The squabble between the EFCC chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, and the outgoing governor of Zamfara state, Bello Matawalle, is a clear pointer to the difficulty inherent in fighting corruption in the country. The governor has launched virulent attacks against the chairman in apparent retaliation against the commission’s investigations into his administration. It is not uncommon for powerful individuals who are under investigation for corruption to either resist or avoid arrests, but Matawalle is the first governor to publicly claim that the EFCC chairman had asked him for a bribe.

It is particularly disturbing. I have contacted Bawa and he has vehemently denied the allegations. The federal government should launch thorough and independent investigations into the governor’s accusation to determine the truth. Nigerians would be particularly disillusioned and let down if Bawa is not above board.

His appointment as the commission’s fourth executive chairman in February 2021 elicited excitement for many good reasons. He was just 41; the first product of the EFCC Academy and the first non-police officer to assume the position. In a way, he represents the yearnings of young Nigerians who earnestly want to play a role in managing the affairs of their country. I had written an article soon after his appointment was announced entitled ‘’Agenda for the New EFCC Chairman’’, asking him to do a thorough job and not to let his generation and the nation down.

The EFCC is investigating Matawalle over allegations of corruption, award of phantom contracts and diversion of over N70 billion from government’s coffers into personal accounts. The commission avers that the money was sourced as a loan from a bank by the Zamfara state government ostensibly to fund some projects across the state, but was allegedly diverted by the governor through proxies and contractors who received payments for contracts that were not executed.

According to the EFCC, over 100 companies have received payments from the N70 billion loan, with no evidence of service rendered to the state. Some of the contractors have been interrogated by the commission and they have made startling revelations on how they were allegedly compelled by the governor to return the funds received from the state coffers back to him through his aides after converting them into foreign currencies.

EFCC alleges that one of the contractors, a popular Abuja property developer, collected N6 billion on a N10 billion contract without rendering any service to the state. Another contractor collected over N3 billion for a contract for the supply of medical equipment, but the commission traced a transfer of N400 million from the contractor’s account to a Bureau de Change operator. The contractor, the EFCC says, had confessed that the payment was to procure the dollar equivalent allegedly for the governor. The commission has also recovered N300 million from a company that was also involved in the alleged sleaze.

These accusations are grave and mind-boggling. I must commend the commission for doing a thorough forensic investigation. But amazingly, the governor has not denied these allegations, instead, he made counter-allegations, claiming that the EFCC chairman had asked him for a $2 million bribe and that he has evidence to prove it. In an interview with the Hausa Service of BBC last week, the governor criticised the seeming obsession of the commission with governors whereas federal officials are not investigated.

He also accused the commission of not being transparent in the disposal of confiscated assets. I have also seen a video in which Bawa is accused of staying in a $15,000-per-room hotel with many of his extended family members during the hajj in Saudi Arabia. The narrator wonders how the chairman, a civil servant, could afford such expensive hotel accommodation for himself and his family members. Clearly, the accusations are meant to ridicule the EFCC chairman, embarrass and weaken the commission and eventually throw it off track. As I said, Bawa has vehemently denied these allegations.

The governor claims that Bawa met him ‘’in a certain house’’. Of course, they couldn’t have met in a beer parlour or bus stop. Matawalle also made the point that the EFCC is focusing more on the state than the federal government. That is neither here nor there. Are the state governors wrongly accused? Is there any former governor that has been sent to jail for committing no offence?

In any case, I know that former federal officials like FFK; Diezani Allison-Madueke; Ahmed Idris (former accountant-general of the federation) and Sale Mamman (former minister of power) have been in the EFCC net for various alleged crimes. If more former governors are being investigated, it speaks to the fact that states’ chief executives control more resources, yet are less oversighted than the ministers. Who does a governor report to when the house of assembly is in his pocket?

Gov. Bello Matawalle should bring forth whatever evidence he has against the chairman or, he should report the matter to the ICPC or the police. The federal government should also launch an investigation into the allegations made by the governor. If it turns out that the governor’s allegations are baseless and fabricated, the chairman should seek redress in a court of law. The EFCC should conclude its investigations into the affairs of the Zamfara government and prosecute all the culprits.

Matawalle should be prevented from leaving the country after May 29. We have seen many instances in the past in which the commission made loud allegations against some politically exposed persons but eventually failed to prosecute them. Former Governor of Anambra state, Willy Obiano, was arrested soon after he handed over to Prof Charles Soludo, detained for a few days and released. Nothing has been heard of that case again till today. The Matawalle case should not be swept under the carpet. The revelations unearthed by the EFCC are staggering. It should also look into the activities of other governors and public officials who are about to finish their terms.

Which of the following three things do you think should break IBB’s heart most: The opportunity he missed being a national hero and an international statesman with the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won fair and square by MKO Abiola; the death of his wife Maryam; and his present state of health? Despite the many shenanigans of IBB, his many sins would still have been forgiven had he allowed the June 12, 1993 presidential election to stand, and had he relinquishing power to a democratically-elected government like Olusegun Obasanjo before him and Abubakar Abdulsalami after him both did. The mere fact of handing over to a civilian government is the reprieve Obasanjo and Abdulsalami enjoy to this date, both nationally and internationally. They are today treated as statesmen of repute; not that they did not sin. The same thing goes for former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who, rather than dig in, in 2015, made his now famous statement that his presidential ambition was not worth the blood of a single Nigerian. Jonathan proceeded to accept defeat, handing over power to Muhammadu Buhari. When IBB sees the trio of Obasanjo, Abdulsalami and Jonathan strut on the global space as colossus, rubbing shoulders with, and being celebrated by world figures, how on earth will his heart not break? Yet, IBB stood on a higher pedestal than these three to win similar acclaim because the 1993 election which he annulled was widely acclaimed, nationally and internationally, as the best this country has ever had. For IBB, it was paradise lost that is hard to regain; an opportunity lost which will never come around again.

I am sure IBB has not forgotten the momentous events of June 12; who can ever forget? He and his media minders have made spirited efforts severally to justify the annulment; to extricate IBB from the unfortunate mess and or rope as many people as possible in the debacle with him. On the occasion of IBB’s 70th birthday, I was in Minna where I had something to do for the government of the self-styled “Chief Servant”, Gov. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State; the day’s job done, my main man in the state, SOJ, drafted me into the train of state correspondents going to the HillTop residence of IBB to felicitate with him. I could not help but notice the decrepit state of some of the facilities in the place. IBB was his boisterous self; though quite evident in him was old age, the wear-and-tear, so to say, of all he has gone through, and his fair or unfair share of life’s vicissitudes. As I introduced myself after many others had done so, he said, “Ah, my enemy!”  I replied: “Your Excellency, I am not your enemy but the enemy of your obnoxious policies, especially the annulment of June 12”. As Editor of The PUNCH at the time, I refused, from beginning to the end, to compromise on June 12 even when I was baited with offers many would regard as mouth-watering: A house in London and one million pounds in a bank account there! I would also not consider the Shonekan government’s offer to support his “fidihe” Interim National Government.

Of all the leaders of Nigeria, it is debatable if there is anyone that has drastically and dramatically altered the fortunes and affected the destiny of this country than IBB. Consider his unending return to democracy rigmarole; the many times he shifted the goalpost in the middle of the match and, finally, the annulment. Noted for the manner in which he dribbled Nigerians, it was not an error that he was nicknamed “Maradona”! No thanks to IBB, Nigerians will never know the stuff of which MKO Abiola was made; whether or not he would have delivered on his “Farewell to Poverty” mantra. IBB’s annulment of Abiola’s election victory killed Hope ’93! But for the annulment, we might never have had Gen. Sani Abacha; we might never have had Olusegun Obasanjo and we even might never have had Muhammadu Buhari! The story of this country would probably have been different from what it is today. With just one stroke of the pen, IBB changed the trajectory of this country forever! When he now looks back on the turn of events, will his heart not break?

Consider also the death, in far-away Los Angeles, California, the United States of America, of IBB’s adorable wife, Maryam, on 27 December, 2009. Without doubt, Maryam was the most flamboyant First Lady Nigeria ever had; she was powerful, too. In fact, many regarded her as the power behind IBB’s throne. Feyi, First Lady of Olabode George when he was the Ondo State military administrator, believed that much, with evidence. As Features Editor of The PUNCH at the time, I had led a team of writers to interview Feyi, in preparation for Maryam’s visit to the state in respect of her pet-project, the Better Life for Rural Women Programme, which Feyi said was a ruse meant to disguise its real purpose of collecting spiritual power from all over the place. She took us to some of the “spiritually powerful” women that the First Lady was slated to visit.  You must not blame Maryam! Is it not said that behind every successful man is a woman? The Yoruba – and I am one – will lionize Maryam as “abiyamo otito”; a courageous, daring, conscientious and worthy wife and mother deserving of accolades. Now, who will lose such a “jewel of inestimable value”, to borrow the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s description of his wife, Dideolu, and not suffer heartbreak?

The last time I saw the photographs of IBB, he was on a wheelchair; whether this is temporary or permanent, I cannot say. All around him were other Nigerian leaders, some of whom, long ago, were rumoured to be in serious ill-health but who, today, are still on their feet bouncing! Fate can be cruel sometimes and life is not a straight course. As we close, let us hear from the philosophers: “As Herodotus tells it (in Book I of his The Histories) the Athenian lawgiver, Solon, travelled to the ancient kingdom of Lydia and visited with the ruling king, Croesus of Sardis. The king was delighted to have such a renowned philosopher and statesman in his presence.  Solon is remembered as a lawmaker from the archaic age of Athens. His laws are often credited with laying the foundation for early Athenian democracy about a century later.

“For several days, the king instructed his servants to take Solon around his palace to demonstrate his enormous power and wealth. Once he felt that his riches had adequately awed Solon, the king asked the Athenian: ‘Stranger of Athens, we have heard much of thy wisdom and of thy travels through many lands, from love of knowledge and a wish to see the world. I am curious therefore to inquire of thee, whom, of all the men that thou hast seen, thou deemest the most happy?’ Croesus already assumes himself to be the happiest man in the world but wishes to hear his name parroted back to him by such a renowned sage.

“Rather than name the king as the happiest man, Solon claims that Tellus of Athens is the happiest of all men. Croesus is shocked! ‘What makes this Tellus guy so special? Why is he the happiest?’ Solon replies: ‘His country was flourishing in his days, and he himself had sons both beautiful and good, and he lived to see children born to each of them, and these children all grew up; and further because, after a life spent in what our people look upon as comfort, his end was surpassingly glorious. In a battle between the Athenians and their neighbours near Eleusis, he came to the assistance of his countrymen, routed the foe, and died upon the field most gallantly. The Athenians gave him a public funeral on the spot where he fell, and paid him the highest honours’

“Croesus was perplexed by such an answer but he pushes on regardless. If he weren’t the happiest man, certainly Solon would name him the second happiest, right? But no! Solon says that the second happiest of mortals were a pair of strapping young Argives: Cleobis and Bito. These lads were renowned for their strength and athleticism. One day, their mother wished to travel to the temple of Hera to attend a festival but there were no oxen to pull the cart. The two brothers, who clearly loved their dear old mom, slung the yoke over their own necks and dragged the cart six miles. They were, in essence, the ideal ‘good sons’ who drove their mother to church on Sundays. When the brother arrived at the temple, the other citizens witnessed their feat and extolled the boys for their strength and dedication. Later, the mother prayed to the goddess to grant her sons the greatest of gifts a mortal could receive. After the festival, the youths fell asleep in the temple and never awoke. They passed from this earth and were forever remembered by their people as the best of men.

“At this point, Croesus is livid with Solon. These dead men are happier than he, a king? Surely, the old codger must have lost his marbles. Solon explains that while Croesus is very wealthy, the wealthy have only two advantages over the poor: The means to bear calamity and satisfy their appetites. However, the rich have no monopoly on the things that the classical Greeks thought constituted a good life: civic service, raising a healthy family, being of sound mind and body, and honouring the gods. Plus, riches do tend to create more issues for their possessors. After all, more money, more problems! The wealthy can be said to be ‘fortunate’ but ‘happiness’ must be reserved for those of us who have already shuffled off this mortal coil. How do we meet our end? Does our good fortune last until our dying breaths? Solon concludes that he cannot tell Croesus if he is happy or not until he knows the manner of his death. Count no man happy until the end is known!

“Croesus sends Solon away with much indifference but he might have done well to listen to him. Soon after, the king’s son is killed in a hunting accident and the king himself is struck blind by the gods for his hubris. Finally, after an ill-advised invasion of the Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great of Persia crushes Croesus’ kingdom and Croesus finds himself on the business end of a funeral pyre while he is still breathing. As the flames licked at his feet, Croesus cried out…‘Oh Solon! Oh Solon! Oh Solon! Count no man happy until the end is known!’ “

This is caveat emptor of sorts to men in power and authority. No one knows tomorrow!

Bye-bye, Muhammadu Buhari!

All things being equal, this is the last of this column that retired Major-General Muhammadu Buhari will read – if ever he reads! – as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of its Armed Forces. In a few days’ time, he, too, joins the ranks of the ex-this and ex-that. Nothing lasts for ever! Other than saying “bye-bye”, I am not ready to waste time and resources on Buhari anymore. I prefer, instead, to keep my powder dry for the in-coming president and commander-in-chief, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. So, maa bayi, maa bayi o, alagba Buhari! E kaabo s’ori aleefa, olori oko titun, alagba Tinubu! Igba re a san wa; asiko re a si tu wa l’ara! Ase Edumare!

AlhajiBello Matawalle, outgoing governor of Zamfara state, recently filed a petition in the Court of Public Opinion regarding his face-off with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and its chairman, Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa. He listed the following issues for determination by the Court: (1) whether the EFCC should be probing only governors and their commissioners whereas federal government officials are also corrupt but the anti-graft agency is looking the other way (2) whether the EFCC should not also show evidence of federal corruption to the world (3) whether the EFCC has a moral right to call him corrupt whereas its boss allegedly demanded a bribe of $2 million from him.

I herein quote Matawalle’s words in his interview with the BBC Hausa Service: “It is not just to always blame governors. It is not only governors who have treasury, the federal government also has. What does the EFCC boss do to them? As he is claiming he has evidence on governors. Let him show to the world evidence of those at the federal level. If he (Bawa) exits office, people will surely know he is not an honest person. I have evidence against him. He requested a bribe of $2 million from me and I have evidence of this. He knows the house we met. He invited me and told me the conditions. He told me governors were going to his office, but I did not. If I don’t have evidence, I won’t say this.”

The EFCC and Bawa, as respondents, have filed a cross-petition and raised the following issues for determination in the Court of Public Opinion: (1) whether the public should not ignore Matawalle’s petition and ask him to answer questions over allegations of money laundering running into N70 billion in a state ravaged by poverty, disease and banditry (2) whether EFCC can be adjudged to be going after only governors when a former minister of power is currently in its custody answering questions on an alleged N22 billion fraud (3) whether Matawalle should not produce and submit to the appropriate authorities evidence of his allegation that its chairman demanded bribe from him.

I proceed to quote the words of Mr Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC spokesperson: “Matawalle’s recourse to mudslinging is symptomatic of a drowning man clutching at straws. But despite the irritation of his phantom claims, the Commission will not be drawn into a mud fight with a suspect under its investigation for corruption and unconscionable pillage of the resources of his state. If Matawalle will be taken seriously, he should go beyond sabre-rattling by spilling the beans – provide concrete evidence as proof of his allegations. Again, the commission wishes to alert the public about plans by some of the alleged corrupt politically exposed persons to flee the country ahead of May 29.”

In this Honourable Court of Public Opinion holden at my house somewhere in Lagos state, Nigeria, I have carefully read and considered the arguments in the respective briefs on these issues. But there are preliminary comments I want to make before determining the substantive issues. This Court has taken judicial notice of the resuscitation of the campaign that EFCC, being a federal agency, does not have the constitutional power to look into the finances of states. Although this is not part of the grounds listed by Matawalle, this Court has nonetheless found it necessary to make a public policy pronouncement in the interest of all, hoping that our learned friends will stop misleading the public.

The argument that a federal body cannot look into the finances of states is as misleading as it is disingenuous. Item No 6 on the Exclusive Legislative List of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) vests banking regulations in the Federal Government. Pursuant to this constitutional provision, the National Assembly exercised its authority by enacting the EFCC Act, 2004, granting the agency the power under Section 6(b) to investigate all financial crimes including advance fee fraud, money laundering, counterfeiting, illegal charge transfers, futures market fraud, fraudulent encashment of negotiable instruments, computer credit card fraud, and so forth.

Thus, any transaction that passes through the banking system is, by virtue of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, subject to federal regulation. It is, therefore, illogical to accuse the EFCC of poke-nosing into the finances of states whereas it is able to probe transactions that go through the financial system. If state funds were to be spent in such a way and manner that would not involve the banking system, the EFCC would be legally barred from looking into such transactions. In the real sense, therefore, what the EFCC does is to investigate and prosecute acts of money laundering that went through the financial system, no matter the individual, agency, or tier of government involved.

If the contrary were to hold true, we may as well conclude that if a vehicle belonging to a state government and driven by an employee of the state kills a citizen on the federal highway, the driver could not be prosecuted by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) since it is a federal body. Insofar as the crime is committed in an area under federal jurisdiction, it does not matter if the offending driver were an employee of a state or the car were the property of the state government. I am, therefore, satisfied by the combined reading of the 1999 Constitution and the EFCC Act, 2004 and hereby declare that any crime that passes through the banking system is a federal offence.

Let me now determine Issue No 1 as raised by Matawalle, viz: whether the EFCC should be probing only governors and their commissioners whereas federal government officials are also corrupt but the anti-graft agency is looking the other way. This raises a basic question: can the EFCC walk and chew gum at the same time? I hold so. It is not a matter of either/or. The EFCC should go after governors, federal officials and whoever violates the money laundering laws. Going after Matawalle should not stop the EFCC from going after federal officials and going after federal officials should not stop the agency from going after Matawalle. I, therefore, order the EFCC to go after all of them.

On Issue No 2, as to whether the EFCC should not also show evidence of federal corruption, I acknowledge that a former minister is currently in custody over money laundering allegations, as confirmed by the EFCC in its response. It is also to my knowledge that a serving accountant-general of the federation was arrested over allegations of N109 billion fraud. I am further aware that many federal officials are being questioned or put on trial over allegations of fraud and money laundering. It would seem Matawalle has specific persons in mind whom he thinks are being treated as sacred cows. The applicant may be well right but that cannot extricate him from the allegations against him.

On Issue No 3, as to whether the EFCC has a moral right to call Matawalle corrupt whereas its boss allegedly demanded a bribe of $2 million from him, this court holds true a maxim: “He that comes to equity must come with clean hands.” But the legitimate and legal way for Matawalle to resolve this claim is to provide the evidence to the appropriate authorities. The EFCC chairman does not enjoy immunity in any form and is subject to accountability procedure by any of the arms of government. In this instance, we hold that Matawalle has the right and duty to present the requisite evidence to the police or any anti-graft agency for necessary action as soon as possible in the national interest.

I hold that Matawalle cannot, in citing the ground of equity, get any comfort from making a counter allegation against the EFCC chairman. In Loughran v. Loughran, the Learned Judge Brandies J.  said that “equity does not demand that its suitors shall have led blameless lives”. There are other maxims this Honourable Court of Public Opinion would like to draw to Matawalle’s attention, namely “equity will not grant relief from a self-created hardship”, “no one is entitled to the aid of a court of equity when that aid has become necessary through his or her own fault”, and “a court of equity will not assist a person in extricating himself or herself from the circumstances that he or she has created”.

In its counter-petition before this Court, the EFCC accused Matawalle of money laundering. It says the real issue is that Matawalle is being investigated by the EFCC over allegations of corruption, award of phantom contracts and diversion of over N70 billion. The agency alleges that Matawalle sourced the funds as a loan from an old generation bank to execute projects across the local government areas of Zamfara state. The agency further avers that over 100 companies received payments but there is no evidence of service rendered to the state. Some of the contractors have allegedly made “startling revelations” to the EFCC on how they diverted the funds to private pockets.

According to the EFCC, the contractors confessed, under interrogation, that they were directed to convert the funds to dollars and pay into the accounts of a commissioner and some aides of the governor. One contractor allegedly collected N6 billion on a N10 billion contract without rendering any service. Another was said to have collected over N3 billion to supply medical equipment but N400 million went to a Bureau de Change. The contractor allegedly said it was to buy dollars for Matawalle. If these allegations are indeed true, it would aid my elementary understanding of one of the many reasons for the demand pressure on dollar and why the exchange rate keeps going up.

Having carefully studied the arguments of both parties, this Honourable Court of Public Opinion hereby orders Matawalle to return to Nigeria from Egypt, where he is currently chilling out, to answer his father’s name. The EFCC has accused him of money laundering. He too has accused the EFCC chairman of demanding a bribe. This Court holds that it is settled in law that he who asserts a fact must prove the existence of that fact. Therefore, justice will be best served if (1) Matawalle urgently returns to prove his case against Bawa and (2) Matawalle exercises his right to defend himself before a Court of Law. Finally, I order both parties to immediately cease their media war.

I make no order as to costs.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…

BYE BYE, BUHARI

I know this expression is overused, but it felt like yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari assumed power. After eight years that looked like an eternity, he will bow out tomorrow. Whatever has a beginning must have an end. A lot has been said on his performance. Some say he failed. Some say he did well under the circumstance. We will never come to a consensus. But I would say he did well in improving infrastructure, reforming critical laws (of particular note being CAMA and Petroleum Industry Act) as well as growing agriculture, but he struggled with economic policy and security, which, for all you care, are the most obvious and paramount to most Nigerians. Mixed.

MAY 29 IS HERE!

The journey to May 29, 2023 effectively started in May 2022 when the parties picked their presidential candidates. The victory of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the February 25 poll is being challenged at the tribunal by his closest rivals, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Mr Peter Obi, who both claim to have won. In the absence of any law preventing the candidate declared as winner from being inaugurated while the outcome is still being challenged, Tinubu will be sworn in as the president tomorrow. We had the most toxic electioneering in our history, with some wounds looking like they will never heal. But in all the rancour, Nigerians have remained largely peaceful. Miracle.

DANGLING SUBSIDY

Congratulations to Alhaji Aliko Dangote on the inauguration of his mega refinery after several setbacks amid billions of dollars pumped into the project over the years. All is well that ends well. However, I need to sound a note of caution to Nigerians who expect petrol to be cheaper because we are now refining at “home”. There are many things to factor into our enthusiasm. Will crude oil be sold to the refinery in naira or in dollars? Will it be at the international price? If crude is sold to him at a subsidised price, that means there is still subsidy. Local refining won’t bring an automatic end to subsidy but it can address other problems such as product availability, jobs and FX conservation. Oily.

JUSTICE FOR DEBORAH

A year ago, Ms Deborah Emmanuel, a 200 level student of home economics at Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, was murdered and set ablaze allegedly by religious extremists for “blasphemy” after asking her classmates to stop posting religious materials on their WhatsApp group. A year after, insult has been added to injury with the trial of the suspects, Bilyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunci, terminated for lack of diligent prosecution by the police, who never showed up in court during the hearings. This was like killing Deborah all over again. This is either a manifestation of the crass incompetence typical of the police or a conspiracy to kill justice. Whatever, it is disturbing. Sad.

Dear Readers

Regardless of whatever happens to anyone, today’s epistle will be the last that will be written and shared under the normal and legal tenure of President MuhammaduBuhari.

What will from after this weekend be termed as “Buhari era” in the 4th republic stated on Friday May 29th in 2015 and it is scheduled to finish by Monday 29th May 2023, that is barring any extraordinary occurrence.

It has been eight long years of wonders, pain, hope and disappointments.To each their own, as we await the new administration, there are those hoping and working to ensure it is the person declared by INEC as president elect (Aswiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu) that will take over from Buhari, there are those hoping and working to ensure it is some else that will take over from Buhari.

It must be said that President Buhari himself has shown all possible outwardly signs that he is ready to go.

Such are good signs that should be recognised and praised. Yes, an elected leader that shows he is ready to leave office at the end of his tenure should be an ordinary and automatic event not worthy of news let alone praise.

Alas too many other African leaders tend to struggle with the concept of obeying simple commandments: There appears to be something in the air that leads African leaders into a kind of psychosis that makes them want to remain in power beyond their constitutional or even decency tenure. Thankfully, not so with Buhari, the man even seems eager to leave office and head back to his country home in Dauara.

On his way out though, he has been saying things that makes one believe that he thinks we the people are going to miss him. I think such thoughts come from his idea of how well he has done for the country, maybe he is considering his efforts and intentions.

Some people tend to agree with him.

Let me state very clearly so that all can hear and understand that my prayer, hope and plan for Nigeria is that “May we not miss Buhari”. The wishes and idea of those that say we are going to miss Buhari seem to me like a malediction that needs to be prayed against.

There are two major reasons for my prayer and hope. One is objective and general the other is a subjective and peculiar reason. Objectively and generally speaking, one misses the past when the present is not as good as the past.

For us to miss the Buhari era after May 29th 2023, the days and years that come after the last eight years for the country must be really bad. Just think about it, how bad must things get for one to miss Buhari?

Will it be due to his own performance in office or will it be due to the performance of his ministers? Will it be for the events that happened in world during the Buhari era? Heavens and earth forbid such future.

Let us even for pure hypothesis’s sake assume that Buhari was a great and inspiring president and his era a peaceful and prosperous one, the prayer not to miss Buhari era will still be a valid one because it will mean those coming after him will be worse. For anyone that seeks progress and development, the hope and prayer is for tomorrow to be better than yesterday not vice versa.

On a subjective and peculiar side, there are many things that President Buhari did that one hopes that his successor does not do, there are many things that he did not do that one hopes his successor does.

Let’s face it and tell the whole truth, I personally and strongly hope that the new president is totally different from Buhari.

In my view, being different from President  Buhari is a prerequisite for being a better President in 2023 and onwards.

A good place for the incoming to start from for not being like the outgoing is communication. It would appear the outgoing president, somewhere along the line, developed an allergy for talking directly to the Nigerian press and people and for eight years he never found a cure to that allergy even in his many travels.

May we not have a new president that will find it difficult to speak directly to Nigerian press and people.

Recalling the number of months, the outgoing president spent in office without appointing ministers and other key positions to manage his government and cabinet is an embarrassing experience for some us.

It becomes excruciating when we note that most of the people that made his list were known suspects that worked with him during the merger and political campaign that made him president. The only surprises were some controversial inclusions and some insensitive and inhumane exclusion.

Please note that I say all these without dwelling on the perceived lop-sidedness of all appointments and nomination that was done under this administration.

May we not have a president that will make us miss the Buhari method and content of nominating and appointing.

There are too many social and economic indices that went from bad to worse under the outgoing regime to make anyone that wishes Nigeria well to hope for the incoming administration to make us miss the outgoing one.

Some people made money under this regime, others got fame, I wish them well but I am sure none of them will want the current rate of unemployment or the level of inflation to be worse than the one the outgoing administration is leaving us.

Lest we become guilty of what we accuse others of doing, it is important that we pause to ponder on the fact in all these, President  Buhari was not a sole trader. There were people around him, his court that was made of various people and personalities, some paid and charged to give counsel, some others, without any official role but still very important and influential.

There were also his party members and legislators that in view of their position as representatives of their own people could have raised the alarm and forced the presidency to act before the Naira went from weak to derelict. They could have steeped in and made their voices heard and to help stop some vexatious and unproductive policies. We saw them scramble for offices and photos but not once did we see members of Buhari’s court stand up to the president or step down from office on principle or ideology.

Moving forward may we not have a president, presidential court, parliament, political party and country that will be so weak to make us miss the Buhari.

Join me if you can @anthonykila to continue these conversations.

-Kila is Institute Director at CIAPS. www.ciaps.org.

Sixty years ago, this day, May 25, Africa led the world in creating the first-ever pan-continental political body with the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). It was in 1963 when 30 leaders of Africa’s sovereign republics came together in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to sign the founding Charter of the new body. This is where the celebration of May 25 as Africa Day originated.

The OAU had, from its inception, a bold and transformational mission as it was set up to facilitate the attainment of economic development, social transformation, political freedom, and the completion of independence in the African countries still under the yoke of foreign actors while also launching the struggle to dismantle racists regimes in Rhodesia -later Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia.

Contemporary evidence shows that the story of Africa, is far from the rosy prospects predicted by some who thought it could claim the 21st century. Africa has fallen far short. The challenge it faces today, with coups, wars, terrorism, decaying social and physical infrastructure, democratic regression and other ills, seems to vindicate those who, not too long ago, depicted the continent as a lost hope, or, to use Tony Blair’s damning condemnation as a “scar on the face of humanity”. Former USA President, Donald Trump even went farther, to define its nations in unprintable words. The stark reality is that, most if not all development indicators, demonstrate that Africa’s fate has gotten far worse than it was in 1963.

Apart from a few encouraging signs from countries like Tanzania, Namibia, Mauritius, Cape Verde, Morocco, the numbers are not good. ‘Africa has a young population that is growing rapidly but 30 million children are out of school. Half of all children reach adolescence without achieving literacy or numeracy.35% of the youth have no access to secondary education or technical skills development. About ‘1 in 14 children in sub-Saharan Africa die before reaching their fifth birthday—15 times higher than the risk for children born in high-income countries and 20 years behind the world average, which achieved a 1 in 14 rate by 2001. On the economic front, the World Bank in Africa reports that ‘Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA’s) economic growth dropped to 3.6% in 2022 from 4.1% in 2021 and is expected to dip to 3.1% in 2023. The economic growth in SSA is not uniform across subregions and countries. The GDP growth of Western and Central Africa is estimated to decline to 3.4% in 2023, from 3.7% in 2022, while that of Eastern and Southern Africa declines to 3.0% in 2023, from 3.5% in 2022. The region’s performance is still dragged down by lower long-term growth in the largest countries on the continent. Economic activity in South Africa is set to weaken further in 2023 (0.5%) as the energy crisis deepens, while the growth recovery in Nigeria for 2023 (2.8%) is still fragile as oil production remains subdued. Among the 10 largest economies in SSA—representing more than three-quarters of the region’s GDP—eight are growing at rates below their long-term average growth, including Sudan, Nigeria, Angola, and Ethiopia.’ On average, African countries’ public sector debt-to-GDP ratio stood at above 60 per cent in 2022. Islamist militant groups in Africa further expanded their territorial reach in 2022, particularly in the western Sahel, where al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates compete for influence and continue to make inroads.

What could be the cause of this perennial underperformance?

Many experts have grappled with this question of Africa’s consistent poor economic, social and political performance over the last six decades. In trying to understand this unusual phenomenon and locate the causal factor(s), they have looked at common issues like corruption, poor leadership, poverty, social insecurity, poor human capital infrastructure, faulty policies, religious and ethnic divisions, fratricidal wars, etc. These issues, as plausible as they may seem, are at best, symptoms of a systemic and structural problem in Africa.

However, with the growth of political innovation, particularly since 2000, in African countries, new vistas of understanding of the economic under-performance of African countries are beginning to emerge and gain consensus. The conventional wisdom is that citizens of Africa need to organize and mobilize to compel the political leadership of their countries to urgently reform the continent’s broken political system. This is a key reason that led to the creation of #FixPolitics, whose mission is to elevate the office of the citizen to its rightful place in Africa and develop a political class of servant leaders. A citizens-led research-based movement, #FixPolitics sees broken politics as the root cause of Africa’s poor governance and backward economic development. It is therefore committed to structurally changing and innovating politics in Africa.

Politics is an essential factor in the development of any country, and Africa is no exception. Political leaders are responsible for making decisions that affect their citizens’ economic, social, and political well-being. Africa’s politics is broken and dysfunctional, which is why despite the abundance of natural resources and growth potential, many African countries continue to struggle to achieve sustainable development.

The failure of the continent’s variant of politics and public leadership inherently subverts public good and places personal and narrow interest above the collective well-being of citizens. It distorts and compromises good governance. In the absence of good governance, economic and human development are impeded, and monopoly democracy becomes the toxic oxymoron that is bequeathed to a continent begging for an urgent political reset.

With pervasive corruption and the looting of public funds at the expense of ordinary citizens fast becoming the norm, even the barest minimum expectations of citizens towards their government are now seldom met. The range of unmet citizens’ expectations grows wider year after year in almost every country on the continent. This has led to an erosion of citizens’ trust in democratic institutions, shallow levels of social capital, a stalling institution-building process and, more generally, a slow transitioning process from country to nation, rising levels of extreme poverty and insecurity in the continent.

As Africa celebrates, rightly so, its day, we are convinced that her present and future will only be bright if the challenges encumbering the political climate in which it exists are thoroughly examined and fixed. Failing to do so will mean sustaining the present intolerable status quo. In the same way, panafricanist and independence movements fought hard to win the formal battles of recognition and freedom for its nations, it is obvious that creating a conducive political climate that will nurture and support democracy, good governance, economic and human development and other intangible norms is the pre-requisite for Africa’s renewal.

The urgency of this auspicious time in history calls for strategic action. As it celebrates 60 years of integration attempt, it is time for Africa to re-emerge from the shackles of arrested development and embrace the future with confidence in the possibilities and opportunities for progress and development. The most effective way to start is to make a determined effort to reform its current unproductive political system because politics trumps everything else. This process must begin not with the leaders but with citizens of the continent, fully and actively occupying the office of the citizen. Indeed, given the monopolistic variant of democracy that pervades the continent, it is incumbent on citizens to engage, mobilize and to collectively demand for constitutional, political, electoral and economic reforms that will give currency to democracy, good governance and development.

For far too long African citizens have ignored Politics, waiting for Governments to be formed before a few citizens manage to come forward to demand for Good Governance. This attitude of waiting ‘downstream’ before engaging has and continues to be counterproductive. The #FixPolitics research shows clearly that the quality of Government and by implication the quality of Governance is determined ‘Upstream’ at the Politics stage – the stage where citizens typically abdicate their civic responsibility by failing to engage and participate effectively in the political process. Using the ‘Triangular Pillars of Democracy’ as a framework, citizens across all countries of Africa must now begin to shape the quality of leadership and institutions that will deliver good governance by collectively engaging their political systems to ensure Quality Politics.

Citizens must compel African leaders to institutionalize a politics that supports sound policies, strong institutions, and effective and efficient priority of investment in public goods and services for private sector emergence. Only African citizens working together can compel the governments of their respective countries to respond urgently and stem the continued backward slide of development in the continent. In the immortal words of Margaret Mead, ‘never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.’ The time is ripe for change and Africa must seize the moment to put its politics in order and march towards a bright and prosperous future. 

There are also other things that can bring family, generational curses.  Like spilling of blood, sexual immorality and exploitation, betrayal, mockery, treachery, stealing, cheating, etc. Some families are struggling with difficult curses today because their parents or grandparents killed people, especially the innocent. In January 2008, I was invited to join a church in planting one of their branches in a village.  As we entered the new church premises, I noticed that it was a residential building with untidy surroundings; grasses, and littered with household properties. Even fruits in the compound were left to ripe and rotten. Only the part of the building where the new church would start was cleaned and repainted.  Later, I overheard the elders of the church discussing how the church got the place. The villagers gave the entire property free-of-charge to the church. All the members of that family had died suddenly and mysteriously - parents, children, young and old.   What happened? An innocent visitor was murdered in that place and the family denied knowing whatever happened to him. This brought a curse of sudden and rapid death upon the family. Both their young and old began to die one after the other. In fact, we were told that the descendants of the family who were married or lived outside the place also died. My God!

    Then, as we were continuing with the inaugural crusade that evening, we were also informed that an extended member of the family, who had tampered with the properties of the late relatives, was also lying critically ill. He was at the point of death. The villagers requested that we pray with him. Terrible! Can you believe this? A whole family - the young, the old, descendants and even extended family members being wiped off because of the murder of just one innocent person. We must indeed be very careful of what we do in this life. When you kill, when you murder another human being, the event does not just stop at that. The blood becomes restless and keeps crying for vengeance. And it can do that for many generations to come. Blood is very powerful. In fact, the word of God said that the life of a being is in the blood. Blood speaks. And we can see that physically and spiritually. It also said that anybody that kills should also be killed. Now, even when you were not caught in the act, heaven sees you and the curse will still come for you and your family. It is the curse of death with other terrible ones. Don’t commit murder, don’t waste blood because you have the power or in a position to do it. Don’t instigate, plan, observe, conspire or encourage it. Be careful! When Cain killed his brother Abel, the brother’s blood refused to be silenced. It kept crying until God heard it and responded by cursing and banishing Cain. He was made a wanderer, a vagabond and a fugitive. The earth was also cursed because of this. Sometimes, when you see this wandering, vagabond, restlessness, much movement and less results and unproductive spirit in individuals, families and communities, just check their foundation. It could be as a result of spilling of blood and generational curses. When David indirectly murdered Uriah, God punished him and cursed his family and generations to come. Sadly, Israel still suffer because of this till today. When Ahab and Jezebel murdered Naboth, God also arranged their own shameful and painful death and cursed their family. I remember he told Jezebel that dogs will also lick her blood at the same place they licked Naboth’s. When Judas secretly betrayed, conspired and killed Jesus, he was cursed. He hung himself and his family was made desolate. There is no secret before God. Be careful! Is your family cursed?

   Just look at this scripture before go on, “This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no atonement can be made for murder except by the execution of the murderer. You must not defile the land where you are going to live, for I live there myself.  I am the LORD, who lives among the people of Israel.” Numbers 35:33-34. Did you read that? Murder pollutes the land. Murder pollutes lives. It pollutes families. It pollutes nations, etc. Do you still wonder why our families and country are heavily polluted by crimes, violence, mass shootings, suicides, strange diseases, filthiness and unproductiveness? Spilling of blood! They have been terribly polluted by the blood of the innocent that is daily spilled on the altar of satanic rituals, quest for quick money, fame, position and power. They have been polluted by blood of people murdered every day.

    Our land is polluted by the reckless abortions, poisoning and witchcraft killings of innocent souls in the land. Just listen, look around and listen to news - it is murder, bloodshed, betrayal, violence everywhere! In fact, there is no value for blood and life any more. Even the so-called places of worship are not excluded. We saw how a very promising young female minister was poisoned by her own ‘evil’ workers. The other day, we saw how a baby disappeared in the children department of a supposed worship place at Akure. And it is not just about Akure. It is happening all around us. True. We read daily how people suddenly disappear, are dismembered and are used for rituals and sacrifices by these agents of Satan; sometimes by their own trusted friends and relations. Though, this happens everywhere, some towns and states have unfortunately become notorious for it. Blood, blood everywhere! The blood, like that of Abel, is crying very loud and asking for revenge on the murderers, their conspirators, their families and the land. We will continue.

While Muhammadu Buhari and honchos of his eight-year ruinous regime busied themselves with a feverish last-minute plunder of the public treasury, Femi Adesina chose to deploy his waning symbolic resource as Buhari’s media aide to hatch a brassy plunder of a scholarly laurel. 

In a social media post dishonestly titled “HONOUR FROM ACROSS THE SEAS,” Adesina misled Nigerians into thinking that a UK institution of higher learning had conferred an honorary doctorate on him. “Never thought I would ever have the appellation ‘Dr’ to my name, except if I went to herbal school, as an imminent retiree,” he wrote. “But what did I see? A notification from Learn To Live Business School, United Kingdom.”

There are multiple layers of dissimulation embedded in these two sentences, which I’ll unpack for the undiscerning. First, it is dishonest to call “Learn to Live Business School” (what a name!) a UK institution. It is not. The “school” started life as a consulting firm in Enugu, Nigeria, in 2012, according to its website. In 2016, it became a “business school.” 

Note, though, that it has no accreditation from the National Universities Commission (NUC), the unit of government that statutorily accredits degree-granting institutions in Nigeria, and therefore can’t legitimately confer degrees, including honorary degrees, on anybody.

Learn to Live Business School’s only claim to legitimacy is that it has been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission and that it is “Accredited by The Presidency, Nigerian Council for Management Development (NCMD) in 2020,” according to its website. You can’t make this stuff up! Adesina is the chief spokesperson for the presidency. Now connect the dots. When was the presidency vested with the authority to accredit degree-granting institutions in Nigeria?

Even more curiously, how did an Enugu-based “consulting firm” that upgraded itself to a business school on a whim without approval from the NUC but through the questionable imprimatur of the presidency suddenly become a UK-based institution? The answer is on its website. In 2019, it said, it “registered in London United Kingdom UK Gazette NO.11834639”! That’s it.

A “school” that has existed in Nigeria since 2012 chose to register as a business in the UK seven years later, and it suddenly becomes a “UK institution” whose fraudulent and worthless “honour” is giddily celebrated as coming “from across the seas”! Display of inferiority complex has never been more cringey than this.

Well, Learn to Live Business School lists its London address as “71 - 75, Shelton Street, Covenant [sic] Garden London WC24 9JQ United Kingdom.” When I searched the address on Google, I discovered two oddities. One, they misspelled “Covent” as "Covenant.” How can you not know the address where your “school” is located if you truly live, learn, and teach there? 

Two, UK’s Companies House Data says, “There are 553 companies at this address,” which indicates that it’s not a campus. It’s merely an office space that multiple people probably rent to lend locational legitimacy to the businesses they registered in the UK.

But being registered as a business in the UK is not synonymous with being accredited to offer degrees in the UK. Learn to Live Business School is not accredited to offer degrees, whether earned or honorary, in the UK.

 According to Stafford Global, “In the UK it is illegal to offer a qualification that is or might seem to be a UK degree unless the University is recognised by the Government (accredited).”

The group adds that “The external body (independent of the Government) that reviews UK universities is called the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) who will recommend (or renew) accreditation to the UK Government if the University has met stringent quality standards.”

I searched “Learn to Live Business School” in “The OfS Register,” the database of accredited degree-awarding schools in England, and nothing came up. So, the folks at Learn to Live Business School might have broken UK law by masquerading as a UK institution to award an honorary degree to Adesina.

The fraud is even messier than it appears. For instance, Adesina said, “The investiture was done by Dr Peter Akubo and Dr Nelson Kingsley.” Well, it appears that “Dr Nelson Kingsley” who identifies himself as “the Rector Learn To Live Business School Limited” on LinkedIn doesn’t even have a master’s degree, much less a doctorate.

 In both his LinkedIn and LLBS profiles, Nelson lists his “B.Sc Accountancy” from Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT), his ESUT “BUSINESS SCHOOL Certificate in Strategic Resources and Personnel Re-Positioning for Coping with Economy in Recession and Transition,” and his being “Trained by Fela Durotoye (VIP Consult)” as his only qualifications. 

Several other names that appear on the “Advisory Board, Faculty and Lead Instructors” page of Learn to Live Business School’s site have “Dr.” prefixed to them even when they don’t claim to have earned a PhD. Maybe they became “Drs” the same way Adesina just did. 

This is worse than a diploma mill scam. It’s a multiplex dupery.  It would be interesting to know how much Adesina paid for this “honor from across the seas.”

Adesina said he “never thought” he “would ever have the appellation ‘Dr’” to his name. He may if he earns a legitimate doctorate in the future. Being younger than 60 years, he is still too young to give up getting a doctorate. In my university here in the United States, I have taught students in their late 60s and early 70s who retired as successful CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. 

In fact, an 81-year-old man graduated from my university this month with a bachelor's degree. That’s why Hausa people say “Gemu baya hana ilimi," that is, a beard (symbolizing advanced age) does not impede the acquisition of knowledge.

If Adesina had any shame, he would never prefix “Dr.” to his name simply because Learn to Live Business School (which doesn’t even claim to award bachelor’s degrees) gave him a fraudulent honorary doctorate. Apart from the fact that his honorary doctorate is from an illegitimate institution that has no power to award degrees in Nigeria and in the UK, only people who have earned a PhD, a DPhil, an S.J.D. or J.S.D. (i.e., the Doctor of the Science of Law), an Ed.D., a medical degree, or other earned professional doctorates can legitimately prefix “Dr.” to their names.

 The tradition in many universities worldwide is to insist that recipients of honorary doctoral degrees bear their titles post-nominally, that is, after their names. Example: Femi Adesina, LLD h.c. (“h.c." stands for honoris causa) but NOT “Dr. Femi Adesina” and certainly not “Dr. Femi Adesina, LLD h.c.”

Of course, I am aware that there are many famous doctors who weren’t actually doctors. For instance, Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s Founding Fathers who is known to most of us as that man whose face graces the American 100-dollar bill, insisted on being called “Dr. Franklin” even though he only had honorary doctoral degrees. 

Maya Angelou, the prolific and well-regarded African American poet, was another well-known personage who insisted on being addressed as “Dr. Angelou” on account of the honorary doctorates many universities awarded her. Angelou didn’t even have a bachelor’s degree, but she was deservedly appointed as the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies in 1982 at Wake Forest University on account of her prodigious and inimitable contributions to the world of literature.

Back home, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria’s first ceremonial president, was and is still addressed as a doctor even though he never earned a PhD, although he started and gave up doctoral studies at Columbia University. Tai Solarin was and still is addressed as a “Dr.” even though he never earned a PhD. Both Azikiwe and Solarin had multiple legitimate honorary doctorates from several universities.

Adesina doesn’t have the gravitas of the people whose names were unconventionally prefixed with “Dr.” even though they only had honorary doctorates. If the title means anything to him, he should enroll at a real university and earn it.

Fortunately, he has inspiration from his immediate family to achieve this. Many of his siblings are PhDs and professors. For example, Professor Olutayo Charles Adesina, a well-respected professor of history at the University of Ibadan, is his full sibling. I am sure he is embarrassed on Femi’s behalf. That’s such a sad way to depart from the seat of power.

Let me start by congratulating the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on its 50th anniversary. It is a scheme many of us passed through with fond memories. Many have also recounted their sad experiences, for although nobly conceived, the scheme has been blighted by many Nigerian factors, including poor organisation, ineptitude, corruption, and government’s failure to tap into the infinite potentials of the programme for national unity and development.

I watched the NYSC at 50 interview of the agency’s Director-General (DG), Brig. Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed, on Arise News. Whereas many of us saw the discharge certificate controversy of the Governor-elect of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, as an opportunity for the NYSC to cure the maladies of dereliction, corruption, and analogue system that afflict the otherwise brilliantly conceived scheme, the dismissive manner the DG disclaimed Mbah’s certificate without adducing any facts from any investigation to back his claim, shows the opportunity has been blown.

If we take away politics, Mbah vs. NYSC drama exposes the rot in every sphere of the Nigerian system; and it can happen to any other Nigerian. Just to refresh our memories, available documents in the processes he filed in court in his N20 Billion lawsuit against the NYSC, shows that he was mobilised for the National youth service vide a call up letter, with serial number 01134613 (Ref. No. NYSC/FRN/2001/800351), asking him to report at the NYSC permanent orientation camp at Iyana-Ipaja, Agege, Lagos. After the orientation, the NYSC posted him to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in Apapa Quays for his primary assignment vide a letter dated 28th January 2002. But he was rejected by the NPA and was therefore again reposted to Udeh & Associates vide an NYSC letter dated 6th March 2002. Udeh & Associates accepted him and confirmed his assumption of primary assignment vide a letter to the Lagos State Director of the NYSC in a letter dated 11th March 2002.

Other critical documents front-loaded to the court by Mbah include his application to the NYSC dated 20th June 2002 to be allowed to go back to the Nigerian Law School for his Bar Part II (He had earlier done Bar Part I as a graduate of a foreign university), approval of his request by the NYSC Director headquarters in Abuja vide a letter dated 2nd October 2002 (Ref. No. NYSC/DHQ/CM//M/27), an application to the NYSC dated 3rd April 2003 seeking to be remobilised to complete his national service, a letter dated 24th April 2002 (Ref. No. LA/01/1532/T) by the NYSC Lagos State Director (Mrs. Rita Uzo Akinlade) forwarding Mbah’s request to the DG of the NYSC (Attention: Mr. Emmanuel, A. Ajisafe), and an approval for Mbah’s remobilisation vide a letter by the DG to the Lagos State Director dated 7th May 2003 letter (Ref. No. NYSC/DHQ/CM/27/20) to the NYSC to ‘continue his service year from where he stopped, with effect from May 2003’.

The letter with the subject “Re: Application for Remobilisation, Mr. Mbah Peter N. LA/01/1532” and signed by one Mrs. J. Okuoghae states: “I am directed to refer to your letter of 24th April, 2003, reference No. LA/01/1532/T on the above subject matter and to request you to reinstate the corps member to continue his service year from where he stopped, with effect from May 2003.”

Equally of interest in the processes filed by Mbah are the various clearance letters by Udeh & Associates, which enabled him to receive his monthly allowance during his service year and the final clearance letter by the law firm certifying that he completed the one-year National Service in their office in September 2003.

It has also emerged that he petitioned the DG, NYSC, on 6th February 2023 to complain about a disclaimer dated 1st February 2023 and signed by one Mr. Ibrahim Muhammad, NYSC’s Director of Corps Certification, saying that his discharge certificate was not issued by the agency. Having told his story and attached all the aforementioned documents, he appealed that the matter be “thoroughly investigated and persons found culpable be prosecuted accordingly”.

He equally met with the then just NYSC DG, who, contrary to what he claimed on Arise TV, actually told Mbah that he was neither briefed nor his clearance sought before the disclaimer was issued and that upon enquiry, the Director said he probably did not finish his NYSC, as the column where he ought to have signed like other members of his batch upon completion of service to show that he collected his discharge certificate was blank. In an April interview, Mbah said that he explained to the DG that he didn’t pass out with his set and showed him the letter remobilising back into NYSC service upon completion of his Bar Part II (Bar Final). He said the NYSC DG confessed that nobody had brought this part of the story to his notice. He promised to treat the matter with dispatch, pleading that he was still fresh in office, having assumed duties on 30th January 2023, whereas the NYSC Director wrote the letter on 1st February. 

Unfortunately, till date, the NYSC has not deemed it fit to formally reply Mbah stating the facts and reasons it believes the certificate was not issued by it. And while he waited, a group dragged him to Court over the matter, a case he won. Yet far from replying him, the NYSC, through its Director of Corps Certification, continued to issue disclaimer letters (now in contempt of a valid court judgment), thereby arming the Enugu opposition in their media war against the Governor-elect. This probably left Mbah with no choice than to drag the NYSC and its errant Director to court, demanding N20 Billion in general and exemplary damages for “conspiracy, deceit, and misrepresentation of facts”.

Only recently, President Muhammadu Buhari requested the National Assembly to approve the sum of $566,754,584, N226 billion, and £98,526 to clear judgment debts. But we can now see how government and its agencies pile up needless judgment debts.

The DG even took NYSC’s organisational irresponsibility a notch higher by disclaiming Mbah’s certificate on live television in clear contempt of a subsisting court order in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/09/611/2023, restraining the agency and its Director of Corps Certification whether by themselves, their directors, officers, servants, legal representatives, counsel or any other person or persons howsoever described and connected, from issuing, publishing or continuing to issue, publish disclaimer to the effect that Mbah’s NYSC discharge certificate was not issued by the agency, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit already filed. Not only that, whereas he lied that he was not aware of Mbah’s suit, the Affidavit of Service by the court bailiff, which was published in the media, shows that he was served on Monday, 15th May 2023.

Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that so far, NYSC’s only grounds for disclaiming the certificate was because he didn’t sign his column in the collection register during the passing out of his batch; and it sounds so silly, as the documents he adduced clearly show that he did not pass out with his batch! He broke his service year to return to Law School, and was remobilised by NYSC, and came back to do the remaining months.

But hope of using Mbah’s matter to put some things right at the NYSC is not totally lost, as the NYSC is not the sole authority as far as the authenticity or otherwise of its certificate is concerned. For instance, NYSC certificates are printed by the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company PLC. They have security features. They have serial numbers and watermark. And there are only two ways the certificate could be forged: either the serial number of Mbah’s certificate doesn’t exist or someone else holds a certificate with the same serial number and he just went to Oluwole to get another certificate with the same serial number; which is unlikely after going through the whole process of service as his supporting documents show.

Thus the onus is on the NYSC to say, “certificates in these series, including serial number A808297 don’t exist” or “the certificate number A808297 paraded by Mbah belongs to Mr. ABC”. But they haven’t said so. And now that Mbah, who feels his rights or reputations have been violated, has gone to court, it offers him, NYSC, the police, Department of State Services, NPMC, etc. to help the judiciary get to the bottom of the matter.

But as I said earlier, this matter shows the depth of the rot in the Nigerian system. Who could have believed that an officer in the Federal Ministry of Justice could collect a bribe to file a process falsely stating that Mbah made a plea bargain and was convicted by Justice M.N Yunusa on 7th July 2015 in Suit No. FHC/L/09C/2007. This he did to support Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2257/2022 filed by a legal practitioner, Mr. Ejike Obumneme, for some fronts of the Enugu APC governorship and deputy governorship candidates, seeking Mbah’s disqualification from the governorship contest. But upon investigation, it was discovered that Mbah wasn’t even tried in the first place. His name was struck out in the Suit No. on 7th March 2013 at the behest of the EFCC’s lawyer, Kelvin Uzozie, before the commencement of trial. But for court records, Mbah would probably have gone down for that as well. That is Nigeria for you.

Also, the saga exposes the analogue or anachronistic approach to record keeping by the NYSC, just like every other government institution.  We are in a digital age for crying out loud. I think Mbah’s problem began from the time they created a temporary file for him, which the alphabet “T” in the 24th April 2002 letter (Ref. No. LA/01/1532/T) by the Lagos State Director to the DG, forwarding his request for remobilisation, stands for. You go to offices and they are still moving files up and down. An office clerk will choose whether or not to see your file or even remove it entirely for peanuts. What is wrong with us as a country? Why can’t we go digital for more efficiency, transparency, and accountability?

As one Innocent Obodo suggested, what is so difficult in displaying on its website: all the Corps members it has mobilised since inception in 1973 and their documentation details; all Corps members, who have served and received their certificates; names of employer organisations it has ever deployed Corps members to since 1973; and of course all the Corps members that have ever defaulted or absconded from service, etc.?

So, dear General Ahmed, as you relish the 50th anniversary of the NYSC, just know that much whereas the agency has had its positives, all, as Mbah’s case shows, is not correct, sir. Some have even said, reform or disband the NYSC; and I totally agree with them, but I’m more inclined to reform and retooling.

As for Mbah, who will be sworn in on Monday, 29th May, one thing going for him is that even his worst critic doesn’t contest his immense capacity to lead or govern. Coming from the private sector where Pinnacle Oil and Gas Ltd., a company he built from a micro to medium, and multi-billion dollar mega business leads in the petroleum downstream by wide margins, Enugu has the brightest opportunity for an all-round transformation and development.

Dr. Okolie is a Senior Lecturer, Senior Research Fellow, and former State Director, National Orientation Agency

The Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, is about to complete his first tenure  and he is waiting to take yet another oath of office for a second term come Monday, May 29, 2023. No doubt, his re-election was a hard-fought battle but he won convincingly. And as the nation is set to witness the birth of a renewed hope with the scheduled inauguration of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on May 29, it is imperative to appeal to all the stakeholders in the state to shun the political bickering of the recent past and join hands with the administration for the delivery of more dividends of democracy. To begin with, the victory recorded by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last general election could not have come without the support of the well-meaning citizens of the state. But it doesn’t end there. There is still an enormous task ahead. So, to nurture the developmental agenda of the new administration to fruition, more needs to be done in terms of collective effort as well as ownership of the process. In his renewed quest for support, Governor Abiodun is not coming with an empty hand.

Already, he has a full-packed scorecard of his first term to justify the request. Coming into the office for his second tenure, he has promised not to rest on his oars. After all, hard work does not kill, it promotes. Despite the gargantuan existential challenges that almost rendered the global economy prostrate, Nigeria inclusive, there are visible achievements scattered out there to justify the confidence reposed in him both in his first term and now in his re-election. Let’s take the stock. When people are healthy the nation is wealthy. Governor Abiodun places a high premium on quality and accessible healthcare delivery. A clear testimony to this is the emergence of Ogun State as the second best in basic healthcare delivery in South-West at the maiden Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum (NGF) Primary Healthcare Leadership Challenge Award with a $400,000 UNICEF prize.

The award ceremony was a follow-up to the 2019 Seattle Declarations, involving the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, the Bill and Melinda Foundation as well as the Dangote Foundation with an innovative idea about how to increase the commitment of governors to health care delivery across the 36 states of the federation.

Under the initiative, the declaration adopted the government’s support and commitment, quality of service delivery, improvement in the healthcare indices and outcomes, and community participation, among other variables, as the basic criteria for the award. Ogun State under the watchful eyes of Governor Abiodun passed the test of scrutiny and walked away with an award plaque and a handsome sum of money.  The award plaque and cheque were received on behalf of the state government by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, at an event which was attended by the Country’s Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr.  Walter Kazadi Mulombo, who made the official presentation of the award, officials of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), representatives of international agencies and government top functionaries.”  Beyond the award, the performance of the Abiodun administration on accessible healthcare delivery services remains unequal and unparalleled.

To the credit of the present government, all the state hospitals across the three senatorial districts have been rehabilitated. At the same time, some new structures are being constructed or old buildings renovated at the state-owned teaching school, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu. The government has also gone further to buy new equipment for the institution and employed well over 200 medical personnel, doctors, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, and others to fill in the vacuum created by the mass exodus of medical personnel who had embarked on the brain-drain syndrome to the Uk, Europe, and America. Again, it will be recalled that the state had only five functional ambulances for the entire 20 Local Government Areas of the state when this government came into power on May 29, 2019. With the renewed commitment of the Abiodun administration, 35 additional ambulances have been purchased, making a total of 40 available for emergency services. Added to that, various Primary Healthcare Centres across the state have been rehabilitated with the recruitment of more medical personnel to fill the vacant positions.

Other critical areas of intervention include training of health workers on comprehensive screening for newborns to tackle sickle cell disease, launching of National Hypertension Control Initiative (NHCI) in order to reduce the burden of hypertension amongst the adult population in the State, registration of 20,000 vulnerable into the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, the establishment of a family Planning Centre at State Hospital, Ijebu Ode to improve Family Planning uptake in women aged 15-49years old, disbursement of funds to 196 Primary Health Care Centres across the 20 LGAs for the implementation of Basic Health Care Provision Fund activities in Ogun State, distribution of 22 Tricycle Ambulances to improve the health indices of citizens to put an end to maternal deaths and other health emergencies as well as commissioning of the fully equipped intensive care unit of the General Hospital, Ijebu-Ife, with the support of the Government of Czech Republic.

At the inception of this administration, several abandoned road projects embarked upon by his predecessor, Ibikunle Amosun, were inherited. Upon assumption of duty, Governor Abiodun took up the challenge and worked assiduously to complete all such abandoned projects dotting the entire state, including the flyovers in Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Ijebu-Igbo, Sagamu, and Sango-Ota, among others Today, most of these projects have been completed and delivered, while work is still ongoing on a few others that are yet to be commissioned. At present, not less than 80 major roads and 120 others have been constructed, reconstructed, or rehabilitated amounting to 661.76km, and 99.125km, while 562.63km are ongoing across the three senatorial districts of the state.

It is particularly noteworthy to state that 65 percent of the projects in each zone were based on people’s requests.

In spite of its avowed commitment to infrastructural development, people’s welfare remains the centerpiece of government’s policy. Since he came into office, Governor Abiodun has made regular payments of workers’ salaries and gratuities of pensioners a top priority of his government. It is on record that over N70 billion has been released for the payment of gratuity arrears since he assumed office in 2019, while the administration has equally increased the quarterly payment to defray outstanding gratuities from N500m to N600m.

It is also to the credit of the Abiodun administration that Ogun State has been rated the third largest economy in the country with enhanced capacity for Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), coming only after Lagos, FCT, and Rivers. An analysis of the recent statistics further shows that Lagos has the highest IGR, followed by the FCT, Rivers, and Ogun states respectively.

Another report by the World Bank also places the State in a prime position in the ease-of-doing-business index, ranking 3rd among the states of the federation in its latest report. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ogun State currently stands as the 5th top destination of capital investment in Nigeria, coming behind Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory, Abia, and Niger. At present, Ogun State is the home of the largest manufacturing companies in the West Africa sub-region.

Human Capital Development is a major catalyst for industrial growth. Governor Abiodun has never let his guard down in ensuring that the education sector which gives the state a completive edge over other states is sustained. Thus, apart from the free education policy for all children in Primary and Junior Secondary Schools with adequate care for the welfare of teachers, there has also been a progressive increase in allocation to education up to 20 percent of this year’s budget with a commitment to continually do so till the United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) benchmark is achieved.

For the assurance of qualitative and accessible education, the government has given priority attention to the general rehabilitation of collapsing infrastructures that would serve the overall interest of the students in the state, regardless of their social status as against the Model school project embarked upon by the immediate past administration which was structurally defective and poorly funded. While the government has graciously converted some of the abandoned Model schools to other better purposes such as the Tech Hub on Kobape Road on the outskirts of Abeokuta and Ikenne 128-bed Isolation and Treatment Centre for COVID-19, the whopping sum of N218.380bn that would have been expended on completing the projects is now being diverted to the reconstruction or renovation of several public primary and secondary schools to provide a better learning environment in the state. This is particularly evident in the Yellow Roofs Revolution we now see all over our 1000 State-owned Primary and Secondary Schools in the state.

For the tertiary level of education, the administration has also shown with the reactivation of MAPOLY, Ojere, Abeokuta and the former Tai Solarin College of Education (now renamed after Oba SK Adetona College of Education),  Omu-Ijebu which were hitherto comatose that education remains the major pride of Ogun State.

As a responsible government, peace, security, and adequate protection of lives and property have been parts of the cardinal agenda of the present administration from its inception. Apart from hundreds of patrol vehicles and communication gadgets purchased by the administration to strengthen the state’s security apparatus, Governor Abiodun has equally taken delivery of drones to assist the security agencies in the state to frontally deal with the challenge of kidnapping and other forms of criminalities.

In order to boast Agriculture, the administration of Governor Abiodun has entered into a strategic partnership with national and international development agencies. Already, over 400 private firms have signified interest to collaborate with Ogun State to provide Farm Mechanization Services, Input Service Delivery as well as the development of key value chains, including Cassava, Rice, Fish, Poultry, Cattle, Dairy, among other commodities.

Just a couple of days ago, Governor Abiodun recently hosted the biggest conglomerate owned by the Egyptian Government, National Service Project Organization, with the North African organization, expressing its readiness to invest in the agricultural sector of the state.

The leader of the conglomerate, General Walid Morsi, during the bilateral meeting with the Governor in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, declared that the organization would focus on the cultivation of food and cash crops which would be exported to his home country and other parts of the world.

“We are trying to make Egypt a hub in the Mediterranean Region and we are partnering with Nigeria in the area of agriculture where we can plant and process food and cash crops and send it to Egypt. This partnership would be of great benefit to Nigeria and Egypt”, Morsi said.

Governor Abiodun, in his response, assured them of the availability of arable land out of its more than 16,000, total land mass suitable for planting food and cash crops as well as an oceanic plentitude of highly skilled manpower. He explained further that his administration had embarked on the provision of infrastructure, security, and the implementation of the multi-modal transport system, including the International Agro Cargo Airport, to provide a conducive environment for investment.

Shortly before the governorship election, the state witnessed the first cargo flight at the Airport situated at Illisan. When successfully completed, possibly by the end of this year, according to projections, it will open a new vista of opportunity for economic and industrial transformation not only for Ogun State but the country at large.

His massive investment in an affordable housing scheme for the residents as well as investors operating in the state is also a talking point, culminating in the recent award of Best Award in Housing received by the State at the 2023 Merit Award organised by the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, having defeated Lagos, Edo, Kaduna, and Niger States. For the numerous housing projects undertaken by the administration, no fewer than 2,500 units located in four major zones of the State, including Egba, Ijebu, Yewa, and Remo, have been delivered. This is no mean feat. It is unprecedented in the 47-year history of the State.

Above all, the need to provide a safety net for the vulnerable segment of society has compelled the government to adopt the social investment programme of the Federal Government through the Executive Order recently signed by Governor Abiodun to alleviate poverty and hunger by ensuring equitable distribution of resources to the poor, the widows, amongst others. Today, Ogun State is one of the few states that have adopted the social investment programme of the Federal Government which is domiciled in the Ministry of Mininitarian Affairs and Disaster Management. The adoption followed the Executive Order recently signed by the Governor in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, to alleviate poverty and hunger by ensuring equitable distribution of resources to the vulnerable, the poor, and the widows, amongst others.

While it will be deceptive to say that the task ahead will be an easy walkover, but given the support of all and sundry, what we have seen so far will be the tip of the iceberg when the administration resumes for a second term on May 29.

• Ogbonnikan writes in from Abeokuta, Ogun State

The ECOWAS Community Court’s 2023 International Conference on “Zero Tolerance for Unconstitutional Change of Government” (UCG) in West Africa, has ended in Banjul, the Gambian capital with wide ranging recommendations, including the criminalisation of UCG and the creation of a special task force to intervene in cases of UCG in member States.

The four-day meeting also called for the strengthening of “the apolitical nature of the Armed Forces to guard against UCG,” and utilising “early warning tools and existing Protocols to recalibrate the regional peace and security architecture.”

The term “unconstitutional change” should be defined in the ECOWAS instruments and what constitutes a violation of convergence principles clearly spelt out, said the Conference Communique, which also called on member States to stem tenure elongation, eliminate all pseudo-democratic laws, and criminalise UCG at the national level with national courts having jurisdiction.”

It recommended effective sanctions against perpetrators of UCG, including coup plotters and their supporters, with the amendment of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Governance to “ensure that sanctions do not affect the fundamental human rights of ordinary citizens.”

The Communique urges a “review of the efficiency of sanctions” and creation of an implementation guideline, while calling for respect of term limits and an end to constitutional manipulations by incumbents to extend their mandates.

It further called for a stop to tenure extension by political leaders, while the Protocol of the Community Court of Justice should be modified to allow for judicial intervention in election matters.

It also recommended the strengthening of the means of settling electoral disputes at the national level through the enactment of laws and setting up of mechanisms for independent adjudication of electoral disputes.

The Conference called for an increase in the number of judges of the ECOWAS Court of Justice in line with International best practices and the amendment of the “Protocols on the Court to enable access to individual citizens in respect of violations of community laws/obligations including activating sanctions proceedings against member States.”

ECOWAS should “muster the political will to hold member States accountable to their treaty obligations,” the Communique said.

It further called for the guarantee of the independence of the judiciary and the strengthening the capacity of courts to render justice and also recommended that the root causes of political conflicts should be addressed to ensure political stability, peace, and progress, as well as cultivation and strengthening of a democratic culture for economic growth.

ECOWAS should “combat corruption in public life as it undermines public confidence in state institutions and creates conditions for instability,” noted the Communique.

It also called for measures against misinformation and disinformation, particularly the negative impact of social media and the involvement of the youth.

ECOWAS should ensure strict adherence by member States to the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and “effective implementation of regional Treaty and Protocols to make compliance thereof a condition for retaining the membership of the sub-regional bloc,” the Communique urged.

Furthermore, ECOWAS should strengthen the competences and enforcement capacities of the ECOWAS Court of Justice as well as focus on the fight against poverty and the promotion of social dialogue.

It urged that National Electoral Institutions should be supported with structured training of stakeholders such as political parties, Civil Society, academia, and the media, on community principles and values.

According to the Communique, ECOWAS should “utilise proactive preventive diplomacy, mediation and results oriented conflict management strategies driven by consistency, neutrality and inclusivity to deal with management and resolution of conflict.”

It called for the creation of a functional mediation, conciliation, and arbitration committee for settling disputes in ECOWAS countries, and with a standard Community legal framework for member States to fulfil their treaty obligations.

ECOWAS member States should ensure strict adherence to the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Communique recommended, and called “a deliberate effort to discourage the teeming youths from being dangerously radicalised by Terrorists, Separatist Militias, Bandits, Kidnappers, and Ethno-religious fundamentalists within the West African sub-region.”

In his keynote address at the opening of the Conference on Monday, the Guest Speaker Prof Chidi Odinkalu, former Chair of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, charged ECOWAS member States to ratify, domesticate and implement the 2014 Malabo Protocol which prescribes trial by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) of politicians, soldiers or mercenaries who subvert constitutional rule on the continent.

He said this would serve as a deterrent against UCG.

The President of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, Justice Edward Asante, said the annual Conference was the regional Court’s most important programme.

He described the theme this year as a burning issue, given military interventions in governance through military coups in the past two years in three ECOWAS member States - Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso., which are now under military rule and suspended by ECOWAS.

Declaring the Conference open, Gambian President Adama Barrow, represented by vice President Muhammad Jallow, said, “Zero tolerance for unconstitutional changes in government should not just be a slogan; it should reflect in our actions, in our policies, and in our laws.”

“Let our discussions guide us towards a future marked by peace, unity, prosperity, and an unwavering commitment to constitutional order,” he added.

The opening ceremony also featured welcome statements and goodwill messages from Heads of ECOWAS Institutions, including the ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray, represented by the ECOWAS Resident Representative to the Gambia Miata French, as well the Gambian Justice Minister and Chief Justice, among others.

Some 24 papers were presented during the Conference under seven sub-themes, including “Lack of Free, Fair and Transparent Elections as a Key Source of Conflict; Holding member States Accountable for Their Treaty Obligations and the Sanctions Regime,” and the “Role of National Courts of member States and the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Upholding Human Rights, Rule of Law and Constitutional Democracy.”

Presenters and attendees included Justice Ministers and Attorneys General, eminent Judges and Lawyers from ECOWAS member States, as well as constitution, governance, human rights, and election experts. 

The Conference recommendations are expected to contribute to efforts towards ending unconstitutional change of governments, the conduct of credible elections, respect for human rights, constitutional order and consolidation of Democracy in the ECOWAS Region.

*Paul Ejime, a Global Affairs Analyst, is a Consultant on Strategic Communication, Media Development, Governance Issues, Peace & Security and Election.