The Federal Government has withdrawn the Mobile Police Force personnel attached to several Very Important Persons, including ex-governors, former ministers and lawmakers.

The order, which was contained in a police wireless message from Mopol 45 Force Headquarters, Abuja, affected Daura Buhari, brother to former President Muhammadu Buhari as well as former First Lady, Aisha Buhari’s sibling and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.

The development came a few weeks after the IG vowed to withdraw Police Mobile Force personnel from VIP escort and guard duties.

He had also announced plans to establish the Special Intervention Squad, which according to him, would have 40,000 highly trained police officers including selected officers from the Police Mobile Force.

This, the IG said, was to allow the police to take back its place in the “internal security architecture” of the country.

Egbetokun, who spoke during a meeting with Squadron leaders and Tactical Commanders in Abuja, on June 26, stated, “We shall affect the withdrawal of PMF personnel from VIP escort/guard duties.

While the protection of dignitaries remains paramount, it is imperative that we realign our priorities to address the escalating security challenges faced by the nation as a whole. By relieving the PMF of VIP escort and guard duties, we can redirect their focus and efforts toward addressing critical security concerns that affect our communities at large.

“In a bid to kick-start the process of regaining our pride of place in the internal security architecture of our dear country first and foremost, modalities for the creation of a new special squad – the Special Intervention Squad have been initiated.

“This special squad shall consist of 40,000 specially trained elite officers. The Squad will be formed by selecting officers from the pool of existing Police Mobile Force personnel and all tactical units in the country.

“These officers will undergo intensive pre-deployment training to make them combat-ready for frontline operational duties in all the states of the Federation, with a particular focus on areas plagued with unrest and turmoil.

“By pooling together the expertise and experience of our PMF personnel and other tactical units, we can establish a formidable force that is well-equipped to handle the evolving challenges we face.”

Egbetokun set up a committee headed by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Operations), Adeleke Bode, to assess and advise on how the new policies could be implemented seamlessly.

[Tribune]

Russia said on Monday that it was pausing its participation in an agreement that allowed Ukraine to export its grain by sea despite a wartime blockade — a deal seen as essential to keeping global food prices stable — and would resume participation only after its conditions were met.

The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov told journalists on Monday that the agreement was “suspended.”

The deal, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative and brokered by the United Nations and Turkey a year ago, had been set to expire on Monday. There was no immediate response from either party on Monday to Russia’s announcement.

The Governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo (CFR) will exchange views with a cross section of Ndi-Anambra in a Town Hall Meeting in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on Thursday, July 20 by 6pm.

The Town Hall Meeting which is by invitation will be chaired by Sir (Dr) Emeka Offor, and the event will hold at Bolton White Event Centre, 31 Kigoma Street, Wuse Zone 7, Abuja.

Guests are expected to be seated by 5.30pm.

Solution is here.

Signed
Sir Paul Nwosu
Commissioner for Information,
Anambra State
July 17, 2023

Nigeria’s annual inflation rate climbed to a fresh 18-year high in June, after President Bola Tinubu scrapped fuel subsidies and allowed the currency to weaken before declaring a state of emergency to control the cost of staple foods.

Prices increased 22.79% in the year through June from 22.4% the previous month, according to the data published on the National Bureau of Statistics’ website. 

The upswing was fueled by a 25.3% increase in food prices from 24.8% a month earlier and a slight uptick in core inflation to 20.3%. The median estimate of seven economists in a Bloomberg survey was 23%. Prices rose 2.1% in the month. 

[Bloomberg]

Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, says he will not accede to requests by his friends, party members and supporters to join him in celebrating his birthday and even present some gifts.

Obi, however, appealed to those who may desire to celebrate him with gifts to look around them and extend the gesture to the people in need.

In a statement issued on his verified Twitter handle on Monday, the former Anambra State Governor said he has always maintained that the sacrifices for a better Nigeria must now start from everyone, the leaders and the well-placed, insisting that the state of the nation gives cause to pause and ponder.

While suggesting that there is far too much insecurity, violence, and bloodshed in the country,’ Obi said he would want to celebrate in a Nigeria that works for all and which Nigerians can be proud of, claiming it is the true celebration that will benefit all Nigerians.

He wrote, ”Wednesday, 19th July 2023, marks my 62nd birthday. While I remain immensely grateful to God for His infinite mercies, I still maintain my decision of over 20 years that I will not celebrate my birthdays in today’s Nigeria, with the current deplorable state of the nation.

”However, some friends, members of the Labour Party, and the OBIdient Family and supporters have asked how they can join me in celebrating that day and even present some gifts.

”Let me humbly and respectfully appeal to all those who desire to celebrate me with any kind of gifts to look around them and extend such gifts to the people in need, especially in these difficult times.

”I urge them to visit hospitals, orphanages, and homes for the aged and people with disabilities and offer them generous gifts. They can also visit schools of basic studies in remote areas and support them with the basic amenities they need.

”Those who wish to do more can visit various IDP camps in different parts of the country. I intend to do the same thing. Aside from sharing my time and resources with the less fortunate people around me, I plan to raise money for schools, hospitals, etc.

”I have already said that the sacrifices for a better Nigeria must now start from us, the leaders and the well-placed. The state of our nation must give us cause to pause and ponder. There is far too much insecurity, violence, and bloodshed.”

[DailyPost]

As I was in the process of releasing this piece into the mass media,the news broke that President Tinubu had, on Wednesday, July 12,put forward a request to the House of Representatives, HoR, for five hundred (N500b) billion naira as extra funds for the provision of succour for the masses undergoing what Mr. President referred to as pains similar to childbirth pangs experienced by women who are mothers.

The sum is to be specifically deployed in the provision of succour to the distressed masses due to the immediate consequences of the withdrawal of subsidies on both petrol and the naira policies being implemented by the incumbent administration.

The funds are expected to be deducted from the 2022 supplementary appropriation act, which has a provision of N819.5 billion naira for palliatives envisaged by the predecessor administration.

It was quite a pleasant co-incidence to me because a critical question that I had posed in the later part of this piece before the request for approval for the allocation was: where would President Tinubu find the funds to provide the much-needed cushion for his temporarily painful but ultimately economically revolutionary policies?

Having searched and not being able to identify other more viable alternatives on the horizon,my answer to the question is that taking the option of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) loan may hold a better promise for our beleaguered country.

That is because, although Nigeria is currently distressed financially,it is endowed with the resources and potential to thrive as a prosperous and successful country, which are yet to be tapped or harnessed.

But with the self-imposed reforms—removal of petrol subsidies and end of multiple exchange rates of the naira with foreign currencies—that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government has voluntarily embarked upon in less than 45 days of being on the saddle of leadership,Nigeria is eminently qualified to seek and obtain the IMF loan.

Having basically fulfilled all the loan conditionalities made by the IMF as far back as 1986 under the watch of then military president Gen.Ibrahim Babangida, IBB,through the sweeping reforms introduced by President Tinubu via his Tinubunomics initiative since May 29 this year, the question that comes to mind would be: is Nigeria taking the IMF loan?

Everyone knows that our country is in dire need of revenue, and its external debt burden, which is hovering around fifty trillion (N50 trillion) naira added to its local debt, brings its indebtedness to an estimated eighty trillion (N80 trillion) naira. This has been acknowledged as unsustainable.

And given the paucity of revenue inflow that has been compounded by an epidemic and pernicious crude oil theft (Nigeria’s main source of revenue) that has assumed an alarming dimension,the country may not have any other option than to go the way of its neighbour, Ghana, which recently sought and received a loan of three billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund,IMF.

The option of an IMF loan recommends itself because it is becoming increasingly difficult for Nigeria to service her external debt due to the fact that the cost of servicing it practically consumes most of the revenue accruing into the coffers of the federal government, to the extent that our country’s debt to equity ratio is in negative territory and the World Bank reckons that our debt servicing obligations matched against our national income are at about 96%.

In fact,by some estimates in some quarters a year ago, our debt payment obligations (all things remaining the same) would outstrip our revenue inflow in less than one year.

Consequently,in recent times, there has been very little or nothing left to apply in providing infrastructure or even something as basic as basic remedies or palliatives for the hardship triggered by the removal of subsidies on the pump price of petrol and multiple naira exchange rate unification in the last month of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s sweeping economic reforms.

For instance,the economy is in such dire straits that it is the four hundred (N400m) that used to be pushed into the black hole, otherwise known as the petrol subsidy, on a daily basis and the four hundred billion (N400b) on a monthly basis that are being targeted as the funds for the new administration to kick start the much anticipated palliatives to ameliorate the hardships currently being faced by the Nigerian masses.

It may be recalled that the outgoing administration of President Mohammadu Buhari had programmed for the petrol subsidy regime to be over at the end of last June, beyond which there was no financial provision in 2023.

And the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (NNPCL) had claimed that the federal government was owing it a princely sum of N2.8 trillion naira after netting off the income from crude oil sales from the cost of petrol imports.

That is despite the fact that N3.5 trillion was provided in the 2023 budget for petrol subsidy up until June, which is just half of the year after N6 trillion was appropriated as subsidy for petrol in 2022.
That brings subsidy in 30 months to a mind-boggling N9.5 trillion, for which the HoRs is determined to investigate its disbursement.

That is on top of Nigeria producing crude oil below the 1.8 million barrels a day quota from OPEC and its income from the sale of the commodity, which constitutes about 79% of our country’s foreign exchange earnings (gas is 11%), and as a result earning only a paltry income in the neighbourhood of $5 billion, which when converted to the naira is approximately less than N30 trillion annually.

Meanwhile, the World Bank has estimated that about $5.6 billion would be saved owing to subsidy removal from petrol and naira, which is about half of the over $10 billion that the country used to earn annually in the not too distant past.

In light of the above,despite the best efforts of tax experts,finding funds to sustain the government would be like trying to squeeze water out of stone.

And even with the dollar proceeds hitherto applied in defending the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) via weekly interventions in the foreign exchange market through the sale of dollars to a vast array of bureau de change outfits that were mainly owned by government officials and fronted for by surrogates located in popular hotels, airports, and strategic street corners,the bonanza is not available anymore as NNPC ltd has been mandated to use the dollar income from crude oil sales to import petrol into Nigeria and sell at subsidised rates, which has been returning a net deficit for the federation.

At some point, the weekly dollar bazaar, which was carried out ostensibly to shore up the naira/FX rate, was no longer available for the twin reasons of crude oil proceeds being exclusively managed by NNPCL, which collects and uses the funds to import refined petroleum products into our country and which it subsidises before it is retailed to motorists.

And it is a largesse diverted to the NNPC that has also ended with
President Tinubu’s bombshell decision or pronouncement in his inauguration speech on May 29: "Petrol subsidy is gone ".

As observed earlier, NNPCL, in the wake of the removal of the petrol subsidy, claimed that our country owed it N2.8 trillion in payment areas for subsidising the pump price of petrol, an activity that it had been carrying out on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, FGN.

What the narrative above indicates is that our crude oil revenue was not even enough to support the cost of subsidising petrol pump prices because the FGN was still owing NNPCL N2.8 trillion.
That explains why the FGN has been borrowing to pay civil servants emoluments and meet other governmental responsibilities.

In the light of the grim fiscal and socioeconomic situations described above, even as President Tinubu’s team that I have,for lack of a better nomenclature, branded Tinubunomics evangelists, are able to come up with strategies to ease the burden of galloping inflation that has been taking a heavy toll on the masses,the initiatives would need to be cash-backed.
Whence cometh the funds, Nigerians would wonder?

Definitely not the paltry $800m that the world bank offered Nigeria to help cushion the harsh effect of subsidy removal just before ex-president Buhari’s tenure ended, nor is it the new $500m that has been offered to President Tinubu’s new regime by the world bank, perhaps as a demonstration of its support for the far-reaching reforms so far introduced.

Clearly, both world bank funds to be availed of or already disbursed to Nigeria, even when combined, are inadequate as they would not even scratch the surface of our country’s needs.
So an IMF loan beckons.

Although President Tinubu appears to have answered the question, whence cometh the funds? clearly,N500 billion can only be a stop-gap measure in light of the urgency required to do something significant to ease the pain on the masses sooner rather than later.

And the request for approval from HoRs to apply for the N500 billion is all the more critical because it is very much needed to bridge the gap as the process of obtaining the IMF loan, in the event that the government decides to toe that path, can be relatively long.

Strikingly, Nigeria had attempted to take the IMF loan under the watch of former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, who incidentally had toppled then-head of state, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari.

And the country was under a similar yoke because the Nigerian economy was at that time literally comatose following about two years of draconian policies of then head of state Gen. Buhari, wherein essential commodities such as rice, sugar, milk, etc. were so scarce that an agency known as Nigerian National Supply Company Ltd., NNSL, was set up to purchase and ration the items to Nigerians under a very stressful atmosphere reminiscent of the situation in iron-clad countries like the Republic of North Korea.

In my column of June 27, titled "A Comparative Analysis Of Tinubunomics Reforms And I.M.F. Conditionalities For Loan", and also widely published in traditional and online media platforms, I reflected on issues pertaining to our country’s contemplation of taking the IMF loan nearly forty (40) years ago, before it settled for a home-grown Structural Adjustments Programme, SAP, which it mismanaged with disastrous consequences.

To put things in perspective, below is a snippet: "As it may be recalled, Nigeria had also suffered the dilemma of financial insolvency in the mid-1980s (during the regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, IBB (1985–1993)), similar to the situation currently being faced by Ghana, which just took the IMF loan.

"That was what prompted the country to seek a bailout loan from the LMF, and some reforms were demanded as preconditions for granting the loan.

"Some of the conditionalities were very stringent, and they were such that the nation baulked at taking the loan facility.

"New York Times reporter Edward A. Gargan, in his article titled "NNigerian Leader Wary On I.M.F. Loan," published on October 8, 1985, which is nearly 38 years ago, stated the following about Nigeria and the I.M.F. loan:
"As a condition for granting the loan,the I.M.F. has called for Nigeria to devalue its currency, the naira, and end the practise of subsidising petroleum products for consumers. At the official rate of exchange, the naira is equivalent to $1.08, but on the black market here in Lagos, money changers are selling nairas for as much as four to the dollar.

"Smuggling Is Rampant.
The tremendous disparity between the official and unofficial exchange rates has led to rampant smuggling and has sharply curtailed Nigeria’s ability to sell manufactured goods abroad", he noted.
"Moreover, gasoline in Nigeria remains the cheapest in Africa—less than $1 a gallon at the official rate and about 25 cents a gallon at black market rates. Today, General Babangida refused to say whether oil subsidies would be lifted and virtually ruled out any sharp devaluation of the nation’s currency,", the reporter concluded.

"Is it not stunning that the damning socioeconomic atmosphere currently prevailing in Nigeria is exactly the situation that existed nearly four decades ago and for which the L.M.F. demanded that Nigerian leaders make some tough decisions to reform as a critical precondition for granting her a bailout loan under the watch of military president Gen. Brahim Babangida?", I had observed.

The reality is that it is not only gut wrenching that as a nation, we have remained on the same path of ‘Debt Avenue’ and sought a bailout nearly forty (40) years after lBB considered it following the ouster of then Gen. Mohammadu Buhari as head of state via a palace coup de tat in 1985, but it is equally damning and pathetic that today,an IMF rescue may be contemplated once again after the reign of President Buhari, who was elected president in 2015, after which he succeeded in bringing the Nigerian economy to its knees and thus earned the unenviable reputation of being the world’s poverty capital, which he handed over to President Tinubu on 29 May.

Although this feeling is without concrete evidence, one gets the sense that it may be a precursor to seeking the LMF loan that President Tinubu has been rolling out revolutionising economic reform policies tagged Tinubunomics that are unshackling our country and making it investment friendly.

By the way, there is currently an equivalent of Tinubunomics in the United States of America, known as Bidenomics, which, as the name indicates, encapsulates President Joe Biden’s economic policies, including the ground-breaking infrastructure act that has reflated the economy and boosted employment amongst others through the ongoing massive infrastructure refurbishment in the USA.

As evidence, the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, in the world’s largest and wealthiest economy has dropped from 9.1 points to 3 from June last year to June this year.
And the drop in inflation by six (6) points between 2022 and June 2023 is owed to the Infrastructure Investments Act, or Jobs Act, which saw a humongous sum of $1.2 trillion being appropriated for investment in infrastructure.

The monumental investment dubbed a once-in-a-generation stake in infrastructure is encapsulated in Bidenomics, driven by the Build Back Better Agenda of President Biden.

And if Bidenomics has worked in the USA, as is currently evident,there is every good reason to believe that its equivalent in Nigeria, Tinubunomics, would equally have a positive outcome here if diligently pursued.

In Nigeria, Tinubunomics policies range from the repeal of burdensome and archaic economic policies that had shackled our country, thus putting long-suffering Nigerians literarily in economic manacles via the erstwhile funds-guzzling petrol subsidy, the operation of multiple naira exchange rates with the dollar, which is another type of subsidy, and the subsidy on electricity production and distribution arising from the fact that the activity was on the Exclusive List, meaning that hitherto only the federal government could provide electricity service.

It is a situation that the signing into law of the Electricity Act 2023 by President Tinubu has changed for the better, basically because the policy has thrown open the investment space in electricity services to the private sector for participation.

Apart from the earlier referenced Electricity Act 2023 and the Freedom of Data Act that would unleash the potentials of information technology, which has been elevated to the level of Artificial Intelligence and is being leveraged in advanced societies to enhance all spheres of life, there is also the passage of four (4) Executive Orders that have reversed some anti-business laws such as new tariffs on vehicles imported into Nigeria and 5% Value Added Tax and VAT on telecoms services, as well as similar sundry taxes that were stifling businesses.

It may be recalled that the aforementioned laws that are unfriendly to business were hastily passed by the immediate past regime before its exit on May 29.

The four (4) executive orders that are business-friendly appear to be in response to the organised private sector, which has cried out to President Tinubu for forbearance.

And as if to cap the myriad of policy decisions that have so far been taken by President Tinubu aimed at pulling our country out of the abyss of debt and the hole of despondency into which more citizens of our country, numbering up to 130 million of the 200 million, have descended, the president has also set up a tax advisory council with PwC team lead for West Africa, Taiwo Oyedele, as chairman.

The mandate of the council, comprised of other eminent tax experts, is to seek ways and means of optimally harnessing in a win-win manner the untapped tax resources in our country that are presently not captured by the existing system.

That is with a view to enabling the administration to carry out the onerous task of pulling our country out of the economic doldrums in which it is currently wallowing as a consequence of eight (8) years of monumental sociopolitical and economic mismanagement by the predecessor government.

It is undeniable that it is a consequence of the unmitigated disastrous socioeconomic and political leadership of our country by the outgoing regime that the Nigerian masses are being characterised as multidimensionally poor people.

That is even as an additional four million, one hundred thousand (4.1 million) are adjudged by the World Bank as having joined the ranks of the indigent since the withdrawal of subsidies on petrol and the naira exchange rate unification on May 29, when President Tinubu mounted the throne of leadership in Aso Rock Villa.

With the threat of an additional seven million (7m) joining the inglorious poverty club, which is a figure that the world bank is projecting would likely be the aftermath of the removal of subsidies on petrol and naira by this year's end, if palliatives are not rolled out to cushion the harsh effects of the policies aimed at preventing our country from falling into a looming debt trap, it is not an understatement to emphasise that there is an urgent need to make haste in providing buffers.

That is probably what justifies and is driving President Tinubu’s request for N500 billion from the supplementary appropriation act 2022 currently before HoRs, but which the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, is kicking against because it believes it is inadequate to support the 300% salary increase that it is demanding.

After breaking the somewhat forty-year jinx of operating an economy that has been bearing the debilitating burden of petrol and naira subsidies, which the multilateral and international financial institutions—the World Bank, IMF, and even investment bank JP Morgan—as well as other multilateral financial organisations have been demanding that Nigeria remove to free up the economy via major policy reforms as far back as President Buhari’s first coming as a military dictator (1984–85), it would not surprise me if the aforementioned global financial agencies are already wooing Nigeria with loan offers.

That would be more so because the ongoing reforms have been voluntary as opposed to imposed.

As such, despite Nigeria’s estimated N50 trillion external loan exposure, she may be able to obtain international loans on favourable terms simply because Nigeria, with its humongous potential (population in excess of 200 million and the largest in Africa), significant and reasonable purchasing power, and a virile middle class comprising 60% youth demographics that are very creative, is currently the toast of investors globe-wide.

But given the horrendous and frightening size of our current debt profile, a significant, if not broad, spectrum of Nigerians may kick against the idea of obtaining more loans.
But to dig the economy out of the hole in which it is currently stuck would require more funds.

And being that the debt servicing that watchers of our economy—the World Bank, etc.—had warned about a year ago would outstrip our income if adequate care was not taken to cut down on our expenditure costs and boost revenue inflow by plugging crude oil leakages to oil thieves (an admonition that was unheeded and has become a reality today), the future of our country is currently in jeopardy.

According to statistics from the National Bureau for Statistics (NBS), the total exports from Nigeria for 2022 rose by 41.72 percent from N18.91 trillion in 2021 to N26.79 trillion in 2022. But imports rose by 22.77 percent, from N20.84 trillion in 2021 to N25.59 trillion in 2022.

When the value of Nigeria’s total exports last year, which was N26.79 trillion, is matched up, it is basically equal to the import value of N25.59 trillion in the same 2022.
That simply implies that our country’s exports and imports almost matched each other last year.

If the debt servicing obligation of Nigeria is added, which the Debt Management Office (DMO puts at N3.36 trillion in 2023, where would this administration find the money to undertake the under-listed huge investments that would facilitate a more people-friendly transition from petrol subsidy removal and naira exchange rate unification?

Although the administration has yet to disclose its plans, I would like to hazard a guess that the immediate needs for investment to soften the effects of the policy reforms would likely be: procurement of mass transit buses powered by Compressed Natural gas (CNG, provision of a one hundred percent (100%) salary increase to public servants; offering some tax breaks to businesses to enable the extension of a similar 100% salary raise for workers in that sector; and availing loans to indigent tertiary institution students as enunciated in the Students Loan Act.

The above-listed proposals are some of the lofty measures that are likely to be
undertaken by the administration as a panacea to the inclement fallout of the socioeconomic reforms so far rolled out by President Tinubu.
The introduction of the palliatives would enable the reforms to come into fruition or materialise without too much collateral damage to the masses.

As earlier observed, it is as if there was a synergy of thoughts and a meeting of minds of sorts that the government has put forward the request to HoRs for its approval for the executive branch to apply N500 billion in the 2022 supplementary appropriation act to mitigate the harsh effect of its reforms, which is currently receiving the attention of the legislators.

The NLC's dissatisfaction with the sum of N500 billion requested, which it deems to be too little, suggests to me that it may be a bridging gap as more funds,probably from the I.M.F., may be sourced to tide the country through the rough patch that it is currently passing through.

Whatever the case may be,the undeniable reality is that this country right now looks like a firm or business corporation that has just been taken over by a very bad manager and needs working capital to put it back on an even keel.

In my reckoning,to make Nigeria work again,it needs working capital,and as financial experts very well know,borrowing from the money or capital markets is obviously more expensive than sourcing funds from a multilateral agency like the IMF, World Bank, etc.

The snag may be that our country’s previous experience with LMF might have left an unsavoury taste in the mouths of Nigerians. But there is a difference between 1986 and 2023, which is that the IMF would not be imposing any harsh conditionalities on Nigeria because the country has already voluntarily swallowed the bitter pills.

So, should President Tinubu decide to pursue the option of an IMF loan, Nigerians would acquiesce with it as long as they were assured by Tinubunomics champions that the funds would be invested in production (infrastructure,factories , employment creation activities, etc.) as opposed to consumption items (salary payments,perks of office, and lavishness by public office holders), which has been the pattern in the past eight (8) years.

And the demand by the NLC for more funds to be appropriated for palliative care underscores the belief that a LMF loan may be the most viable option at this point in time.

Magnus Onyibe, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, author, democracy advocate, development strategist, alumnus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, and a former commissioner in Delta State government, sent this piece from Los Angeles, California, USA.

“Seduction is a sibling of deception. He who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived (Machiavelli). But everything that has a beginning has an end. Deception is like a drug; its effectiveness ends at its expiry date. With the palliative books reading billions for politicians and other specialists while the people are yawning for life, there is a simmering stirring in town. The president needs to reexamine himself and his regime of ‘renewed hope.’ His family and friends need to pray if they are not praying; they should intensify prayers if they are already praying. The sharks that used SAP to drown Ibrahim Babangida’s government appear to have sucked in this president and his government. And they haven’t yet spent 60 days in power. If IBB’s SAP was a hole, what we are seeing at this moment is a deep ditch. And the unfolding tragedy is not just that our man is in there and digging, it is that there are other holes ‘they’ are helping him to dig to fill the subsidy-withdrawal hole. It is not funny. The result is terrible devastation and ugly blisters on the face of the Nigerian earth.”

Our president has charm. “Charm is seduction without sex,” says Robert Greene, author of ‘The Art of Seduction’ (2001). The president is a poet; metaphor is his refuge. Before the election, Bola Tinubu made a vulture of himself with a declaration that he had been eating sacrifices before his enemies were born and he would continue to eat the dreaded. When he met the 1999-2007 set of governors last week, Bola Tinubu was in his poetic best: “We went into the pond and wrestled with a pig. We got dirty, and cleaned up. That is why I am here today.” That is how our president poeticised his journey to the presidency. He said he fought a pig, he got dirty but cleaned up and found himself “here”. Where is ‘here’? His choice of enemy – dirty, clumsy pig – just as his choice of metaphor, thrilled me. His choice of audience too – he was addressing his colleagues, 1999-2007 governors who snatched the Nigerian bone from the jaws of the military. His audience were the Orwellian super boars who taught this democracy how to bite, and chew, and swallow, and digest all on behalf of the people. “My doors are open; you are my advisers,” he told them. They were happy.

Tinubu, president of subtlety, had other things to say; and he said them: “I understand that our people are suffering, (but) there can be no childbirth without pain.” His animated voice rang round the hall. Great metaphors are Tinubu’s balm of Gilead for hungry, hopeless folks, victims of a government that woke the sleeping dog before thinking of what to do with the consequences: “The joy of childbirth is the relief that comes after the pain,” he said as if he did not know that some clumsily handled childbirths end in horror with the gourds broken and their water spilt. The president went further and announced with joy that “Nigeria is reborn already with fuel subsidy removal. It is a rebirth of the country for the largest number over a few smugglers…” The man may be more than a poet; he reads and must have read every line and chewed on every letter of Robert Greene on how to charm and sedate trouble. That is what charmers do. Greene says they “are consummate manipulators…They understand your spirit, feel your pain, adapt to your moods. In the presence of a charmer, you feel better about yourself…” Ibrahim Babangida said something like this years ago: “I understand the psychology of Nigerians.” Our two-month-old government withdrew subsidy on petrol and defoliated the forest. The poor cried; the rich cried. The president heard their cries and intervened; he renewed their hope and, in Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s voice, he told the Nigerian child to weep not: “Please, tell the people to be a little patient. The palliative is coming. I have done the arithmetic. But I don’t want cash-transfers to fall into the wrong hands. I know it pinches and it is difficult…In the end, we will rejoice in the prosperity of our country.” Very reassuring. The palliative truly came a day after those analgesic words. Everybody got something; the parliament got billions; the judiciary got theirs, and the president shoved N8,000 per month into the mouth of aching households. Painkiller is a synonym for palliative; it cannot cost more than N8,000.

Tinubu is a very lucky politician. He seduces without failing – because what beats in him is the heart of the art. Seduction, Kenneth Minogue (2006) says, is the central idea in political life. A man who boasted that he fought a pig and came out smelling sweet deserves attention. It takes more than courage to wrestle the mud with a pig. Critic, playwright and polemicist, George Bernard Shaw, called himself a “world betterer.” He made several interventions on the imperative of cleaning and cleansing the polity. He was totalitarian in his suggestions but he was careful enough to warn that you must “never wrestle with pigs.” He said if you do, “you both get dirty and the pig likes it.” Tinubu is a student of Greene: seduce your target by entering their spirit; adapt yourself to their moods; they will follow you even if you are going nowhere. He is also Niccolo Machiavelli’s Prince: “Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.” That is why just last year, Bola Tinubu appeared fascinated by Bernard Shaw’s wise counsel on avoidance of wrestling with the pig. He told a town hall meeting in Calabar, Cross River State, in December 2022 that nothing, including provocation from his opponents, would make him fight a pig: “No other person is running like me. They have no facts, they have no experience. They have no track record. They have no degree of honesty. They can’t keep their promises. They resort to insults and abuses to detract. No, it doesn’t catch me; to divert, I say no, I’m from Tinubu Square; to wrestle, I’m a wrestler, but I don’t wrestle with the pig.” That was the poet at his seductive best seven months ago. Now we know that people change their minds; and those include wrestlers from Tinubu Square.

But I agree, and seriously too, that only cowards run away from fights – with anyone, with anything, anywhere. It is the weak who chooses where and who to wrestle (Àìlejà níí jé won ò bí mi ní’lè yí). But the flexible is the skillful. This president has shown what is possible with a mind that is rock solid and fluid at the same time. That is called mobility. World boxing champion, Mohammed Ali, was mobile; he pulled punches, and he pulled no punches; he floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee. And that explains his becoming the Greatest of All Time. Last year, Tinubu wouldn’t fight a pig; this year, he fought a pig, cleaned himself up and became president of Africa’s most populous country. That is what shifty, sneaky courage does; the more the dirt, the healthier the seed. Our president has a brother in Iraqi war veteran, Burl Randolph Jr. who once gave the formula that saw him rise and become a colonel in the United States’ army: “I am often asked: ‘Burl, why would you wrestle with a pig? All you get is dirty and the pig enjoys it’…My answer is always the same: How do you think I made Colonel?” This American asked the one who would win anywhere to “learn to outmaneuver the pig.” He says he has never “encountered a neat, clean, problem…” True. No one has. And that is a lesson for all conformists and enablers of bumbling regimes. People who suffer and smile and even hail their tormentors can’t get better until they know that fighting to live is wrestling down the pig, the dirty.

Seduction is a sibling of deception. He who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived (Machiavelli). But everything that has a beginning has an end. Deception is like a drug; its effectiveness ends at its expiry date. With the palliative books reading billions for politicians and other specialists while the people are yawning for life, there is a simmering stirring in town. The president needs to reexamine himself and his regime of ‘renewed hope.’ His family and friends need to pray if they are not praying; they should intensify prayers if they are already praying. The sharks that used SAP to drown Ibrahim Babangida’s government appear to have sucked in this president and his government. And they haven’t yet spent 60 days in power. If IBB’s SAP was a hole, what we are seeing at this moment is a deep ditch. And the unfolding tragedy is not just that our man is in there and digging, it is that there are other holes ‘they’ are helping him to dig to fill the subsidy-withdrawal hole. It is not funny. The result is terrible devastation and ugly blisters on the face of the Nigerian earth.

We have a government that is determined to sweat the people like Orwellian Napoleon. It announced two weeks ago its plan to double its tax revenue. Do people pay tax from poverty? Digging holes to fill holes; the palliative from this government is N8,000 per household per month mixed with tax and rumours of more tax. The regime has slapped on us payment for Proof of Ownership papers for our vehicles every year. The price is N1,000. It started as a rumour but it is true and it is not funny. Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PwC, Taiwo Oyedele, was one strident online voice against this tax. He described it as “retrogressive…ill conceived and poorly designed.” He said “it is illogical to have to prove annually that you own a vehicle for which you already have a certificate of proof of ownership issued by the government.” Oyedele counseled that the tax “is wrong both in terms of signaling from a multiple taxation perspective and in terms of timing given the recent fuel subsidy removal…” He advised that the tax should be set aside in the interest of good order and to prevent setting a bad precedent. Then, he threw a snide remark: “Who says we cannot be asked to also renew our birth certificates, C of O, etc on an annual basis if this succeeds?” Valid questions! But, you know what? The very week Oyedele expressed those strong views, Tinubu appropriated the man. He gave him an appointment as the head of his tax reforms and fiscal policy committee. Seduction. ‘Why not sleep with the enemy? Politics is all about seduction.’ That provocative headline was cast by Suzanne Moore, columnist of The Guardian of the UK on 10 February, 2016. The Facebook wall of Oyedele, the latest catch of Politician Tinubu, has since been flooded with congratulations and felicitations in various flowery words and expressions. Interesting times. I congratulate him, too.

But, shall we ask: How much tax is enough for this government? When is it going to tax the super-rich who freely destroy our roads with their trailers and tankers? Hope is the food of the poor; sacrifice is the sacred duty they owe the state and its billionaire custodians. Like Lawuwo in Oladejo Okediji’s ‘Rere Run’, it is almost certain that we will all go bald – courtesy of the granite loads the Nigerian government daily heaps on our bare heads. Beasts of burden. That is an appropriate metaphor for the Nigerian poor. We pay taxes and overpay rates, explicit and implicit. Implicit taxes are unseen, unrecorded levies. You and I bear and pay them daily without complaining. It is our lot; the price for choosing to be born here. We think it is normal because we’ve been paying them from our mother’s wombs. African Development Bank (AfDP) president, Akinwumi Adesina, about two months ago hinted in Abuja that because our governments are historically asleep, the people sulk not, they provide public services. He made a lot of sense. He made even greater sense when he stressed that while tax payment was desirable, “it is not the amount of tax collected, it is how it is spent, and what is delivered.”

At the first national tax dialogue organized by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) in Abuja in January 2021, the same Adesina doubled down and said Nigerians were among top implicit tax payers in the world: “Truth be told, Nigerians pay one of the highest implicit tax rates in the world — way higher than developed countries. Think of it: they provide electricity for themselves via generators; they repair roads to their neighborhoods, if they can afford to; there are no social security systems; they provide security for their own safety; and they provide boreholes for drinking water with their own monies.” The man repeated himself in May 2023 (this year) at the inauguration lecture of Tinubu in Abuja. There, the man amplified his 2021 thoughts on what Nigerians suffer at the hands of their government with a warning that “…simply raising taxes is not enough, as many question the value of paying taxes, hence the high level of tax avoidance. Many citizens provide their own electricity, sink boreholes to get access to water, and repair roads in their towns and neighborhoods. These are essentially high implicit taxes. Nigerians, therefore, pay the highest implicit tax rates in the world.”

So, why should I pay tax to the government? Or, better put, why do I need a government?

Seeks Judicial Intervention, Proper Scrutiny Of Presidential Election Results

Bishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has described the 2023 elections, particularly the presidential polls, as the worst in Nigeria’s history.

According to Onaiyekan, “There have been previous instances of flawed elections, but what we witnessed in the last election is unparalleled. We have never experienced anything like this before.”

The respected cleric who spoke during a virtual town hall meeting organized by the Rebuild Nigeria Initiative (RNI) expressed regrets over the deep divide created by the intertwining of politics and religion among Nigerians.

Addressing the theme of the dialogue: “Nigeria-Pathway to National Peace and Reconciliation,’ Onaiyekan acknowledged that though there is nowhere in the world where elections are perfect, some of the acts witnessed during the last elections were simply foolish and absurd.

He expressed concern that while many aspects of the 2023 elections were still being challenged in court, individuals have been sworn into office, giving the impression that “nothing will come out of the court

“INEC promised us a standard election, but what transpired in the presidential election fell short of our expectations. We should not resign ourselves to accepting elections that lack credibility. These leaders claim to have been elected by us, yet we know we did not elect them.

“Even taking oaths with the Bible and Quran has become so common among politicians that they no longer have any moral compass.

“There are ongoing cases in court that have yet to be resolved. We have a president whose election is being challenged, and the court is handling the matter. It is not enough to attribute Nigeria’s problems solely to leadership. Why do we allow these same leaders, who have not denied being corrupt, to continue leading us?

“We do not need to legitimize it; what is wrong is wrong. They owe us the responsibility to wield the power acquired from public office judiciously,” he said.

Onaiyekan also recalled with nostalgia, the historical collaboration between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, highlighting a time when the nation was on the path to becoming a model country, characterized by peace and harmony.

“In recent years, we have witnessed a shift in this trajectory, a downward spiral, as religious fanatics have strained the relationship between the two religions.

“The emergence of Boko Haram caused significant damage, as it was perceived as an attack on Christians. Fanatics believe that anyone practising a different faith is in error.

“This is incorrect; we should assume that everyone is sincere and convinced of their own beliefs. That is why it is wrong for anyone to speak ill of any religion.

“I do not want it to seem as though we have lost our way as a people because we still coexist. Both religions have not given up on peace. While some individuals strive to create divisions for their own selfish gains, the majority of Nigerians still believe in unity,” he said.

The Cardinal emphasized the importance of speaking truthfully about the issues affecting the country, stressing that only the truth will save Nigeria from being destroyed.

“It is not a matter of being polite; it is about speaking the truth. For example, when I criticize a Muslim brother, it is not to provoke a quarrel but because it is the truth. We cannot refrain from telling the truth without sugarcoating it.

“When a politician wants to win or gain an advantage, they exploit ethnicity and religion, claiming, ‘I am fighting for you because you belong to this tribe or because you are a Christian or Muslim.’ This has further divided us.

“We complain about politicians manipulating situations, but why do we allow ourselves to be manipulated when the power to elect lies with the people?

“Moreover, it is challenging to distinguish between political leaders and religious leaders because their speeches blur the line between the two,” he said.

Onaiyekan reiterated the need for peace to foster national development, emphasizing the necessity of reviewing some national policies, saying accepting things merely for the sake of peace was wrong.

“When things are not done properly, development stagnates. The immunity clause, which shields wrongdoings, has hindered progress. We should not forget that Nigeria is the only country in Africa capable of making significant strides. If Nigeria fails, what other country can succeed?

“It is becoming shameful that despite our abundant natural and human resources, we remain at this level. I believe we can achieve more, not overnight, but a four-year term can make a significant difference.

“As a people, I do not believe we are powerless, as the people play an active role while the politicians play a passive role in elections. For far too long, we have placed trust in our leaders.

“We should no longer trust them, as they have taken us for granted and betrayed our trust. Those who have betrayed us still hold positions of power.

“We strive for peace, but I fear that if the court does not resolve the election petitions in a timely manner, issues may arise. Some of the president’s actions are in response to public protests, and we must continue engaging the government to voice our concerns.

“Although we have not seen the ministerial list, it will likely comprise the same old faces. The positive aspect is that no one remains in office forever; there will be an end when officials vacate their positions.

“We need functional structures in place. When these leaders leave the country, they behave properly, not because they are guarded, but because the system enforces it,” he said.

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, on Sunday night reportedly resigned from office.

There had been indications that Adamu was pressured to turn in his resignation letter while President Bola Tinubu was out of the country for an African Union (AU) meeting in Kenya.

Adamu speaking on the controversial development in a chat with Daily Trust promised not to comment on the matter until President Tinubu returns from the AU’s meeting.

The former governor of Nasarawa State said, “I won’t talk about the issue because the president is away.”

Meanwhile, a source that spoke with the platform revealed that Adamu submitted his resignation letter to the Chief of Staff of the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, around 4 pm on Sunday.

The source said, “He has resigned. The resignation letter signed by him has been sent to the villa. The letter was addressed to President Tinubu. But since the president is away in Kenya for the AU meeting, the letter was sent to his chief of staff.”

A source close to Adamu also confirmed the development, he said, “The national chairman resigned following a gang up by people around the president to embarrass him during the meetings of the party slated for tomorrow and Wednesday.”

The source, however, denied a report that it was President Tinubu that asked Adamu to resign ahead of the National Caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings of the party fixed for tomorrow and Wednesday.

A founding member of the APC claimed that Adamu resigned from his position following reports that two influential members of the party are mobilising against him ahead of the NEC meeting.

The politician said, “He resigned because they have started to collate signatures to impeach him during the forthcoming meetings. He resigned to save himself from humiliation.”