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Perhaps unknown to most Nigerians, the Nigerian government hosted its political opposition in the hallowed chambers of the Federal Executive Council last Wednesday. It was a unique opportunity to hear an opposition perspective on the current state of the nation right in the executive chambers of Aso Villa. This was in a week when Mr. Dinuba was out touring in China after sneakily authorizing a cruel increase of petrol pump prices over and above the wildest imagination. The opposition flag and message were carried by an unusual mascot: American tech billionaire and philanthropist, Mr. Bill Gates.

Escorted by Nigeria’s leading money mascot, Aliko Dangote, Bill Gates got an opportunity to literally gate crash into the Executive Council Chambers at Aso Villa where he had the rare opportunity of lecturing the entire Federal Government including Vice President Kassim Shettima and ministers. A lecture on basic development challenges ended up as an unscheduled talk on the inconvenient truths of the present times in Nigeria.

What was auspicious is not so much the presence of the two money merchants. It was rather the message that Mr. Gates had to deliver at the Aso Rock Council chambers that should interest us. Forget the fact that America’s own money men do not get to casually walk into council meetings at the White House to lecture anybody about anything. It is not usual for Gates, Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos or Warren Buffet to hike a ride and gate crash into a White House Council meeting to talk about anything. If indeed they have to make a Congressional appearance on any subject, they have to be invited by the relevant committee leadership and answer specific questions. But this is Nigeria. All anyone needs to qualify to lecture an entire Nigerian government is a trove of cash and influence either as a refinery owner or a rich technology billionaire turned philanthropist.

In any event, both Dangote and Bill Gates are familiar sights in Nigeria’s power precincts. Dangote is constantly on hand in all meetings that have to do with running a successful economy especially on matters that concern cement and petrol. Bill Gates similarly shows up ever so often in Abuja and Lagos to talk about Guinea worms or his over $2.8 billion spend on charity, especially primary healthcare, in and around Nigeria.

What is important is the message that Mr. Gates had for his unlikely audience in Abuja. I am sure that most of those there gathered must have been uneasy in their padded seats as the man delved deeper into the substance of his subject. Mr. Gates told them unkind and uncomfortable truths. His contentions were in two major areas of Nigeria’s contemporary economic and social situation: government spending priorities and tax performance.

Mr. Gates told our government people what they probably already know but dare not openly admit in the corridors of power. All is not well in the economy. Nigeria’s economy has stagnated in the last 15 years. The revenue to GDP ratio has worsened over the same period. For the first time, our debt exceeded 50% of GDP. Our government is now the third most indebted in the world with debts still climbing.

That is not all. Nigeria now has the second highest rate of food insecurity in the world with hunger ravaging more than half of the populace. Access to primary healthcare remains a mirage while out of school population has just approached 20 million. Given his preoccupation with primary healthcare in his Africa wide philanthropy projects under the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he is shocked about the average annual spend of N3,000 per citizen in Nigeria. It is of course his contention that what Nigeria needs now is attention to the basic components of development like primary healthcare, basic education and poverty alleviation.

Implicit in his elaborate presentation is an excoriating critique of the current trend and direction of priority of the Tinubu government. Implicit in Bill Gates’ well timed lecture is an outright condemnation of Mr. Tinubu’s emphasis on wasteful and luxurious government spending. Mr. Gates says it without naming it.

Nigeria ought to be sending more kids to school away from the streets, buying more medicines and medicaments for health centres and hospitals in remote places, assisting basic enterprises so that common people can find resources to meet their basic needs. Nigeria ought to be sending more hands to the farms to produce the food now urgently needed to feed millions of the hungry.

Our priority ought not to be presidential yatchs, fleets of luxury SUVs, new presidential jets, mansions and expensive junkets to literally all corners of the globe to attend inconsequential gatherings that have nothing to do with the welfare of the common Nigerian. In the latter respect, the intrinsic value of Mr. Bill Gates’s lecture to our Council of Ministers is actually in the eloquent silences of the message. He told us what we ought to prioritize and left our ministers to conclude on the wrong priorities of the government they are serving.

Within the present Nigerian political space, there exists a dialect that belongs alongside Mr. Gates’ preoccupations. In fact, Mr. Gates’s rhetoric corresponds to the outlines of the contention of the mainstream political opposition. Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party are more less saying the same things as Mr. Gates but not in aid of a philanthropic end. Indeed, the basic developmental logic of Mr. Peter Obi since after the 2023 presidential election corresponds to the kernel of Mr. Bill Gates major argument. Of course, Mr. Gates was not out on a political campaign. He was merely marketing his philanthropy. But his philanthropy is essentially a humanistic development agenda. It takes its departure from a human development perspective. Its broad contention is that Africa’s future depends on its ability to harness its resources to actualize its present human resources in the things that matter and will uplift the majority of Africans.

It has been the consistent position of Mr. Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last presidential election, that what Nigeria needs is a basic developmental strategy, not a grandiose pretentious display.  Mr. Obi has consistently harped on the need to prioritize basic development issues of primary healthcare, poverty alleviation and education. In accordance, he has taken the Tinubu government to task on its wasteful priorities of luxury, white elephant projects and highways that lead nowhere in particular.

As a way of addressing the paucity of revenue in relation to GDP, Mr. Gates used his speaking opportunity to critique Nigeria’s tax performance. In his view, Nigeria is collecting less tax than it should. Literally, Nigerians are not being taxed enough.  Or, better still, the Nigerian tax administration system is not sufficiently effective to collect all that is due to the government. The latter is more true than the former. Predictably, ordinary Nigerians who have been at the receiving end of all manner of multiple and incidental taxes have jumped on Mr. Gates on the social media to question his temerity to talk about taxation in Nigeria.

Perhaps Mr. Bill Gates does not understand the massive implicit taxation regime under which Nigerians have lived for decades. In Nigeria, the same people who pay monthly income tax, annual business tax and several other incidental taxes are also subject to several implicit taxes. Government for the provision of water, electricity, security etc taxes people. Yet, nearly every Nigerian provides his own water borehole, private electricity generator, private security guard etc. These are all services that the government taxes and levies people but does not provide any services.

On the surface, ordinary Nigerians contend that Mr. Gates cannot talk about personal income tax in Nigeria where the government taxes people without discharging the reciprocal obligation of providing social and other services. In Nigeria, we have governments at both federal state and local government levels that levy a multitude of taxes, charges, levies and tariffs without delivering the corresponding services and infrastructure.

Nigerians are unhappy that Mr. Gates would come from the United States, a country where governments account for every dollar of tax payers’ money by way of services to the people.  Yet, it would seem that Mr. Gates is more concerned about corporate and institutional taxes than personal income taxes which has little loopholes for tax avoidance since these taxes are direct charges on monthly incomes at source.

Mr. Gates of course admits the ineffectiveness of government services in Nigeria but still insists that the Nigerian government needs to find the resources to fill the gap between its current obligations and what it needs to maintain the semblance of a functioning nation state.

So far, there have been no signs from government circles that the oppositional essence of Mr. Bill Gates’s visit and address to the Federal Executive Council struck any chords within government circles. Instead, what has lingered is the war of nerves between Mr. Dangote and the NNPCL over what killer pump prices to charge Nigerians for gasoline. Implicit in that price war is yet another unstated petroleum tax whose incidence falls almost uniformly on every Nigerian who has cause to stop by the gas station in order to keep moving.

Mr. Bill Gates has delivered his message and returned to America. It was a message about a more viable alternative development strategy. I doubt that the political import has yet dawned on the Nigerian ruling class who were the immediate audience. The Nigerian opposition will keep up the Bill Gates message but they are not likely to receive the claps and ovation that Bill Gates got in Aso Rock last Wednesday. What a pity?

To further improve the standard of education, Ogun State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, has released cut-off marks for its Screening Exercise into 42 flagship secondary schools for the 2024/2025 academic session.

Commissioner in the Ministry, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, while addressing Principals of the flagship schools during a meeting in Abeokuta, explained that the cut-off marks, which vary from one school to the other, was based on learners’ performance and capacity of each school.

Prof. Arigbabu, expressed delight at the impressive performance of students in the Entrance examination, with 14,363 out of 19,691 applicants scoring above 50, representing 76.2 percent of the total score, revealing that a student from Abeokuta Grammar School had the highest score of 91.

He appreciated the principals and other stakeholders for their contributions towards the smooth conduct of the exercise, reiterating the passion of Prince Dapo Abiodun administration towards providing modern laboratories, libraries and other technological equipment in public schools across the State, especially in flagship schools.

"As a fallout of the Progressive Mathematics Initiative and Progressive Science Initiative training we organised for 750 Science Teachers in year 2023, we are providing laptops to teachers. We will also equip our schools with furniture to ensure conducive learning environment", he said.

Remarking, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs. Oluwatosin Oloko, represented by the Director of Education, Department of Secondary and Higher, Mr. Oluwole Majekodunmi, stated that the results of learners in flagship schools were encouraging due to government’s commitment to the sector.

Earlier, Director of Education, Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation, Mr. Temitope Lasilo, said the purpose of the meeting was to determine the cut-off mark for the flagship schools, towards ensuring qualified candidates gained admission and equal opportunities for the learners.

Appreciating the Commissioner for the opportunity to be part of the decision making, Principals of Remo Secondary School, Sagamu, Mr. Samuel Soneye and Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro, Mrs. Janet Hammond, on behalf of other Principals, expressed optimism that students in the state would continue to excel through government’s laudable initiatives.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner, in a meeting with the state executive of National Examination Council (NECO), led by the State Coordinator, Mrs. Bukola Alloh, at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, lauded the examination body for its consistency, saying it had become a notable option for students.

 

In Nigeria, as in many parts of the world, there is a pervasive belief among politicians and leaders that they can evade the consequences of their actions. Many corrupt leaders and bad politicians operate under the illusion that they will go unpunished, confident that their wealth, power, and influence will shield them from justice. However, this belief is rooted in a dangerous misunderstanding. It is a lie to think that they can escape divine retribution because, as the Bible consistently shows, God rules over the affairs of men. Leaders may enjoy temporary immunity from accountability, but history and scripture prove that no one escapes the judgment of God.

The Bible is clear on one foundational truth: God governs the world, including the rise and fall of leaders. Daniel 4:17 reminds us, "The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He will." This verse makes it abundantly clear that no leader is beyond the reach of God's will, and none can rule without divine oversight. Leaders may think they are untouchable, but their reign is allowed by God for reasons only He knows, and they are ultimately accountable to Him.

In Nigeria, the failure to acknowledge God’s supreme rule is at the heart of many leadership crises. Politicians amass wealth through corrupt practices, impoverishing the masses while living lavishly. Some believe they are immune to any form of accountability, both from the people and from God. But this mindset is a gross misunderstanding of the workings of divine justice. Proverbs 16:4 says, "The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble." Leaders may rule corruptly for a time, but they are unwittingly fulfilling a purpose that will culminate in their reckoning.

A closer look at the Bible offers examples of leaders who believed they could escape judgment, only to face the inevitable consequences of their actions. Take the story of King Nebuchadnezzar, a powerful ruler who thought he was invincible. He became prideful and believed his kingdom was built by his own might. God swiftly humbled him, making him live like an animal in the wilderness until he acknowledged that "the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth" (Daniel 4:25). Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way that no leader is above God's rule.

Similarly, in the New Testament, King Herod Agrippa, puffed up by pride, accepted praise from the people who claimed his voice was that of a god and not a man. Acts 12:23 recounts his downfall: "Immediately, an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died." Herod’s arrogance led to his swift and humiliating demise, proving once again that God rules overall and no leader can escape His judgment.

Leaders today, particularly those in Nigeria, should take heed of these lessons. The belief that they can go unpunished for corrupt governance and the oppression of their people is a grave misconception. It is true that some may seem to thrive in their corruption for years, even decades, but the wheels of divine justice turn in God’s timing, not ours.

Psalm 37:1-2 offers encouragement to those who feel disheartened by the apparent success of corrupt leaders: "Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away." Though justice may seem delayed, it is inevitable.

In Nigeria, where leaders frequently enrich themselves while leaving the people in poverty, the temptation to believe that corrupt politicians will go unpunished is understandable. But scripture reassures us that no one, no matter how powerful, is beyond divine judgment. Even if their downfall is not immediate, it is certain.

God’s timing often frustrates human expectations. As Ecclesiastes 8:11 notes, "When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people's hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong." This is true in Nigeria today, where the slow pace of justice encourages more corruption. But while human justice may falter, God’s justice is sure. No leader can outrun His judgment, though they may prosper for a time.

In fact, God often allows tyrants and corrupt leaders to rise for specific reasons. As seen in the story of Pharaoh in Egypt, God hardened his heart and allowed him to rule oppressively to demonstrate His power through the liberation of the Israelites. But Pharaoh’s end came swiftly and decisively when God’s judgment finally fell upon him (Exodus 14:28). Leaders like Pharaoh may seem invincible for a time, but God’s purpose will always prevail.

To think that any leader who rules with cruelty and impoverishes the people will go unpunished is to deny the sovereign rule of God tantamount to foolhardiness. Scripture offers numerous examples of leaders who thought they could escape divine judgment, only to meet their end in humiliating or tragic ways. Nigerian politicians should take heed: no amount of power, wealth, or influence can shield them from God's justice.

As Psalm 75:7 reminds us, "It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another." The belief that corrupt leadership can persist without consequence is a dangerous and false notion. While the people may suffer under bad leadership for a time, justice, whether divine or through the course of history, will eventually prevail. Leaders, particularly those in Nigeria, would do well to remember that they rule not by their own might, but by the grace of God, and they are ultimately accountable to Him.

Sunday, 08 September 2024 07:14

NUC Resource Verification Team Visits PSI

A team of experts from the National Universities Commission (NUC), led by the Ag Executive Secretary, Dr Chris Maiyaki, was on Friday September 6, 2024, hosted by the management staff of the Psycho-Spiritual Institute of Lux Terra Leadership Foundation, and representatives of the Veritas University, Abuja, Senate, in what was the final stage in the due diligence processes of the agency, towards the legal recognition and approval of the offering in Nigeria, of the two postgraduate programmes of the Institute. These are: the Postgraduate diploma in Psycho-Spiritual Trauma Healing, and the Master of Art's degree in Psycho-Spiritual Therapy. Earlier in April, 2024, an affiliation agreement was signed by the Institute with Veritas University, Abuja, for the award of the degrees in Nigeria.

It will be recalled that the first campus of the Psycho-Spiritual Institute was established in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2013, and it was affiliated to the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in 2014. The Psycho-Spiritual Therapy and Counselling programme was subsequently accredited by the Kenyan Commission for University Education (CUE). In the 11 years of its existence, the Institute has trained over 150 experts from up to 27 different African countries, in Psycho-Spiritual Therapy and Counselling.

It is hoped that with this new development, the campus in Abuja will join the Nairobi campus in training and equipping not only pastoral agents, but also many professionals in the humanitarian services, as well as sundry volunteers, who will help facilitate integral healing, wholeness, growth and transformation, in the many individuals, families and groups across the continent of Africa, who are today suffering from psycho-trauma, depression, confusion, burn-out, midlife crisis, family dysfunction, grieving disorders, addictive disorders, including addiction to alcohol and psycho-active substances, and suicide ideation.

Graduates of the Psycho-Spiritual Therapy programme will be equipped to work as spiritual directors, counsellors, and chaplains, in formation houses, hospitals, hospices, drug rehabilitation centres, correctional centres, as well as schools, colleges and universities.

The Psycho-Spiritual Institute is the pioneering initiative of Lux Terra Leadership Foundation, which is aimed at the wholesome integration of the tools and approaches of modern Psychological Sciences, with the rich resources of the Soul Care tradition of the Christian Church, in the training of experts and volunteers for mental health care, within the African socio-cultural and religious context.

See pictures below...

The Forum of Southeast Academic Doctors (FOSAD) has expressed its dismay at the content of the 50th Inaugural Lecture, titled "The Igbo Factor in the History of Intergroup Relations and Commerce in Kano: Opportunities and Challenges Revisited," recently delivered by Professor Ahmed Bako at the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto (UDUS). According to the group, Professor Bako misrepresented historical facts at various points in his lecture, and also engaged in typical Igbo profiling, teasing a xenophobic position that negates the integrative spirit of the Nigerian constitution.

As an academic advocacy group in part dedicated to understanding the diverse peoples of Nigeria and the broader tapestry of Nigerian history, FOSAD says it had looked forward with great interest when Professor Bako's impending lecture was announced. The group says it had expected that, as a professional historian, the professor would present the history of Igbos in Kano - and their broader history in northern Nigeria - with depth and dispassion.

To be fair to Professor Bako, FOSAD says, he met the expectation to a degree at various points in his presentation. Citing credible scholarly sources, according to the group, Professor Bako correctly historicized the impetus behind Igbo emigration to other parts of colonial and post-colonial Nigeria.

FOSAD also says the professor correctly portrayed the enterprising nature of the Igbos who left their homeland over a hundred years ago to take advantage of opportunities presented in the colonial administration of Kano and other parts of the North.

Despite this incontestable historiography, FOSAD says Professor Bako - for reasons it cannot fathom - advanced some arguments that are not supported by historical evidence or contemporary fact.

One of the controversial and historically dubious claims made by Professor Bako, according to FOSAD, is his statement that Igbos set out in the colonial era to dominate Nigeria. As the professor put it in his lecture: "The Igbo in actual fact from the 1950s started sending their sons and daughters to Europe and America for higher education; all with the hope of eventual domination of the country; not necessarily for developing it for the benefit of the nation." FOSAD says this is a provocative and historically inaccurate statement which calumniates the Igbos and misconstrues their legitimate attempt to compete in colonial and post-colonial Nigeria.

The academic group disputes the claim that Igbos ever sought to dominate Nigeria, pointing out that Professor Bako never provided historical evidence to back up his controversial assertion. The group also says that Igbos are known to invest in and improve any locality where they are domiciled, sometimes even at the expense of their homeland.

FOSAD disputes Professor Bako's statement that Igbo traders, with their supposedly aggressive trade practices and insular trade groups, displaced indigenous traders in Kano or anywhere else in the colonial and post-colonial North. The group recalls many collaborative ventures between Igbos and indigenous people of Kano and elsewhere in the North, and argues that the more than century-old sojourn of Igbos in northern Nigeria would not be possible with the alleged Igbo aggressiveness.

The group also points to the successful settlement of northerners in parts of Igboland which continues to this day, despite the terrorisation of Igboland by Islamic bandits and militant cattle herders from the North.

Similarly, FOSAD decries Professor Bako's silence on events that led to the Nigerian civil war, his selective account of the devastations and after-effects of the war, and his rather rosy depiction of the post-war policy of indigenisation which short-changed the Igbos but, in his recounting, was depicted as entirely beneficial to them. Professor Bako broached the issue of Igbo dispossession through the "abandoned property" saga; but nowhere in his historiography, according to FOSAD, was there a mention of the grim prospects faced by Igbos who had to scratch up a new existence in post-war Nigeria with the £20 given to them whatever their pre-war bank account balance.

According to FOSAD, the most vexatious part of Professor Bako's lecture is his suggestion that Igbos self-marginalized themselves in the Nigerian political arena by focusing almost exclusively on commercial and mercantile pursuits in the post-war period. This couldn't be further from the truth, FOSAD says, as Igbos have fully participated in the politics of the country, despite the fact that there has yet to emerge - fifty-four years after the civil war - a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction.

In this regard, FOSAD says it strongly condemns Professor Bako's labeling of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, a socio-cultural organization seeking to promote Igbo unity and interests in Nigeria, as a secessionist outfit. Although the professor disclaimed an interest in contemporary politics, he nonetheless made a pointed reference to "current contestations on the question of power shift as well as agitations for separation by Igbo political platforms such as the IPOB, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide and other Igbo separatist groups." FOSAD says this is a gross mischaracterisaton of Ohanaeze's - and, by extension, broader Igbo - political outlook.

The academic group says this is more worrying given that Professor Bako concluded by saying he hoped his lecture "generates greater interest in the history of Igbo Diaspora in different parts of the country," and that the lecture was delivered for "the northern elites to know what actually happened so that necessary arrangements are made."

FOSAD says it wonders why an academic of Professor Bako's standing should be wondering whether Igbos would ever depart northern Nigeria, despite the integrative aspiration of the Nigerian constitution (1999) which at Section 41(1) provides that "Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereby or exit therefrom."

FOSAD calls on all Nigerians to celebrate their shared citizenship, and to embrace their common interest in building a great country which could become the pride of Africa and beacon of Black civilization.

FOSAD Research & Documentation Team:
Dr Chudi Okoye
Dr Marcel Mbamalu
Dr Chris Belonwu

Signed
Dr Stephen Nwala, FOSAD President

Dr Uzor Ngoladi, FOSAD, Secretary General www.fosads.org

It took me less than one hour into President Bola Tinubu’s administration to spot a giant red flag. His famous words at the inauguration, “subsidy is gone”, instantly set off an alarm in my head. In my article on it, ‘Why (Most) Nigerians Oppose Subsidy Removal’ (June 4, 2023), I wrote: “With all of Tinubu’s experience in government, I thought a presidential pronouncement on such a very sensitive and emotive topic could have been better managed.” My worry, on hearing his declaration, was that it lacked strategic thinking and it was going to create chaos everywhere as there would be panic buying. Little did I know that chaos was going to be the core administrative model of his government.

To start with, President Muhammadu Buhari budgeted for petrol subsidy for only the first half of the year. It went without saying that from July 2023, subsidy would be gone — unless his successor decided to retain it. Why, then, was Tinubu in a hurry to announce the death of subsidy one full month ahead of schedule? The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, aka NNPCL, quickly issued a statement to “clarify” that the announcement would take effect from July, but it was a waste of time. That would only lead to hoarding and hardship. A couple of days later, NNPCL announced a new price of N488/litre in Lagos, up from N185. In other parts of Nigeria, it was as high as N557.

When Tinubu made the ill-advised Eagle Square declaration, the price of crude oil was $75/barrel and the FX rate was N463/$. In June 2023, when the pump price of petrol was adjusted, I understand that the base assumption was an exchange rate of N600/$ — thereby creating some wriggle room in case of depreciation of the naira. Two weeks later, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) decided to float the naira in its “willing buyer willing seller” policy which — as overly optimistic projections go — was supposed to stimulate the inflow of billions of dollars into the economy, undercut the black market and stabilise the naira around N650/$ at most. The poorly managed float ended up killing the naira.

In July 2023, the theory and practical of floating parted ways as the naira started spinning out of control, hitting N800/$. The Tinubu administration reacted by increasing petrol price to about N600. Thereafter, the naira went fully naked in the FX market, crossing the N1,000/$ mark in September 2023 and racing towards N2,000/$. To make matters worse, oil went up to $93/barrel. However, petrol price remained unchanged. Shockingly, the government and NNPCL insisted there was no subsidy. By the end of August 2024, the FX rate was about N1,600/$ and oil was close to $80/barrel, but petrol remained N617. Amazingly, NNPCL kept saying there was no subsidy, just “a shortfall”.

 

Alhaji Umar Ajiya, the chief financial officer (CFO) of the NNPCL, added some comedy to the tragedy, saying: “What has been happening is that we have been importing PMS, which has been landing at a specific cost price, and the government tells us to sell it at half price. So, the difference between the landing price and that half price is a shortfall.” Ajiya was only doing what NNPCL historically does: pulling the wool over our eyes. Now that NNPCL has adjusted petrol price to around N855/litre, we are still being told government does not fix the prices, that the market has been “fully” deregulated and it is the market forces that are at work, or at play — a barefaced lie that will go unpunished.

Before the latest price hike, NNPC was buying petrol at N1,200 and selling at N600. To cover the “PMS shortfall” from January to July 2024 alone, NNPC forked out N4.2 trillion. By December 2024, we will have spent about N8 trillion on “PMS shortfall” for this year alone — money that should have otherwise been shared by the federating units. Even if we (expectedly) steal or waste 50 percent of it, there will still be some N4 trillion left to spend on education, roads, health, water, etc. As our forefathers would say, “at all at all na him bad pass”. That is, half a loaf is better than none. The reality is that we have been subsidising petrol consumption since most probably August last year.

Nigerians have been very patient with Tinubu but it appears he does not appreciate this. He would do well to come clean on this subsidy issue. The starting point is the need for conceptual clarity. What exactly is he trying to do? Is he increasing petrol price to reduce the subsidy bill? Or is he trying to generate more revenue from the sale of petrol? When he says “subsidy is gone”, is he deregulating the pricing so that any marketer can buy petrol and sell at a price that covers the cost and provides a profit margin — as the case has been with diesel for decades? Or is he just making a political statement for the cameras? Until we know what he is doing, we cannot have a meaningful debate.

 

Secondly, it is very clear that there was no preparation for this policy. There was a lack of proper thinking — and this should be surprising for someone who said what he wanted in his life was to be president. You would think he had developed a solid blueprint over the years, but the impression I keep getting from the day he was sworn in till now is that he has been doing things on an ad-hoc basis. For a major issue like the pricing of petrol, you would have expected scenario painting. If the cost of petrol per litre is x, are we going to sell at x plus profit? Or are we going to modulate the price? Where will funding come from? Floating the naira after removing the subsidy was so reckless.

Thirdly, the lack of transparency in the whole game is so irritating. Why is Tinubu playing games? While NNPCL and Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum, were busy playing with words on the latest petrol price hike and saying it was all about market forces, Tinubu was saying in faraway China that the increase was because he had to take “hard decisions” for the sake of Nigeria’s development. Don’t they have a WhatsApp group where they can co-ordinate what they tell Nigerians? In any case, “subsidy scam” was one of the catch phrases the APC used to oust the PDP in 2015. Buhari famously asked: “Who is subsidising whom?” It is now an albatross around APC’s neck.

On assuming power and seeing the reality of subsidy in 2015, the first APC administration resorted to semantic sophistication, preferring to call it “cost under recovery” — as if that would solve any problem. They belatedly ended the denial by finally calling a spade a spade. The second APC administration, headed by Tinubu, has rebranded subsidy as “shortfall”. Subsidy denial amounts to lying to your doctor about your illness. Obviously, the denial is also an ego thing. Tinubu, who reputably tamed the Atlantic Ocean, is also celebrated as having slain the subsidy dragon, thereby doing what Napoleon — and all previous Nigerian leaders — could not do. So why burst his bubble?

I know that petrol has been regarded as the most important product in Nigeria and issues around its pricing are tricky. Diesel pricing is free of government control and we have moved on with our lives. Same for kerosene and Jet-A fuel. The labour unions have never called a strike over diesel price, even though a large chunk of inter-state transport is by luxury buses which run on diesel. Most goods — foodstuffs, equipment, etc — are moved across the country by trucks and trailers running on diesel. Medium to large-scale businesses run on diesel. All these impact on the cost of living. Diesel was N700 when Tinubu came in and is now N1,300 or thereabout, but there are no calls for strike.

 

Why always petrol? I asked a senior friend last week and he reasoned that it was because it is one product that affects the life of every Nigerian. Really? More than the prices of garri, rice, yam, maize, tomato and beans? I have never heard that anybody went on strike because of rising prices of yam or rice. Does that mean Nigerians consider petrol to be more important than food? I don’t think so. My conclusion, which may be tenuous, is that we think, rightly or wrongly, that petrol is “government property”. Therefore, government should take sole responsibility for the pricing in the interest of Nigerians, whether or not it can afford the bill. We classify petrol as a socio-political commodity.

Early 2023, when petrol was N185 in Lagos, I told a filling station attendant that I had just returned from Ghana where a litre was about N700. He replied: “But their government is doing something for them. Fuel subsidy is the only thing we enjoy in Nigeria.” His sense was that Ghana was spending the revenue from petrol on its citizens. I wanted to explain to him that the Ghanaian government does not sell petrol, that it is purely the business of private companies, but courage failed me. Petrol price in Ghana is determined like the price of yam: how much did I buy it? How much did I transport it? How much will I sell to make a margin? We have been unable to achieve this in Nigeria since 1986.

I don’t know who brought up this idea that with Dangote Refinery, petrol would be cheap because it is locally refined. How? The major cost input is crude oil. If crude oil goes for $80/barrel, products cannot be cheap — except we subsidise the crude. A benefit of local refining is the elimination of shipping cost, which does not amount to much. Shipping is the cheapest form of cargo transport across the globe. The biggest benefit of local refining is that we would conserve the FX we spend on fuel imports. The downside, though, is that if we sell crude in naira, we will lose the opportunity to earn FX from oil exports and that could further hurt the naira. Every policy comes with a trade-off.

In the final analysis, whatever we do with petrol subsidy, there will be repercussions. We remove it, Nigerians will suffer but the treasury will suffer less. We retain it, Nigerians will suffer less but the treasury will suffer more. Know that, know peace. It is for the government to weigh its options. But this administration has been disingenuous. They should come out and tell us the truth with their chest. They should lay bare their thinking. Do you want to treat petrol as a socio-political commodity? Do they want to truly deregulate? Why play games? In 2024 — over 180 years after education came to Nigeria — we are still being treated as a colony of ignoramuses. It is what it is.

 

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…

GUTTER POLITICS

If you have been following the campaigns in Edo state ahead of the 2024 governorship election, you would be forgiven for thinking the most important issues are marital status and child-bearing. The PDP went on a campaign of taunting two of the leading candidates for being single or unmarried, while Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC) went completely into the gutter by saying the incumbent governor and his wife are childless. How low can Nigerian politicians go in the struggle for power which, more often than not, is for the ultimate goal of personal aggrandisement and not the progress of the society? Unfortunately, their supporters will defend (or try to justify) the nonsense. Tasteless.

 

HATE SPACE

Canadian police authorities have arrested a 46-year-old Nigerian woman who allegedly made a hate speech — to the extent of vowing to poison the meals of people from some ethnic groups. The cyber space is full of hate speech but while Western countries are arresting and prosecuting the perpetrators, Nigerian authorities appear to be more interested in fighting personal battles for politicians and other VIPs over “cyber stalking” and “defamation”. They must also crack down on those cowards stoking ethnic and religious hate on social media. These characters think they can post whatever they like and go scot-free. They are a clear and present danger to this society. Action.

 

CYBER CRIMINALS

Other forms of cybercrime that are not taken seriously in Nigeria are sextortion and revenge porn. Two Nigerian brothers have just been sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison by a US court for sextortion. Samuel and Samson Ogoshi, 24 and 21 years old respectively, lured Jordan DeMay, a young American boy, to send them nude pictures, pretending to be a girl. They then threatened to spread the images except he sent them money. The boy sent all he could and threatened to kill himself, to which the criminals said he should go ahead. DeMay committed suicide immediately. It’s good Nigerian authorities helped with investigation but they need to be doing more at home. Tragic.

 

NO COMMENT

Prof. Tahir Mamman, minister of education, recently tried to get JAMB to bar students less than 18 years old from writing the UTME. After the uproar, Dr. Tanko Sununu, his minister of state, has come out to “clarify” the matter. “People just pick up some remarks the minister made, misinterpreted the statements to imply that age restriction has been placed for WAEC and NECO examinations,” he said. “What we have been mentioning was the entry age for university — candidates sitting for the UTME.” That is, you can write the senior school exam if you like but you can’t write the UTME until you are 18. The glaring difference between six and half a dozen. What a clarification! Wonderful.

Aryna Sabalenka is the queen of the hard court. 

No. 2 seed Sabalenka defeated No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in the U.S. Open women’s final on Saturday in New York City to secure her first U.S. Open title and her third career major overall, all on the hard court. It was a moment of redemption for Sabalenka, who was the runner-up of last year's U.S. Open.

“I’m speechless right now because so many times I thought I was so close to getting a U.S. Open title," Sabalenka said after her win. "It’s always been a dream of mine and finally I got this beautiful trophy and it means a lot."

The Belarusian dropped to the court on Arthur Ashe Stadium after winning championship point against the American Pegula, who was competing in her first career Grand Slam final. Sabalenka's 2024 U.S. Open title joins her back-to-back Australian Open wins (2023, 2024).

"I’m super proud of myself," added Sabalenka, who will take home $3.6 million in prize money. "I never say that, but I’m proud of myself and my team."

Sabalenka looked like she was going to run away with the first set. After dropping her serve, Sablenka won five games straight to take a 5-2 lead. Sabalenka had the opportunity to close out the first set on serve, but her service game faltered and a double fault and number of unforced errors led to Pegula breaking, 5-4. Pegula tied it up 5-5 after holding her serve, but Sabalenka jumped back in front 6-5 after a 14-point service game. Sabalenka went on to take the first set, 7-5. 

It was a moment of déjà vu. Sabalenka had a one set lead over American Coco Gauff in last year's U.S. Open final, before she gave up two straight sets and the championship. The Belarusian wasn't going to let that happen this time around.

Sabalenka carried her momentum into the second set and quickly went up 3-0, but Pegula came back and won five consecutive games to take the lead 5-3. Sabalenka answered back with a break of her own to tie it up at 5-5. She easily held serve to go up 6-5 and broke Pegula again for the U.S. Open title.

"In that second set, I honestly was just praying... I was praying on getting this win," Sabalenka said. She turned to Pegula and said her time is coming: "I know how tough it is to lose in the finals, but you showed some amazing tennis. I’m more than sure that one day you are going to get one."

Pegula will pocket $1.8 million as the runner-up.

Aryna Sabalenka's path to US Open championship

Tournament's No. 2 seed

  • 1st round: Defeated Priscilla Hon 6-3, 6-3
  • 2nd round: Defeated Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 6-1
  • 3rd round: Defeated (29) Ekaterina Alexandrova 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
  • 4th round: Defeated (33) Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-4
  • Quarterfinals: Defeated (7) Qinwen Zheng 6-1, 6-2
  • Semifinals: Defeated (13) Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) 
  • Final: Defeated (6) Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5
 
 [usatoday]
 

The Presidency on Saturday said it has received the memo from the Spokesman for the President, Ajuri Ngelale, to proceeded on an indefinite leave of absence due to personal and health-related reasons.

This was disclosed in a statement shared on the X handle of the Presidency, @NGRPresident, and that of the Nigerian Television Authority, @NTANewsNow, on Saturday night.

Unlike previous statements by the Presidency, it was not signed by any official as it simply indicated “The Presidency” as the signatory.

It read in part,“The President has received the memo from Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity and Official Spokesperson of the President as well as Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action, informing of his decision to proceed on an indefinite leave of absence for personal and health reasons.”

 

Ajuri had earlier announced his decision to step down from his roles within the Presidency citing family related reasons.

In the statement, the President Bola Tinubu extended his heartfelt prayers to Ngelale and his family, wishing him a swift recovery and a complete return to good health.

 

The President also took the opportunity to acknowledge Ngelale’s tireless service to the nation, especially his remarkable contributions in advancing national discourse and spearheading critical initiatives such as climate action.

“The President recognizes Chief Ngelale’s dedication and thanks him for his efforts in various capacities,” the statement read

The Presidency further requested that the privacy of Ngelale and his family be respected during this challenging period.

Ngelale was appointed as Tinubu’s spokesman on July 31, 2023.

On 19 May 2024, was the first Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

[Punch]

Saturday, 07 September 2024 21:45

Segun Odegbami: Vigil for the Super Eagles!

Todsy, the Super Eagles of Nigeria play against the Cheetahs of Benin Republic in one of the group qualification matches for the African Cup of Nations 2015.

The match will be played on home ground in Uyo, the only venue approved by FIFA as suitable for Nigeria’s Grade A international football matches. That speaks volumes.

Uyo is a venue with excellent facilities but that holds mixed fortunes for the national team. The beautiful modern city in the heart of Nigeria’s remaining rainforest area has hosted as many matches that have been lost as have also been won. It is a home ground that does not play out as one. Gone are the days when the home ground of the national team was described as ‘an abbatoir’ where visiting teams are ‘slaughtered’ on the hallowed turf of the ‘main-bowl’.

 

The Uyo Township Stadium is seen these days, particularly by visiting teams, as a neutral ground where they can come and stretch the patience of fanatical Nigerian fans. They do not fear coming there to play anymore. The myth of Nigeria’s invincibility at home has been broken, so, winning for the Super Eagles has become psychologically more difficult.

So, as they line out today, for the first time ever, Nigerians lack the usual confidence that their beloved Super Eagles will trounce the Cheetahs, a team that was Nigeria’s whipping boy for all the decades since football between both nations began. It used to be unthinkable that Nigeria could ever lose a football match to Benin Republic. If things were done correctly by Nigerian football administrators, both teams should never belong to the same planet of football. Haba.

Even today, the Cheetahs parade Nigerian players that fail to make the cut of the third-eleven of the Nigerian national team, yet they only have to stroll across the border at Seme, simply and easily change their nationality, and start to play for Benin Republic. These are some of the players that now constitute a real threat to the Super Eagles. This Saturday, they are coming, led by an aggrieved foreign coach, to attempt to terminate Nigeria’s shaky march to Morocco 2025.

The Cheetahs have become a real threat to Nigeria’s ambitions.

The Cheetahs are led by a man with an axe to grind with Nigeria. Gernot Rohr, a German, handled the Super Eagles longer than any coach since Clemens Westerhof in Nigeria’s football history.

At the end of his last contract, for not winning anything and for his team not being convincingly impressive. His contract was not renewed. He left angrily. A segment of the Nigerian media, particularly one suspiciously benefitting from his generosity or presence, somehow, supported and promoted his re-engagement by the Nigerian Football Federation and failed. Meanwhile, the NFF were under pressure from the people to win anything, even pako (wood), but they failed to do so. Reason prevailed, however, and Gernot Rohr was asked to leave. Since then, Rohr has been on a revenge mission.

The elements must have been enjoying the drama and stretched it further with the present plot where a once-rejected coach lies in the other path of Nigeria’s qualification.

He has won Round One on neutral ground in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire in a humiliating and convincing defeat of the former ‘giant’ of African football, a team that has diminished in stature and reputation and become vulnerable on home ground, threatened by all teams now, small or big, in African football.

Some analysts credit former minnows in Africa football with developing their football and earning their new place as worthy challengers on the continent. My truth, however, is that it is Nigeria’s decline at all levels of development (excluding female football), and a reflection of the state of the country itself.

The Super Eagles have lost the stronger feathers in their wings!

AFCON 2023, for a period of one month, showed glimpses of interesting possibilities and potential for greatness, but since then, the team has returned to their flightless nature of the past decade.

So, as the match today approaches, sadly, Nigerians are not brimming with their usual confidence. And that includes me. That’s why, also, the build-up to the match has been ‘humble’ and uninspiring. Expectations have been limited. This is reflected even in the team’s build up.

Without a coach until one week ago, the composition of the Super Eagles, as team of players, has not changed significantly from the team that inspired Nigerians at AFCON 2023, and dampened their spirit since then.

More or less, the same set of players are back in it. Captain William Troost-Ekong has fully recovered from a major injury and surgery, but has not played for the national team since February.

Africa’s current Player of the Year, Victor Osimhen, did not play the last set of matches with the Super Eaglesincluding the one against Benin Republic. His state of mind will be a big factor in his performance. It may either weigh him down, or be a source of challenge to prove that his absence was a factor in Nigeria’s loss. He has also been embroiled in several controversies, all of them psychologically dampening. These include his spat with the last coach of the Super Eagles, Finidi George, issues with his coach at Napoli, and issues around his end-of-season transfer saga, a very poor advertisement for his management, and a huge distraction for any meaningful preparation for this match in Uyo.

Victor is the last player to arrive at the Uyo camp with only 24 hours to train with the team for the first time since February. To start him in the line-up will even be a big gamble for coach Eguavoen who is handling the team without earning the right to do so.

Until a few days ago, the team did not have a preferred coach. In fact the team has not had a permanent coach since the team’s relative success at AFCON in February. In the period after then till now, there have been 3 different unsuccessful coaches that handled the team, including the man now saddled once again to do so on a temporary basis for the next two matches over a period of one week.

I feel sorry for Augustine Eguavoen. He is making his 4th appearance at the helm. Yet, he fails till now to secure the people’s confidence. He could neither negotiate nor reject an assignment that is laden with ‘poison’.

Should he ‘fail’ again, he would surely carry the can of responsibility. Should he succeed, his employers are already searching for a foreign successor. So, he has little motivation beyond self to deliver victory.

Finally, he is saddled with assistants that are untested ‘rookies’ in international football. How will the megastars in Super Eagles relate with these local handlers without their level of exposure and experience in playing or even coaching?

That’s the setting for the match this weekend in Uyo.

For once, I shall join in the night vigil for the Super Eagles.

I hope that, somehow, they find the motivation, inspiration and good fortune to inject some rhythm into their game, play with patience, be clinical in front of goal when the rare chances come their way, and win this match for all Nigerians.

Victory will provide a launch pad for hope and better performances ahead for the rest of their campaigns for qualification for AFCON 2025, and the FIFA 2026 World Cup.

I wish the Super Eagles the best of luck today.

 

 Mr Bonu Solomon, the lawmaker representing Badagry Constituency 1, Lagos State House of Assembly, has appealed to residents of Badagry communities to pay their electricity bills regularly.

Solomon appealed shortly after the restoration of the electricity supply to some communities in Badagry after almost two years of disconnection from the national grid.

He urged the residents of the affected communities to always pay their bills to avoid being disconnected again.

 

“We give thanks to God as EKEDC has successfully energised and illuminated our communities.

“I encourage all residents to acquire prepaid meters to prevent future complications.

“Prompt payment of electricity bills will guarantee a steady and reliable power supply directly to your homes,” he said.

Solomon commended the residents for allowing peace to reign in the communities during the outage.

“I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the community for choosing peace and allowing us to resolve this issue harmoniously.

“I am grateful for the trust and support you have shown me.

“Please ensure timely payment of your bills to enjoy uninterrupted electricity services,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on May 9, some Badagry communities had lamented the prolonged power outage of over 18 months in the area by the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC).

The communities affected by the outage include Jegba Quarters, Posikoh, Huntoh, Farakoh, Igbaho and Awahjigoh.

Mr Arowolo Lukuman, the Chairman of the Electricity Committee of the area, said the outage, which occurred on Oct. 22, 2022, was due to a fault on a transformer.

He said the outage had paralysed the economic and social activities of their communities.

[Vanguard]