With foreign exchange earnings  from future fuel sales mortgaged by Buhari’s government; with government spending close to 95% of our earnings to service our $40b debt, with the alleged mismanagement of close to 50% of N23trillion that CBN printed for government through ‘ways and means’, with Emefiele the immediate past CBN governor doing father Christmas with the nation’s limited forex earnings and with Chukwuma Soludo’s ill-advised mega banks declaring profit made from forex round tripping in trillions while the nation’s economy remains prostrate, there is every temptation to assume our problem is economics.

The truth of the matter however, is that our crisis of nation-building has nothing to do with economics but everything to do with politics. Like corruption, poverty, terrorism/ banditry and economic crisis arising from fuel subsidy scam and foreign currency speculators, are all but symptoms of our failure to first seek the kingdom of politics, as advised by the great Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.

By embarking on economic crusade, President Tinubu like his predecessors is engaged in a wild goose chase. It is however hoped the response to his government’s efforts beginning with the removal of fuel subsidy scam responsible for $800m monthly haemorrhage by ethnic irredentists who in an effort to foreclose distributive justice unleashed immigrant Fulani terrorists on their fellow  compatriots and economic saboteurs  responsible for flooding Nigeria with foreign manufactured substandard goods, and killer drugs in order to drive local manufacturers out of market, will convince him he is putting the cart before the horse. Politics and professional politicians are the greatest threat to the nation.

Unfortunately, the Fulani and the Igbo, both political rivals that regard every part of Nigeria as “a no man’s land’ have held the nation to ransom since the 1957 London Independence Constitutional conference when they first betrayed the country because the former wanted a Nigerian state that would be home to stateless Fulani from all over West Africa,  while the latter, a  landlocked  group with hostile environment wanted their members to operate freely from any part of Nigeria without challenge of citizenship.

After the 1957 betrayal, fortune-seeking Igbo political elite and their power-seeking Fulani also betrayed the nation in 1962 when they illegally interfered in the affairs of the West against the letter and the spirit of the independence constitution.

Their dispute over the 1962/63 census outcome led to the 1964 constitutional crisis which snowballed to January 1966 mindless assassination of northern military and political leaders and the July 1966 Hausa Fulani vengeance killings of Igbo military officers. In 1967, the two rivals plunged the country into a three years civil war only to regroup between 1979 and 1983 to form the NPN/NPP coalition which again collapsed over sharing of spoils of office. They jointly imposed Obasanjo on Nigeria in 1999 and for 16 years behaved like an army of occupation by stealing the country blind.

Both the Fulani suitors and their Igbo ever alluring willing brides are opportunists ever ready to put their personal interest before that of Nigeria. At the Lancaster House Conference, while the North wanted a loose federation and the East, a unitary system, their compromise over non-creation of states for minorities paved the way for coalition of NPC and NCNC. Ahmadu Bello was reported by the Sunday Express of December 20, 1959 at page 2 as saying “I shall divide Nigeria into two and hand them over to my lieutenants just as Dan Fodio divided the conquered north among his two sons.” After the election, Balewa got the Holy Quran as Sardauna’s lieutenant in the north and Zik, a horse as the one that held sway for the Sardauna in the south.

Buhari with the help of Yoruba took over in 2015. For him and those hiding under his government to implement an ethnic agenda, it was a winner takes all.  While armed Fulani immigrants from other parts of West Africa were unleashed on the reserved forests notably in the middle belt and southwest regions by Buhari’s loyal gatekeepers headed by Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General and Minister of justice, the Igbo indirectly supported IPOB as balance of terror in their five states of the east while maintaining their control of urban centres across the nation.

 The mainstream Yoruba political tendency, led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with the support of some 11 northern governors, for the first time in the nation’s history, won the presidential election in May 2023. If, however, there is anything that has drawn closer the two rivals for the soul of the country since the 2023 presidential election won round and square by Tinubu and confirmed by sound pronouncement of the highest court in the land, it is their opposition to Tinubu’s presidency.

 While Igbo political leaders have continued to insist Obi who came a distant third was the winner just to delegitimize Tinubu’s presidency, in less than seven months NLC tele-guided by Obi’s Labour Party (apology to Olumide Apata) and infiltrated by the “obidients” who have openly called for military take-over, have under Joe Ajaero who was exposed by events in his native Imo State to be openly partisan, has embarked on four major strikes. On their path, ethnic irredentists who but for the revolt of 11 northern governors opposed Tinubu’s candidacy are blaming the impoverishment of their compatriots they have always treated as mere tools for winning elections on Tinubu’s eight months administration.

President Tinubu must be reminded that our problem is politics and that the way forward after almost 80 years in the wilderness is to retrace our way back to where the rain started to beat us.

First, the reasons that led to the development of federalism as an innovative approach to governance at specific moments in history has been well articulated. From the experiences of other multi-ethnic nations, we now know that the federal arrangement as a coherent set of mechanisms, procedures and institutions are best at managing key public policy issues in contemporary democracies.

 We also now know that those shouting “banish tribes” while riding to power on the backs of tribesmen are playing the ostrich since tribes remain the building block for modern society. Europe, after two devastating tribal wars ‘formally recognized groups’ identities as legitimate and autonomous participants in the political process.’ In Spain, we have the Basque, Galician, Castilian and Catalan. British 25 tribes coalesce into Northern Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland. Elsewhere in the world, Japan, China, and India celebrate their various tribes.

This was why the British vision for Nigeria, according to Oliver Stanley in 1920, was a “national self-government that secures to each separate people, the right to maintain its identity, its individuality and its nationality, its own chosen form of government, which had been evolved for it by the wisdom and accumulated experiences of generation of its forbearers.”

In line with this British vision, regionalism was put in place by Richards 1947 constitution while the 1954 Lyttleton ensured each tribe or group of tribes had powers over law and order, education, economic development etc. while Macpherson 1957 constitution consolidated everything.

If Nigerians who now know that nationalism is not often driven by altruism have to choose between the colonial masters, our military adventurers and their new breed politicians, Nigeria will choose in reverse order.  But President Tinubu has an historic opportunity to change the narrative.

President Bola Tinubu has warned the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to maintain peace in the best interest of the country.

He spoke at the commissioning of the Lagos Red Line rail, on Thursday, February 29.

Tinubu came hard on the Union in the course of his remark, saying the Labour Union should understand that despite its acclaimed right and freedom, it cannot fight an administration that is just nine-month-old.

The Nation reports that NLC and other related unions protested on Tuesday over the high cost of living, inflation, insecurity, and hardship in the country.

But the union suspended the two-day nationwide protest after the first day, saying its suspension was based on the fact that the street action achieved overwhelming success.

The protesters headed to the National Assembly where the NLC President Joe Ajaero, presented a letter of demands to President Bola Tinubu through the leadership of the National Assembly.

Reacting on Thursday, Tinubu said: “Allow me to throw a jab here. The Labour Union should understand that you’re not the only one with freedom & rights.

“If you want to participate in the electoral process, meet us in 2027.

“If not, maintain peace. You’re not the only voice of Nigeria.”

The President further declared that: “There is a very bright light at the end of the tunnel. Nigeria will be out of the economic problem; we just need to persevere and work hard”.

Tinubu said the commissioning of the Red Line was the culmination of the vision he nursed 25 years ago when he was governor of the state, calling for more collaboration between the Ministry of Transport and other states to develop railway infrastructures across the country.

[TheNation]

A nominee for membership of the Central Bank of Nigeria Board of Directors, Urum Kalu Eke has declined the offer stating that he was currently engaged in the World Bank.

This came to the fore during the Thursday plenary when the Senate began the process for the confirmation of the nominees.

President Bola Tinubu had on February 13 forwarded the names of Urum and four others for confirmation as members of the board for the CBN.

But during the confirmation, former Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji  Kalu,( APC, Abia North ) told the Senate that the person who is his constituent had called him on the phone to reject the offer, noting that it would conflict with his present job as a consultant with the World Bank. 

Meanwhile, the Senate has confirmed the appointment of four other members of the Board of Directors of the CBN forwarded to it by the President.

Those confirmed by the Senate on Thursday as Directors are Robert Agbede; Ado Yakubu Wanka; Professor Murtala Sabo Sagagi and Mrs. Muslimat Olanike Aliyu.

The confirmation was sequel to the consideration of a report of the screening of the nominee presented by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance & Other Financial Institutions by the Chairman, Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, (APC, Lagos East).

Abiru said, “That the Senate do receive and consider the report of on the confirmation of the nomination of the following Five (5) persons as members of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria in accordance with section 6(1), (2) (d) and 10 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.”

According to him, the Committee did not clear Urum Kalu Eke from Abia because he failed to appear before the Committee for screening.

[Punch]

President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the Red Line Rail Project in Lagos. The project, an intra-state rail service aimed at improving transportation within the city, spans 37 kilometres.

The Red Line Rail Project in Lagos, Nigeria, represents a significant infrastructure development aimed at improving transportation within the city.

Here are five key aspects worth noting and some insights into the new rail line.

The route

The Red Line is envisioned as a vital metro link within the Lagos-Ibadan rail corridor. Spanning 37 kilometres, it will share the right-of-way with the Lagos–Kano Standard Gauge Railway.

The route will initially run from Agbado in Ogun State to Oyingbo in Lagos, with notable stations including Agbado, Iju, Agege, Ikeja, Oshodi, Mushin, Yaba, and Oyingbo.

The project cost

The Red Line project is a substantial investment in Lagos’ urban transportation infrastructure. Initial estimates pegged the cost at $135 million under the Greater Lagos Urban Transportation Project, managed by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).

However, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu revealed that both the Blue and Red Lines combined would exceed ₦100 billion. Delays in the Blue Line project, initially expected to be completed by 2011, highlight the funding challenges faced by the project.

The operations 

LAMATA, operating under the Ministry of Transportation, spearheads the Red Line Rail Project.

Once operational, it is expected to facilitate 37 trips daily, accommodating approximately 500,000 passengers.

The primary objectives include reducing travel time, mitigating health issues related to stress, and enhancing economic productivity.

The project aims to alleviate traffic congestion, minimise road accidents, and improve commuter safety within Lagos.

Choice of transmission 

The Red Line will utilise a diesel-powered system known as Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU), unlike the electric-powered Blue Line. DMU employs on-board diesel engines to propel multiple-unit trains. This choice of transmission aligns with the project’s objectives and operational requirements.

The Red Line Rail Project represents a significant milestone in Lagos’ transportation infrastructure development. Its inauguration promises to enhance connectivity, ease commuter burdens, and contribute to the city’s overall economic growth and development.

Infrastructure of the Red Line Rail

To ensure the smooth operation of the rail line and safety for commuters, significant infrastructure has been developed.

This includes the construction of 10 vehicular overpasses and pedestrian bridges, separating train traffic from vehicular and pedestrian flows.

[Vanguard]

The resolutions following the Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), at the recently concluded summit of Heads of State and Government in Abuja, were truly extraordinary.

Seven months after threatening to deploy force in Niger, one of the four delinquent states – the others being Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso – and three months after wide-ranging economic sanctions were imposed on all four, the regional body backed down spectacularly last week.

If the Afrobeat icon, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, had rendered a welcome tune for the embattled regional leaders as they met in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, it would have been his famous “Confusion Break Bone (CBB).” Misery never had a better company than the current state of affairs in the 50-year-old regional body, which apart from SADC, was perhaps Africa’s most exemplary model of regional co-operation.

While ECOWAS said it offered amnesty to its delinquent members on “humanitarian grounds”, the response from the military leaders in Bamako, Conakry, Ouagadougou and Niamey, has been mockingly indifferent. Yet the truth about how this 15-member regional block with annual trade valued at $150 billion came to this sorry pass is deeper and more nuanced than it appears.

Wrong turn

The Lomé Declaration of July 2000 recognised the continent was drifting and needed urgent course correction. An earlier era of democratic consolidation was being eroded by the return of military coups and the AU needed to create mechanisms to roll back the trend. 

But that’s precisely where the problem was misdiagnosed. While continental leaders were rightly concerned that unconstitutional changes of government were once again becoming a clear and present danger, the emphasis has been big on response but often, too little too late, on prevention. 

Nowhere has the situation played out more regrettably than in the delinquent Sahelian states of Mali, Guinea Burkina Faso and Niger. Whereas ECOWAS played a lead role in managing the crisis in Liberia and Sierra Leone; and forced Yahaya Jammeh to back down when he tried to play games in The Gambia after his final term, the problems in Francophone west Africa are more complicated. They speak French, which translated, means the continent should have prioritised prevention, instead of response. 

The French question

The delinquent military leaders have accused ECOWAS of keeping silent while their countries have been ripped off by France for decades. This largely true, but partly self-serving sentiment has found a place in the hearts and minds of citizens in these countries.

France has accumulated a notoriously poor record on the continent that it can hardly be proud of. In Niger, for example, Tom Burgis writes in his book, The Looting Machine, that French state-owned atomic energy group Areva’s profit from uranium is twice Niger’s GDP. The footprint is the same everywhere in the region.

Fourteen Francophone countries, including the four troubled ones, store 50 percent of their reserves in the French Treasury, an arrangement which has been widely criticised. Even French President Emmanuel Macron, born after colonial rule, acknowledged this injustice with a heavy heart, but then turned around to say later it was a part of the “civilising” obligations of France. If civilisation means robbing a country at gunpoint and having the victims pay interest for the crime, I wonder what primitiveness would look like.

While France may be the most obvious, and perhaps the most perniciously complicit, it is not the only source of Francophone west Africa’s misery. As I wrote in an earlier article on this subject entitled, “Again, A Bizarre Joke in Niger Speaks French,” China, and lately, Russia, also have their hands in it for their own strategic interests. Yet, not a single one of these foreign powers have gotten away with murder without the complicity of the political elite in these countries – politicians and military alike.

It is convenient for the delinquent military leaders in the Sahelian states to look for scapegoats elsewhere, exploiting widespread insecurity, rampant poverty, identity politics and foreign meddling to gain legitimacy. 

The point is, military leaders have no greater claim to patriotism than do the rest of us. We have seen in dozens of military coups on the continent that those who came claiming to be messiahs left their countries worse off.

Blaming Tinubu?

Where does the flip-flop and mollycoddling leave ECOWAS, a regional body obviously anxious to prove under the leadership of Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that it is as good as its word that coups would have no place on his watch?

It’s hard to blame Tinubu for pressing ECOWAS to act tough as military coups piled on themselves. As the leader of a country that had witnessed nearly half a dozen successful coups, he had to do what he did as a matter of self-preservation and enlightened interest. 

The problem, however, was that there were so many artisans involved in making this broth, it turned out to be a chef’s nightmare. Strategy should never have been sacrificed for expediency.

The Delinquent Four have seen that the regional powerhouses have been considerably weakened and distracted internally by insurgency, political strife, economic crisis, and poor governance. Add that to a global system pre-occupied with the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, then it becomes clearer why the Delinquent Four have adopted defiance as strategy.

The Chairman of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Toure, expressed the hope that eating the humble pie is worth the price of losing four members. I’m not sure the Delinquent Four will withdraw their threat of leaving, U-turn or not. They’ve got ECOWAS exactly where they wanted and won’t be in a hurry to climb down. Sanctions hurt and studies have shown that they could have statistically significant immediate and long-term effects on the targets. 

But that, of course, is assuming that the countries imposing sanctions have the capacity and will to enforce them. Even though the four countries targeted by ECOWAS are landlocked and therefore could ordinarily have felt the impact more, boundaries in the subregion are so porous and informal trade so deeply entrenched – about 30 percent of regional trade actually – a successful implementation of economic sanctions was always going to be quite problematic. 

Then, there is the potential threat that if these countries harden beyond redemption, it would not only further weaken the multinational framework for containing insurgency in the region, these states may themselves become epicentres of regional destablisation. 

As things are, ECOWAS will have to swallow its pride and set up credible negotiating teams with the Delinquent Four that take into account their grievances. The artisans have done enough harm. It’s unlikely that these military leaders would honour any transition guidelines but that must remain the minimum basis for any future agreements. 

Tacky Macky Sall

There is, of course, the case of Senegal where President Macky Sall is also waiting to go rogue. Before ECOWAS is caught on the backfoot again, this would be a good time to start meaningful negotiations to ensure that Sall doesn’t endanger himself, his country and the subregion by extending his tenure too far beyond his already exhausted expiry date. 

In light of the fragile situation in the continent, the AU must now pay far greater attention to prevention, focusing on triggers and early warning signs such as flawed elections, poor governance, and systemic corruption, instead of making a virtue of chasing the horses after they have bolted the stable. 

That’s why the launch this week of the Regional Citizen’s Dialogue Programme (RCDP) in Abuja by a consortium of NIPSS, Kuru; the Dantiye Centre, Kano; the Sierra Leone-based regional cenre (RCGSPI); and KAICIID, to mobilise civil society and complement institutional effort at prioritising prevention deserves serious attention. 

Who would have thought that three landlocked countries with a combined eight percent contribution to the $761billion GDP of ECOWAS, according to the World Bank, could hold the community to ransom, forcing it to swallow more than a trayful of humble pie?

Azu Ishiekwene is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP. 

The senate has agreed to extend the retirement age of civil servants working in the national assembly.

The development comes a week after the upper legislative chamber threw out a bill on the subject. However, it concurred with the house on Thursday.

The bill, which has been passed by the house of representatives, is seeking to increase the retirement age to 65 years or 40 years of service, whichever comes first.

The existing law prescribes 60 years of age or 35 years of service for retirement.

Last week, some of the senators kicked against the bill, saying that special treatment should not be given to national assembly staff.

Specifically, Enyinnaya Abaribe, senator representing Abia south, said there is no difference between a civil servant in the national assembly and in a federal ministry.

“I have also looked at the retirement age for university lecturers and judicial officials which we passed about the same time,” Abaribe said.

“Coming down to the officers of the national assembly, I asked a simple question; What is the difference between the person who is a finance director in the national assembly and that in the ministry of finance?

“I do not see what separates the person who works inside here as a staff of the national assembly from the person who works in the ministry of commerce as a staff.

“We must not allow somebody to stay here beyond the rules of public service of Nigeria on retirement year.”

The senate has set up a committee to harmonise its bill with that of the lower legislative chamber.

[TheCable]

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday condemned the recent protest by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), warning the Labour movement to know that it is not the only voice of the people.

He spoke at the commissioning of the Lagos Red Line Train connecting from Agbado to Oyingbo.

The Labour Union had on Tuesday staged a protest over hardship in the land as well as the refusal of the federal government to implement agreement reached with the unions.

But Tinubu came hard on the Labour in the course of his remark, saying Labour Union should understand that despite its acclaimed right and freedom, it cannot fight an administration which is just nine-month old.

This is just as Tinubu stated that there was no going back on his reforms despite resistance by those he called ‘smugglers’.

He also reiterated that corruption is fighting back and vowed that the government would exterminate corruption.

Tinubu said the current hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the exchange rate is temporary, begging Nigerians to persevere.

“There is very bright light at the end of the tunnel. Nigeria will be out of economic problem, we just need to persevere and work hard,” the President declared.

But facing the Labour, he reiterated that the NLC is not the only voice of the people and warned the congress to maintain peace.

He said, “Allow me to throw a jab here. The Labour Union should understand that you are not the only with freedom and rights.

“If you want to participate in the electoral process, meet us in 2027. If not maintain peace. You are not only voice of Nigeria.”

The President said the commissioning of the red line was the culmination of the vision he nursed 25 years ago when he was governor of the state, calling for more collaboration between the Ministry of Transport and other states to develop railway infrastructures across the country.

Russian President, Vladimir Putin has warned of a potential nuclear war if NATO states were to militarily intervene in his conflict in Ukraine.

“The West should remember that Russia also has weapons that could hit targets on its territory,” he told 1,000 representatives from politics, business, culture and religion at his State of the Nation address to both houses of parliament.

The 71-year-old, set to be re-elected next month, emphasised that any escalation and the use of nuclear weapons could lead to the “extinction of civilization.

NATO countries had sent Ukraine substantial amounts of military weapons to try to repel Russia’s invasion, now into its third year, but the Western defence alliance had yet to send its own troops.

The consequences of such a move could be tragic, Putin said, while at the same time rejecting claims that Russia wanted to attack the West as “nonsense.”

However, Russia would further strengthen its western flank due to the supposed danger posed by the expansion of NATO, Putin added.

Although he also offered to enter into dialogue with the United States over strategic security in the world.

Russia and the US had suspended or cancelled several disarmament treaties in the course of the Ukraine conflict.

Putin said Russia would be ready for new talks if the US stopped setting its sights on a strategic defeat for Moscow in Ukraine.

The Kano State government has directed the Bichi Emirate Council to suspend the turbaning ceremony of Salisu Ado Bayero as a district head in the Emirate.

A letter addressed to the secretary of Bichi Emirate Council and signed by the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Local Government Affairs, Ibrahim Kabara, on behalf of the State’s Deputy Governor, Comrade Aminu Abdulsalam, who is the overseeing Commissioner of the ministry, said the exercise should be suspended due “certain exigencies” at the moment.

“Reference to the communication received from you via a letter with reference number Bichi/EM/Adm/018/Vol III/167 with the above caption dated 2nd February 2024. I am instructed to convey the government’s directives to suspend the exercise due to exigencies at the moment,” the letter stated.

The state government, however, did not give the details of the “exigencies” in the letter.

Bichi Emirate Council had on February 15, 2024 written to Salisu Ado Bayero, a younger of Emir of Bichi, informing him of the emir’s approval for his appointment as traditional title holder/district head in Bichi Emirate.

The letter directed the Prince to come to the palace on Friday, March 1, 2024, for his turbaning as district head.

Ekiti’s first lady, Olayemi Oyebanji, has appealed to market women for compassion and not to exacerbate the sufferings of Nigerians due to the current economic crisis.

Ms Oyebanji made the appeal on Thursday during a meeting with female market leaders (Iyalojas) from the 16 local government areas in her office in Ado-Ekiti.

She said Governor Biodun Oyebanji was worried about the high cost of food and other essential items in markets.

The governor’s wife, therefore, asked the market women to lower the prices of food and other goods that do not depend on foreign exchange to help the ordinary citizens who are struggling with the situation.

She also urged the market women to cooperate with the current administration in the state by implementing policies that would alleviate hunger and poverty.

Ms Oyebanji urged the market leaders to spread the message to all the traders in the state and encouraged them to find ways to reduce the burden on the people, in line with the government’s efforts to ease their hardship.

“My mothers, I beg you, you are the leaders in your markets. For those goods that are not affected by the dollar, please reduce their prices. We should not use this situation to take advantage of our people.

“Let us go to our markets and talk to other market women. We have to find ways to ease the suffering of our people. This storm will pass, but the little we can do to make it easier, let us do it for our people to have some relief,” she said.

Ms Oyebanji said her husband had recently introduced some palliative measures, including a N12 billion economic stimulus package and payment of arrears of salaries and pensions.

Others are increasing funding for tertiary institutions, approval of N331 million for the purchase of food items for distribution in all the local government areas, free transportation for workers and students, and others.

She further said her recent visit to the Irona Market in Ado-Ekiti, where she gave cash and food items to poor traders and elderly people, was part of the measures to cushion the effects of the economic downturn.

Ms Oyebanji announced her plan to start a market outreach programme called ‘Aya Gomina N Be Oja Wo’ (Governor’s Wife Visits Markets), where she would visit all the markets, buy from local market women, and empower needy traders.

The Iyaloja General of Ekiti, Habibat Ogunjobi, who spoke earlier, said market women in the state have always supported Mr Oyebanji’s developmental programmes.

She assured that the market leaders would take the message to the traders in the local markets and ensure they follow the government’s advice to benefit the masses.

(NAN)