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[OPINION] Raising the red flag for peace with thousand-day Ukrainian ruination - Owei Lakemfa

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THE first one thousand days of the Russo-Ukrainian War was on Tuesday, November 19, marked in Europe like an anniversary rather than a day of reflection. The European Commission draped its building with the Ukrainian flag, while the European Parliament sat to stirring speeches, including a standing ovation for Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Those hailing Zelensky in Brussels are not doing the dying. Those who have made an early exit to Heaven include more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians with about 27,000 injured. Over six million Ukrainians have become refugees, while the population has fallen by one quarter. Military casualties on both sides are in their hundreds of thousands.

Three days earlier, Zelensky had seemed sober and was talking about peace. The reasons for this might include the fact that in-coming United States, US, President, Donald Trump is unpredictable and the Russians are making significant gains on the battlefield. Other reasons might include Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, November 15, 2024 skirted around peace talks and, the Palestinian-Israeli War eclipsing the Ukrainian War.

So Zelensky, who hitherto had insisted there would be no negotiations with Russia, was on Saturday, November 16, 2024, talking peace. In an interview with Ukrainian radio, he said: “For our part, we must do everything we can to ensure that this war ends next year. We have to end it by diplomatic means.”

However, three days later, Zelensky was back to his war rhetoric. I think his change of mind is the result of the renewed support he got from various quarters, including the US State Department approving a new $100 million sale of weapons and, Denmark making a new $138 million donation for arms. However, the most decisive factormight be President Joe Biden authorising Ukraine’s use of long- range US ATACMS missiles. To Zelensky, this could be a game changer as the missile has a range of 300 kilometres, which means it has Russia largely fully within coverage. Secondly, his hope is that this might lead to the United Kingdom and France allowing Ukraine to use their long range missiles. Thirdly, the authorisation might be an indication that the US and its allies want an escalation of the war rather than negotiations to end it.

Zelensky immediately put the US missiles into use. Ukraine fired six of such missiles, with Russia claiming it shot down five of them, while the sixth hit a military facility in the Bryansk region, 110 kilometres inside Russia.

Russia had warned against such authorisation, claiming these missiles cannot be fired without direct US personnel support. This, to Russia, means that their use is an indication of direct US military intervention in the war.

The missile’s range of up to 300 kilometres is much shorter than some Russian missiles, including its hypersonic Kinzhal weapon with a range of 2,000 kilometres. So Ukraine’s use of such missiles is unlikely to change the course of the war.

However, Russia was so angered by the American authorisation that on November 19, it changed its rules of engagement on the use of nuclear weapons.

The new rules state that any attack against Russia by a non-nuclear country with the “participation or support of a nuclear power” would amount to a “joint attack on the Russian Federation”. This means that if the use of the ATACMS missiles by Ukraine was facilitated by US personnel, it would amount to a joint US-Ukraine attack.

It also provides that any attack against the country by a member of a military bloc, would amount to “an aggression by the entire bloc”. This means that an attack against Russia by any of the 32 countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO, would be seen as an attack by the entire military alliance.

The new order also states that Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in response to a conventional weapons attack that threatens its “sovereignty and territorial integrity”. It means that if Russia reaches the conclusion that Ukraine’s use of the ATACMS missiles threatens it in a fundamental manner, it could resort to the use of nuclear weapons.

In interpreting the new Russian rules of engagement, its former President, Dmitry Medvedev, wrote: “Russia’s new nuclear doctrine means NATO missiles fired against our country could be deemed an attack by the bloc on Russia. Russia could retaliate with [weapons of mass destruction] against Kiev and key NATO facilities, wherever they’re located. That means World War III.”

Indeed, this may be closer to a nuclear war than we think. As it stands, Russia and the US, with over 5,000 nuclear war heads each, have the highest number of nuclear weapons. China comes a distant third with 500, France has 290 and UK, 225. Less than one per cent of the estimated 12,000 nuclear warheads is enough to destroy major parts of the world.

This war, like most wars, was avoidable, and, having started, could, and can be quickly ended. But the reason why it festers is that it is a proxy war. So, rather than take steps to end the war, what we witness are blame games and a sense of justification.

Basically, this war, is an expansion of the Ukrainian Civil War in which Russia and its allies support Eastern Ukraine and NATO and its allies threw their weight behind the other part of the country. The Ukrainian Civil War itself was the result of two undemocratic incidents in that country.

The first was the 2004 presidential election in which the victory of Viktor Yanukovych from Eastern Ukraine, was rejected by crowds in Kiev, the capital. This was dubbed the ‘Orange Revolution’. That election was then annulled and, in the new election, the rival candidate, Viktor Yushenko, was declared winner. The politics of that election was that the former was pro-Russia and the latter pro-West.

Six years later, Yanukovych again won the presidential election. This time his victory was not disputed. But four years into his tenure, he was overthrown for refusing to sign the Ukrainian–European Union Association Agreement which would have pushed the country into the orbit of the West. This coup split the Ukrainian people and the military and, led to the civil war. The first part of the country to secede and join Russia was the Crimea. In the civil war between Eastern and Western Ukraine, Russian military units openly defended the former. So, technically, Russian troops were in Ukraine nine years before the “Russian Invasion”.

There were efforts to reconcile the warring factions in Ukraine which led to two signed agreements: Minsk I and II. So, there can be no solution to the war in Ukraine without the resolution of the Ukrainian civil war.

[OPINION] Should we ignore that IMF report? - Monday Philips Ekpe

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The latest report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the economic outlook of sub-Saharan Africa is far from reassuring for Nigeria and some other countries. The verdict is that the ambitious reforms (reckless and callous by many views) which the current Nigerian administration has been pursuing for one and half years are yet to show that they’re on the right track. Put bluntly, they are not working! That’s certainly not the sort of thing President Bola Tinubu and his team would love to hear.

That assessment is antithetical to the viewpoint expressed in Abuja only last month by the Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of World Bank (WB), Dr Indermit Gill, who praised the government for the courage to hit the ground running with its unprecedented decisions to remove petroleum subsidy and float the naira. Gill capped his eulogy with a strong appeal to the private sector and citizenry for their cooperation and patience. Of course, his physical audience let him know instantly that he had struck the wrong chord. He clearly underrated the trauma the nation was experiencing. Anyhow, that outing provided a window into the bank’s convictions about Nigeria’s tortuous quest for restored prosperity.

This unpalatable IMF dish has thrown a shadow over whatever is left of the country’s hope of exiting the woods soon. It was the turn of the fund’s Deputy Director, Catherine Patillo, to serve the menu last week at the Lagos Business School (LBS). She wasn’t sparing: ‘‘More than two-thirds of countries (in sub-Saharan Africa) have undertaken fiscal consolidation, with the median primary balance expected to narrow by 0.7 percentage points alone in 2024. And these have included notable improvements in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Zambia, among others’.

“On the imbalances side, median inflation has declined in many countries. And it’s already within or below the target band in about half the countries…. Inflation is still in double digits in almost one-third of countries, including Angola, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, and above target in almost half of the region, particularly where monetary policy is not anchored by exchange rate pegs…. Looking further at exchange rates, we do see that foreign exchange pressures have largely abated since the end of 2023.” Two key elements of this declaration are truly painful. First, the astronomical increase in the cost of goods and services. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for last month indicates a raise in headline inflation from 32.7 percent in September this year to 33.9 percent. Within the same period, prices of foodstuff rose to 39.16 percent from 37.8 percent. One depressing side of the story is that informed projections haven’t identified any grounds for optimism in the near future. Transportation and energy costs are compounding an increasingly impossible situation. Sadly, both rural and urban populations are united in this long-suffering

Second, Nigeria, an erstwhile undisputed regional and continental political and economic leader, is tumbling rapidly, displaying mediocrity where less endowed nations earn better ratings. In few months, the country has descended from the lofty height of being Africa’s largest economy to the fourth position. How much lower can it go even in, say, one year’s time? So, beyond the obvious threat of the spiralling degeneration in the quality of life of Nigerians, the worsening ranking of their country among the comity of nations is set to deal more blows to the national pride garnered in the past decades. The effects, though intangible, are damaging nonetheless.

In addition to concerns about the nation’s present predicaments, the attendant vulnerability of its future is also captured in the IMF paper. According to it, “debt service capacity remains low by historical standards. In almost one-quarter of countries, interest payments exceed 20 percent of revenues, a threshold statistically associated with a high probability of fiscal stress. And rising debt service burdens are already having a significant impact on the resources available for development spending. The median ratio of interest payments to revenues (excluding grants) currently stands at 12 percent. Some three-quarters have already witnessed an increase in interest payments (relative to revenue) since the early 2010s (comparing the 2010–14 average with the 2019–24 average). In Angola, Ghana, Nigeria, and Zambia, this increase in interest payments alone absorbed a massive 15 percent of total revenue’’.

The borrower, without doubt, constantly puts himself at the mercy of his lender. Again, Nigeria, once virtually debt-free at the dawn of the current republic, is now comfortably in the company of some of the continent’s worst debtor countries. President Tinubu has just sought the resolution of the National Assembly to borrow 2.2 billion dollars, equivalent of 1.7 trillion naira, to implement part of the 2024 Appropriation Act. And nothing yet to suggest the end of borrowing in sight.

Neither is there much to elicit positive expectations, to give the largely frustrated Nigerian people enough cause to rejoice and be hopeful. The other day in Benin City at the inauguration of Senator Monday Okpebholo as governor of Edo State, Tinubu delivered his signature smooth words through his vice, Alhaji Kashim Shettima. In his own reckoning, “we have weathered the hardest days as a nation. We have pulled back from the brink of economic collapse, and now we step forward into a time of growth…. When we took office, we knew that securing the future of our economy would demand serious reform—reform to stave off looming fiscal and monetary threats to the stability of this great nation.

That may be soothing to textbook macroeconomists who dwell inside bloodless data and analyses. Or diehard admirers of the president’s policies and programmes. But definitely irritating to most citizens and residents who bear the brunt of the prevailing choking realities. While it won’t be fair to accuse this government of not trying, it also would be provocative to give itself any form of pass mark at this moment. The sharply rising stress level in Nigeria today, occasioned by semi-baked economic experiments, is real. What people feel can be more compelling than figures rolled out to serve bogus propensities

It’s not even that the people actually depend on submissions by either IMF or WB to tell them where it hurts. As in many other locations on earth, especially in the developing and underdeveloped world, these twin financial institutions are viewed with suspicion here, hopefully not hatred. It’s hard for those Bretton Woods organisations to shed the image of being oppressive agents of advanced nations and promoters of the status quo. As Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, a former Minister of External Affairs, explained it at a public function earlier in the week, “we are not rejecting partnership because we will not be in isolation but partnership in which we are real partners that will serve our interest. If the prescriptions of the World Bank and IMF are correct, we should not be struggling the way we are today…. We must be ready to harness our abundant human and natural resources to leapfrog our development to achieve the structural transformation that has eluded us for too long.

“We have the opportunity to insist on being joint rule makers so that the new global order being forged reflects our values and aspirations for a fairer, more inclusive, and equitable world. In this, we must ensure that our youth bulge is turned into an advantage that puts us at the forefront of the digital economy and the innovations underpinning it.” Well delivered. The perception out there that Tinubu is implementing recommendations from abroad isn’t helping. Only domestically-compliant remedies, sourced locally and externally, remain our best chances of surmounting these difficult times.

Ekpe, PhD, is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board.

[OPINION] Fela, Tell us More - Anthony Kila

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Anthony Kila in this piece wants erstwhile member of the Bola Tinubu administration, Mr Fela Durotoye, who claimed to have served for six months without drawing salaries and allowances, to be specific about what informed his leaving government after short a brief spell.

Dear Mr. Fela Durotoye,

Today’s epistle is directed at you, courtesy of your widely reported statement in which you explained two essential aspects of your relationship with the present administration led by President Bola Tinubu.

Firstly, you are no longer a member of the government, and secondly, whilst you were part of the government for a very short period, you did not earn any salary. If anything, you spent your privately earned money on accommodation, transportation, and other things while serving the country and the government.

For those who missed it, here is the context: In the second week of November 2024, a message containing a list of special advisers to the President started circulating on social media, and by the third week of the month, it had gone viral. The list intended to, with names and numbers, demonstrate that rather than cut down the size of government and cost of governance, the administration of President Bola Tinubu was increasing the number of people working for it by employing a visibly large number of special advisers.

You, Mr Fela Durotoye, were listed alongside 13 other aides as a Senior Special Assistant to the President for National Values and Social Justice. Given that you were appointed in October 2023 and served for six months, it makes sense for you to point out that the circulated list needs to be updated.

Your statement in which you observed that like many other issues in the public discourse, social commentary often has the tendency to overgeneralise; and broad assumptions may sometimes lead to errors of misconceptions, misstatements and misinformation not only clarified but also informed. I, like many, for example, did not even know you were appointed for any position in this government, let alone know that you resigned.

Your decision to clarify and avoid misconceptions, misstatements, and misinformation is a worthy move, and many of us are grateful for your making it. This is a good place to remind you and the rest of us that broad assumptions, misconceptions, misstatements, and misinformation tend to permeate our public and all discourse due to a lack of information.

Human beings are naturally curious beings, and information is a crucial element of our social lives; therefore, even when too lazy or ill-equipped to find correct information, we still need information. Where humans cannot find accurate information, we resort to broad assumptions and dwell on misconceptions, misstatements, and misinformation.

Like the poor who cannot afford healthy food or the ignorant who do not know healthy food and live on unhealthy food, we all dwell on broad assumptions and misconceptions, misstatements, and misinformation where we do not know better.

We dwell on assumptions, imagination and superstitions when we do not have facts and reasons.

Noblesse Oblige. It is the duty of those who know, either through knowledge or experience, to provide information for the rest so that the possible information vacuum can be filled and we can all be saved from the risk of broad assumptions, misconceptions, misstatements, and misinformation. In your case, dear Mr Durotoye, you have the knowledge of good governance and the experience of working in government, which puts you in a very privileged position to tell us more.

You have done well in telling us when you left the government, and by so doing, you have left many wondering how you even got into government in the first place.

Questions abound. Were you invited to join the government based on shared values with the president or those close to him? Were you part of the campaign team that worked hard to help Nigerians understand that Candidate Bola Tinubu and his APC are the best options for Nigeria in 2023?

Were you minding your business in Lagos or elsewhere, and out of the blue, the president or some people realised that you were the one with the qualities for the role you were nominated for?

It would also help us to know what, even if in broad terms, the mandate and objectives you were given to achieve for the government.

In your statement, you talked about the conditions for accepting the role. Knowing what you were appointed to do and what you can expect or not expect once in government will not only assuage our human curiosity but also help our quest for transparency and add to our general civic education by helping us better understand our country and how our government thinks. It will also give us valuable insights for planning our future.

One more piece of information that will be very helpful is the list of things you achieved or at least tried to do but could not do in your six months in office. No one can better tell us this than your good self. You have the facts, and you have the style, so please tell us more. For some, six months might be a short time, but not for modern players and those who, with impact, have operated in the private sector where every single day means deployment of precious resources that must be productive. It is not just about accountability; such information, if you are kind enough to share it with us, will also help us know what should be done, what can be done and the hurdles to doing them in the country.

Lastly, it would help if you told us why and how you left office. Now that many more people know you were part of our government, many would like to know if you were pushed or jumped, to put it in water cooler terms. Were you asked to do things you did not believe in, or were you not allowed to do things you believed in?

Your words, for very easily understandable reasons, will fill any vacuum that may otherwise allow for speculations and assumptions, so please tell us more.

Join me on Twitter @anthonykila to share your thoughts, ask questions, and continue these engaging conversations.

-Kila, Professor of Strategy and Development is a Director at the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies.

[OPINION] Tinubu’s Tax Reforms explained in layman’s language - Dada Olusegun

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Since President Bola Tinubu transmitted four executive bills tagged #TaxReformBills to the national assembly last month, many needless controversies have engulfed the debate around the bill.

Most of these controversies are simply borne out of inability of those flaming the controversies to carefully go through the contents of the bills currently before the parliament.

As a result of, a lot of ordinary Nigerians are confused about the true position of these bills especially as it affects their pockets.

I want to briefly breakdown the tax reform bills in a very concise and easily understood manner.

The tax reform bills are four different bills that seeks to bring everything about taxation and administration of tax in Nigeria under four different pieces of legislation. The bills are as follows:

1. The Nigeria Tax Bill

2. The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill

3. The Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill

4. The Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill

The Nigeria Tax Bill is where all major taxes imposed on individuals and companies are clearly stated as well as the rates. This bill is just like a compendium of taxes charged in Nigeria.

The Nigeria Tax Bill basically amalgamated all the existing laws in which provisions for taxation was made. If passed, this bill will lead to the repeal of 11 laws that contain provisions on imposition and collection of taxes.

Some of major provisions contained in the Nigeria Tax Bill that has far reaching bearing on both individuals and businesses include:

1. Exemption of individuals earning N800,000 or less from paying income tax. Currently, if you earn a total of N800,000 annually, you are required to pay N84,000 out of this amount as income tax. With this bill, you will not pay anything.

2. Only those earning above N50 million get to pay 25% personal income rate. Under the current law, once you earn above N3.2 million you will be charged 24% income tax.

3. Exemption of small businesses from paying income tax. In this bill small companies are defined as those with annual turnover of N50 million or less. In the current law, small businesses are defined as those with turnover of N25 million or less. What this means is that up to 90% of businesses in Nigeria will be exempt from paying income tax.

4. Reduction of company income tax rate from 30% to 25% in 2026 for medium and large companies.

5. Elimination of minimum income tax of 1% charged on the gross earnings of medium and large companies that did not declare profit. Only profit is taxed under the new tax bill.

6. Harmonisation of 2.5% education tax, 1% NITDA tax and 0.25% NASENI tax that many firms pay in addition to their company income tax annually into a single development levy of 2% that will be used exclusively to fund student loans from 2030.

This further reduces the total tax burden of some companies from around 33.75% of their earnings (when you add these three deductions to their income tax rate of 30%) to just 27% of their earnings.

7. Review of the VAT revenue sharing formula where states now take 55% of the revenue instead of 50% while the federal government’s share of VAT revenue shrinks from the current 15% to 10%. The share of LGAs remain the same.

8. Progressive increase in VAT rate from the current 7.5% to 10% in 2025; 12.5% between 2026-2029 and 15% from 2030.

9. Exemption of many basic items consumed by the poor from VAT such as food items, medical services and pharmaceuticals, educational fees, electricity etc.

10. Tax exemptions to encourage investment in both associated natural gas and non-associated gas.

The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill on the other hand is the bill that sets out how the tax authorities will administer the taxes, which include assessment, collection of, and accounting for the various tax revenues they collect.

The bill also outlines the powers and functions of the tax authorities, which taxes are reserved exclusively for the NRS to collect and which ones are reserved for the states among other miscellaneous provisions relevant to the effective administration of tax in Nigeria.

Some of the major provisions of the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill include:

1. Drawing the rich into the tax net. The bill puts in place mechanism to ensure that individual customers of financial institutions whose cumulative transactions in a month amount to N25 million or more and corporate customers whose cumulative transactions in a month amount to N100 million or more do not evade taxes by mandating financial institutions to give the tax authority a list of such individual or corporate customers with their addresses.

2. Payment of taxes and royalties in Naira. Under this new provisions, taxes including royalty assessed in a currency other than the Nigerian Naira may be paid in that currency or in Naira at the prevailing exchange rate in the official exchange market. This will boost efforts to stabilise the Naira.

3. NRS to collect revenues hitherto collected by some regulatory agencies such as Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), NPA, NIMASA, etc. This provision is meant to allow these regulatory agencies to focus on their regulatory functions while NRS whose duty is revenue collect carry out the collection of taxes and royalties.

4. The deployment of technology to automate tax assessment, collection, and accounting. This will enhance tax collection, especially on companies that operate digitally, such as social media companies, music streaming platforms, etc.

5. Deduction of unremitted tax revenues by MDAs that serve as agents of tax authorities from their budgetary allocations.

6. A new VAT derivation model where 60% of VAT revenue standing to the credit of the states are shared on the basis of derivation while 20% is shared based on population sizes and the other 20% is shared equally among the states. Most importantly, VAT revenue for the purpose of the new derivation model will no longer be attributed to the place of remittance (which is usually the headquarters of companies) but attributed to the actual locations across the states where the consumption of goods and services took place. The current method favours states like Lagos, Rivers and Oyo states which have a lot of company headquarters located in them.

7. Instalmental payment of tax.

8. Funding of tax refund accounts by deducting a percentage of money collected by the tax authority before distribution. This is to ensure that every tax refund claim that is verified is paid. Before now the tax refund account was funded by budgetary provisions, which are grossly inadequate.

9. Establishment of Local Government Revenue Committee to handle collection of taxes, fines and rates under the jurisdiction of each local government area.

10. Harmonisation of all tax offences and penalties to ensure compliance.

The Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill seeks to change the name of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) into the Nigeria Revenue Service to reflect the fact that it collects revenue for the federation and not just the federal government since most of the revenue it collects are shared by the three tiers of government. The bill also specifically empowered the NRS to administer all taxes including the other taxes hitherto collected by some federal agencies like Nigeria Customs Service, NUPRC, NPA, NIMASA etc.

Finally, the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill provided for the establishment of three separate bodies namely:

1. Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria to help harmonise all taxes in the country and scrap nuisance taxes while also creating a national database of taxpayers.

2. Tax Appeal Tribunal to settle tax disputes between tax authorities on issues such as residency for the purpose of personal income tax collection etc.

3. Office of the Tax Ombudsman to help taxpayers get justice if they feel aggrieved against the tax authorities.

The above summary shows at a glance that these four bills, contrary to what some mischievous persons are pushing out there, are meant to radically transform tax administration in Nigeria for greater efficiency.

These bills will update our archaic tax laws and simplify our complicated tax ecosystem. Apart from these, the tax reforms clearly favours the low income earners and small businesses, which will be exempted from paying income taxes. These bills are simply pro-poor, pro-growth and pro-efficiency. Every patriotic Nigeria needs to back these tax reforms.

-Dada is Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Digital Media

[OPINION] Obasanjo and Tinubu, two old men naked-ing each other - Abimbola Adelakun

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You can accuse the Bola Tinubu administration of failing on all fronts, but one thing you will never be able to say about his over-bloated press team is that they do not show up when their principal suffers disgrace. This time, the target of their ire was former president Olusegun Obasanjo, who, during a recent paper presentation at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University, said Nigeria had become a “failed state” due to the policies of former president Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu. Obasanjo mentioned two ex-presidents by their nicknames, but only one leaped at him with feral rage. Out of the presidency and away from the structures that covered his detachedness from administration, Buhari’s lack of impulse is more starkly revealed. He probably does not care to revisit the scene of his crime, and neither do his aides—whom I guess he has stopped paying—think they have any record worth putting straight.

Still, do not confuse the well-coordinated counterattacks that the Tinubu administration has been firing in the direction of Obasanjo for their administrative efficiency. What you are looking at is a people who have devoted a significant chunk of their professional media career to serving Tinubu’s image since 1999, when he first became Lagos governor. If Tinubu’s hired hands could promptly come up with the right receipts to stick it to the perpetually meddlesome Obasanjo and pull him down from the moral high ground he climbs to fire salvos at each of his successors, it is because their principal and Obasanjo have been pecking at each other’s intestines for a while.

Their contest of wills began a while ago, and they still will not let up. Whatever is between them will never end, and who cares? Two wizened old men who decide to strip each other down in public at least make for good entertainment. The only disappointing aspect is that much of what they are saying is already public record. There is nothing that the Tinubu’s boys have brought up so far that is not already known. For an over-padded media team, that is unacceptable. Why are they being paid if they cannot do more digging? Anyway, I hope they keep up the fight until they eventually reach the point where both sides will start to reveal where the bodies are buried. Let them say the worst about Obasanjo, and hopefully he responds to them in like fashion. By the time they finish stripping each other naked in public, Nigerians can decide which of them is the more horrible disaster from an informed perspective.

What is really amusing about their exchange is how the APC is reacting to being paid back in its own self-righteous coin. These were the same people who gained crucial political mileage from lobbing similar attacks at sitting presidents when they were the opposition party from 1999 to 2015. Now that they are in power, they cannot take even a fraction of what they dished out. They are overly sensitive to criticism and will not hesitate to shred their “progressive” label to punish a critic. Like the proverbial decapitator who will not let anyone pass a machete behind the back of their heads, these people did not let Obasanjo’s speech land before they started sending their attack hounds after him. They know his influence and the significance of the institutional space where he made fun of their failing government. Considering how they have exploited similar resources to promote disaffection against a sitting government, they really should be afraid. Yorubas anticipated their character when they say that the person who spits on the floor and quickly uses their feet to wipe it knows what they too have done with someone else’s saliva.

Unfortunately for the APC media boys, reality vindicates Obasanjo at their expense. Having been out of power for about 18 years, the memories of his government’s failings have long receded. Also, given how progressively worse Obasanjo’s successors have fared, he now looks like a Mandela compared to each of them. The accusations of corruption and power abuse that the Tinubu’s boys have hurled against Obasanjo in the past few days look juvenile compared to what persists. Our idea of how much one can steal before being called “thief” has so shifted that the billions of dollars allegedly stolen under Obasanjo’s watch now seem like mere coins in contrast to the legalised heist routinely ongoing in Nigeria. Imagine Tinubu and his caterwaulers thinking they can impress any right-thinking person by calling Obasanjo “corrupt”! LOL!

Yes, Obasanjo might be a high-grade hypocrite, but he did not say a single thing that most Nigerians do not find relatable. Buhari and Tinubu combined have decimated Nigerians economically and ethically; yelling at Obasanjo for failing to maintain the self-restraint one expects of ex-presidents will not change that. When the man was criticising Goodluck Jonathan, did you not take him for a statesman?

Tinubu, of course, has a right to be angry at the man for calling out their failures. Obasanjo might be speaking the truth, but his grandstanding is also what happens when a country persistently fails to hold its leaders accountable. In countries where leaders go to jail after their tenure, nobody harbours a foolish nostalgic memory of their tenure. If Nigeria had gone beyond the many televised probes that attended the end of the Obasanjo regime and properly held him accountable, we would not be here. When a society fails to develop a proper system of accountability for its public officials, what you will end up with is a crass you-be-thief-I-no-be-thief exchange between its leaders.

Our country is such a funny place. Leaders like Obasanjo will vandalise a government while in power, only for them to suddenly develop acute moral clarity when they return home. Some of them, looking back at the scene of their crimes from the safety of their retirement, will even have the moral gumption to start schooling the rest of us on what we should do with our lives that they systematically diminished through their awful governance. Some of the clowns who spent eight years working for the Buhari administration are now the ones teaching us how to re-arrange our democracy. One of them, who regularly appeared on television to defend Buhari’s awful policies and his role in executing them, now uses that same mouth to advise youths not to japa, urging them to work for the betterment of Nigeria instead. The fellow wants other people’s children to spend the time of their lives repairing what he and his fellow travellers destroyed.

Let us be clear: While Obasanjo’s government was far better than the disasters that have characterised the administrations of Buhari and now, Tinubu, he has not earned the right to be the arbiter of what constitutes either democracy or a well-ordered society. Each time we elevate Obasanjo’s governance record to the standard of democratic accomplishments; we lower the bar of what constitutes viable leadership by six feet. When we talk about leadership standards, what we are talking about is integrity, competence, and efficiency.

We are not talking about jokers for whom Nigerian life is perennially about the management of pain and suffering, confused leaders who embark on reforms without end, necrophiliacs who measure their administrative progress in terms of those who died rather than those who live. No, what we mean is a leader who succeeds in providing infrastructure for various aspects of our lives such that we have access to high-quality education, modern health facilities, security, regular energy supply, clean air and water, and even a well-preserved ecosystem. We are talking about a leadership that provides a conducive environment where industries can thrive, and its citizens too can flourish. Neither Obasanjo nor Tinubu represents that ideal.

[OPINION] What does it take to speak for President Tinubu? - Ikechukwu Amaechi

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Ordinarily, the innocuous question – who speaks for President Bola Tinubu – should be a non-issue because it ought to be a given. But these are no ordinary times. In Tinubu’s bumbling emi l’okan dynasty, where the end justifies every means and jejune politics trumps governance, absurdity is the norm.

Such intrigues, in the warped estimation of his rabid supporters, elevate him to the pantheon of political gods, making him the Jagaban of Nigerian politics. But Nigeria is worse for it.

On July 31, 2023, Tinubu appointed Ajuri Ngelale, who served as Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to President Muhammadu Buhari, as his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity. The 38-year-old man wasn’t unknown. A broadcast journalist before his appointment, he also served as co-spokesperson of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Organisation.

But he was an outlier in the Tinubu political family where the likes of Dele Alake, erstwhile Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, held sway. His appointment was said to have been facilitated by a faction of the Aso Rock cabal led by Tinubu’s son, Seyi.

Ngelale was having a ball until the President appointed Bayo Onanuga as Special Adviser on Information and Strategy on October 13, 2023. Thereafter, the supremacy battle, which blew open on May 28, 2024, ensued. Preparatory to the first year anniversary of the Tinubu administration on May 29, 2024, Onanuga said the President will not make any broadcast.

“Instead the President will address a joint session of the National Assembly, which has lined up a programme to commemorate 25 years of the nation’s democratic journey at both the executive and legislative levels,” and thereafter “commission the National Assembly Library and Resource Center, now to be known as the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Building,” he disclosed.

Hours later, Ngelale countered him, telling Nigerians to disregard the statement. “In view of the public commentary concerning the President delivering a speech before a joint sitting of the National Assembly tomorrow, May 29, 2024, it is important to state that this information is false and unauthorised as the Office of the President was not involved in the planning of the event,” Ngalale said. That was an unprecedented move that drew a line in the sand. It was, therefore, not surprising when a fight to finish ensued. Onanuga triumphed and three months after, Ngelale resigned.

The former presidential spokesman, who disclosed that he had submitted a memo to the Chief of Staff to the President on Friday, September 6, predicated his action on some undisclosed “medical matters”.

“While I fully appreciate that the ship of state waits for no man, this agonising decision — entailing a pause of my functions as the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity and official spokesperson of the President, Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action and Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee on Project Evergreen — was taken after significant consultations with my family over the past several days as a vexatious medical situation has worsened at home.”

Nobody was taken in by such apparent spurious reason. It was obvious that he had been given a very hard push and Onanuga was over the moon. He couldn’t have been happier seeing the back of the upstart who publicly called him a liar and even without being officially re-designated, he moved into Ngelale’s former office at the presidential villa and appropriated the presidential spokesman title.

To be sure, Onanuga has always been a close ally of Tinubu right from his active journalism days, especially when he was the boss at the Independent Communications Network Limited, ICNL, publishers of TheNews magazine. Nigerians thought that with the exit of Ngelale, the game of musical chairs in the communications team had effectively come to an end. But they didn’t reckon with the president’s seeming abhorrence for decency and orderliness.

So, like Ngelale, Onanuga was enjoying his day in the sun when Tinubu, on October 23, appointed Sunday Dare, his former staff at TheNews magazine as Special Adviser on Public Communication and Orientation. But that was not much of a problem because Dare, former Minister of Youth and Sports, was to work from the Ministry of Information and National Orientation.

But when he appointed Daniel Bwala as Special Adviser, Media and Public Communications (State House), on Thursday, November 14, it was obvious, as Ndigbo would say, that the handshake had gone beyond the elbow. Bwala’s appointment was an invitation, once again, for Onanuga to wrestle.

It took less than a week before the battle started. Last Monday, Bwala announced himself as the official replacement for Ngelale. “Today, I resumed officially as the Special Adviser, Media and Public Communications/Spokesperson (State House),” he tweeted after briefing State House correspondents earlier.

While insisting that the three Special Advisers were all servants of Tinubu, he reiterated that: “I only came to introduce myself to you and the role that was given to me by Mr. President, and I told you that role was once occupied by Ajuri Ngelale.”

Distinguishing his portfolio from others, Bwala emphasized: “When Ajuri was there, the nomenclature was Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, and now that role is called Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications (State House). Sunday Dare works from the office of the Minister of Information.”

But Onanuga would have none of that. Not again after surviving the Ngelale scare. A few hours later, he countered Bwala, insisting that Tinubu has no single spokesperson. Not only that, he announced that changes had been made in the designations of members of the presidential communications team.

“President Bola Tinubu has re-designated the positions of two recently appointed officials in the State House media and communications team to enhance efficiency within the government’s communication machinery.

“The restructuring is as follows: Mr. Sunday Dare – hitherto Special Adviser on Public Communication and National Orientation is now Special Adviser, Media and Public Communications. Mr. Daniel Bwala – announced last week as Special Adviser, Media and Public Communication, is now Special Adviser Policy Communication.

“These appointments, along with the existing role of Special Adviser, Information and Strategy, underscore that there is no single individual spokesperson for the Presidency. Instead, all the three Special Advisers will collectively serve as spokespersons for the government. This approach aims to ensure effective and consistent communication of government policies, decisions, and engagements.”

Was the re-designation authorised by Tinubu? Nobody other than Onanuga can tell. As at the time he released the statement, Tinubu was in faraway Brazil. But this is only the beginning of the big fight ahead.

Of course, Onunaga knows that having three Special Advisers serve collectively as spokespersons for the government cannot ensure effectiveness and consistency. It is a recipe for confusion, a classic case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. In any case, the Special Advisers do not speak for the government as he claimed. That is the remit of the Minister of Information. They speak for the President.

Three spokespersons for one president is not only redundant and inefficient, it also raises the question of whether the communication challenges of Tinubu’s government are so overwhelming that it requires multiple voices to manage. Or is this just an attempt to amplify propaganda and gaslight Nigerians through multiple channels in a devious bid to overwhelm citizen?

Yet, as if having three Special Advisers is not bad enough, the communications teams has Senior Special Assistant on National Values and Social Justice, Fela Durotoye; Senior Special Assistant on Public Engagement, Linda Nwabuwa Akhigbe; Senior Special Assistant on Strategic Communications, Fredrick Nwabufo; Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Aliyu Audu; Senior Special Assistant (Media), Tunde Rahman; Senior Special Assistant (Print Media), Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, among others, thus making it the biggest and most unwieldy presidential media team in the country’s history.

Unsurprisingly, rather than succinctly communicating the vision and governance philosophy of the President to Nigerians, the Special Advisers have redefined their role to mean who will spew the vilest vitriol against real and perceived opponents of their principal.

Of course, the only yardstick for measuring hard work in the circumstance is the level of nastiness – how bitterly harsh and caustic they are in their criticism. That is what it takes to speak for President Bola Tinubu and that is how low Nigeria has sunk under his watch.

[OPINION] The Trouble with Giving to Caesar - Azu Ishiekwene

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It’s a famous story in Christendom. Palestine, a vassal territory under the Roman Emperor Caesar, was obliged to pay tributes and taxes to Rome. A radical teacher in the territory, Jesus, taught things that the teachers of the law and local administrators in Palestine were uncomfortable with.

After setting traps for him but missing, they pitted him against Caesar by asking him a question that could have gotten him in trouble and possibly gotten rid of him for good.

“Is it lawful to pay taxes?” the Pharisees asked him.

“Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s,” he replied.

Caesar’s dilemma

The problem is that the world’s Caesars have never been satisfied with what is theirs without resistance or, sometimes, a nasty fight.

Take England, for example. In the 13th century, the barons revolted against King John over arbitrary taxation. When the King would not budge, they renounced their allegiance, forcing him to back down and sign a charter (the Magna Carta) which limited his powers.

It was the same in the US about four centuries later, leading to the famous “No taxation without representation” that paved the way for American independence. The Germans had theirs earlier, and the French, who loved nothing more than a rebellion, also waged violent wars against their kings for excessive taxation.

It’s not a foreign thing. Our tax rebellions have been championed not by men who often start the trouble but by women who bear the brunt. The British colonialists, for example, will not forget the Aba Women’s Riots of 1929 in a hurry.

Money not a problem

Yet, much as the world’s Caesars may be despised or resisted, running a country without taxation is not an option. Nigeria almost succeeded in doing so. I am not using the worn-out statistic about the low tax-to-GDP ratio to make the point. As long as there was oil money to spend, the problem—as General Yakubu Gowon said in the 1970s—was not the money but how to spend it. Tax was a non-issue.

The elite lived mainly on rent. Businesses recruited smart consultants to manipulate their numbers, and a small percentage of the public sector population who paid anything at all paid a token. Oil money was not the problem, but how to spend it.

We woke up one morning to find that while our population was growing rapidly and the infrastructure was decaying, what was left from declining oil sales, after accounting for corruption, theft, and our appetite for foreign products and services, was barely enough to fix the broken system.

The day after

The states went haywire, and Caesars everywhere launched one of the most egregious campaigns to finance themselves in an epidemic of internally generated revenue. Thus, the era of agencies staffed with some of the most ruthless staff members was born, mandated to raise revenues from the living, the dying, and the dead by hook or by crook.

It’s not funny. There was a proliferation of levies and taxes, some collected on the Walking Dead. In a September 2024 report, BusinessDay said a study by the Stakeholder Democratic Network showed that businesses in Rivers State identified 75 taxes and levies. Anambra, Lagos, and Edo are also in this brutal tax-and-levy bracket.

In addition to taxes and levies paid by companies to states and local governments, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) collects income tax, stamp duties, capital gains tax, personal income tax, withholding tax, industrial training fund tax, VAT, and education tax for the Federal Government.

If you are wondering how bad it is, PwC cited 57 percent of multiple tax and levies incidents, revealing a significant lack of coordination between the states and the Federal Government. As it might have been said in old Palestine, it was a case of more Caesars than taxpayers. The system is broken and overdue for reform.

Anatomy of the bill

That’s why the current interest in the Tax Reform Bill 2024 is good. If the good times were still here, the government would not bother, and few Nigerians would care. But we now care more because the times are hard and mainly because, in recent years, governments have promised to use taxes and levies to improve infrastructure but have done nothing, if not worse.

According to the government, the Tax Reform Bill promises significant changes in tax relief to small businesses (with exemptions for those earning below N25 million), expansion of VAT exemptions on essential goods, and harmonisation of consumption taxes to simplify the tax system. The bill also aims to increase transparency and compliance, reduce the corporate tax rate from 30 to 25 percent, adjust the PAYE band, focus on technology, and centralise VAT collection.

Governors and the political class directly oppose the reform, especially in the North. In addition to the derivation-based VAT model and potential increased tax burden, this objection concerns regional disparity.

The governors are concerned that the reform may not energise people and enable investment. Manufacturers also have these concerns, including the potential inflationary impact of an incremental hike in the VAT rate from the current 7.5 percent to 15 percent in six years. They worry that it does not address the economic realities of the different regions, may worsen existing inequalities, and may not benefit local economies.

The heart of the matter

I have a slightly different concern. Centralising VAT and tax collection despite genuine concerns about a poor federal structure is ill-advised. How can a government pursuing an agenda for a state police emasculate the states?

How can President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose government as Lagos governor achieved some of the most far-reaching fiscal restructuring by ligation, be the enabler of central tax collection, which Rivers State litigated against, and Lagos State even joined?

How can a government that went to the Supreme Court to promote fiscal independence for local governments, promote a centralised system that collects revenues that should go to the states? Except if the intention is to treat the states like Rome did ancient Palestine—a conquered territory, by the way—a reform that creates a Caesar in Abuja does not make sense.

VAT is commonly used in Europe and is the prevalent system in many parts of the world. However, it’s a far cry from what has been implemented in Nigeria. For example, a critical element of VAT in Europe and elsewhere is VAT refund. That is not on the cards in Nigeria and never was.

I wonder if it confers more advantages than the consumption or sales tax, for example, the predominant US system. If the goals are simplicity in the collection, lower compliance costs, instant revenue generation, transaction transparency, and lower risk of evasion, sales tax ticks all the boxes.

Still a federalist?

This centralised plan should be particularly troubling for Tinubu, an acclaimed exponent of true federalism. I understand the point about simplicity, transparency, and the benefits of technology. I also appreciate the nonsensical irony of states that ban certain items wanting to share VAT revenue from the same items.

The government has responded to many of these concerns and said the bill is a work in progress. It promises that a fairer, harmonised, and transparent system will block leakages and create a larger pool by making the wealthy and big businesses pay more. However, it remains to be seen how a central collection and distribution system, which often has significant administrative costs and complexities, will deliver these benefits.

Under the reform’s proposed centralised collection system, Abuja may become more affluent, giving Tinubu’s government more money to spend, hopefully on good causes. But nothing stops his successor from using the same larger pool of funds for bad causes, including those that would undermine his legacy.

In Ancient Rome, lack and scarcity didn’t ruin the empire. It was complacency and abundance.

[OPINION] Time to fix Tinubu’s chaotic presidency - Martins Oloja

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Now that the fear of the Supreme Court is gone for the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, this seems to be the right time for the President to fix the chaos that has taken some steam out of the awesomeness that is usually inherent in presidential palace.

Doubtless, there have been too frequent dissonance and crisis of coherence in the office of the president. And this is not good for reputation management. It is too early for his reputation managers to be running around to control damage that can be quite challenging in this digital media age when information travels at the speed of light. It is Nigeria’s presidency and we have a responsibility to counsel for its stability before it is too late.

Besides, it is not too early to claim that the president’s men are not collating the groundswell of opinion on how to fix the presidential bureaucracy and the public sector. This is about twenty-five years of unbroken democracy and the institutions of governance including the presidential bureaucracy that should set the tone for efficient management of the public service, shouldn’t be this wobbly and brittle. This column has since 2016 contained more than twenty contextual commentaries on the expediency of a strong presidential bureaucracy.

The bureaucracy of the presidency organically comprises the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Office of the Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission. These three offices are creations of the Constitution of Nigeria. The Obasanjo administration disrupted the presidential bureaucracy when he added the office of Chief of Staff to the President, as part of the personal staff to the president. The Yar’Adua administration (2007-2010) scrapped the Chief of Staff post while President Goodluck Jonathan (2010-2011-2015) reinstated it and the office exists till the present.

So the presidential bureaucracy today exists with the office of Chief of Staff and the officer (CoS-P) can artfully hijack the presidential bureaucracy with or without the consent of the president. This is where the dissonance that can set off a chaotic bureaucracy in the office of the president occurs. In the last administration of President Buhari, for instance, there were instances when the Chief of Staff signed letters of even transfer of a Permanent Secretary, instead of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. Just as we have seen in the current administration whereby the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity has been announcing presidential appointments without details of the appointees: This is the remit of the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who is the Secretary to the Cabinet Council, Head of the Cabinet Secretariat and Secretary to the Security and Defence Council.

There are seven offices headed by permanent secretaries in the SGF’s office. These offices include Special Services Office (SSO) with a responsibility for managing the bureaucracy of defence and security services of the federation. The SSA Media’s office since the Buhari administration, has been usurping the duties of the Minister of Information too. This has been due to the curious chaos in the presidential bureaucracy that lost its mojo during the post Yar’Adua administration when a politician who had no solid civil service background was appointed to the office of SGF. This is the origin of the current chaos and present and clear danger to the polity.

What is more curious, why has the presidential bureaucracy become so ordinary to the extent that the President had to announce directly the ban of his son, among other non-members of the Executive Council from the Council Chamber? How did the strangers stray into the Federal Executive Council Chambers? What happened to organisational efficiency in the office of the SGF and indeed the presidential bureaucracy? What is responsible for embarrassing withdrawal of appointments of people into the federal public service these days? Ministerial nominees and even nominees to the Federal Civil Service Commission have been withdrawn. Who supervised the budget details of the controversial N5b worth of Presidential Yacht in the noisy N2.2 trillion worth of supplementary budget? How did the office of the First Lady surface in the purchase of SUVs for the office of the President? How did it take a Senator to tell Nigerians that the Yacht had been paid for before the outcry? Was the Navy unaware of the delivery without payment that would have been explained before the Senator Ndume’s revelation? Where was Senator Ndume too when the National Assembly was talking of transfer of the Yacht’s N5 billion vote to the Students Loan subhead? When did the office of the President know about the controversial Yacht? Where were the concerned ministers and presidential bureaucrats when the details of the supplementary budget were being prepared?

The SGF should be made to take back his office and remit as head of the presidential bureaucracy before it is too late. These challenges would have been avoided if they had been listening to and reading suggestions from those who have retired from the public service that once worked. One of such suggestions, for instance, came through an article in The Guardian barely two months ago by a retired federal Permanent Secretary who once worked in the office of the SGF and was the pioneer Director General of the Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR), Dr Goke Adegoroye. Here are excerpts from the classic he wrote on the federal and presidential bureaucracy titled: ‘Too Early To Say We Are Losing It: But Can The Bureaucracy Come To The Rescue?’

‘…From several people across social, economic and religious strata within my own ethnic group, all solid and passionate supporters of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu including those who before he was sworn in are so close to him personally as not to require a notice to see him, the one common thread opening their conversation in the last three weeks, be it on telephone or when we meet, after the titular salutation courtesy of Egbon, Bros, Doctor, Awe (buddy) in palpably worrisome tone is: “we are losing it”! This is in direct contradiction to the euphoria of the first week after swearing in with courageous and far-reaching policy decisions that were commended by most Nigerians, the international community and, indeed, politicians across party lines.
While acknowledging the challenge of the Niger Coup to his administration at this early stage of his presidency and are able to wave aside the complaints of those who claimed to have worked for his success at the last election but are now sidelined, they seem worried by two main issues, namely:
media posts alleging payment of huge sums of money to key individuals around the President to influence appointment into political offices and/or facilitate meetings with the President; and
the new cabinet in terms of its size and composition. They point to the geo-political distribution of the portfolios as smacking of a reverse replay of what we accused the last President of, and the non-fulfilment of the promise publicly made to Malam Nasir el Rufai as both not reflecting the true Yoruba spirit.

Their “we are losing it” outburst, is driven by a sense of collective responsibility and it exudes their true Yorubaness as Omoluabi who want fairness for all, the fear that their expectation of a magic wand by the President is becoming a mirage, and the urgency of a reassurance to the populace as an imperative.
It has become my lot to embark on a well calculated gerrymandering to reassure them that things will begin to fall into place very soon. They all assume that as a former top civil servant living in Abuja and with working experience in the Presidency, I must be one of those advising the team of PBAT behind the scenes and as such should be aware of what’s going on. Yet I am at sea myself in finding a solid base to anchor the many theses of reassurance that I have been carefully offloading on them on a regular basis, as I am equally worried that the firm steps that are required to stem the tide might be gradually slipping away.

New Appointments and Deployments Demand Acculturation:
Anywhere in the world, the swearing in of a new President and his Deputy entails new appointments of many aides, political office holders in executive positions and cabinet members, based on careful screening and selection processes. Because these aides and other political appointees are coming from diverse backgrounds, systems and terrains, manifestation of effectiveness and efficiency at their new duty posts is a function of not just the induction protocols they have been taken through but how soon such inductions have been made to take place, ideally before but not later than a couple of weeks after taking office. Otherwise, their entry into the system could lead to other challenges requiring strong efforts to tackle.

In my address at the public presentation of my twin-volume book – Restoring Good Governance in Nigeria at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, Thursday, 25 June, 2015, under the title: Of Indigenous Species and the Threat of Invasive Species as the rationale for the books, I stated that “In the absence of careful selection and systematic introduction protocols, there is the danger of introducing species that can become systematically destructive and a threat to the survival of the native populations in the eco-system”. And that “this usually happens when such species are introduced at the top bureaucratic and/or political office holder levels where they are calling the shots and can deploy their own strains of practices, procedures and behaviours in carrying out their responsibilities”.

Induction training and protocols are an important and indispensable tool of human resources management. With the return to democratic governance in 1999, it was the first step taken by the Obasanjo Administration. Indeed, so crucial did he consider it that he made it to commence within a week after inauguration, with sitting permanent secretaries and key persons from outside the bureaucracy that he had considered as potential Ministers, Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants etc as the participants. It was from the Induction that he was able to off-load some perm secs and make up his mind on his choice of Ministers and Advisers in certain States. Professor Adebayo Adedeji, now late, was the principal Facilitator. That Induction for political office holders lasted 10 days. It was subsequently extended to the Directorate level officers GL 17, 16 & 15 as a 2-week course that spanned 20 editions, commencing under Abu Obe and concluded under Yayale Ahmed as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. I was the chairman of the team that synthesized the proceedings of the 20 editions into a single Report for the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation for presentation to the President. The establishment of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms is one of the outcomes of that series of Induction Course.

[OPINION] Can aviation lift Akwa Ibom economy? - Etim Etim

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Those of us who rush to the Victor Attah International Airport to catch early morning flights out of Akwa Ibom State are used to a familiar sight: airport workers, some donning their reflective safety vests, waiting by the roadside and fervently flagging down motorists for lifts to the airport. I usually wonder how many of them get lucky each day. Well, all that will end in a year when the 117 residential apartments the state government is building for them are completed. Dubbed Aviation Village, the residential estate sits on 15.072 hectares of land within the airport premises and comprises 62 two-bedroom bungalows and 55 three-bedroom bungalows. The accommodation is for both state government and federal workers in 12 agencies: Ibom Airport Development Company Limited; MRO; NAHCO; NCAA; FAAN; NEMA; Customs; NDLEA; Immigration Service and other aviation staff. There will be a primary school, shopping center; recreation and health facilities. The state is investing heavily in the aviation sector to boost its weak industrial and commercial base. With an IGR of N43.8 billion in 2023, Akwa Ibom ranks fourth in Niger Delta and 10th in Nigeria in the IGR table, but the government is eager to push up the numbers with dividends from the state-owned airline, Ibom Air, and earnings from the MRO (Maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility. For fiscal 2024, the government expects the figure to climb to N62.5 billion.

Ibom Air, the state-owned carrier, is expected to be a major revenue earner for the government as from next year. It broke even in 2022, three years after it began operations, but fell back into the red in 2023 due to the massive devaluation of the naira. With increased earnings and effective cost control in 2024, it has swung back into the positive arena and is expected to declare first dividend in 2025. The airline is growing rapidly, outperforming expectations. In a nation where many privately-owned airlines and the national carrier have collapsed, Ibom Air’s success has motivated other states to seek to float their own airlines. Its chief executive, Captain Mfon Udom is upbeat about its indices, but declined to give specific figures. However, informed sources say the airline grosses between N700 million and N900 million daily in revenue, a healthy cash flow that enables it meet its obligations to its bankers.

Captain Udom says prudent management; reliable and good quality service and strict adherence to good corporate governance are the critical success factors. Non-interference in management by government and the politicians has also helped a lot. ‘’Even the governor pays for his ticket whenever he travels with us; and he’s never interfered with our activities, including staff recruitment’’, said a senior official. Of its nine planes, seven were financed with bank loans, while the last two were funded with shareholders’ loans at concessionary rates (meaning Akwa Ibom State government paid cash for them, and a repayment would be at no interest). That saved the airline from additional excruciating interest charges. No fewer than five other states, including Lagos, are thinking of floating their own airlines. Even Ebonyi, whose airport is yet to start operations two years after commissioning, also wants to plunge into the business.

The MRO will be another source of income for the state, and with full completion only a few months away, some African airlines have already expressed interest in its use. In terms of size and capabilities, there is only four of this type of MRO in Africa. The other three are in Ethiopia; Morocco and South Africa. Pending when it becomes fully operational next year, the Akwa Ibom MRO is currently providing limited service to Ibom Air only; but on completion, it hopes to serve the African market in the initial growth phase. African Airlines spend hundreds of millions of dollars on repairs and overhauls at foreign MROs. In 2019, Ethiopian Airline disclosed that it made $80 million yearly from its MRO facility in Addis Ababa. Akwa Ibom government is hoping for a piece of the pie next year – one of the reasons it’s projecting a 28% IGR growth to N80 billion in 2025, according to next year’s budget estimates.

At the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Aviation Village this week, Gov. Umo Eno said he is dedicated to the ‘’the expansion of the aviation ecosystem in the state’’, and pledged to make Akwa Ibom Nigeria’s major aviation hub in the Gulf of Guinea. The state has built a modern, fully automated airport terminal building which would be put to use this December; and with more aircraft coming next year, the state-owned carrier plans to open new regional routes to Cameroun; Equatorial Guinea; Kenya and Rwanda direct from Uyo. A direct flight to Atlanta, I understand, is also on the drawing board, and this would make the state Nigeria’s second aviation hub, after Lagos.

The government believes that with aviation, the state will climb out of the league of those states that rely solely on FAAC allocations and grow its economy. Over 3,000 people have direct and indirect employment in the sector currently, and the number will will likely rise as the fleet expands and the facilities become operational. In October, BudgIT published a report which highlighted the overdependence 32 states on federal allocations; meaning that they are vulnerable to external shocks, like a crash in crude oil prices.

[OPINION] Ogun 250-Bed Hospital: Abiodun In Pursuit Of Medical Excellence - Femi Ogbonnikan

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… The facility, when operational, would drastically reduce the amount of foreign exchange spent on medical tourism overseas and lay a foundation for long-term growth in the state and national healthcare sector

After a prolonged painstaking procedural concession agreement, Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, last Thursday, November 14, handed over the state’s 250-bed capacity hospital to Viewpoint Health Management Services Limited and Pan African Capital Holdings to run on behalf of the State government. The transfer ceremony which took place at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital, was the climax of the concessionary talks that had been ongoing over some months between the government and the two world-class health management institutions. By so doing, he has put to rest the widespread insinuation in the media that he has abandoned the project started by his predecessor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, at the twilight of his administration in 2019.

As a responsible and responsive government, there is no way the administration could have turned a blind eye to such an edifice, knowing the importance of healthcare delivery to the overall well being of its citizens. It is not in Governor Abiodun’s character to play politics with issues that concern the wellbeing of the people. Of course, sometimes in party politics, there could be slight differences in minor nuances, policy decisions and implementation but not to the extent of trivialising a matter that is as important as healthcare delivery. Health, they say, is wealth. Health is directly linked with wealth creation. Both health and wealth affect each other in a number of ways. When people are healthy, they can work longer hours and weeks, which can lead to higher productivity and earnings. In the same way, higher income enhances people’s purchasing power to access better healthcare service, which in turn can lead to a longer life. Besides, people with higher incomes can afford better food, exercise equipment, leisure time, and gym memberships, which can lead to a healthier lifestyle.

Conversely, poor health can trigger transfer of income or compel the government to divert resources that could have been used in developmental projects to the provision of Medicare for the sick and the aged, thus limiting the growth of the economy. This is in addition to the fact that periods of poor health in middle-age can negatively impact retirement incomes.

There is a plethora of other reasons the Governor has made accessible and affordable healthcare delivery one of the topmost priorities of his administration. His commitment to healthcare aligns with an American philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote in 1860, as a reminder that a good life can only be built on a sound foundation. As some people say, the ‘first wealth is health.’ So, it is imperative for individuals, government and corporate bodies to treasure a healthy condition and assign a premium place for the sector in their budgets.

Ogun State under the administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun has never been lacking in healthcare facilities both at the primary and tertiary levels. The recent transfer of the 250-bed capacity hospital is a further testament to his commitment to accessible healthcare service delivery to the good people of Ogun State. To be sure, the project was 65 percent completion level when former governor Amosun abandoned it midway. However, due to the present state of the economy amidst other pressing needs, the Governor at the Statutory Meeting of the state Council of Obas, held at the Oba’s Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, disclosed that the project was 65 percent complete when the Amosun government handed it over. He said due to incapacitation, the government could not continue with the construction and running of the hospital.

Abiodun pointed out that the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, OOUTH, Sagamu, monthly wages and salaries alone gulped as much N300 million.

He, however, explained that the state government was working out concessionary arrangements with global health management institutions to compete and run the hospital on behalf of the state government.

His words: “We are going to be signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the 250-bed Hospital right here in Abeokuta.

“We realise that the state will not be able to run that hospital because, as it is, our tertiary hospital, OOUTH, costs the state government almost N300 million every month in salaries alone. We appreciate the fact that the state is not in position to run that hospital the way it needs to be run.

“From what we have seen and done, if that hospital is properly run, medical tourism will be attracted to that hospital.

“So, the state has adopted a template that we will be the landlords owning that property and others should come and take the concession of that property and run it professionally.”

“Before the end of the year, we will sign the Memorandum of Understanding with the Afrexim Bank and the medical group that has agreed to take over that hospital, complete it and operationalise it professionally.”

The Thursday’s handover ceremony, therefore, marked a significant milestone in the efforts to transform the edifice to a major referral medical centre in the country capacity of reducing medical tourism abroad.

While performing the transfer ceremony, Abiodun assured that the 250-bed Specialist Hospital would start operations in March 2025 in the first instance and subsequently commence full operations in June of the same year. He gave the assurance on Thursday at the handing over of the hospital to Viewpoint Health Management Services Limited and Pan African Capital Holdings at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

He said the specialist hospital, which is currently about 65 per cent complete, was inherited from the previous administration and would provide world-class health services to Nigerians when completed.

He said: “This hospital will meet the precise needs of our population. It is scheduled for partial opening in March 2025 and full operations in June 2025.”

“We are resolute in our mission to ensure this world-class facility serves the people of Ogun State. Following a rigorous process of months of negotiation, we are excited to finally close the concession partnership for this hospital.”

“This hospital facility is an ongoing development in partnership with Viewpoint Health Management Services Limited, which is in partnership with HealthShare South Africa, a very reputable hospital management company. This stands as a testament to our shared commitment to delivering state-of-the-art healthcare to our people.”

“Unlike a fixed 250-bed designation, Viewpoint will complete all civil works, reconfigure the facility, provide other required additional equipment, staff, and manage the hospital to ensure it operates in line with global best practices.”

“As per the contractual agreement, the completion of this hospital’s physical structure and equipment setup will be managed by Viewpoint Health Management Services Limited, who will also operate the facility for a stipulated period. We will work tirelessly alongside them to provide world-class healthcare for our people.”

The hospital, Governor Abiodun emphasized, would be equipped with advanced facilities and cutting-edge technology for effective healthcare delivery, as well as serve as a referral centre for medical research, training, and innovation.

“This facility will be affiliated with the Abuja Medical Centre of Excellence, managed by King’s College Hospital, and will open in the first quarter of 2025.”

Prince Abiodun expressed confidence that the facility, when operational, would drastically reduce the amount of foreign exchange spent on medical tourism overseas and lay a foundation for long-term growth in the state and national healthcare sector.

Abiodun, while stating that his administration was working to ensure accessible and equitable healthcare for all, also disclosed that the renovation of an additional 74 Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs), in collaboration with the World Bank, had been advertised, adding that the government was awaiting grant approval from AFREXIM to further expand Primary Healthcare Centres in the state.

The State’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, in her remarks, said the hospital would set a benchmark in the nation’s health sector as it aimed to strengthen the sector to bring healthcare services to the doorsteps of the people.

She expressed appreciation to the governor for his visionary leadership and efforts in getting the project underway, stating that it came at the right time and place.

The Chairman of Pan African Capital Holdings, Mr. Chris Oshiafi, said negotiations for the takeover of the hospital started three years ago, assuring that his organization was ready to deliver the best medical facility that would discourage medical tourism in the country.

Chairman of Viewpoint HealthShare, South Africa, Dr. Tony Decoito, said his company would work towards ensuring the timely completion of the hospital. He said his organization was currently operating in 15 African countries, with six in West Africa. He assured that his organization would complete work plan for the hospital within six months.

This is another dream come true. With the concessionary arrangement, Ogun State government has taken its commitment to accessible healthcare delivery a notch higher.

•Ogbonnikan writes from Abeokuta, Ogun State capital

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[OPINION] Pot of Soup Democracy: A Sequel - Olusegun Adeniyi

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On the eve of last Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Ondo State, Tokunbo Ajasin, son of Second Republic Governor of the old Ondo State (now Ondo and Ekiti States), predicted what would happen. “I believe the incumbent will win. There is no strong opposition, and the APC (All Progressives Congress) candidate is the incumbent,” the 75-year-old scion of the late Michael Adekunle Ajasin told PUNCH newspaper. He then summed up the factor that would determine the outcome: “Ordinarily, the performance of the APC at the national level could have some effect but you know the way things are, nobody looks at performance. It is about whether you can take care of stomach infrastructure. That is the state we are in. If you are not able to take care of stomach infrastructure, I don’t know how you will win. The APC being in power will be able to do that sufficiently.”

That was exactly what transpired last Saturday in a contest in which votes were openly traded between operatives of leading parties and the Ondo electorate. A viral video from the election shows a female voter saying the process was free, fair and devoid of violence but that they all collected money for their ballot. Indeed, tales abound of how political undertakers invaded the polling stations with cash (and mobile phones for online bank transfers) to negotiate the price of a vote that went from between N3,000 and N20,000 depending on the location.

But for those expressing indignation, this is just a mere replay of an old game. A research paper is on the website of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) titled, ‘Vote Buying and its Implication on Democratic Governance: A Case Study of Ondo State 2020 Governorship Election.’ According to the researcher, Adebayo Zaka Jimoh, while Ondo electorates “are aware of the damage electoral corruption can do on democracy, they continue to accept bribes during elections as witnessed in the case study.”

As I stated earlier, there is nothing new in what happened last weekend in the state or in 2020. Eight years ago, after the election that brought the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to power, I wrote, ‘Pot of Soup Democracy’. Below are excerpts from that column, first published on 1st December 2016. Readers can then draw their own conclusions before I get to mine.

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The Ondo State gubernatorial election has come and gone and by most objective accounts, the votes were properly cast, they were counted, and they count—at least to the extent that majority carried the day. We must commend the outgoing Governor Olusegun Mimiko for his maturity in congratulating the winner and all the contenders for displaying sportsmanship. Of course, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has promised to go to court, but if the party leaders are honest with themselves, they will accept responsibility for their woes and begin to put their house in order.

Notwithstanding, there was something about the election that should worry us, and this has been highlighted also in many reports: the transparent buying and selling of votes by agents of the parties, with the main culprit being the PDP that currently controls the state and the APC that is in power at the centre. According to reports, at most of the polling units, agents of the APC and PDP engaged one another in what my brother, Ferdinand Agu (now of blessed memory), once described as a game of “financial shootout” in which victory is almost always to the highest bidders.

The apostle of ‘stomach infrastructure,’ Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State has alleged that the Ondo election was fought on the basis of “Dibo ko se ‘be” (vote for our candidate guarantee for yourself a pot of soup). While vote buying may not be a new phenomenon in Nigeria, most reports indicate that it was taken to a new level last weekend in Ondo State. Meanwhile, it is interesting that ‘pot of soup’ is fast becoming the defining metaphor for this season. When examined critically, there is only one conclusion to draw from the unfortunate Ondo spectacle: those buying the votes and the ballot sellers were united by the quest for a ‘pot of soup.’

While the voters were desperate to satisfy their immediate hunger, those buying the votes were thinking more of a lifetime of feeding frenzy at public expense. As things stand, most of the people elected to public offices at various levels are not thinking about the welfare of the people, they are only concerned about their own ‘pot of soup.’ And because of that, they bait voters with what could only satiate for a day while plotting for themselves a lifetime of opulence. That is the real essence of “Dibo ko se ‘be”.

In addressing the poser, “why do politicians buy votes?”, Razvan Vlaicu, a senior research economist at the Inter-American Development Bank’s Research Department, argues that it happens in countries where political parties fail to build brands capable of convincing voters that their electoral promises can be trusted. “Citizens, especially the poorest and most marginalized, can come to see the disbursement of cash before elections as the one and only thing they get from an ineffectual government,” Vlaicu wrote. “They can come to depend on it. As a result, a vicious circle emerges. Those who suffer most from corruption become paradoxically those least likely to oppose it.”

The idea of the social contract theory on which government is founded, according to Jean Jacques Rousseau, “may be stated simply: Each of us places his person and authority under the supreme direction of the general will”. But what happens in Nigeria today is a situation where most elected public officials believe they are in no way accountable to the people. However, by helping unscrupulous politicians to power, those who accept gratification for their votes are also putting their future and that of their children in jeopardy…

ENDNOTE: I wrote the foregoing eight years ago but except we want to deceive ourselves, the malaise of vote buying is not restricted to Ondo State, it is a national challenge. That’s why it’s rather simplistic to put the blame for all our electoral woes on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Ordinarily, off-season elections (arising from court rulings that overturn previous elections or death of elected officials) should be easy to conduct. But they are not, essentially because desperate politicians in the leading parties have turned them into a cash-and-carry affair. Besides, it’s only in Nigeria that elections are conducted every other day. It doesn’t happen in other countries.

In their book, ‘How Democracies Die’, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt argue that the greatest danger to democracy are elected leaders who work to subvert the very process that brought them to power. I subscribe to their thesis. In societies where leaders appropriate to themselves and their immediate families the collective ‘pot of soup’, it is easy to understand why elections are increasingly being reduced to mere bazaar for the highest bidders. Yet, if the underpinning philosophy of a political system is to trade votes for money, then it is not only democracy that is in danger, but also the very survival of such a society.

Who Will Tell the President?

On 2 September 2023, President Bola Tinubu recalled all the 42 career and 41 non-career ambassadors appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari. These were men and women serving in many of our 109 diplomatic missions worldwide, comprising 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates. More than a year after these envoys returned home, they are yet to be replaced. Earlier in the year, Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, attributed the development to financial constraints. “We met a situation where Foreign Affairs was not being funded like the way it should be. It is a money problem,” Tuggar explained in May this year. “There is no point sending out ambassadors if you do not have the funds for them to even travel to their designated country and to run the missions effectively, one needs funding.”

While I felt it didn’t speak well that our country would advertise to the world that Nigeria cannot appoint ambassadors because there is no money to fund them, I still concluded it might not be a big deal. Until I encountered a retired Nigerian ambassador in Washington DC, United States, last weekend. “Hi Segun, why have you not written about the fact that President Tinubu has not appointed ambassadors for any of our missions? Or you think it is not important?”

I really did not know how to respond to his questions. But I didn’t have to. The retired diplomat went on a long lecture on the role of an ambassador before he shared insider information about what is going on in Abuja. He said a few career diplomats were appointed as Consul Generals to New York and Atlanta (USA) and Shanghai (China) among others “but this is not the same thing as appointing substantive ambassadors”. Right now, according to him, “we have no ambassador in Washington DC, none in Beijing, none in London, none in Paris, none in Moscow and no Permanent Representative at the UN headquarters in New York, or Geneva and Vienna. Yet, Nigeria is supposed to be gunning for a permanent seat at a reformed UN Security Council. What a joke!”

The retired diplomat asked, “So, who follows up on those agreements being signed by President Tinubu everywhere he goes in search of some imaginary foreign investment? You think a CDA (Chargé D’affaires) can do that? Diplomacy is a rank conscious affair. In most countries, a CDA would only be referred to some desk officers in their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I served as CDA in an important country before I became an ambassador. So, I know how these things work.”

After asking whether I had time to visit the Nigerian embassy in Washington DC to buttress his point and I said such was not within my plan, he continued, “an officer of our foreign ministry who strangely was posted to act as CDA here (Washington DC) was also asked to oversee the UN Permanent Mission during that period. It is not only bizarre but totally unacceptable. Nigeria should not be in such a position.” He told me several other things about the situation in many of our embassies, high commissions and consulates abroad before he concluded the monologue: “What I fail to understand is why a president who has so many people managing his personal image at home cannot see the importance of appointing those who should manage the image of our country abroad.”

I agree with the diplomat. The same president who will not appoint ambassadors has 12 people (three special advisers, six senior special assistants and three special assistants) managing his media. So, it is a question of what President Tinubu considers a priority between his personal image and that of the country. I hope someone will impress it upon him that Nigeria needs ambassadors abroad.

• You can follow me on my X (formerly Twitter) handle, @Olusegunverdict and on www.olusegunadeniyi.com

[OPINION] Day Mamman Vatsa welcomed Ken Saro-Wiwa to his Abuja village - Tunde Olusunle

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He reincarnated in the form of a cream-coloured, two-storey building in the bosom of the boulder-braided, writers’ commune, in the rocky delight of Abuja’s Mpape district. His happy host, like him an erstwhile member of the tribe of wordmongers was despatched over a phantom putsch one decade before him. But he rolled out a carpet of dry laterite with the steady onset of northerly harmattan, to receive his new guest and kindred spirit. The air was sedate, the biosphere alluring and serene as his name echoed from the signage hoisted in front of the structure. This, henceforth, will be the haven of scribblers from across the globe desiring genuine solitude to commune with their muses in the very intricate venture of creative expression. Not too many of the young writers who enthusiastically witnessed the recent commissioning of the Ken Saro-Wiwa International Writers Residency in Abuja, however, knew enough about the martyr who was so canonised, nor the nexus between Ken Saro-Wiwa and his figurative “host,” Mamman Jiya Vatsa.

As part of the activities commemorating the 43rd International Convention of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (ANA), which was held between Thursday, October 31 and Saturday, November 2, 2024, a newly built edifice christened after Saro-Wiwa was scheduled for inauguration. Ken Saro-Wiwa remains one of Nigeria’s most multitasking and most productive writers of all time. He lived for only 54 years but left behind an authorial legacy which continues to challenge the prolificity of successor writers. Saro-Wiwa was a compelling novelist, an engaging essayist, a consummate poet, an arresting dramatist, and a fearless public scholar.

Regarded as Africa’s very first purpose-built writers village, the expansive hilltop project in Mpape, Abuja, was named after Vatsa, an army general who was a minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under the regime of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. Less than seven months into the Babangida milieu on March 5, 1986, Vatsa was executed by firing squad for alleged “treason associated with an abortive coup”. He was 45 at the time.

Importantly, Vatsa was a writer who reportedly published about 20 poetry anthologies, including: Verses for Nigerian State Capitals, (1972); Back Again at Wargate, (1982); Reach for the Skies, (1984), and Tori for Geti Bow leg and other Pidgin Poems, (1985). Vatsa as FCT helmsman, it was, who allocated the generous swathes of hitherto pristine land with scenic views upon which the writers village is sited today. The complex is deservedly named after him in eternal gratitude by the writers fraternity.

Ken Saro-Wiwa was the fourth president of ANA. He succeeded the renowned dramatist and emeritus professor of theatre arts, Femi Osofisan, in 1990, and was a very energetic personality, famous for the tobacco pipe which was permanently seated on his lip, drawing parity with that of Ousmane Sembene, the famous Senegalese frontline African novelist and filmmaker. Saro-Wiwa had a multitasking career which saw him as a university lecturer in his earlier years; an administrator and public servant, and an environmental activist, at various times. He was the leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, (MOSOP) which prosecuted a nonviolent campaign for the protection of Ogoni land and water resources from devastation by oil multinationals.

He backed up this enterprise with regular interventions in the public space as a writer and columnist for a number of authoritative newspapers. He consistently drew attention to the despoliation of the natural resources of his people and wrote regularly for Vanguard and Sunday Times, among other publications. He was a regular, long-staying guest of the gulags of successive military governments, through the administrations of Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha.

In 1994, he was arrested and charged with instigating the murders of four Ogoni leaders, on May 4, 1994, on a day he was indeed barred from accessing Ogoniland. Saro-Wiwa and his eight “accomplices” were executed by hanging at the Port Harcourt prison where they were held and convicted, on November 10, 1995, exactly one month after his 54th birthday on October 10, 1995.

By some uncanny calendrical coincidence, the Ken Saro-Wiwa International Writers Residency was inaugurated in early November 2024, the very same month he was despatched 29 years ago in 1995. Global outrage trailed the killing of Saro-Wiwa and his compatriots, with the Commonwealth suspending Nigeria for three years, among other sanctions. The death of Sani Abacha in June 1998, the subsequent acceleration of processes which returned Nigeria to civilian rule by Abacha’s successor, Abdulsalami Abubakar, and the enthronement of the Fourth Republic in 1999, gradually tempered the world’s coldness towards Nigeria.

At least three dozen book titles are credited to Ken Saro-Wiwa’s name. These include novels, novellas, anthologies of poetry, plays for radio and television, memoirs and diaries, and so on. His works have received requisite international attention such that they have been translated into German, Dutch and French. His authorial oeuvre includes: Tambari, (a novel, 1973); Tambari in Dukana, (a sequel to Tambari, 1986); A Bride for Mr B, (a novella, 1983), and Songs in a Time of War, (poetry, 1985). Ken Saro-Wiwa also wrote Sozaboy: A Novel in Rotten English, (1985); A Forest of Flowers, (1986, short stories); Prisoners of Jebs, (a novel, 1988) and Pita Dumbrok’s Prison, (1991), which like the former is very biting political satire.

On a Darkling Plain: An Account of the Nigerian Civil War, (memoirs, 1989), a war which he witnessed firsthand, is also one of his very gripping works of prose. Saro-Wiwa’s public engagements are aggregated in several volumes of essays notably Nigeria: The Brink of Disaster, (1991); Similia: Essays on Anomic Nigeria, (1991) and Genocide in Nigeria: The Ogoni Tragedy, (1992). Even in his final days, weeks and months of his sojourn on this side of the divide, Saro-Wiwa “remained incredibly productive.”

Posthumously, his family, foreign concerns and nongovernmental organisations continued to call up manuscripts from his personal library to publish new works by him. A personal diary he kept while he was in incarceration before his eventual annihilation was published with the title A Month and a Day: A Detention Diary, in 1995. Over 20 years after his demise, some of his essays were assembled as Silence Would be Treason: Last Writings of Ken Saro-Wiwa, and published by Daraja Press in Ottawa, Canada, in 2018.

The Ken Saro-Wiwa International Writers Residency is one of the first major physical projects delivered by the leadership of Usman Oladipo Akanbi. Fortuitously, Akanbi’s deputy, Obari Gomba, winner of the 2023 NLNG Prize for Drama, is from Saro-Wiwa’s Ogoni country. He must have felt gratified by the honour done his countryman, whose trajectory he followed as a much younger writer. The eventual breaking of the ice, the decisive commencement of the physical development of the hitherto forlorn and controversial expansive hectarage of ANA property was consummated under the leadership of Denja Abdullahi in 2017. Obi Asika, director-general of the National Council for Arts and Culture, (NCAC), commissioned the Ken Saro-Wiwa International Writers Residency.

The ceremony was witnessed by an impressive array of writers, headlined by Emeritus Professors Osofisan and Olu Obafemi, both former presidents of ANA, as well as Nuhu Yaqub, OFR. Yaqub holds the distinction of being the only Nigerian scholar thus far to have served as vice-chancellor in two federal universities, those of Abuja and Sokoto. Other literary greats at the event and the main convention included: Professors Shamshudeen Amali, OFR, former Vice Chancellor, University of Ilorin; Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo; May Ifeoma Nwoye and Sunnie Ododo, all Fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, (FNAL) and the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA).

There were also Professors Joe Ushie, a member of the ANA Board of Trustees; Emeka Aniagolu; Udenta Udenta; Maria Ajima; Al Bishak; Mabel Evwierhoma; Razinat Mohammed; Vicky Sylvester Molemodile and Mahfouz Adedimeji. Immediate past ANA President, Camillus Ukah, Emeritus diplomat and writer Ambassador Albert Omotayo, featured at the Convention. Canada-based writer, scholar and Professor, Nduka Otiono who served as general secretary of the association under the leadership of Olu Obafemi, was admitted into the College of Fellows of the body. Chairman of the Abuja Chapter of ANA, Arc Chukwudi Eze, was the resident host with a compelling responsibility to stay through all events.

Olusunle, PhD, fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA), teaches creative writing at the University of Abuja

[OPINION] ‘Oritamefa’ hospital in blackout - Lekan Sote

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That Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, scion of stormy petrel of Ibadan’s 1950s politics, Adegoke “Penkelemesi” Adelabu, could conspire to place University College Hospital, or “Oritamefa,’ in financially suffocating Band A premium electricity market segment is a wicked act against the minister’s fellow Ibadan citizens.

It shows that NERC, the minister, and the government they serve have no human feelings. Anyone who puts “Oritamefa” in disgraceful and dire straits and compromises its services to the Ibadan community has done the same grade of psychological damage that those who rested Kingsway Stores did to the Baby Boomer generation of Nigeria.

UCH, to those who may not know, is a folksy rock star institution to the Ibadan, nay, the old Western Nigeria, of a period spanning the closing years of the colonial era, the First Republic, the Second Republic, and the first of the misguided military regimes in Nigeria’s chequered political history.

UCH, the oldest university teaching hospital in Nigeria, established in 1952, was initially quartered at the Eleyele fort of the West Africa Frontier Force that fought in Burma during the Second World War. Construction of its current site, started in 1953, was completed on November 20, 1957.

With hospital beds estimated at 1,000 and nearly 7,000 workers, UCH, host of the older University of Ibadan College of Medicine that was established in 1948, is reputed to have been the preferred hospital of Saudi Arabia’s ruling house in the 1960s and 1970s. Now that the old landmarks have collapsed, the Saudi royals will never subject their health to the care of UCH.

It must be stated, as many times as it is necessary, that the failure of Nigeria’s electricity sector is largely from the national grid, owned and operated 100 per cent by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, which is, in turn, owned 100 per cent by the Federal Government of Nigeria on behalf of the mythical public interest.

Reports indicate that the damn thing has broken down more than 10 times in 2024 alone and more than 100 times, from the days of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, Sai Gaskiya, and Seriki Integrity, that was swept into office in 2015 through the auspices of a special-purpose political vehicle called the All Progressives Congress.

The problem of the national grid doesn’t look as if it is going to go away very soon when you consider the bumbling and rambling that Coach Fanny Amun would have described as “wobbling and fumbling” of the managers of Nigeria’s electricity sector.

A viral amateur video shows some UCH patients, after enduring seventeen days without electricity, protesting, from their wards to the offices of the staff, to demand, in Yoruba, “E tan ina fun wa. Ee fun wa ni ina, ee fun wa l’omi. UCH, e ma pa wa. E lo san owo ina. Aa kii se eranko.”

If roughly translated into English, it would be: “Give us light. You didn’t give us light; you didn’t even give us water. UCH (management), do not kill us. Go and pay your outstanding electricity bill. We are not animals!

An overwhelmed, but unidentified, officer tried to assuage the protesting patients who switched off the lights (probably provided by generators) in his office, apparently to “democratise” the absence of electricity. He lapsed into a mix of Yoruba and English.

He went: “Now, nwon a lo wa solution sii. But, oro ina, o ti koja agbara ibi yi. Ki NEPA maa mu bill N88, N99 million! Ki awa na ba ara wa so ooto oro. Eni to ye ka pariwo si, oun ni awon Abuja ti nwon so pe nwon maa fun wa ni 50 per cent, ti nwon de se. Se o ti ye nyin bayi? So, e lo calm down.”

Translation: “They’ll go find a solution. But the matter is beyond this place. Imagine NEPA (the name of the government-owned electricity company before partial privatisation of the electricity sector), bringing N88, N99 million monthly electricity bill.

“Let’s also tell ourselves the truth. The one that deserves a protest is Abuja (the Federal Government), which undertook to pay 50 per cent of our electricity bill but failed to do so. Do you understand my explanation? Now, go and calm down.”

After the kerfuffle, Oladayo Olabampe, Chairman, Joint Action Committee of UCH trade unions, gave a Television Continental anchor person a more elaborate explanation of what led to the protest by the “sick” patients, if you will permit the redundancy.

It is just a way of borrowing the double superlative literary device of William Shakespeare, who coined the expression “the most unkindest cut,” to drive home the point that even so-called loyalist and closest friend, Brutus, plunged his dagger into the chest of Julius Caesar.

Olabampe explained: “The reason we find ourselves in this situation is… when you manufacture a product that (the elite) don’t consume… The problem we have with the sector is that… our governments do not patronise our hospital… and so we are left in the hands of manipulators (like Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company) who bring power bills that they like.

“Imagine power (bill) running into… N99 million… Where are we going to get such money from? When they were bringing N40, N50 (million) before they started the upgraded power bills, we were not able to sustain it.

“While we were battling with that, they said they put us in Band A, and that made the bill skyrocket. From N50, N40 million, we come to N80, N88, N99 million (monthly electricity bill). There is no way we can cope.”

If relatives of Minister Adelabu, who still remain in his native Ibadan hometown for the obvious reason that not every one of them will be able to live the luxurious life of a minister with him in Abuja, were among the wailing patients of the UCH, one wonders if he would not have been overwhelmed by the pathos and found an immediate solution to the problem.

He probably has no way to empathise with these poor patients and their scared relatives because his Abuja residence and office, the premises of his NERC and that of IBEDC, and the Aso Rock Villa residence of his principal, the President, and ministries, departments, and agencies of government have generators, euphemistically referred to as “off-grid sources of electricity!”

Well, if you have not noticed, “Oritamefa,” which means a crossroad of six roads, is an apt metaphor for the choices that must be made for Nigeria’s comatose healthcare delivery system. As it is with “oritamefa,” so it is with Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system.

By the way, what and who is responsible for the appearance of allocations for construction and equipping of intensive care units and amenity centres in Ijero Ekiti, Efon Alaye, and Aramoko, all in Ekiti State Central Senatorial Zone of Senate Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, in the budgetary provisions of University College Hospital, Ibadan?

If medical doctors, Prof. Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, and Dr. Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, can find a common ground to “resuscitate” “Oritamefa,” they could find a solution that runs through both the healthcare and the education sectors of Nigeria.

And the three attributes of Nigerian workers—energy, skills, and time—would have been further enhanced.

[OPINION] Goodluck Jonathan At 66: A Leader Nigerians Continue To Admire - Isaac Asabor

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As Nigerians woke up today, November 20, 2024, the airwaves and social media are abuzz with warm tributes and fond memories of a man whose name has become synonymous with a calm demeanor and democratic tolerance, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. On this special day, this writer and all his readers and well-wishers across the globe celebrate a leader whose prophecy about his presidency and its significance resonates even louder today.

Goodluck Jonathan once famously remarked: “You will miss me when I leave office.” At the time, many dismissed this as a self-serving statement. However, nearly a decade since he left office, his words now seem almost prophetic. For many Nigerians grappling with the socio-economic realities of today, his tenure increasingly feels like a bygone era of relative economic stability, freedom of expression, and national unity.

Today, as Dr. Jonathan celebrates his 66th birthday, the fondness for his time in office is palpable. Nigerians remember a president who, despite his imperfections, prioritized the welfare of the people and made difficult decisions to preserve the country’s fragile unity.

Jonathan’s tenure (2010–2015) was not without challenges, but it was marked by strides in key areas of national development. Among his administration’s most notable accomplishments were education reform, agricultural transformation, and infrastructural development, freedom of expression, and concession of power.

In fact, the establishment of 12 new federal universities remains one of Jonathan’s lasting legacies. By increasing access to higher education, he expanded opportunities for young Nigerians and reduced the pressure on existing institutions.

In a similar vein, under Jonathan’s leadership, Nigeria witnessed significant improvements in agriculture through the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA). The initiative reduced the country’s reliance on food imports and empowered farmers with better resources.

His administration made notable investments in power generation and infrastructure. Projects like the reconstruction of major roads and airports symbolized progress in addressing Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit.

Besides, Jonathan’s tolerance for dissent was remarkable. Despite criticisms from opposition parties, media outlets, and even ordinary Nigerians, he upheld democratic principles, allowing freedom of speech to thrive.

Without a doubt, his legacy that deeply resonated in this writer’s subconscious is that of his concession of power particularly as it engendered a smooth and peaceful transition of government. In fact, the hallmark of Jonathan’s leadership was his decision to concede defeat in the 2015 presidential election. This singular act not only averted potential chaos but also cemented Nigeria’s democracy in the eyes of the global community. His words, “My ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian, “remain etched in the country’s political history.

The nostalgia for Jonathan’s presidency grows stronger against the backdrop of Nigeria’s current economic and political challenges. Spiraling inflation, insecurity, and a general sense of disillusionment have left many Nigerians yearning for the leadership style of the man they once took for granted.

His ability to unify the country, even during trying times, stands in stark contrast to the divisions and tensions that characterize contemporary politics. As Nigerians reflect on the state of the nation today, many cannot help but compare it to the relative stability of Jonathan’s era.

Beyond politics, Jonathan has continued to embody the qualities of a statesman. As an envoy and mediator for the African Union and ECOWAS, he has worked tirelessly to promote peace and democracy across the continent. His interventions in crises in Mali, Gambia, and other countries underscore his commitment to fostering harmony in Africa.

Jonathan’s quiet but impactful post-presidency life serves as an example to current and aspiring leaders. He demonstrates that leadership does not end with the expiration of a term in office, it is a lifelong commitment to service and nation-building.

On this occasion of your 66th birthday, I say: Happy Birthday, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan! Nigerians remember you fondly, not only for what you accomplished but for the grace and humility with which you led. Your tenure taught us the importance of dialogue over division, compassion over conflict, and nationhood over narrow interests.

As you celebrate another year of life, we want you to know that your legacy endures. Many Nigerians now see the wisdom in your words: “You will miss me when I leave office.” Today, more than ever, we understand the weight of that statement and the truth it carries.

For this writer, and not a few Nigerians, Jonathan’s birthday is not just a time to celebrate; it is also a moment for introspection. It is an opportunity to ask critical questions about the kind of leadership we need to navigate our current challenges and build a better future.

Goodluck Jonathan may no longer be in office, but his legacy reminds us that leadership is ultimately about service, sacrifice, and an unwavering commitment to the people.

Once again, I say: Happy Birthday, Dr. Jonathan. You are missed, appreciated, and celebrated. May your new year be filled with good health, joy, and continued impact as a global Statesman.

Page 80 of 217

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