“Omo, wetin dey shele. What’s gwan man?”

“Helloooo. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, my bro”

“Can you speak English? I don’t get your drift. All these your what’s gwan, and yeah, yeah, I hope you have not gone to take your thing again. If you want to engage me in a conversation, then speak straight English and stop saying yeah, yeah….”

“Bros, you sef, you too dey do. Who cares anymore in this country?”

“Ï do”

“This country don kpeme”

“What is that?”

“Country no level”

“Excuse me?”

“Ëverything don scatter scatter, Nigeria don jaga jaga. Na where we dey be that oh”

“Ï see you are a fan of Eedris Abdulkareem. Festus Keyamo will soon come after you. Have you not seen how Keyamo came after the musician for attacking and ridiculing the Buhari government? He exposed the young man as a hypocrite who is criticizing government because Keyamo did not give him money to pay his hotel bills and his mother’s hospital bills too. All these your social critics by day, and hustlers by night.”

“Na lie. Eedris sef don reply Keyamo. And Twitter don remove Keyamo’s tweets.”

“Please. Please. If you insist on speaking pidgin, I will end this conversation.  I don’t engage in beer parlour talk.”

“Änd who told you pidgin English is beer parlour English. It is a major West African lingua franca. A major contribution by colonized peoples to the evolution of the English language. It represents the Empire speaking back whether you call it patois, creole or pidgin. But let’s leave that matter. I think we should go beyond Keyamo vs Eedris Abdulkareem. This is not about personalities, really. Eedris begged for money. Keyamo did not give him. Eedris asked to be sponsored to support the Buhari campaign. Keyamo thought he was an extortionist. Fine. I don’t want to focus on personalities. I am happy for Eedris Abdulkareem. He has been off the musical scene for a while. Now that he has dropped just one album, everywhere is shaking.  We should focus on the message of his music. Eedris Abdulkareem has shown a capacity to use music as a weapon of protest. The rebuttal by Keyamo is just an aside.”

“Festus Keyamo also has a right to defend himself. He was accused of being a member of the cabal.”

“Änd what is the problem if Eedris says so. He merely stated the obvious. In fact, it is a compliment to be referred to as a member of the cabal in Nigeria. Isn’t that what all of you want to become? Common Keyamo wey all of us dey chop rice and dodo together for Anthony Village don become Nigeria cabal. Him suppose dey happy. Him suppose know say Eedris dey do him own cabal job too with his music. Instead, he begin talk about money wey no miss.. He even publish text messages sef dey sound like say heaven wan fall. Er begi.  Because of how much? A whole Senior Advocate of Nigeria.”   

“Can you translate that into correct English, please?”

“Dey there dey form. I think this Ikoyi wey you dey go everyday don dey affect you. You no dey hear our slang again. Whatever Eedris Abdulkareem did right or wrong in the past should not be held against him. That is what I am saying. Simple. He was a young man when he begged for money and asked to be mobilized to support Buhari. Like Isa Pantami, the Sheik Minister of the Federal Republic, he has now recanted. He has seen the light. And he has conveyed his position through music. Jaga Jaga Reloaded. We should listen to him. He should be allowed to have his say. Na today? When Eedris released the original Jaga Jaga album in 2004, the Obasanjo administration was so angry, they banned the song on radio.”

“So what is he saying this time around?”

“I will advise you to listen to the song. My kind of music. Yes, you may listen to all these artistes who do techno music. Sound without sense. But I prefer music that makes sense. Eedris is simply saying that the country is hard. This country is hard. Nothing has changed since 2004. In fact, the situation in Nigeria has worsened. President Obasanjo may have been angry with Eedris Abdulkareem in 2004, but today, Obasanjo is a Nigerian hero. Seventeen years later, Obasanjo’s Nigeria looks in retrospect like a shade of Paradise for the average Nigerian.  And so in this remake of Jaja Jaga, Eedris Abdulkareem calls Obasanjo his father because him sef know say country don change. He collaborates with Mr. Raw, and Madarocha Chi to sing about bad governance, police brutality, the October 20, 2020 moment of crisis at the Lekki toll gate and the suffering in the land. He calls for restructuring and federalism. He speaks for us. Jaga jaga eh, suffer, suffer eh.. everything scatter scatter eh… Yeah mon.”

“Hmm. Hmm.”

“You get the point now?”

“To be honest, Ï get the point.  Eedris Abdulkareem, Mr Raw and Madarocha are speaking for the Soro Soke (Speak Up) generation. But I hope Eedris will not again suffer his 2004 fate. Radio stations could be banned from playing the song. But I guess he and his collaborators are right. Nigeria is in a tough place at the moment. Can you imagine what happened over the weekend? Governors of the South East and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo had to meet to discuss how the Governors of the South East, all five of them can be protected from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the group’s militant wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).  When state Governors, who are constitutionally described as Chief Security Officers of their states are no longer safe, then what can ordinary people do?”

“Ordinary people have become victims of banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, ritualists, and scammers. Once upon a time in this country, criminals used to steal money and personal belongings. Today, in Buhari’s Nigeria, it has become more profitable to steal human beings! Nobody is safe. I won’t be surprised if one of these days, a sitting Governor is abducted and the state is asked to pay ransom before he is released.”

“Ï want to guess that the first Governor that is likely to be kidnapped will be Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State”

“Why? Do you hate the man that much? No. I cover him with the blood of Jesus”

“Cover him as much as you want. Have you not seen the statement by IPOB and ESN? After the killing of Ikonte Commander, the Vice President of IPOB, and six others, at Aworama Village, Emma Powerful, speaking for IPOB and ESN issued a statement accusing Governor Uzodinma of colluding with the Nigeria Police, the military and State Security Services to kill their men. Extra-judicially. The same day, Uzodinma’s country home was set ablaze. His expensive Rolls Royce vehicle was damaged. One of his security guards was killed. He was told he should be prepared for the IPOB sting. I wonder how the man can still govern Imo State going forward.”

“He will govern, I beg. Which Emma Powerful? Have you not heard that Channels TV has been suspended by the National Broadcasting Commission because they interviewed this same Emma Powerful? What power does he have? Some people should not be allowed to go about just causing problems no matter how hard the country is”

“Channels TV? No, I missed that. But if it is true, that’s pure rubbish. Are we in a dictatorship regime?”

“You can ask me again. They say it is a democracy”

“I don’t support any attempt to harass and intimidate the media. The job of the media is to air all shades of opinion. It is in the interest of the government that the media does so. It is the best way to collect and curate open intelligence. No media house should ever be punished for promoting the democracy of opinions. When a government begins to repress public opinion, it is a sign of desperation and confusion. The NBC may have been misquoted.”

“Ï don’t think so.”

“But as you well know, we have been through this route before. Media houses in Nigeria are used to the adversarial character of government and state actors. Since 1859 in fact.  But somehow, you can treat the media whichever way you like, the truth is that journalists will always outlive every government. They will be the ones to have the last say. They can build you up, but they can also pull you down. I advise the NBC to apply its rules with caution and wisdom. Things are bad enough, adding media repression to the Nigerian crisis is unhelpful.”

“But it is your brothers and friends that are in charge””

“Ï am not discussing personalities. Let’s focus on issues.”

“I hear you. But there are also people who think the Nigerian media is part of the problem. Journalists are always putting pepper and salt in everything. Country hard like this. Journalists go dey put petrol. Too much sensationalism. Government’s position is that the media should help government. But no. They will go and carry enemies of the state and put microphone in their mouths. I am sure if Shekau the terrorist wants to grant interview tomorrow or announce a World Conference, Nigerian journalists will be the first to get there. They will carry microphone and say they are doing their job.”

“News is news. News is what happens. Government has no right to determine what is news. You can’t blame journalists for doing their work. And don’t forget that the role of the media is constitutional. Sections 22 and 39 of the Nigerian Constitution recognise the rights of the media as watchdog, and the citizen’s fundamental right of free speech. So, whatever Emma Powerful says, let the government deal with it. Why are they fining and suspending Channels TV? How about Igbere TV where more critical statements are made on a daily basis? Even Igbere TV should be allowed to serve the people without hindrance.”

“But all of that should be within the ambits of the law. No country will allow a lawless media institution. That is the whole point about regulation.”

“The whole point is about freedom of speech”

“There are no absolute rights”

“That is not what we are dealing with here. Musicians cannot sing. Journalists cannot speak to people. Where are we? Idi Amin Dada’s Uganda?

“You want to hear the truth?”

“What truth?”

“The truth is that the Nigerian government does not respect, and does not trust the Nigerian media. They think most Nigerian journalists are like Eedris Abdulkareem. Friend today. Enemy tomorrow. Too many journalists looking for contracts, and money, running from one government office to the other to grab consultancies, or brown envelopes, or handouts. And yet they talk to enemies of the state.”

“That is libelous. You can get sued for group libel. People should stop blaming journalists. Fix the country.”

“Come and sue me”

“I fear for Nigeria”

“Ï pity my country”

“My big fear is even the fact that Nigeria is now surrounded by a ring of evil. There is crisis in Chad. Their president Idris Deby Itno is dead. There is very febrile succession politics in that country.  Under Idris Deby Itno, Chad provided some kind of buffer zone for Nigeria, Libya and the Sahel region. If that country implodes, Nigeria will be in serious trouble. The Libya-nization of Chad will add to our woes. Niger is also unstable. Nigeria may have helped to install a new President in that country but we can suffer for doing so, particularly with the dubious role France is playing in Chad and Niger. Cameroon next door is also troubled. The Republic of Benin is another zone of uncertainty. We have trouble at home. We have crisis abroad.”   

“Let’s deal with the trouble at home first.”

“You don’t see the connection?”

“Ï am not blind. I see it. But let our leaders begin charity at home before they begin to worry about other people’s problems. The big problem with Nigeria is that we tend to take pain-killers for other people’s problems while overlooking the cancer at home. Who does that?  This is how you people send policemen to Somalia to help stabilize Somalia whereas there is no stability at home. We go everywhere giving others what we don’t have at home. We even refine petrol abroad and set up refineries in other people’s countries. I don’t get it.”

“What you don’t get is that the world is now a village.”

“I am not into slogans. I understand the point about global solidarity. But nobody should take Nigerian money to go and stabilise Niger and Chad or create employment in other countries.”

“We are the giant of Africa”

“Hey, Hey. Mr Giant. In one part of your country, the entire North West, 618 schools have been shut down in five states because of the lack of safety in schools. Many students do not want to go back to school. Over 10, 000 students are in Boko Haram captivity according to one Governor from that part of the country. Parents are anxious and depressed. For the past one month, 29 students of the College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Kaduna State have been in the custody of bandits. Three students of Greenville University have been murdered. Two more yesterday. The whereabouts of the remaining 35 who were kidnapped along with them remains unknown.  What do you say to their parents? The entire South East is in a state of war. The South West is suddenly at war with the same Hausa-Fulanis who have lived in the region for centuries. Boko Haram has just taken over a whole town. Geidam in Yobe state. Your security chiefs are busy wearing fine uniform in Abuja. Your country’s unemployment rate is 33.3 %. Headline inflation is 18.17%. Food inflation is 23%. Your country is the second most unelectrified country in Africa. My heart aches.”

“Mine too. I have nothing to say other than to quote Chinua Achebe.”

“The problem with Nigeria is leadership”

“He also said there was once a country”

“So Eedris Abulkareem, the rap artist is right then. Keyamo misses the point.”

“Let’s say the two of them are doing their job. This life is a hustle. Every man according to his stomach.”   

Most of the politicians whose names have been mentioned in connection with Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential election, either as a hopeful or an aspirant would readily tell you it is too early to talk about the next election. Don’t buy that. They are lying.  The race for the next Nigerian elections began immediately the last general elections ended. The politicians are at best hedging their bets. Perhaps for this reason: The two major political parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are busy watching and spying on each other. They have so far refused to announce their zoning formula, but even with all that talk about merit and competence, both parties will still adopt a zoning principle at all levels.

The way I see it, the questions to consider are as follows: Will the Presidency be zoned to the North, the East or the South? The people of the South East have already stated clearly, and they are not joking about this, that the only way to ensure equity, fairness and justice is to allow the Presidency go around the six geo-political zones before anyone begins to reject zoning. Meanwhile, what we have seen across the country’s six geo-political zones, are persons who have been testing the waters, flying kites, engaging in whispering campaigns, auto-suggesting the future of Nigeria. I intend to devote some time to a deconstruction of the emerging trends, particularly in the South West where members of the APC have made it clear that there is an outstanding Memorandum of Understanding within the party dating back to 2014/2015. The understanding is that after President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure, the Presidency will be zoned to the South West. Key political figures in the South West wing of the APC are relying on this promise and agreement. Who are they? What is the state of play? Will the APC keep the promise? My preliminary reading is as follows:

The most dominant name, figure and player in South West politics, at the moment is Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Jagaban of Borgu, former two-term Governor of Lagos State, the man who led the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) into the alliance with Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the new PDP, a faction of APGA  and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to form the APC, the Special Purpose Acquisition Company, that grabbed power by hook or crook from the PDP in 2015.  Tinubu is a national leader of the APC. The big elephant in the APC room is that he, the well-known Godfather, wants to be President in 2023. His posters are all over the country. Yesterday, I saw one of those posters proclaiming his 2023 Presidential ambition around the Ikoyi-Lekki link bridge in Lagos. And I was like: really, so this thing is true? A few days earlier, social media was awash with images of small bags of rice with Tinubu’s image being distributed in parts of the North. His spokesperson says he has nothing to do with that. Just the handiwork of benevolent volunteers who are distributing rice, in the godfather’s name, in the spirit of Ramadan.

Before that particular monkey business, Tinubu was also shown cosying up to the North; his 69^th birthday colloquium was held in Kano, and he has been seen, lately, trying to be more Northern than the average Northerner. Tinubu’s alleged Presidential ambition has driven up hypertension levels across regions. But his ambition if it exists, is unpopular. Not even his own Yoruba people have bought into it despite the pretensions of a vocal minority. I really don’t think Asiwaju Tinubu wants to be President, nor will he be. In the course of his political career, he has made more than enough enemies and acquired more than enough baggage, stepping on toes, and playing the role of a Grand Architect. If he steps forward to grab the Crown, he faces the prospect of being told ugly and unpleasant stories. My view is that Asiwaju Tinubu is savouring the talks about his possible Presidency just to re-establish and reinforce his own relevance. In case some people have forgotten, he more or less single-handedly handed over the South West to President Buhari in 2015 and 2019. He is today the only person in the South West who can stand up to the same North to remind other elements in the APC of the MOU that was signed when he decided to lead the South West to support Buhari and keep him in office. He wants to remain relevant and have a voice in determining who becomes President in 2023. His greatest strength is in identifying and building talent. He is exceptional in that regard in contemporary Yoruba politics.

The only problem is that other Nigerians would not want to hand over Nigeria to him so he can run it with the same kind of totalitarian grip that he has over Lagos. His Presidential ambition, for that reason alone is dead on arrival. His strength is his hubris.  But once he achieves his goal of remaining relevant and being the go-to-person in the South West, he will be fine, and that is all I believe he can get.  Tinubu’s so-called Presidential ambition is all about tactics, so finely honed that anybody who wants to be President from the South West cannot side-line him. With the noise made so far about his imagined Presidency, Tinubu appears to have already checkmated every other likely aspirant from the South West. But that may not be the true picture of things.  

There is Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. He has been facing his assignment as Vice President dutifully, doing only what they allow him to do and keeping his head slightly above water. In six years of being Vice President in a cabal-dominated environment, he is beginning to look like he has learnt his lessons. However, there are persons who think that he is President Buhari’s safest bet as a successor. He is not likely to probe the Buhari administration for sure. That would amount to self-immolation. The way the Buhari government has played its game so far, if power gets into the hands of an adversary, every member of that government would have to leave town or prepare to go to jail. There are forces and elements waiting to expose and humiliate President Buhari the moment he leaves office and they are wielding all kinds of weapons: their pens, laptops, tongues and smart phones. An Osinbajo Presidency will naturally serve as a bulwark against that, to the extent that a President Osinbajo is not likely to betray his boss. There is also the view that Pastor Adeboye once predicted that a member of his church would one day rule Nigeria. Could he have been referring to Osinbajo? But there are problems: Osinbajo is a teacher of letters, the law and the word of God. He doesn’t have a political base of his own. It is too late for him to create one. He is therefore, completely, a creation of Tinubu’s political machinery. If Tinubu is genuinely interested in becoming Nigeria’s President, I don’t see Professor Osinbajo challenging his former boss and benefactor. He can try but he won’t succeed. If Tinubu backs him however, he will be a main player. If Buhari supports him also, then he would have received divine anointing.  His Redeemed Church politics may however count against him/

There is also Senator Ibikunle Amosun, former Governor of Ogun State. His name has been mentioned as a potential President of Nigeria from the South West. Amosun has been Senator twice representing Ogun Central. He has also been a two-term Governor of Ogun State. He has both bureaucratic and legislative experience. He also spent his initial years as a key player in the private sector, so it can be said of him that he has quality and broad-range experience. He, Tinubu, and Osinbajo are not likely to be tongue-tied at an international conversation forum whether on radio, television or in person. But Amosun’s biggest obstacle is that his fortunes depend almost entirely on President Buhari. He is Buhari’s man and friend. Can President Buhari make him President? I am not sure. There are forces in Amosun’s immediate constituency that will fight tooth and nail to stop him. Tinubu. Osoba. Gbenga Daniel. Dapo Abiodun. And others. Besides, Amosun’s main constituency is Abeokuta where he has proven to be a loyal son of the Realm. A Nigerian President of whatever regional extraction will need a lot more than village support. He is also a Muslim like Tinubu and Buhari. That could be a problem.

There is also Kayode Fayemi, the current Governor of Ekiti State. Some people tell me he is the man to look at if the APC zones the Presidency to the South West. Like Amosun, he has been Governor twice in his state of birth. Like Vice President Osinbajo, he is well educated.  He has also been a Minister of the Federal Republic in charge of Mines and Steel Development. He can write, talk, and hold his own in international circles. He has a Ph.D in War Studies. And Nigeria just happens to be at war. He is also the only one who does not have the kind of baggage that the others carry on their backs like the curse of Atlas.  Fayemi has not said he wants to be President, but there are persons pointing in his direction. I tell them he is my friend and brother and that he has one of the best wives anyone can get who will make an excellent First Lady for Nigeria. In Ekiti State, he has put up a great performance. He is also unencumbered compared to the others from his zone. But people don’t become President because they have everything in place, from “the other room” to the public sphere. Will Fayemi no longer be part of the conversation when he ceases to be Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum? Is his Chairmanship an advantage? My take is that the biggest challenge to anybody’s Presidential ambition in the South West today is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.  He won’t be President.  But will he also be allowed to determine Nigeria’s future? And unfortunately. we are all bound to revisit that perennial controversy about religion and ethnicity.

I was at the Ebony Life Place on Adetokunbo Ademola, Victoria island, Lagos on Sunday, April 18, to attend the Nigerian premiere of the award-winning film, Eyimofe (This Is My Desire): My first visit to that events centre in a well-appointed neighbourhood in Victoria Island, established by the television mogul and cultural entrepreneur, Mo Abudu, and my first major trip to a cinema in more than a year. COVID-19 has turned us all into recluses. With everyone masked up, you have to imagine the identity of the person before you, by over-relying on voice or mannerisms. The screening of Eyimofe provided an opportunity to reconnect with others.

I had heard about the film, produced by GDN Studios, a movie and documentary arm of The Guardian newspapers, midwifed by Toke Alex-Ibru and Mrs Maiden Ibru - an attempt to broaden the scope of The Guardian, and fully explore the manifold possibilities of media expression in an age of convergence. The film has won many awards including - the Golden Gate Award New Directors Prize at the San Francisco Film Festival (SFFILM), the New Directors Competition Grand Jury Award at the Seattle International Film Festival; Winner, ‘Best Fiction, New Filmmakers’ at the Sao Paulo International Film Festival; winner, Achilles Valdosta Award at the Torino Film Festival. For a film that made its world premiere last year at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2020, Eyimofe has had an impressive run. It has also featured in film festivals in Germany, the UK, Spain, Brazil, Austria, Scotland, the UAE, Canada, USA, Greece, Egypt and China. It finally made it home last Sunday. Home is Nigeria, the cultural and social landscape that feeds the narrative, as well its photography, scenery and cinematic progression. Is it not worrisome that films produced by Nigerians, telling our stories, have to make international rounds first before they finally make it back to their roots, the same country that has given the world Nollywood, but which nevertheless, lacks strong incentives and enabling environment for creativity? Nigeria’s achievement in the creative industry is driven more by the passion, creativity, enterprise and incandescent talent of a few who enjoy what they do within the industry and relish the meaning that they find. Eyimofe proves the point. It is a tribute to creativity, talent, and entrepreneurship: the deft blending in this respect accounts for its success.

This is more remarkable because it is not a commercial film in the sense in which that term has been abused. It is a powerful psychological drama about the existential struggles that man endures as he tries to make sense of reality, strengthened or made more vulnerable, by his or her capacity to remain optimistic and forge ahead despite every odd that fate and circumstances project. Eyimofe’s story is every man’s story. Mofe, a factory worker and technician, the main character and Rosa, a hairdresser, believe like many Nigerians that going abroad is the best passport to better life, away from the squalor and poverty at home. But then life happens. Eyimofe loses his wife, son, and nephew due to poisoning by generator fumes.  More woes pile upon agony. We follow Eyimofe through the journey of his becoming: death, grief, burial, family relations, but in the end, true meaning exists in the same environment that he and Rosa had planned to abandon. There are moments of cultural dissonance, but far more gripping is the photography, the choice of locations and scenery which convey the sound and shape of the Nigerian condition. Haunting, telling imagery abound in this film where silence is as loud as the spoken word.

As a directorial debut for the Esiri twins (Arie and Chuko), there is more than a promise on display. Further enrichment with musical scores could have lifted the mood and rhythm but this is a work of remarkable accomplishment. It pushes us into a reflective mode: what constitutes success? What is the true meaning of life? How much of it is within our control or beyond us? About two hours long, Eyimofe opens to the general public from April 23.

We were later treated to an after-party at the rooftop of Ebony Place: a classy, clean, accommodating, well-put together centre, just like its owner, Mo Abudu. I am impressed. I will return. 

The removal of former Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu by President Muhammadu Buhari 27 days to the end of the three months extension that the President granted him on February 4, is now seen by those who opposed that extension as a vindication of their position.  The official excuse at the time was that the President needed a period of three months to look for a proper replacement. or as Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dingyadi put it, to “ensure a smooth handover”. This was pooh-poohed as a sign of absent-mindedness and sloppiness on the part of government. Adamu’s date of retirement was well known, and in line with standard practice, he must have served notice of his retirement. The Police Act states clearly that the age of retirement for a serving officer is the age of 60 or 35 years in service or whichever comes first. This is on all fours with Civil Service Rules and Regulations. How on earth then would any one claim that more time would be needed to find a replacement? Adamu enlisted in the Nigerian Police Force on February 1, 1986. Senior Advocates of Nigeria – Femi Falana, Mike Ozekhome and Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa and others waded into the matter and argued loudly that the law does not contemplate a situation whereby a retired police officer will be appointed the Inspector General of Police and that effectively, Adamu’s continued stay in office meant that Nigeria did not have an Inspector General of Police. The Federal Government had its way. Adamu remained in office.

But the Nigeria Bar Association went to court. The lawyer representing the NBA, argued that Adamu’s continued stay in office was in contravention of Section 7 (3 and 6), and 215 (1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 18(8) of the Police Act and hence to that extent, the extension of his tenure was unlawful, null and void. The lawyers representing the NBA asked the court to direct Adamu to stop functioning as the IGP of Nigeria. Before the NBA suit, there was also a suit, with similar prayers, filed by Maxwell Opara Esq. Nigerians were however shocked when the now erstwhile IGP engaged the services of his own lawyers who purportedly argued that it is the President’s prerogative to hire and fire within the purview of Section 171 (1-6) of the 1999 Constitution, and hence nothing unlawful had been done and that in fact IGP Adamu’s tenure would not end until he has served for complete four years because the Police Act 2020 defines the tenure of an IGP to be four years.

Adamu became IGP on 15 January 2019. The new Police Act 2020 was signed into law by President Buhari on September 16, 2020. The fact that laws do not have retroactive effect is one of those elementary things sophomore law students understand. But here in the Adamu case, senior lawyers had the temerity to stand that principle on its head as an argument.  In the NBA case, the Federal High Court has since fixed April 16 for judgement in the suit, after parties to the case adopted their written addresses. But with the removal of IGP Adamu on April 6, that case has now become mute and academic. The same Section 171 (1 – 6) that Adamu’s lawyers quoted in part, has now been used to “fire” him. I hope Adamu would not make the mistake of saying he would challenge his removal in court because these days, you never really know. There are many ambulance-chasing lawyers out there who would take on any brief and offer legal advice that fly in the face of the law and common sense. The Nigeria Bar Association should look into that. And while it is useful to test the law, judges must be firm in rebuking counsel who approach the courts with frivolous and vexatious cases that constitute an attempt to waste the time of the court.

As for former Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu, would it not have been better if he had taken his exit, most honourably, on February 1, the exact date he was supposed to leave service after 35 years?  He could claim he was not in a position to disobey the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and President of Nigeria. but how about the greedy part of him that came forth, with the argument by his lawyers that he could stay in office till 2023? Wherever he is at the moment, he must be disturbed by the embarrassing manner of his exit last week. He was treated so shabbily he deserves our sympathy. But he is not getting any sympathy. The former IGP was on active duty in Owerri, Imo State where a group of yet unidentified gun men practically sacked the entire state and instilled fear into the people. In Owerri, they attacked the prison and set over 1, 800 inmates free. They burnt down vehicles at the Police Headquarters. They made an attempt on Government House. They later attacked police stations in Mbaitoli, Orlu, and Ehime Mbano and other LGAs.

The audacity and the impact were devastating. In neighbouring Abia state, the state Governor had to take a precautionary and pro-active step to impose curfew on two major cities of Umuahia and Aba.  The South East was literally turned into a battlefield. The then IGP blamed the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network (ESN) for the attacks. IPOB and ESN disagreed with him. They rejected the attempt to link them to the attacks. The former Inspector General of Police had gone to Owerri for an on-the-spot assessment when his removal was announced. Nobody alerted him. He left Owerri without the authority of the office that took him there. What makes it all sad and ugly is that Mohammed Adamu is now more likely to be remembered as the police chief who presided over police brutality, the #EndSARS melodrama, the failure of the police to ensure the safety of lives and properties under his watch, and as the police chief whose tenure was unlawfully extended and who eventually got disgraced out of office. Future Inspector Generals of Police should learn from his humiliation. It would not be wrong to say that he left the Nigeria Police Force worse than he met it.

Adamu’s successor: Usman Alkali Baba has since assumed office as the 21^st indigenous Inspector General of Police. Unfortunately, this new IGP is starting off on a more controversial note. By appointing him, even if in an acting capacity, a number of questions have been raised – (1) about religion: why another Muslim as IGP of Nigeria, and (2) ethnicity: why does the President appoint only Northerners as IGP since 2015? and (3) competence: who is Usman Baba, what has he achieved? What is so special about him? and (4) abuse of due process: why does the President appoint Inspector Generals of Police without the involvement of the Police Council as stated in the Third Schedule, Section 215 (2) of the 1999 Constitution?

Religion remains a very sensitive subject in Nigeria. Muslims do not trust Christians and vice versa. The dividing line between the two major faiths in Nigeria has never been so sharply drawn as is now the case. Ethnicity is also a problem. President Buhari has been accused of a Northernisation and Islamisation agenda by his fiercest critics. Each time he makes an appointment, they draw attention to the religious and ethnic affiliation of the appointee. His aides have tried to debunk this but they have been most unsuccessful in getting the critics to change their minds. In governance, perception often times is more enduring than actual substance. However, with regard to the appointment of the IGP, it is a matter of fact that since 2015, all the three IGPs appointed by President Buhari have all been Muslim-Northerners: Ibrahim Idris (2016 – 2019); Mohammed Adamu (2019 – 2021) and Usman Baba (2021 - ). It has also been argued that the North has produced more IGPs than the South since the return to civilian rule in 1999. Well, that is not true. The South since 1999 has produced six IGPs (Musiliu Smith, Mustafa Balogun, Sunday Ehindero, Mike Okiro, Ogbonna Onovo and Solomon Arase). Before now the North had five IGPs (Hafiz Ringim, Mohammed Dikko, Suleiman Abba, Ibrahim Idris and Mohammed Adamu). Usman Baba is the sixth from the North. There you have it: it is now 6 -6.  However, it seems to me that given all the concerns expressed about the South East and the marginalisation of the region, it would have made more sense to appoint a South Easterner as Nigeria’s new IGP. Or are there no Igbos in the top hierarchy of the Police? Since 1999, only two Igbos have made it to that top position (Okiro and Onovo). An Igbo IGP at this time would have been a wise choice.

On the question of competence, Usman Baba has impressive credentials on paper. He holds a Masters degree in Public Administration.  He was until his appointment, the Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department at the Police Headquarters. Before then, he served as Force Secretary. He has also been Commissioner of Police in Delta State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and AIG in Zones 4, 5 and 7. When I reel out these credentials, the question most people ask is: And so? What exactly has he done?, they ask. A significant proportion of the people that Usman Baba is expected to serve express doubts about him. His media team has a lot of work to do. He himself has a lot more to do.

The remaining question is due process. The new IGP was appointed without any recourse to the Police Council. The President, after a fashion, took a unilateral decision to appoint Usman Baba as the Inspector General of Police of Nigeria. The problem continues to repeat itself in this regard. It is not enough to rely on Section 171 of the Constitution. No section of the Constitution exists in a silo. The Constitution should be read conjunctively, and here Section 171 stands in relation to Section 215 (1)(a) and Section 216 (1) of the same Constitution. The Police Council is the highest policy making body for the Police. It is a creation of section 153 of the 1999 Constitution. The Police Council has the President as Chairman, with all the 36 State Governors as members. The whole idea is that an Inspector General of Police appointed by the Police Council based on the recommendation of the Police Service Commission would understand the gravity of his mandate, and get the message that whereas he reports to the President, state governors, who may have no control over police operations  are nevertheless, major stakeholders in the task of policing the country.

The reduction of the Police Council therefore, to a rubber stamp assembly, if and when it suits the President is in part the source of the “powerlessness” of Governors in their relationship with the Nigerian Police. Besides, there is really no indication that the Police Service Commission had a hand in the appointment of this new IGP. Members of the Police Service Commission apparently just heard the news on radio like everyone else. This abuse of due process, when measured in terms of costs, is a great disservice to the nation. It amounts, as counsel to NBA in the Mohammed Adamu case pointed out, breaking the laws of the land.

Usman Alkali Baba has assumed office at a very difficult time. There is widespread insecurity in the land. The police are ill-equipped and under-staffed. The people do not trust them. Police men themselves are “at war” with the same people they are paid to protect. It is not for nothing that police reform, police restructuring, or the creation of state police is part of the on-going Nigerian debate. It is most unfortunate, however, that IGP Baba has not shown any early signs that he understands the gravity of the problem he faces. On Friday last week, he reportedly held a meeting with “strategic zonal commanders” of the Police – whatever that means!  He told his men that his priority is to “rejig police operations nationwide”. With due respect, this new police IGP should resist the temptation to turn the mouthing of “platitudes” into a habit. Nigerian security chiefs out of a lack of imagination and perhaps the narrow scope of their vocabulary tend to use the same phrases annoyingly: “rejig”, “architecture”; “operational rules”.  Buba says he wants to “leave a legacy of policing with human face”. The way they abuse these words, we may need to launch a campaign to stop them from using words that either they do not understand or that mean nothing.    

In about 48 hours after his assumption of office, IGP Usman Baba was presented with something to worry about when the five South East Governors and a few Igbo leaders at the end of a meeting on security in the South East declared the establishment of a security group to be known as “Ëbube Agu”. Nigerian Governors must be fascinated with animals, and their skills. In the South West there is a security network named “Amotekun”, the Yoruba word for Leopard. In the South East, “Ëbube Agu” means the glory or greatness of a Lion. In 2020, when the same South East Governors had tried to set up a regional security outfit like Amotekun in the South West and Shege Ka Fasa in the North, the erstwhile IGP told them to bury the thought. In December 2020, the Indigenous People of Biafra, the group led by Nnamdi Kanu and other non-state actors established the Eastern Security Network (ESN). What would be IGP Usman Baba’s response to “Ebube Agu”?  The timing of the initiative is striking. The South East Governors did not even give Baba enough time to settle down in his new office. Given the worsening security situation in their region, they stand on a high moral ground.

But the details are fuzzy.  “Ebube Agu” is nonetheless a fine case of the people trying to help themselves, a commentary on the failure of Nigeria’s centralised Police and an indication that state Governors are not as helpless as they claim to be in managing security.  

I would never have believed that a day would come when a Nigerian judge would engage in street fighting no matter the level of provocation. It was for this reason that I initially thought the video showing a suit-wearing fellow, referred to as a certain powerful judge kicking and slapping a security guard at the Banex Plaza, Abuja last week, was a Nollywood video. But when it was later confirmed that the kick-boxer was actually a serving judge, identified as Justice Danladi Umar, Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, I was shocked.

When the Head of Press and Public Relations of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Ibraheem al-Hassan later issued a statement in defence of the learned Judge, my shock turned to petrification. Nothing could be more shocking than seeing the man in charge of the country’s Code of Conduct Tribunal in such disgraceful misconduct in public. Justice Umar may have been watching a lot of UFC shows and may have learnt one or two things about how to punch, kick and overwhelm the opponent, but not even Israel Adesanya or Kamaru Usman would behave in such manner as seen in that video. Judges occupy a position of great value in society. They are guided by a code of conduct that requires them to be on their best behaviour at all times, either on the Bench or away from it. They are required like Caesar’s wife to be above board.

Justice Danladi Umar has stayed long enough on the Bench. He certainly does not need to be lectured on this fine point. He became a Chief Magistrate before the age of 36, and was appointed Acting Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal at 36. He was appointed Chairman of the Tribunal at the age of 40, the youngest Nigerian to assume that office.  He is now 50, and has been in charge of the Code of Conduct Bureau either as Acting Chairman or as Chairman for more than 14 years. What got into him? At a point, I was afraid that his Lordship, if not restrained by security men, was going to remove his jacket and charge ferociously like a kickboxer in the ring! He should be advised to stop watching kick-boxing matches just in case he does so.

There may well be persons out there who will insist that Justice Umar is after all, a human being and no man is infallible. And to show just how human he is, we are told that he goes to the Banex Plaza regularly to shop and repair his phones if he has to. He doesn’t send aides to do the rounds for him. He goes there himself. But I don’t see how this justifies his misconduct. Nobody expects judges to be invalids. A judge going to a shopping mall is not an achievement. Other professionals live a normal life and engage in routine activities, but they do not go about engaging in physical altercations or punch-ups. They respect rules of communal conduct. And a judge should know about rules.

The security guard at the Banex Plaza was said to have told His Lordship’s driver that he could not park at a particular spot. He was doing his job, as a guard and parking attendant. He obviously was not in a position to know the status of the occupant of the vehicle he was re-directing. Justice Umar was said to have insisted that his driver would occupy a chosen space. This was at the Banex Plaza, a shopping centre, not at the premises of the Code of Conduct Tribunal where he is the Boss. There is also no indication in Justice Umar’s resume that he once worked as a parking attendant and hence, had a better understanding of how vehicles should be parked. Naturally, the Banex Plaza staff insisted on doing his job, and that led to an altercation and the Judge rushing out of the car.

In the recorded video of the incident that has since gone viral, someone could be heard in the background saying: “Hey! Hey! Hey! This man is mad. Your power will not save you.  Respect yourself. Oga go inside your car. You are not the most powerful herdsman… Respect yourself, dem go beat you comot for here.. Hey! Hey! Who are you? Who you be?...Dem don lock the gate. Dem go show you pepper here today…Who are you? Who are you?.. Close the gate.. Close the gate. One Fulani man think say he get all the power in the world. Who are you? We make the rules here. If Buhari come here dem go show am pepper. See. Dem don break him glass… Hei! Heeei!” It was a very ugly situation in which the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal found himself.

The CCT Head of Press and Public Relations, Ibraheem Al-Hassan later issued a statement on the incident in which he says “the boy was rude in his approach and threatened to deal with the Chairman if he refused to leave the scene”. The statement claims that the CCT Chairman was assaulted by “Biafran Boys”.  Danladi Umar himself has commented directly on what transpired. He said he was assaulted by persons who chanted “secessionist and sectional slogans” and that the video in circulation does not show the part where he was “molested.”   He says he “regrets being drawn into responding to the situation.”  It is surprising that days after the incident, Justice Umar is more or less still arguing that he was provoked into resorting to physical assault. He also does not see anything wrong in the reference to “Biafran Boys.” He repeats the offence in that regard by referring to “secessionists” and conveniently, he concludes that his action “has been misconstrued in the narrative floating across the social media”. He still doesn’t get it, does he? He is a jurist, an officer in the temple of justice, and even if he is “drawn into responding to the situation”, he really believes that “kick-boxing” is the best response? If he was molested, and that can be proven, why would he then take the law into his own hands? A man whose job is to enforce the law should not be seen breaking the law. If Justice Umar has an anger management problem, he should be encouraged to seek help.

Ugoji Egbujo has written an opinion piece titled “Nigeria’s CCT Chairman as a Senior Agbero” (Premium Times, April 5, 2021). I respect the judex so much I wouldn’t dare translate the Yoruba word, “agbero” into English or quote Egbujo’s expletives-ridden commentary. But I think Justice Umar needs to learn some very quick lessons or lend himself some wisdom. No 1: We are in the age of social media, citizen journalism and the democratization of news. Whatever anyone does in public, can be easily recorded by persons wielding even the cheapest smart phone in the market. Private conversations on phone can be recorded and edited. Whatever is recorded can be published almost immediately.

Twenty years ago, the drama at Banex Plaza involving the CCT Chairman could have occurred and nobody will know about it. If it gets noticed by the media, Umar’s Press Team would have appealed to editors to please kill the story. These days, it is difficult to kill a story.  The citizen journalist who operates on Instagram and WhatsApp may not even have a by-line. The standard phrase is that bad news sells. It not only sells; it now travels at the speed of light. No. 2: Nigeria is no longer a place where anybody wearing some fancy clothes, driving a big car, going about with uniformed security can expect that his class and stature will intimidate less privileged members of society. You can no longer go about telling people: “Do you know who I am?” No matter who you are, you will most likely be told: “Who are you? Or Who do you think you are? Do you feed me? Okay, do you know who I am too? And what makes you think I should know who you are?” Nigerians are angry.  It is better not to provoke them any further. No. 3: Justice Umar talks about “secessionists and sectional slogans”. Ibraheem Al-Hasan in his first press statement said Umar has been going to the Banex Plaza for about 18 years.  Apparently, most people there did not know his identity. But now with the video that has gone viral, his cover has been blown. Common sense should tell the CCT Chairman that it is in his best interest to stay away from that plaza for a while.

And No 4: did Justice Umar directly ask Ibraheem al-Hassan to refer to the persons at the Banex Plaza as “Biafran Boys”? Is he aware that this contravenes Section 26 of the Cybercrimes Act 2015 as has been correctly pointed out by Femi Falana, SAN? Al-Hasan also insists that he acted on the directive of the CCT Chairman. Can someone please help explain to Mallam Al-Hassan that no public officer is excused under the law with such an explanation that he or she was carrying out an unlawful order just because a superior official gave a directive to that effect? The penalty for the use or suggestion of xenophobic words is five years imprisonment and/or a minimum fine of N10 million. Al-Hassan is the Head of Press and Public Relations at the CCT. He was deployed to that agency by the Federal Ministry of Information. I was furious reading the first press statement that he issued on the Danladi Umar incident. It was riddled with grammatical infelicities, howlers, spelling errors, wrong word use and the abuse of syntax. As Nigerians are wont to say, the guy “murdered the English language”:  “video cliff” instead of “video clip”; “Packing lot” instead of  “parking lot”; “fixe” instead of “fix”; “had went” instead of “had gone”, “rode instead of rude”, “refuse” instead of “refused”. I had to take analgesics after reading his press statement.

Al-Hassan’s excuse in a public apology is that he wrote “under intense pressure and instruction” and was unable to proof-read the statement! What does this tell us about standards, competence and quality control? Al-Hassan should be sent on a refresher course in public communication without any further delay.

Public outrage on all the issues raised above is in order. Many groups have asked that Justice Umar should resign for conduct unbecoming of his status. Others want him reported to the Federal Judicial Service Commission, the Presidency and the National Assembly for sanction. The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) has condemned his conduct, described as a “display of naked power” and has ordered an investigation with a view to taking “appropriate action”. Others have dredged up old allegations against him including how he was the one who issued a controversial ex parte order for the suspension of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen. Umar has stirred the hornet’s nest. But nobody should count on anything happening to the CCT Chairman by way of sanction. He will not resign. That is certain. And he is not willing to apologise properly either. The man he assaulted, Clement Sargwak, 22, can only be advised to seek an enforcement of his fundamental human rights and thereby institute legal action against him. 

A tailpiece in this column: “Much Ado About Ogun Cargo Airport” (Tuesday, March 23, 2021) turned out to be my own version of stirring the hornet’s nest, given the controversy, the animus and the attention that it has generated. I had raised specific questions about an emerging Egba vs. Remo war of attrition that had developed around the idea of a Cargo Airport in Ilishan Remo, Ogun State an inherited project which happens to fall under the Senatorial District of the current Governor of Ogun State, and another airport at Wasinmi within the Egba territory. Ilishan and Wasinmi are within shouting distance from each other.

 READ ALSO: [OPINION] MUCH ADO ABOUT OGUN CARGO AIRPORT - REUBEN ABATI

I argued that the former having come first in order of time, should not become controversial if the present Governor is trying to develop it. I added that I did not see the wisdom in having two airports any way for reasons of ethnic ego. What! Hell broke loose in Egbaland. I was woken up the following morning by strident attacks on my phone. My identity was questioned. A senior friend sent me all the WhatsApp messages that had been circulated about me: I was called a bastard for daring to question the siting of an airport in Wasinmi. One man wrote: What kind of Egba man will support Remo/Ijebu people against Egbaland? Are you sure this Abati is one of us? “Omo ale!” Is he aware that Egba is his political base and not Ijebu? Does he even know the facts?

  READ ALSO: [OPINION] OPL 245: THE MILAN PROSECUTION AND LESSONS FOR NIGERIA - REUBEN ABATI

A friend took the trouble to send the Egba side of the story: “(1) that the Wasinmi Airport Project is being funded by the Federal Government and has been part of the budget for the last couple of years. The financial arrangement was designed to be effected through the instrumentality of a Bond programme that failed to get the approval of the state legislature.  (2) I was told the Wasinmi airport is a passenger airport while the Remo airport is a cargo airport. (3) The Dapo Abiodun administration is asking the Federal Government to stop the Wasinmi Airport, that Ogun state doesn’t need it and that the money meant for the project should be diverted to the Cargo Airport at Remo. That is wrong, my friend said. (4) Even if Egbas are the most intelligent people in the world, they will rise against that nonsense Dapo Abiodun is doing and (5) I was accused of attacking former Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and here is what I was told: Governor Abiodun is the culprit here, not Amosun. Every Senator has a right to defend projects allocated to his state...”     

 READ ALSO: [OPINION] THE NIGERIAN DIASPORA VS. DEPUTY SPEAKER IDRIS WASE - REUBEN ABATI

My point is proven: ethnic politics and conflict, that is the “my-own-isation” of everything, is the bane of Nigeria’s development process at both national and sub-national levels. Tragic.

READ ALSO: [OPINION] BALA-USMAN: FIXING THE APAPA GRIDLOCK WITH “ETO” - REUBEN ABATI

The other Friday, some of us met at a restaurant in Lagos, at the instance of Mr. Lanre Idowu, a veteran journalist, a very dear Egbon of the boys, mentor to a younger generation of journalists, and the spirit behind the annual Diamond Awards for Media Excellence. His co-conspirator was Azubuike Ishiekwene, ace prose stylist, newspaper columnist, author, mediapreneur, editor of editors. What could a group of notorious, middle-aged journalists be possibly up to wining and dining in an upscale restaurant?

We were not planning any form of secession or an assault on the Buhari administration with our pens – two things I hear give them insomnia and acute indigestion in Aso Rock these days. We were there to celebrate two of our own, drink to their success and share in the glow of their achievement:  Debo Adesina, former editor of the African Guardian, former Editor of the Saturday Guardian, former Editor of the Guardian, former Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian who is now Nigeria’s Ambassador to Togo. And Oma Djebah, ex-Guardian, former Political Editor of ThisDay, former Commissioner of Information, Delta State, former Special Adviser on International Affairs to Delta State, publisher, entrepreneur, writer and artist, who is now Nigeria’s Ambassador to Thailand and Myanmar.

Nigerian journalists do not often celebrate their own colleagues. They prefer to promote others and pull down their own. But I am glad to see a changing trend. You needed to have been in the room. We were all so happy that President Muhammadu Buhari has chosen to include two journalists in the recent list of non-career ambassadors. For us, this is an achievement for the media industry. The Nigerian media, one of the oldest institutions in the making and the unmaking of Nigeria, has over the years occupied the frontlines. The industry has produced leaders and icons. It is good to see that the tradition is alive and well, and that again and again, the quality represented by the profession is acknowledged. Debo Adesina, a man we usually call The Prince found it a bit difficult being addressed as Your Excellency, Ambassador Adesina. Oma Djebah didn’t even know whether to sit or stand up, at a reception in his honour by some of the persons who used to be his Editors.  We told both of them they will soon get used to it, and that they can rely on the support of the Nigerian Media Mafia and Cabal as they go forth to represent Nigeria!

We had a good time. As I left the event, I also remembered my dear brother, Alhaji Sarafa Tunji Ishola who has been appointed Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the Court of St. James, that is the United Kingdom. President Buhari could not have made a better choice in that regard. Sarafa Ishola is a natural diplomat, a very loyal, disciplined and honest man. He has been Chairman of Abeokuta North Local Government, Special Assistant to a Minister, Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Minister of Steel and Mines Development. He is also a community leader, an astute campaign manager and a very responsible man in his immediate community. He is fair-minded and completely without malice- qualities that will stand him in good stead. He is the right kind of person who will help deepen Nigeria-UK relations. I can vouch for him, and for Debo Adesina and for Oma Djebah. Thank you, Mr. President.  

The roads leading to the two Nigerian ports in Lagos have been for many years an abiding source of heartache and nightmare. Businesses have had to relocate from that part of the city for that very reason. Residents tell horrible stories of traffic gridlock, mental health stress and the destruction of a neighbourhood that used to be a highly regarded commercial hub, while also serving as home or investment space for some notable and principal members of the Lagos elite: the Awolowos, the Fanikayodes, the Fagbayis, the Odutolas, the Clarks, the Ibrus, the Abraham Adesanyas, the Folawiyos, the Adedoyins…

In the 1950-80s, Apapa was a highbrow estate in Lagos. It would later become more popular for the ports of Lagos: the Tin Can and the Apapa Port, in addition to shipping and construction companies and other businesses. There also used to be a functional rail line linking Apapa to the rest of the city. But Apapa which is a local government area unto itself, soon collapsed in literal terms. Its story is the story of Nigeria - a country where every good thing eventually goes to waste. How did Apapa become a problem to all and sundry? The roads leading to the area collapsed. Potholes everywhere. Many houses could not be accessed or if at all with so much distress. For years, it was impossible to get to the ports through the Mile 2 end: a whole stretch of the in-bound lane was unmotorable. Access to the ports through the Carter Bridge or Western Avenue was also frustrating. Apart from the bad state of the roads, the main problem was the long queue of trailers and trucks going to the ports to pick up containers or those trucks returning with heavy containers, clogging the roads, making life difficult for everyone. The traffic congestion caused by these trucks conveyed an image, in every elemental detail, of the failure of governance in Nigeria.

However, since the return to civilian rule in 1999, one administration after another has made efforts to solve the problem.  There has been so much talk about ports reform to ensure efficiency and better performance, and to save Nigeria’s face and revenue. Like this: ports in Cotonou, Togo and Tema, Ghana have been far more efficient. Goods meant for the Lagos ports are routinely diverted to better maintained ports in the sub-region. The Jonathan administration even set up a Task Force to streamline the multiplicity of agencies at the ports, stream line bureaucracy, and ensure a 24-hour turn-around time. Trailer parks were created to get the trucks off the roads.  There were talks about fixing the roads, and getting the rail line to Apapa working again. One Governor of Lagos after the other talked about the same ports. The Buhari administration has sustained the efforts to find a solution. Vice President Osinbajo must have visited Apapa more than once to demonstrate the present Government’s determination. At some point, the Buhari administration shut down the ports with Nigeria’s neighbours. Inefficiency at the ports affects the country’s revenue very badly. Whereas the roads can be fixed: the main challenge has been, as we see it, what to do with the many trucks to-ing and fro-ing the ports, blocking the roads permanently. On a daily basis, hundreds of trucks go in and out of Apapa in a disorderly manner. Whereas there are alternative ports in the country: Warri, Onne, Calabar, and Port Harcourt, importers and exporters rely heavily on the Lagos ports. The roads to and from the Lagos ports are also congested because there are no functional, alternative, multi-modal means of transportation.

The most strategic intervention so far would seem to be the decision by the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) now under the leadership of Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman to modernize the call-up system for the trucks going to the ports. In an interview with her on Arise News, The Morning Show, about a month ago, she was emphatic about what she called an electronic call up system called “Eto”. That is a Yoruba word. It means “to örganise something in an orderly fashion in order to get results.” The late Chief MKO Abiola, in one of his famous witty repartees made that word even more popular when he was reported to have said on one occasion, that if you see any photographer who is very agile and diligent, taking pictures from every angle and not missing a shot at a public event, it is all about “eto”. The sharpness of the wit and the infectious humour is lost in translation. “Eto ni gbogbo e”. I don’t know whether this is the inspiration for the NPA’s “eto” but the whole idea is to get people to do their work efficiently and deliver good results for the benefit of all parties concerned. What the NPA has done is to introduce an electronic app, and create a portal. Instead of queuing up on the roads leading to the ports, importers and exporters are supposed to log in online to indicate the movement of their trucks towards the ports. The Ports Authority would then give the necessary approval to ensure that the inflow and outflow of trucks is orderly. Under that framework, the Nigeria Ports Authority has provided 17 designated and approved truck parks where trucks are required to wait before they are given what is called truck pass. It is a pre-gate system. You are called up. You wait at the provided pre-gate location. When it is your turn you approach the ports, or exit. Cargo owners are also required to stop returning empty containers to the ports.  

This sounds very simple. Ordinarily it should address the crisis of having trucks parking on the main roads leading to the ports for weeks, even when the containers that they are assigned to collect are still on the high seas. For years, truck drivers and their trucks have thus constituted complete nuisance around Apapa. The studio of Arise News TV used to be in the ThisDay Headquarters on Creek Road in Apapa. I didn’t find it funny going to that part of the city. The Chairman of Arise News on many occasions encouraged the use of his boat from Victoria Island to Apapa and back. Until one day, there was a small incident close to the anchor point and we needed to rely on the waves to take us ashore. Ask Professor Bola Akinterinwa. I saw a new side of him that day. I don’t want to embarrass the senior citizen by reproducing the torrents of stream-of-consciousness elegy that came out of his mouth, as our fate depended on the sea. It was the last time he and I took the boat to the studio. We had to endure the nightmare of the roads.  I consider Hadiza Bala-Usman’s Eto initiative commendable. It would be of great benefit to the Ports, and the ordinary citizen going about his or her normal businesses around Apapa. It would further reduce the menace of those trucks ferrying unlatched containers which tend to fall off now and then, causing avoidable loss of lives and property. Hadiza Bala-Usman’s initiative is about the ease of movement and the ease of doing business.

But what have we seen? Since the introduction of the e-call up system, those who have always benefitted from the old regime have been reportedly doing whatever they can to circumvent it. Many Nigerians hate innovation. People guard what they are used to because they think change will disrupt their lives. In the case of the attempt to de-congest the road to the ports, it is disturbing to see that even traffic congestion is an organised source of livelihood for some Nigerians, in fact an organised crime!  This includes the middle men who claim to be assisting the truck owners and their drivers; the security agents who collect bribe from motorists looking for free passage, the area boys who collect ground rent from everyone, and the owners of the trucks, very powerful forces, who imagine themselves to be above the law.  About a week ago, the Managing Director of the NPA, had to suspend the outflow of all export cargoes. Despite the e-call up system, the Ports Authorities were having to deal with a backlog of 600 export cargo trucks, all approaching the ports. The trucks could not be granted a pass or called into the pre -gate because many of them had no proper export documentation, or as is the case with many, the necessary certificates were incomplete! To worsen matters, despite the “Eto” system, cargo evacuation is difficult because the Nigeria Customs Service in 2021 has no scanners, and so in the absence of scanners, customs officials at the ports are still busy doing manual inspection, opening one container after another physically in search of spare parts and stock-fish!      

In an interview with the Daily Champion, Monday, March 29, 2021, at page 24, the NPA MD says owners of cargo exports have been given two weeks within which they should align with the new framework, and she is optimistic that within 3 months all stakeholders will be able to understand how the “Eto” platform works. I like her optimism about how whatever challenges she may be facing are surmountable. But she needs to give herself more than 3 months to sort things out. It is not that straightforward. The big problem are the rent-seekers she says are pushing back. Those rent-seekers don’t give up easily. They won’t. There must be sanctions. If any truck is sent to the ports without proper documentation, such trucks should be seized. Penalties should be imposed. Transporters and owners of cargo who defy simple processes and frustrate others must be told that they cannot place themselves above the law. What is clear is this: for Eto as it is called to work at the ports, the NPA will need the co-operation of other government agencies: the Customs Service that needs to stop behaving like a 19^th Century unit of government, the security agencies that must wield the big stick against rent-seekers and the Export Promotion Council that needs to act right. In other parts of the world, heavy cargo is transported through the rails. The ugly sight of trucks on Nigerian roads bearing unlatched containers is a sign of underdevelopment, if not madness in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.  More importantly, other ports around the country in Onne, Calabar, and Warri should be made more active to further reduce the pressure on Lagos. Hadiza Bala-Usman clearly needs all the support she can get. But a lot will also depend on the courage she brings to the table. Rent-seekers, area boys, cargo owners, thieving customs officials will test her resolve. She must be firm and resolute, and it is only by doing so, that she can help end the failure of Apapa.

I have written on this subject before now: the politics and drama of OPL 245 involving ENI, Royal Dutch Shell, Malabu Oil and Gas and the manner in which President Goodluck Jonathan’s officials were dragged into the matter, particularly Emeritus Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke. The big issue is that there were allegations of corruption, money laundering and unsavoury practices in the transactions.  On Thursday last week, after more than three years, and 74 hearings, and about 200 witnesses, the Italian court looking into the matter ruled that none of the parties involved in the matter has a case to answer. In other words, the trial court discharged and acquitted, Etete, Adoke, ENI, AGIP, and Shell.

What the Italian court has said is that there is, there was not, any fraud over the transfer of the ownership of the OPL 245 and government’s management of the process. OPL 245 was projected by interested parties as one of the biggest symbols of corruption in Nigeria, from Presidents Obasanjo to Yar’Adua, and as a major minus for the Jonathan administration. The Italians in whose courts the natter was first initiated have now just ruled that there is no case to answer. We are right now at this point after reputations have been destroyed, family lives have been disrupted, and the wrong narrative has been put out there. It is terrible and condemnable the way the Nigerian government in the last six years has gone about this particular matter.  What is even more telling is that in a public statement titled “A Trilogy of Acquittals”. Chief Dan Etete insists that the agreements on the transfer from Malabu to Shell and ENI were never cancelled by the Federal Government of Nigeria. The Court,  he points out, has confirmed that no bribes were paid to anyone and that there is indeed no case to answer.     

In other words, the prosecution raised the following issues:  The legality of the transaction has been affirmed by the Italian courts. Before now, the impression given to Nigerians is that the OPL 245 Resolution Agreement was tainted with corruption, hence the prosecutions going on in Milan and Nigeria. Now that the transaction has been confirmed to be legitimate, it is expected that the Nigerian authorities will do the needful by terminating proceedings in Nigeria and publicly apologize to those maligned unduly by the EFCC and other state actors and their cohorts. In some jurisdictions, compensation will be offered. Nigeria ought to learn useful lessons from the Italian Prosecutions and the subsequent discharge and acquittal of the parties. Public Officers such as the Attorney General and other prosecutorial agencies must be guided by the pursuit of justice and national interest in the advice they give to ground a prosecution rather than serve narrow selfish private interests or the desire to even scores with people who have held public office. What exactly is the level of investigation that our prosecutorial agencies carry out before they decide to charge someone to court? We target people and try to rope them in, based on prejudices. Malicious prosecution is a direct assault on the rule of law.

This point must be made: Nigeria must not be made to look like a rogue state in the eyes of the international community where things can never be done right or government business is conducted in such a manner as to promote ulterior motives. In addition, malicious prosecution should be avoided because of its inherent danger to the state and the colossal loss it can occasion for the state when redress is sought against the state. What if Etete, Adoke, and the oil companies proceed against the government for the losses incurred during these years?

The Attorney General of the Federation indeed failed the legal community, the Justice system and  his Oath of Office when he failed to give effect to the Judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Coram, Binta Nyako, J to the effect that Mr. Adoke could not be held personally liable for carrying out the lawful directives and/approval of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to implement the OPL 245 Settlement Agreement of 2006. In other climes, the Attorney General of the Federation would have moved to terminate all proceedings in obedience to the Judgment of the Court.

Nigeria’s image has been badly damaged internationally needlessly and public confidence in our state institutions greatly eroded by the actions taken by the EFCC, the Federal Ministry of Justice and other state actors to discredit a transaction that to all intents and purposes was legitimate and beneficial to the country. Now is the time to close the book on the OPL 245 saga.

The right thing can still be done by relevant prosecutorial agencies to remedy the situation and right the wrongs. The AGF should immediately proceed to terminate the ongoing proceedings in Nigeria and offer a public apology to all the parties concerned. That is the main take-away from Italy.  

Ogun State has been in the news for the wrong reasons lately over what I prefer to call for the want of a better term: much ado about a cargo airport. All the parties involved need to be told that the provision of a Cargo Airport in the state should not become a matter of geography, individual ego, arrogance, mischief or ethnicity. The main consideration should be the interest of the people of Ogun State. A Cargo airport in Ogun State will, to state the obvious, create employment, open up the state, and deepen the development process, and also provide an alternative to the congested Lagos port facilities. It will shore up state revenue. The great advantage or disadvantage that Ogun State has is its proximity to Lagos.

With regard to the former, the increasing scarcity of space, and the over-congestion in Lagos, has resulted in the last two decades in an urban sprawl from Lagos towards every part of Ogun State which is its nearest neighbour. The effect is that housing schemes, industrial projects and other investments that could ordinarily have been located in Lagos, are being moved to Ogun State, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on the Southern front, and towards Epe and Ijebu Ode on the Northern axis. Whoever runs Ogun State as Governor therefore has a responsibility to prepare Ogun State for this advantage, for it is the best option for turning the state into an industrial hub, not just for proximity purposes but also as the gateway to the East and the neighbouring countries of Benin, and Togo. The disadvantage which needs to be addressed is that as Ogun State merges with Lagos, and with many Ogun State residents working in Lagos, commuting daily between the two states, the bulk of the tax that should go to Ogun State ends up in Lagos State coffers. No Governor has been able to find an answer to that yet. Most of the people living in Ifo 2 Constituency and Obafemi Owode Local Government, for example, live in Ogun State and pay tax in Lagos. The proximity between both states is such that in places like Alagbole, for example, some of the residents have their living rooms in Lagos State and their bedrooms on the Ogun State side of the divide!

But that is not the real subject matter. It is this: in 2007, Engr Gbenga Daniel as Governor of Ogun State decided to set up a Cargo airport in the state, to attract business and investment, and TO take full advantage of the proximity of Ogun State to Lagos. Lagos, Nigeria’s main commercial centre and the host of two sea ports and an international airport is congested, creating nightmares for both residents and businesses. The clearing of cargo in Lagos at the time and even now was an abiding source of frustration for business and industry. Why not set up an alternative in Ogun State and draw economic benefits? This was the vision of the Gbenga Daniel administration. And it made sense. The chosen location for the Cargo airport was Ilishan-Remo part of the state, close to Sagamu. Governor Daniel got the necessary approvals from the Federal Ministry of Aviation and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and did the ground work. But the Cargo airport was not completed before the end of his tenure. In 2007, Governor Daniel was succeeded by Senator Ibikunle Amosun as Governor of Ogun State. The new Governor also saw the good sense in what had been initiated by his predecessor but rather than continue with what he met on the ground, Amosun decided to start an entirely new Cargo Airport and chose as new location, a part of the state called Wasimi.

This is where the problem lies. Daniel was a Governor of Remo extraction. When he decided to locate the Cargo airport in Remoland, the Egbas accused Daniel of taking every important project to his part of the state. When Amosun took over, he looked towards his own territory, Egbaland and hence decided that the proposed Cargo airport was best for his own people. Wasimi to Ilishan Remo is less than 30 minutes. The change of location served no special purpose other than the psychological comfort it brings and the ethnic rivalry it projects. Amosun would end up doing a lot for his Egba people. He changed the face of Abeokuta, the capital of the state. He also gave them a flyover in Ijebu Ode. But the cargo airport has now become a source of concern. This whole hustle over location is just across the bridge and less than 30 minutes in terms of distance!

A week ago, the matter came up before the Senate Committee on Aviation, following disagreements between Governor Dapo Abiodun and former Governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun. The former is interested in building the Ilishan-Remo airport. Governor Abiodun, like Daniel is from Remo. Amosun wants the Agricultural Cargo Airport in Wasimi, in Egbaland. The Senate Committee on Aviation reportedly visited the two sites, and both Governors have been struggling to persuade the Senate to include their preferred project in the federal budget. By the way, the last time I checked, Senator Amosun was no longer the Governor of Ogun State. With due respect, why is he trying to dictate to his successor? He would never have accepted such meddlesomeness as he now allegedly puts up, from his own predecessors: Governor Olusegun Osoba or Governor Gbenga Daniel. As it turned out, the representative of the NCAA told the Senate Committee on Aviation that the agency has no record of any approval for the establishment of a Wasimi Cargo Airport, but it has all the necessary documentation for the Sagamu cargo airport. The Chairman of the Senate panel, Senator Smart Adeyemi subsequently resolved the matter by saying that Ogun State has the capacity to manage two airports. What kind of talk is that? Smart Adeyemi’s statement is supported by politics, double-talk and hypocrisy, and not the facts. Ogun State does not need two Cargo airports. One is enough. The state cannot afford two airports. That is a fact. The Senate panel on Aviation must be truthful and not take any decision just to please Amosun, who is currently in the Senate.

It is most unfortunate that governance in Ogun State as is the case in other states of the Federation has been reduced to the distribution of privileges based on ethnicity. I think Governor Abiodun has done well by continuing with a worthy project introduced by Daniel, which Amosun abandoned. It is completely beside the point that Abiodun and Daniel are from the same geographical zone. The overall target should be continuity in governance. That is how they do it in sane and developed economies Abiodun has completed some of Senator Amosun’s projects even in Egbaland, and the most conspicuous is the road leading to Abeokuta all the way to Kuto. He should also pay attention to Amosun’s projects in Ifo 2 Constituency to show good faith. As for Senator Amosun, can he just concentrate on his new assignment in Abuja and allow his successor to govern, the same way his own predecessors gave him a breathing space? Dapo Abiodun was our opponent in the 2019 Gubernatorial election in Ogun State but having won, he should be allowed to govern and make his own choices and mistakes. The state should not and cannot have two Governors. All that talk about what Amosun wants is mere politics and very cheap politics at that. I have no doubts that Amosun’s kinsmen will praise him for his Egba nationalism but we cannot afford to have an atomistic Ogun state where every Governor that emerges is more interested in his or her own narrow goals. A Cargo airport in Remo will be a Cargo airport for all the people of Ogun State. Can we just focus on that and subtract the politics of it?