Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives was the Guest Speaker at the 52nd Convocation Ceremony of the University of Lagos, his alma mater, on Monday, January 17, 2022. The theme of the lecture was: “Building Back Better: Creating a New Framework for Tertiary Education in Nigeria in the 21^st Century.” The Speaker had a lot to speak about but what has caught public attention is his declaration that the time has come to increase the academic qualification for persons seeking to lead Nigeria either as President or at other levels within the political space: in other words, the President, Governors, and members of the National Assembly. He argues at page 16, of his 22-page published presentation, that just as the National Assembly reduced the minimum age of eligibility for public office, in response to the “Not Too Young To Run Campaign”, there would be a need to also review the mandatory academic qualification for persons aspiring to high offices, in order to enhance the quality of candidates who elect to lead Nigeria. I agree with the Speaker of the House of Representatives. My only concern is that in the face of a yet to be concluded amendment of Nigeria’s Electoral Act, he as Speaker of the Blue Chamber, has not yet raised it on the floor of the Assembly or cause it to be raised, in line with parliamentary procedures. He has chosen the platform of a public speech, and even more surprising is the fact that since he raised the subject, there has been very little attempt to amplify his viewpoint which I think is very relevant to current attempts to deepen Nigeria’s electoral system. My own take is that Gbajabiamila has raised a very fundamental question about Nigeria’s leadership recruitment process. Who should lead Nigeria? Who is best qualified to do so? The Speaker said that current provisions in Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution are no longer relevant in the 21^st Century, and that the limits set therein are too low.

Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution simply says that “a person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if: (a) he is a citizen of Nigerian by birth; (b) he has attained the age of forty years; (c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and (d) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.” Section 142 states the same provisions with regard to the office of the Vice President. The same provisions apply to other elected positions except with regard to the age of qualification as indicated in Section 65 (2(a) for candidates seeking election into the National Assembly, Section 106 (c) for the State House of Assembly and Section 187(2) for Governors and Deputy Governors. In section 137, the Constitution outlines the grounds for disqualification. But Gbajabiamila’s concern is about Section 131(d) and the insistence on “School Certificate and its equivalent” in the 21^st century. What does this mean exactly, in today’s Nigeria? The answer is provided in Section 318 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, which is the Interpretation Section. Here it is expressly stated that in fact a Primary Six School Leaving Certificate is enough for anybody to aspire to any political office in Nigeria. Even the equivalent of a Primary School Leaving Certificate would be considered good enough. Section 318 defines “school certificate and its equivalent” as (a) secondary school certificate or Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guild’s Certificate or (c)Primary School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent and -(i) service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for a minimum of ten years, and (ii) attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the Independent Electoral Commission for periods totaling up to a minimum of one year, and (iii) the ability to read v, write and understand and communicate in the English language to the satisfaction of the Independent Electoral Commission, and (d) any other qualification acceptable by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Thus, the Nigerian Constitution has created a liberal and accommodating situation whereby anybody at all can occupy important political positions in the country, and lead a country where the youths and others are some of the most vertically and horizontally educated persons in the world. Nigeria’s educated elite has no problems with education, the problem is that the educated ones run away from politics, when they attempt to be part of it, they are labeled and stigmatized, and so we have a country where the uneducated, the ignorant who have cash in their pockets, influential Godfathers, and the courage to hire social media noisemakers, who are even doubly ignorant, are the ones dictating the country’s pace. Within the purview of the extant law, no Nigerian political aspirant is required to show proof of having passed the School Certificate Examination or its equivalent. An F9 parallel in all subjects is considered perfect, even a concocted testimonial from a primary school or a secondary can take any Nigerian to the highest levels of government. That is even going too far. Some dubious proof of attendance at one or two seminars is enough, once the Electoral Commission says it is okay. In fact a certificate is not even required as we have seen in the case law on the subject. So why should anyone be surprised that half of the people who get elected to the National Assembly simply go there to sleep or that Governor behave like tyrants and that some State Houses of Assembly rarely meet except when money is to be shared?

Gbajabiamila thinks this is not good enough. So, why has he not raised it where it matters? Why is minimum qualification for elective office not one of the issues in the ongoing debate about the Electoral Act Amendment? Going to UNILAG to run his mouth sanctimoniously is hypocritical. Indeed, as he pointed out, and let us help him deodorize the point, Nigeria cannot continue to recruit the uneducated, the ignorant, the sleepy, rambling wing of society to lead it into the future. This of course is not new. Once upon a time in this country, a matter  was taken all the way to the Supreme Court over qualifications and the apex Court ruled that the Constitution recognizes something called RSM (whatever that is) as the equivalent of a School Certificate as long as it is acceptable to the Electoral Commission. In another case, when the issues of qualification came up, the Court ruled that a candidate for an election does not even need a certificate. That is how this country has been elevating persons in ishiagu, Babariga and flowing agbada to go and make laws and design policies that they know nothing about. Gbajabiamila as Speaker of the House of Representatives must have seen the danger up close. He presides over a House of Representatives where at least one member has paraded his four wives as an illustration of his male virility and has also had the effrontery of announcing the birth of his 28^th child as a major contribution to national progress. Hon. Al Hassan Ado Doguwa, House Majority Leader, is threatening to produce up to 30 children before the next general elections and he wants the Nigerian Government to classify his home as a polling unit if he achieves the feat. Gbajabiamila presided over that session. He turned it all into a joke.

And that is precisely our problem. We think leadership is a Nollywood episode. When the President’s qualification became an issue in the 2019 election, the Nigerian Army showed up in court to make the claim that the Army does not keep the certificates of its recruits. In other parts of the world, former soldiers who have made sacrifice for the country are treated with respect and exemptions may be made for them, but the risk we run which the House of Representatives Speaker may be alluding to is that in the 21^st Century, Nigeria may end up electing into high offices persons who may know next to nothing about climate change, global trade, artificial intelligence and the internet of things and they will go abroad and sit with better educated persons and end up disgracing all of us. It is a problem also with the country’s value system. Wealth, no matter how ill-gotten, has become more important than everything else. With the way the aforementioned sections of the Nigerian Constitution are constructed, we may one day elect into office, touts and all kinds of characters who would not be fit enough to represent the country internationally. We elect holders of “school cert or its equivalents” and yet we still worry about the poor attention that is paid to education in Nigeria, the rank anti-intellectualism that pervades the land, and the perpetual conflict between the educated and the monied elite in our land? To be a big man in Nigeria, you only need to attend a seminar and communicate in English, and the English you speak may not even be good enough for you to get an exemption for IETLS from the UK Home Office or for TOEFL from US Education Authorities.  

Our argument: as 2023 approaches, is that we cannot afford to elect into positions, persons with “school certificate or its equivalent”. That has to change. Gbajabiamila, even if he has been negligent on the subject is right. We cannot afford to send to international platforms, persons who do not know the difference between foreign exchange and interest rate, or what is called diaspora remittances. The kind of avoidable leadership recruitment crisis that this country has faced so far must come to an end.  I am not asking for a collection of certificates. A graduate degree would be enough. The assumption is that a Nigerian graduate would at least have enough sense to read up on what he or she may not know, and ask the relevant questions. But it is not enough to be a graduate also. That graduate must have necessary cognate experience in either the public or private sector. I recommend a minimum of 10 years. A Nigerian university graduate who has been sitting at home doing nothing significant, should not be allowed to suddenly show up to seek high office. That is not what we are talking about. This is not about paper qualification, but a kind of training that guarantees the ability to think. Mexico once insisted on educated economists, Ph. D holders running its system. The 60^th President of Mexico (1988 – 1994), Carlos Sarlina de Gortari had a Ph.D from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.  He was an economist and an apostle of free market ideas.  Ernesto Zedillo was Mexican President from December 1994 to 30 November 2000.  He had a Ph.D in Economics too, but the economy failed under his watch. There was also Enrique Pena Nieto (EPN), the 64^th President of Mexico (2012 – 2018) who was sometime down the line accused of plagiarism in his academic thesis. It must also be noted that between 1958 and 1988, every President of Mexico was a law graduate.  Their successors were similarly well educated. The eggheads of Mexico did not make much difference. In other words, strong academic qualifications may not make up for such other factors as emotional intelligence, maturity, integrity and character that may be central to the making of a political leader. That notwithstanding, it is certainly not the same when you compare the group of incompetents and strange bedfellows that occupy the policy heights of the Nigerian economy.

We need a new orientation. We need to pay attention to how we recruit leaders in Nigeria. The National Assembly must take a second look, or should have taken another look at Section 131(d) of the 1999 Constitution. Touts speak English. Yes. Thugs have access to school headmasters who can prepare testimonials and affidavits. In Nigeria - yes.  The country’s Electoral Commission will accept any “equivalent”. Oh, yes. It is just too easy in Nigeria for anyone to become a major political stakeholder. The bar for legitimate political ascendancy is too low!  We are already witnessing that in the traditional institutions where all sorts can wear beaded crowns. Within the larger arena, there must be due respect for minimum standards. The irony is written larger as follows: Under Nigeria’s Public Service Rules, nobody can be recruited as an Administrative Officer (AO) without a university degree or its equivalent, and yet, in the same country, the Constitution says a Primary School Certificate holder is good enough for the highest positions available in politics! Gbajabiamila failed the test when he took his opinion to the 52^nd Convocation anniversary of the University of Lagos. He probably did not want to offend his colleagues in the National Assembly whose qualifications he knows cannot be vouched for, many of them don’t have the School Certificate that is the minimum. They can’t even provide the equivalent! And yet these are the same people making laws and taking decisions on behalf of the millions of well-read and capable Nigerians who stay away from Nigerians politics because they don’t want to mix and mingle with a certain Nigerian type with whom you can’t even have a simple conversation on anything. Why are we like this? Is it still possible to save Nigeria’s 2023 from the charlatans?

Is it too late? Nobody knows. The National Assembly has transmitted the re-amended Electoral Act Amendment Bill to President Muhammadu Buhari for his second consideration in accordance with Section 58 (3) of the 1999 Constitution. There are issues about mode of primaries, but there is this other big issue about a political system that recruits persons with “equivalents” in the 21^st Century. The persons with “secondary school and its equivalents” are part of the problem with Nigeria.

Prince Wale Gomez, a Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos State opined that nothing is working in Lagos State.

The bigtime player in facility management made this assertion in an interview on CityTalks with Reuben Abati on City 105.1 on Saturday.

His protestation on the state of Lagos was based on his assessment of different administrations since 1999 dominated by the defunct  Alliance for Democracy (AD) and  Action Congress (AC), now merged into the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to Prince Gomez, “Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos state governor, has not done a fantastic job. He has been maintaining Lagos.

“We want a developmental program for Lagos and not maintenance!”

A permanent secretary in Lagos state Government rebutted Prince Gomez’s view on the facts and figures of Babajide’s administration.

In Prince Gomez’s reaction, he poised a rhetoric: “anybody can rule out figure, but has it been independently audited?

He added, “What has the Lagos state government done and let is put it on an investigative independent audit.”

When fielded with the question about his blueprint for the development of Lagos state, He said, “I have my blueprint and it is in my manifesto that I cannot release yet.”

Prince Gomez only mentioned a snippet of his plan for Lagos state.

According to him, “I will ensure that in every local government there will be a clinic, where all artisans and everybody in any industry will all sit down and talk about the problem in Lagos state.

“We are going to change Lagos state from the ward level.

“When I come into government, I will ensure that every Ward is given a face lift.

“Under my party, I will ensure that Lagos is different.”

Prince Gomez stated that he will use his resources to support anyone who gets the PDP ticket, if he didn’t get it.

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Guest: Prince Wale Gomez- Lagos state PDP Gubernatorial Aspirant

Topic: Lagos State PDP & 2023 General Elections

Date: 15 January 2022

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Nigerian physician, politician and Presidential aspirant, Adedoyin Ajibike Okupe better known as Dr. Doyin Okupe, declared that he has been taught by two past presidents on how to be a President.

The cum politician made this know in a recent interview on CityTalks with Reuben Abati on City105.1 monitored by Abati media.

The former presidential spokesperson made his intention known to contest the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in August 2021.

Other politicians on the list of the PDP who have expressed interest in the 2023 Presidential race are: Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, Former Senate President and Secretary to the Government, Senator Ayim Pius, Veteran Journalist and Publisher of the Ovation Magazine, Chief Dele Momodu, and Former President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Sam Ohuabunwa

According to Dr. Okupe, the race for the President is beyond brandishing of Curriculum Vitae when it comes to national politics.

“I have worked with two major Presidents (President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan) in this country, I have been with them in hard times and in good times, I have seen what their fears were and how things are done.    

“My situation is much better than those who came to gamble,” Dr Okupe said.

He stated that apart from Atiku Abubakar who was a former Vice President,” I am the most well positioned person to run the next administration after General Muhammadu Buhari,” he said.

In his view, “I have a lot of respect for Senator Anyim, he was a former secretary to government and I have the opportunity of working with him.

“Being a Senate President and a Secretary to the Government is far from being a President.

“Inspite of Ayim’s antecedents, I am still a better candidate than him,” Dr Okupe said.

He added, “there are different levels of government, the fact that you have occupied one does not mean you can do well in other areas.”

Dr Okupe blamed the failure of past Presidents in Nigeria on the lack of preparedness and he described the events where other people coerce others to vie for presidency as “idiotic.”

He alluded his interest to vie for the position of the President    on his preparedness and motivations.

His words: “I have done my research, I know where the government failed, I know the bottle neck, I have designed a roadmap.

“I have reached a point and I have reached an age that I can give my optimum best, particularly, to address the issue of poverty, the issue of insurgency and insecurity and to relieve the pain of the masses and those who are needy and poor.

“From day one; if sworn-in-as-Presidents, I will announce 10 ministers whose names are already on my mind.

“After the first Federal Executive Council meeting, I will announce the remaining ministers.”

Nigerians are very bad losers in politics, sports or both. Nothing illustrates this better than the politics of acrimony that is already emerging over the mode of primaries for the 2023 general election. But even more specifically, would be the anguish, outrage and frustration that have attended the exit of the Super Eagles from the 2021 edition of the African Cup of Nations Tournament in Cameroon. The Super Eagles finished in the preliminary group stage as the best team with all the nine points, having led Group D, where they were able to beat Egypt (1-0), Sudan (3-1) and Guinea Bissau (2-0). Four Nigerian players were included in the best XI after that round. Austin Eguavoen, Technical Director of the Super Eagles and interim coach of the team won the best coach award. The entire country was excited. Initial fears by Nigerian football pundits that the Super Eagles would fare badly if Gernot Rohr, former coach of the national team was not removed had been replaced by boundless optimism that it was fine after all that Rohr was sacked, and that without him, the country would perform exceedingly well. Eguavoen, the tested footballer who replaced Rohr, was promoted as master tactician who could in fact be promoted the substantive coach of the Super Eagles. Eguavoen was further used to justify the fact that there are good indigenous coaches who only needed to be given a chance.

It should be noted that no other factor unifies Nigerians more than football, especially when the country is competing on a continental or global stage. At such moments, Nigerians forget geography, religion and other differences that push us apart. It is only during such moments that you can have a glimpse of national pride, or patriotism among Nigerians at home and abroad from Cairo to Kaura Namoda. It was therefore not surprising to see that the Super Eagles caught the attention of the entire country with their performance during the group stage at AFCON. Men and women of means represented by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, visited the Super Eagles and promised them a Dollar Rain, denominated in Naira, for every match they won from the group stage onwards. Between CA-COVID, the private sector coalition, and Femi Otedola, the billionaire who personally promised a largesse of $250, 000, the country’s adrenaline level rose. Go for gold, boys, we all said. The Super Eagles had won the African Cup of Nations thrice in the past (1980, 1994, 2013). They were runners up thrice (1984, 1988, 2000). At other times they got to either the quarter finals or the semi-finals. Between 1982 and 1990, they were eliminated during the group stage only once.

The bubble about the possibility of Nigeria getting to the finals of the on-going AFCON, based on group stage performance burst on Sunday, January 23 when the Super Eagles of Nigeria met the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia. In the 47th minute of the match, Tunisian ace player, Youseff Msakni sent a long volley in the direction of the Nigerian goal post. It looked like something that the goalkeeper of the Arise TV football team could easily punch away, but Nigerians were shocked to see the ball in the net, going past goalkeeper Maduka Okoye. The Super Eagles struggled for the rest of the match, but the Tunisians defended their goal, and now, the Super Eagles are out of the tournament. Nigerians are in pains. They think the team could have done better, the goalkeeper in particular. One elementary lesson in football is that no team can or should be underrated, and that every match comes with its own dynamics. And no team should rely on initial success and then go to sleep. And three, the better prepared team, the most technically smart team, psychologically strong and skilful would always win. Luck is a very small element in a sport that has risen to the level of the exactitude of science. Nigerians do not want to hear this. They are inconsolable. This is why I argue that we are bad losers. What happened to sportsmanship? Many of the people bursting a vein because the Super Eagles have crashed out of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) would not have received a penny out of the proposed Dollar Rain, anyway. Let’s look at the excuses.

Austin Eguavoen, the interim coach has since stepped down, to return immediately to his formal position as Technical Director of the Super Eagles. This means that the Super Eagles would now be managed going forward by Jose Poseiro, the Portuguese coach that the NFF engaged in December 2021, just before the AFCON. The defeat of the Super Eagles in Cameroon may be unfortunately read as a setback for indigenous coaches, unfortunately, because of Eguavoen’s stature and past records. He blames poor officiating, and the Senegalese referee, Mguette N’Diaye. Why? Alex Iwobi got a red card in the 66^th minute reducing the Super Eagles to 10. Iheanacho also got a yellow card. There may have been cases of poor refereeing at AFCON, the most dramatic example being the group stage match between Tunisia and Mali which the Rwandan referee, Janny Sikazwe, ended prematurely twice as if he was in a hurry to catch up with a date. But Nigeria cannot give such excuse. Many teams have won with 10 men on the field, overcoming an 11-man team in come-back situations.  Bayern beating Stuttgart 4-0, in March 2021, Chelsea 10 men beating West Ham 4-1, way back in 2006, Manchester City coming up from 3-0 down and with ten men to beat Tottenham 4-3 in the 2003-4 FA Cup, Chelsea beating Barcelona in the second leg of the 2012 Champions League semi-final, Arsenal beating Newcastle 1-0 with just 10 men in 2015, Manchester United beating Crystal Palace 2-1, with 10 men in 2016. It can be argued that there may be other considerations or that it is not always that a 10-man team can perform magic. Yes. Alex Iwobi was pivotal to the Nigerian team on Sunday. His exit from the field affected the team.

But the key issue is that the Tunisian team was better prepared and far stronger in terms of tactics. We played a Tunisian team that had 10 of its main players down with COVID. Their main coach, Mondher Kebaier was not even available. He was in his hotel room isolating, after testing positive for COVID. The Tunisians fielded their Team B. They were strong on ground, and focused. The Super Eagles throughout the first half played as if some of them had just returned from a house of pleasure, and were having trouble concentrating on the task at hand.  It was clear that they underrated the Tunisians despite having been warned by the likes of Jay Jay Okocha and others that the Tunisian football team should not be under-estimated. Daniel Amokachi famously said in fact, that the Carthage Eagles have the capacity to blow hot and cold like the British weather. On Sunday, January 23, Nigerians learnt a bitter lesson about the Carthage Eagles and the British weather analogy. The Tunisia coach says they were able to beat the Super Eagles because Nigeria was predictable. Eguavoen has reminded him that Nigeria had defeated Tunisia before now with just 10 men. So, why didn’t we re-enact the feat this time around? That is the question. The Eagles were tired. They could not fly.

Twitter Nigeria and Reno Omokri, the self-confessed Buhari Hater, have not been sympathetic at all. They blame President Muhammadu Buahri, who had made a phone call to the Super Eagles, before the match, as the source of the bad luck that led to their defeat. Quoting the Book of Job at 32:8, Omokri accuses President Buhari of negative energy, and hence anything he touches, goes to dust. In Turkey, President Recep Erdogan and his sycophants would have taken this as hate speech. A Turkish journalist, Sedef Kabas is in jail for having the temerity to compose a poetic innuendo about the President’s head. Omoyele Sowore, El Zaharadeen and Agba Jalingo in Nigeria have had their own experiences in that regard also here in Nigeria. It is certainly not true that the President’s phone call led to the Super Eagles defeat, the superstitious affirmation is too far-fetched but when Nigerians mix politics with sports and everything else, there can be no limit to the manufacture of conspiracy theories. “Who gave the team, Buhari’s number?”, someone actually asked. One fellow with the twitter handle @ayemojubar turned the reactions into a choreographed farce when he picked on another public figure, Desmond Elliot: “Blame Desmond Elliot for all this.” How? Desmond Elliot is an actor and a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly. What has he got to do with the performance of the Super Eagles in the Cup of Nations?

But the man who has suffered most in the hands of football-loving Nigerians is Maduka Okoye, the 22-year-old goalkeeper of the Super Eagles. Maduka Okoye is a goalkeeper with Watford FC, UK, currently on loan to Sparta RotterDam, and on national duty for the Super Eagles in the 2021 AFCON. During the group stage matches, Okoye was the darling of Nigerians. He was highly instrumental to Nigeria’s three-match win, displaying great talent beyond initial expectations. He was hailed as one of the new faces of Nigerian football and those on whom the future depends including Alex Iwobi, William Troost-Ekong, Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Taiwo Awoniyi, Moses Simon and others. Female fans particularly loved Maduka Okoye. They were more interested in his looks, and many of them said so on social media. The famzing was so much from cougars and all kinds of eyes-rolling, lips-pouting, Nigerian girls, I had to advise on television that the Super Eagles crew should keep ladies away from Maduka Okoye, to prevent them from spoiling him with love and affection, the same way they spoiled some other young men we know who have children from multiple continents. After Nigeria lost the match against Tunisia, the same Nigerians, men and women who praised Okoye turned against him. He was called “fine useless boy on the pitch…Okoye too sexy for the shot.” Memes suddenly emerged: “Okoye on Instagram vs. Okoye on the field” – very uncomplimentary reactions to a young man who came to help his country. On Twitter, @jibbyfordPr said “It is not Okoye’s fault. He probably thought the shot was from a photograph.”  Another person: @EneMariah1 said “I think he should go for modeling. Football is not his calling sha.”

One more reaction from @chimejaypee: “He tried to pose for the shot.”  Former Super Eagles striker, Julius Aghahowa also singles out Maduka Okoye for blame, accusing him of failing to save a ball that was coming directly “towards his direction.” What is the big lesson? Nigerians simply don’t want to lose at all. They will blame anybody including the weather. In life, in every sphere of it, you are only as good as your last performance. The day you fail, nobody remembers all the good things you did previously. The same people who praise you today can turn against you tomorrow, once their expectations are not met. It was never about you to start with, but their own feelings and selfishness. Can someone please explain this to Maduka Okoye to let him know that he tried his best and we must be glad that he showed up for Nigeria?

But why is everyone so uptight about Nigeria’s performance at the AFCON? You cannot sow corn and expect to reap wheat. Is that possible, within the laws of nature? Nigeria wants to win gold at AFCON 2021, but the same country was never ready to excel. In fact, the sterling performance at the group stage was a miracle. In Nigeria, we go to tournaments and expect to perform miracles – miracles that are not backed up with strong preparation and organization. We experiment and expect accidental success. That kind of approach to international competition, be it in sports, science or literature, does not yield the accidents that we expect simply because the opponents are better prepared. Rohr was Nigeria’s longest serving Technical adviser but after 64 months, he had nothing to show for it. Nonetheless, Rohr must be laughing wherever he is now. After he was sacked, he granted interviews in which he said his sack was unnecessary and he could have won the cup for Nigeria. Nobody trusted him because the best he offered and achieved was a third place position in the 2019 AFCON in Egypt. During the playoffs for the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, Nigerians were shocked that the country only narrowly qualified. They also found it hard to believe that Nigeria had to struggle not to be disgraced by Cape Verde. They asked for Rohr’s sack. And he was booted out, and now he doesn’t even have a visa to Nigeria. He can’t even access the unpaid arrears that have now been paid into his Nigerian bank accounts. He should therefore be very careful how he laughs because he was certainly part of the problem: coaching the Nigerian national team from Europe, and failing to modernize his tactics!

There are other problems of course: the crisis of football administration in Nigeria. Those who can make a difference are not  allowed to express opinions: so much division in the House of Football. Nigeria also lacks the infrastructure for developing local talent. The structures of old that produced gifted footballers from the secondary school level, Principal’s Cup have disappeared. Nigeria used to have a robust local league in the days of Stationery Stores of Lagos, BCC Lions of Gboko, Leventis United, Abiola Babes FC, Iwuanyanwu National, Enugu Rangers, Bendel Insurance, IICC Shooting Stars FC of Ibadan, NEPA FC, New Nigeria Bank FC, Calabar Rovers, Mighty Jets of Jos.  Not anymore. There are many teams across the country, but their owners are not investing enough. Nigeria has the talents and a youthful population that can offer more, given the right nurturing environment. We should stop blaming phone calls, spiritual energy, Okoye’s good looks or the weather for the Super Eagles exit from the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon. The exit was foreseeable. Under different circumstances, it was avoidable.    

Yahaya Bello, Kogi state governor, has assured Nigerians that he will not betray their trust if elected as the president of the country in 2023.

Speaking on Thursday during a north-east state legislators meeting in Bauchi state, Bello said he will not disappoint Nigerians because he always keeps to his promises.

The governor, who spoke to the lawmakers on phone, further noted that he is confident that he will achieve victory at the polls and “get to the promise land”.

“It is about all of us. It is about our party, about Nigeria and our future. But by the grace of God, with your support and prayers, I know we will get to the promised land,” Bello said.

“I would have been there personally to appreciate you, but I don’t want to be seen to be breaking the law by now since open campaigns have not been allowed. I want to keep to the law.

“I’ll come around when the ban is lifted to speak to you one-on-one in your various enclaves. However, my speaker and other well-spirited Nigerians are moving around the country and are talking to people of importance, especially critical stakeholders like you.

“I want to promise you that I will not disappoint any of you. Looking at the relationship I have with my speaker of the Kogi state house of assembly, I know that by the grace of God when we get to the promised land, we will have a more robust and wonderful relationship when we get to the villa and I know we will get to the villa on May 29, 2023, by the special grace of God.

 

“I need your support. I need your prayers. I need your buy-in. I need you very much so that together, we can save this country and build on the successes of President Muhammadu Buhari. I once again promise that I will not betray your trust. I will not disappoint you because I am a man who keeps promises and trust.”

In October, the Kogi governor had said Nigerians would heave a sigh of relief when he takes over from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

[THECABLE]

City FM is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Programme: CITY TALKS WITH REUBEN ABATI

Time: 11:45am

Guest: Dr. Doyin Okupe 

Topic: 2023 Presidency: My Agenda For Nigeria

Date: 22 January 2022

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We have had a dizzying last 10 days at home and abroad: Novak Djokovic, with his COVID time-line of humiliation, from Melbourne to Dubai, and probably back to his home land of Serbia, where a disgraceful hero’s welcome awaits him for his abominable conduct which may have far-reaching implications for his legacy and career, the Party Gate Scandal at No 10 Downing Street, where PM Boris Johnson and his team have been downing booze during COVID restrictions (May – December 2021) and pretending to be holier than thou on top of it. BoJo needs to be reminded that he is not above the law. The UK needs to remind its leader that if the Chairman of Credit Suisse can be forced to resign for failing the test of personal responsibility and accountability, and Her Majesty’s favourite son can lose his pampered kid privileges because of bad association and conduct, then journalist turned Prime Minister Boris Johnson also needs to be reminded that the laws of England do not allow him to disobey the people’s laws and his own government’s guidelines, and get away with impunity. The Labour Party is 10 points ahead in the polls, and Boris Johnson is about to lead the Conservatives to perdition. His hurriedly concocted “Operation Red Meat” and populist sops may not save him and his government. China has recorded a GDP growth of 8.1%, above the target of about 6%, but retail sales is down to 1.7 %, the property sector which accounts for 25% of GDP is in trouble, the country’s zero COVID policy has impacted on productivity and efficiency, the People’s Bank of China’s reduction of interest rates has raised questions about how far China is willing to go to make key loans cheaper for businesses even as that amounts to a loosening of President Xi Jinping’s “common prosperity policies”. Nonetheless, the President of China is beating a different tune on interest rates, and the path to economic recovery. The Chinese should keep their troubles to themselves!

Back home: There is the on-going African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon. The Super Eagles seem to be doing well. But there have been killings in the North East of Nigeria and yet the Governor of Yobe State and Caretaker Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress party (APC), Mai Mala Buni says there is so much peace in Nigeria, that the people can now sleep with two eyes closed, because President Muhammadu Buhari has tackled the insecurity problem in the country effectively. Pure sycophantic tosh. That is what that is – in a country where the people have been blinded by killings and sundry forms of terrorism in all directions. And on top of all that, in the week that just ended, more Nigerians showed interest in the 2003 Presidential race: Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) increased the volume with his visit to President Muhammadu Buhari to declare his interest in the Presidency of Nigeria and seek the President’s support. Questions: Is the Tinubu dream realizable? And what next for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo just in case he is also interested? Can he stand up to his former boss and mentor? In a copy-cat move, the Governor of Ebonyi State also rushed to the Presidential Villa to announce that he is also interested in the Nigerian Presidency. He also met with the President and addressed the State House Press Corps. Can someone in charge please stop this charade of going to the President to announce Presidential interest? Nigeria does not run a branch of any political party secretariat at the Presidential Villa. I honestly hope that one of these days we would not wake up to see some elements pasting their campaign posters in front of the President’s office and other parts of the Presidential Villa! These are definitely issues of interest, but sometimes the big issues can be boring and so repetitive, “the God of small things” speaks truth to power, and that is why I have chosen today to talk about books and something else, and here goes.

In the early 90s, I was privileged to have been actively involved in the Non-Governmental (NGO) community in Nigeria, working either as a consultant or resource person on a number of diverse issues including, development funding by international aid agencies, HIV/AIDS and health reporting, public health communication, women empowerment advocacy, women’s reproductive health and decision making, youth mentoring, population management, the environment, and adolescent reproductive health and sexuality. International donor agencies were particularly interested in the latter, that is adolescent reproductive health and sexuality in the context of the spread of global poverty, population explosion, harmful cultural practices and prejudices, gender imbalance and the rapid surge in cases of HIV/AIDS, and the findings by researchers and observers alike that both the girl-child and female adolescents were among the most vulnerable categories of the world’s population. I recall in particular in those days, sessions at the Action Health Incorporated (AHI), a Lagos-based NGO established by Mrs. Nike Essiet and her husband, Dr. Uwem Essiet, with a special focus on adolescents. The Essiets conducted research and surveys, and ran advocacy and peer review clinics for adolescent girls on such topics as abstinence, reproductive health, family life, sexuality, condom negotiating skills, and the dangers of early pregnancy and marriage. The tone of the methodology was preventive: how do we prevent many young girls, burdened by all kinds of factors, from becoming victims of those same factors and how they can be empowered to negotiate and make informed choices, and live a meaningful life. One of the early gains of that period was the development of a National Sexuality Education Curriculum within the school system, and the generation of useful literature on the subject to promote awareness.

The problem as identified was that adolescent sexuality was unusually high among Nigerian adolescents. Many young girls in secondary schools were already sexually active by the age of 16, many of them with multiple sex partners. The result was a high rate of abortion, often carried out by quacks and in secrecy, because of the illegality of abortion in Nigeria and the stigma of teenage pregnancy. Many young girls had their future aborted, their potentials destroyed, and the net of poverty and social deprivation was expanded. The boys and men who put the girls in the family way were usually not affected; nor did they take responsibility. The girls were either forced to marry early or they dropped out of school. Close to 60% of abortion related cases in Nigerian hospitals involved adolescents. Many were also not protected by culture. In parts of the country, male adults married teenage girls and justified this on the grounds of religion and culture. Many of such girls were denied the opportunity of going to school, and because their bodies were not fully developed for pregnancy and motherhood, the hospitals were filled with young girls afflicted with Vesico- Vaginal Fistula. Maternal mortality and morbidity among pregnant teenage girls was high. The girls needed to be saved.

It is unfortunate however, that as I reflect on some of the early work done in the 90s, in which I was both observer and participant, the condition of the Nigerian adolescent appears worse today than it was two decades ago. The education sector is troubled, as young girls are now special targets of kidnappers, bandits, terrorists and criminals who turn them into sex slaves or brides against their wish, to their detriment. Nigeria has in place the Child Rights Act, signed into law in 2003 but many states, 12 of them have to date refused to give assent to the law. Child marriages remain rampant. Poverty has turned many young girls into prostitutes and victims in the hands of sexual predator. Rape is prevalent. Economic deprivation has destroyed family life. Parents are distracted. Teachers no longer pay enough attention to their roles in loco parentis. The gains of the past have been eroded. The present is worse than the past. Nonetheless, in a country that has one of the youngest populations in the world, a critical segment such as the youth population cannot be allowed to lose its potential to reckless sex and depravity, in an age of sexual permissiveness.

It is with these preliminary thoughts and reflections that I introduce three books that I have just read and now available for public appreciation and appraisal by Temilolu Oluwakemi Okeowo, namely Becoming An Alpha Female – A Guide Book for the Young Female, (2021, 96 pp.), Wisdom for Girls (2021, 84pp) and Letters To My daughters (2021, 82 pp.). Temilolu Okeowo is an Apostle, a Christian Evangelist of the Word, founder and Head Girl of The Girls Club of Nigeria, The Girls Apostolic Ministry of All Nations and the The Girls Club of Africa US. Inc. Since her days as an undergraduate student of Law, Ms Okeowo has been involved in advocacy for the girl child: how can she be saved in a depraved society, where a young girl is a natural victim of the combined forces of poverty, sexual predation and misogyny. Whereas the NGO work that I referred to earlier conducted research and community based counseling, Temilolu Okeowo adopts the strategy of counseling and mentoring, and her platforms are the church pulpit, newspaper writings, the social media, books and direct action. She relies heavily on the Bible, and in all three books, the moral and Biblical dimensions of her arguments are unmistakable. Okeowo does not talk science. Her mission is to prevent young girls from going to Hell and losing their souls, because of what she calls “five minutes of enjoyment.”

She leaves the reader in no doubt that she believes pre-marital sex is more than a sin, that sexual intercourse is a spiritual encounter and chastity until marriage is the best and only option for any young lady who wants to become an Alpha Female. In the book, Becoming an Alpha Female, Temilolu Okeowo articulates the main themes of her concern. In a rather feminist tone, she argues that an average woman is imbued with divine privileges and gifts that men cannot “boast of” – women are designed by God to nurture the universe and sustain it, but many women have lost their purpose in life and ruined their own potentials because of sexual intercourse with men who deposit ill-luck and evil in their destiny. In 20 Chapters, the author offers detailed counsel about what a young girl must do to achieve her full potentials in line with God’s principles. She says for example: “Girls, You are Institutions, not Barbie Dolls”, “Don’t let the World Damage You”, “Don’t End up (as) Slay Morons”, “Must You Have a Boyfriend Even at 18?”, “Pre-Marital Sex Gives the Devil an Upper Hand…”, “Don’t Let the Social Media Redirect Your Life” , “A Prayer Warrior Has the World At Her Feet”… “Stop Idolising Your Pastors”. My favourite Chapter if you may imagine is Chapter 20 on the dangers of idolizing pastors. Okeowo is forthright in declaring that some pastors are at best “evil men hiding under the cloak of man of God”, and that they are human and not flawless men who could destroy the souls of innocent young girls.

Okeowo preaches faith in God, proper alignment with God. This much is well stated in the two other books: “Wisdom for Girls” and “Letters to my Daughters”. Here, the author is the “Agony Aunt” as she provides a compilation of columns she had written in The Nation and Punch newspapers and on her Facebook page. The chapters in both books are in the form of requests for advice as well as comments, sent to the columnist/author by the public, mostly young girls, and their mothers. Accordingly, every response is directed to “my darling, precious, glorious, dignified, world-famous and heavenly-celebrated daughters”. Her tone is affirmative and optimistic. She seems convinced that every girl can be saved if only the female adolescent would avoid sex, or covenant with the Devil through pre-marital sex, and live a chaste life like Esther and Joseph in the Bible. She recommends the spiritual life, and the need to avoid a certain distraction called “boyfriend” which can only result in sexual exploitation, slavery, misery and bondage. There are practical tips about how to go through university and graduate as a virgin! In Wisdom for Girls, the author specifically tells girls to beware of men and to learn how to deal with them, and that it is possible to get pregnant as a virgin if a woman does not keep her distance from a man. Okeowo’s ideal girl is “The God Girl”, “The Virgin”. The villains of her narrative are lecherous men who take advantage of young girls with baits, randy young men who are just interested in their own lust, reckless young girls who give in to peer pressure or are simply wayward, and parents who have a duty to guide their children but are themselves neck-deep in sin, setting bad examples from generation to generation. Okeowo’s evangelical mission is to save everyone and to get those who may have been victims at one point or the other to move on, and embrace a new life, like Oprah Winfrey and Joyce Meyer.

These are altogether, books that should be read by every young girl out there who has been rendered vulnerable in a society that has lost its moral dimension. Copies of the book should be purchased and distributed widely in schools not just across Nigeria but the entire African continent. The plight of the girl-child in Nigeria as demonstrated in the pages of these three books is fairly representative of a universal dilemma, felt and experienced more, in varying degrees, in the developing world, especially, where poverty is rife, and the enforcement of fundamental human rights is culturally determined. Okeowo constructs a binary universe of vulnerable girls and bad boys/men but isn’t it society itself that should be blamed and isn’t the system of leadership and governance in need of re-consideration? The assumption that men are evil may be too much of a generalisation. I do not believe that all men and all boys are bad or that the overriding goal of every male in relation to the opposite gender is sexual intercourse. The truth is that even adolescent boys are also as vulnerable as the girls and there must be examples in that regard if we look closely enough. The argument about more responsible and intentional, value-driven parenting is unexceptionable but it truly takes a village to raise a child, and to the extent that the environment is important: certainly there must be roles for institutions- religious, civil, traditional and communal. Okeowo raises important questions about how to save the girl child. Who will save the boy-child too? And what role must governments play to protect all segments of the population? These are the other questions beyond the teachings of the Bible, beyond morality, beyond faith and individual choices.

Segun Awosanya, a Nigerian realtor, human rights activist, and business and strategic consultant, has offered his insights on the potential outcomes of excessive control. Segalink, as he is commonly referred to, holds the belief that excessive control can hinder innovation and limit personal freedom.

During a recent interview on CityTalks with Reuben Abati on City 105.1, the well-known human rights activist shared his perspectives on a range of urgent matters.
The Nigerian government's recent decision to ban the widely-used social media platform, Twitter, has caused significant disruption in the digital realm. This controversial decision took effect on June 5, 2021, causing millions of Nigerian users to lose access to the platform and igniting a passionate debate about the consequences of this action. Following Twitter's removal of messages from Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent temporary suspension, the Nigerian government has decided to implement a prohibition on the use of the social media platform. President Buhari's messages, cautioning Nigerians in the southeastern part of the country, particularly the Igbos, about the potential of a recurrence of the 1967 Biafran Civil War in light of the ongoing insurgency, were deemed inappropriate by Twitter. Consequently, access to Twitter has been restricted by the Nigerian government within the nation.

Nigeria's decision to ban the social media platform was influenced by a range of issues affecting the country, one of which was the removal of the president's tweets. The platform has been a hotbed for misinformation and fake news, leading to real acts of violence. The Nigerian government defended its action by emphasising the platform's ongoing use for activities that endanger the nation's unity and stability.

The ban imposed by Nigerian authorities has faced widespread criticism from international entities. Amnesty International, the British, Canadian, and Swedish diplomatic missions in Nigeria, along with the United States and the European Union, have collectively voiced their disapproval of the ban. The Nigerian Bar Association and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have announced their plans to legally challenge the ban. Twitter users have raised concerns about a suspension on the platform that they find deeply troubling.

According to a recent study, Nigeria has become the 66th country to impose restrictions on social media access, joining a growing list of nations that have taken similar measures in the past six years.
The Nigerian government has announced its decision to lift the ban on the popular microblogging site, Twitter. According to official sources, the action is set to begin at exactly 12 a.m. on Thursday.

After a long seven-month period of restricted access, Nigerians can finally rejoice as platform visits are now restored. Users are now able to access the site without the requirement of a virtual private network (VPN).

In a statement, Mr. Awosanya voiced his concerns about the government's efforts to stifle a popular platform for public expression, government oversight, and business operations. Mr. Awosanya believes that the government's measures are ultimately harmful and do not produce any positive results.

He emphasised the significant financial consequences that could arise from a potential Twitter shutdown. Based on the analysis, the cost of suspending the platform for 7 months, or 222 days, would be an astonishing $26.1 billion. This staggering amount, when converted to the local currency, equates to around 10.72 trillion naira at the current exchange rate.
Upon closer examination, a striking contrast becomes apparent when considering Nigeria's debt to other nations.

The government has issued a statement addressing the matter, emphasising their main priority of justifying their actions by pointing out a perceived lack of control.
The speaker highlighted that the implementation of more stringent measures has failed to produce any significant results.
It is interesting to consider why the government focuses on censorship and control instead of creating a supportive regulatory environment for global technology initiatives.