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I'm sure that once Amaka Modebe (nee Obiofuma) settles down in Heaven, she will make a reservation for us at Olive Gardens. Despite all my efforts, we did not get the chance to visit that restaurant in New York City, but she will ensure it happens in Heaven. Yes, Amaka and I have come a long way.
I first met Amaka Obiofuma in the 90s when I was walking up and down Ikeja, Lagos, looking for a job in journalism. Ok. Scratch that. I did not meet her. She did not know who I was. Nobody at Hints knew me or invited me. I went on a job hunter's equivalent of cold calling. Like many other jobseekers, I sat at the Hints magazine reception area several times, hoping to get an opportunity to meet someone who would interview me for a job.
Several times, I watched Amaka Obiofuma walk into the Opebi building of True Tales Publications LTD, the publisher of Hints magazine. She was the Chief Executive Officer. Each time she walked in with the likes of Chidinma Awa Agwu, I looked at them with great admiration, pondering if they had two heads, being the people I had read their columns every week for years. I also told myself that one day, I would become their colleague.
At the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), where I started writing at the Press Club, all I wanted to be when I grew up was like MEE (May Ellen Ezekiel) of Classique magazine. I wanted a column in a national newspaper or magazine where I would write whatever came to my mind. Nothing more, nothing less. But if that failed, I had a plan B: to write stories like the ones published by Hints magazine. I had written a few such stories at FUTA that gave me the confidence that I could do it if given the chance.
So, after my NYSC in Akwanga, I went to Lagos to hunt for a job in journalism.
My job searching axis was straight. From Okpebi (the home of Hints) to Allen Avenue, Ikeja (the home of Classique). I had a leg up at Classique because, during my NYSC, I had written MEE every week for a year. So, she invited me to come afterward. But at Hints, I had no contact with any of the writers. So, during those visits, I would sit at the reception and watch them walk in. Like all young people of that period, I read them all - Reuben Abati, Fatherhood with Ibe, Kayode Ajala, Amaka Obiofuma, and the mysterious gossip columnist Toks. As they walked in, they would glance at those of us waiting, and if they recognized a visitor, they would take the visitor with them. For the rest of us, we would wait and wait.
I ended up getting a job at Classique. It didn't lead to a permanent position. I went to the Guardian newspaper a few weeks after Reuben Abati left Hints and went to the Guardian. Again, I didn't get a permanent position at the Guardian. I went to the Daily Mail. At the Daily Mail, I finally got all I wanted in journalism - a column of my own. From then on, when I opened the newspapers and magazines of the week and read columns like those of Amaka Obiofuma, Reuben Abati, Edwin Madunagu, Dan Agbese, and Mike Awoyinfa, I pictured some people somewhere in Nigeria reading mine.
Almost twenty years later, in Valley Stream, New York, I met a man named Paul Onochie Modebe from Ilah. His daughter, Bukun, was in the same catholic school with my daughter, Ijeamaka. We got acquainted, and he introduced me to his wife along the way. He said his wife was a journalist in Nigeria, and her name was Amaka Modebe.
The day I met her over fourteen years ago, she told me she was Amaka Obiofuma of Hints magazine. I told her that one day, we would go to a new restaurant that opened near us in Valley Stream called Olive Gardens so she could tell me about the behind-the-scenes stories of Hints magazine. I had a lot of questions about the stories they published in those days, the people who ran the magazine, and that gossip columnist, Toks.
Over the years, Paul and Amaka Modebe became our closest friends in New York. They quickly became family. They were the only people with the right to pick up our kids in school. Our home became theirs, and theirs became ours. No party at our house was complete without them. Paul Modebe became more of my senior brother, or so I thought. I call him at least twice daily - in the morning and evening. He was the kind of person who knew the answer to any problem that could crop up.
All was going well until a scandal broke one day. I made my usual check-in call on Paul Onochie Modebe, now known to my family and friends as the Ilah of Ilah. Amaka picked up the call. She accused me of being her co-wife. She said I was speaking to her husband, Ilah of Ilah, more than she was.
Once again, I added it to matters we would resolve at Olive Gardens.
Like her columns at Hints, "Frank Talk with Amaka," Amaka was a gentle soul with no pretension. Her kindness was effortless. Her unique laughter filled every space she entered. She was like water, and as Fela said, "Water no get enemy." If William Shakespeare were to write of her, he would have put it this way:
"Her life was gentle; and the elements
So mixed in her, that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, THIS WAS A PHENOMENAL WOMAN!"
Amaka had moved away from journalism in America, and each time I tried to drag her back into it, she politely declined. She was not even interested when I tried to entice her with the exploits of her former colleagues, like Reuben Abati. During Goodluck Jonathan's time as president, when I could not reach Dr. Abati, I often told Amaka to give him a call for me. Each time, she would only smile and say nothing. It was the smile of someone who knew a lot but would not talk.
I added that to the list of matters we would resolve at Olive Gardens.
I used to tease her that she would be my first guest on a show I planned to do called "Where Are They Now?" I told her that the second guest would be Letty Diai, the editor at Classique magazine when I was there, who also left for America. And then, Innocent Egbunike, Felix Liberty, Jide Obi, and other 80s and 90s celebrities who have melted into thin air.
The day I knew that even though she left journalism, journalism had not left her was when I wrote a column about Pastor James Eze. As one of those who received my column every week, her husband thought I would hear from her whenever she read it. It did not happen. As a former columnist, she understood that a column is nothing but the writer's opinion at the moment in time and that every writer has the right to their opinion. She only told me she would pray for me when we finally discussed it.
For a long time, the running joke between us was when this long-deferred visit to Olive Gardens would happen. We went from wondering when I would have enough money to take everyone to Olive Gardens to when this American life sef would give us the time to go. Time passed. Kids kept growing. They finished elementary school and high school and entered college.
Today, Amaka has left us.
To be sure, Amaka has only taken a raincheck. The only thing that changed was the location. The visit to Olive Gardens will now happen when we get to Heaven.
Though, sadly, Amaka went ahead of us earlier than anticipated, we all take solace in the memories of her that we cherish. We know she will prepare a place for us at the finest table, just like she gave her all to friends and family when she was with us.
We all miss you, Amaka—Au revoir. See you later at Olive Gardens in Heaven.
Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo teaches Post-Colonial African History, Afrodiasporan Literature, and African Foketales at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He is also the host of Dr. Damages Show. His books include "This American Life Sef" and "Children of a Retired God," among others. His upcoming book is called "Why I'm Disappointed in Jesus."
Within the diverse pantheon of African rulership, something curious is emerging. In many ways, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda is fast emerging as a model of the transformation of democracy into authoritarianism in Africa. While Museveni has retained his nationalist streak in the fight against the global LGBTQ epidemic as well as his isolated battles against Western multinational exploitation and blackmail, his practice of democracy and adherence to the rule of law would disappoint pundits of African democratic enlightenment.
He has repressed basic freedoms, violated the rights of his political opponents, bludgeoned opposition political figures and jailed those who disagree with him. He has enthroned what is easily a personality cult of leadership that is easily a combination of draconian military dictatorship and crass authoritarianism. That is not strange in a continent that has produced the likes of Nguema, the Bongos and Paul Biya.
In addition, Museveni now displays some of the worst excesses of Africa’s famed authoritarianism, dictatorial indulgence and the dizzy materialism of its leadership. For instance, the president is reported to travel around with an interminable motorcade that includes a luxury airconditioned toilet. Worse for Uganda’s democracy are the recent stories of Museveni’s manouvres towards self-succession. Specifically, he has appointed his son as Chief of the army, a move which many observers of Uganda see as a pointer to his succession plan.
For me, the unfolding Museveni authoritarianism is a classic instance of the transformation of African leaders from revolutionary nationalists to authoritarian emperors. I once met and spoke with the early Museveni. He had emerged from a bush war as a liberator and valiant popular soldier that was heralded into Kampala as a liberators. He came to mend a broken nation from the locust ears of Idi Amin and Milton Obote.
The Museveni that I sat and conversed with in the early 1990s was a committed socialist. He was an African nationalist. He was a social democratic politician with a strong social science background. His primary constituency was the people most of whom fired his liberation movement in the countryside. We exchanged ideas freely on the thoughts of Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, Frantz Fanon, Walter Rodney and Amilcar Cabral among others.
As the Chairman of the Editorial Board of the new Daily Times under Yemi Ogunbiyi, I initiated and conducted a one on one interview with Yoweri Museveni in his early days after the overthrow of Obote with the backdrop of the Idi Amin carnage. What follows is both a travelogue and a reminiscence of the Museveni before now. Is it the same Museveni or are there two Musevenis?
In 1991, I scheduled a trip was to Kampala to interview Yoweri Museveni. I travelled alone through Addis Ababa and Nairobi. In those days, inter African flight connections were a nightmare of stops and delayed connections. I arrived Kampala and found my long standing friend, Dr. Manfred Nwogwugwu, a demographer who was based in Kampala as head of the United Nations Population Commission. We had been together at Ife where he and his lovely wife, Ngozi, hosted me for the weeks it took me to find my own accommodation as an apprentice academic at Ife. He took me on a tourist trip around Kampala. The city was broken and bore fresh bullet holes and bomb craters, the marks of war. From Biafra, I knew this ugly face well enough. Kampala had just been liberated by Museveni’s forces after ousting Milton Obote and remnants of Idi Amin.
I knew as a background that Mr. Museveni had been helped in his guerilla campaign by both M.K.O Abiola and General Ibrahim Babangida, then president of Nigeria. He therefore had a very favourable disposition towards Nigeria. He was also quite influential with African leaders from whom Nigeria was seeking support as General Obasanjo was lobbying to become United Nations Secretary General when it was deemed to be the turn of Africa. As a matter of fact, I was joined at the Museveni interview by Obasanjo’s media point man, Mr. Ad Obe Obe, who had come to interview Museveni as part of the Obasanjo campaign.
Museveni’s Press Secretary, a pleasant but tough woman called Hope Kakwenzire, kept in touch while I waited in Kampala for my appointment. She was sure the interview would hold but wanted to secure a free slot on the President’s choked schedule. She promised to call me at short notice to head for the venue.
When she eventually called, it turned out that the interview venue had just been switched from the Kampala State House to a government guest house in Entebbe, close to the airport and by the banks of Lake Victoria. Entebbe brought back memories of the famous Mossad raid to free hostages of a Palestinian hijack of an Israeli plane. At the appointed time, I was picked up from my friend’s residence. As we headed for Entebbe, memories of the dramatic Israeli commando rescue of airline hostages at Entebbe during the Amin days kept flashing through my mind. When I arrived Entebbe airport on my way in, I was shown the warehouse where the hostages were kept ahead of their dramatic rescue. The rescue had made world headlines in those days. It reinforced Israel’s military prowess and the intelligence dexterity and detailed planning of the Israeli DefenCe Force (IDF) but the operational dexterity and intelligence excellence of Mossad in particular.
We arrived a nondescript white bungalow tucked amidst trees and vegetation. It was a colonial type sprawling white bungalow. The entrance gate was a long drive from the building itself. When your car is cleared through the first gate, you drive along a bushy drive way towards the building. The first gate has normal military sentry who already know you are expected. As you drive along the bushy driveway, some surprise awaits you. Suddenly some small figures in full combat gear dart onto the drive way and wave your vehicle to a sudden stop at gun point. They are too young and too small to be regular soldiers. But their moves are rather professional and smart. They are ‘child soldiers’ or rather ‘baby soldiers’ who had fought alongside Museveni’s liberation forces in the bush war that led to the freedom of Uganda. No emotions, No niceties. They screen the vehicle scrupulously for explosives. These small men have apparently been trained to trust no one. They ignore the escort and Press Secretary both of whom are familiar faces. They insist I answer their questions for myself. I explain I have an interview appointment with the President. They briefly return to their tent at the wayside and briefly confer by radio communication.
They wave us through to the building. I am taken through a rather unassuming hallway and a colonial looking living room and dining areas that opens into a simple sit out at the back of the building. The sit out at the back of the building opens into a vast courtyard with well manicured green gardens. The extreme end of the green is Lake Victoria. At its banks, there are tents with simple garden chairs. The serenity of the location is striking. Even more chilling is the eerie silence of the location except for the flapping of the wings of flamingos and pelicans playing by the lakeside. I quickly framed it in my mind: “Conversations by Lake Victoria!”
Seated alone in one of the tents is President Yoweri Museveni, the new strongman of Uganda. His simplicity beleis the mystique of courage and valour that now define his reputation. He was a leading figure in Africa’s then latest mode of political ascension: the strong man who wages a guerilla movement in the countryside and marches from the forest into the city center of the capital after toppling an unpopular sitting dictator and his government with its demoralized army . After him, Joseph Kabilla of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) and Charles Taylor of Liberia followed the same pathway of political ascension but with differing outcomes.
The man in the tent was dressed in a simple black suit. He welcomed me very casually and warmly. “Nigeria is a long way from here, I imagine!”, he said jovially as he ushered me to take a seat. As we settled down to exchange views, it turned out that our exchange would be more than an interview. It was more of a radical social science conversation.
We compared notes on the class struggle in Africa, the burden of the political elite far removed from the masses, the alienation of the rural masses, the working class in Africa’s imperialist inspired industrialization. Museveni was very knowledgeable and sharp. His intellectual exposure was impeccable. He knew a lot about Nigeria, about our cities and the structure and general disposition of our elite. He had very kind words about M.K.O Abiola and his commitment to African unity and liberation which he was supporting with his vast resources. In particular, he supported Abiola’s ongoing campaign for reparations from the West to Africa for the decades of pillage during the slave trade and the subsequent colonial expropriation and haemorrhage of resources.
I still managed to pierce through his armour of social science and dialectical materialist analysis to ask him a few worrying questions about Uganda and Africa’s political future. He was generally optimistic about the turnaround of Uganda after the devastation of war and the rampaging carnage of dictators.
He added that he was facing the tasks of reconciliation among Ugandans after decades of division and distrust just like Nigeria did after our own civil war. He invited me to return to Kampala a few months hence to witness what the will of a determined people can do towards post war reconstruction. He told me he was out to fix not only the broken landscape of the city but more importantly the destroyed lives of many poor Ugandans. When I mentioned what I had seen of the devastation of AIDS in the countryside, he nearly shed tears but sternly reassured me that he would contain the scourge of the epidemic by all means.
I left Museveni on a note of optimism on the prospects of Africa’s comeback after the days of the Mobutus, Amins, Obotes and Bokasas. Given my own left leaning ideas, I found Museveni a kindred spirit and an unusually enlightened and progressive African statesman. He questioned everything: African traditions, beliefs, the assumptions of African history, the political legacy of the colonialists and the neo colonial state. He discussed pathways to Africa’s future economic development and the urgent need to question and possibly jettison old development models being peddled by the West through the World Bank and the IMF.
That was Museveni back in 1990-91.
Anytime I remember this story, I laugh and shake my head. In 1994, a Nigerian music promoter organised a concert, dubbing it “The Greatest Show”. There was plenty of hype built around it. Shabba Ranks, the Jamaican dancehall artiste and one of the biggest international acts at the time, headlined the concert, which was held at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS). There was a modestly attended VIP-only event at the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, but the TBS event was a total disaster. Only a handful of people showed up. Waziri Adio was then my colleague at TEMPO. After covering the concert, he crafted this scathing headline: “From the Greatest Show to No Show”. Wicked!
This came to mind again after Justice Abubakar Kutigi, a judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), ruled on March 28, 2024 that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had failed to prove that there was corruption in the transfer of Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd’s interest in OPL 245 to Shell and Agip in 2011. It had been billed as “The Biggest Corporate Scandal in History” but after intense scrutiny by the US department of justice, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Court of Milan in Italy, the commercial court of England and Wales, and now the FCT high court in Nigeria, they all came to just one verdict: no evidence of corruption whatsoever. Anticlimax.
The EFCC took its latest loss at the FCT high court quite badly and there were soon WhatsApp rumours that its prosecutor, Mr Offem Uket, was bribed to scuttle the case — although the commission has denied making such an allegation. But if, indeed, the EFCC prosecutor was bribed, were the Italian prosecutors bribed to lose the case in Milan too? In fact, the prosecutors are now facing criminal charges for allegedly hiding vital evidence that would have exonerated Shell and Eni during trial. Were the officials of the US department of justice and SEC bribed as well? It seems the EFCC was working to an answer all along and did not properly plan for how to handle possible defeat.
I started hearing of “Malabu scandal” over a decade ago but, honestly, I never paid attention to it. After all, Nigeria is a huge scam yard. Only God knows how many scams are planned and executed per hour across the length and breadth of Nigeria — both in private and public sectors, and even in religious houses, media and civil society. It takes something of monumental proportions for us to open our mouths and scream. I read that $1.1 billion “that should have gone to the federation account” had been paid to Malabu, a company owned by Chief Dan Etete, a former minister of petroleum, and his friends. Now, $1.1 billion is mouthwatering! I started reading the stories.
In 2017, I had a phone conversation with Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke, the former attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and a big figure in the OPL 245 affair who was accused of authorising the transfer of the first tranche of $810 million to Malabu. He told me he was not a signatory to the account and did not have powers to issue payment instructions. He said Dr Yerima Ngama, then minister of state for finance, authorised the payments. Mr Danladi Kifasi (then permanent secretary, ministry of finance) and Mr Babayo Shehu (then director of funds) also issued instructions. He sent me a bundle of documents on the entire OPL 245 affair, dating back to 1998. His claims checked out.
The EFCC also accused Adoke of taking a bribe of N300 million (around $2 million at the time). The alleged bribe was said to have been paid into his Unity Bank account in 2013 — two years after the OPL 245 deal was signed, sealed and delivered. Something did not click. The Nigerian officials I know do not wait for two years to collect gratification. Pardon me, but I would also expect a corrupt Nigerian minister to get more than $2 million “thank you” in a $1.3 billion deal. Adoke swore and sternly denied collecting a kobo from the deal, saying the N300 million was a loan he took from Unity Bank to buy a property from Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu that was manipulated by the EFCC as bribery.
According to him, when he could not pay up his own N200 million equity to complete the property purchase, Aliyu returned the N300 million to the bank, retrieved the land documents and sold the same property to the CBN in 2013. It was the N300 million refunded by Aliyu that the EFCC classified as a bribe in the trial at the FCT high court. Ironically, in another case filed against Adoke and Aliyu in a federal high court, the EFCC classified the N300 million as mortgage. It was the same prosecution witness presented by the EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Ahmed, that made the contradictory claims. This was one of the facts stated by Justice Kutigi in dismissing EFCC’s charges, which he described as “frivolous”.
Adoke, sounding surprised by my line of questioning during the phone call, said the major role he played in the OPL 245 resolutions was to give legal advice to President Goodluck Jonathan who wanted to know if the consent judgment entered into with Malabu by the Obasanjo administration in November 2006 was valid. President Olusegun Obasanjo had revoked the oil block in 2001 without stating any reason. He then gave it to Shell. Malabu sued the government, lost on technical grounds and appealed. Obasanjo opted for an out-of-court settlement and agreed to return the oil block to Malabu. Adoke said he studied the consent judgment and advised Jonathan that it was binding.
Jonathan subsequently set up an interministerial committee to implement the settlement agreement. OPL 245 was returned to Malabu in 2010, with Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, then minister of petroleum, re-issuing the licence to the company fronted by Etete, who was previously convicted of money laundering in an unrelated case in France before the conviction was quashed on appeal. In 2011, Shell and Eni teamed up to acquire Malabu’s interest in OPL 245 for $1.1 billion. All the funds totalling $1.3 billion — including the signature bonus of $210 million paid to the Nigerian federation — were then deposited by the oil companies in Nigeria’s account at JP Morgan in London.
This was where the story became convoluted. According to anti-corruption campaigners, Malabu’s proceeds of $1.1 billion from selling its interest in OPL 245 should have been paid to the federation account. That was the origin of the “Malabu scandal” narrative. But if a company sells off its interest in an oil block, how can the proceeds go to the federation? It sounded even sleazier when it was reported that Etete bought a private jet from the proceeds — which is not unusual with those who hit windfalls. I doubt anyone would make that kind of money and not buy a yacht and even the sea. Gen Theophilus Danjuma also bought a private jet from OPL 246. It seems to be a status symbol.
My major misgiving was that Etete awarded an oil block to himself in 1998 — a clear case of conflict of interest. Surprisingly, every president, except President Muhammadu Buhari, recognised Etete as the owner of Malabu. Buhari appeared to recognise Mohammed Abacha, who said Etete outwitted him. The EFCC wrote twice to Aso Rock that the son of the former head of state should be compensated before the trial of Adoke, Aliyu and the oil companies could be terminated. Also, Etete used a pseudonym in registering Malabu. Mohammed used “Mohammed Sani”. This was apparently to mask their identities. These issues were not raised by the EFCC during trial. I am still at a loss.
Now that all the court cases on OPL 245 have been dispensed with (although the EFCC has hinted that it may appeal the FCT high court ruling — but having studied it with my “unlearned” eyes, I don’t see an appeal going anywhere), my interest is how Nigeria can put the enormously rich oil block to productive use. By some estimates, the block can produce over 200,000 barrels per day when it finally gets in the groove. Similar deep offshore acreages are producing hundreds of thousands of barrels daily. But for the long-drawn crises in the quest to expose “The Biggest Corporate Scandal in History”, the acreage could have gone into full production ages ago.
On coming to power in 2015, the Buhari administration had commenced a slew of litigation, trying to get Shell and Eni convicted for corruption. The licence issued for prospecting in 2011 suffered a serious knock. By 2021, the OPL should have been converted to a mining licence but Buhari declined to give the go-ahead, perhaps still hoping the court cases would yield a result, even though the headline trial in the Court of Milan had gone against Nigeria. We had also sued JP Morgan in the UK, asking for a compensation of $1.7 billion under the “Quincecare duty” doctrine for transferring some of the proceeds of OPL 245 sale to Malabu’s bank accounts. Nigeria lost for lack of evidence.
We went on a wild goose chase while the enormously endowed economic asset was wasting away. Top government officials engaged their friends as lawyers to be pursuing OPL 245 cases globally and netting millions of dollars in fees and commissions. They eyed huge cuts if Shell and Eni were to be improbably ordered to pay another $1.1 billion to Nigeria or if the UK court awarded $1.7 billion against JP Morgan. OPL 245 litigation became an oil block on its own. In the end, we woefully lost everything: the lawsuits; and inflow of investments to, and revenue from, the oil block; and JP Morgan won its £22.25 million libel case against us. Total waste of time and energy (pardon the pun).
We were kobo wise and naira foolish. We delayed production from the acreage because we wanted $1.7 billion compensation, whereas we could make far more than that if drilling was allowed to start. More so, Nigeria badly needed higher oil output to be able to earn more from taxes, royalties and export, plus the inflow of lifesaving FX. What’s more, producing deep offshore was the sanest and safest option — with minimal risks of oil theft, pipeline vandalism and host community issues. Our production was dwindling severely but we were comfortable locking up OPL 245. Now that the litigation market has closed, may we kindly allow OPL 245 to commence the process of pumping oil?
AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…
TRIPLING TARIFF
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Wednesday approved a new electricity tariff plan. The elite consumers — classified as Band A — now pay three times higher than the former tariff. Other consumers will keep paying old rates. The deal, as announced, is that Band A consumers would be enjoying a minimum of 20 hours electricity per day. There is so much to say, but what the government just did was to pass N1.5 trillion of the electricity subsidy to Band A consumers. The dark side is that while Band A may indeed enjoy more hours, other bands will most likely get less. In essence, the sector’s foundational problems will remain unsolved, at least in the short run. Grief.
PEACE MEAL
Great news: Air Peace is now flying to the UK. Reviews so far have been very encouraging and exciting. It had been a thing of shame that the route was left entirely to foreign airlines for so long since the exit of Arik. Nigerians have been suffering from paying extortionate fares — and in dollars. Sadly, I read the comments about the Igbo-style outfit of the cabin crew members. This is so unnecessary. I don’t know when we are going to get over the election mode so that we can free our minds. Rather than celebrate our little successes, some would rather be playing the ethnic card. I don’t care if they wear Kanuri dara. All I desire is for Air Peace to make Nigeria proud. Godspeed!
RISKY BEHAVIOUR
Idris Okuneye, the social media celebrity better known as Bobrisky, was the unusual guest of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday. The influencer, who identifies as a female, was arrested, detained and charged to court for abusing the naira after being caught on video manhandling (womanhandling?) the national currency. There is actually a law that criminalises this very Nigerian culture but it is mostly observed in the breach. There is a feeling the conviction of Bobrisky will send a strong signal to other celebrities and party goers that the EFCC will enforce the law going forward. Some say it will be nice to see celebrity billionaires face the music too. Cynical.
NO COMMENT
Kano state is full of drama, especially under the current governor, Alhaji Abba Yusuf. But I am very much interested in the charges filed against Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), for allegedly collecting $200,000 bribe from a contractor in 2018. The video purporting to show Ganduje collecting the cash and stuffing it in his babanriga went viral at the time but nothing came out of it, apart from the backlash on Daily Nigerian, the newspaper that published it. Ganduje has kicked, describing the charges as “trumped up”, but won’t it be quite some sight to see the national chairman of the ruling party being sent to jail for corruption? Wonderful.
Nigerians were welcomed to the new month with a new hike in electricity tariffs. Many Nigerians thought it was an April Fool’s joke, but when they saw the new rates, nobody was laughing.
Then, all of a sudden, we realised that some of us were placed in different bands of electricity consumption. For the band A consumers, the increment was a staggering 300 percent. I think by now, many Nigerians are waiting for the trumpet to sound, signalling the end of the world.
I believe that increasing electricity tariff at this time is insensitive and sinful on the part of the government. I remember saying on this page that the major reason for the astronomical rise in the price of goods and services is the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira at the same time. Because most goods and services in the country depend on the price of fuel and the exchange rate, this has caused the inflation rate to shoot up through the roof.
Recently, we have started to see some gains in the exchange rate, and Nigerians were expecting to see a drop in the price of goods and services. However, what did the government do? They increased the price of electricity, further eroding the gains. I can bet that the new increase will naturally affect businesses, and they will pass the price of goods and services to the consumers.
Sometimes, I ask myself, “is it a sin for good things to happen to Nigerians?” No Nigerian will buy the reasons given by the federal government for the increase. Why increase electricity tariff when you have poor electricity infrastructure?
The collapse of the national grid is no longer news; it has become a frequent occurrence.
The government should have waited until at least next year before even thinking of a hike in electricity. This is the worst time to increase the tariff.
I think President Bola Tinubu should reverse it immediately before he earns the moniker of the most insensitive Nigerian president ever. No matter his good intentions of turning the fortunes of the country, giving a hat-trick of harsh policies in less than a year that are strangulating the masses will only make him unpopular.
Again, I am tempted to ask why place Nigerians on different bands of electricity. In my view, that’s discrimination. Every Nigerian should have 20-24 hours of electricity. This is a basic necessity that should be provided to all citizens, regardless of their economic or social status.
The government’s decision to increase electricity tariff at this time is not only insensitive but also detrimental to the well-being of the Nigerian people. The country is already struggling with the high cost of living, and this additional burden will only exacerbate the situation.
It is worth noting that the electricity sector in Nigeria has been plagued by a myriad of challenges, including poor infrastructure, inefficient management, and a lack of investment.
The government has been promising to address these issues for years, but the results have been disappointing. Instead of tackling the root causes of the problem, the government has resorted to passing the burden onto the citizens.
This move is not only short-sighted but also counterproductive. By increasing the cost of electricity, the government is effectively discouraging businesses and individuals from using it, which could lead to a further decline in the already poor electricity supply.
This, in turn, could have a ripple effect on the entire economy, leading to job losses, reduced productivity, and lower economic growth.
Moreover, the decision to place Nigerians in different electricity bands is a clear case of discrimination. It is unfair and unjust to charge some citizens more for a basic service that should be equally accessible to all. This move is likely to further exacerbate the already-existing inequality in the country, which could lead to social unrest and political instability.
The government’s justification for the increase, which includes the need to improve the electricity infrastructure and ensure a reliable supply, is understandable.
However, the timing and the manner in which it has been implemented are highly questionable. The government should have taken a more holistic approach, addressing the underlying issues in the sector and involving the citizens in the decision-making process.
Instead of increasing tariffs, the government should have focused on improving the efficiency and management of the electricity sector, attracting more investment, and exploring alternative sources of power generation.
This would have not only improved the quality of service but also reduced the burden on the citizens.
As I previously said, the government’s decision to increase electricity tariff at this time is insensitive and detrimental to the well-being of the Nigerian people. It is a short-sighted move that is likely to have far-reaching consequences on the economy and social fabric of the country.
The government should reconsider this decision and instead focus on addressing the underlying issues in the electricity sector in a more comprehensive and inclusive manner. The well-being of the Nigerian people should be the top priority, and any policy decision should be made with their best interests in mind.
A lot of Nigerians do not know the difference between civil wrong and criminal offence.
I can say that 90 percent of Nigerians cannot tell the difference between civil wrongs and criminal offences.
This may be the reason that once you feel someone has wronged you, then boom, you taste blood. Call the Police, call the Department of State Services, call the Army, have him arrested and thrown into jail or detention. In fact, despite changing the name prison to correctional center, most Nigerians think a holding facility is for vengeance by suffering the person instead of correction.
It is no longer news that some Internet users have posted online, X platform that Nathaniel Bassey is the father of Mercy Chinwo’s child. This was considered offensive or wrong leading to a Petition to the Inspector General of Police by Nathaniel Bassey that these online users be fished out, arrested and prosecuted for criminal defamation. It is like using a wrong to correct a wrong.
Civil wrongs like defamation of character are in a category of wrongs like owing money or not paying your debt. It is not a police case. It should lead to civil action for defamation of character by the person aggrieved. The end result for civil action is to seek relief for damages in monetary terms. It does not lead to criminal prosecution, conviction and prison terms. However, Nigerians in power or the rich and influential seem not to care about these differences between civil wrong and criminal offence. Once, you wrong them, then they will let loose the police or state security forces on you as a way of “teaching you a lesson.” That’s pure oppression or abuse of state forces. There are over 100 Court Judgments condemning this practice. See the Supreme Court cases of Kure vs COP, Nwoboshi vs FRN for instance.
I am not saying that people should be allowed to make careless comments online and go scot free. Rather, the appropriate legal action should be taken. In this case, it should be a civil suit. The duty of the police does not extend to the protection of your reputation. Your reputation is personal to you. Any injury to your reputation is a personal civil wrong committed against you and should lead to personal action and not Police investigation and prosecution. If we assume for a moment that there is any crime in it, why not report to the police division in charge? The office of Inspector General of Police is not in the ordinary course of business, made for receiving complaints about minor criminal offences involving two fighting. It is for serious business supervising police operations all over the country.
Unfortunately, once it is a big man that writes the petition to the police, they will jump on it and start harassing weaker people. They will hardly tell the rich no, this is a civil case and it is outside our jurisdiction. This is how the Police yields itself to abuse of state power.
Interestingly, even in terms of the substance of the alleged criminal defamation, it is not a criminal offence in Lagos where the complaint is originating from. The best you can make of the post is to say that:
1. Nathaniel Bassey is fertile and has fathered a child or
2. Nathaniel Bassey has committed adultery.
Both are not criminal offences in Lagos. Fathering a child is no offence in Lagos. Adultery is equally not a criminal offence. The Supreme Court of Nigeria has laid this to rest in the case of Aoko v. Fagbeyemi (1961) 1 ALL NLR 400 that adultery is not a criminal offence.
You can take civil action on allegations of adultery but not a criminal case.
I hope you find this useful.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is so inordinately inebriated by his IMF-motivated decision to remove subsidies on petrol that at every opportunity he has he brags about it in giddily superlative terms.
For example, during a meeting with the Nigerian community in France on June 24, 2023, he couched his decision to impose the Tinubu fuel tax (to borrow from his 2012 characterization of Goodluck Jonathan’s subsidy removal) on Nigerians in epiphanic, providential, and inspirational terms.
He told Nigerians in France that during his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, he was suddenly overcome by a mysterious force of unusual courage, which propelled him to veer off his prepared speech to announce the removal of fuel subsidies. “When I got to the podium, I was possessed with courage, and I said, ‘subsidy is gone!’” he said with a smug glow of perverse, meanspirited self-satisfaction.
Again on November 22, 2023, Tinubu boasted to investors at the 10th German-Nigerian Business Forum that his courage to remove petrol subsidies and visit unheard-of economic violence on poor, luckless Nigerians was a gargantuan feat of derring-do worthy of acknowledgement in the Guinness World Records.
“Nigeria voted for me for reforms, and from day one of my inauguration, I started the reforms,” he said. “To me, if you didn’t mention me in the Guinness Book of Records, I’d strive to find a way to insert myself because I did it without expectation.”
Well, the IMF, whose approval he desperately seeks and on whose behalf he is harming Nigerians, has approbated his policies, which should be more important to him than an entry in the Guiness World Records for sadistic governance.
“The new [Tinubu] administration has made a strong start, tackling deep-rooted structural issues in challenging circumstances,” the IMF said on February 14. “Immediately, it adopted two policy reforms that its predecessors had shied away from: fuel subsidy removal and the unification of the official exchange rates.”
The IMF then instructed that “electricity subsidies are costly, do not reach those that most need government support and should be phased out completely.”
On February 16, that is, exactly two days after this IMF directive, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu announced that the government would withdraw electricity subsidies. That’s precisely why the government has approved a more than 200 percent hike in electricity tariffs this week. As I’ve repeatedly said, the IMF is the de factor ruler of Nigeria. Tinubu and his henchmen are mere cushy neo-imperialist surrogates.
Well, I don’t know of any halfway rational human being in the world who will see courage in choosing to hurt the dispossessed who can’t fight back. There is no courage in trampling on the poor, the weak, and the defenseless.
There is no courage in kicking people who are already down, people who are down on their luck, and people who are down in the dumps as a consequence of being serial victims of a steady succession of cruel and self-serving governments who are servile errand boys of the racist sadists at the IMF.
There is no courage in oppressing the oppressed. That's cowardice. That’s callousness. It’s unrelieved maliciousness. And it’s not something to be proud of, not something to make a song and dance about. On the contrary, it’s something to be mortally ashamed of.
Real courage comes from standing up to bullies, which the World Bank and the IMF are, and from defending the defenseless against oppressors. Courage comes from shielding the weak from the untoward designs of the strong and the unjust. It comes from protecting the underdog from the unprovoked aggression of the top dog.
Since Tinubu came to power nearly a year ago, he has never implemented any policy that gives even an ounce of solace to the poor. Instead, like Muhammadu Buhari before him, he is a proud reverse Robin Hood who takes from the poor to enrich the already rich, with the recent IMF-directed astronomical increase in electricity tariffs—which makes electricity in Nigeria more expensive for “Band A” users than I pay in the United States—the latest example.
The only people who will benefit from the latest tariff hikes are Tinubu’s friends who own power generation and distribution companies. As a Tinubu-supporting friend pointed out to me on Friday, “This is a government of the elite, for the elite, and by the elite.”
In the United States where the IMF is headquartered, there are electricity subsidies for low-income households, yet it wants none for anybody in Nigeria. The primary federally funded electricity subsidy program here is called the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
LIHEAP provides eligible households with financial assistance for energy bills, emergency energy services to prevent disconnection, and low-cost home improvements, known as weatherization, to help make homes more energy efficient.
LIHEAP is funded by the federal government, but the program is administered at the state level, which means eligibility requirements and the form of assistance offered can vary from one state to another.
Generally, to qualify for LIHEAP, a household's income must fall below a certain threshold, which is typically set at a percentage of the federal poverty level or a percentage of the state's median income level.
In addition to LIHEAP, some states, utilities, and non-profit organizations offer additional assistance programs or subsidies to help low-income households with their energy needs. These programs may provide direct bill assistance, energy-efficient home improvements, or emergency aid for utility shutoff prevention.
Yet, the IMF has bludgeoned the Nigerian government into removing subsidies for electricity that isn’t even constant and reliable. And being the slavish lackeys that they are, they obeyed like dutiful, well-trained poodle dogs. Of course, it’s because it doesn’t hurt them, their immediate families, or their associates.
The IMF never tells Third Word leaders to increase the minimum wages of workers. Maybe that’s why Tinubu’s Guinness-World-Records-size courage is absent when it comes to approving a minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
The 30,000-naira minimum wage that the Muhammadu Buhari regime approved for workers expired in March. The Tinubu government had promised that a new minimum wage would start on April 1. That has turned out to be a cruel April Fools’ joke on Nigerians.
The last we heard of this issue is that the minimum wage committee would “reconvene mid-April to continue further negotiations and consultations on the new minimum wage expected to be announced by President Bola Tinubu on May 1, 2024.”
This is the same committee that requested 1.8 billion naira (which it later scaled back to 1 billion naira) just to sit in comfort and decide how much the least remunerated government worker will receive. “Start with N500million first,” Tinubu wrote in a leaked memo.
As senator Shehu Sani quipped on Twitter, “The minimum wage committee… allocated the maximum wage for themselves.” What exactly does the 37-member committee—made up of governors who don’t pay the current 30,000-naira minimum wage even when money realized from petrol subsidy removal has tripled their monthly allocations— want to use a billion naira (later reduced to 500 million naira) to do?
There was no committee when petrol subsidies were removed. There was no committee for the removal of electricity subsidies, which will now ensure that Nigeria descends into total darkness. But when it comes time to increase the minimum wage of workers, an expensive committee is needed.
In other words, where the welfare of everyday folks is concerned, Tinubu loses his magisterial, self-affirming courage. He transforms from a lion to a chicken. His courage only emerges when he oppresses the poor and recedes when he is required to help the poor. May God save Nigerians from Tinubu’s courage.
Now, wasn’t that a really commendable move by Airpeace? “Something unique from Nigeria” is the message. The sewing and finishing of the outfit and the seamless, mature simplicity presents a uniqueness that is at once pleasant and compelling. Good taste, elegance and a firm bearing signposts the now-in-the- news outfit of Airpeace airhostesses on one of its international routes. Then, you have the graceful carriage of the wearers! Behold, the bold move of a Nigerian airline, as it inflicts a breath of Naijarama on the rest of the world.
And this is only a beginning. Other Nigerian varieties from Kano, the Kanuri, the Tiv, Akwete, Eko, Bini and much more should, and will yet, hit the international aviation superhighway.
Airpeace staff carried it off with a boldness and artistic self-certainty that stands out in bold relief. Think of the outfits of staff of other airlines, both local and international. What, for instance, confronts you in Ghana besides the “Akwaaba” greeting? Kente material is synonymous with that country, but let us get on with the business of the day.
Isi Agu means “Head of a leopard”. Is that what the Airpeace staff were seen wearing? Isi Odum means “head of a lion”. Is that what Airpeace staff were seen wearing? Come, let us go back to a piece which appeared on this page on April 15, 2023; wherein the Isi Agu matter was the subject of great concern and interest. The said piece will be reproduced here in large measure, to put the issue in perspective once again.
“Remember President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Imo State? The presumed Igbo garment he wore on top, which the state governor the then Ohaneze President-General and the “Igbo leaders and dignitaries” present also wore, is the issue here. To all Nigerians, and the world at large, the Igbo leadership elite turned up in Imo State, decked out in the traditional Igbo outfit of Efe Isi Agu, to receive Buhari on behalf of Ndigbo.
But were they really dressed in the right attire? I think not. And the reason is simple: The clothes they wore had the head of a lion (Odum) and not the head of a leopard (Agu) emblazoned on them. Thus, they saw themselves as wearing the traditional Igbo outfit for the highest possible occasion in the land on that occasion, when they were not. They would not have dressed the way they did if they knew better.
The point to note, and which is being made here, is that anyone parading the material that is routinely paraded everywhere today as the Igbo traditional attire, especially for men, should be told that Agu is not Odum, and Odum is not Agu. It is as simple as that. With the nascent, and even possibly pubescent, Igbo elite totally unaware of what they have walked themselves into, we now have about two generations of the young and old who do not know that Agu is not lion. Poor cultural education and the emergence of upstarts as cultural and leadership icons in Igboland are to blame for this.
That is why, everywhere today, the predominantly red background of this unduly thick material, within and around which is embedded the head of a lion, is the major defining motif for Isi Agu dress. But then, you also now find the head of a horse, or a dog with a hairy head area, donning the red material. And these still get passed off as traditional Isi Agu dress. Who knows, we may yet find one with the head of a snake, a drowning fish, or a wounded porcupine, as Efe Isi Agu”.
The article under reference went further thus: Umahi wiped the subsisting shame of Igbo cultural bigwigs, intelligentsia, and political elite when he and his people wore the correct Isi Agu (leopard head) outfit to a rally of the APC held in his state. Igbo leadership, including Ohaneze chieftains, received Buhari in Owerri dressed in the wrong outfit of “Isi Odum” (Lion Head), which over 90% of the Igbo population actually assume is Isi Agu.
Look wherever you may, the story is the same. This goes for Ndigbo in the Diaspora, where the situation is much worse. Our dear brother and friend, Alex Oti, the man whom I believe will bring Abia State to its long overdue glory, has an official picture where he is seen donning the same material, with the head of a lion (Isi Odum). Oti is a double-rated lion in the business and intellectual circles in his own right. So, he may wish to substitute the Isi Odum with Isi Agu, to send out a signal that will guide his ailing and failing political and elite peers – as well as the youths.
But, wait a minute! Where, how and why did all this confusion spring up? If the word “isi” means head in Igbo language, does “Agu” mean the head of any and whatever animal you can print on a piece of cloth with red background? Certainly not!
And that raises a simple and straightforward question: “Which animal’s head should be on the red background material for it to be rightly called Isi Agu dress; which would thus make it the authentic Igbo attire it is claimed to be? The confusion in this regard is further compounded by the fact that some men whose traditional title is “Ogbu Agu” (Leopard Killer) introduce themselves in public as “Lion Killer”, when translating the meaning of their title into the English language. Back then, what you found hanging on the wall of any man who bore the revered, and partly dreaded, title of Ogbu Agu was the skin of the leopard he killed.
I say nothing about the fact that Igboland now has many Ogbu Agus (leopard killers) who cannot kill a limping rat in their backyards. You also have many with the title of “Ochi Agha” (War leader, or General) who can neither defeat a sick man in a wrestling march, nor fire a catapult at a stationary object with anything but appalling inaccuracy.
In three particular instances, I saw the title “Agu Nze” (literally “Man of Heroic Integrity”) translated as “Royal Lion”. And this by people to whom the younger generation of Ndigbo are looking up for guidance. Therein lies a deep and serious problem that says more than is apparent at face value. So, let us place it on record that Agu is Leopard and not Lion. But, let us also still take this conversation further.
Every part of the world has its giant cat. The biggest of all cats is the Tiger (Panthera Tigris) of which the Siberian Tiger is said to be the largest, at 660 pounds and measuring ten feet from head to tail. We call the Lion “King of the Forest”. That cannot be true for every forest. Even for the forest in which the lion resides, it is not king of every part, like the rivers within the forest. In the latter, the crocodile is often the king – and a king dreaded by lions, hyenas, antelopes, buffalos and even elephants in the area.
The lion thrives best in semi-open plains, unlike the leopard; which is a climber and stealth hunter. Even in its favorite habitat, the lion cannot hold the title of king if the tiger turns up. Thus, the lion is not the king of any forest where you have even one full-grown Asian Tiger.
Lions are only known for their exploits, extravagant show of dominance and frolicsome independence in the plains of Africa, parts of the Savannah, the Serengeti and other places. They do not thrive in marshlands and wet zones, which is what we have in the more southerly parts of the country, or our Rain Forest belt. Thus, the giant cat of the Rain Forest belt, also extending a little into the Savannah, is mostly the Leopard.
Lions were not common sights in the South East, but they were known and were seen when they strayed from the middle belt Savannah into the outskirts of the Rain Forest area from time to time. The Igbo saying “Odum na-egbu agu” (The lion is more powerful, and can demolish the leopard) is intended to induce caution in people who overrate themselves in one way or another. To further see the denotative and connotative nuances of the concept of Agu, among others, in Igbo thinking, let us examine a few things.
The crocodile is called Agu Iyi; which literally means “leopard of the river”; or the largest and most dangerous predator you can find in any body of water. Then there is another Agu, apart from the crocodile. That is the cunning Agu Owulu, or fox, the dreaded sneaky hunter with a lot of hair around the head area, which will snatch up your chicken in the dead of night with incredible stealth.
Let us look at another Igbo word and how it is sometimes used as a qualifier, the way agu is used as qualifier in an environment. The word “Ugbo Ala”, is translated as “car” in English. Air plane is translated as Ugbo Elu. Ugbo Nmiri is boat, ship or water going vessel. Then you have Ugbo Aja (the trough, or receptacle, with which you carry the offering, or sacrifice). So, what is the meaning of the word “Ugbo” itself? A receptacle, perhaps? A means of conveyance? That in which something is carried from one place to another?
Just as there is the ugbo for carrying people on land, on water and in the air, you also have the Agu, as the representation of daring, heroic courage and dominance in any environment. That is the basis of the Igbo saying “Ebube agu n-eche agu”, (the very aura, strength and agility of the leopard serves as its shield and protection)”.
So, going back to the Airpeace matter, let us simply acknowledge the wisdom of that move. It is one of many Nigerian trademarks that can be put out there. Now that another Nigerian airline has also gotten clearance to go global, we should expect another Nigerian-based outfits to hit the international aviation space.
Let’s have more. Kano, Kanuri, Efik, Tiv, Akwete, Eko, Bini and many others have much to project about us, as Nigerians. Lest we forget, the use of Asoebi (which I believe is of Yoruba traditional origin) for celebrations, knows no ethnic or religious boundaries in Nigeria today.
For those seeking the underlying logic to the politics of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Wike, and his disposition to policy, the yesterday edition of his signature media chats might provide some clues.
As an aside, it should be remarked that the Wike Media Chat has evolved as a peculiar form of projects’ advertisement which has its provenance in the politician’s days as the governor of Rivers state. It’s done in the Wike style!
A member of the yesterday panel of interviewers, Chamberlain Usoh, of CHANNELS Television asked Wike a question on the availability and affordability of healthcare delivery in the FCT. The interviewer pointed to the problem of few bed spaces and the lack of health insurance for the poor among other issues.
Here is Chief Wike’s reply to the question of making healthcare available to the poor: “…When you say affordable (it shows) that we live a life where things (are) free for (everybody). We are not in a socialist regime. We are not…” Wike also dismissed the idea of the urgency of increasing bed spaces saying that what mattered was bringing in standard equipment to the hospital. Remarkably, the minister used words such as “plan,” “conception” “standards” “costs” etc. in the course of the conversation. These are, of course, familiar words often used in the process of policy making and implementation.
Meanwhile, Wike, who likes to be addressed as “Mr. Project,” is expected to implement the N1.1 trillion budget for the development of FCT. And to imagine that universal healthcare coverage would not be a priority in the implementation of a N1.1 trillion budget!
Now, that is not the path of development.
As a matter of fact, Wike earned the sobriquet of “Mr. Project” in his days as Rivers state governor when for almost a year he staged spectacles to “commission projects.”
The minister also spoke about some infrastructural projects in the course of the yesterday media chat. Wike’s response to the question of his policy in the health sector of the FCT is reminiscent of what a former governor told this reporter some years ago : he said what happened in the states including his own was “governance by projects.”
Now, there is something fundamentally problematic about the concept of development on the part of a minister who doesn’t prioritise the affordability of healthcare delivery to the poor in a country in which it is estimated that 63% live in multi-dimensional poverty. Healthcare is a major pillar of human development. Without the micro impact of human development especially on the majority poor, all the multi-trillion contracts for infrastructure will achieve little or nothing in advancing human progress in the society.
At least on record, Wike is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), an organisation which cannot be accused of being socio-democratic in ideological preferences. However, Wike is today a minister in a government of the All Progressives Congress (APC). By definition, a government of APC at any level should prefer progressive options in policy-making. Progressive politics in Nigeria today is nothing if it is not an anti-poverty politics. For poverty and inequality constitute the bedrock of the problem of the Nigerian society at present. Experts of various hues have drawn an organic link between poverty and insecurity. In other words, insecurity cannot be ultimately tackled without eradicating poverty and reducing gross inequality. So it is never progressive for any politician to say that making a case for affordable healthcare is akin to expecting “to have everything free.” To dismiss universal healthcare coverage, a central question of human development, is far from being progressive in the present Nigerian condition. Contrary to Wike’s policy proposition, universal healthcare is not necessarily an agenda of a “socialist regime.” Universal healthcare is available in many capitalist countries in different forms. For instance, despite its imperfections the British National Health Service (NHS), a heritage of the welfare state, is cherished as a national institution and defended by Britons across the political and ideological spectra. Yet, Britain is not a socialist state. Here in Nigeria, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act (2022) and the FCT Health Insurance Scheme established with the instrument of the FHIS Act of 2020 were enacted for the ultimate purpose making healthcare affordable to all. In fact, the goal of FHIS is to reengineer the health care funding mechanism to achieve universal health coverage in the FCT. And these are no laws made by a “socialist regime”!
For Wike, the practical politician, ideological debates about policies may be a luxury. All the “action man” would be concerned with is to award contracts for infrastructural projects and supervise their execution for delivery according to schedule.
In the process, little attention is paid to the organising principle of the execution of these projects within a broad concept of development. Perhaps, unknown to the minister, the implication of his laissez faire attitude to universal healthcare coverage is that market forces should determine the access to quality healthcare.
Today’s column is making the foregoing reference to only an aspect of the Wike media chat just to illustrate the point that there are indeed thoughts behind policy-making. These thoughts emanate from the worldviews of the policymakers. Wike is not alone in not prioritising the social sector – heath, education, social housing, mass transit etc. in policy-making.
One of the consequences of this orientation of officialdom is the socio-economic injustice that has ravaged the land for decades.
Some Nigerian politicians and pundits alike glibly proclaim the end of ideology. Yet ideology is alive and shaping policies around the world. To be sure, those making choices for the society in the policy arena may not be fully conscious of their ideological options, much less articulate the ideology. Some of those who are conscious of their ideological choices deny their ideologies because their choices are simply indefensible. Policy dispositions that could worsen poverty are no more defended even by right-wing ideologues. Unlike their socially ruinous economic prescriptions of the 1980s, even the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the chief enforcers of global capitalism, have since adopted anti-poverty tone in their policy prescriptions for the poor countries of the world.
Doubtless, policy-making in Nigeria cannot not be said to be an exercise in a vacuum of ideas. Think tanks and other non-governmental organisations abound with harvest of ideas. For instance, for 31 years now the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has provided a forum for dialogue among private sector players and public sector officials on the shape and future of the Nigerian economy. But the question persists: to what extent have the ideas generated on the platform of NESG influenced policies of successive administrations? The same question could be posed in respect of the Ibadan-based Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), which is publicly funded for the production of ideas and information to illuminate the process of policy-making. The question of the impact of these institutions and many others on policy is certainly not a rhetorical one. The question has to be definitely answered to make progress.
Talking about the ideological influences on policymakers, Nigeria is yet to fully develop the culture of a well-defined ideological direction pushed by men of ideas. In history, leaders had thinkers widely acknowledged to have influenced their policy directions. The ideas in favour government-intervention proposed by the eminent economist, John Maynard Keynes, had a lot of influence on President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal during the Great Depression. If Roosevelt was influenced by Keynes, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was ideologically inspired in the opposite direction by the Austrian-born British economist Friedrich von Hayek, a free-market economist who believed that government control of the economy was akin to “totalitarianism.” The monetarist economist and Nobelist Milton Friedman was the oracle of the Chilean economic experiment under the maximum ruler, President Augusto Pinochet. The foregoing are, of course, liberal and conservative examples. Things are more explicit on the Left. For example, despite the cynical western comments about China becoming a capitalist country, the leadership of the country is still guided by the “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era “
In fact, Keynes, regarded in liberal circles as the greatest economist of the 20th Century put the matter of ideas behind policy like this: “Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back.”
It is, therefore, noteworthy that the current economic managers of Nigeria are giving some thoughts to planning as a signpost to policy-making. The other day, those in charge of fiscal and monetary policies appeared before the Senate to brief the lawmakers on the economy. One of them, the minster of budget and economic planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, instructively drew the nation’s attention to the organising principle of economic management in Nigeria. He referred his audience to the national economic objectives enshrined in the Section 16 (2a) in the Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution, According to the provision, the state shall among other things ensure the “the promotion of a planned and balanced economic development.”
So planning is fundamental to economic development of Nigeria.
From the East to the West on the globe governments plan economies to meet their respective national objectives. China couldn’t have achieved its economic progress without planning. This is one riddle that is hardly understood by even the experts in the West when they assess the development of China. The economic managers of China employ the market to serve their defined purpose. They do not surrender their economy to market forces in some sectors. China couldn’t have implemented the most successful poverty reduction programme in economic history by blindly surrendering its social sector and other crucial areas of its economy to market forces. It would be more difficult for a poor country to lift its people out of poverty significantly when universal healthcare coverage and basic education are reduced to commodities.
It goes against the grain of poverty eradication to throw sectors such as health and education to market forces. Yes, market forces are applied in capitalist societies. But the market has its limit especially in a poverty-ridden society: there are sectors in which market forces should not even be contemplated. Instead, of the reckless embrace of the market, policymakers should strive to plan for the common good.
Nigeria should plan its way out of poverty. And that is not a job for market forces.
There are even liberal voices offering a word caution on the matter of jettisoning planning for the market. For example, a South Korean economist, Ha-Joon Chang admonishes in his famous book, “23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism,” as follows: “The question … is not whether to plan or not. It is what appropriate levels and forms of planning are for different activities. The prejudice against planning, while understandable given the failures of communist central planning, makes us misunderstand the true nature of the modern economy in which government and market relationships are all vital and interact in a complex way. Without markets we end up with inefficiencies of the Soviet system. However, thinking that that we can live by the market alone is like believing that we can live by eating only salt, because salt is vital for our survival.” Chang is by no means a socialist. He actually believes in the superiority of the capitalist economy. But he is rational enough to deploy his scholarship to warn against the excesses of the system.
Those who have the responsibility of making economic policies should be suggestible enough to ponder this point.
IF the claims of the Islamic State, ISIS, are to be believed, four of its members on Friday, March 22, 2024, broke into the Crocus City Hall, Moscow. The complex housed a shopping centre and a music hall. The band, Picnic, was scheduled to play in the hall. The quartet, opened fire with automatic weapons on defenceless people, threw an explosive and set the complex ablaze. At least 133 persons perished in the attack with over 100 injured.
Nothing justifies this level of barbarity and bestiality in which throats were slit. How did we get here? There may be divergent views; but, there is no doubt that ISIS is the product of the Cold War.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR, the progenitor of current Russia, was the power in Afghanistan having been invited there by the government on December 24, 1979. The United States, US, thought a way of getting the Soviets out was to mobilise youths in the Arab countries on the basis of religion. It then cast the Afghan government and their Soviet backers as atheists and devils who must be removed. Accordingly, Arab youths were encouraged to travel to neigbouring Pakistan where they received military training and weapons to carry out guerrilla warfare in Afghanistan. They were called the Mujahedeen or Afghan Arabs.
The plan went on so well that the Soviets were forced out on February 15, 1989 and the Afghan government collapsed. But what resulted was anarchy until students, called the Taliban, seized power in September, 1996. The Taliban, led by their teacher, Mullah Mohammed Omar, a pious gentleman had been an Afghan Mujahideen general.
The rest of the Afghan Arabs returned to their countries, only to be hunted by their governments. A wave of them, led by former US points man and darling, Osaman Bin Laden, fled to Afghanistan and called their group, the al Qeada.
After the US and its allies invaded Iraq in 2003 and disbanded the Iraqi military, some of its officers joined al Qeada in Iraq, AQI. The AQI leader was the Jordanian, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who was replaced in 2006 by the Egyptian, Abu Ayyub al-Masri. In 2010, he was replaced by Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi who was to declare the Islamic Emirate.
In 2012, the US Central Intelligence Agency Director, David Petraeus, under the directive of President Barack Obama, trained thousands of AQI members, now renamed Islamic State, IS, to invade Syria whose government was perceived as communist and a stooge of Russia. The Islamic State added Syria to its name and became known as ISIS.
The ‘mistake’ the US made in training and funding the Mujahideen in the 1980s, it repeated in the early 2000s by training and funding ISIS and another terrorist group, the al-Nusra Front. The ISIS was to spread its terrorism across the world, including in Africa where it invaded countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Nigeria. Here, it is known as the Islamic State of West Africa Province, ISWAP.
It was the ISIS faction known as Islamic State-Khorasan Province, ISIS-K, that carried out the attack in Russia. So, due to US myopia, parts of the world are under the ISIS scourge.
Another scourge we are forced to live with is the Israeli State. Its gallant armed forces which scored unparalleled success in world history by pitilessly fighting hospitals, scored another spectacular victory this Easter Monday, April 1, 2024. On that day, a clearly marked three-vehicle aid convoy run by the World Central Kitchen, WCK, was on a “deconflicted zone” dropping off food supplies with the consent of the Israeli military, which also coordinated the convoy’s movements.
On the outskirts of Deir al Balah, along the Al Rashid Street, a street “designated for the passage of humanitarian aid” by Israeli authorities, the military used what the CNN reported as “highly accurate drone fired missiles” to take out the first vehicle. It said the Israeli military in carrying out the strike “had total visibility of the cars, including the WCK logo.” The shocked occupants of the two other vehicles, quickly packed the occupants of the hit vehicle to speed off. Then a second missile was fired at the second vehicle. Later, 1.6 kilometres down the road, a third missile was fired to take out the third aid vehicle. Seven aid workers were killed in the attacks, which despite the so-called apologies of the Israeli government, was a deliberate act. The Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, said the military although conscious it was an aid convoy, decided to launch the attacks “because of suspicion that a terrorist was travelling with the convoy.”
The WCK aid workers are part of the about 200 aid workers killed in five months by the Israeli military. This is apart from the 484 medical staff and 136 journalists so far killed in Gaza along with over 14,500 children.
The obvious intention of Israel is to halt humanitarian aid to the starving Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has largely succeeded, as the WCK has suspended all aid. The United Nations has also suspended its own aid programme for 48 hours. All these fit perfectly into the policy announced by Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, who declared: “We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza. There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything will be closed. We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly.”
This same Monday that Israel attacked the WCK aid convoy in Gaza, it also sent warplanes to fire multiple missiles at the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria. It levelled the consulate and killed seven persons, including two Iranian generals, Mohammed Reza Zahedi and Mohammed Hadi Haji Rahimi.
Israel with the strikes, violated the territorial integrity of Syria and Iran, and may simply be looking for ways to trigger another global conflict in the Middle East. Israel is lawless. It violates international conventions and principles primarily because it is protected and encouraged by the US and its allies which supplies it, amongst others, with arms and funds.
The US itself is Violator-in-Chief of international conventions. It has ensured there are no international sanctions against Israel. It has, like Israel, carried out attacks against Iranian targets, including the January 2022 murder of Iranian General Qassim Suleiman. A US drone strike killed him and some Iraqis while on a visit to Baghdad. It has in the last few weeks threatened a number of countries, including Niger Republic which asked it to remove its military base; and pliant Ghana for daring to pass an anti-gay bill.
One of the challenges to world peace today, is how to tackle or manage the terrorist Islamic State, the Apartheid Israeli State and the bullying United States.
When I first met Allen Onyema many years ago, he did not strike me as a titanic alpha male. The other men present asserted themselves conversationally, but he didn’t say much or blow his own trumpet. He came across as a pleasant, self-effacing, average kinda guy.
He is still pleasant and self-effacing but has turned out to be anything but average. Iconic, super-tough, mega-smart and extraordinarily dynamic would be more appropriate descriptions.
Onyema now owns 38 planes and the only Nigerian airline that flies to Europe. He started Air Peace from scratch in 2013. Its first maiden flight to London took off from Lagos last weekend. And it’s been one helluva rocky journey from domestic to international.
Air Peace covers all six geopolitical zones of Nigeria and provides flights to and from Abuja, Anambra, Akure, Asaba, Benin, Calabar, Enugu, Gombe, Ibadan, Ilorin, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Makurdi, Osubi-Warri, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Sokoto, Uyo, Maiduguri and Yola.
Onyema has also boldly ventured outside his home base and regularly ferries passengers to and from the following regional and non-African airports: Accra, Banjul, Dakar, Douala, Freetown, Monrovia Niamey, Abidjan, Cotonou, Lome, Dubai (temporarily inactive), Johannesburg, Guangzhou-China, Jeddah, Mumbai and Tel-Aviv.
Every step of the way, both here and abroad, he has endured insults and encountered countless obstacles that have been thrown across his path by hostile enemies of progress, envious competitors and ethnic bigots who can’t bear the thought of an Igbo man succeeding.
Onyema has been forced to tolerate dirty high-wire politricks from compatriots and foreigners (including some elements within the Nigerian and UK governments) who are determined to stop him.
But he has somehow miraculously survived and thrived because of sheer grit, nerves of steel and an unshakeable belief in his dream.
And many Nigerians love him for his great achievements.
His stubborn refusal to cave in to sabotage has enabled him to give Nigerians fair prices and humble foreign airlines that were shamelessly overcharging us for decades. British Airways, for example, has just significantly dropped its ticket costs.
Videos of Onyema confidently leading the smiling crew of Air Peace’s first ever London flight into Lagos airport are all over the internet and make my heart swell with pride. And I’ve lapped up glowing stories from my friend, Datta Amachree, who was a passenger.
Datta has raved about the food (delicious Nigerians dishes) and impeccable service. And I am thrilled that Onyema is getting it right from Day One and that the only talk I’ve heard about teething problems relates to the Gatwick Airport authorities’ failure to deliver efficient support at the check-in desks (some suspect that the bungling and faulty equipment were deliberate enemy moves!).
Is also worth noting that Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation, took the trouble to travel on the maiden flight. This, I hope, is proof that Onyema can count on Keyamo to staunchly stand by him.
Onyema has said that ALL Nigerian airlines need all the back-up they can get from the Federal Government and will blossom if doing business in this country becomes less stressful.
In the meantime, Air Peace is planning to acquire more planes and fly to more new destinations this year, including America. And Onyema is planning to build on his philanthropic track record, which includes:
1. Distribution of food items to indigent members of the public during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
2. Donation of a big 550 KVA power generating set to the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital in Anambra State, 2019.
3. Construction of a 15-bedroom guest house at the University of Ibadan in 2020. The building was commissioned in 2022.
4. Donation of relief items running into millions to Internally Displaced Persons in four camps in Yobe State, 2016.
5. Donation of 70 million naira for the building of a Nonviolence and Peace Studies Centre at the Anambra State University in 2018.
6. Several evacuation flights for Nigerians and non-Nigerians during COVID-19 lockdown.
7. The evacuation of 503 Nigerians in South Africa amidst xenophobic attacks in 2019.
8. Evacuation of Nigerians during the Ukraine-Russia crisis in 2022.
9. Evacuation of 277 Nigerians from Egypt amidst the Sudan crisis in 2023.
10. Sponsoring the building of a Wall of Fame for the 1976 Nigerian sports heroes of the Montreal Olympics- CSR ongoing- 2022.
11. Offer of free tickets (six times) annually for the surviving members of the 1980 National Football Team- 2022.
12. Priority Boarding Policy for Nigeria’s military personnel- serving and retired- 2022.
13. Award of N1 million to Nigeria’s gymnastics sensation, Stephanie Onusiriuka, for winning a Gold Medal at the Junior Olympics of the African Club Championship in Pretoria. The 11-year-old also gets free tickets annually to Air Peace destinations for trainings and competitions.
14. Offer of 15% discount to Nigerian students in the UK for our London service.
Onyema’s vision isn’t just about making money. It is also about assisting fellow Nigerians and improving our society.
More grease to Onyema’s elbow!
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Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, Minister for the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), is an extremely lucky man. The fact that he has remained a permanent fixture at various levels on the nation’s political canvas has been very well established. From the nondescript corners of a local government chairman and chief of staff to his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi in Government House, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Wike has consistently hugged the klieglights of provincial and national politics. As President in 2011, Goodluck Jonathan appointed Wike his Minister of State for Education. He subsequently functioned as “Supervising Minister” of the ministry when the substantive Minister resigned to pursue political interests. Wike went on to become governor of the affluent Rivers State, a very important extension of Nigeria’s socioeconomic tripod, Lagos and Kano being the other two. Delta, Ogun, Oyo and Kaduna states could as well be the second concentric ring of the nation’s socioeconomic expansion. Wike has therefore featured in the politics of the Fourth Republic for a quarter of a century now.
Wike did well in the development of salient infrastructures in Rivers State. Nigerians were periodically entertained by live telecast of the commissioning ceremonies of many projects built by his administration. Roads, flyovers, bridges, educational facilities in tertiary institutions topped the list of the attainments of his regime. Professor of law, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN) and immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo beaded Wike with the glowing moniker of “Mr Projects” to underscore the former Rivers State helmsman’s exertions in that sector. Politicians and political figures of all hues queued for opportunities to headline participation in the inauguration of these projects. They were allegedly assured generous honoraria supposedly denominated in foreign currencies from Wike’s vaults courtesy of his oftentimes impulsive and reckless philanthropy.
Nigerian politics has no doubt been kind to Wike. From the little-known Port Harcourt attorney who barely practiced before launching into politics, Wike reportedly has grown a very deep pocket during his years as a most privileged public servant. In the flux and frenzy which attended the conclusion of the presidential primary of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, (PDP) in May 2022, Wike pitched for designation as running mate to Atiku Abubakar. The first Vice President of this republic won the primary, while Wike was runners-up.The imperative for geopolitical balancing impelled the choice of Atiku’s running mate from the South South zone. Sources close to Atiku have suggested that Wike purportedly offered to fund the presidential campaign to the tune of N50 Billion if he was chosen! If this presumption has any validity, it may offer a glimpse into how Wike has prospered in the last 24 years.
Wike covets the high stool. He is an undisputable power monger who has been so soaked in the soothing sauna of high office that he cannot conceive of existence outside of the power ring. From campaign dais ahead of the general elections in 2023 to his countrywide consultations ahead of the PDP presidential primary two years ago, Wike was almost psychotic about the “power of the pen.” In this instance he was not referring to the proverbial mighty pen of the journalist but that of an elected official especially a governor or president. He is obsessed with the the appurtenances of office notably unfettered access to the public till, fawning security details around him, not forgetting the protocol architecture. He loves the official lectern and those oftentimes meaningless live television interviews. Wike doesn’t cut the image of someone who can survive outside of public office.
Wike seems to have transposed his verbal incontinence and rambunctiousness from the provinces to the capitol. He is so all-knowing that he wouldn’t make himself available to meet with the senator representing the FCT, Ireti Kingibe, which he superintends on behalf of the President. But he will spontaneously obey parliamentary summons when seeking consideration and approval of his ministry’s budget. Wike actually fancies himself some kind of “Michael Jackson” who is sought by many but who chooses those to dance for. The Tinubu government had barely settled last year when Wike in November 2023, blew the bugle of the 2027 presidential election. Blabbing as usual during his self-serving television appeared, he restated his commitment to the success of the Tinubu government. To this extent he would subsume his ambition for the presidency in 2027.
Last February at a thanksgiving service for Barinada Mpigi, senator representing Rivers South East, Wike re-echoed his November trailer on 2027. He boasted about his uncommon political wizardry which had coalesced the APC and the PDP into a unified bloc in Rivers State. He assured the 2027 polls will be a walkover under his marshal plan. Wike’s overly narcissistic politics is the variant rejected by the Yoruba adage to wit: a ki je meji ni aba Alade. This translates as “you are at liberty to choose between roasted yam or the boiled one in Alade’s hut. You are not permitted to savour both at once.” Wike’s amphibious political brinkmanship reminds of Janus the double-faced god in Greek mythology. Janus is at once the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality and endings, concurrently!
Not content with his primary responsibility as FCT minister, Wike has been an agent of destabilisation in Rivers State his last duty post. He claims he single-handedly installed Siminalayi Fubara former accountant-general of the state as his successor, yet he wouldn’t allow him a breather to operate. In Wike’s most recent interview on Channels Television, he restated the fact of being Fubara’s benefactor. He said he was correct insisting on a “50/50 sharing” of political offices and freebies between him and Fubara. Wike re-echoes the lines of Louis XIV of France and Navarre” on April 13, 1655, that L’Etat, cest moi, which translates as “I am the state.” He is the de facto owner of Rivers State as it were. The entire gamut of Wike’s political structure while he held sway in Brick House was initially wholly imposed on Fubara. This was before Wike’s recent proposal of a “50/50” template.
It has also been alleged that Wike left instructions for the remittance of a particular percentage of accruals from the internally generated revenue, (IGR) of the state to him in person. He is not satisfied with his implied derivations from his outpost in Abuja which budgetary allocation has for the first time in history reached and surpassed the N1trillion mark! Wike’s voluptuous consumptiveness must be supplemented by spin-offs from Rivers State strong rooms! Wike purportedly exercises monarchical control over the two aircraft belonging to the state. For daring to dissent with some of these stifling terms and conditions, Fubara has been serially threatened with impeachment by the Wike segment of the Rivers State parliament. These and other developments have largely unsettled governance in the state, its pulse hallmarked by unending palpation.
Wike is at daggers-drawn with the political establishment in his state. He has disowned the most eminent first governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili who provided the springboard for his political ascendancy back in 1999. He is at war with elders in his state notably Rotimi Amaechi his predecessor; Celestine Omehia, governor for a few months before Amaechi and Abiye Sekibo, a former transport minister. He is sparring with Austin Opara, a former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives; Lee Maeba, a former senator and Uche Secondus, a former national chairman of the PDP; Tele Ikuru, deputy to Amaechi, among others. Not much of Chibudom Nwuche has been seen around Wike these days, so it is just possible both men have parted ways. Wike has brushed aside key opposition elements in the state notably Tonye Cole who many assumed would have been favoured by Tinubu as the eyes and ears of Rivers State in the federal executive council. This is the kind of polarisation Wike’s belligerence and uncouth manners have bequeathed on Rivers State and its politics.
I decidedly described Wike as an extremely lucky man in the very first sentence of this essay. He is serving in the administration of a President whose capacity for restraint and accommodation can only equate the legendary thick torso of the hippopotamus. I served in the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo and I can speak for the limited elasticity of his patience with any public official whose focus and pursuits ran counter to the core objectives and focus of his administration. Such an official was unceremoniously shown the door. Obasanjo it was who began the culture of requesting public servants keen on elective office to resign and concentrate on their ambitions. He also released senior appointees desirous of coordinating his own reelection in 2003 for instance from his cabinet.
Wike must be put on leash with immediate effect. He is neither an exemplar of the “renewed hope agenda” of the the APC under which he presently serves, nor the PDP’s “let’s make Nigeria work again” theme. Rivers State is too important to the socioeconomic life of Nigeria to be pocketed and unsettled by the malevolent desires of a control freak. Rivers State is the undisputable second place holder to Lagos in IGR aggregation for example. Beyond accruals from the federation account therefore, Rivers State capably augments such earnings with its IGR, in the provision of services and development for its people. Wike’s knee must be forced off the neck of Rivers State so the geopolitical entity can breathe. The FCT is in the grips of security and developmental challenges while Wike is trying to be a “Minister-Governor,” under a President, Commander-in-Chief. Come to think of it, the FCT minister is the face of government in many ways. As minister of the capitol, Wike is the first port of call of many diplomats, respected international figures and eminent statesmen. I will be reluctant to honour a scheduled meeting with Wike if I only just watched his petulant interview on global television.
Tunde Olusunle, PhD is a Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (ANA)
Before The Human Flow was published, Jonathan, one of Europe’s most accomplished foreign affairs columnists and journalists, had talked with excitement about the book. It was his first novel. Like a woman who became pregnant when she thought she was past child-bearing, Jonathan, 82, couldn’t wait to make Mary Wesley look like a child prodigy.
Sam Omatseye’s book, Beating All the Odds: Diaries and Essays on How Tinubu Became President, on the other hand, is part diary, part essay. The diary would have been difficult to script even if a fiction writer had tried to imagine the outcome of events in the months leading up to the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.
The thing about diaries is that you never know. When the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), a legacy member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was compiling A Witness to History, for example, the party could not have imagined that it was writing the final chapters of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) government that had lost its way for good.
This gift of the unknown is also exemplified in The Diary of a Young Girl, the story of Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl caught up in the turmoil of the Second World War, but who in spite of it produced a diary that has become both a record of history and also a work of moral philosophy.
Damned either way
From the first part of Sam’s 349-page book, it’s improbable that he knew exactly which way the wind would blow when he started journaling ahead of the February 2023 presidential election, two months after the APC presidential primary in 2022.
Unlike former military president General Ibrahim Babangida who famously said he didn’t know who would succeed him but he knew those who wouldn’t, President Muhammadu Buhari appeared confused about both. His body language, which became a metaphor for his government’s malaise, suggested that the front-runner, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the subject of Sam’s book, was not his preferred candidate.
Even though Tinubu had picked the APC’s presidential ticket when Sam started his diary and decency required that Buhari would rally the party behind its candidate, the party became Tinubu’s worst enemy. It wasn’t just the usual horse-trading, feather-ruffling, and back-stabbing that come with internal party politics. It was a betrayal of Judas-like proportions, plotted to swallow Tinubu alive.
“I have looked at the whole situation,” Tinubu tells Sam, “I told myself, if I didn’t run, I’m damned. If I ran, they may want to damn me. So, I had to run, anyway.”
Inside Ota lair
Sam’s diary opens with an entry on August 19, 2022, about Tinubu’s pilgrimage to the Ota, the lair of one of Nigeria’s political gods, President Olusegun Obasanjo. Whatever the sacrifice Tinubu offered at the Ota shrine on that visit, his token may have fallen short.
In spite of the photo-ops and pretensions of ethnic solidarity, Obasanjo whom Sam describes as “the old fox of Nigeria’s politics,” later cast his lot with the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, reopening old memories of mutual distrust between Obasanjo and Tinubu.
Three main issues dominate the diary: One, the conspiracies within the APC, right up to the Presidency, to subvert Tinubu’s ambition; two, the division within the PDP, which split the party into at least three irreconcilable factions, the Nyesom Wike faction being the most potent; and three, the bitter pushback by anti-Tinubu groups – masquerading sometimes as the religious police, sometimes as ethnic tin-gods, and yet at other times as the youth avantgarde – all sparing neither mud nor kitchen sink in their desperate attempts to stop him.
“It seems obvious,” Sam says in his February 17, 2023 entry, “that the worries that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu expressed about efforts to scuttle his path to victory have never been better revealed than when the President (Buhari) went on national television and defied the Supreme Court ruling (on the currency crisis) …the president gave ammunition to the other contestants.”
The Atiku Syndrome
The bulk of the entries however centres on the Atiku Syndrome, a condition that makes the sufferer utterly unable to see or seize an opportunity even if beaten on the head with it; and the unrestrained bitterness of “Obidients” towards the Tinubu campaign.
Sam, whose diary makes no pretence of his support for Tinubu, not only highlights the misery that the division between Atiku and Wike’s G-5 brought upon the PDP, he also invokes the worst of Atiku’s politics, and takes no prisoners amongst “Obidients” who wanted his head on a platter, especially after his controversial article, “Obi-tuary”.
Even though the opposition’s divided house set the ducks of Tinubu’s victory on a row, Sam had his anxious moments not a few. At one point, he asks Tinubu if there is a Plan B, because, he says, “I knew Buhari did not want him and the vampires around him did not want him.”
The rest is history, enriched by the second part of his book – a careful curation of a decade’s worth of some of his most engaging weekly columns in The Nation.
Love story
In The Human Flow, Jonathan took a different tack away from – but enriched by – his commentary on foreign affairs published for decades on many platforms across the world. The novel is a love story expressed as a tragedy of our modern existence: the trafficking of West African migrants.
In some ways, the book reminded me of Sina Odugbemi’s Japa,a slim but horrific personal account of the author’s search for greener pastures through the Sahara Desert, complete with tales of his Maghreb nightmares.
Or perhaps Olusegun Adeniyi’s From Frying Pan to Fire, a searing account of the human tragedies experienced in the elusive chase for a better life in Europe by thousands of African migrants who are consumed by the unforgiving desert or trafficked as slaves long before they can achieve their dreams.
The difference, perhaps, is that while Odugbemi’s and Adeniyi’s accounts are based on real-life stories, The Human Flow is a narrative prose fiction of the life of a Tanzanian-based white British journalist, Jon, whose quest to expose the evils of human trafficking led him into an odyssey of a complicated romance, adventure and tragedy.
Complicated affair
The main characters in the book are Jon, and his Tanzanian girlfriend, Agnes. In their pursuit for truth, they fall in love. Their affair is deepened by Agnes’s brief kidnapping and the search for her that led Jon into romantic entanglement with a married Spanish journalist, Ana.
The quest also reveals a web of human traffickers comprising religious leaders, local chiefs, border police, hustlers and deadly gangs. These forces sometimes work for or against each other, but unfailingly prey on the desperation of their victims for that basic human instinct of a better life.
In the end, Jon and Agnes are captured by a deadly guerilla movement in Morocco and murdered in Libya.
In the former world, European migrants to Africa were impeded by geography and tropical diseases but they overcame by guile and gunpowder. In today’s reverse migration, hope and dinghies are the main vessels for African migrants.
Conclusion of the matter
Unfortunately, as we see from The Human Flow the brutal realities confronting African migrants range from human traffickers to deadly gangs and compromised or hostile border police, leaving the migrants with forlorn hopes and broken dreams, if they survive.
There’s a place where Sam’s poetic prose and Jonathan’s enthralling story-telling meet: leadership. The failure of leadership is responsible for the booby traps and chaos thrown on Tinubu’s path in the runup to the 2023 election on Buhari’s watch. It also explains why African youths are risking everything to escape the continent.
Both diary and novel meet at the crossroads of Africa’s biggest problem: leadership.
…as Abati, NANTAP president task government, stakeholders on repositioning the sector
Last Wednesday was this year’s World Theatre Day (WTD), a globally recognised event that celebrates the magic and impact of theatre on society. The WTD is a day set aside to promote theatre in all its forms across the world; to make people aware of the value of theatre in all its forms; and to enable theatre communities to promote their work on a broad scale so that governments and opinion leaders are aware of the value and importance of dance in all its forms and support it. Initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI), it is celebrated annually on March 27 by ITI Centres and the international theatre community. This year, the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) hosted an incredibly enriching and captivating celebration, with various activities, including a plenary session, discourse, and performances, in Lagos, that showcased the remarkable talent and insightful conversations on the theme “Unbundling Nigeria’s Creative Economy: Rebuilding Theatre Culture for a Sustainable Future”, which encapsulates the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Inspiring and thought-provoking plenary
The celebration began with a thought-provoking plenary session held in Blue Pictures Cinema, City Mall, Onikan, Lagos, on the theme “Unbundling Nigeria’s Creative Economy for a Sustainable Future”, which set the tone for the day. Renowned theatre directors and producers, thespians, filmmakers, critics, arts and culture promoters, art afficionadoes, and several other dignitaries, including Dr. Ikenna Nwosu, who was the lead keynote speaker; NANTAP president, Mr. Israel Eboh fta; Managing Director, Leadway Assurance Co. Ltd. Gbenga Lesi; Ngozi Obigwe-Kunuji; Mr. Abodunrin Roberts; award winning filmmaker and writer, Femi Odugbemi; publisher, journalist, art and culture advocate, and the Secretary General of Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), Toyin Akinosho; veteran actress, Joke Silva; Interim Chairman of Lagos State Chapter of NANTAP, DT Steph Ogundele; the Group Managing Director of Royal Roots and former president of NANTAP, Greg Odutayo; former president of NANTAP, Peter Tade Adekunle; celebrated theatre director and playwright, Makinde Adeniran; celebrated actor, Sam Uche Anyamele, who was the compere, and other key stakeholders were in attendance. It was indeed, a dynamic discourse on the challenges and future of live theatre in Nigeria. Through their animated discussions, they shed light on the need for innovation, collaboration, capacity building and understanding the workings of “the components that make the creative economy one of the largest growing global economies.” Ms. Obigwe-Kunuji and Mr. Roberts presented papers on the theme. The engaging and thought-provoking plenary session provided a platform for profound insights. It was truly inspiring to witness the collective wisdom and passion of these accomplished individuals, who shared their personal experiences and offered valuable perspectives to the issues. In his address, NANTAP, Israel Eboh, urged practitioners to make theatre a creative business and stop what he called “creative exhibitionism”. He underscored the need for practitioners to take part in the creative economy, stressing that, “we must reinvent ourselves and be willing to collaborate. We must understand the business of risk sharing and mitigation. “We must be engaged in constant capacity building and understanding the workings of the many components that make the creative economy one of the largest growing global economies.” Reminiscing on the early days when NANTAP started, Joke Silva noted that it has withstood the test of time. According to her, “it has stayed as the motherboard. I pray it continues to be the motherboard and as the nature of a mother, to bring everybody together. And to be one of the organisations the government can speak to.” Speaking on the theme of the celebration, she noted, “Creative economy means a lot of structures. And when we talk of creative economy, because of the kind of person I am, I want to speak through the area I am in: theatre and film.” Highlight of the event also included a performance by Yinka Davies. Significantly, Mr. Anyamele ensured that there was no dull moment as he compered the event with characteristic finesse.
Abati tackles govt
From Blue Pictures at Onikan, the celebration continued at the historic and vibrant Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos, where the Lagos State Chapter of NANTAP, feted guests and practitioners to another intellectual discourse on the theme “Unbundling Nigeria’s Creative Economy: Rebuilding Theatre Culture for a Sustainable Future”, spiced with thrilling theatrical performances. At the event, organised by the Lagos Chapter of NANTAP, renowned journalist and television anchor and newspaper columnist, Dr. Reuben Abati, expressed concerns over the conditions of the National Theatre and other art and culture centres in Nigeria. He lamented the loss of the National Theatre’s former glory, despite government efforts to renovate and restore it, noting that, “some parts of the theatre have been turned to beer parlor. The trees are no longer there. What is happening at the national theatre, is that transformation?” Drawing from his own experience in the theatre community, Dr. Abati emphasised the importance of preserving cultural heritage. He noted that the right to cultural identity is enshrined in the constitution and called for a centralised approach to support the arts, culture, and creative industries. Abati also noted that the theme of this year’s World Theatre Day, “Unbundling Nigeria’s Creative Economy for A Sustainable Future,” underscored the need for government support in creating a sustainable economy for artists. He urged the government to adopt a more positive attitude towards the sector to achieve this goal saying, “The right to cultural identity is a legitimate constitutional right and theatre is an important part of the heritage that we all share. That is why we have National Galleries, National Museums, and monuments.” The event brought together notable thespians, members of NANTAP and other stakeholders in the arts and culture sector. Attendees enjoyed The World Theatre Day event served as a platform for reflection and celebration of Nigeria’s rich theatrical tradition. The event was not all about speeches, as there rich theatrical performances including music, dance, and the stage presentation of ‘Yoruba Romance’, a play written by Tyrone Terrence and directed by Kenneth Uphopho fta. The three-cast play humorously addressed the challenges of inter-tribal marriage, celebrated the uniqueness of each Nigerian tribe, and explored the challenges of singlehood. As with the plenary at Blue Pictures Cinema, City Mall, Onikan, Mr. Anyamele, who was also the compere at Freedom Park, ensured that there was no dull moment.
Monday, the 2nd of April was marked globally as World Autism Awareness Day. Despite the millions of families who grapple with the challenge in our country, the day passed us by without much awareness. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that about one in 88 Nigerian children is on the autism spectrum. That means we have more than two million autistic children in the country; children who have been left without a future. I know many families who have had to relocate abroad to seek treatment and better living condition for their autistic children and countless others who live a miserable existence in Nigeria because they are helpless.
Unfortunately, the problem is far deeper. As I have argued repeatedly on this page, the tragedy of Nigeria is not in government failure but rather in the failure of society. The former is merely a consequence of the latter. And to that extent, until there is an attitudinal change at the level of society, we are not likely to see much improvement in the way we are governed. Today, we live in a country where to have any form of health challenge (be it mental or physical) is to be criminalized and dehumanized, no matter your status. Increasingly, we are becoming a jungle where only the ‘fittest’ survive, without consideration or compassion for the weak and vulnerable. That was what Debola Daniel experienced last week. But we know about his plight only because of who he is. Debola is son of Otunba Gbenga Daniel, a former Governor of Ogun State who is currently a Senator. But because of his physical disability, he suffered humiliation at an eatery where he was known.
For those who may have missed the drama, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) last Thursday ordered the closure of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos. This was after Debola narrated (on his social media page) how he was denied entry due to his use of a wheelchair. “Being disabled often rolls over my spirit, leaving behind a trail of shattered dignity and forgotten humanity. Nowhere more so than in Nigeria,” Debola lamented, while drawing attention to the prevalence and broader implications of these discriminatory practices in our country.
What makes the case compelling, as Professor Ebenezer Obadare wrote in his American Council on Foreign Relations blog on Monday, is that even for a status-obsessed society like ours, disability still trumps privilege. Because the KFC staff who dealt with Debola knew who he ‘IS’! Yet, they had the temerity to treat him the way they did, which shows the level of stigma attached to living with disabilities in Nigeria.
Let’s take a few lines from Debola’s account of what transpired: “I arrived at the airport as normal for my Virgin Atlantic flight to London. I’m a frequent flyer and I’m extremely familiar with all due processes at Murtala Muhammed Airport. Years ago, after all security and immigration formalities have been completed, I would normally go to the OASIS lounge to wait for my flight. For the past three years, the lift to the lounge has been out of service so I’ve often found solace in other establishments, sometimes lounges, sometimes restaurants. Today I chose KFC – what a colossal mistake. I entered the restaurant with four other travel companions consisting of my brothers and wife. The security personnel at KFC, Samuel, greeted me by name as I’ve been there multiple times. Just as we were about to sit, the lady at the till – who was apparently the manager – called out loudly, ‘NO WHEELCHAIRS ALLOWED’. Our group paused in confusion, before my brother, Taiwo, asked what she meant. She refused to listen to reason and stood her ground that at @kfcnigeria Murtala Muhammed branch, wheelchairs and wheelchair users of all shapes and sizes were not permitted in the premises and we should leave immediately.”
Debola then went on to narrate the various interventions by people around him with the KFC management that failed to yield any positive result before he concluded on a philosophical note: “It harkens back to dark periods in recent history. ’No wheelchairs allowed’; ‘No coloureds allowed’; ‘No blacks allowed’…Today I felt less than human, like a guard dog not allowed into the house. Lonely and isolated…There are approximately 27 million Nigerians living with some form of disability. That’s over 13% of the country…”
I understand that the KFC management has apologised to Debola as demanded by FAAN but that does not mitigate the gravity of what happened. Or that it will not happen again elsewhere. Incidentally, in January last year, Debola had expressed a similar concern based on another discriminatory experience. “To be a disabled Nigerian is a lonely, scary, and isolated place. I have often struggled to articulate my Nigerian experience in a way people could understand,” Debola wrote while sharing the story of a concert he could not attend at the time. “There’s never a place for you. Not in the infrastructure, not in social settings and increasingly not in society.”
What happened to Debola was not an isolated incident. It reflects the attitude of our society towards the physically challenged. In every area of life, people with one disability or another are discriminated against and deprived of their rights. For instance, most hospitals, schools, places of worship etc. are not wheel-chair accessible across the country. In their 29 September 2020 paper, ‘Social inclusion of persons with disabilities in Nigeria: Challenges and opportunities’, two World Bank staff, Rosa Martinez and Valarakshmi Vemuru, argued that when the attitudes of a community are negative towards a vulnerable group, they will struggle much more to realize their potential. “Persons with disabilities in Nigeria persistently face stigma, discrimination, and barriers to accessing basic social services and economic opportunities,” they wrote. Cosmos Okoli, an enterprising man who has proved that there is ability in disability once buttressed the same point: “We have had cases where some principals and head teachers refused admission to candidates not on the basis of incompetence but for their disabilities.”
When on 23 January 2019 President Muhammadu Buhari assented the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, there was excitement among stakeholders. But, as we have seen over the years, the challenge is more about the attitude of Nigerians to the plights of this vulnerable group. It has little to do with the law. Even during the military era, we had the ‘Nigerians with Disability’ military decree of 1993 which provides “a clear and comprehensive legal protection and security for Nigerians with disability as well as establish standard for enforcement of their rights and privileges.” That offered no protection to them and decades later, even under a democratic dispensation, nothing has changed. That the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), FAAN and other agencies are responding after Debola recounted his experience at KFC is not because they care but rather because of his status.
Remarkably, one of the early reports released by Agora Policy, an Abuja-based think-tank spearheaded by the former Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Executive Secretary, Waziri Adio, was on ‘How to Deepen Social and Political Inclusion in Nigeria.’ I was privileged to participate in some of the validation workshops along with Dr. Ejiro Otive-Igbuzor, Professor Abubakar Muazu, Mr. Martins Abantlehe, Ms. Chioma Agwuegbu, Hajia Saudatu Mahdi and Mr. Samson Itodo. The aspect on the plights of People with Disabilities (PWDs) in Nigeria is quite revealing. “Many cultures and religions perceive disability as a curse or repercussion for wrongdoing. This explains why in many communities, spiritual solutions are sought, a person with disability is isolated, sometimes hidden by their families out of ‘shame’’, the report stated. “Many PWDs, through their socialisation, learn to self-stigmatise and isolate for fear of negative reactions and exclusion by their community members. Children with disabilities are body shamed by their peers, girls and women with disabilities are sexually violated and their complaints, when made, are often dismissed by law enforcement agents.”
The tragedy is that we have a considerable population of PWDs in Nigeria. The World Bank reported that in 2018, about 29 million of the estimated population of 195 million Nigerians were living with a disability. “Data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey reveal that an estimated 7 percent of household members above the age of five (as well as 9 percent of those 60 or older) have some level of difficulty in at least one functional domain, seeing, hearing, communication, cognition, walking, or self-care; and 1 percent either have a lot of difficulty or cannot function at all in at least one domain. These estimated rates, while significant, are probably even higher because current available data likely underestimate the prevalence,” the World Bank stated before the damning conclusion: “Findings indicate that persons with disabilities lack access to basic services and that attitudinal barriers represent a major impediment to their socioeconomic inclusion. Inclusive policies are either non-existent, weak, or inadequately implemented.”
As I stated earlier, whether it is physical or mental, there is little or no protection for people with such challenges in our country. Incidentally, until President Buhari signed the National Mental Health Act, 2021, legislation in place for dealing with mental health was the Lunacy Act of 1958 which, even as the title suggests, is about stigmatisation. That explains why across the country, you still find people with mental health chained and paraded the streets like animals. Clearly, Nigeria is not a compassionate society. I shudder to imagine what would have happened if the late Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest scientific thinkers of our generation, had been born a Nigerian!
Deliberately, I shared the draft of this column with a close friend who has a special needs child. This was her response: “As you know, my daughter is neuro divergent. It has been a battle to get her educated in Nigeria. If I ever give up on this country it would be because I want to give her the fighting chance that Nigeria refuses to give her. Healthcare for her is literally costing me my life savings and the way this society treats us makes it so difficult to create normalcy for her outside the home. This is why many parents in Nigeria, including affluent parents, prefer to hide their challenged children at home and the less affluent ones abandon them to the streets when they are young adults. There is nowhere really for them to go because the society does little to try and accommodate our children.”
While we applaud Debola Daniel for speaking up, what happened to him is not unique. It is what millions of people with similar challenges face every day in our country. As my friend’s example illustrates, raising children who are neuro divergent is a difficult task in Nigeria. It is the same with those with physical challenges, as Debola Daniel’s experience also demonstrates. But it is beyond what government alone can resolve. What we must begin to deal with includes the exclusion, discrimination, isolation, lack of empathy and frankly, the absence of thought in all facets of our society for the weak and vulnerable among us.
Notes from Asaba
With sundry criminal cartels operating across the country almost with impunity, the task of maintaining internal security, peace and order, is now being carried out by the military. Yet, fighting and defeating security threats entails more than an application of force. Apparently mindful of this, the Nigerian Army yesterday held a stakeholders’ session with the media in Asaba, Delta State capital. With the theme ‘Imperatives of military-media partnership for the attainment of national security’, I was one of the discussants of the paper presented by Professor Godwin Oboh of Benson Idahosa University. He spoke to several issues, including how the military role has been expanded in our country to include resolving social conflicts and the collateral damage arising therefrom. The conversation that followed, brilliantly moderated by ARISE Television State House correspondent, Omoruan Adesuwa, was as exciting as the previous session after the paper by former Commandant, Nigerian Army Engineers, Major General Olusegun Adeleke.
That the Voice of Nigeria (VON) Director General, Jibrin Baba Ndace, was guest of honour at the forum is an indication that the army understands the essence of genuine partnership. Ndace, a former spokesman to the governor of Niger State between 2015 and 2019, was for several years a respected defence correspondent. That reflected in his brief presentation at the session attended by many top military personnel and media practitioners. The security challenges that Nigeria faces are complex and multifaceted and to effectively address them, according to Ndace, there is need for a collaboration between the military and the media.
In his opening remark, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Taoreed Lagbaja (who was represented by the General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, Major General Jamal Abdusalam) revealed what most people have always suspected. “The need to restore law and order in aid of civil authorities has necessitated the deployment of the military especially troops of the Nigerian Army in all states across Nigeria to conduct internal security operations,” Lagbaja admitted. “However, the attainment of national security requires more than just the deployment of troops and the acquisition of advanced weaponry; it entails the trust and cooperation of the citizens and media.”
Whether we want to admit it or not, it is the failure of the police that accounts for why the military that should ordinarily channel its energy and resources towards protecting our territorial integrity as a nation has had to deploy troops in all the 36 states of our country today. While I am aware that most ordinary Nigerians have more faith in our soldiers whenever they are in situations of distress, there is also a case of familiarity breeding contempt. That, I guess, accounts for some of the ambush killings that have been witnessed in recent times. It is therefore time to strengthen the police so that the military can be restricted to their constitutional responsibilities in a democracy.