Threatens legal action against online publisher

A Security expert and former Director, Department of State Service (DSS), Mr. Mike Ejiofor, has refuted comments credited to his name against the Presidential Candidate of Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi.

  An online publishing company, Opera News, in a report titled, Obi is Going Nowhere As Far As God Lives; If Igbos Want A Representative, It’s Not Peter Obi – Mike Ejiofor, accused Ejiofor of commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for playing a paternal role in his appointments. The medium further alleged that Ejiofor had said that despite receiving fewer votes from the South East Geo-political zone of Nigeria in the previous lection, Tinubu has acted as a father figure for the nation by addressing the grievances of the South Easterners.

Peter Obi

But Ejiofor in a statement issued Thursday, described the report, describing it as total falsehood, misleading, baseless and the imagination of the writer. 

He stated that he only discusses security issues and try to suggest way forward in addressing security challenges confronting the country.

“I was shocked by the purported report and comments credited to my name. I am not a politician and I don’t discuss political issues. As a security expert, I talk about security challenges confronting the country. On no account did I make such statement.”

Adding: “I have never discussed anything against Peter Obi or any political figure. I have been receiving calls and flaks over a comment I did not make”, Ejiofor stated.

He therefore called on the purveyor of the fake news, Opera News, to immediately retract the story and tender unreserved apology for attempting to drag his name into dirty politics. 

He insisted that he is a security expert and not a politician, and as such, nobody should drag him into politics or attempt to smear his reputation.

Meanwhile, Ejiofor said he has already contacted his lawyer and will not fail to institute legal action against the publisher of Opera news for failing to instantly retracting the “reckless and baseless report.”

Ejiofor also used the occasion to caution publishers against fake news, stressing that such unguarded statement was capable of inciting violence and creating unnecessary animosity among groups and individuals.

The Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration has unpretentiously put on its gloves to do battle with the forces that have constituted clogs in the wheel of development and progress of our nation. He said the fuel subsidy was gone and it has been out of the way, seven days short of a month now. His war front is the economy and socio-economic entanglements. He has set the tone and his style of decisiveness has left no one in doubt that a new Sherriff is in town and he means business. Babatunde Fashola, his erstwhile Chief of Staff when Bola Tinubu was governor of Lagos State gave a hint of what to expect from the then President in the making. He parted the window blind a little for us to peep and said with a ringing tone that people were making a mistake of underrating Bola Tinubu. The salvos the latter has fired would seem Tunde Fashola may be proven right. He should know: he was his Chief of Staff for many years. He has been governor himself, an action governor for that matter with an eye and a longing for the beauty of the environment as well as the right attitude and application for environmental transformation. He is just back home from a ministerial tour of duty for eight years. When he spoke, we were fixated on some other areas of Tinubu’s life such as his health.

What will anchor President Bola Tinubu’s signature policy scores, it would seem, are security, economy, and inter-ethnic balance to engender trust and cultivate harmonious relationships. As I was saying last week…at the root of an economic downturn is the breach of the Law of Balance and connected therewith, of other firm and inviolable Laws governing human existence and the entire Creation. It is not only the economy that the Law of Balance in particular governs. Whenever and wherever imbalance manifests, be it in man, be it in a system, there must be disharmony or even collapse and ruination.

When a man acts in a strange way, there is a question as to his balance in the head. When a man has a bad leg, there will be an imbalance in his walking, his gait, and carriage as a whole. There must be a balance between work and rest. Where there is exaggeration in work, there is stress and tension in the body system which could lead to high blood pressure and trigger hypertension. A system that is overworked will break down. It is, therefore, not for nothing that we hanker to go on vacation, to wind down, give the body system some rest, and rejuvenate our entire being. Too much sleep leads to weakness of the body. The body, as a result, becomes susceptible to diseases, indeed, to all manner of ailments. The corpuscles in the blood are no longer in the mood to fight any menacing radicals. Too much sleep leads to indolence and want. He who sleeps too much loses enthusiasm for work and his own agility that makes for movement which is in turn tonic for maintenance that keeps the body in good form and awakens even mental faculties. Thus exaggeration in work and life of ease is not just harmful but often brings premature death. Retired men or women who no longer have a goal to drive them, we may have observed, soon lose the will to live. And so within a year or two of their retirement, to their chagrin and surprise of their families, they suddenly depart earthly life.

The Law of Balance stipulates that it is in giving that lies receiving. There must be balance in inhaling and exhaling to prevent cardiac arrest. There is joy and confidence in giving and receiving with the giver knowing joy and the recipient in shining eyes and relaxed countenance as an expression of gratitude. And so, the Lord Jesus said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20, 35). In the enlightenment of these times, we learn that “he who gives selflessly, whether of earthly or spiritual values, ultimately gives most to himself.” This is because the Law of Sowing and Reaping which in spiritual language is called the Law of Reciprocal Action, comes into activity ensuring that what is sown is reaped in multiples at harvest. We can just think of maize that is in season now, one grain of it that was sown three months ago emerges brandishing about 40 grains clinging to a cub and there could be five to six ears hanging on a stem. Mango season was in February/March. From one seed planted, about 500 can be harvested. Several bags of bitter kola can be derived from just one tree at harvest from just one seed even though its maturation period is between 29 to 32 years depending on the species. A yam seedling can bring forth four to five tubers from a heap. There are even species that are harvested twice in a year without having to replant the seedling—first in June and the second harvest in December. The maturation process for yam is nine months, while maize is three months and vegetables 10 days. How long the maturation takes will depend on the nature of the seed. It can be likened to when a man commits an offence and it is detected for trial. A heinous crime of murder for instance attracts instant attention as it hits the community with a bang. Law enforcement agencies move in and in no time the criminal is apprehended and made to face the wrath of the law. A company or bank heist may go on for years undetected if auditors, especially external auditors do not check the books. In other words, fraud maturation period is longer by its very nature to produce fruits for harvest whereas that of a violent crime is shorter.

What I am getting at is that sowing is giving and the product is the seed. The harvest is as the seed sown and is in multiples. Sowing, however, is not only in relation to plants. Every activity of man, whether in thought, speech, or deed is a seed planted in the soil of life which will produce multiple fruits when they shall have gone through unfailing maturation processes. Nature beings are diligently at work, tending, nurturing and where the activities of nixies are required, they are standing by to tap and weave radiations of the Light pouring into our universe into H2O by which is meant water or to provide rain. Butterflies are in waiting for pollination. Necessary nutrients of the soil are provided by gnomes. It is heaving and surging in collaborative working in matchless loving and loyal service to the Lord of all the worlds.

A land that gives little vapour to the elements will have little or no rain in the automatic natural mechanism of the necessary balance between giving and taking. We are told in the higher knowledge spreading on earth today to rescue man in this End-Time: “Naturally, this principle holds equally for what takes place spiritually. The spirit of man also lives from the spiritual power which the Creator gives perpetually into His Creation for its maintenance and expansion. With this power he forms his intuitive perceptions, his thoughts and his deeds. But the counter-value which he owes to his Creator as a return for its use is gratitude, joyful gratitude through the deed, that is through the right application of this power. Thus gratitude in the relationship between men is also an important balancing factor, if it is really heartfelt and not superficial.

“Through the one-sided application of the spiritual power of Creation for what is base over thousands of years, the human spirit has lost the balance in every sphere of life. He has taken and taken from the gifts of Creation, and from what he has taken he has formed almost exclusively what is wrong and evil, and in so doing has forgotten the balancing factor of giving. Is it then surprising to us when now the compensating Justice of God redresses the imbalance? The happenings on the whole earth, which become more and more violent, certainly speak to us in plain language.”

In any land where people take more than they have contributed, there can be no harmony in the system. As it is in socio-political affairs or in biological workings, so must it be in the economy. All are subject to Law, the higher correlation of life, be it stone, be it plant, be it man. The Nigerian economy is in shambles because most Nigerians would rather take from a system than contribute to it; they would rather make money than render service. For a nation that does not produce, that loves luxury, idling about carrying the beggar’s bowl and consumption above hard work and production rather than exerting itself and mobilizing its citizens for meaningful productive activities; a nation that loves the easy way out; that rewards indolence rather than hard work and merit; and even prays daily to the Most High to reward the lazy in violation of His own Laws; a nation that tramples on the Natural Laws while reveling in excesses, invites economic collapse unless it retraces its steps in time.

Our system is deliberately geared towards dependence on the central authority whereas ideally, it is the component states which ought to contribute to the centre to maintain common services only. Each part should be made to fend for itself. It is in this that the development of strengths lies. It is through struggle that the unfolding of talents and abilities lies. For, through having reservations about life, seeking ensues. And he who seeks finds. It is a Law enunciated by the Lord Jesus: “Seek and ye shall find.” In seeking we gain connection with help from On High. The strengths of the parts will constitute the strength of the whole.

It is to be hoped that Bola Tinubu would take urgent steps to get the states to fend for themselves through the balancing of stick and carrot. There will still be sharing in giving and taking, people standing side by side, helping and furthering in the recognition that each people, every viable nation possesses something essential for the completion of the whole, not however taking as entitlement and not taking advantage of the other parties. Giving and taking must always counterbalance each other. Bola Tinubu’s posture and breathless drive so far rekindle hope. The world is waiting. The responsibilities are self-evidently onerous.

Those familiar with road travel before fancy luxury buses and jeeps displaced wooden-back Bedford light trucks, famously called mammy wagons, might remember this ubiquitous message in cursive, bright colours scrawled on the rear and sometimes on the sides of trucks plying highways in Nigeria’s South-East: “No condition is permanent.”

I’m not quite sure what the motivation was. My guess is that it was a message of comfort to the despairing and a warning to those who take life too seriously: No condition is permanent. 

True in life as in politics, that message rang again this week with wide-sweeping changes announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that could affect top appointees in up to 567 parastatals, government departments and agencies. 

You would be forgiven to think it was not a transition from one All Progressives Congress (APC) government to another. The scope, speed and extent of the changes from Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29, make it look like a hostile takeover, the sort of thing one might have expected if the opposition had won the presidential election.

No one is exactly sure of the number of persons that may have been affected by the changes announced this week. But even if allowance is made for a few parastatals whose CEOs may remain in place and will now report directly to the President, instead of the boards which have now been dissolved, we may be looking at over 3,000. That is, assuming that each of the roughly 570 affected establishments has a board of at least six members. Often, the figure is higher.

Regardless, every job loss is different in its own way, both in how it affects those directly involved and those who depend on them. Each political appointee has a personal story not conveyed in the usual press headlines of how many have been beheaded, politically, and how many more heads may roll. Like sharks, the press loves the smell of blood, as long as it is not their own.

It doesn’t matter how prepared those fired may be, they never seem prepared enough when the hammer eventually falls. It’s human nature. And those who take their place never fully learn the lesson of the message on the back of those South-East bound trucks until they, too, become victims. 

Imagine, for example, the response of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, when six years ago he was told of a statement by the Presidency announcing that he had been removed as he emerged from a meeting in the Presidential Villa.

“Who is the Presidency?”, Lawal asked State House reporters in a voice full of blessed self-assurance.

Well, that was his last question as SGF. He found, to his shock and surprise, that no condition is permanent. He had indeed been removed “with immediate effect,” with barely enough time to gather his files.

He should have learned from the public encounter of the great Nnamdi Azikiwe with Dr. Ukpabi Asika, who had been seconded by the military from the University of Ibadan to be civilian administrator of the East-Central State. Azikiwe had criticised Asika’s administration and the administrator didn’t like it at all. 

He replied mocking Azikiwe as “ex-this, ex-that, and ex-everything else,” adding that Azikiwe was just a politician craving relevance. 

Azikiwe, who had the gift of asking his adversaries to go to hell and still make them look forward to the trip, replied Asika that one day, he too, would be ex-administrator of the East-Central State, as Asika’s father had also become ex-post master general of the post office in Onitsha, his hometown. The message on the back of the mammy wagon, he told Asika, is the inevitable story of every appointee: No condition is permanent.

Leader of the APC and former governor of Osun State, Bisi Akande, among the lucky few who lived to tell his own story recalled in My Participations, how in 1984 after General Muhammadu Buhari’s military coup, “fallen big men of yesterday wept like babies” when soldiers descended on them as was often the case during military rule. 

In the last 24 years of civilian rule, the experience of political appointees has been somewhat different. Perhaps former President Olusegun Obasanjo holds the record of the highest number of federal firings, especially after he retired scores of military officers who had been “politically exposed”, and followed up with public sector reforms that left even scores more out of jobs.

Perhaps because Obasanjo’s successors between 2007 and 2015 were also from his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and also because of his longevity in office, no other PDP president after him retired or sacked as many political appointees as he did. 

Sixteen years after Obasanjo left office, Tinubu, a president from a rival party, appears ready to upend a record that once again reminds the public of the message on the back of the mammy wagon. 

Even Buhari, who took over the reins of power as president from the opposition and matched Obasanjo’s two-term four-year tenure, did not seem to have the amount of appetite for table-shaking that Tinubu has shown in less than one month in office. 

Apart from retaining the service chiefs he inherited from former President Goodluck Jonathan for nearly three months, for example, Buhari also retained the suspended Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and a number of heads of MDAs, first appointed by Jonathan.

Of course, Buhari made some changes. But with a few exceptions, he seemed to make changes only at gunpoint. Which was neither necessarily strategic nor carefully thought out. There were cases where as a result of poor record-keeping, for example, appointees whose tenures were due escaped removal or where the president yielded to political pressure to extend the tenures of persons who had no business staying on. 

Buhari’s 30-year absence from power, his nearly zero rigorous public activity after office, his narrow, clerically-biased social circle, and his introverted style were major handicaps after his election as president. His poor health in his first term did not help matters also. Yet, not a few close to him said once he made appointments, he had a tendency to abdicate rather than delegate responsibilities, often letting some of his appointees run amok.

That is partly why Tinubu’s actions in the last few weeks, especially the sackings this week, are looking like a hostile takeover. 

But they are not. A number of the decisions taken by Tinubu since he assumed office, particularly the removal of petrol subsidy and unification of the exchange rate, were long overdue. Buhari ignored calls to act, even from a few inside his inner circle, choosing instead to bury his head in chaos under a rubble of debt. 

As for the dissolution of the boards and the removal of service chiefs, it’s a ritual of every new government. The problem, in Buhari’s case, was a frighteningly bizarre absentmindedness or perhaps indifference, that left vital positions, especially in the Judiciary, unfilled; and overdue retirements unattended or indulged by unwarranted extensions.

On the whole, under Buhari, it seemed, once appointments were made, “all conditions were permanent!”

To be fair, accusations of nepotism against him during his first term were not entirely justified, at least up to December 2018. The data which I obtained from the Presidency at the time showed a distribution of 278 to 289 in the appointments of heads of parastatals and Federal agencies between the South and the North, as a whole. 

Contrary to the trope of nepotism at the time, the North Central and South West had 102 and 101 respectively. The story changed in Buhari’s second term. And now, the public is watching to see how Tinubu, who has started the difficult task of correcting the outrageous lopsidedness in Buhari’s second term, manages the process.

Announcement of new policies and personnel changes, however crucial they may be, are only a form of signalling. The more difficult part would be what follows next, especially the institutional changes required to make public offices more responsive, less amenable to the whims of appointees and accountable and service-driven.

For now, I recommend the message on the back of the mammy wagon to both the incoming and outgoing appointees: No condition is permanent.

Yesterday, the 21st of June 2023 was world music day. 21st of June every year has been a date that is reserved exclusively to celebrate music and by extension celebrate the creators of music; the musicians. The primary purpose of celebrating world music day is to encourage aspiring musicians to share their crafts, gain more visibility and create a forum for artists to demonstrate their abilities.

The major problem encountered by aspiring musicians is visibility. Getting to “blow” and becoming famous so that a large number of people will listen to their music and appreciate their talents and from that generate revenues for themselves. Out of that desperation “to blow”, budding artistes have yoked themselves with some throat-cutting record label deals only to regret why they signed the deal later on. 

I recently got a brief from an artiste who was complaining hard that he signed out of desperation an eight-year record deal with a record label and he is expected to release 400 songs for the label for the period of the eight years. One of the clauses stated that if the artistes wish to leave the label without dropping 400 songs for the period of the 8 years term, the artiste is to pay the label a certain huge amount of money as compensation. 

The legal truth is, no matter how brutal a record label deal like this may seem, it is a contract and every party in a contract is expected to fulfill his or her own obligation in the contract or he will be held for breach of the contract unless the contract was made under fraud, facts were misrepresented or a party signed the contract under coercion or undue influence. 

When an artiste signs a record deal contract, it is presumed that the artiste thoroughly read, reviewed the contract, and understood its contents before he appended his signature and he signed it knowing fully what he is signing and it, therefore, becomes a binding contract which the artiste must fulfill his own obligation, anything other than that amounts to breach of contract.

Although, there are some exceptions to an artiste leaving a label without fulfilling his obligation and it won’t be held to be a breach of the record label contract; this includes when a record label deal or the contract expects you as an artiste to do what is literally impossible. Like if a record label expects you to record and release a new song every minute of the day, this is literally impossible and a court of equity will hold that there has not been a breach if the artiste fails to fulfill this obligation. Also, If the record label that signed the artiste fails to fulfill its own obligation or hold up to its own side of the bargain then an artiste can exit the label and he won’t be held to have breached the contract. For instance, if the clause in the record label contract states that the record label will pay the artiste a certain amount as an advance fee for the contract but the label fails to do that, then they have failed to hold up their own end of the bargain and the artiste is entitled to exit. Also if the label fails to regularly invest in the music and promote the music of the artiste as the contract stated, then the artiste is entitled to exit the label anytime and he won’t be foreclosed for breach of contract. 

It is always advised that despite your desperation to blow, endeavour to consult a lawyer who will interpret the contents of the contract to you in layman’s terms, and renegotiate some clauses of the contract before you sign it. 

• The World Bank advises Nigerian policymakers to move away from national averages when formulating social protection measures after the fuel subsidy removal.
• Customizing reforms and social protection initiatives is crucial to consider the impact on different income groups and regions, as highlighted by the World Bank’s report.
• Shifting the focus to a targeted and inclusive approach is emphasized by the World Bank to address the effects of fuel subsidy removal across various socio-economic strata and geographic areas in Nigeria.

The World Bank, in its June 2023 report titled “Detox Development: Repurposing Environmentally Harmful Subsidies,” has advised Nigerian policymakers to move away from relying solely on national averages when formulating social protection measures considering fuel subsidy removal.

According to the World Bank, it is crucial to consider the impact of fossil fuel subsidy reforms on various income groups and regions.

The report emphasizes the need to customize reforms and social protection initiatives to address the specific requirements of different population segments.

The World Bank emphasizes the need for policymakers to move away from national averages and adopt a targeted and inclusive approach to address the impact of fuel subsidy removal. This approach aims to ensure that the effects are adequately addressed across various socio-economic levels and geographical regions.

A part of the report stated:

• “If policymakers focus only on national averages and use income level as the sole indicator of vulnerability, they may underestimate the vulnerability of certain groups and provide inadequate social protection for the poor.
• “For example, blanket compensation that uniformly covers a large share of the population may provide adequate compensation, on average, but is likely to fail to protect particularly vulnerable households. Commonly, the vulnerability of population groups is determined based on their income status.
• “However, other determinants of social marginalization can be even more important for instance, the exclusion of women or ethnic minorities makes livelihoods particularly vulnerable to shocks.”

More Insights

The report stated further that while in most states the poorest households consume very little kerosene, in several southern states kerosene consumption by the poorest is significantly above the average for their income group.

So, these regional differences may reflect issues such as differences in the type of employment, access to energy, and availability and affordability of alternative fuels.

The report also provided some insights based on the Goodluck Jonathan administration’s 2012 attempted removal of fuel subsidies.

According to the report, at that time, inadequate attention was paid to the needs of low-income households, resulting in public protests and fierce opposition.

How subsidy removal palliative should be structured

The World Bank report further highlights that in 2012, public protests were concentrated in urban regions such as Abuja and Lagos, where low-income households were mainly dependent on fuel, with little consideration for other parts of the country and their realities.

The position of the World Bank on how policymakers should structure subsidy removal palliatives is in line with what some industry stakeholders have said in the past.

In April 2023, energy analyst, Dan D. Kunle told Nairametrics that if the fuel subsidy should be removed, the government needs to distribute palliatives through state and local governments because they are closer to the grassroots.

According to Kunle, structuring palliatives from the federal capital, Abuja defeats the purpose as the many realities of energy access and affordability will not be considered from a national standpoint.

He emphasized that state and local governments are in a better position to understand the realities faced by Nigerians in all geopolitical zones of the country.

This solution also makes it easy for the palliatives to reach the intended members of the population instead of being siphoned by corrupt officials.

Whether you voted for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or Mr Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) in the recent presidential election. Or have spent your political life fighting Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. If you are Yoruba by ethnic affiliation, you are likely to be made to bear vicarious responsibility for any failings of government for as long as Tinubu remains president of Nigeria. But you will of course not share in the success. Given how many Nigerians are wired, every wrong choice Tinubu makes will be attributed to “your brother”, no matter how much you try to distance yourself. It is therefore important for some of us to warn our ‘Baba’ in Aso Rock not to play ‘Amunibuni’. It is a warning that his predecessor refused to heed, to his eternal damnation.

On Monday, two statements emanated from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr George Akume. Since the dissolution of the boards of federal government agencies has gone without much attention, we can choose to ignore that one. The first is on the retirement of Service Chiefs and Comptroller General of Customs as well as the appointment of their replacements. Two new special advisers and two senior special assistants were also appointed. These appointments total thirteen. But the statement also added a list of ten military postings within the Villa as part of the appointments. Such announcement has no precedent. In another world, I worked at the Villa for three years and I never heard about officers (Lieutenant, Captain, Major etc.) holding junior command positions at the Villa because they are to work under the radar. From my findings, not only has the announcement of the officers compromised Villa security, but it has also created a problem for their career in the military. And in a nation where the first question people ask is where the appointee hails from, it is no surprise that some are already counting how many Yoruba persons were on the list of 23 names. 

Of the several columns I wrote on the lack of sensitivity in critical appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari, one stands out. I used a Yoruba word, ‘Amunibuni’, to situate my intervention. “That making strategic concessions is beyond this administration is an embarrassment, even for many northerners. That is because they are also aware that the appointments being cornered by a tiny clique is not to promote any ‘Northern agenda’ (whatever that may mean) but rather in pursuit of the personal interest by those who nominate these individuals. This explains why they go for their in-laws, kinsmen, friends and the like. Yet nepotism in critical appointments engenders collective insults in the manner of ‘Abunibuni’”.  

I then explained the real meaning of the word: “Yoruba loses its flavour when you translate into English, but ‘Amunibuni’ is better explained in the complete idiom: ‘Amunibuni ewure ibiye. Ibiye f’oju otun, ewure re fo t’osi’. Crudely interpreted, it means if a goat is blind on the left eye and its owner is blind on the right eye, any discussion about the goat would always bring into focus the condition of the owner. As one scholar expanded on the idiom, the real message is in the ambiguity that could come from describing the goat as ‘ẹran olójú kan’ which could be interpreted either as a ‘one-eyed goat’ or ‘the goat of a one-eyed person’. Both definitions are correct, but the latter brings the owner into the conversation. Today, any discussion about killings by ‘herdsmen’ brings attention to the inequity in the distribution of opportunities in Abuja by President Buhari. The result is that when you encounter cows on the highway, you look at the poor herder just trying to eke out a living and you blame him for all the problems of Nigeria!”

Even when he did nothing to improve the material condition of the average Fulani man, the damage President Buhari did to people of that ethnic stock in eight years was enormous. And as a Yoruba man, I wouldn’t want President Tinubu to do that to me. I am aware that there are thousands of appointments still to make and most of these things ultimately even out. But signalling is also important, especially by a new administration. That is why presidential handlers need to be circumspect lest they attract insults to Yoruba people who have always advocated for a peaceful and secure Nigeria that works for all citizens and where there is equity and justice in the distribution of opportunities.  

Now to the appointments in the security sector. The Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Christopher Gwabin Musa is from Zangon Kataf, Kaduna State, though born in Sokoto (both in the Northwest). The Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla is from Enugu State (Southeast). The Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar is from Kano (Northwest). The Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General Emmanuel Parker Akomaye Undiandeye is from Cross River State (Southsouth). And the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja is from the Southwest. After General Alani Ipoade Akinrinade who was Chief of Army Staff more than 43 years ago (and only for six months between October 1979 and April 1980), Lagbaja becomes the only other Yorubaman to head the army. And there have been 27 of them before him, with the longest serving being a certain Tukur Yusuf Buratai for whom Nigerians nearly carried placards before Buhari replaced him after five years and eight months! 

For the first time in the history of our military, apart from the CDS who is of the 38th Regular Course, other service chiefs are members of the 39th Regular Course who were commissioned in 1992. That should bring comradery and help in information sharing, a problem in recent years. Their appointments also meet the criteria of ethno-religious balancing. In fact, appointing a Christian northerner as CDS and a Muslim southerner as CoAS shatters the myth of ‘Christian South and Muslim North’ with which Nigeria is usually described by the international media. The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr Nuhu Ribadu, also comes to the office with law enforcement training as a retired police officer and experience as founding chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He is from Adamawa State (Northeast).

I have heard from those who should know that the appointment of service chiefs ticks all the right boxes: Professional competence, ethno-religious balancing, and the right character. But there are also whispering campaigns in Abuja about growing lopsidedness in the distribution of other opportunities. The appointment of Mr Adewale Bashir Adeniyi as acting Comptroller General of Customs finally ends the regime of Hameed Alli who was so contemptuous of the institution on which he was imposed by President Buhari that he considered wearing its (Customs) uniform beneath him. I have heard eulogies about Mr Kayode Egbetokun, the acting Inspector General of Police. But whatever argument we may make about the merit of those appointments, there is no part of this country where we cannot find competent people.

Mother’s Night in Mbutu Mbaise 

With the tone already set by her son-in-law, Dr Paddy Njoku, who described the late Dame Dorothy Nsonma Ihedioha as a quintessential mother, it was no surprise that the former House of Representatives Deputy Speaker, Hon Austin Opara, would also use the occasion to pay tribute to resilient motherhood in a patriarchal society. At the end, what came out from most of the tributes is the sacrifice many of our mothers made in raising their children into successful men and women against all odds. 

The burial last weekend of Emeka Ihedioha’s mother in Mbutu Mbaise, Imo State, attracted several important personalities. The church service was a collection of who-is-who in Nigeria: From former and current governors to National Assembly members and captains of industry. But it was the service of songs at Emeka’s country home last Thursday night that I found quite revealing. Having travelled on the flight that conveyed the corpse to Imo earlier that morning, I witnessed some of the cultural/traditional rites before the service of songs. Presided by the Primate of All Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Dr Henry Ndukuba, it was a solemn affair. Among the dignitaries in attendance were Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, former Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Senator Uche Ekwunife, Mr Osita Chidoka, Chief Charles Ugwu, Mr Olisa Metuh, Hon. Emeka Nwajuiba and several others.  

After eulogizing the late Dame Ihedioha whom he credited with always treating all Emeka’s friends like her children, Opara then drew a parallel between her and his own mother. “My mother was married for 13 years without a child. Within the family, there was a saying that if they had used the money expended on marrying my mother to buy a goat, there would have been many goats in the house. You can then imagine the trauma when she gave birth after 13 years and the child fell from the hands of the nurse and died” recounted Opara who added that he was the first surviving child of his mother who went on to have four others before dying at 96.

Earlier in his tribute, Njoku recalled that the late Dame Ihedioha “had 15 pregnancies, 13 births and raised 11 of them up to the graduate level.” But more significantly, “she was mocked for having five female children in succession”. That was before she had Emeka (and later, Obinna).

With Nollywood actor, Kanayo O. Kanayo combining the role of Master of Ceremony with that of Chief of Protocol (and both so brilliantly) and event planner, Ms Henrietta Okonma making sure everybody was well taken care of, the outing of the Ihedioha matriarch was a worthy celebration of life. But personally, the highlight of the day was the long conversation I had with the urbane and highly cerebral Igwe of Orlu, Dr Patrick Acholonu, son of the late retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Pat Achonolu. With Emeka (whom he came to honour) busy, former Cross River State Governor, Mr Liyel Imoke (who chaired the burial committee) and I played ‘host’ to the lively Igwe for most of the day.

Back to the service of songs. Imoke, Tambuwal, Opara and others testified to the peculiar nature of the late Dame Ihedioha who took all the friends of Emeka like her own children. It was a point I also testified to when conscripted by Emeka to give testimony. In the short tribute I wrote for her 90th birthday last August, I referenced an Ndigbo adage, “Nne bu nne. Ezi-nne bu Ezi-nne” (A mother is a mother. A good mother is a good mother). 

For the late Dame Dorothy Nsonma Ihedioha, there cannot be a more fitting tribute!

The Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, on behalf of the entire people of Abia State, has congratulated Mr. Eze Anaba, Editor of Vanguard Newspapers, on his election as the President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).

Anaba who emerged the President of the professional body at the Biennial National Convention which held recently in Owerri, Imo State on Friday, is from Abia State. 

In a statement issued by Kazie Uko, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Abia State, said Anaba’s victory was an eloquent testimony to his leadership qualities and a demonstration of the confidence his colleagues repose in him.

“The people of Abia State are indeed glad to have you as one of their illustrious sons and hope that you will use your new office to work towards the realisation of their dream of a progressive and prosperous Abia”, the statement said. 

             Eze Anaba

The Governor also congratulated the entire Guild and, particularly, the Organising Committee of the convention, for putting up a rancour-free event, thereby holding a free, fair and peaceful election that has now brought about the new leadership.

The Governor also prayed that Anaba’s tenure “will see to the continued strengthening of the Guild, work to promote the welfare, well-being and rights of journalists in Nigeria as well as ensure that practitioners continue to imbibe the ethics of the noble profession of journalism”. 

Among those elected at the Convention is the Director of News, RADIO NIGERIA,  Mrs. Husseina Bangshika as Deputy President while Sheddy Ozoene, Kabir Alabi Garba and Umoru Ibrahim emerged the Guild’s Vice Presidents for the East, West and North, respectively. An editor with THISDAY, Dr. Iyobosa Uwugiaren is the General Secretary.

HE Department of State Services (DSS) and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF) have explained their opposition to the bail application filed by the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele.

Their reasons were contained in the counter-affidavits they filed before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Abuja.

The DSS warned that the suspended CBN boss, if admitted to bail, could interfere with its investigations if admitted to bail.

The OAGF specifically dismissed speculations that Emefiele was being held for terrorist-related crimes. It also said the CBN boss’ detention has nothing to do with neither his foray into partisan politics, nor the botched naira redesign policy.

In its counter-affidavit, the DSS said that those linked to the CBN boss in the course of the investigation have gone underground and ought to be traced and arrested to enable a successful prosecution.

The DSS said that Emefiele was being held pursuant to an order of a competent court.

It explained that the suspended CBN boss was arrested “upon reasonable suspicion of committing acts which constitute criminal breach of trust, incitement to violence, criminal misappropriation of public fund, economic sabotage, economic crimes of national security dimension and undermining the security of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The counter-affidavit by the service reads: “Upon the arrest of the applicant, a detention order was duly and promptly procured from a court of competent jurisdiction to enable the 2nd and 3rd respondents to keep the applicant in lawful custody for a period of 14 days when it became apparent that investigation into the allegations levelled against him would take a little while to conclude.

“Also, the arrest of the applicant is not in connection with his financial or monetary policies, including the recent re-design of the naira which was approved by His Excellency, the former president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The applicant is still being investigated and as soon as the investigation is completed, the applicant will be immediately charged to court where necessary.

“The applicant has enormous resources at his disposal and can easily interfere with an ongoing investigation and even evade subsequent arrest if released on bail.

“The applicant is a flight risk and there is credible intelligence that he making a frantic effort to flee the country if released prematurely on bail.

“The investigation has assumed a wider dimension and other collaborators fingered in the course of the investigation are at large and ought to be traced and arrested to enable a successful prosecution.

“Any attempt to grant the applicant bail at this stage of the investigation may interfere with other exhibits yet to be collected and jeopardize ongoing investigation in the matter;

“The activities of the applicant constitute a potent threat to national security and cohesion of the Nigeria state;

“The applicant instituted this suit with the sole aim of preventing the 2nd and 3rd respondents from discharging their statutory mandate by seeking to use this court to fetter the hands of the 2nd and 3rd respondents in the ongoing security investigation.”

In its counter-affidavit, the OAGF argued that Emefiele’s life was not in danger to warrant him being granted bail, arguing that he would flee the country if granted bail.

It described Emefiele as a “flight risk”, to justify his continued detention.

After the resumed hearing of the suit in which Emefiele is challenging his detention, the DSS denied not allowing his family members and lawyers to visit him.

The OAGF said: “Issues of terrorism financing and fraudulent activities are not part of the grounds for the arrest and detention of the applicant.

“The respondents have not violated the applicant’s right to live in anyway; his life is not in danger. The respondents did not subject the applicant to any judicial adjudication to warrant the allegation of denial of a fair hearing.

“With the remand order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction, the said violation of the applicant’s right to freedom of movement does not arise.

The respondents did not subject the applicant to any torture, the details of which have not been provided.”

The OAGF and the DSS picked holes in the claim by the suspended CBN governor that he was unlawfully detained.

Emefiele had sued to challenge his continued detention by the DSS.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Tijani Gazal, who represented the OAGF, urged the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that Emefiele’s allegation of unlawful detention was unfounded.

Gazali said as the suspended CBN governor was being detained on the order of an FCT Chief Magistrates Court.

He told the court that the OAGF (listed as the 1st respondent) was challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case.

The senior agency argued that Emefiele’s arrest and detention was an administrative decision of an arm of the Executive arm of government.

He stressed that a court’s jurisdiction is determined by the reliefs sought by an applicant.

Lawyer to the DSS I. Awo said there was a subsisting order to detain Emefiele.

Awo, therefore, urged the court to dismiss the suit with cost.

But Emefiele’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), argued that the court has the jurisdiction to hear and determine the suit.

Daudu pointed out that the alleged offences listed against his client were state offences that could be tried by the High Court of the FCT.

After entertaining arguments from parties, Justice Hamza Muazu adjourned till July 13 for a ruling.

‘Emefiele’s family members, lawyers not denied access’

After the adjournment, the DSS said in a statement by its spokesman, Peter Afunanya, that the celebration of the news of a court order to allow Emefiele’s lawyers and family members access to him was unnecessary.

The Service also said in the statement titled “The DSS operates within its mandate” that it expected expects attacks over the suspension of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Chairman (EFCC) Abdulrasheed Bawa.

The statement partly reads: “He (Emefiele) was never denied access. Ever since he was taken into custody, his family has continually accessed him; same with medical officials. The impression that the Service is going to act on the prompting of the Court is not correct.”

Making reference to some “editorials” it considered unsavoury, the DSS said it knew that some groups and persons would come up with frivolous allegations against it.

The service added: “These entities may also exploit unpatriotic members of the service to spread falsehoods, propaganda and hate in order to project the organisation in a bad light.

“Given their reach and war chest to mobilise forces against Government and its key officials, the adversaries may intend to cause distractions to the ongoing investigations as directed by the C-in-C (Commander-in-Chief). However, the Service will not depose its professionalism for cheap backlash nor discharge its duty with prejudice or fear.”