Evidence of the scope of the mess created by Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the crooked leadership of Mahmood Yakubu began to emerge this past week. It all suggests network egregiousness on a monumental scale that easily rivals the elections of 2007 until now seen as the nadir in Nigeria’s journey of elective governance. 

As the National Judicial Council (NJC) released the names of the 257 judges who will sit to consider and decide on elections petitions around the country beginning in May 2023, it emerged this past week that so far 1,044 petitions have been filed against results declared by the INEC in the 2023 elections. That is already more than 70% of the 1,490 seats contested and it appears that these are not the final numbers.

The relationship between election petitions and the acceptability of elections in Nigeria is one of direct proportionality. Candidates and parties who believe that the results reflect the will of the people are generally disinclined to continue the contest and more expenditure through the courts. Those who do not so believe re-litigate the contest through the courts. The numbers tell the story.

Some 1,299 petitions, representing about 86.35% of the seats contested in 2007 ended up before the courts, a fact that prompted The Economist to describe Nigeria as a “democracy by court order”. With a mere 10 months to prepare and deliver the 2011 elections, Professor Attahiru Jega whom President Goodluck Jonathan appointed in 2010 to replace the rampant Maurice Iwu at the leadership of INEC, cut the number of petitions by nearly 58% to 751 in 2011. In 2015, the last election conducted under Professor Jega, there were only 677 petitions or 45.4% of the seats on offer.

By contrast, with four years to deliver the 2019 elections, Professor Mahmood Yakubu managed to grow the number of petitions from the 677 he inherited in 2015 to 811 petitions or 54.4% of the contested seats. Four years later, the bottom has fallen off the system of electoral administration under his watch, with the proportion of petitions guaranteed to be much nearer where they were in 2007. Only a fool will believe that the judiciary can clean up this mess.

In many ways, the drama that accompanied the Adamawa State governorship elections embodies everything wrong with the INEC under the watch of Mahmood Yakubu. In that contest, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who goes under the appellation of “Barrister” Yunusa Hudu Ari, on 16 April and with full protection from senior officers of the Nigeria Police Force and allied security services, announced fake results without numbers and without authority, forcing an INEC hierarchy steeped in electoral scandal to make song and dance of disowning the declaration.

The antecedents to this development, as well as the aftermath, should detain us.

Like the Chairman of INEC, “Barrister” Hudu Ari is from Bauchi state; and like the INEC chairman, he came from a supply pipeline that appears to bear the fingerprints of the Attorney-General of the Federation. In his home state, Bauchi, Yunusa Ari had worked as a civil servant, before retiring as a permanent secretary. He also previously served as secretary to the Bauchi branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA.

But these were not what qualified him to be appointed a REC. His claim to fame is that he was chummy with the Attorney-General of the Federation. According to Leadership Newspaper, “Yunusa was classmates with the minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation, Abubakar Malami”, and “the age-long relationship between Yunusa-Ari and Malami played a crucial role in his emergence as REC”.

Less than eight months before the 2023 elections, in July 2022, President Buhari transmitted Yunusa Ari’s name to the Senate for confirmation as one of a cohort of 19 REC nominees. His identification with the ruling party was well known. Far from disqualifying him as the applicable laws required, these credentials of partisan propinquity made his nomination all the more appealing, guaranteeing his confirmation. Now that the elections are over, INEC admits that many of these RECs nominated by Buhari in 2022 “were clearly partisan and, to make matters worse, some were deployed to states where they had sympathy for the ruling parties.”

After Yunusa Ari’s criminal announcement of a non-existent result, the INEC headquarters intervened purportedly to disown his conduct and summon him to Abuja. From the venue of the announcement, meanwhile, Yunusa Ari headed to the airport in Yola all the time under high-level police protection, where he boarded a private jet. He did not turn up in Abuja to answer the summons of his employers, however. Instead, the same employers went public to claim that he had vanished and they could not find him. The police, under whose protection he acted up to the point of vanishing, suddenly announced an investigation into what happened.

If this all sounds like coordinated institutional hyperventilation manufactured for a cover-up, it is because it probably is. The possibility that Yunusa Ari could have acted this script all by himself and without coordination with other agencies or with people higher up the political and institutional food chain is less than zero. It is equally impossible that he could have left Yola on a private jet that then vanished from the airspace. Air Traffic Control had to have cleared the flight and the manifest had to have been filed with the Civil Aviation Authority, all federal agencies. Bringing him to account would entail unmasking this command chain of complicity and conspiracy.

Hours after Yunusa Ari’s fake declaration, Aishatu Dahiru, the serving senator whom he sought to benefit in the Adamawa governorship contest, went to the federal high court in far away Abuja, asking it to affirm her as the winner of the election. She did this by way of an ex-parte application, essentially asking the court to decide this matter without hearing any of the other parties in the contest or the INEC whose REC purported to declare her the winner. The court invited her to show how it had jurisdiction over her claim. Rather than do that, her lawyers elected to ask the court for permission to discontinue the case. But, instead of granting her application, the court dismissed it.

While he is supposedly a fugitive, meanwhile, Yunusa Ari has apparently been busy firing off missives to the police, and the security services, and suing his employers. His address is presumably undisclosed and undiscoverable. The leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association, whose membership he advertises when he ostentatiously describes himself as a “Barrister”, has studiously averted its gaze from the peregrinations of this its infamous member despite the demand of many of its members for the Bar leadership to take steps to discipline him. Similarly, the Attorney-General of the Federation does not appear to have taken notice.

If they were to choose to, the leadership of the Bar, as well as the Attorney-General of the Federation, would have remembered that Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct in Nigeria’s Legal Profession precludes every lawyer from “any conduct which is unbecoming of a legal practitioner”.

In a country in which the richest lawyers make their billions from inventing technicalities to justify crooked election results, it is no surprise that those who lead the Bar are unwilling and unable to notice that announcing fake election results and disappearing thereafter into thin air is not something that should be associated with a lawyer, especially not one who claims to be a “barrister”. But then again, anyone who feels a need to be addressed as “barrister” is probably far from fit for purpose, anyway.

A lawyer & a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

No nation has ever excelled by instigating one section of its population against the other. Internal cohesion is an essential ingredient of popular mobilisation. In a society torn apart by perpetual contestations between the entitled and the tolerated, the stage is set for a multiplicity of destinies. So, while the rest of progressive humanity is busy conquering the environment and initiating programmes to lessen the burden of unborn generations, an atavistic contraption like Nigeria limps on one ethno-religious foot.

Many student activists of the 70s have found themselves asking if this was the Nigeria they hoped to see in their old age. Were all the risks taken against the brutal military dictatorships worth their weight in positive outcomes? Those fantastic plans to help propel Nigeria to line up among the nations of the first world — not unattainable to those who are not scared of dreaming — how come they now look like the effusions of a febrile soul?

The attraction of a united Nigeria in the eyes of the British colonialists was administrative convenience. They couldn’t be bothered if Shango had anything to do with the deity at Nri or if Dan Fodio didn’t have anything in common with Oba ovonramwen. They needed a united market and a united source of diverse raw materials. But they were realistic enough to concede that the new creation would not endure unless each segment had a measure of freedom to achieve its fullest potential within the larger whole. Thus, they midwifed a parliamentary constitution.

If Nigerian politicians had not put themselves before the nation, the independence constitution would have endured. But they didn’t. The pieces of the implosion of 1965-66 are still being picked all over the country today.

So, when anyone speaks as if glamorising the first republic, it is as if that person has elevated lying to a fine art. But, with all its warts, the first republic had many things to teach us as we grope in the darkness of centrifugal tendencies urging us to return to the womb of the primordial days before time was born when man was beast to fellow man.

It has become customary that every discussion about the expansiveness and inclusiveness of pre-Independence politics in Nigeria must include the tenure of Umaru Altine, a Sokoto-born Fulani, as mayor of Enugu. Today, would a Sokoto indigene relocate to Enugu and marry an Igbo lady named Esther and rise through the political structure to become mayor?

The first republic may have had its many problems, but it has so many things to teach us about inclusiveness as a tool for achieving cohesion in a diverse polity.

One of the most stimulating papers I have read on the subject is Prof. Yemi Osinbajo’s “Creating A Homeland For All: Nation-Building In A Diverse Democracy”, delivered at the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS). As always, I insist on focussing on the message rather than the messenger. Whatever your view about Osinbajo’s stewardship as Buhari’s vice-president, you can’t deny the man’s brilliance and humanity. I therefore find some of the dismissive comments on social media regarding this serious issue, puerile.

Unless we subscribe to the nihilist philosophy of those who believe that the way out of the Nigerian conundrum is a shooting war or a dismemberment of the present structure by all means fair or foul, we ought to be deploying our cerebral faculties to thinking out a solution to the ethno-religious monster that has held Nigeria hostage and whose ugly face dominated recent electoral contests in various parts of the federation.

Osinbajo used personal anecdotes to illustrate his point that our resort to ethnicity and religion is usually self-serving and that when the chips are down, we don’t care where help comes from; what matters is that we get what we want. If only the political elite would be a little less selfish, perhaps we could begin to mould building blocks of cohesion.

The VP told the story of his recent surgery to illustrate his point that tribe and tongue and religion don’t figure in our calculations when we need to get something related to life and death done. There he was in July 2022, about to be anaesthetised. The thought that crossed his mind at that moment was that he was absolutely at the mercy of the surgeons, the paramedics and anaesthesiologist around the bed. One was from the North, some from the Southeast, the head of the team was from Delta, some were Muslims, and some were Christians. Indeed, he suspected that one of them was an atheist. But all that did not matter. The important consideration was that they were the experts.

“When we make the decisions that affect our lives and those of our children the most, somehow we are able to ignore tribal or religious prejudices”, said Osinbajo. “The pilots who fly our planes, the teachers who teach our children in school, the soldiers and other law enforcement agents who put their lives on the line for our safety every day, the members of our national football team, we don’t care where they are from so long as they can perform. This is the attitude we must adopt always to build the nation of our dreams”.

In a departure from the usual practice of senior government officials calling a spade by a cognomen, the vice president donned his ivory tower mortar board to make a well reasoned analysis of the factors militating against national cohesion. Many objective analysts would agree with his contention that we do ourselves great disservice when we reduce an election to an ethnic census.

He highlighted a particularly embarrassing case: “A popular female food blogger and YouTuber called Sisi Yemi, a Yoruba woman took to her verified Twitter handle to say, ‘My husband and I were not allowed to vote, they said we look like Igbo people. I can’t believe this!’”

Osinbajo argues that neighbour is turned against neighbour when the forces of primordial division and polarisation are harnessed for the sake of electoral gain. He however draws particular attention to various forms of bigotry that are no less lethal but which are transmitted and effectively mainstreamed by the media and other social forces.

“The association of whole ethnic communities with certain types of criminality which amounts to the wholesale criminalisation of an identity and the habit of tarring groups with the misdeeds of individuals are deeply problematic .…When individuals, no matter how many they may be, do certain things, it is so easy for us to simply criminalise an entire tribe of people because of the actions of a few. We have done this sort of profiling of a few people in so many ways, such that when you ask someone, ‘who is doing this?’, the response would be, ‘it is people of this tribe…’”

Many analysts had predicted that the recently concluded 2023 elections would be decided by the youths who commanded about two-thirds of the votes. Even with all the glitches that attended the exercise, there is no doubt that young people came out massively to make a difference and that anyone fighting against their resolve to take back their country through the ballot box is only hitting his head against a concrete wall. The overwhelming dominance of young people in Nigeria is already a fact of life.

According to the VP, “Increasingly, we see that the heart and face of the new Nigeria is socio-culturally hybrid, appreciative of the cultural diversity of our society, attuned to his culture but also blessed with an inclusive, cosmopolitan outlook… We saw a lot of that in the politics of this past election cycle, a lot of young people simply chose how they wanted to vote and many of them disregarded old primordial allegiances and in many cases, tribe.

Diversity is the imminent future, says Prof. Osinbajo. “Common citizenship based on a cosmopolitan worldview has become the standard for societies across the world”, he says.  “But there is still a tension that exists between this new Nigeria and the old Nigeria as understood by a generation that is much more accustomed to political mobilisation on the basis of identity.

The VP insists that, “What is at issue is not and has never been our diversity but our capacity to manage it with a sense of fairness, equity and justice.  The richest nations in the world are those that have learnt how to attract talent from various places and harness diversity as a driver of growth. The politics of division and tribalism can only breed poverty and strife.”

Since inclusiveness is so critical to development and stability, can the incoming government roll out measures to make Nigeria truly a homeland for all? Will it?

I hope it will.

I have no reservations whatsoever in joining many others at home and abroad today, Saturday, April 29, to celebrate the birthday of the man popularly known as Otunba, Dr. Mike Adenuga on the occasion of his attainment of the landmark age of three scores and ten. It is trite knowledge that 70 is the Biblical age. The average time of longevity in Nigeria is 54, a country bedevilled by many existential crises and issues. Living up to the age of 70, in a country where death is cheap, poverty is rife, political leaders are not trusted, the road lies in wait to grab harvests on a daily basis - is in itself an achievement.   It is therefore fit and proper to celebrate Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Ishola Adenuga Jr. on the occasion of his 70^th birthday. Born on April 29, 1935, he is seventy today, and he truly deserves our applause.  

In the past week, I have seen a surfeit of tributes and announcements. One particularly notable one was posted by Aare Dele Momodu, one of Otunba Adenuga’s many proteges and beneficiaries, on his social media pages. Aare Momodu tells us that today, to be precise, there will be no loud parties… Otunba Adenuga has chosen to be at home with his family to reflect on an unprecedented trajectory; thanking God for seventy years of abundant grace, (2) that those who wish to celebrate with him should do so in modesty and simplicity which reflect his own reclusive personality; (3) that he would be delighted to have the younger generation read about his epic battles for success and imbibe some of the extraordinary attributes that catapulted him to being one of the most enigmatic icons on planet earth; (4) Dele Momodu says  Dr Mike Adenuga Jnr has dominated the business space in the last four decades with investments in commodity trading, real estate, banking, oil and gas, telecommunications, manufacturing and construction. … and (5) he adds that Mike Adenuga is a most generous giver and a silent donor to worthy causes…” I concur. Seventy years of achievement. Seventy years of glory. 

The only part of this advisory that I think will not fly is the build-up story that Otunba Mike Adenuga is going to spend his special day, today, ensconced with family, reflecting on his 70 years, in line with the virtues of modesty and simplicity and a reclusive personality. Yes, I know, that Otunba. Mike Adenuga is a self-effacing personality. With all his accomplishments, you won’t find him making noise at social events, throwing money around or trying to prove that he is a big man, as Nigerians say. But come off it, he is 70 today. He deserves to stage a dance, and sing a song. Where I come from, every birthday has what I call implications because birthdays are not for dying, they are for celebrations not monastic ruminations and hibernation. Otunba Adenuga’s aides should be told to urge their boss to celebrate. God has been kind to him. Adenuga at 70 is an occasion for pepper soup and jollof rice, and let no one tell him to restrict the feast to his family. The other day when Tony Elumelu, Chairman of United Bank of Africa (UBA) turned 60, I was quietly in my house when they sent me jollof rice and other gift items which I received and consumed with relish. When, a few years earlier, Nduka Obaigbena, the publisher of this newspaper, turned 60 we all went to Eko Hotel, the rooftop oh, not any small space, where we all had fun and took photographs. I ate and I took something home! 

Can someone please drag out Otunba Mike Adenuga, today and let him have fun, as we all join his friends and family to wish him a happy birthday, because he is indeed a jolly good fellow, an icon, a role model, a man with a good heart and a dependable guy. He is one of those persons that President Muhammadu Buhari referred to the other year when he talked about diamonds that make Nigeria great. Mike Adenuga is indeed a fine representation of the Nigerian dream, one of those who give hope to younger generations that it is possible to achieve, excel in whatever you put your mind and energy to, and surpass your dreams. Michael Adenuga is identified with two major animals as totems of signification: the first is the Bull. The Bull is the second sign of the Zodiac sign: Taurus, an earth sign relating to persons born between April 20 and May 20. Persons born under this sign are cosmic oxens, steadfast, loyal and ready to roll up their sleeves and get results. Apart from Otunba Mike Adenuga, one other Nigerian, in fact the only other one that I know who goes by the epithet “the Bull” is Daniel Amokachi, the ace footballer and legend.  Daniel Amokachi even in retirement is one of the best that ever played football. There are men and there are persons. I submit that our subject in this commentary is a man. It is not for nothing that Otunba Mike Adenuga is portrayed in other representations as a lion. The lion is the king of animals.   In his many expeditions in the course of seven decades, Mike Adenuga has indeed proven himself to be a king. I mean this in the literal sense without prejudice to the fact that he is the son of a princess of Ijebu Ode, who married an Ijebu-Igbo man, whose burial is recorded as one of the most befitting and colourful in contemporary times, nor the fact that Mike Adenuga is a first cousin of the Ogbagba II, paramount ruler of Ijebu Kingdom, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, one of the longest living monarchs in Nigeria having spent more than 60 years on the throne.  My point is that Adenuga had royal blood in him, but he became king not in the palace, but on the streets of struggle and self-realization.  Despite his privileged background with noble connections, he actually sent himself to school in the United States. 

Business schools teach case studies, and the models can be organizational or individual-specific. I once sat in classes where the subject was about CEOs – what makes them tick, how they think, how they are made, and why they do what they do. Mike Adenuga would prove to be a classic case study, and a source of lessons for the younger generation. Some of his critics, and I am sure there would be many out there, are likely to say that he is a lucky guy, who managed or happened to be in the right place at the right time. Afterall, he attended Ibadan Grammar School. Founded in March 1913, Ibadan Grammar School was one of those top elite schools in Ibadan, of Anglican Church extraction.  This was the school that Mike Adenuga attended. The school also had on its alumni list, Justice Franklin O.M. Atake, a distinguished jurist, Chief Ayo Rosij, lawyer, politician, former Minister; Chief Michael Omolewa, the industrialist; my late boss, mentor, benefactor and employer, Mr.Alex Ibru, founder of The Guardian Newspapers and the Sheraton Hotels, Dr Olusegun Agagu, former Governor of Ondo State,  and Chief Bola Ige, lawyer, politicians, author and former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.. The school also had the reputation of having had as principal and founder, the late Pa Bishop Alexander Babatunde Akinyele who brought much distinguished glory to the school. 

We had a lecturer, Mr. Sonny Samson-Akpan, in Calabar in those days who never failed to remind us that he attended Ibadan Grammar School. If we wanted to prod him, we would point out that Ibadan also had Government College, Ibadan (GCI) which had an even more glowing story. The truth is that once upon a time in this country, alumni and alumna of different schools used to compete for glory. They were proud of their alma mater. But that is another story entirely. After Ibadan Grammar School, Mike Adenuga went to Comprehensive High School Aiyetoro for his A’Levels as it is called. “Compro,” as that school was popularly known was one of the best schools in Nigeria’s Western Region. It had excellent teachers, offering American-styled education. It provided a truly comprehensive education across disciplines and subjects. Products of the school, from that era, even till today, still go about as if they are on stilts, although the school like many others of that glorious season has changed form, content and substance.   

The Adenuga story is that he later went on to the United States for further education, and there, working as a taxi driver, he sent himself through college, getting a first degree from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and a graduate degree from Pace University, New York, majoring in Business Administration. The man we are celebrating today is that taxi driver, I think they call a taxi driver, a cabbie in the US, who is now 70 and is known as one of the most accomplished men on the African continent. He became an entrepreneur quite early, buying and selling. He was already a millionaire by the age of 26. He sold lace and soft drinks. By 1990, he had diversified into many areas of enterprise and industry, banking, oil and gas, entrepreneurship. In 1990, his company, Consolidated Oil and Gas, (CONOIL) had struck oil in commercial quantities in the shallow waters of South Western states of Nigeria. He also founded a bank, now defunct - the Equatorial Trust Bank (ETB). He is also today, the Chairman and Founder of Globacom, the second largest telecom operator in Nigeria, with significant presence in other African countries including Ghana and Benin Republic. Adenuga is regarded by Forbes and other wealth-watching groups as the second richest man in Nigeria. Adenuga is the second richest man in Nigeria and the sixth richest in Africa. To bring that to the level of the common man, each time you make a call on the Globacom network just to say “Hello My Neighbour. How are you today?”. Mike Adenuga makes money. He mints money.  

I have been attending classes in International Political Economy taught by Professor D. K. Ologbenla who has been treating such subjects as the Theories of Capitalism, the definitions, scope and essence of political economy the Tenets of Capitalism, International Aid, Multinational Corporations, IMF/World Bank, and in all this he talks about the capitalist as an agent for wealth production/creation, property acquisition, job creation and value addition. In other words, whether you view capitalism from the laissez faire, neo-liberal perspective or the communist conception, capitalism ultimately adds value, and it is better to have a balanced perspective of the various propositions.  Otunba Mike Adenuga is one of those capitalist agents involved in trade and industry and one of the most impactful in Africa, promoting prosperity and economic growth.  It is instructive that he has been honored by his own country, Nigeria, as a Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), the second highest honour in Nigeria. He has also received high honours from Ghana, and France where in 2018, President Emmanuel Macron conferred on him the prestigious Commander of the Legion d’Honneur. In Ijebuland, he is Otunba Apesin. He is also one of the top-most influential Africans alive today. But the key thing is his promotion of welfare capitalism, his commitment to charity and community (the three Cs), philanthropy, and the manner in which he constantly gives back and helps to recreate society. I have read quite a number of tributes in the last week, from persons who have given testimonies of how they have benefitted directly from his generosity. As someone who has known him since I was a young, very angry, activist, journalist, I have been a beneficiary of his many acts of generosity. I don’t intend to tell those stories here today. I would rather reserve my “Adenuga and I stories” till another date. Most of our people are too envious. I don’t want to put anybody under unnecessary pressure as in: hen hen, is it Reuben Abati alone? I don’t want to attract the attention of you people who put eyes and mouths in other people’s matter. This is about Otunba Michael Adenuga: his humanism, his accomplishments, his heroism. 

He has done so much for the land of his birth: creating wealth, prosperity, opportunities and building lives. As he turns 70 today, I urge you to charge your glasses and let’s propose a toast to this great son of Ijebuland, Ogun State, Nigeria, Africa, and a global, bridge builder across the world as he turns 70. Is Bella reading this? Bella Adenuga (now Mrs Disu) is Otunba Adenuga’s daughter, if you are there, please bell me. I will tell you my address, for the onward transportation of my own Birthday mende-mende as they say in Yoruba language. Even the great Michael Adenuga must know that it is not fair for him to hide on his birthday today. Happy birthday sir. Many Happy Returns. Cheers.

This question has become inevitable because of the inexplicable failure of the Presidency to inaugurate the most important instutution of governance the Public Procurement Act 2007 Creates for the purpose of protecting public fund by fighting coruption in the public sector. This presdential fear of Public Prurement Council is now 16 years old. And even so the outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari who campaigned with this weapon of fighting coruption in the public sector in 2015 has failed to institutionalise public procurement council eight years on. This is quite disapponting. And that is why it is pertinent to sensitise the incoming presidential bureaucracy that public procurement council should be part of the first deals in the first 100 days in office. It is in public interest.   

The Public Procurement Act 2007 establishes the Bureau of Public Procurement as the regulatory authority responsible for the monitoring and oversight of public procurement, harmonising the existing government policies and practices by regulating, setting standards and developing the legal framework and professional capacity for public procurement in Nigeria.

And more inportant here, the “National Council on Public Procurement” is the governing body on issues relating to public procurement in Nigeria. It is a high level organ with approval powers on issues relating to the administration and management of public procurement under the Public Procurement Act of 2007.

On May 13, 2018 here I had asked in this column: When will the National Procurement Council be inaugurated? When will the President allow the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to share some powers with the legal Council on Public Procurement generally known as “contracts award” at the federal level?

I had then assured the nation that: “Answers to these 11-year-old questions will no longer blow in the wind, as the Council will be inaugurated sooner than later.” I had then explained the rationale for my optimism then this way: “This is official, thanks to the wind of change subscription to the strategic “Open Government Partnership” is fast bringing to the way corruption is being fought in the country.

In the first week of May 2018, I was an active participant at the “Open Government Week” in Abuja where a reference to the absence of the Public Procurement Council since 2007 as part of some hindrance to an “open government” led to the confirmation of government readiness to inaugurate the long neglected Public Procurement Council. In fact, it was confirmed by the Permanent Secretary in Charge of General Services Office (GSO) in the Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Day Four of the five-day conference.

The Permanent Secretary, General Services Office (GSO), Mr. Olusegun Adekunle then who represented the SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapha was present at the Monday opening ceremony, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo declared open.

In response to my observation and a written question by as a participant on when the Procurement Council would indeed be inaugurated since 2007 when the then President Umaru Yar’Adua signed it into law, the Permanent Secretary Adekunle said, “the Council has in fact been constituted and its inauguration will be done very soon.” And a spontaneous applause followed the clear answer to an 11-year-old conundrum and anxiety then – for inauguration of the Council.

That was part of the highlights of the Open Government Week 2018, which ended at that weekend (May 10, 2018) in Abuja.

The conclusion of the whole matter then was President Muhammadu Buhari would take the glory of inaugurating the first ever Public Procurement Council (as provided by law) to deepen public engagement and involvement in procurement processes, being the starting point of corruption in the public sector. He hasn’t till the present. Specifically, three past presidents have failed to inaugurate the Council.

President Olusegun Obasanjo government actually prepared the executive bill on Public Procurement. The National Assembly then passed it but failed to sign it into law. So it was with Fiscal Responsibility Bill, he also failed to sign into law as submitted too by the Clerk National Assembly then in 2007. But Obasanjo didn’t veto the two Bills. He, however, refused the content of the third legislation, the Freedom of Information Bill. It was a tripartite arrangement to enhance citizens’ access to information and deepen accountability and transparency in public service. 

The brass tacks: On June 4, 2007, the then President Yar’Adua signed the Public Procurement and Fiscal Responsibility Bills into law. But he failed to inaugurate the Council, which would have removed contracts award from the FEC that has been acting as Tenders Board – till date.

Curiously, despite promises made during the 2015 election, President Muhammadu Buhari too has failed to inaugurate the National Council on Public Procurement (NCPP), as required by the Public Procurement Act 2007. Instead, the Federal Executive Council, FEC, under the leadership of the president, continues to usurp the most important function of the NCPP: approval of contracts.

The Public Procurement Act provides for the establishment of the NCPP, and the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, as the regulatory authorities responsible for the monitoring and oversight of public procurement as well as harmonising existing government policies and practices.

The Act was put in place to allow transparency and ensure public participation in government procurement. Although President Yar’Adua, who signed the bill into Law, failed to inaugurate the NCPP until his death in office, his successor, Goodluck Jonathan, who stayed in office for six years also failed to inaugurate the Council.

As I had noted here in 2018, in fact, President Jonathan’s spokesperson, Dr. Rueben Abati once asked The Guardian a rhetorical question in a story I did on the thorny issue for the newspaper: “What would you want the FEC to do after inauguration of the Council,” he asked. Which explained why an amendment Bill was sent to the Session of the National Assembly then.

The amendment had sought to remove the power of Tenders approval from the Procurement Council and retain it in FEC. Membership of the Council according to the Act should comprise 12 members to be appointed by the President. While six of the members are government officials, the other six are drawn from relevant professional organisations.

Those from the government side, considered permanent members, include the Minister of Finance, who serves as Chairman, and the Director General of the BPP as Secretary. Others are the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of Service, and the Economic Adviser to the President. Those representing professional bodies are drawn from the Nigerian Bar Association, the Nigerian Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management, the Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mines and Agriculture, the Nigeria Society of Engineers, a representative of Civil Society Organisations and the media.

The FEC, the constitution provides as Executive Council of the Federation is made up the president, the vice president, all the ministers and some presidential advisers; meaning the president and his political appointees who are all less likely to question his decisions.

THE failure of the government to set up the Council means that the FEC continues to approve contracts to be executed by its members. And that is why procurement processes have become a critical part of why the public sector has become a bane rather than a boon to Nigeria since 1999. Obasanjo began the process and so unfortunately, no government after him has embraced the reform of public sector and that is why the country, the same Obasanjo cleared of debt in 2006 has returned to debt trap, no thanks to ineptitude and unbridled corruption in the outgoing Buhari administration. If the public procurement and fiscal responsibility nurtured by access to information mechanisms have worked we would have been very close to being the African giant and strong tower of the black race we are destined to be.  

It will be recalled that candidate Buhari had in a document circulated during the 2015 campaigns titled: “My covenant with Nigerians” promised to “inaugurate the National Council on Procurement as stipulated in the Procurement Act so that the Federal Executive Council, which has been turned to a weekly session of contract bazaar, will concentrate on its principal function of policy making.”

Although after assuming office, the president disowned the document. A fact check later showed that the procurement-policy document was produced by the policy and research directorate of the APC presidential campaign, headed by the then Minister of Solid Minerals Development and former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, when the party was trying to convince Nigerians to abandon the then ruling party, PDP.

I had on September 16, 2016 written on the same issue here in an article titled: “Where is the Public Procurement Council? (https://guardian.ng/opinion/where-is-nigerias-public-procurement-council/) Below is an excerpt from the column (article), which addresses the urgency of the public procurement council.

“…But then it is time for the president to overhaul the federal bureaucracy to prevent corruption. And here is the thing, even if the president continues ruthlessly alone as a fundamental objective without involving the civil service of the federation, even by 2019, the result will be that yes, he fought some corrupt people without really fighting corruption. And so the war would have been lost… Therefore, the president should step forward and use an existing law to begin institutionalisation of the anti-graft war at the highest level…The Freedom of Information Bill, which was also ready in Obasanjo’s time was not signed into law until May 28, 2011 by the then President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan….”

The whole process would also have been enhanced in the Buhari administration by the Open Government Partnership (OGP) mechanism, a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving transparency, accountability, citizen participation, which also engenders responsiveness to citizens through technology and innovation. The OGP process brings together, government and civil society champions of reforms who recognise that governments are more likely to be more effective and credible when governance is made open to public input and oversight.

The OGP was launched to provide international platform for national activists committed to making their governments more accountable, and more responsive to citizens in their quest for transparency. At the national level, the OGP introduces a domestic policy mechanism where the Government and civil society can have continuous dialogues on effective transparency policies.

At the international level, the OGP provides a global platform to connect, empower and support domestic reformers committed to transforming governments and societies through openness. It is indeed a multilateral initiative aimed at securing solid commitments from Governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.

In 2011, the OGP was formally launched when governments of Brazil, the Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States endorsed the Open Government Declaration and went further to announce their individual country action plans. The success of the OGP process per country, lies in the implementation of the National Action Plan, as it provides an organising framework for international networking and incentives. In July, 2016, Nigeria joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) as the 70th country.

Nigeria’s joining of the OGP process demonstrates a strong political will to dismantle existing structures, which have assisted long presence of corruption, including opacity, and ineffective governance caused by lack of accountability in the country’s institutions.

This is why it is important for the in-coming administration to inaugurate the National Council on Procurement (NCPP) as soon as it is sworn in to begin the process of using public institutions to rebuild our broken system that nurtures our underdevelopment. 

There is a profession today that did not exist in the past. It is an informal, infuriating, and infectious profession known very simply as ‘social media soldier’ or ‘keyboard warrior.’ This profession allows individuals to take up the mantles left behind by gladiators of the past, daring to slight whoever, whenever, and however. Abike Dabiri, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has fallen into the traps of these warriors. Having dealt with her, the brave lady of iron and fire is no longer recognizable.

When it comes to diaspora issues, Dabiri has always stood at the forefront of things. This is especially true when these issues involve Nigerians that are struggling outside their motherland or have fallen into the kind of situation that they never would have if they were back here. But Dabiri never fails to show that she has their back. This enviable character has been turned against her, gradually evolving into a distortion of what she represents and how.

Since the Sudan saga started, Nigerians with relatives in that country have been worried to the point of despair. Dabiri, ever the motivator, attempted to encourage Nigerians that efforts are being made to get back our brothers and sisters from Sudan. However, things did not go as planned and that ended up getting Dabiri into the ring with social media soldiers.

Dabiri claimed on Twitter that there are more than three million Nigerians residing in Sudan, and even the wealthiest person in that country has Nigeria’s blood flowing inside him. However, people were quick to point out that Dabiri had exaggerated the figures so far out of proportion that she could have designed 12 new Sudan and her estimated number of Nigerians would not fill up these fictional countries.

The same ridicule was raised against her claim of the wealthiest person in Sudan being a Nigerian, with some social media commentators calling her out for being a fantastic teller of tall tales. Despite knowing that she can make mistakes, these keyboard warriors are not having it.

If social media was a compound, Dabiri would have to remain in her flat for the next three to six months. After all, nobody ever wins against social media soldiers.

The national population and housing census, so central to planning in modern societies, is one of the most politically volatile aspects of the Nigerian nationhood. I can safely predict that no matter the outcome of the next census — formerly scheduled for May 3-5 but now postponed indefinitely — it will be hotly disputed. Although we have excluded basic demographic markers such as religion and ethnicity to minimise controversy, there will still be allegations of manipulation of figures in favour of one state, one geo-political zone, one region or the other. There is no escaping it. The outcome will be attacked based on legitimate as well as ridiculous sentiments. You can take this to the bank.

Why do we always dispute census figures in Nigeria? One, there is a fundamental trigger since the data is partly used in sharing federally collected revenues. It is thought that a state with more population will get a bigger share of the federation allocation. In fact, some of us are still stuck in the past, so we do not stop at the population figure of a state alone but also add the states in a region together to analyse what the northern or southern region gets — as if we were still running regionalism. It made sense when we had regions and allocations went into same pot. But in 2023, what Oyo gets does not go to Ogun, or to the six south-western states, or to the 17 southern states.

Two, population figure is used to delineate certain legislative constituencies, namely the house of representatives and state houses of assembly. The senate is composed on the basis of the equality of states — thus, every state has three senators. The house of reps is based on population. While Lagos and Kano, as the most populous states, have 24 reps each, Bayelsa and Nasarawa states have only five each. Also, based on population distribution, Lagos and Kano each has 40 members of the state houses of assembly — the highest in the federation — while most states have 24 members each. That is why population census is not just about counting for planning. It is also for politics.

Maybe there is also the bragging rights aspect that we should list as the third reason for the sensitivity of census. “My state is bigger than yours” is a very common shoulder-raiser in Nigeria. We often think quantity matters and this is also reflected in our universal boasting of being the “largest black nation in the world”. We know that a state could be smaller in population but bigger in economic well-being. Nigeria, for instance, is Africa’s No 1 in population but the continent’s No 35 in the World Economics Global Wealth rankings — but never mind. As I often say, I would rather my state was less populous and more economically productive, but that is such an impolitic thing to say.

Population census outcomes are bitterly disputed because they always favour “the north”. When it was conducted by colonial governments, the results were rejected by southerners because the north turned out bigger numbers. When it was conducted in a military regime, southerners disputed the results — for the same reason. When it was conducted by a civilian government, the results were also disputed — for the same reason. When a president of southern extraction conducted the census, it was disputed — for the same reason. When a president of northern extraction did it, the figures were savaged as well — for the same reason. Inevitably, the next census will be disputed too.

All censuses have put the north ahead of the south in numbers and they have always been disputed by southerners who often say cows were counted as human beings over there. This would qualify as hate speech these days. The basis of their argument is that globally, coastal areas are always more populous than non-coastal areas. Hence, the south should invariably be more populated. It doesn’t matter if every southern state is not coastal or that the states vary in size. As long as a state is classified as south, it should have more population than any northern state. By this logic, Ekiti state in the south should automatically be more populous than Kogi state in the north. That is their point.

The distance between Ogbomoso, Oyo state, and Ilorin, Kwara state, is about 30 minutes by bus. From Okuku, Osun state, to Erin Ile, Kwara, is about 10 kilometres. You can literally trek from Ekiti LGA in Kwara to Ekiti state. However, because Kwara is north, it is “non-coastal” and should be less populated than any of the “coastal” Osun, Ekiti and Oyo states. Ironically, only eight of the 17 southern states are truly “coastal”, yet the population of the nine non-coastal southern states should be more than that of the 19 non-coastal northern states. This logic ignores the discretionary/artificial marking of boundaries, which is less of physical geography and more of sociology and politics.

In addition to battling with not knowing our history, we are also obviously mixing up our geography. There are 37 entities in Nigeria, out of which 20 are geographically classified as north. But most northern states are far from being arid, even if they are not coastal. The easiest example that some people will accept is Benue state, which is classified as “north” but celebrated as the food basket of the nation. It cannot be classified as arid. Sambisa in the north-east hosts one of the largest forests in Africa. That is not the meaning of arid. I have met southerners who expressed shock when they saw the vegetation in some parts of the north. That is not what they have been told all their lives.

Even on the issue of revenue allocation, as I have pointed out in the past, the role of population is often exaggerated. The “horizontal” sharing of 26.72 percent of the federation account among the 36 states is always the sore point here. The 26.72 percent is shared based on five principles: (1) equality of states, 40 percent (2) population, 30 percent (3) landmass/terrain, 10 percent (4) internal revenue effort, 10 percent (5) social development effort, 10 percent. This is aside the 13 percent derivation which is not part of the 26.72 percent in the federation pot. It is also different from VAT revenue from which the states take 50 percent, councils 35 percent and the federal government 15 percent.

The first horizontal principle treats all states as equal, so they equally share 40 percent of the 26.72 percent. If this comes to N100, for instance, states will share N40 equally: N1.11 per state, no matter the size. The 30 percent “population principle” means N30 of the N100 will be shared by the states using the population of each of them. In fact, 70 percent of federation allocation is not shared on the basis of population, contrary to the popular imagination. But since the north is more populous according to census data, the population principle is often criticised by southerners who think that the 19 northern states get disproportionate more than the 17 southern states, just by having babies.

In real life, though, Nigeria’s population is not as lopsided as portrayed in the media. It is often because we don’t pay attention to details: we listen to the agenda setters too much. If we take the 10 most populous states using the official census figures, six are from the north and four from the south. If we pick the top 20, we will see 10 are from the north and 10 from the south. If we take the bottom 10, five are from the north and five from the south. If we take the bottom 16, eight are from the north and eight from the south. With the current population ratio of 53:47, northern states will take N16 and southern states N14 of the N30 shared on the population principle. Is this a disaster?

It is a lost cause trying to persuade some people to accept that our census figures are not as central to our nationhood as we think. It has also become pointless arguing that it shouldn’t matter what state has the most population — what should really matter is the economic productivity of the federating units. The way we debate in Nigeria, everything revolves around federation allocation. We are overly obsessed with who should get more and who should get less. There is little or no attention to the need for each state to develop its own potential so that what is shared in Abuja every month amounts to peanuts compared to the proceeds of internal productivity. This is none of our business.

We are so divided over this census thing that we cannot even ask questions of ethnicity and religion. I was counted in 1991. I was asked my ethnicity but not my religion. We were still reeling from the religious tensions that gripped the country in the wake of the OIC controversy of 1986. If the data said there were more Muslims than Christians, or vice-versa, all hell would be let loose. We are just a unique breed of human beings! So, the Ibrahim Babangida administration removed religion from the questionnaire. We are left with saying the populations of Muslims and Christians are at par so that nobody would be unhappy. Regardless, southerners still disputed the 1991 figures. You know why.

I wasn’t counted in 2006 (I was studying abroad) but I was told ethnicity had disappeared from the questionnaire. So, not only couldn’t we know the religious composition of our population, we also wouldn’t know the ethnic configuration. Therefore, we will keep saying Nigeria is built on a tripod of ethnic groups with equal populations, even when we know it is impossible for all ethnic groups to be numerically equal. I agree that excluding the politically explosive ethnicity and religion bits from the questionnaire can help avoid some controversies especially as they may have no bearing on the actual goal of the census, but it just shows the level of distrust in the country. We need to grow up.

I would have argued that the census is not worth the $1.8 billion to be spent on it and should not be priority for now, more so because of the predictable controversies that will result from the outcome, but I would not be doing justice to the science behind headcounts. The data generated will be useful for planning purposes — and this is not just for the government but for the private sector as well. We cannot continue to rely on population estimates. More so, a lot has changed since we did the last one in 2006. For instance, we have always assumed Nigeria’s population is concentrated in rural areas but trends appear to show a reversal. Getting the actual data can be very useful for all.

It appears we do not take census seriously in Nigeria. The UN recommends that it should be carried out every 10 years. The last one we did was 17 years ago. Before then, there was also a gap of 15 years. Going forward, we need to take census more seriously and plan for it properly. It is not just about today but also about tomorrow. The postponement of the 2023 census, as announced yesterday by the federal government, was coming all along. There was clear evidence that the National Population Commission (NPC) was not ready. There were issues around funding and logistics. It looked like it was going to be a mess. Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. 

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…

TINUBU’S TASK

To detox the system, the incoming Bola Tinubu administration needs a large dose of sagacity to keep the different ethnic and religious tendencies onside in the sharing of political offices. President Goodluck Jonathan never recovered from being accused of violating power rotation in 2011. President Muhammadu Buhari was eternally framed as a religious fundamentalist and accused of using the sentiments to chase Jonathan out in 2015. Tinubu’s victory is being questioned by the opposition parties. There is a way these things shape narratives and attitudes and define tenures. Tinubu must use wisdom to calm frayed nerves in order to have some stability and focus. Critical.

FOOL’S SUBSIDY

Surprise! The federal government is dilly-dallying on the deregulation of petrol pricing. It was not as if all of us believed it when it was announced in December 2022 that the multi-trillion naira subsidy would be abolished by mid-year 2023. It was all politics. The irony, though, is that if you ask Nigerians to choose between buying petrol at N300/litre and spending the N6 trillion subsidy on improving education, healthcare and road infrastructure, most would choose the subsidy. There is also this belief that Nigeria is rich enough to pay for the subsidy and still fund education, healthcare and roads. This argument plays into the hands of those benefiting from the subsidy scam. Doomed.

BY CHOICE

One shock that greeted Nigerians who emigrated to the UK was the cost of watching football on TV. A complete sports package (Sky and BT) costs £50, roughly N47,000, a month. Basic subscriptions, without sports, cost about £30 monthly. Pay per view is usually £20 for a single event lasting for a few hours. Pay as you go doesn’t exist. Yet, MultiChoice Nigeria always comes under attack for adjusting its rates, like other businesses, to address rising operational costs. Its most expensive package under the new tariff is N24,500 monthly, covering all channels. But Nigerians have turned cable TV into a fundamental human right. Students are threatening hell over a pure luxury. Absurd.

OBY’S ODYSSEY

Happy birthday to Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili (“Oby” to most of us) who clocked 60 on Friday. Tributes poured in from everywhere for the chartered accountant who made her mark as the no-nonsense pioneer head of the Due Process Office, officially known as the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit — the precursor to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). She was one of the shining stars of the Obasanjo administration from 1999 to 2007. As minister of solid minerals and later education, she stood out as a woman of vision and passion, even if her ideas got suffocated by the pushback associated with reforms. She is also a champion of good governance. Felicitations.

City FM is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.