeed been breached sometimes with incarcerations of over 5 to 10 years, our judges punish the violators with kid cloves- damages of N1million and most times with refusal to compel the violators to apologise to their victims and the nation, contrary to the Supreme Court Judgement in Jim-Jaja v COP (2013) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1350) 225, upholding section 35(6) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended)

This is not good enough. Social justice is as important as political justice. Economic justice is as important as political justice.

What is more, even when the courts award these pittance as damages, some state governments appeal this judgement without paying the penalty, with a view only to simply abandon their appeals.

My noble lords, the CJN, honourable Justices of the Apex Court and the Court of Appeal and the Chief Judges of State high Courts here present there is need to focus on social justice and change our attitude to awaiting trial detainees. For every minute, every hour, every day they are in detention without trial, their rights are being violate by the state and the Government has to be made pay a high price for these violations. Lawyers who take on the task to file these applications are doing great service to our country. Courts and Attorney generals should not be looking at them as trouble makers. My humble submission to this highly revered audience is that social justice is as important as political justice and the honourable CJN and all the Heads of Courts should as a matter of urgency re-emphasise to their honourable justices that they need to give more time and urgency to the little man‟s case for fundamental rights and freedom.

That brings me to the menacing effect of “confession” in our courts and some trial judge‟s refusal to comply with the Administration of Criminal

Justice Act or law as the case may be. It is common knowledge that the Police and other law enforcement agencies hardly investigate matters diligently and to full conclusion before arrest. So they just arrest and detain and start their investigation by beating the hell out of their victims and procuring “confessions” and invariably in our law courts, the admissibility of a “confession” takes central stage and very long precious and scarce time of the courts. And our legislature

stepped in following the voices of our honourable justices at the Appellate Courts condemning convictions based on the so called “confessions” and suggesting safeguards. The legislature passed the Administration of Criminal Justice Act/Law as domesticated in the states. These statutes make provisions to guarantee that “confessions” are voluntary and to cure the disposition of the law enforcement agents of beating “confessions” out of their victims. See Section 15(4) of the Administration of Criminal justice Act, 2015 and Section 9(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice (Repeal and Re-enactment) Law of Lagos State, 2015 provide:

SECTION 15(4) ACJA-

“Where a suspect who is arrested with or without warrant  volunteers to make a confessional statement, the police officer shall ensure that the making and taking of the statement shall be in writing and may be recorded electronically on retrievable video compact disc or such

other audio visual means.”

SECTION 9(3) ACJL,LAGOS-

“where any person who is arrested, with or without a warrant, volunteers to make a confessional statement, the Police shall ensure that the making and taking of such statement is recorded on video and the said recording and copies thereof may be produced at the trial provided that in the absence of video facility the said statement shall be in writing in the presence of a legal practitioner of his choice”

Surprisingly, inspite of clear judgments of the Court of Appeal in ZHIYA V PEOPLE OF LAGOS STATE (2016) LPELR 40562 (CA), AGBANIMU V FRN (2018) LPELR-43924(CA) and OLUWATOYIN V THE STATE (2018) LPELR 44441(CA) interpreting these sections

and holding that any “confession” not procured in compliance with these statutory provisions are inadmissible and no conviction should be based on them, we find it unacceptable that the High Court have continued to hold “trial within trial” to determine whether confessions are admissible under the judge's Rules and have largely ignored these statutory provisions. Even when these provisions are brought to their attention. This is a very unnecessary waste of scarce judicial time and has continued to encourage law enforcement agents to continue their old behaviour.

We submit that every “confession” must be subjected to the terms provided by Statutes- Was it done in the presence of a Legal Practitioner of the accused? If no. Was it recorded by video? Once it is not, then the confession is inadmissible and the poor victim must be set free. This will compel our law enforcement agencies to change course, and to start to do proper investigations and will protect these less privileged Nigerians.

ECONOMIC JUSTICE

From my experience in my long stay in the banking industry, it became very clear to me that most multinational companies in Nigeria are doing very well, a lot better in Nigeria than in their home countries and other countries they are operating and my little analysis revealed that the main reason they are doing so well in Nigeria is because they break all our laws and operate with impunity with the connivance of our regulations and of course our weak institutions, so I resolved early in my practice to fight for economic justice in our country through my law practise.

These companies become greatly financially successful violating our laws, compromising our institutions and regulatory officials and they employ lawyers, senior lawyers who encourage and protect them to even violate the integrity and sanctity of our courts and turn around to publicly on television to humiliate our judges, and denigrate the integrity of our courts, comparing them to courts in United Kingdom and elsewhere by unwarranted, vinolent criticism of our judiciary on judgements they did not read at all.

These destructive criticism of the judiciary must stop. It is more painful and condemnable when done by Senior Advocates of Nigeria who have not read the judgements they come to the television to criticise. Take for example the Senator Hope Uzodima & Anor v Rt.

Hon. Emeka Ihedioha & 2ors (2020) 5 NWLR (Pt. 1718) pg. 529 judgement of the Supreme Court. They refer to it is a Page 9 of 14judgement whereby the Apex court made a candidate who was 4th , as declared my INEC the winner and call him the Supreme Court made Governor.

Lets purse for a moment, who is not a Supreme Court made Governor, Senator or Legislator? Did most of them not go through the courts in various election petitions proceedings to emerge as Governors, Senators or even President?

In this book, that judgment was analysed in Chapter 10 dealing with disserting judgements and I humbly submitted that Hope Uzodima won the Imo State Governorship election based on the facts presented to the tribunal, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court on the results released by INEC at the polling Units and in accordance with our laws of evidence and civil procedure and our Electoral Act. At the Court of Appeal, there were two judgments, a majority judgement of 4 Hon. Justices and a minority judgement of Hon. Justice Frederick Oho before the Supreme Court. This minority judgement is completely forgotten by the popularity seeking critics of the Apex Court who had not read

the judgements of the Court of Appeal, and have not read the judgement of the Supreme Court. Any minority judgement at an intermediate court, is always very important for the final court in any jurisdiction including Nigeria, UK, USA and Canada. Afterall, the greatest reformist Judge that has ever lived Lord Denning himself said that when he found that he was less able to persuade his colleagues (most times 4 Lord Justices) at the House of Lords, he asked to be

taken back to the Court of Appeal. His reason was that it enabled him in the Court of Appeal to persuade just one Hon. Justice to form a majority judgement and that if he failed to persuade any of the other two Hon. Justices, he will write a minority judgement which he hopes will be before the House of Lords

Justices in the consideration of the appeal and may be and just maybe, he will be able to persuade 3 of the 5 justices to get a majority judgement of 3 to 2 and his reformist agenda becomes law of the land.

Coming back to the Hope Uzodima‟s appeal before the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court preferred the minority judgement of the Court of Appeal to the majority judgement and on the basis of the law of “pleadings 101”, the Apex Court Hon. Justices resolved the actual dispute presented to it by the parties and the lead judgement by my noble Lord Kekere Ekun JSC in several portions of the judgement magisterically endorsed the reasoning of the judgment of the

dissenting Justice at the Court of Appeal.

It is therefore my humble submission that there are places for constructive criticism of the judgements of courts of every level, and that a dissenting judgement is the most potent criticism of the majority judgement which becomes the law of the land. A dissenting judgement gives the law faculties, the ivory towers a great source to ventilate the intellectual minds of our law professors and teachers.

They teach their students with these judgements and produce good lawyers and judges. We lawyers criticise the judgements of courts when we exercise that very important right of Appeal. Skye Bank Plc

1. Iwu (2017) 16 NWLR (Pt. 1590) 24; We can even humbly „yab‟ my lords, just prefex your criticism, with, “with profound humility and due respect” to the trial judge or the Court of Appeal, as the case may be and as Fela will say, we yab them. Yes, our appellant brief is a great opportunity for a reformist lawyer to criticise our lord justices. Writing articles and even books give us opportunities to constructively criticise our judges – definitely not on social media or on television, particularly by lawyers who have not read the judgments.

Finally on this point, it is my humbly submission that our judiciary has done well considering the constraints under which they operate. At least, they have done better than the executive and the legislatures – the other two arms of Government. And as President Biden of the United States is reputed to have said on the campaign grounds, DON‟TCOMPARE ME WITH GOD. COMPARE ME WITH MY OPPONENTS!!

Perhaps the greatest judgement of the Supreme Court on social and economic justice, in the last decade, for which they have not received commensurate commendations is the judgement of the Court in Attorney General of Kaduna State & ors v. Attorney General of the Federation & ors.

The apex court under the leadership of our incorruptible, courageous and fearless Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Olukayode Ariwoola GCON spoke truth to power and emphasised that this country is a democracy, and a Federation and that no body, not even the President is above the law and that the rule of law must prevail etc and saved the masses of this country from the well orchestrated determination of the Government goaded by an inept Central Bank to

punish everybody by simple change of currency policy that was never thought through. Permit me to quote - “The Supreme Court in the case of A.G. OF KADUNA STATE & ORS. V A.G. OF THE  FEDERATION & ORS (2023) LPELR-59936 (SC) Per Honourable Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim J.S.C delivered on the 3rd of

March 2023 held that:

“Inherent in their status as constituents of the Federation under a democratic constitution, is their right to be

consulted by the president before the exercise of any executive power of such magnitude as can have far reaching effect on the governance, economic and social order of each constituent of the Federation. Such right is inherent in the idea of a federation in a democracy.

Without it, the federation losses its sovereignty and the president become the sovereign and the Government of

Nigeria a dictatorship…” “…the duty is implicit in the provisions of S.5(1) of the 1999 constitution that makes the president an agent of

the federation. As held herein, it is inherent in their status as constituents of the Federation under a democratic constitution, is their right to be consulted by the President before the exercise of any executive power of such magnitude as can have far reaching effect on the governance, economic and social order of each constituent state of the Federation. Such right is inherent in the idea of a Federation in a democracy. Without it, the Federation losses its sovereignty and the President becomes the sovereign and the Government of Nigeria a dictatorship…”

“let me consider the issue of the President’s disobedience of the 8-2-2023 interim order that the new and old versions of naira notes continue to circulate as legal tender until the determination of the pending application for interlocutory injunction. It is not in dispute that the 1st defendant refused to obey the said order. The President’s 16-2-2023 national broadcast reproduced here in pages 27-31 demonstrates this disobedience. In disobedience of the order, he directed that only the old

200-naira notes be recirculated.”

“..the rule of law upon which our democratic governance is founded becomes illusory if the President of the country or any authority or person refuses to obey the orders of courts. The disobedience of orders of courts by the President in a constitutional democracy as ours is a sign of the failure of the constitution and that democratic governance has become a mere pretension and is now replaced by autocracy or dictatorship.”

Thank you very much for listening as I rededicate my life to the fight for social & economic justice in Nigeria.

DR. CHARLES .D. MEKWUNYE (SAN)

LL.B (Hons) Ife, LL.M (Unilag) MBA, DBA. FCI.Arb.

Every Nigerian knows that we have an electricity problem. It has been a recurrent sound bite in development discourse in Nigeria post- independence. This challenge is generational and has defied all attempts in the past to solve it. And Nigerians are gleefully looking to the incoming administration to end the search for the solution to this hydra-headed problem and terminate Nigeria’s electricity conundrum. Whether this administration will succeed where others have failed in unravelling the electricity conundrum depends on its careful study and understanding of the problem. It will entail an in-depth review of all previous initiatives to solve the problem, and the current state of the whole electricity value-chain in Nigeria as well as providing bespoke strategies to provide sustainable electricity supply that meets the massive demand in Nigeria. Electricity, especially in Africa, connotes light, which signifies progress, knowledge, and awareness. Therefore, literarily, the absence of light is darkness; metaphorically, the lack of electricity connotes the dominance of darkness, which Africans associate with everything negative – witchcraft, poverty, stagnation, and even death. Little wonder the availability of electricity, or lack thereof, is significant to Nigerians.

However, several studies have empirically proved that a lack of electricity correlates with poor human development indices. And on the flip side, access to reliable power can dramatically unlock higher quality of life. Three pertinent questions merit consideration: what is the current state of our electricity challenge ? What are some of the negative consequences of Nigeria’s electricity conundrum? And what solutions can the new administration pursue to solve the problem? Answers to these questions, though limited in detail and a rather snapshot of the current realities, provide a clear picture of the way forward for Nigeria and a bird’s eye view of the electricity ecosystem in Nigeria.

The current state of electricity generation, transmission and distribution in Nigeria is a study in crisis. This crisis has become endemic and defied logic and common sense. First, Nigeria’s installed electricity generation capacity is said to be about 13,000 MW. However, actual generation capacity delivered to the national grid for transmission to Nigerians has during the past 8 years stagnated at an average 4100MW – 4200MW daily, even though during the past 2 years there has been a marginal improvement in energy quantities delivered to the grid reaching 4,753MW on February 2023. The consistent inability to deliver much beyond 33% of total installed generation capacity is a function of fairly long- standing market, infrastructure and regulatory challenges. This is for a population of over 200 million. Egypt’s installed electricity generation capacity was approximately 58,000 MW, making it one of the highest in Africa, with 100% access, for a population of about 80 million people. As of 2021, the installed electricity generation capacity in South Africa was approximately 58,000 MW, with 84.4% access for a population of about 60 million people. These two countries, with a similar economic size to Nigeria, produce and distribute about 15 times more MW than Nigeria, whose population is almost three times more.

Second, Nigeria’s electricity distribution infrastructure needs to be updated and requires substantial investment. Transmission and distribution losses are high, resulting in a significant waste of generated electricity. Frequent system failures, such as blackouts and voltage fluctuations, are common due to inadequate infrastructure. Third, the regulatory framework for the Nigerian electricity sector has faced criticism for needing to be more effective and conducive to attracting investments. Inconsistent policies, bureaucratic hurdles, and difficulties enforcing regulations have hindered progress in the power sector. Fourth, electricity theft and non-payment of bills pose significant financial challenges for power distribution companies in Nigeria, affecting their ability to invest in infrastructure improvements and sustain operations effectively.

Fifth, lack of a systematic, integrated approach to investment in the sector and a need for sufficient diversification among gas, solar, wind, nuclear, and hydro sources. And finally, inadequate planning in anticipation of demographics, domestic and industrial power needs, and sabotage of public power supply to favour the generator lobby. These factors compound our electricity conundrum and render most efforts in improving electricity ineffective.

The consequences of this electricity quagmire are dire. Nigeria’s failure to actualise its full potential is partially attributed to this electricity conundrum. Studies have shown how the lack of reliable, affordable, and quality electricity has systematically underdeveloped our country in the past 30 years. And I will point out a few ways lack of electricity has stagnated our development or underdeveloped us.

The first is that it impaired economic productivity. Electricity is a fundamental requirement for industrial and commercial activities. Without reliable power, businesses face operational difficulties, reducing productivity and competitiveness. Lack of electricity also limits the establishment and growth of new industries, hindering job creation and economic growth. As a result, the country’s inadequate power supply has induced low economic development and a high unemployment rate. The Africa Industrial Index Report and World Bank data show Nigeria has had a low industrial growth rate over the past two decades.

The second is that it  significantly limited access to essential services. Electricity is a fundamental aspect of modern life and vital in providing critical services such as healthcare, education, food security and clean water supply. Without electricity, healthcare facilities struggle to operate medical equipment, schools face challenges in delivering quality education, and communities may lack access to safe drinking water. This limited access to essential services hampers human development and perpetuates the country’s poverty cycle. This partially explains why our poverty rate is one of the highest globally.

The third is that it creates social and political tensions. The lack of reliable electricity can exacerbate political instability, particularly in fragile or conflict-affected states, and it can limit the government’s ability to provide essential services and create a sense of angst and frustration among electricity consumers. This has led to social unrest, political instability, and sometimes violence in the country.

The fourth is the environmental consequences. The reliance on fossil fuel-based generators as an alternative power source contributes to increased carbon emissions, air pollution, and ecological degradation. Inadequate electricity infrastructure impedes the development and adoption of renewable energy sources, slowing the transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon energy system.

The final impact is on security. Power outages and unreliable electricity supply have security implications. In urban areas, the absence of street lighting during blackouts can increase crime rates and compromise public safety. It can also negatively impact the operations of security systems, such as surveillance cameras and alarm systems, affecting overall security measures.

We appreciate this electricity challenge and how it has played a crucial role in our stagnated development, and we keep trying to fix it. However, we have been making cyclic movements – “motions without movement” in the same spot. The government created NEPA, embarked on massive electricity power sector reforms in 2005, started Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company in 2010, privatised Distribution Companies in 2013 and Generation Companies in 2014. Yet the challenge remains. Progress has been marginal. Power generation on the grid rose from a meagre 3,183 MW in 2013 to 4,753.9 MW in 2023. With about a sixth of our population, even Ghana has a dependable electric power generation of 4,710 MW, with the access of 85.9% against our 57%.

 How can the incoming administration rescue Nigeria from this intractable and malignant malady of electricity poverty?

The new administration must understand the four-fold snags the electricity industry faces: an exponential increase in the demand for electricity due to a rapidly increasing population without commensurate investment in the supplyend; pervasive insecurity threats to power installations and gas infrastructure given that about 80% of grid-tied generation are gas fired; high electricity transmission and distribution losses; over-reliance on generators which last year cost more than $5.2billion for importing and running generators; and liquidity challenges faced by distribution companies due to low collection efficiency and theft.

This understanding must lead them to declare a state of emergency on electricity. We can only imagine the multiplier effect of the government getting electricity right on our way of life. Nigerians over the generations have yet to experience sufficient electricity. The culture shock most Nigerians have when they go abroad is experiencing a constant electricity supply, and it takes a while to get used to it. This government must take Nigeria out of this “self-inflicted” electricity conundrum and put us on the road to sustainable electricity sufficiency.

I will suggest a cocktail of options available to the government. The government must create the right policy environment and framework for increased private investment in power generation, leading to the modernisation of transmission infrastructure and management. It must work towards greater diversification of energy sources, emphasising renewable and clean energy sources. It is time the government considered nuclear energy as an option. If South Africa , Iran and Turkey can build nuclear power plants , we have no excuse not to. Government must review existing distribution concessions with greater due diligence on the financial health of distribution companies. It must implement a steep upward review of tariffs on generator imports after a given period of grace to discourage generator dependency, and the government must do this simultaneously with improvement in power supply. The government must upgrade and modernise the national grid to make it more flexible and compliant with current global trends. State Governments , with the new constitutional provisions must play a critical role in our drive towards power sufficiency .

I am unconvinced that Nigeria is doing enough to fix this intractable electricity challenge that has held our development down from pre- independence. It’s from one tell-tale to another. Like a new chapter, the beginning of a new administration is not a time to blame past governments, the private sector, contractors, or consumers for our serial failure to fix power. It is time to assemble our best hands wherever they may be, be single-minded and drive the optimisation of electricity as a national project to unlock our true potential. The leadership of our country must show real commitment and strong will to improve the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. Nigerians expect nothing less. Failure is not an option—Nigeria’s economic, social, and political future hinges on solving our electricity conundrum .