WEST Africans on July 7, 2024, witnessed the tragic split of their region into two opposing blocs. The first time since the 1975 establishment of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.

Eleven regional Heads of State met in Abuja under the ECOWAS umbrella while three of their counterparts: Presidents Assimi Goita of Mali, Ibrahim Traoré, Burkina Faso and Abdourahamane Tchiani, Niger, met in Niamey for the inaugural Summit of the Alliance of Sahel States, AES.

Given these separate meetings, the matter is no longer a question of recalling those three countries, or their returning to ECOWAS. It became more an issue of how to merge both organisations that are developing different structures and have two diametrically opposed political views.

The ECOWAS, which is set in its old bureaucratic ways, is more conservative with clear pro-West sympathies. In contrast, the AES which is manifesting more radical inclinations, seems impatient with economic and political integration and is manifestly pro-East.

While the latter has made up its mind to move on and may want other countries to join it, ECOWAS is playing an elder brother’s role of urging its siblings to return to the homestead. But in doing so, ECOWAS does not seem to understand that as far as the AES members are concerned, they are fighting a war of survival in which they are in the firing sights of France and the United States. Also, ECOWAS seems oblivious of the fact that the troika have rejected the old model of trade in which the underdeveloped countries are brutally exploited and impoverished by the West. For instance, Niger Republic is irritated that while it is the fourth largest producer of uranium in the world and lights up one third of France, 80 per cent of its populace have no electricity. So it had to rely on neigbouring Nigeria for electricity supply, which was cut off following the July 26, 2023 coup. It is also angry that while additionally, the country is rich in gold, iron ore, phosphate, tin, salt, gypsum and petroleum, Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world. Furthermore, it was unhappy that while its territory had been turned into French and American military bases, terrorists and bandits were freely running around.

Burkina Faso does not see why as one of the largest producers of gold, copper, zinc, manganese, limestone and phosphate, 40 per cent of its populace should live below the poverty line. Similarly, Mali is angry that despite its huge gold, marble, salt and kaolin deposits, 42.5 per cent of Malians are under the poverty line. So, they not only decided that the trade relations with the rest of the world should change, but that they also need an urgent mutual defence pact to jointly tackle the terrorist challenge they face.

ECOWAS seems comfortable with such exploitative trade relations. It also seems at home issuing bland statements and declarations. For instance, its July 7, 2024 communiqué contained flat statements like welcoming “the positive economic outlook for ECOWAS in 2024”, noting “the persistent inflationary pressures and growing public debt ratio” and, asking Member States to continue implementing economic and financial policies “that will lead to compliance with the macroeconomic convergence.”

The ECOWAS lack of seriousness was visible last week on the basic issue of a common currency, the Eco. It had announced its birth in 2000 and, promised to introduce it in 2003. But last week, two dozen years later, it was just directing its Commission to submit a “draft Supplementary Act defining the modalities for the participation of Member States in the Monetary Union at its first Ordinary Session in 2025.”

So, when ECOWAS declares it wants the three countries back, what is it offering them? Security? Economic, political or currency integration? Better economic integration or a common front against exploitation?

Unsurprisingly, ECOWAS is bungling even the issue of setting up a team to negotiate with the AES countries. The basic ECOWAS claim against them and why it decided to sanction them was allegedly because they are military regimes whereas ECOWAS is wedded to constitutional rule.

ECOWAS choice of Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye as its facilitator with the three countries, is brilliant. He symbolises the insistence of the populace to exercise sovereignty over who presides over their affairs. Even after then President Macky Sall had thrown Faye and his pro-democracy comrades into prison in a vain attempt to stop their election, ECOWAS, rather than condemn this, was praising Sall as a fine democrat and encouraging “him to continue to defend and protect Senegal’s long-standing democratic tradition”. Despite these obstacles, Faye moved from prison to the Presidential Palace.

But the ECOWAS choice of two coup plotters: President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé of Togo, and Guinea Bissau’s General Umaro Sissoco Embaló, as co-facilitators, were blunders.

Faure’s father, General Gnassingbé Eyadema who had on April 14, 1967 overthrown the Togolese government, died in office on February 5, 2005 after 38 years in power. Faure immediately overthrew the government. When some countries denounced his coup, he was forced to step down. But his regime immediately organised elections and he was declared elected. After 19 years in power, Faure in April, 2024, changed his country’s constitution from presidential to parliamentary, a move which extended his stay in office to 2031 after which he could be appointed into the new position of President of the Council of Ministers.

In his own case, retired General Embaló had been elected President on December 20, 2019. In May, 2022, when he had differences with the parliament, he dissolved it and ruled as a dictator. But when new parliamentary elections were conducted, his party lost. A clash in December 2023 between the National Guard and the Presidential Guard in which two persons were killed, provided Embalo an excuse to, again, dissolve the parliament. It was his second coup against the constitution. Unfortunately, ECOWAS has continued to support this civilian coup in Guinea Bissau.

At its meeting last week, rather than demand that the Embalo regime allow the parliament to reconvene and continue its constitutional duties, the ECOWAS Heads of State urged “the Government to accelerate the process of holding new legislative elections to re-establish the Popular National Assembly…”

The choice of Faure and Embalo as part of the three-person ECOWAS team to facilitate negotiations with the AES is an avoidable blunder.

At the AES inauguration, Captain Traoré thundered: “The imperialists see Africa as an empire of slaves (that) Africans belong to them, our land belongs to them, our sub-soils belong to them…this is why we have decided to revolt and to take the fate of our countries in our own hands…we came to break the chains.” Is this a voice ECOWAS recognises and wishes to accommodate?

It is a platitude to restate that Africa has been impacted negatively by colonialism and imperialism. In varying degrees, English has come to supplant Nigerian languages as the dominant mode of communication. Inevitably, this has bred an attendant recession of pre colonial traditional languages. Moreso the Yoruba, who were unarguably the first to receive Western education in Nigeria and had been receiving mass education literacy since 1842. With the legacy of this head start comes a collateral damage. 

Growing up, inability to speak fluently in Yoruba language and concomitant ability to speak fluent English was a trademark of upper class elitism and belonging in the hierarchy of social class perking order. Quite often, in such upper crust families, English was the first language of communication. A cultivated inability to speak Yoruba qualifies you to be complimented as ajẹbota ( those whose family menu substantially tends towards English/continental dishes).The popular comic, Gbenga Adeyinka, is a veteran of the dramatisation of this mockery. 

The bias against Yoruba in primary and secondary schools is illustrated in the classification of Yoruba as vernacular language. Prize awards for the best students in English and other subjects were routine save Yoruba language. Other than Dele Momodu, I don’t know any of our peers who graduated from the University in Yoruba studies. The fact that Nigeria comprises several multilingual cultural groups practically makes English our lingua franca. As an aside, baulking this neutrality and objectivity, President Muhammadu Buhari holds the dubious distinction of the first Nigerian President to address this unfortunate country in Hausa language from his sick bed in London. 

The extent to which we have become sheepishly enchanted with the English language was demonstrated by a friend living in Germany. He referred to Germans as illiterates because they could not speak English! In the spirit of the saying ‘physician heal thyself’ I once considered myself an object of pity. It was at the University of Hamburg where my hosts, all four of them, mischievously chose to converse in the Hausa language, in the full knowledge that I comprehend next to nothing of the language. Yet, I am from Nigeria.

I accept as a personal failure the substantial limitations of my own children to communicate in Yoruba. Moreso, when in the consciousness of a deepening and widespread ignorance of Yoruba tradition, I have dedicated the latter part of my educational and cultural development to proficiency in the propagation of Yoruba tradition and religion. The greater my sadness when I have the anecdotal evidence that relative to other Nigerian cultural groups ie Igbo and Hausa-Fulani, the Yoruba are worse off in the ability of their children to converse in the language of their forefathers. I needed to understand the wherewithal of this dilemma. 

Originally, it was to the Berlin conference (prior to colonialism) that we owe the sociocultural disarticulation of the Yoruba and other African nations. This was the occasion in which ‘African nations were divided and taken over by European nations. The preexisting African groups, tribes, and nations were arbitrarily divided, even if the divisions didn’t make any sense according to the indigenous peoples’. In Nigeria, prior to and after the amalgamation of 1914, colonial rule took the form of indirect rule and the partition of Nigeria into three protectorates namely the Eastern, Western and Northern protectorates.

The language of the majorities in these protectorates were the Igbo, Yoruba and the Hausa-Fulani. The essence of the indirect rule (dual mandate) was the employment of the preexisting traditional administration organs as delegated authorities of governance on behalf of the British colonialists. Of the three protectorates, the Yoruba has been the least successful in the intergenerational transfer of their mother tongue to subsequent successor generations. In the formation of the culture of the colonial and post colonial WAZOBIA the imperialist religions of Christianity and Islam have exerted varying influence on the ability of the language groups to preserve their culture. 

In the Pan Islamic North, (after the colonial military subjugation of the Sokoto Caliphate), the theocratic rulers successfully negotiated the insulation of the region from Christian proselytization and evangelism (and a concomitant preservation of the emirate system) with Lord Lugard. The latter readily granted the concession because it roundly suited the deployment of the indirect rule and his innate bias for the region. This provided the North an ample opportunity to preserve their Pan Arabic culture and language in opposition to Westernization/ Modernisation.

Prior to colonialism and contemporary Nigeria, the Igbo dominated (hitherto) Eastern region had remained impermeable to the jihadist spread of Islam thus ceding the playfield to the monopoly of Christian proliferation and acculturation (Igbos’ sense of common identity as a single people is said to have grown particularly in the last century, in the face of colonialism, and grew even into a national identity when Igbo people tried to declare their independence from Nigeria in 1967. Despite their inability to achieve that independence, Igbo have continued to standardize the language and build a somewhat more shared pan-Igbo identity).

Unlike these two colleagues, the Yoruba were simultaneously rendered prone to the incursion of the two imperialist religions under whose influence they became more culturally diffused and liberal. You will likely find more mixed marriages among the Yoruba than other ethnic groups. Whilst Christianity penetrated through the South West coastal city of Lagos and adjoining provinces of Abeokuta, Islam burst forth from Ilorin and the ruins of the destruction and dislocation of the Oyo empire. Recent data suggests that the Yoruba population are evenly divided between Christian and Muslims thus precluding the cultural enclave mentality. 

The phenomenon of the diaspora returnees equally fostered the unintended consequence of reinforcing the attenuation of intergenerational transfer of the Yoruba language. The returnees were, in the main, culturally English following their Euro-American diaspora acculturation. A byproduct of this cultural background was its instrumentality to socioeconomic upward mobility and assimilation into the ranks of the mid echelon of the colonial elite. This is in contrast and juxtaposition to the self-conscious anti colonialist cultural posture manifested in such variables as the replacement of their European names with Yoruba names. Consciousness of this collateral damage to the preservation of Yoruba culture has manifested in the resurgence of scholarship on Yoruba traditional religion, Ifa.

As elaborated by the he President of the International Council for Ifa Religion, (ICIR), Dr. Fayemi Fatunde Fakayode “The issue of Yoruba Language and Religion can be compared to a Computer whose hardware cannot function without the software. In the case of Yoruba culture, Language and other components are hardware while Yoruba Religion is the software on which other components rely.

“Today, Yoruba Language is an International Language because, all the people who practice Yoruba Religion irrespective of color or race need to be versed in Ifa, the scripture which can only be rendered in Yoruba Language. As Arabic is the language of the holy Quran so is Yoruba the language of Ifá.

“Therefore, as the spread of Islam throughout the world makes Arabic international so is Yoruba Religion makes Yoruba Language international. This is because, once one accepts a religion, one automatically accepts the culture of the source of the religion”.

“The future of Yoruba Language and Culture is promising because it is witnessing a renaissance. Yoruba religion is said to be in the sixth position among the religions of the world today. It is certain that as Yoruba Religion continues to grow, so will the language and culture continue”

It is equally the opinion of this writer that versatility and proficiency in spoken Yoruba language is concomitant with highly informed familiarity with Ifa inspired Yoruba vocabulary and idiom which ‘often convey deep theological or metaphysical meaning.

According to Professor Wande Abimbọla “The decay we are seeing everywhere in Nigeria is the result of the large scale abandonment of the traditional way of our fathers and mothers. We have condemned our way of life and embraced foreign culture. You can be a Christian or Muslim and still see some values in the way of life of our forefathers. Today, parents give their children Mary, Michael, Rasheed or Isiaka. Where are our own names? That kind of life is ruining our culture and our view of the universe in which we live. It leads to hopelessness”

“Professor Bolaji Idowu highlights the significance of the religion of the Yoruba that permeates their lives so much that it expresses itself in multifarious ways. It forms the theme of songs, makes topics more minstrelsy, finds vehicles in myths, folktales, proverbs and saying and it is the basis of philosophy.” (Bolaji Idowu)

It is noteworthy, that as African indigenous religion (the core element and organising principle of Yoruba tradition) was steadily losing adherence, legitimacy and acceptance at home, a contrary trend ensued in the diaspora especially in South America where ‘African descendants in Brazil adopted the Yoruba religious culture (as Afro-Brazilian) and built an all embracing African identity around its universal character’. The phenomenon prompted the remark by Robin Horton on a contemporary ‘Ifa distinctiveness being dramatically revealed, not in Yorubaland itself, but in the Afro- American societies of Brazil’.

A Refresher On Colonialism 

It is often unnoticed for instance that the only non Western nations to have successfully modernised-Japan and China-are those that have not been colonised. Is it an accident that all Asian and African nations formerly colonised by Europeans have a uniform history of failure in attempts to modernise? (Professor Peter Ekeh)

Professor Festus Ade-Ajayi deployed the proclivity of the colonial rulers to employ “as a weapon of domination the demoralization and frustration that came from denying basic humanity to peoples of Africa descent by denying that they had a history”

Jean-Paul Sartre (in wretched of the earth) calls colonialism ‘the sinister strategy of erasing native identities in which the aim is to supplant Indigenous culture with the colonizer’s own, leaving the population in a vacuum of identity’.

“It was not the benevolence of European nations that attracted them to Africa. It was the search for wealth that they could exploit. Indeed, some of the coastal nations of West Africa were once known by the commodities that lay beneath their soils: Gold Coast (now Ghana) was known for its gold; Ivory Coast or Cote D’voire was known for its ivory and Guinea, or Republic of Guinea was known for its gold coins from which the guinea as currency was made” (WalterRodney). 

Indeed, only a person with Nnaji’s faith in Nigeria could insist, for a whole 20 years, on proceeding with the 181Megawatt Geometric Power Plant in Aba and the Aba Power Electric Company; both are valued at $800m. All these investments were in the face of spirited sabotage by top Federal Government officials between 2012 and 2015. The fact that the Aba Independent Power Project was commissioned last February 26, is nothing short of a miracle. It is frequently difficult to comprehend what drives Nnaji’s optimism against all evidence and rationality. This is all the more so because, as the great American thinker, Francis Fukuyama, notes in The End of History and The Last Man, we live in a world where pessimists are considered profound and optimists are regarded as naïve, even in instances where events eventually vindicate optimists.

Embattled Kenyan President William Ruto has dissolved his cabinet in response to lingering youth-led national anger against bad governance characterised by economic hardship, insensitivity and extravagance by government officials and police brutality.

“Upon reflection, listening keenly to what the people of Kenya have said and after a holistic appraisal of the performance of my Cabinet and its achievements and challenges, I have… decided to dismiss with immediate effect all the Cabinet Secretaries and the Attorney-General from the Cabinet of the Republic of Kenya except the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs,” he said in a four-page statement released by State House on Thursday.

He added: “I will immediately engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations, with the aim of setting up a broad-based government that will assist me in accelerating and expediting the necessary, urgent and irreversible, implementation of radical programmes to deal with the burden of debt, raising domestic resources, expanding job opportunities, eliminate wastage and unnecessary duplication of a multiplicity of government agencies and slay the dragon of corruption consequently making the government lean, inexpensive, effective and efficient.”

The public disaffection against Ruto’s government policies came to a head on June 25, when youths stormed the Kenyan Parliament and chased away MPs who assembled to pass a controversial Financial Bill 2024 that sought to impose more taxes on the long-suffering citizens.

The National Human Rights Commission reported at least 39 deaths, hundreds injured and a score of persons missing from the clashes between the protesters and security forces across the country.

After his initial tough stance, President Ruto backed down. He withdrew the controversial bill and promised to cut drains on the public treasury, such as the office of the First Lady.

In Thursday’s statement, the president said: “During this process (of extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations), the operations of government will continue uninterrupted under the guidance of Principal Secretaries and other relevant officials.”

He also pledged “additional measures in due course,” adding: “Recent events that necessitated the withdrawal of the Finance Bill, which will require a review and reorganisation of our budget and fiscal management, have brought us to an inflexion point.”

Continuing, President Ruto said “… I announced last week barring State and public officers from engaging in Harambee, I want to inform the country that the Public Fundraising Appeals Bill is now ready for publication tomorrow. Even with the progress we have made, I am acutely aware that the people of Kenya have high expectations of me and believe that this administration can undertake the most extensive transformation in our nation’s history.”

When Ruto assumed office in 2022 at age 55, leading an opposition party after resigning as deputy president, there were high hopes that a new sheriff with fresh ideas had arrived in the Kenyan divisive political scene.  

After his recent trips to the U.S. and Asia, the impression created in official quarters was that Ruto had become a darling of the superpowers. He was quoted as saying the “right things” during meetings with his interlocutors.

To reinforce this notion, Kenya recently dispatched a police contingent to assist in the stabilisation of troubled Haiti, America’s neighbour that has known more crisis than peace since its emergence as the first independent nation of freed black slaves in 1804.

The deal for the police deployment was negotiated between Nairobi and Washington under the aegis of the United Nations.

As is usually the case, this played a huge part in the budget support promised to Kenya by the IMF.

This is despite the well-documented unsavoury legacy of the Bretton Woods institution in most developing countries, hence the uncomplimentary saying: “IMF in a country today, riots tomorrow,” due to the anti-people conditionalities attached to their financial support.

Despite warnings by even former senior officials of the IMF and its cousin, the World Bank, it beggars’ belief that African leaders still fall victim.

Otherwise, why did it take the avoidable death of almost 40 Kenyans and the material losses during the protests for President Ruto to realise that his government had to consult extensively before imposing more hardships on the citizens of his country?

Perhaps, it is a credit to him to have engaged a reverse gear. However, Kenyan youth have made it clear that the citizens can no longer be taken for granted.

The same message should not be lost on Ruto’s colleagues in other African countries, who may want to carry on as if governance is about arbitrariness, impunity, self-service and the looting of state treasury for the benefit of themselves and their families at the expense of the majority.

The responsibility of every government is to improve the well-being of the people; and to protect lives and property in an environment of equal opportunity to all inspective of political affiliation, status, tribe, religion or creed.

The vault face of Kenya’s fifth President, who morphed from a PhD in Botany and Zoology into a tough politician, should be a good case study in government subjugation to people power.

It should also encourage the people to demand accountability from the leadership instead of a lukewarm attitude or support for oppressive leaders.

*Ejime is an Author, Global Affairs Analyst, and Consultant on Peace & Security and Governance Communications

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has called for prompt action on its earlier decision to remove public universities from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) platform.

Naija News reports that the Council has instructed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to expedite the implementation of this decision, made several months ago.

This move aims to address a long-standing grievance of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has consistently opposed the use of IPPIS for university staff salaries.

ASUU argues that the system fails to accommodate the unique peculiarities of the academic environment.

Additionally, the Council has approved the establishment of a new National University of Science and Technology in Abuja. This decision follows an initial approval granted by former President Muhammadu Buhari on May 28, 2023, during the final days of his administration.

The new university is set to be a pioneering institution, marking the first in a planned network of Pan-African Institutes of Science and Technology.

Its primary mission will be to educate and train African scientists and technologists, thereby boosting the continent’s capacity in these critical fields.

The move to exempt universities from IPPIS and the creation of the new university signal significant steps towards resolving long-standing issues within Nigeria’s higher education system and advancing scientific and technological education in the region.

[NaijaNews]

A fresh showdown is imminent in the House of Representatives as over 150 aggrieved first-time members are up in arms against the House leadership over alleged marginalisation and exclusion from legislative business.

Already, the embittered federal lawmakers have formed a pressure group, codenamed “Novelty Group,” as a veritable platform for realising their mission and vision.

The group’s inaugural meeting, initially scheduled for Abuja yesterday evening, was abruptly cancelled following the death of a House member, Hon Olaide Adewale Akinremi.

Until his passage, Hon Akinremi represented Ibadan North Federal Constituency of Oyo State on the platform of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC).

A member of the group told LEADERSHIP last night that a new date for the inaugural meeting would be made public after the mourning period for the departed lawmaker.

An influential APC House member from one of the six states in the country’s South/South geopolitical zone (name withheld) is coordinating the group’s activities.

LEADERSHIP learnt that membership of the dissenting group was growing as of Wednesday night. First-time members constitute about 75 percent of the 360-member House of Representatives.

Findings by LEADERSHIP further revealed that membership of the group cut across eight political parties with membership in the House, and six geopolitical zones of the country.

Information available to LEADERSHIP revealed that members of the splinter group were particularly angered that the House had become an appendage of the Presidency.

One of the lawmakers told LEADERSHIP that his colleagues were aggrieved by the way the House leadership easily buckled to the whims and caprices of the Presidency in passing executive bills and other sundry correspondences from the Presidency.

He said his colleagues were concerned that the leadership had sacrificed their interests, well-being, and welfare due to its romance with the executive arm of government.

Speaker Tajudeen Abbas was accused of not acting decisively and assertively enough to guarantee the House’s independence.

LEADERSHIP gathered that members of the group were plotting the impeachment of Abbas, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, House Leader Julius Ihonvbere and Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda.
Reliable sources in the House revealed that the protesting lawmakers were uncomfortable with Kalu’s authoritarian tendencies and arrogant postures, especially when he was chosen to preside in Abbas’ absence.

The first-term lawmakers were reported to be after Ihonvbere and Chinda for alleged failure to protect and sacrifice their interests due to pecuniary gains.
Similarly, chairmen of the various House committees also incurred the wrath of the lawmakers for excluding them from the activities of the committees.

They added that the chairmen willfully sidelined their deputies and other members of their committees in carrying out oversight functions and sharing of accruing benefits.

They vowed to ensure a rejig of the House committees to weed out the uncooperative chairmen.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the forum also resolved “to deal with their oppressive first-time colleagues, who were fortunate to be made committee chairmen.”

One of the lawmakers said, “We have passed executive bills in very unusual ways within hours without serious legislative industry, because we are a mere rubber-stamp of the Presidency. That is the way the House leadership, headed by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas presented us to the Presidency.

“Most of the new members are suffering even though we all contested the same election, spending millions. We are treated with disdain as outcasts in the House by the so-called ranking members and our first-time colleagues who are fortunate to be made chairmen of the various committees.

“Nigerians see us all as unmindful of their plight when, in fact, only a few in the leadership cadre benefit from whatever they accuse us of amassing.”

“The executive, especially some ministers, have cornered the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), and the CEOs of federal agencies give no damn about us (federal lawmakers),” he stated in a telephone interview with LEADERSHIP.

“Chairmen of committees are now behaving like demi- gods, relegating their deputies and first-timers to the background. And most of these so-called privileged first time and ranking members hardly come to plenary. Some of them supervise and administer as well as confiscate benefits from the federal agencies and parastatals we are supposed to handle together from abroad.

“A particular lady, who is a first-time member and chairperson of House committees of a juicy commission, has been resident in London, from where she solely performs and administers the oversight functions of a committee since our inauguration.

“No member. including her deputy, knows what is happening in the committee and the commission. She occasionally dishes out instructions and gives out nauseating hand-outs from the commission to members of the committee, whom she treats like her aides. We can no longer tolerate this rubbish.

“We now go cap in hand begging colleagues for jobs meant to be allocated to our federal constituencies. We want to show the nation that all is not well and that not all lawmakers are insensitive to their plight.

“The near uprising in the chambers against the retroactive approval of the extension of the 2023 Appropriation Act to December 2024 is a tip of the iceberg.

“We sent back the permanent secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance when the minister did not honour our invitation to interact with us on the 2024 budget implementation to tell the executive arm of government that we cannot continue to be taken for granted.”

“More decisive actions are to follow because the leadership has shortchanged us. Novelty Group is formed to correct all these.”

“We are 150 members now and counting. We are not at peace with the Speaker (Abbas), who has sold us to the Presidency,” he said, adding that both the deputy speaker and the majority leader and minority leader were on their firing line.

“And a rejig of the committees is another mission of our group,” said the House member who craved that his name be not mentioned in print.

When contacted, the House spokesman and chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Akin Rotimi Jr., claimed ignorance about the formation and existence of the splinter group.
Rotimi, however, added that if such group was ever founded by House members, it would be part of the legislative processes.

“As a member of several first-time parliamentarian groups myself, I can assure you that these groups are formed to advance common interests and facilitate collaboration on legislative issues.

“They are a normal and healthy aspect of our parliamentary process, providing a platform for members to express their views and work together on matters of mutual concern.”

“I must emphasise that I am not aware of any organised effort to “gang up against the House leadership” as you mentioned.

“It’s important to note that approximately 75 percent of the 10th Assembly House of Representatives members are first-time lawmakers, and the Assembly includes representation from eight different political parties.

“The diversity within the House underscores the need for various groups to form and address specific interests and issues collaboratively.

“The House leadership remains committed to inclusive and transparent governance, ensuring that all members, including first-time representatives, are adequately represented and have their voices heard,” Rotimi said in a WhatsApp message to LEADERSHIP.

[Leadership]

The federal government has said that it is awaiting the report of the ombudsman, following the complaint it made challenging a report by the Daily Trust on the Samoa Agreement signed by Nigeria.

This was part of the issues discussed at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) Wednesday.

Addressing reporters after Wednesday’s FEC meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris said: “There was also a discussion on the report by Daily Trust and the position of government on that report is that the federal government insisted that the report was misleading, it was false and designed to create confusion in the land.

“We expect that the industry’s ombudsman will look at the government’s complaint dispassionately and FEC will be patient to await the report of the ombudsman,” Idris said.

Idris noted that the present administration “believes in the freedom of expression, believes in the role of the media in ensuring that there is continuous and uninterrupted democracy in our land.

“So, the government is not desirous of doing anything that will harm that freedom of expression. But like we have said, where we feel there is an infringement, where we feel that the media itself or a section of it, in this case, Daily Trust has erred, because the government still believes that the report by Daily Trust is not correct, Nigerians have been misinformed, and in the process, a lot of damage has been done on the psyche of our people.

“We have made a complaint to the ombudsman to look at the report and we have sighted examples of where Daily Trust got it wrong so that Daily Trust can come clean and also mention or apologise to the nation and the government”, he said.

Also speaking, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, said: “The disturbing report by Daily Trust is being handled because we are conscious of press freedom, and if you notice this administration has not and will not tamper with press freedom because if you know the President, he has been an ardent supporter and believer in press freedom, in fact that is what got him up to this point.

“He is conscious of that, not only in press freedom but in fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitution.

“Generally, government MDAs are available if there is any area that members of the Press would like to clear and the Freedom of Information Act is alive and is being rigorously honoured and in operation. So, I will advise that if there is any information that the members of the press require, it should be channelled to the appropriate MDAs before going to press”, he said.

Reps make U-Turn

In a related development, the House of Representatives yesterday made a U-Turn, saying it did not call on the federal government to suspend the implementation of the Samoa Agreement.

The clarification was made by the House spokesman, Akin Rotimi.

Rotimi, who represents Ikole/Oye Federal Constituency, Ekiti State, said that contrary to media reports, lawmakers resolved to investigate controversial clauses in the agreement to ensure that they do not violate the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker noted that the House urged the government to engage in widespread consultations and stakeholder engagement concerning the agreement.

He said, “During the debate, concerns were raised regarding alleged clauses purportedly mandating support for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community as a prerequisite for financial and other aid from developed nations.

“Additionally, apprehensions were expressed about several specific articles within the agreement, including Articles 2.5, 29.5, 36.2, and 88, which some lawmakers believe may not align with Nigeria’s national interests and values, especially in the absence of a reservation clause.

“Rep Aliyu Sani Madaki had argued that Article 97 of the agreement, which asserts the supremacy of the agreement over any conflicting treaties involving European Union member states or the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States, potentially infringes upon Nigeria’s sovereignty.

“In response, House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere (APC, Edo) clarified that the agreement, as officially presented, does not include provisions related to a $150bn fund or any clauses promoting LGBT rights in Nigeria, contrary to public speculation.

“Emphasising the importance of parliamentary oversight, House Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) underscored the need for transparency in treaty negotiations, citing Section 12 of the Nigerian Constitution (1999, as amended), which mandates parliamentary involvement in such matters.

“It is important to clarify that the House of Representatives did not resolve to call for the suspension of the agreement nor the suspension of its implementation, as has been erroneously reported by some media houses.

“Instead, the House resolved to thoroughly scrutinise the Samoa Partnership Agreement for all contentious clauses through legislative hearings,” he said.

Former PUNCH Chairman, Chief Ajibola Ogunsola, is going to be 80 on Sunday. As someone who has worked under his management, it is fitting to take out this week to celebrate a man I have come to regard as one of my “destiny helpers.” Every story has multiple beginnings, and I will nail the start of this one down to sometime around 2008 when I joined PUNCH as a postgraduate student. I did not set out to be in journalism; it was the hand of fate that nudged me towards applying for their job when they were recruiting fresh graduates (which I was not). At the time, I had a novel titled “Under the Brown Rusted Roofs” in the works, and I thought I had my life mapped out.

I gave a copy of the published book to my then editor, Mr Steve Ayorinde, who asked me to send another to the company chairman, a proud Ibadan son. I did, and I did not think about it any further. Shortly after, Mr Ayorinde came to the newsroom to inform me that the chairman wanted to see me. My head swirled. If there is something I always try to avoid, it is attention. Depending on what is at stake, it is a good and bad habit which I do not know if I should shake off or retain. Anyway, they scheduled a time and up the stairs to his office I went with trepidation.

Anyone who has worked in PUNCH knows how much the man was feared and revered. He is a no-nonsense man with high professional standards. He brooked no sloppiness and approached any slack in quality with the sternness of a colonial-era village headmaster. In those days, he would scan a newspaper piece written by a journalist, make corrections with a red pen, put the copy in a white envelope, and address it to the writer. Even without further words, receiving that envelope would feel like your soul had been weighed and found wanting.

That day, I walked into his office with my fingers cold from the apprehension of approaching the throne of judgment, but what I met was a genial man. The first question he asked me was, “That character (in the book), was that your father?” It was an icebreaker, and from there we talked about everything else. He put me at ease, and what he did next, I can never forget. He offered to buy 100 copies of my book. It was a grand gesture.

When publishers print the first print run of your book—usually 1,000 copies—they dump a chunk with you and expect you to do part of the marketing. So, his offering to buy that many copies was a literal weight lifted off the corner of my one-bedroom apartment. But he did not stop there. He sent out those copies to people at home and abroad—prominent Ibadan people, journalists, professors, professionals and so on—whom he thought should read the book. For years afterwards, I encountered people who would tell me, “I read your book. Your chairman sent it to me.” But it still did not end there.

Months later, he sent another message asking the editor to make me (and another lady) a columnist. I thought things were going too far. If you had asked me then to list 12 things I could possibly do in this life, writing a column would not have made number 121. I had several favourite columnists, but joining their league never crossed my mind. Besides, I was new at PUNCH. Becoming a columnist would change my professional relationship with people around me.

I thought I should tell him that he had gotten things all wrong. The fact that I wrote a book he liked does not mean I could write a column. That was a different skill set (and discipline) that I simply did not have time to muster because I was already working towards graduate school abroad at the time. I would return from work late at night, start studying for the GRE examination, and leave home to pursue work again. Where was the time?

I asked to see him, and they scheduled an appointment. When I met him, I was so flustered that I botched my carefully rehearsed speech. His response was kind. When I left his office that day, it was with the resolve that I would live up to his expectations of me. Choosing someone as young and inexperienced as me was, no doubt, an “unmerited favour.” I know the term has now been bastardised, but the idea of “unmerited favour” was not that you were miscast for a role but that you represent a bankable promise. It is your responsibility to prove yourself worthy of the faith invested in you.

Starting the column was a rough ride worsened by the paralysing fear that Chief Ogunsola was somewhere upstairs, looking down and waiting to judge me. And for years, I wrote for an audience of one. The fear of letting down someone who believed I would rise to the challenge was petrifying. I waited, but the white envelope with the red pen markings never came. Good or bad, I never heard from him and that was hard.

Learning on the go meant part of your mistakes would have been published. You would learn, but you would also cringe. I did my best, supported by then editor and sister, Ayo Adesola-aderele (and later, Joel Nwokeoma). A couple of years later, the new editor, Mr Joseph Adeyeye, moved the column from the inside pages to the back page. I still wonder what he was thinking when he did that because I expected to be let go, but I was promoted instead.

After the first column was published, I received an unexpected call from Chief Ogunsola. He first congratulated me, and then brought me up to speed on the complexities of the world I was about to enter. If he had not taken that initiative, maybe my feet would have stumbled somewhere. I should also add that he sent me some money to buy a dictionary and thesaurus.

Years ago, he was in Austin, Texas, for his friend’s daughter’s graduation ceremony. During our lunch together, he happened to mention that one of the people who took over from him in one of the companies he managed told him how fearful they were that he, Chief Ogunsola, was always judging their managerial competence against his record. I stared as he explained that he understood that everyone’s tenure would be different. Then I finally confessed that I also lived with a similar fear of letting him down. ‘No, no, no,’ he said. Then he went on to tell me how proud he was of how far I had come, and that he wished me nothing but well. To think all the while, what I saw in my mind’s eye was a magistrate. It was a liberating moment for me.

Being a columnist has brought me a long way personally and professionally. I am thankful for the foresightedness of a man who thought of me beyond myself, and the guidance he supplied along the way. I have unlearned and relearned, and I am grateful for the education. If I have ever been wrong on this journey, it was with the same sincerity with which I have been right. I made mistakes, but I regret nothing. I said what I said, and I will repeat most of it. Pushing the borders of what can be said was consistent with my belief in human freedom. Yes, freedom is not freedom unless someone uses it. I have no apologies. Also, and not to be self-righteous, I do not have the sin of gluttony for “likes” or “loves.” I do not want to be loved or hated; I just want to understand and be understood.

So, to the man whose managerial acumen contributed to making me, and who supported me as I charted the path of self-discovery, I say a happy 80th birthday.