The seemingly intractable conflict in Africa’s volatile Great Lakes region, sparked by the Rwandan genocide 30 years ago, is raging anew, as local and foreign-backed forces plunder the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s vast mineral deposits. Resolving the crisis will require close coordination among regional and external actors.

LAGOS – Violence is once again surging in Africa’s volatile Great Lakes region. This month marks the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide that left 800,000 people dead and another two million displaced. These refugees fled into the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which became the epicenter of an increasingly intractable conflict – what some now call Africa’s Thirty Years’ War.

Since the ouster of the kleptocratic dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997, successive DRC governments have been unable to secure the country’s borders and govern large areas in its east, where about six million people have been killed and another seven million internally displaced. The lawlessness of this vast territory has enabled local and foreign-backed forces’ systemic looting – especially in recent years – of the DRC’s large deposits of cobalt, coltan, copper, gold, diamonds, and other minerals.

African regional bodies, external powers, and the United Nations – which has deployed peacekeeping missions in the DRC for 25 years – have failed to curb the violence. To prevent an escalation, and ultimately end the conflict, the DRC’s domestic, regional, and international interlocutors must understand the complex dynamics at work.

At the heart of the current crisis are severe tensions between the DRC and Rwanda, whose autocratic president, Paul Kagame, is expected to extend his almost quarter-century rule in July’s election. Kagame has accused the DRC government of supporting genocidal Hutu militias, seeking to expel Congolese Tutsis, and refusing to negotiate an end to the fighting. The DRC, meanwhile, has rejected talks with the March 23 Movement (M23), a Rwanda-backed rebel group in eastern Congo, and called on Kagame to withdraw Rwandan troops from the DRC and demobilize the M23.

Neighboring Uganda and Burundi have played a more ambiguous role in the conflict. Both are accused (as is Rwanda) of smuggling gold and other resources out of the DRC. But, despite its uneasy truce with Rwanda, the Ugandan government has launched a joint operation with the DRC against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamic extremist group operating in both countries. Burundi has accused Rwanda of supporting Burundian rebels in eastern Congo and recently sent troops to the region under a bilateral agreement with the DRC government.

Exacerbating the dire situation in the mineral-rich eastern provinces of Kivu and Ituri are the widespread human-rights abuses committed by the Congolese army and some Mai-Mai (local self-defense forces) vigilantes. And this is to say nothing of the more than 100 militias that operate in the region. Last year alone, these armed groups displaced one million people. In February, violent clashes broke out as the M23 surrounded the large city of Goma, North Kivu’s capital. The ADF and the Coopérative pour le développement du Congo (CODECO) have reportedly killed hundreds and committed acts of sexual violence.

Peacemaking efforts in the Great Lakes are equally complicated. In 2022, Félix Tshisekedi, the erratic Congolese president, brought in peacekeepers from the East African Community (Burundi, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda), of which it is also a member, before criticizing their unwillingness to fight the M23 and engineering their departure. Then, last December, Tshisekedi invited in a Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission – comprising 2,900 troops from Malawi, South Africa, and Tanzania – despite vociferous opposition from Rwanda. But the SADC peacekeepers are unlikely to engage in a full-scale war with Rwanda and the M23, which is what Tshisekedi ultimately wants. Moreover, the recent deaths of two South African soldiers in the DRC has caused alarm among South African policymakers.

Worryingly, the UN peacekeeping mission is set to withdraw from the DRC, at the request of the Congolese government, by the end of 2024. The three African members currently on the UN Security Council – Algeria, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone – are working closely with Guyana to ensure continued financial and logistical support for the SADC mission, while cautioning the UN against leaving a “security vacuum” in the DRC.

Foreign governments are also active in the Great Lakes region. The United States, which was instrumental in halting the M23’s march toward Goma in 2013 by withholding aid from Rwanda, has recently sought to mediate between the DRC and Rwanda. It has also taken a tougher stance toward Rwanda in recent years, suspending military assistance, urging the country to withdraw troops and surface-to-air missiles from the DRC, and condemning its support for the M23. Equally important, the US has questioned Rwanda’s contributions to UN peacekeeping efforts in the Central African Republic and South Sudan, which Rwanda often uses to deflect pressure from its actions in the DRC.

Self-interest has motivated most other foreign powers. Despite partly echoing America’s criticisms, France has increased its financial support for Rwanda, which has deployed 2,500 troops to Mozambique to protect a gas-processing plant owned by French oil giant TotalEnergies from local insurgents. In February, the European Union signed a memorandum of understanding with Rwanda for the exploitation of critical minerals (despite its plundering of the DRC’s resources), incurring the wrath of Congolese officials. China, with which the EU is competing for raw materials, has invested heavily in the DRC’s cobalt sector.

Resolving the Great Lakes crisis will require coordination among regional and external actors. Western countries must condition aid to Rwanda on its withdrawal of troops from the eastern DRC and its ending support for the M23. Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi should also face severe consequences for the looting and illicit trafficking of the DRC’s minerals. Lastly, Rwanda’s role in UN peacekeeping missions must be scaled down substantially.

Domestically, the DRC must tackle widespread corruption, improve democratic governance, and rein in genocidal forces and Western mercenaries. And the African Union should bridge the gaps in peacemaking efforts, including by bolstering the SADC mission so that it can work more closely with UN peacekeepers. But most importantly, the UN must avoid a hasty, ill-planned withdrawal from what Secretary-General António Guterres has rightly described as “a protracted and largely neglected humanitarian crisis.”

The newest issue of our magazine, PS Quarterly: Profit and Peril, is here. To gain digital access to all of the magazine’s content, and receive your print copy, upgrade to PS Premium now at a special discounted rate.

A price war has broken out in a submarket of the nation’s aviation sector, and the passengers are the major beneficiaries. But in the long term, this may hurt the airlines and put the fliers in a bind. A price war or price competition occurs when businesses in a particular industry compete against each other by repeatedly lowering their prices in an attempt to gain market share and drive out competitors. Since Nigeria’s carrier, Air Peace Airlines, launched its Lagos-London route over two weeks ago with a drastic slash in airfare, its main competitors on the route, BA and Virgin Atlantic, have announced reduction in ticket prices to levels not seen before. From N15 million for a first -class seat and N5 million in an economy, the two British carriers are now charging over 80 per cent lower in response to Air Peace’s introductory offer of just N5 million for first-class and N1.5 million for economy.

For a six-hour flight, this was the most outrageous pricing in the industry. Other carriers like South African Airlines, Morocco Air, Ethiopian and Turkish Air who do not fly direct from Lagos to London have equally reduced their fares. There has never been such a fierce price war in the nation’s aviation business before. Allen Onyeama, Chairman of Air Peace, said in a TV interview last week that the foreign carriers are engaging in price war to drive his airline out of business so as to return to their cut-throat pricing. He appealed to Nigerians to fly Air Peace, not just out of nationalistic considerations, but also for their strategic self-interest. Price competition is rampant in many industries. Notable examples of recent price wars include the 1992 airline price war in the US during which American Airlines, NorthWest Airlines and other US carriers matched and exceeded the reduced prices of one another, resulting in increased sales volume but huge losses. There was also the 2020 Russia-Saudi Arabia oil price war which led to a 65% quarterly fall in the price of oil.

Price wars could hurt the competing businesses as revenues and profits dip; and in some cases, weaker competitors who cannot cope may go out of business by the time prices eventually stabilize at lower level. But in this case, if Air Peace is forced out of the London route, the international carriers, which apparently have the tacit support of their home governments, will jack up the fares again, and Nigerians would be the ultimate losers. This is why we must stand by the Nigerian flag carrier. Companies that typically win price wars are those with better cost structures and widest profit margins. Among the three – BA, Virgin and Air Peace – the British carriers have deeper pockets and can cope better with the raging price war. This war will last for the remaining part of the year, but I suspect that the British authorities will employ other tactics to frustrate the Nigerian flag carrier and weaken its resolve and resilience. The British carriers may also continue in the fight by lowering the quality of inflight services just to cut costs.

By entering the market with impressively high standards, Air Peace has captured a good size of the market. Its mostly Nigerian passengers are clearly enthusiastic about its offerings, and from all indications, the Nigerian carrier is currently enjoying overwhelming home support from both the public and the government. But it is not enough for the airline to rely on emotional nationalism alone. The airline should create loyalty programs to keep its customers. Many passengers have also accused Air Peace of price gouging and price discrimination in its domestic routes, especially during the peak seasons of Christmas and Easter holidays. The airline has a responsibility to be fair to its domestic passengers too.

On a final note, competent management and good corporate governance are important for the success and sustainability of any business. Many family-owned Nigerian businesses have failed to thrive once the founder is no more. For how long will Air Peace remain as a one-man business? With the rapid expansion and growth of the airline, Onyeama may consider bringing it to the capital market to open up the business for wider ownership, more diverse management, good governance and market discipline. He should also fortify the airline’s communication portfolio with competent professionals so that he will appear less and less on TV, and cede that responsibility to others.

The son of the District Head of Miri in Bauchi State, Malam Hussaini Abubakar, was murdered in a violent clash between two groups during Eid-el-fitr.

Muhammadu Ghani, the traditional ruler’s son and three others persons were killed as the two rival groups clashed.

The two groups engaged in the bloody fight were Yan Ba Beli, an armed group that has been assisting in combating bandits, and a group of hunters who were part of the entourage of the District Head of Miri in Bauchi local government area.

The duel occurred on the second day of the Sallah during the traditional obeisance to the Government House by the Emir of Bauchi in the convoy of all District Heads and other traditional title holders in the Emirate.

It was reliably gathered that the District Head had mobilised his subjects, and horse riders on the trip to the Palace of the Emir of Bauchi to join the procession to the Government House when the incident happened.

The bloody fight ensued when Yan Ba Beli interrupted the procession and started hitting some of the horse riders with sticks, which provoked the entourage of the traditional ruler.

It was further gathered that the hunters in the entourage of the Bauchi traditional ruler started shooting their dane guns into the air in response, which led to bullets hitting two members of the Yan Ba Beli who also shot back.

Consequently, the son of the District Head was said to have been hit with a sharp object which inflicted a serious injury on his head, leading to his death.

Apart from the four people that met their demise, several others were seriously injured before security operatives arrived at the scene to end the clash and arrested a few of the suspects.

Meanwhile, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed on Saturday evening, paid a condolence visit to the Palace of the District Head of Miri over the death of his son, Ghani.

The governor who expressed sadness over the unfortunate incident said that an investigation has been launched to unravel the circumstances leading to the death of the young man.

According to the governor who led other top government officials on the condolence describing the incident as very unfortunate to have happened on a day when people were rejoicing over the successful completion of the 30 days of Ramadan fasting.

[DailyTrust]

Bayo Onanuga, spokesperson to President Bola Tinubu, says the United States of America and the United Kingdom owe the world the responsibility for peace in the Middle East.

Onanuga said the duo should ensure that the Israeli response to Iranian drones and missiles is not disproportionate.

His statement is contained in a post on his X handle on Sunday.

He said the view is his personal opinion and doesn’t come from the Presidency, where he serves.

DAILY POST reported that Israel witnessed an unprecedented air attack from Iran on Saturday, being a retaliation against the Israeli attack on its consul in Syria.

Israelis breathed easier in the early hours of Sunday after an unprecedented air attack from Iranian drones and missiles largely fizzled in the face of the Jewish state’s powerful air defenses with assistance from the U.S. military and other allies.

However, Onanuga says the conflict could degenerate, urging the UK, and the US to mediate.

According to him, there is a need for caution all round, adding that, with Gaza yet unresolved, the world does not want another war in the Middle East.

He said: “United States of America and the UK owe the world the responsibility for peace in the Middle East by ensuring that Israeli response to Iranian drones and missiles is not disproportionate. Israel first drew blood by attacking the Iranian embassy in Damascus, killing some Iranian military officials. Iran promised some retaliation against Israel which it did Saturday by raining drones and missiles in Israeli direction. Many of them were intercepted. Times of Israel has reported one injury.

“Iran said it has concluded its retaliation to Israel’s first attack. But Israel is planning a massive response. With Jordan, Syria and other countries closing their airspace, Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani threatened a firm response to any country that “opens its airspace or territory for attacks on Iran by Israel”. This conflict can degenerate.

“The UK, USA should mediate. There is need for caution all round. With Gaza yet unresolved, the world does not want another war in the Middle East.”

[DailyPost]

• Govs, NASS members mobilise for NWC, BoT meetings
• Ex-Rivers gov’s group breaks 60 lawmakers’ ranks
• Why Acting National Chairman Damagum may survive

Ahead of Thursday’s meeting of the National Executive Committee(NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the camp of ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar and  Nyesom Wike/G-5 group have retreated into the trenches over plot to remove the party’s Acting National Chairman, Umar Ilya Damagum.

Although there are indications that Damagum may survive, Atiku’s camp is understood to be poised to fight to the end.

The Wike/G-5 group has thrown its weight behind Damagum.

Most party leaders and NEC members were last night also mobilising for Damagum.  Apart from breaking the ranks of the 60 PDP lawmakers in the House of Representatives, who recently demanded Damagum’s resignation, an aspirant for the office of National Chairman, David Ombugadu from North-Central, has declared his support for Damagum.

These developments have created anxiety in Atiku’s camp which is struggling to sell the “Operation Rescue PDP” agenda to party leaders and members.

Party sources told The Nation that PDP governors and many members are not convinced by Atiku’s camp’s campaign on salvaging the party.

Many of them cite his intermittent shuttles between Nigeria and Dubai.

Many leaders suspect that Atiku’s renewed interest in PDP affairs stems largely from his interest in the party’s presidential ticket for 2027.  But Atiku’s camp is not prepared to give up on seizing PDP from the control of Wike/G-5 group.

A party source said: “It is going to be a battle royale at the NEC meeting.

There are two opposing sides, namely those seeking to maintain the status quo from Wike/G5 Group and Atiku’s camp which wants to rescue PDP and return it to the 1999 era.

“Those sympathetic to Atiku’s agenda are also pushing for a virile opposition.

“But the situation is complicated by the 2027 poll hidden motives of some of the leaders in the two camps.

“All the groups/camps have retreated into the trenches ahead of the meeting. There is intense lobbying going on now. “

At the last count, those who want to unseat Damagum from the North-Central are Senator Gabriel Suswam and Dr. Emmanuel Agbo (Benue State), ex-Minister Humphrey Aba (Kogi State) and the 2023 governorship candidate of PDP in Nasarawa State, David Ombagudu.

There are two opposing sides, namely those seeking to maintain the status quo from Wike/G5 Group and Atiku’s camp which wants to rescue PDP and return it to the 1999 era.

“Those sympathetic to Atiku’s agenda are also pushing for a virile opposition.

“But the situation is complicated by the 2027 poll hidden motives of some of the leaders in the two camps.

“All the groups/camps have retreated into the trenches ahead of the meeting. There is intense lobbying going on now. ” At the last count, those who want to unseat Damagum from the North-Central are Senator Gabriel Suswam and Dr. Emmanuel Agbo (Benue State), ex-Minister Humphrey Aba (Kogi State) and the 2023 governorship candidate of PDP in Nasarawa State, David Ombagudu.

The kingmakers

Findings revealed that those who will determine the fate of Damagum and other aspirants are mostly officers of the party.

Some of the NEC members include PDP governors, the Chairman and Secretary of the Board of Trustees, members of the BOT (who have no voting rights), minority leaders in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, two Senators from each of the six geopolitical zones; the Deputy National Chairman; all National Vice Chairmen; the National Secretary and the Deputy National Secretary; the National Treasurer and the Deputy National Treasurer; the National Financial Secretary and the Deputy National Financial Secretary; all state chairmen of PDP, all former National Chairmen, Deputy National Chairmen, National Secretaries, Chairmen and Secretaries of the BOT who are still members of the party, the National Legal Adviser and the Deputy  National Legal  Adviser, six ex-officio members, among others.

A party source said: “Going by the composition of the NEC, Damagum may survive. Most members are drawn from the National Working Committee and other organs of the party.

“So far, most officers of the party are on the same page with Damagum. Atiku has an uphill task to pull his agenda through.”

Will Damagum allow selection of a new Acting Chairman?

It was confirmed last night that the agenda on the choice of a new Acting National Chairman at the NEC meeting will be determined by Damagum and his team.

“I don’t expect Damagum to come up with an agenda to remove him from office. But Atiku’s camp can invoke some clauses in PDP’s constitution at the meeting to amend the agenda,” a member of the National Working Committee said.

When contacted on the intrigues ahead of the NEC meeting, Damagum simply wrote: “I have no comment for now.”

Atiku’s dangerous gamble/G-5 threat

Also, there was fresh anxiety that the G-5 group may take over the party in the event that Damagum is removed.

It was learnt that as part of its Plan B, the G-5 will want Danagum’s successor to be from the South instead of the North-Central where four aspirants have emerged.

It was learnt that the G-5, some party leaders and NEC members have proposed power shift from the North to the South to solve the prolonged crisis in the party since the suspension of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu as the National Chairman of the party.

A source said: “If their scheming for power shift succeeds as the last option, the Deputy National Chairman (South), Taofeek Arapaja from the G-5, may take over.

Another source said: “The NEC meeting is another litmus test for Atiku.

He needs to watch the slippery terrain before deciding on his next direction.

“If Atiku’s Camp sacks Damagum, Arapaja may take over, which will be fatal to the career of the former presidential candidate of the PDP.”

But another source told our correspondent that “the G-5 members have lost their potency because they are no longer in government.

“Except for Wike and Governor Seyi Makinde, I don’t think the G-5 can match Atiku’s political dexterity.

“In fact, from the grapevine, we learnt the G-5 is divided because some clauses in pre-2023 Presidential Election Gentleman’s Agreement have not been met. They are not as united as we may assume.

“There are lots of issues on this NEC meeting. Let us leave everything open.”

 I’m duty-bound to abide by party decision – Ombugadu

Damagum, in a statement yesterday, said ahead of the Thursday meeting that he was being supported by some PDP members to settle for a party leadership position.

He said he was “duty-bound to abide by party decision.”

“Lately, various groups of well-meaning members of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have intensified a clarion call for me to be given a responsibility by the party at the national level,” he said.

He added: “I feel humbled that much of these calls emphasise our antecedents,  especially with keen references to our creativity, stamina, innovation, the populist enthusiasm that was aroused as well as the  dividends of democracy that our mandate yielded all over Nasarawa State; worthy attestations from the good people of Akwanga/Nasarawa Eggon/ Wamba Federal Constituency whom I represented between 2011-2019 and the very positive impacts of our keen pursuit of the gubernatorial ticket of Nasarawa State in 2019 and 2023 remain very relevant.

[TheNation]

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged President Bola Tinubu to disclose the agreements and spending details of loans obtained by the administrations of Nigeria’s past presidents since May 1999.

SERAP urged Tinubu “to direct appropriate ministries, departments and agencies to provide our organisation with copies of the loan agreements obtained by the governments of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari.”

This was disclosed in a statement issued by the organisation’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, which was made available to PUNCH Online on Sunday.

SERAP is also seeking “the spending details of any such loans as well as the interests and other payments so far made on the loans.”

Nigeria’s four past democratically-elected presidents include Obasanjo, who ruled for eight years from 1999 to 2007.

Obasanjo’s administration was succeeded by the late Yar’Adua (2007 – 2010); followed by Jonathan (2010 – 2015); and then the immediate past president, Buhari, whose administration ruled from 2015 – 2023.

The organisation stated that “widely publishing the agreements would allow Nigerians to scrutinise it and to demand accountability for the spending of the loans.”

SERAP lamented that the details provided may help to explain why “despite several billions of dollars in loans obtained by successive governments, millions of Nigerians continue to face extreme poverty and lack access to basic public goods and services.”

This latest demand by SERAP is coming two weeks after it gave the Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani; the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and other 35 state governors one-week ultimatum to provide the loan agreements and spending details of the loans obtained by their states and the FCT.

As contained in the latest sub-national debt – domestic and external debts, which were released by the Debt Management Office as of December 30 and June 30, 2023, respectively; PUNCH reports that “for the sub-nationals, Plateau got N16.32bn; Rivers borrowed N7.07bn; Zamfara, N14.26bn; and the FCT under the leadership of Nyesom Wike borrowed N6.75bn from domestic creditors,” amongst others.

However, in its response, the Zamfara State Government refuted the DMO’s report that it borrowed N14.26 billion, adding that it has “never applied for loans or approached the state Assembly or National Assembly for such a request.”

Also, the Kaduna State Government, through the Ministry of Finance, denied procuring a fresh $17.69m loan.

“We did not borrow the said amount or any other amount as reported. The claims are entirely false and fabricated,” said the state Commissioner for Finance, Shizzer Bada.

However, SERAP demanded that Tinubu establish an “independent audit on the spending of the loans obtained by the governments of the former presidents,” and make its results available to the public.

“Democracy requires accountability and accountability requires transparency.

“Nigerians are entitled to information about what their government is doing in their name. This is part of their right to information,” SERAP said.

The statement noted that publishing the agreements and details of spending of the said loans “would demonstrate” Tinubu’s “oft-expressed commitment to openness in government and to promote accountability,” adding that it would also “improve public accountability” in the MDAs.

Quoting the DMO, SERAP said that “the total public domestic debt portfolio for the country is N97.3 trillion ($108 billion). The Federal Government’s debt is N87.3 trillion ($97 billion).”

It said that the interest paid on loans by the FG in 2015 was $5.5 billion; in 2016, $4.4bn; in 2017, Nigeria paid $5bn as interest; in 2018, $6.5bn was paid; while $6.2bn was paid in 2019.

“We would therefore be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest,” the organisation said.

It noted that Tinubu’s administration “has a responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability in how any loans obtained by the Federal Government are spent, to reduce vulnerability to corruption and mismanagement.”

“Our requests are brought in the public interest, and in keeping with the requirements of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the Freedom of Information Act, and the UN Convention against Corruption, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to Nigeria is a state party.

“The Nigerian Constitution, Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s anti-corruption and human rights obligations rest on the principle that citizens should have access to information regarding their government’s activities,” the statement concluded.

[Punch]

There’s always the tendency to ascribe our failings and flailings in our developmental and democratic growth as a nation, to our amoeboid leadership recruitment process. I differ slightly though from this perspective. I contend that prospective leaders must first be identified and groomed before they can be deployed to the various sectors we expect them to function. Tunji Olaopa’s 2022 essay titled “Nigerian Civil Service and the Trajectory of Public Administration” illuminates the evolution of Nigeria’s civil service which was inaugurated in 1954. He alludes in the paper to “a very strong and professional civil service regarded as perhaps the strongest of the colonial legacies bequeathed to Africa”.

Olaopa speaks to the “quality of the officers who founded the civil service and the institutional quality of the public service itself.” He lists Nigeria’s “civil service pioneers” to include: Simeon Adebo, Jerome Udoji, Samuel Manuwa, Ahmed Talib, Abubakar Koko, Sule Katagum, Joseph Imoukhuede, Ojimiri Johnson and Fola Ejiwunmi. This generation of public servants Olaopa notes is what we now describe as the “golden age of the public service in Nigeria.”

The second generation of public administrators and civil servants who grazed the limelight between the 1960s to the early 1970s are those popularly described as “super permanent secretaries.” This is the generation of Allison Ayida, Sunday Awoniyi, Liman Ciroma, Philip Asiodu, Abdul Aziz Atta, Festus Adesanoye, Olu Falae, Solomon Akenzua, Francesca Emmanuel, Ahmed Joda, Gilbert Obiajulu Chikelu, Gray Longe, M.A. Ejueyitchie, among others. Olaopa reminds us that the actual core of this generation who were festooned with the broche of “super permanent secretaries” were so described because they were called up at a period of grave national emergency. It was during the Nigerian civil war and they were requested to avail the country of their “administrative acumen, competencies and wisdom,” to steer Nigeria through the war and stabilise the polity thereafter.

Olaopa observes that beginning from the 1975 civil service purge by the Murtala Mohammed/Olusegun Obasanjo government and onwards to the era of the Ibrahim Babangida Structural Adjustment Programme, (SAP), a de-institutionalisation process had begun. The concomitant value-orientation of the inherited civil service had been damagingly eroded. He laments that his generation of permanent secretaries came at an age when, according to him, the service “was already deeply embroiled in the dynamics of the bureau pathology that had debilitated the civil service”. He laments that his generation of public servants was mentored by the icons of decades past who connected them to the ideals of the golden age “in terms of their passion, professionalism and knowledge-propelled zeal for service.” Such was the archetypal stuff the pioneering Nigerian civil service was made of.

I needed to lay this background to underscore the rigour, the exertion, the perspiration which typified the discovery and grooming of those who operated the levers of public administration in decades past. They were an integral part of the conceptualisation of government policies and also contributed largely to their actualisation. I should equally remind us that the famous, now ancient, “fattening rooms” of the Kalabari, Efik and Ibibio in south-south Nigeria admitted women in their puberty and prepared them for womanhood. Among others, they are grilled on marital etiquette, their culinary capacities improved upon even as they were tutored in acceptable social customs and comportment. They were usually admitted to facilities away from their families and could be so boarded for various lengths of time, the minimum being for one month.

Reports in recent weeks and months have alluded to the disappearance of Yahaya Bello, the immediate past governor of Kogi state from the prying lenses of the public and press. The initial rumour was that he had made himself a permanent guest of Lugard House, Lokoja, the government house of the intriguing state capital which sits at the confluence of Nigeria’s two largest rivers, the Niger and the Benue. Not satisfied with the eight full years of his despotic, even demonic over-lordship in Kogi state, he has chosen to encamp permanently within the same facility on an extended post-disengagement vacation. Elsewhere in the media, it has been suggested that Bello is now a permanent member of his successor, Usman Ododo’s convoy on all his travels. Ododo is his official shield from investigators on his trail.

After hectic, sweaty public service immersion over long spells, the tradition has been for public officers to embark on extended holidays and rest. Willie Obiano, the immediate past governor of Anambra state, left for the United States on extended rest, immediately after he handed over to his successor Chukwuma Soludo in March 2022. Babatunde Fashola was chief of staff in Lagos state; governor of the state for eight years and minister under the Muhammadu Buhari regime for eight years. He served notice during his valedictory conversations that he wanted to return to be “president” of his home, after being a virtual absentee for 20 years! The practice of former governors pursuing “residency programmes” in the very same addresses where they operated for years, is novel.

As governor of Kogi state, Bello hailed and serenaded himself, by himself with his oriki whenever he had a microphone. He introduced himself with flourish as “His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, CON, the Executive Governor of Kogi State”. Humility, civility and restraint had no place in his thesaurus. He beaded himself with the moniker of “white lion” and rechristened Government House, Lokoja the “lion’s den”. Yahaya Bello apologists and boot-lickers defaced the public space with billboards celebrating their idol, throwing him in the face of a populace so mercilessly trampled upon by him. He never left people in doubt about his limitless powers as a governor cum demigod who could do whatever he wanted and get away with it.

Bello cast a permanent pall on the people of Kogi state. Mentions of his name were in cover-mouthed whispers. Remember the depiction of the former Ugandan carnivore, Idi Amin Dada, in the film titled The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin. The character, Maliya Mungu was his undisguised hitman. Bello reportedly recruited spies in various WhatsApp groups who reported the direction of discourse to him and fed him with the names of his critics. He mutilated the payrolls of hapless civil servants and paid them preposterous percentages. Workers and pensioners dropped dead like flies during his reign, unable to cater for the basic needs of their families. By its very characteristic, the economy of Kogi state is fuelled by the civil service. Staccato remittances of workers’ salaries were therefore going to affect the burgeoning business community in the state.

Elections were weaponised in the vilest of fashions. Bello’s goons were condemned to win every and any election “by force, by fire.” There were mortal consequences for failure. His aides moved around on election days with platoons of vagrants and policemen, scaring voters with gunshots, seizing ballot boxes and rewriting poll results. For dissenting with poll riggers in her unit, hapless woman politician, Salome Abuh was on November 18, 2019, burnt to death in her home in Ochadamu. Bello’s men reportedly dug trenches around Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s community, Ihima, all in a bid to disenfranchise her during the February 2023 senatorial election which she contested. Yahaya Bello indeed corroborated the action saying he was helping to build a security hedge around her during the election.

Yahaya Bello is the first governor I ever heard about, who launched a post-disengagement media and public relations salvage project. Some officials and members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, (NGE), about a month ago honoured an invitation to visit Kogi state to tour some of Bello’s so-called legacies. Curiously, for all the time the team led by the president of the NGE, Eze Anaba, spent in the state, the most senior state official they encountered was the Kogi state information commissioner. They could neither meet Bello at whose instance they visited nor his successor, Usman Ododo. I sent private notes to some of our colleagues who went on the needless voyage asking them a few questions: Apart from being herded through so-called Yahaya Bello’s achievements, did you go to the streets to find out the last time civil servants and pensioners were paid their monthly entitlements 100%? Did you check about the last time workers were promoted after writing promotion exams? Did you find out how many permanent secretaries own official vehicles? Did you try to obtain contract award documents about Yahaya Bello’s so-called “legacy projects”? Did you endeavour to compare with the costs of similar projects elsewhere? Did you ask for example to be driven through the “State Secretariat/House of Assembly/DSS road”? Do you know that all through his years in office, Yahaya Bello didn’t rehabilitate that all-important road?

Bello is validating the title of a classic novel by the legendary American thriller writer, James Hadley Chase. Back in 1957, Chase wrote The Guilty Are Afraid a blockbuster which gained global appeal and readership in its days. This is the same Bello who was showcasing his boxing skills to the world on social media, virtually calling for a match with Anthony Joshua. We have seen him working out on the treadmills too, thumping his chest as he reminded us that he will flatten Mike Tyson in a fitness contest. So why wouldn’t Bello move around freely, “flex” as we say in contemporary Nigerian lingo, the way his former contemporaries are free birds? It is uncharacteristic for the lion, king of the wild to be mirrored cringing beneath the bed of his successor.

We are indeed talking here about a “white lion,” a very rare albinoid species native to the Timbavati region in South Africa. Public discourse in recent weeks has thrown up the thesis about Bello evading arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) for the monumental heist his regime committed against Kogi state during his reign as King Herod. The weekend edition of Aljazirah newspaper of April 6 and 7, 2024, had Bello’s photograph and that of the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede with the headline: ‘Ex-Gov Yahaya Bello Seeks Safety in Kogi Govt House’. Bello is said to be reaching out to former first lady, Aisha Buhari, even as the EFCC is hot on his trail. The president, Bola Tinubu, is said to have distanced himself from Bello’s plea to be given a soft landing in his matter.

Yahaya Bello is a very good example of the post-1975 degeneration of the public service to which Olaopa alluded. He was neither scouted for leadership nor was he trained for the job. He was reportedly an anonymous personnel of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission, (RMFAC). He reportedly made good for himself ostensibly through corrupt enrichment and floated a transport company, Fairplus Transport with a handful of minivans. With this, he sold the impression of a nouveau riche to delegates to the 2015 gubernatorial primary of the All Progressives Congress, (APC). Bello emerged second behind the late governor Abubakar Audu in that contest. He was hoisted to the gubernatorial high stool courtesy of some unprecedented judicial interpretation of the constitution, upon Audu’s mysterious death before the results of the governorship election!

We must revert to the leadership grooming process of the pre-independence era and its immediate aftermath to begin the sanitisation of governance and leadership. And beyond the EFCC, Bello should have his day in court to defend his appalling human rights record during his eight-year sojourn in Government House, Lokoja. Hopefully, victims of his queer and insensitive governance model will have the last laugh.

Olusunle (PhD) is a Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA).

On December 26, 1991, Algerians voted in the first round of parliamentary elections. Over 40 parties fielded candidates. As returns started coming through, it became clear the country was in the throes of a political earthquake. The Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) took 189 of the 231 seats decided in the first round of elections for the 430-seat parliament, trouncing the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN), which only got 15 seats. FIS candidates were in the lead in 140 of the 199 districts left to be decided in the 2^nd round, all but guaranteeing that the party would “attain a two-thirds majority, the amount needed to ratify constitutional amendments”. On January 11, 1992, the Algerian military forced the resignation of President Chadli Benjedid, before cancelling the election.

The following year, Nigeria was due to go to a much-delayed election to choose a successor to its military ruler. With a pervasive commitment to native exceptionalism, however, no one thought it could happen in Nigeria and, despite the events in Algeria the previous year, there was no plan for an annulment scenario.

When on June 22, 1993, Ibrahim Babangida, the Army General who had ruled Nigeria since August 27, 1985, announced the annulment of the presidential election of June 12, 1993, he induced shock around the country to the point of inaction. Alao Aka Basorun, a leading lawyer and 14th president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), telegraphed popular scepticism about Babangida’s intentions, accusing him repeatedly of harbouring “a hidden agenda” but not even Aka had foreseen an annulment.

As the Babangida transition program grew more interminable, civic groups interested in policing it agreed to coalesce into the Campaign for Democracy (CD). At the time of the annulment, it was led by Beko Ransome-Kuti, a medical doctor and younger brother to Afrobeat musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

Without a plan, the leadership of the CD was initially unsure how to respond. At the emergency strategy meetings called by Beko in his Imaria Street home in Anthony Village, Lagos, there was clear ambivalence as to how to respond to the annulment. Amidst the confusion, there was one exceptional young man who came prepared with clarity and rigour about how to respond.

Rotimi Sankore, who died at 55 of complications from cancer, was the clear intellectual and strategic leader of the argument that won through into the nationwide shutdown that followed the annulment of the June 12 elections in 1993, ultimately forcing Ibrahim Babangida to “step aside” from power in August of the same year into infamy.

Born as Rotimi Johnson on June 6, 1968, he was the son of Jimi Johnson, a pioneer in Nigeria’s art and theatre, and one of the stars of The Village Headmaster. Among his early mentors, Rotimi counted Wole Soyinka, who was a close friend of the family as well as Soyinka’s cousin, Fela.

Rotimi was a precocious polymath from an early age. It was close to impossible to find a subject under the sun on which he was not reasonably informed. He could easily have been home-schooled but, Nigeria being what it is, he reluctantly got persuaded that it was useful to own a university degree. In reality, the degree certificate needed him more than he needed it.

A graduate of Communications Studies and Language Arts, Rotimi spent his undergraduate days at the University of Ibadan (UI), where his extraordinary breadth of networks and insight became a huge resource to the student movement. While embedded in the leadership of the student movement at UI, Rotimi was also a stringer and writer for the Guardian newspaper in Lagos.

Recognising him as the Svengali of a student union government whom they thought implacable, the UI authorities expelled Rotimi in 1990. Following legal assistance in which Olisa Agbakoba and the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) were instrumental, he eventually graduated with the help of a court order which nullified the expulsion.

Rotimi was a versatile thinker who prospered in every genre of journalism. Until the period immediately following the arrival of the regime of General Sani Abacha, he worked with or wrote for The News and Tempo weekly magazines; as well as with The Guardian. In London, he wrote for The Guardian, Index on Censorship, and The Journalist. Among other titles, Rotimi also wrote for the Mail & Guardian in South Africa, the Global New African magazine, and New African Woman.

After the crisis of the June 12 annulment, Rotimi masterminded several civic and advocacy start-ups, including the Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER) and later CREDO, an organisation that advocated around Africa for the protection of free expression and associated political rights. In exile to the United Kingdom, Rotimi became a member of the executive council of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), eventually going on to lead its Black Members Council as the Chair.

He became the pioneer editor of the Belgium-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) website for African journalists reporting on public accountability, corruption, democracy and rights-related issues. At the turn of the Millennium, Rotimi founded the Africa Human & Social Development Information (AfriDevInfo), which pioneered the use of data and statistics for journalism and policy advocacy during the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Rotimi was also a broadcast journalist. Until his passing, he led the editorial board of the Nigeria Info Radio Group, part of the AIM Media Group with 13 stations in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Onitsha (incorporating Nigeria Info FM, WaZoBia FM, Cool FM and Arewa Radio Stations). In this role, he also contributed to programme development on the sister television station WaZoBia TV. At his death, Rotimi was executive director of the Africa Centre for Development Journalism. His weekly current affairs programme, Public Square, was the flagship of NigeriaInfo FM 99.3 and drew the highest ratings in the country among its genre.

Rotimi was a pioneer in data journalism as a tool also for policy education and was especially passionate about access to public health information and education for under-served and excluded communities, particularly girls. In pursuit of these concerns, he regularly advised many international institutions, including the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA); the UNAIDS; the World Health Organization, (WHO); the Geneva-based Global Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health; the Africa Development Bank (ADB); and the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa.

Contemporaneously with his journalistic undertakings, Rotimi invested considerable energy in fostering the advancement of solidarity with women’s groups. He was an early inspiration for the creation of the Women’s Rights Project (WRP) at the CLO and became a founding member of one of Nigeria’s leading women’s rights organisations, the Women Advocates Research & Documentation Centre (WARDC).

Beyond Nigeria, Rotimi was instrumental in the development and adoption of the Gender Protocol of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). He was also a major actor in advocacy for the ratification of the African Union’s own Protocol on the human rights of women in Africa.

In an intrepid career, Rotimi excelled as a journalist and advocate for the public good, an enterprise to which his life was dedicated. It was fitting that his battle with mortality would inspire his terminal piece of earthly advocacy.

In late 2022, Rotimi was diagnosed with what was supposed to be malaria which proved to be stubbornly resilient. Following bouts of unsuccessful therapy, he asked for a full health check. The results returned at the beginning of 2023 querying cancer. Further tests confirmed the dreaded “C”, indicating extensive metastasis. A grim prognosis gave him weeks to live at best but Rotimi beat that by over one year during which he deployed his considerable reach and expertise to comforting people affected by cancer.

Confronted with the reality of his mortality, Rotimi chose to meet it with a determined sense of humour until the end and with eternal optimism. In conversation in the last week of his life, he was resolute: “My brother, we cannot let the bad guys have it all their way”.

Rotimi Sankore is survived by a daughter, his mother, and a brother.

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

Exactly ten years ago, terror struck a school in northern Nigeria when heavily armed men, famous for killing, abduction and displacement of citizens, whisked away about 276 girls from their dormitories in Chibok area of Borno state.

Since that dreadful day on April 14, 2014, many schools across the country have been attacked and hundreds of students have been abducted, some held captive for a lengthy period of time.

It has been a decade since the Chibok abduction and at least 93 of the schoolgirls are still in captivity as of early 2023, according to the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).

While some of the girls escaped from their Boko Haram captors, a reasonable number of the girls who are still held as hostages have now been married off to their captors, and some have become mothers who were, over time, forced to adapt to life in the forest.

In the case of Yana Pogu, one of the Chibok girls rescued eight years after abduction, she was welcomed home with four children, including a set of twins.

In April 2023, Hauwa Maltha, one of the Chibok girls, was also rescued with pregnancy and a three-year-old child.

Education was not the only thing the Boko Haram insurgents snatched from the girls; their youthful exuberance was also taken away.

MORE THAN A DECADE OF ATTACKS BY BOKO HARAM

Abubakar Shekau, the man who led the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east

Boko Haram started as an element of disdain for Western education and continued advocacy for its abolition in the north-east part of Nigeria in 2009.

The Boko Haram ideology grew in magnitude as more people joined the course and over time, it transformed into a group fixated on completely aborting western learning system.

The movement turned violent when the group started targeting men and women in different ways. While the men were the majority who died from the attacks and also got recruited into the terrorist group, women and children were abducted and also made up 80 percent of the displaced population.

The year 2014 and 2015 were regarded the deadliest years of violence by the insurgent group in Nigeria.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), nearly 8,000 fatalities were recorded in 2014 and 9,000 in 2015. It was also the year the Chibok girls were kidnapped and 29 boys massacred in Federal Government College, Buni Yadi in Yobe state.

Boko Haram was declared the deadliest terror group worldwide and the government declared a state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe – the three worst affected states in 2014.

According to UNDP, Boko Haram has caused over 34,000 deaths in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states from 2009 till 2020.

ABDUCTED GIRLS WHO BECAME SEXUAL PREYS

A screenshot from a video released by Boko Haram showing abducted Chibok girls in 2014

Since 2014, more than 15 schools have been attacked by Boko Haram terrorists and bandits across the country.

After the abduction in Chibok, more girls-only schools have been targeted, while more girls have also been abducted in mixed schools.

In February 2018, terrorists stormed Government Girls’ Science and Technical College (GGSTC) Dapchi in Yobe state and kidnapped 110 schoolgirls.

Two years later, the terrorists group reconvened at the Government Girls Science Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara state and took away 317 students. The majority of them were girls.

The following year did not give the students of Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Igabi LGA of Kaduna state, the full privileges of learning in their school. Gunmen invaded the institution in large numbers and took 23 girls and 16 schoolboys hostage for 58 days.

In May 2021, the trend crept into Tegina town as bandits whisked away over 150 pupils of Salihu Tanko Islamiyya School in Rafi LGA of Niger state.

Photos of the released students showed there were more girls among the abducted pupils.  In April 2021, about 20 students – both male and female were kidnapped from Greenfield University in Kasarami village, Chikun LGA of Kaduna state.

In an attack on Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, Kebbi state, over 100 students were abducted. When some of the students were released, the terrorists kept 11 girls in their camp as “wives”. Some of them also had children for their abductors whom they were forced to marry.

Another abduction that shook the country occurred recently on March 7, 2024. At least 137 students of Government Secondary School Kuriga in Chikun LGA of Kaduna were kidnapped by bandits who invaded the school.

The students, who were later rescued, comprised 78 females and 61 males. Although the Kaduna government said the students were 280 in total, Edward Buba, director of defence operations, argued that the figure of the kidnapped children was 137.

According to the 2020 UNDP assessment on the impact of conflict in the country, both boys and girls are targeted during attacks by terrorists, but majority of schoolgirls survive as they are targeted for abduction, while the boys are often killed.

While there are more abduction of schoolchildren across the country and about 1,119 abducted from 2014 to 2021 in the north, the abductions highlighted above indicate that more than 500 schoolgirls have been abducted in the past ten years.

Meanwhile, Save the Children International, in its 2022 report, said more than 1,680 schoolchildren have been kidnapped in Nigeria since 2014.

Some non-governmental organisations have reported that insecurity has caused a large percentage of schoolgirls in Nigeria to feel unsafe while going to school.

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said out of the over 18 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, 10 million are girls.

IMPACT OF ABDUCTION ON SCHOOL GIRLS

Released Jangebe school girls in Zamfara

According to a 2022 report by the Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL), a programme funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK, 70 percent of girls in Jigawa feel unsafe in their commute to school.

The report listed insecurity as one of the major causes of girls dropping out of school in Kaduna and Jigawa states.

An estimated 1.8 million women and girls have been displaced across camps in Nigeria. According to Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, insurgency has caused many women to suffer sexual abuses and human rights violations.

“As Boko Haram continue their relentless cycle of killings, abductions and looting, they are also subjecting women and girls to rape and other sexual violence during their attacks. These atrocities are war crimes,” Ojigho said.

2014 SAFE SCHOOL GOVERNMENT POLICY

liya, national coordinator, financing of safe school initiative, said funding has been made available for the implementation of the programme.

In May 2014, the federal government launched the Safe Safe Initiative in joint efforts with the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education .

The initiative was inaugurated after the Chibok girl’s abduction to provide safety in Nigerian schools.

In December 2019, former President Muhammad Buhari signed the safe school declaration ratification document with N144.8 billion safe school financing plan allocated in December 2022.

Implementation of the initiative stalled as only 528 schools have enrolled with the centre across the country.

Speaking during an interview recently, Halima Iliya, national coordinator, financing of safe school initiative, said funding has been made available for the implementation of the programme.

“We can not say there is no allocation at all for safe school; implementation started late last year. We have fundings available that are yet to be utilised,” Iliya said.

“It is ongoing and this agencies have resources for last year that they are still holding unto.

“Resources were not released timely at the point of the flag-off; that is why you may not feel the impact. The implementation commenced fully at the end of 2023.

“The government has provided the resources. N15 billion has been released to these implementing agencies. The implantation is ongoing.”

[TheCable]