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Security is too important to be left in the hands of security agencies and their political principals alone. That much is clear to every Nigerian now. Most of us are mere sitting ducks, unsure of whether we shall someday fall victim to the kidnapping gale terrorising the country from the desert to the coast.
When Muhammed Yusuf founded Boko Haram in 2002, the Nigerian government arrogantly thought that a mere police action would be adequate to stamp out the extremists and consign their madness to the trash bin of history. Two decades later, the fire of insecurity ignited by the terrorists has birthed new franchises across the length and breadth of Nigeria.
Collective War
The choice before Nigerians and their government is simple: We either join hands together to collectively fight the war against the various manifestations of insecurity or continue acting in our various tribal silos and perish together. Self preservation is the first law of nature. We must, therefore, cast aside the luxury of political partisanship and assist the authorities with ideas on how to defeat our collective foe.
In my view, there is no difference between Boko Haram terrorists and their cousins-in-crime, euphemistically called kidnappers or bandits. Anyone who unjustifiably takes the life of another person does not deserve to live. If we had applied that simple rule to the problem instead of speaking from both sides of the mouth and lionising the criminals, perhaps we wouldn’t have been supplicating on our knees today.
Our lethargy has emboldened the criminals to the extent that each gang now digs deep into its book of horrors to enact new ways of inflicting physical and psychological pain. Take the gut-wrenching case of Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, a 400-level student of Biological Sciences at Ahmadu Bello University, who was kidnapped with her father and five sisters. The criminals released her father to go and arrange the payment of the ransom of N60 million demanded. While the man was still running from pillar to post in search of donors or benefactors, the bandits became impatient and killed Nabeeha with a promise to continue executing the other sisters one by one if the ransom was not promptly paid. She has since been buried.
The family and well wishers took to social media to try and raise the ransom. As usual, the traditional official statements and assurances by security agencies rent the air. The police are always “on top of the situation” while other security agencies always claim to be “on the trail of the fleeing criminals”.
If we have any respect for ourselves at all, it is about time we stopped our habitual perambulation. Enough of those heartfelt nonsenses we parrot instead of taking concrete action to ensure that parents won’t have to be burying their children again. During the Buhari years, a circus was always made of every tragedy— “Mr. President has held a closed door meeting with service chiefs” — as if the holding of the meeting was in itself a great achievement.
No Ransom
The Minister of Defence, Alhaji Abubakar Badaru, recently frowned at ransom payment. “We all know there’s an existing law against payment of ransom”, he said. “So, it is very sad for people to go over the internet and radio asking for donations to pay ransom. This will only worsen the situation; it will not help. If we stop, over time the kidnapping will not be profitable and they will stop. It is not easy though but that is the law,” he said.
The minister’s statement was not well received by the grieving public. And that is putting it politely.
Let’s do things differently henceforth. As I have stated above, security is not an exclusively esoteric matter on which ‘bloody civilians’ are not allowed to comment. If I was the president of Nigeria, I would make use of as many patriots in the creative industry as possible. We first have to out-think the bandits before we can rout them. Agatha Christie, the English crime novelist, short-story writer and playwright, was never a ‘security expert’; but I wager she would have given any security chief a run for his money in scenario planning. If the government opens the space, they’d be surprised at how resourceful some ‘non-experts’ currently being overlooked could be.
Many knowledgeable people who have spoken out have wondered how kidnappers always manage to collect ransom without being detected by the police. In other cases where money is wired to the kidnapper’s bank account, why are the authorities still unable to lay ambush for the criminals or trace the owners of such accounts? It doesn’t take much thinking to come to the conclusion that there is collusion in some of the cases. It is not impossible that the terrorists share part of their loot with officers of the law.
In the dying days of the Buhari administration, the United Arab Emirate (UAE) handed over a list of over 200 sponsors of terrorism to the Nigerian government. That list is still being kept under wraps because, as some officials explained, investigations are still ongoing. President Tinubu has to read the riot act to those in custody of that list so that they can be made to face the law.
Also, those romancing terrorism under the guise of religion have to be told in unmistakable terms that the state can no longer tolerate their duplicity.
Mercenaries
Extreme diseases deserve extreme treatment. We must not close our minds to the plan rolled out during the Jonathan presidency to engage some foreign entities to assist in winning the anti-terror war. The truth is that there are several mercenary groups now called private military companies (PMCs) which play an ever-increasing role in armed conflicts. They are not so anonymous anymore. And some are bigger than the combined armed forces of many countries.
Mercenaries are hired professional soldiers who fight for any state or nation without regard to political interests or issues. Employment of mercenaries could be politically dangerous as well as expensive. Nevertheless, the outsourcing of a number of basic functions which traditionally were carried out by national armies or police forces— known as the top-down privatisation— has blurred the borderlines between the public services of the State and the private commercial sector creating a dangerous “grey zone”.
PMC Wagner Group is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin. Evidence suggests that Wagner has been used as a proxy by the Russian government, allowing it to have plausible deniability for military operations abroad, and hiding the true casualties of Russia’s foreign interventions.
Whether acting individually, or in the employ of contemporary multi-purpose security companies, the mercenary is generally present as a violator of human rights. On occasion he acts as a professional agent in terrorist operations; he takes part in illicit trafficking; he commits acts of sabotage, among others. But, most times, he gets the job done because as far as he’s concerned, he’s executing a contract. In our peculiar situation, mercenary operations are best supervised by the office of the National Security Adviser while policing is democratised to include state police and even local government police services.
Shields
In Iraq, the number of “private contractors” fulfilling a number of military and quasi-military tasks varies according to different sources and the manner they are counted, ranging between 20,000 and 100,000 persons working for PMSCs. The US uses contractors in order to shield its normal forces from the atrocities which inevitably attend such assignments.
So, President Tinubu can take his hard decision now. The goal is clear: rid our land of terrorists, bandits, kidnappers or other violent criminal elements by whatever name called. Anyone who routinely commoditises Nigerian lives and makes money from hostage taking or cold-blooded murder does not deserve to live.
The National Judicial Council (NJC) is the body set-up by law to among other things discipline erring Nigerian judges. This was probably to prevent different agencies from harassing judges thereby boosting judicial autonomy. One would therefore have expected that the body would be up and doing in ensuring sanity in the Nigerian judiciary thereby giving no room for outsiders to pry into its internal matters. But this has not been so. Instead, the NJC has for long shown that it is incapable of effectively performing the function. Many judges who have openly misbehaved to the chagrin of other sectors of the Nigerian society, often got off the hook. Some Nigerians actually believe that the NJC has acted more as a tool for covering-up erring judges on the basis of esprit de corps.
Bearing in mind that there are many honest judges in Nigeria, it would be unfair to categorize our entire judiciary as corrupt. But we can no longer say there are only a few bad eggs in the system. Too many of our judges have over the years shown so much love for the axiomatic primitive acquisition of wealth – an observation that is not just an open secret but a global matter. Former US secretary of state, Hilary Clinton while submitting the 2011 Department of State’s Country report stated that “Nigerian judges frequently failed to appear for trials, often because they were pursuing other sources of income.” Nobody including those who often describe the US as a busybody ever controverted the finding. So, it is not just a case of politicians tempting judges, rather it is a case of some judges eagerly positioning themselves to be tempted. It is therefore ridiculous to waste time reporting erring judges to a sleeping NJC instead of simply treating them as parties to a crime.
Times without number, as one poet once described excessive frequency, the NJC has announced its decision to bar judges from conflicting exparte orders by courts especially those of coordinate jurisdiction. The judges neither listened nor heard the admonitions because that infraction is reportedly the easiest source of getting money from politicians. The NJC cannot claim to be unaware that it has not been effective in handling reckless judges who erudite jurist and retired justice of the supreme court, Samson Uwaifo see as no more judges but essentially thieves. At his valedictory well over a decade ago, Uwaifo warned that “a corrupt judge, is more harmful to the society than a man who runs amok with a dagger in a crowded street.”
Nigeria ought not to have ignored Uwaifo’s philosophy because the jurist also explained why a corrupt judge could be a greater danger to society. According to the jurist, whereas “the man with the dagger can be restrained physically, a corrupt judge deliberately destroys the foundation of society” while no one sees the need to restrain a judge who is not holding any visible weapon. What such judges usually do is to deliberately subvert the will of the electorate through manipulation as some appeal court judges did recently while handling election cases in states such as Kano and Plateau. Following Uwaifo, those are no longer judges that should face the infantile gloves of the NJC. A proper investigation should be undertaken by the anti-corruption agencies for those found culpable to be immediately and properly penalized.
In other words, the nation has since moved beyond the convoluted processes and procedures deliberately elongated to offer cover to colleagues. Instructive facts were given by the Supreme Court itself. To start with, the apex court has retrieved the 165,000 ballots which were earlier stolen from one candidate so that another can be declared winner. Even if the ballots were not duly stamped as required by law why would innocent voters be sanctioned? In another case, it has also been established that the political party that was sanctioned for disobeying court order actually obeyed the order asking it to redo its primary election. Third, the court of appeal has been found to be acting as a member of one political party by getting involved in its internal affairs in breach of a Supreme Court decision barring courts from getting involved in the internal affairs of any political party.
Indeed, the story has now gone beyond the problems experienced by a few states on account of judicial indiscretion. Right now, there is already evidence of collateral damage as epitomized by happenings in Plateau state. Following the judgment of the apex court which described as perverse the attempt to seize 16 PDP seats and handover to APC, the speaker of the state house of assembly, Gabriel Dewan, has declared that he would not grant recognition for 16 APC candidates, thereby creating a stalemate in the state. Does Dewan have a right to disobey the court of appeal which decided that the APC is the winner of the seats? Can any right thinking lawmaker especially a presiding officer happily obey a judgment described as perverse by the apex court?
Different people have reacted differently to the subject. There are conservative analysts who believe that it was improper for the apex court to have pronounced on the matter because it is trite that a court lacks the vires to determine a matter that is not before it. The argument is that since the governorship cases of Kano, Plateau and Zamfara states were by regulation expected to end at the level of the court of appeal, the apex court has no business commenting on them. Another group is happy that the apex court has exposed the materialism at the court of appeal adding that what matters is that having now known the truth we should all condemn the appeal court for its travesty. In fact, there has been a clap for the flogging of the appeal court justices with horsewhip recently nicknamed judicial koboko
Unfortunately, the flogging is too little for the amount of damage done. Apart from the stalemate at the Plateau state house of assembly, there are impostors in the national assembly elected not by the Plateau people but by the judiciary. This partly puts us at a junction where judges should be made to account for their misdeeds. The appeal court deliberately caused the problem and neither those wrongly favoured by the perverse judgment nor the judges who deliberately did it should be spared. Two suggestions are up here. The first is to investigate what informed the wrong decision and penalize all those found wanting. The second which is more complicated is to use the position of the supreme court to correct the mistake. Should we apply the famous doctrine of necessity which we nebulously fall back to, all the time even when what to do is clearly documented?
In the meantime, there is need for a better approach to democracy and elections in Nigeria. In the first place, rather than castigate dissatisfied losers, it makes a lot of sense to appreciate that our elections are never free and fair. Consequently, those who wear long faces for so long are not the problem. The arrest of 38 women protesters in Nasarawa arrested a few days ago for protesting the decisions concerning the governorship elections are assumed to be criminals. Do we know what they know? Is it not better to make our electoral body defend its actions and conclusions? Why did INEC conveniently forget to stamp thousands of ballot papers in one state? Why was our pampered electoral body that is known for its partisanship neither questioned nor any of its relevant officials subjected to some judicial koboko whips?
There is no better time than now to deal decisively with persons and bodies making it hard for Nigeria to attain free and elections. In particular, the judiciary that is now known to be the most dangerous factor should not be spared. This is more so when the apex court we are relying on today to chastise lower courts can at certain times deliver inexplicable judgments. As one of their late members, Justice Chima Nweze predicted in 2020, the decision of the apex court to allocate more votes than voters to a particular candidate so as to declare him winner is still haunting the court till today. It is therefore time for our judges to be accountable.
Two weeks ago, this column in a piece entitled “Neither at War Nor in Peace” lamented that Nigeria has entered a new normal. We are neither a nation at peace or in a declared war. Instead, we are perennially in a state of psychological and physical siege. Even in that state, our government continues to live in perennial denial, behaving as if they are presiding over a normal democratic state. That hybrid status puts us in a unique category among troubled nations of the world.
Side by side with a count of Nigerians who have recently been killed, abducted, kidnapped or just missing, we have entered a new category of a nation with more hostages than those at war. When Hamas militants and hotheads attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, they took a little less than 250 hostages. That led Israel to the ongoing Israel-Hama war whose end we do not yet know. Today in Nigeria, kidnappers and bandits are holding any number of Nigerians as hostages as we speak. No one, not even the police, knows exactly Nigeria’s total hostage population, where exactly they are being held, who is holding them and for what reasons beyond ransom. We have hostages of bandits and terrorists dating back to the president Jonathan days and stretching to the present. When Buhari handed over to Presdient Tinubu, I am not so sure he handed over the precise number of hostages held by different criminal groups allover the country!
Those Nigerians kidnapped or abducted are hostages of an adversary without a face and without a name. Worse still, those that are killed by these criminals are victims of a nameless evil. An enemy without a clear identity has entered the fray of Nigerian’s insecurity. They invade, fiercely assault, collect hostages, execute innocent people in cold blood and disappear into thin air. They then make contact with the families of their hostages to demand huge sums as ransom. The negotiations are mostly between the affected families and the bandits, hoodlums and terrorists all wearing interchangeable badges. The final onus is on government to take over from there. But the government seems to be in quandary. It does not know exactly the identity and character of whom to negotiate with in these many instances of serial and viral kidnapping. With each new instance of kidnapping or abduction, the faceless enemy shows a different colour. Government is comfortable in the thinking that it is dealing with crime control. I am not so sure.
One question that has not been addressed is whether we are dealing with random bands of criminals and killers or a concerted force with a larger political purpose. The instances of kidnapping and abductions are many and widespread. They seem to wear differential regional badges. The ones in the North East tend to be inspired by ISWAP, Boko Haram and retail versions of Sahelian jihadism. In the North-west, they tend to be sundry opportunistic criminals originally bred by residues of geo -ethnic and religious animosities but now fired by poverty and economic desperation. Further south, in the mid section of the nation, the crisis of killings and kidnappings takes on a more sectarian and occupational character. Angry migrant herders, mostly Moslem, against equally angry impoverished settlers farmers who are presumably Christian.
In the South-east, what began as separatist anger has blossomed into an enterprise of criminality powered and controlled by political and business moguls. In the cities of the South-eest and Lagos, urban criminal gangs and cults carry out opportunistic attacks to kidnap for quick cash or in quest for victims for the more gruesome harvest of body parts to fuel a thriving trade in rituals for money.
This national canvas of internal warfare has been with us for the better part of the last eight years. We have just entered a new phase in both the magnitude and geographical location of kidnapping and abductions. In the past one month, many incidents have occurred in and around the Abuja area. Families have been thrown into tragic mourning and anxiety as bandits have routinely abducted many members of families and executed some without even waiting for the requested ransom. In the Abuja kidnappings, the quantum of ransom sought has tended to be so huge as to befit the reputation of the capital city as the home of huge free cash.
In one celebrated instance, a friend of an affected family said to be a minister in the immediate past Buhari government disclosed that he had to come up with a princely N50 million to free remaining members of a family even after the innocent girl, Nabeeha, was executed by her captors. As families and concerned citizens try to grapple with existing cases, the criminals are at work with new exploits, new abductions and more dastardly killings especially in the Abuja area.
While the ring of kidnappings closes more on Abuja, the time has come to ask whether there is a larger political purpose to the latest onslaught of bandits and criminals on Abuja. Yes, Abuja is attractive to all manner of criminal enterprises. Some see it as the centre of a criminal tradition of government in which there is a disproportionate relationship between work and reward. Politicians and their hangers on enter Abuja literally as destitutes only to emerge a few months down the road as mega billionaires. Some who came to Abuja by night bus have been known to fly home a few months later in their personal private jets. Such gold rush reputation can attract mega criminals who convert vulnerable innocent people into merchandise and hostages of greed in order to get a share of the city of gold. Beyond the economic ecosystem of Abuja, there remains a perennial political question mark about the city in the geo ethnic and sectarian calculus of those interested in Nigeria’s future. To this extent, I want to insist that the latest spate of kidnappings, abductions and killings in and around Abuja constitute a clear and urgent to Nigerian politicians.
At the highpoint of the fundamentalist assault on Nigeria, Abuja was the scene of some of the most severe terrorist attacks. The United Nations offices, the Police Headquarters, churches in neighbouring areas, the facilities of THISDAY Newspapers and sundry other places were hit by a gale of terrorist bombings. The terrorists took direct responsibility for the attacks. Therefore, the interest of forces seeking to destabilize Nigeria through attacks on Abuja has never been hidden.
In the later parts of the Buhari administration, criminals and armed zealots became intensely interested in Abuja. Followers of then imprisoned Shiite leader, El Zakzakky, carried their war for his freedom into Abuja city center. They engaged security forces in days of sporadic episodes of gunfire right in the centre of Abuja. Further down the line, a horde of ISWAP and Boko Haram foot soldiers invaded the precincts of an Abuja maximum security correctional facility and freed nearly every inmate including numerous dangerous terrorists. Still further the road of tragedy, fanatic terrorists mounted an assault against the centre of power, engaging soldiers of the presidential Guards Brigade in a fire fight that led to the death of a number of officers. At some point, schools and major institutions in the outskirts of the city had to be shut or evacuated for fear of terrorist invasion. So, Abuja has been a place of interest to a competing avalanche of criminals and armed factions with diverse interests and motives.
But for the rest of us, the city is our national capital. It is the seat of the federal government. It is home to all major diplomatic missions in the country. In response to the repeated instances of security threats on Abuja, nearly every major diplomatic mission in Abuja has issued frightening travel advisories warning their citizens against unnecessary travels to nearly all parts of the country. In the latest one in later 2023, the United Nations warmed all its staff in Nigeria to avoid nearly every state in Nigeria for fear of being kidnapped or abducted. The Nigerian government itself has repeatedly tacitly admitted the state of universal siege around the country by agreeing that combined military and police security operations are ongoing in all of our 36 states.
Ironically, until the last one week, the new Tinubu government had feigned indifference to the threat of massive insecurity in and around Abuja. Understandably, it is hard to pay attention to personal security when you are surrounded by armed goons of state security and elite wings of the armed forces. So, both the presidency and the FCT administration had feigned indifference until a week ago. While the spate of kidnappings, abductions and killings raged, Mr. Nyesom Wike, Federal Minister of the FCT, was to be found more in Port Harcourt, capital of his home state of Rivers where he is waging an endless war of political attrition against the state governor, Mr. Fubara, his now rebel surrogate. At last, both Mr. Wike and his boss the President have finally thought it necessary to summon meetings with security chiefs on the bad situation in Abuja. If tough talking and grand standing could end insecurity, we probably would not have any more kidnappers and bandits left in Nigeria by now.
There is now an urgent need to interrogate the existing approach and machinery of internal security in the country. The existing system has not worked. Nothing indicates that Mr. Tinubu’s approach to the problem is in any way different from that of his predecessor. The popular myth was that Mr. Buhari as a former soldier with combat experience would end insecurity as he himself publicly undertook to do. But instead, after his eight years in office, the insecurity around Nigeria has graduated into a nightmare emergency situation. There is therefore little hope that Mr. Tinubu who literally does not know the difference between a rifle and a pistol will fare any better.
He has appointed new service chiefs and decorated them with new ranks and many shiny medals. He has appointed a familiar ex -police man as NSA. But the problem is not that of appointments and fancy titles. It is one of resources and strategy. The old strategy of throwing money and armed men in Hilux vans allover the place has not quite worked.
The government has recently bought a few helicopters from Turkey and the United States in addition to a consignment of Super Tucano jets from the United States. Many experts argue however that you do not wage a low intensity internal security war among your own citizens with the instruments of an all out war as if you were out to conquer an external adversary. Unintended collateral casualties and human rights violations are bound to result, thereby deepening the internal bitterness among the populace and making resolution harder. We already have had quite a few of these, regrettably.
Budgetting for an increase in defence and security spending in a season of galloping inflation is futile. It leaves less money for actual security spending. In addition, much has been said about leakages and corruption in the administration of Nigeria’s security business. Our insecurity has been around for so long that it has bred an industry of its own corruption enterprise in a country where government is seen as a criminal enterprise.
More importantly, in all the instances of kidnapping, abductions, terrorist attacks and other security breaches around the country, the staging theatres have been the ungoverned spaces. Our vast forests, bushes, savannahs and farmlands have been the favourite hiding places for bandits and criminals. The criminals strike the governed and inhabited areas and take their hostage into the ungoverned spaces from where they demand and negotiate ransom. Admittedly, the manpower available to the armed and security forces is inadequate to man these ungoverned spaces.
That creates the imperative of employing available technologies to ensure effective coverage of the entire national space. This calls for increased investment in areas like satellite surveillance and coverage of the entire Nigerian space including night vision scoping. The use of drones needs to be guided by proven know how to avoid the kind of ‘accident’ that led to avoidable loss of innocent lives in Kaduna State recently.
In all of this, we cannot diminish the overwhelming place of social factors associated with poverty in the epidemic of new crime from that we are witnessing. The ultimate long term situation is for government to ameliorate the prevailing poverty while taking effective active security measures to make crime and criminality unattractive for citizens.
May I congratulate Alhaji Aliko Dangote for finally giving birth to a “bouncing” refinery after being in the labour room for a decade. It is heartwarming to learn that father and baby are doing well. Of all the adventures Dangote has embarked upon in his life — starting from his primary school days when, according to him, he was buying sweets with his lunch money and giving them to the maiguard to resell for him — the refinery project is surely the roughest and the toughest. For someone who took a multibillion dollar loan at N160/$ and has had to repay at the prevailing exchange rate per time, the refinery venture is enough to ruin his empire and turn him to a forgotten man. But he survived.
I am also thankful that I am alive to witness history. Since the early 2000s, I have been a fierce advocate of building of refineries in Nigeria, although my agitation was that the government should do it since the private sector was reluctant because of thorny issues around deregulation and subsidy. When Dangote announced in 2013 that he was going to build a refinery, I was over the moon. I celebrated it with an article, ‘The Refinery We’ve Been Praying for’ (THISDAY, September 22, 2013). As at then, he was thinking of 400,000 barrels per day and working with a budget of $9 billion, covering two other petrochemical projects in Edo and Ogun states which were initially in his plans.
I asked him why he would build a refinery despite the failure of the Nigerian government to deregulate the downstream sector. Most private sector investors had said they would not build refineries without deregulation. Dangote replied: “With or without deregulation, there is nothing stopping anyone from building a refinery. I am not a marketer. All I will do is buy crude oil at the market price, refine and sell to marketers at the market price. It is marketers that deal with subsidy. If government continues to subsidise, marketers can buy products from us and then collect the subsidy from government. If not, they can sell to motorists at the market price. It’s not complicated.”
Now that the refinery has taken off, the notion that it will bring down the pump prices of petrol and diesel, etc, needs to be toned down. This notion has been promoted by unionists and activists for decades: that local refining would eliminate subsidy. No, it won’t. Dangote Petroleum Refinery Ltd buys crude oil at the going rates in the international market. It will price its refined products accordingly. You can’t buy raw materials at higher prices and sell the finished products at lower prices. Marketers will buy the products from the refinery and sell to motorists. It is now left for the Nigerian government to decide whether or not to subsidise at the point of purchase by Nigerians.
Dangote reminded me then that when marketers imported petrol from foreign refineries, they bought at market prices over there before claiming subsidy payments from government. He went a step further by saying Nigeria should start focusing on exporting petroleum products. “The way forward is for us to start exporting refined products rather than crude. We will get far much better value that way. In the next five to seven years, we should stop exporting crude altogether. Apart from South Africa, the refining capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa is grossly insufficient. Angola has a refinery that can only handle 30,000 barrels per day, whereas they consume 120,000 barrels,” he said.
While promising that his own refinery could be completed by 2016, he projected that other African countries would be coming “to buy products from our refinery… that is our strategic plan”. A lot of things changed along the line. Costs ballooned and deadlines were shifted various times. I must confess herein that at a stage, I was doubting if the refinery would ever be. This was worsened by unending negative media reports about the hiccups and setbacks. But on January 13, 2024, the refinery finally came alive. Mr Femi Otedola, his billionaire friend, calls it the “eighth wonder of the world”. For those of us who had followed the trajectory for so long, this was indeed momentous.
The stats, as made public by Dangote Refinery, are very impressive: sitting on about 2,635 hectares in the Ibeju-Lekki export-processing zone, the $19 billion facility is the world’s largest single-train 650,000 barrels per day refinery with a polypropylene plant that will produce materials for plastic packaging, plastic parts for machinery as well as fibres and textiles. For comparison, the combined installed capacity of Nigeria’s four sick refineries is 445,000 bpd and it has been so since 1989, when President Ibrahim Babangida inaugurated Port Harcourt II. Both Port Harcourt refineries were built to be able to refine 210,000 bpd; Warri, 125,000 bpd; and Kaduna 110,000 bpd also. All on paper.
Several stats have been published by Dangote Refinery, but the one that easily pops at me is that when producing at full capacity, it can meet all our petrol, diesel and aviation fuel needs. In other words, we would not have to import refined products again. I find this satisfying: my dream has always been that we would stop importing products. We pride ourselves as an oil-producing giant but we are not even enjoying most of the benefits in the industry chain because of poor thinking. I used to campaign vigorously that government should take the bull by the horn by investing in a mega refinery to meet our local needs. It could then lease out management and sell it off in the future.
I received a long lecture from the CEO of a downstream company at the time who told me emphatically that building refinery was a waste, that it was not a profitable business. He said no new refineries were being built globally. He also said, ominously, that there would be little or no difference between local refining and importation of petroleum products, concluding that the business case for a refinery was bad. “The difference between refining in Nigeria and importing from Europe is shipping cost,” he said and I paraphrase. “If you may know, shipping is the cheapest form of transportation in international trade. There is no advantage with having a refinery in Nigeria.”
I did not agree with him, even though he sounded convincing. I was thinking of the local jobs and the value chain, but I was not ready to argue my case. He was enjoying so much patronage in the fuel importation business under the President Obasanjo administration that I did not expect him to agree with my proposal. And he had a strong voice in the policy direction of the government in the oil sector. Government officials consistently said privatisation was the way to go and that Obasanjo was not going to build a new refinery. Since then, we have been spending billions of dollars on treating our sick refineries without success. (Well, the jury is out on the latest Port Harcourt rehabilitation).
Now that Dangote Refinery has seen the light of the day, I am thinking of what might have been. If we were a thoughtful nation, we should be having regrets. Maybe someone would do the math one day and unearth the amount of forex we have been burning on fuel imports since 1999. There are many reasons for the sorry state of the naira today and fuel importation cannot be considered as a trivial factor. Fine, we are earning billions of dollars from oil export, but so also are we concurrently burning our forex income on fuel imports. The resources that should go into building our reserves are depleted on importing fuels. Let us now hope that forex demand for fuel importation will end.
The second regret is the way we have been trading away value through crude swap deals in the last 10 or more years. We created an arrangement under which we would basically barter crude oil for fuel imports. Using traders, we would exchange a barrel of crude valued at $70 for litres of petrol worth $70. I have always been wondering: what happens to the other products and byproducts in the same barrel? For all you care, those ones could be worth another $70 (just guessing). What a waste! But that is what happens when you have more oil than sense — or, to put it less dramatically, when the buccaneers, who know where all the value is, collude with those in authority to skin us.
Now that Dangote Refinery is onstream, we should expect an end to this. There will be byproducts both for export and local utilisation. Fertilisers aside, there is the carbon black which is raw material for paints, inks, rubber products, car tires and food colorants. The refinery plans to produce bitumen, which Nigeria currently imports. These are some of the benefits we threw away for decades, swapping crude oil for petrol and arguing that shipping cost is the only difference between local refining and fuel importation. Take a moment to imagine the lost forex revenue and the jobs that we bartered away while complaining that unemployment, poverty and crime were on the rise.
All said and done, we cannot undo the past. We took a lot of missteps in the past two decades. Some were genuine mistakes. Hindsight is usually a perfect 20/20 and we can all become wise after the event. But some missteps were self-serving. Remember that the fuel import and subsidy regimes created a generation of rent-made billionaires who were nothing but devourers and cankerworms. The past can remain in the past while we make the best of a possible new order. I know many people are suspicious of Dangote because of his business practices, but that is down to regulatory failure. I want to sincerely hope that the success of this project will attract more investors to the sector.
If the Port Harcourt Refinery really works as promised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), that means we could start exporting refined products sooner than later, having achieved self-sufficiency in Nigeria. That would be a dream come true for me. I have always hoped that Nigeria would be among the world’s biggest exporters of refined products. The forex income is the first thing that jumps at you today given the parlous state of the national currency, but there are several other benefits. What about the tens of thousands of jobs? What about the potentially huge new economy around the petrochemical industry? Dangote took a big risk. Let us start enjoying the benefits.
AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…
FCT KIDNAPPERS
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria’s seat of power, has come under unwanted attention recently with the upsurge in kidnappings. It has never been crime-free — we should remember how Boko Haram used to bomb FCT with ease — but hopes that it has become a safe haven in recent years are fast disappearing. The brutal nature of the kidnappings — a young student was killed while ransom money was still being mobilised — might suggest a touch of terrorism. Kidnappers hardly kill their victims who are co-operating with them, but terrorists are usually desperate and murderous as they seek to raise funds for their operations. This is for the security agencies to consider. Terrifying.
IBADAN ARMAGEDDON
Wednesday night brought trauma to Ibadan, Oyo state, with the explosion that rattled the city, grinding houses to dust and sending five people to early graves. Those who survived need attention. Some will develop hearing problems, mental health issues and PTSD. Treating physical injuries and discharging patients from the hospital should be complemented with therapy. I can see we are trying to blame foreigners for the disaster, but maybe we need to look inwards too. What sort of system allows a private residence to stockpile explosives? This is a national security issue. The trucks must have passed various security checkpoints after paying the dirty tolls on its way to that house. Porous.
TWO PLANETS
The company at the centre of the social register verification contract saga is New Planet Projects Ltd, founded in 2009 by Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, now minister of interior, and not Planet Projects Ltd, as I mistakenly wrote last week. Planet Projects Ltd, the transport infrastructure company, was founded by Mr Biodun Otunola and is best known for building the Oshodi bus terminal. It was registered in 2007. Although I am not making any excuses, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) surely created a room for the mistaken identity. By just adding “new” to an existing name, you can get the CAC to register your company with the help of insiders, even when it could amount to “passing off”. Chaos.
NO COMMENTS
On Thursday, Mr Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said something we knew all along but had been silent upon for years: that the anti-graft body stinks. The elephant in the room. “The craze and quest for gratification, bribes and other compromises by some of our investigators are becoming too embarrassing and this must not continue,” he lamented. We should pray for him as he prepares to take on the monsters within. Olukoyede may also want to find out why Nigerians pay N60,000 under the table to get the SCUML certificate. Restoring public faith and confidence in the commission will definitely take a while, but it is worth a try. Uphill.
Our people say that a father who allows his son to enter the village square for a wrestling contest and then enforces a family rule of not grappling with anyone in public has guaranteed the defeat of his son even before the latter’s opponent is known. That appears to be the position of the average Nigerian today. Thus, except the Federal Government urgently reviews the existing policy on arms possession in Nigeria, the nation’s growing reputation as a mass killing field will become its marker, and identity trademark.
A few days ago, Miyetti Allah set up a Nomadic Vigilante Group in Nasarawa State, which is within spitting distance of the Presidential Villa, in order to help improve national security. If reason and common sense are not being stood on their heads here, why should Miyetti Allah’s expression of “shared commitment to economic prosperity, job creation, and the fight against banditry and cattle rustling” not start in Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno and Bauchi states. The states have the highest negative security indices, extremely high poverty ratings and every other thing that diminishes life in Nigeria today.
If, as stated by the initiators of the vigilante programme, part of the reasons for setting up the group is to “help flush out the bad elements among them in the state”, the question WHY NASARAWA STATE? Still remains.
The fact that kidnapping and banditry are going on unabetted and even increasing all over the country, plus the additional fact that the Federal Capital, which is the seat of power and the residence of the Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces, is now favorite hunting ground for freelance bandits, sundry criminals and kidnappers, now makes it mandatory for President Tinubu to ask himself why adult Nigerians of both gender, whose character and means of livelihood can be vouched for, should not carry arms and ammunition for self-protection.
It is incomprehensible to basic common sense, logic and any decent interpretation of holistic national security that Nigerians who are not in military, police or security-related jobs are forbidden from owning, or possessing, a short gun; or any such weapon. It was not always so. The ban came at a point, due to the exigencies of a specific historical hour. That historical hour, which is far behind us now, led to new rules that limited any interested persons to either a single or double barrel, cartridge powered, long snout rifle. This species of guns have limited firepower and cumbersome loading protocols, which leave is possessor at a clear disadvantage in the face of any real danger that requires prompt response.
Before this development, the Mossberg Shotgun, including the short barrel option, were available under government license. So was the .22 Gevam Sporting rifle, a lovely French product, my favourite, with its twelve round slim magazine.
Is it not strange that there are citizens – sometimes of questionable origins – who freely and openly wield banned military assault rifles within the same country where such hardware is banned? They flaunt it everywhere, ostensibly to protect their cattle from cattle thieves. So, should all other trades group also arm themselves against whatever dangers threaten their members and their goods? Would that be the way to go and still remain a viable 21st century nation?
In the same country that banned military assault rifles are impudently wielded by teenagers in defense of the cattle they are rearing for some members of the elite, a pastor who was caught on social media brandishing the same military assault rifle is on trial for illegal arms possession. One of the charges against the former Central bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was illegal possession of arms. But little boys are walking freely all over the Federal Republic of Nigeria with the same military hardware unchallenged by the national security machinery.
As was said on this page on July 17, 2019, “The strength of the criminals all over the country today, some of them Fulani from outside Nigeria, actually comes from the fact that they are unchallenged for now. When the government of Ghana took concrete and firm steps to contain their excesses it became obvious that they had no capacity to do anything. But that is because the Ghanaian State took its own survival seriously. The Fulanis, and Myetti Allah, did nothing when Sule Lamido, as governor of Jigawa State, forbade open wandering of cattle in his state. They also did nothing when Lamido authorized every citizen of Jigawa State to kill and barbecue any cattle found roaming in the city. No one heard their whimper about this “Lamido’s free gift to the people of Jigawa State,” as it was then called. And Lamido is Fulani, and of the right breed if you like”.
It should not be in the midst of the current bedlam in national security that Miyetti Allah, which has not been particularly helpful in building bridges, should launch a vigilante outfit. Recall that the same group created an uproar when, a few years ago, it tried to make pretensions about providing the same service in Imo State. Sheik Gumi and several other advocates of a romance with bandits and banditry, must be clapping right now for Miyetti Allah, an organization for cattle herders and related trades, and its Nomadic Fulani Villante Movement.
Is this, perhaps, a pro-Fulani hegemonic outfit that was quickly cobbled, to make life impossible for the new “inferior” governor of the state; and possibly as a Dess Rehearsal for a Fulani Army that will protect Fulani-wide interests; including the occupied lands of the Middle Belt? Just asking.
Abdullahi Bello Bodejo, the national president of the association, said in his inaugural address that the primary objective of the nomadic vigilante group was “to help secure the livelihoods of farmers and herders, and aid sharing of information and intelligence with security agencies”. This will come such voluntary activities as “first aid, community security, and relief services to affected communities as well as help in communal development efforts”.
Alhassan Sule, the national secretary, told Nigerians during the flag off that the vigilante personnel “will undergo rigorous training from renowned security organisations before commencement of operations”. So, the launch is not the commencement of operations? What are the renowned security organizations being mentioned here? Who approved and funded everything connected with this vigilante group? Can any other association do the same, “in support of national security”? Are the personnel now on full time job, for which they are paid regular salaries? What is their background, and what will you do with them in the next one, two, five, or ten years? Who assessed them, and on what basis were they recruited? Etc. etc.
The Nasarawa State Commissioner of Police, Usman Nadada, while advising the group to abide by “rules of engagement in carrying out their duties”, urged the general public to cooperate with the vigilantes in the fight against kidnapping and banditry in the state. Nasada’s statement, that the group is not allowed to bear arms, “except the ones provided by the police, in the discharge of its duties” rests on some questionable assumptions.
The first is that the police can, and should, arm the group. The second is that an undermanned, underreamed and under-equipped Nigeria Police can oversee this group. The third, and final, questionable assumption is that the police can control this group once it becomes operational. Will the farmers in Nasarawa State and environs not see this as a signal for a final ditch contest for living space?
The corollary to the above is that there is no reason why any other association should not, following this precedent, set up is own vigilante group, “to help secure the livelihoods of farmers and herders, and aid sharing of information and intelligence with security agencies”.
Is The North really paying attention to what is happening to it, especially on account of its refusal to count the toll of insurgency and banditry?
As was said on this page three years ago, under the title ‘Northern Nigeria: The Pretense persists’: “A recent lengthy submission from the elder statesman, Ahmed Joda, rested on a telling conclusion: Northern Nigeria is not developing its human capital. It also does not have the time to do so anymore. Therefore, it is now ill-equipped to fit into either the knowledge-driven world of today or the new world of tomorrow. It needs at least 20 years to become significant in any way. But, rather than wake up to this benumbing fact, there is the pursuit of the illusion of dominance.
Meanwhile the people of the region lack the skills for tomorrow, as majority of its youth lack everything that could make them part of a 21st century world. The major point in Joda’s intervention is that the triumphalism of cattle rearers, whose illusion of invulnerability is fuelled and sustained by a national security framework that is skewed to promote insecurity in specific regions of the country, will go burst sooner than later. Confiscation of the headship of institutions of state is not the same thing as creating a “replacement generation” that could be part of a 21st Century world.
Drugs, poverty and rapacious daredevilry have chased northern big men to Abuja. But is Abuja itself still safe? Are some high-profile estates and exclusive neighbourhoods in Abuja not being quietly attacked these days?”
The above was written three years ago. What is the situation today?
As a last shot from the aforementioned piece, you have this: “As local economies collapse, as re-desertification takes over many places, as farmlands and animal husbandry are abandoned, as the proceeds of crime become the new means of livelihood for the unlettered, the threat to the children of the elite will multiply. The peace of mind of those who had the chance to make a difference but failed to do so will evaporate. The free-band society of cattle herders will collapse before their very eyes, as much of the North is taken over by “degenerate marauders who know nothing about modern statehood, law and order etc.”
As I said at the beginning of this article, “Except the Federal Government urgently reviews the existing policy on arms possession in Nigeria, the nation’s growing reputation as a mass killing field will become its marker, and identity trademark.
Mr. President, please, arm your people!
[OPINION] OUR UNILAG: An Acceptance Speech Upon My Conferment with the D.Litt. of the University of Lagos - Toyin Falola
Admin|
Distinguished members of the faculty, esteemed guests, and the vibrant student body of the University of Lagos, it is with immense humility and profound gratitude that I stand before you today. As I accept this honorary doctorate, a powerful emblem of scholarly eminence, I am reminded of the incredible journey this prestigious institution has undertaken in the realm of higher education. In 1973, I was admitted to study Law at the University of Lagos, just as I was admitted to Ahmadu Bello University, the University of Nigeria, the University of Ibadan, and the University of Ife. I did not study Law in Lagos for reasons that would be told at the appropriate time. I am now an alumnus by another route. Your University of Lagos is henceforth Our University of Lagos! The University of Lagos has consistently served as a symbol of hope and a catalyst for optimism among countless individuals throughout Nigeria since its establishment. It symbolizes more than just a place of learning but a transformative environment where the mental abilities of persons who will take on leadership positions are developed and improved upon. The institution has consistently pursued a future-oriented perspective, seeking to challenge the existing conventions of its era and set new standards in higher education. This vision is not solely focused on transmitting knowledge; it is centred on shaping the personalities and futures of those who enter its premises, not only in obtaining one of the best credentials in the academic world but also true to its motto, equipping them to serve humanity “indeed and in truth.” The institution's steadfast commitment to safeguarding our diverse cultural legacy and unwavering efforts to achieve social fairness exemplify its core ideals. The University of Lagos is not merely a physical infrastructure with classrooms but rather a vibrant hub where varied ideas intersect and flourish, fostering the development of some of Nigeria's most exceptional minds. This achievement has been facilitated by a dedication to offering a thorough and balanced education to every student. Within this enclosed space, students encounter an atmosphere that not only supports studying but also encourages the development of intellectual abilities and the pursuit of new knowledge. Education is regarded here not merely as the accumulation of knowledge but rather as a profound and changing experience. Students see a significant transformation in their intellectual abilities, emerging as individuals who can think critically and take on leadership roles, capable of successfully navigating the intricacies of our constantly evolving world. The University of Lagos has created an environment that promotes intellectual engagement, where students are actively encouraged to address the urgent issues of their time. They are not only passive recipients of knowledge but rather active participants in a dynamic and interactive learning environment. This educational method guarantees that students have abundant opportunities to communicate their thoughts and ideas, not just in the classroom but also through participation in debates, dramatic performances, and other kinds of expressive arts. At this esteemed establishment, education transcends the conventional confines of lecture halls. It functions as a channel for students to develop new skills and build long-lasting social connections. The University of Lagos acknowledges the significance of comprehensive development, which encompasses several programmes and disciplines such as athletics, social welfare, and cultural pursuits. This comprehensive strategy enhances the pool of knowledge and expertise, not just within the country but also globally, promoting the development of individuals with a global perspective. The university's impact reaches beyond its campus and into the wider society, mainly through its substantial research productivity and its graduates, who are known to take key roles in academia and corporate establishments around the world. The impact of the work conducted within these premises extends beyond these boundaries, exerting influence on society discussions and the formation of policies. The university's commitment to attaining research excellence is apparent in its strategic collaborations with diverse academic institutions, government agencies, and worldwide organizations. These relationships have not only increased the influence of the university’s research but have also offered vital opportunities for students and staff to actively participate in addressing global concerns. The University of Lagos holds the belief that education is a catalyst for significant transformation, which is central to its character. This university equips its students not only with knowledge but also with the skills and values required to implement positive societal progress. Within this dynamic educational setting, students are actively encouraged to inquire, to create new ideas, and to take charge. As earlier noted, the institution fosters in its students the conviction that they possess the ability to effect change on a global scale, a conviction that is seen in the exceptional accomplishments of the university’s graduates. Standing here now, I am greatly inspired by the University of Lagos' steadfast dedication to achieving greatness in every aspect. This dedication extends beyond achieving academic distinction and encompasses the holistic development of individuals in terms of their intellect, emotions, and ethics. The comprehensive education offered at this institution aims to provide students not only with the necessary skills for their future professions but also with the knowledge and abilities required for their personal development and overall life experiences. The University of Lagos stands out as a distinctive and esteemed institution due to its comprehensive approach to education. At this institution, students are not merely acquiring knowledge from textbooks; instead, they actively participate in addressing real-world problems and devising solutions to both local and global crises. The institution has continuously exhibited its capacity to adjust to the changing educational environment, incorporating pioneering pedagogical approaches and state-of-the-art research while upholding traditional principles of honesty and determination. The University of Lagos has had a noticeable effect on the achievements of its former students, who have emerged as influential figures in several industries both in Nigeria and internationally. These individuals exemplify the university's aim by effectively utilizing the knowledge and skills they have gained here to make substantial progress in their respective fields. Not only are they pursuing their personal goals, but they are also making valuable contributions to society, exemplifying the principles of service and leadership promoted by this great university. Furthermore, the university's dedication to tolerance and diversity is praiseworthy. It has established a setting in which students from many backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs converge, promoting a sense of harmony amidst their differences. The active embrace of other cultures in this environment not only enhances the student's encounter but also equips them for the international arena, where comprehension and appreciation of varieties are crucial for achieving success. This University will continue to provide a haven for the mosaic of cultures needed to promote and sustain the progress of humanity in the twenty-first century and beyond. The University of Lagos combines rigorous academic standards with a lively campus environment to shape students into versatile individuals. In addition to academic pursuits, the institution provides a wide array of extracurricular activities and organizations, encompassing several fields such as law, arts, literature, science, and technology. Extracurricular activities offer young minds the chance to investigate their interests, acquire new abilities, and interact with their peers in significant ways. Building upon our previous discussion, the University of Lagos has always prioritized the significance of community involvement and societal obligation. The institution not only imparts knowledge to its students but also motivates them to contribute to their communities. The institution cultivates a strong commitment to service, which permeates all aspects of campus life and motivates students to utilize their knowledge in ways that have a good influence on society. This method guarantees that the advantages of higher education go beyond the individual, penetrating deep into communities and promoting a culture of social responsibility. The university's research activities are closely interconnected with practical applications in the actual world. The emphasis on pragmatic and influential research conducted here not only contributes to scholarly dialogue but also tackles the urgent demands of society. The research being out at the University of Lagos is advancing groundbreaking answers to complex problems in several fields such as law, medicine, engineering, the arts, and the social sciences. The University of Lagos has gained prominence in the educational sphere of Nigeria and Africa due to its exceptional academic standards, strong social awareness, and dedication to innovation. The university has emerged as an emblem of optimism and advancement, not just for its students but for the entire nation. As we contemplate the future, the significance of institutions such as the University of Lagos in influencing that future becomes increasingly vital. Upon receiving this honorary degree, I am well cognizant of the weighty responsibilities it entails. It serves as both an acknowledgement of personal accomplishments and a reminder to actively contribute to the important goals of education and society's progress. The University of Lagos has set an excellent standard in this area, one that I am determined to sustain in my future undertakings. To conclude, I would like to convey my utmost gratitude to the University of Lagos for bestowing this prestigious recognition upon me. The university's steadfast commitment to greatness, dynamic culture of innovation, and profound passion for creating a better world inspire me. May this valued institution persist as a source of knowledge, a connection to the future, and a driving force for beneficial transformation in Nigeria and beyond. |
It was reassuring that the acting chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Edo State, Mr Jarett Tenebe on Thursday evening came out to denounce reports he said linked Senator Adams Oshiomhole to the alleged plot to screen out some formidable aspirants in the contest for the party’s governorship ticket.
The report had among others claimed that the penultimate governor of the state, Senator Osehreinmen Osunbor was screened out by the Prof Julius Ihonvbere-led committee that had been mandated to prune the number of governorship aspirants in the APC from 29 to a manageable size.
The committee had initially proposed 10 aspirants with four from Edo South and three each from Edo Central and Edo North.
The exclusion of Osunbor from the three initially recommended from Edo Central was especially shocking.
The three aspirants recommended from Edo Central were Festus Ebea, former APC state chairman, Dave Imuse, and Senator Monday Okpebholo.
The three recommended from Edo North were erstwhile minister of National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, Prince Kassim Afegbua, and Dr Ernest Umakhihe, who recently retired as a permanent secretary in the Federal Civil Service.
The four recommended from Edo South were Lucky Imasuen, Pastor Ize-Iyamu, Mr. Dennis Idahosa, and General Charles Airhiavbere.
However, what raised uproar among APC stakeholders on Thursday when GWG.ng published its report was the pressure on the committee to further prune the list to six.
The committee was expected to prune the list to six with two aspirants from each of the three senatorial districts.
Once the online newspaper published the report, a storm arose over the leak.
Two issues from the leak were the personalities that were reportedly being edged out. In Edo South, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the party’s candidate in the 2020 election and General Airhiavbere were to be pruned out leaving Idahosa and Imasuen. In Edo North, Prince Afegbua was also listed to be removed while in Edo Central, Ebea was to be removed.
The first takeaway from the plot was that the party was determined to give equal opportunity to each of the three senatorial districts despite the sentiments on the ground.
Another matter which GWG.ng did not cite was the fact that all of the six who would have emerged would be acolytes of Senator Oshiomhole.
While many believe that Airhiavbere may have the money to bulldoze himself, others are also of the opinion that Ize-Iyamu with his network and name recognition could be a good match for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP especially if it comes up with a disagreeable candidate.
Those who suggest that Oshimhole is the one pushing the panel to remove Ize-Iyamu suggest that the senator may not be able to control pastor if he becomes governor.
However, the suggestion that Oshiomhole is opposed to Ize-Iyamu does not explain why the same man backed him to the tilt just four years ago. So what may have changed between 2020 and 2024 for Oshiomhole to supposedly oppose Ize-Iyamu?
In Edo North, many are also puzzled by the push for the former permanent secretary, Umakhihe, who joined the party less than two months ago. How could he come up to displace someone like Prince Afegbua?
There are many questions being asked and puzzles that do not add up in the gripping political panorama in Edo State.
Whatever, as it is now generally being alleged, the comrade-senator who is popularly acclaimed as the state leader of the party is said to be confused over the choice of a candidate for the APC.
For the comrade-senator, the political dynamics envision pushing forward a popular candidate to win the election or bringing forward a suppliant candidate that could lead the party into another four years of opposition in Edo State.
Many political godfathers who persist in playing the godfather role with seemingly suppliant successors have more often than not harmed themselves.
In Enugu, it is easily remembered how Governor Chimaroke Nnamani APPOINTED Sullivan Chime as his successor apparently with the belief that the more popular Ike Ekweremadu could cage his influence. Rather, it was Chime who caged him and Ekweremadu who gave Nnamani succor in his days while in political oblivion.
Or is it the unfolding development in Rivers State between Governor Simi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike? The comrade-senator even has a personal testimony of the humiliation appointed successors sometimes do to their godfathers.
After his experience with Godwin Obaseki it is shocking if Oshiomhole would allow himself to be a partaker in a plot to foist a candidate on the party in Edo State.
Whatever, politicians need to put themselves in a balance of knowing when to leave the stage at the state level as Senator Kashim Shettima and Ifeanyi Okowa appeared to have successfully done for their successors.
Nyesom Wike is on the opposite side of the pole. It is remarkable that as Wike appeared to be preoccupied with developments in Rivers State, bandits from around Abuja descended on his new post in the FCT.
That led to unsavouring agitations that he should choose between being minister of the FCT and being the political leader of Rivers State.
Oshiomhole is now a senator of the Federal Republic, foisting his will on Edo State could distract him and smear his legacy!
Described as “prominent Opposition spokesman” (for the 2023 PDP/Atiku Abubakar presidential campaign), Daniel Bwala hugged the limelight early in the week when he was not only sighted at the seat of power, Aso or Presidential villa, but was also captured posing for a snapshot with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress. During the last presidential campaign, Bwala, like many other anti-Tinubu politicians, said unprintable things about the APC and Tinubu and swore by thunder that it was Atiku/PDP or nothing!
Now, has he eaten his vomit? Is he defecting? Is this an act of disloyalty and has he, in so doing, stabbed both Atiku and PDP in the back? Rather than his act – which is commonplace anyway and which is to be expected from our bread-and-butter politicians devoid of principles, character and ideology – it was the reason he gave that resonated with me: “In this time of hunger and problems…” he was quoted as saying! Is it not said that when hunger enters the belly, nothing else finds its way there? Has hunger entered Bwala’s belly?
Bwala was more forthright than Dr. Doyin Okupe who resigned from the Labour Party citing “ideological differences” Okupe, who was for a brief period the Director-General of the Peter Obi/Labour Party presidential campaign, did not, however, state the direction in which he was heading. Can he return to PDP? Or is he joining APC, the winning team? If talks of a grand alliance between PDP, Labour Party and NNPP materialize in future, what happens? It has been said that success (APC) has many fathers – and attracts many defectors! – but failure (PDP/Labour Party) is an orphan!
Okupe, however, made a profound disclosure, which should sadden every lover of democracy, when he referred to political parties as Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) for the purpose of contesting elections. No considerations for party ideology or manifesto. Assuming the Labour Party had won the last presidential election, would Okupe have still resigned from the party because of ideological differences?
Judging by the use to which SPV and shell companies have been put to undermine this country, it is sad when our leaders treat an important pillar of the democratic system as political parties as mere SPV. A shell company is defined as “essentially a corporation without any active business operations or assets. These entities often mask the true ownership from law enforcement, other businesses, and the public, facilitating the concealment of illegal funds and evading anti-money laundering regulations and taxes” while SPV is defined as “a legal entity created to fulfill narrow, specific or temporary objectives. Special Purpose Entities are typically used by companies to isolate the firm from financial risk” The mentality of buccaneers that our politicians exhibit about politics and governance is the reason why nothing is working in this country.
Back to Bwala. There is no denying the fact that a majority of Nigerians today live in a time of hunger and problems. All available economic indexes say so from the rooftop. Inflation rate roars at 28.2%. Food prices; transportation costs; cost of living generally, cost of drugs and medicaments, Naira depreciation, cost of utilities are beyond the reach of many while high unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in the second quarter of 2023. Keeping children in school is no longer possible for many parents.
Many Nigerians now resort to self-medication or traditional medicine. People eat what they find – when they find it at all – and not what they want or like to eat. No more balanced diet. Lagosians, who can be said to be representative of Nigerians generally, chanted that unfortunate reality to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on December 30 last year in Lagos with choruses of “We are hungry” Yes, people are hungry! And angry as well – justifiably so!
In different times and climes, people have reacted in different ways to “times of hunger and problems” The scriptures record in Genesis 12: 10 – 20 that when there was famine in the land, Abraham “japa” to Egypt in search of greener pasture but disaster nearly befell him there, if not for God who intervened and reclaimed his wife, Sarai (as she then was), for him.
Again, in the time of his son, Isaac, another famine visited the land and Isaac, forgetting the nasty experience of his father, also chose to “japa” to Egypt but God restrained him, leading him instead to Abimelech, king of the Philistines at Gerar. What befell his mother (Sarai) in Egypt almost befell his own wife, Rebecca, at Gerar but God also saved the day for him.
So, “japa” is not a new phenomenon and some problems can pass from generation to generation. In the time of Jacob, the son of Isaac, there also was famine in the land and Jacob had to send his children to Egypt in search of food. (Genesis 42, 43 and 44).
It is instructive for Christians to note what Isaac did at Gerar in the time of hunger and problems, such as we have today in Nigeria. The Bible records: “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great” (Genesis 26: 12 & 13). Isaac might have prayed; he might also have fasted a hundred days; he might have done a countless number of days of vigil – but in addition to all of that, he sowed in the land. He toiled.
Isaac did not wait only for miracles, signs and wonders. He did not wait for manna to fall from heaven. He did not wait for palliatives from the government. Isaac sowed in the land. We have thousands of miles of arable land lying fallow. Many are not ready to work but all the same want to live life to the hilt. They go from one prayer place to another shouting “I receive” to prophesies that are not backed up with work!
At another time there was famine in the land and a certain man of Bethlehem called Elimelech and his wife, Naomi, and their two sons “japa” to the country of Moab. There, however, disaster struck as the man and his two sons died. The only saving grace left to Naomi was Ruth, wife of one of the dead sons, who insisted on following her back to her country. So devastated was Naomi that, when her kinsmen came to welcome her back home, she told them: “Call me not Naomi (Pleasant) but call me Mara (Bitter)” because she said she went out full but came back empty. Through Ruth, however, God changed her story.
Be careful before you join the Joneses. Abroad is not for everyone a bed of roses. Defection or political prostitution, though may accord you temporary respite in the short run, may inflict permanent damage on your political career in the long run.
Back, again, to Bwala. He said he was invited by the President; it was not him that initiated the visit to the seat of power. He said he had been a Tinubu man in the past. He said he told his erstwhile (?) principal, Atiku Abubakar, that Tinubu had sent for him and he was going to answer the presidential summons. Like they do say that there must be an end to litigation, he said there must also be an end to politicking. Patriotism, he said, dictates that the man declared by INEC and the courts to have won an election should be allowed – in fact, assisted – to govern. If I am permitted to quote the late Ooni Olubuse, I will say Bwala made some sense to me, but…!
Those who are used to being in the corridors of power, enjoying government largesse, cannot do without it for long. Politicians generally gravitate towards the winning side. Four years is too long a time to stay in the political wilderness. What will they eat “in this time of hunger’? How will they grapple with the many problems popping up here and there, one of which is that their followers will scatter in no time if they no longer can afford the means to retain their loyalty. Before the next election, another politician in power would have wormed his way into the hearts of the electorate in Bwala’s locality and our man would no longer be politically relevant. No politician wants that. Years and decades of toil in politics must not be allowed to go down the drain just like that.
So, when they move the cheese, move with the cheese! That is the wisdom in “Who moved my cheese?” by Spencer Johnson. If Bwala and Okupe decide, “in this time of hunger and problems”, to move where the cheese is, don’t blame them! Corruption and politics are the two thriving “business” in this time of hunger and problems!
Politicians are masters of use-and-dump; they are fair-weather friends. For them, there are no permanent friends but permanent interests. And the interests that matter to them are their own selfish interests. Trample principles! Eat your vomit to feed your stomach! If you can’t beat them, join them!
I have had the privilege of high office and can state without equivocation that the office of the Nigerian president is one of the most powerful presidencies in the world with enormous powers, coercive and otherwise.
The President is the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces. He has ultimate control of the activities of the armed forces and all other uniformed and non-uniformed security services in Nigeria. He decides by nomination and appointment, members of the judiciary, the executive, and heads of national bodies across the country. In addition, he enjoys the effects of an illusory separation of powers with the National Assembly that has largely existed at the behest of the executive office. It is also the responsibility of the president to set the moral and cultural tone of the entire nation. The President has ultimate responsibility for the welfare and well-being, the security, development and good governance of the federation and citizens of Nigeria.
Despite this remarkable availability of power, the lackadaisical approach to the deteriorating security situation in the country begs the question – who is really in charge?
Mr President, you have been sworn in. You have appointed the members of your government, represented the country on the international stage, and presented a budget; but the greater duty of the presidency is the security of life and property. I must confess that it was a shock to find the Christmas Eve massacre in several communities in Plateau State and the ‘accidental’ bombing of citizens in Tudun Biri, Kaduna, by the Nigerian army absent from the President’s New Year speech. Considering that your only reference to these subjects has been through surrogates, direct references to the subjects would have been the respectful and conscientious thing to do.
The Christmas Eve massacre in Plateau State left over 200 people dead and more than 300 injured. This horrendous attack and others that took place during the festive period are not isolated occurrences of insecurity in the country. Convoys of political officers, including a sitting governor are attacked with a heightened sense of boldness and impunity. Nigerians have almost become numb to the constant reports of terrorism, banditry, robberies, kidnappings, mob justice, and the sacking of whole communities.
The campaign of genocide in the middle belt has unleashed increasing terror for over a decade, with the deliberate killings of indigenes by so-called herdsmen who brandish sophisticated weapons. The previous administration under Buhari paid lip service to the safety of citizens in its 8 years of existence. Instead, there was a concerted effort to placate the terrorists at the expense of the victims. The resistance by the communities and states involved was met with barely veiled threats and insensitive comments from the presidency with the administration’s spokesperson, Mr Femi Adesina, once saying, “Ancestral attachment? You can only have ancestral attachment when you are alive. It is better to be on the land than under it.”
Following the staunch rejection of the land-grabbing efforts in the guise of Cattle Colonies, Cattle Routes, RUGA, and Grazing Reserves, the killing spree intensified, sending scores of Nigerians to the grave and chasing thousands more out of their homelands. Concurrently, security across the country deteriorated.
So-called statesmen and terrorist apologists consistently made flippant and inflammatory comments, further exacerbating an already volatile situation.
Today, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, the self-acclaimed spokesperson for terrorists continues to stoke the embers of hatred with insensitive and exasperating comments, making bogus claims of victimisation of Muslims.
His October 2023 diatribe was a compendium of misinformation, hatred, and unfounded paranoia. His arrogance has been fed by the government’s kid gloves treatment of his insensitive and inciteful statements such as “Kidnapping children from school is a lesser evil”, “How many people have bandits killed? A few”, and “The military is responsible for terrorist attacks and pushing the blame on Boko Haram”.
There is no cogent reason to explain why the State Security Services has yet to caution his tirade of misinformation and revulsion towards Christians, Southern Nigeria, and other groups whose beliefs differ from his own.
Mr President, who is in charge?
We can not afford a presidency that inherits the erstwhile administration’s collusive, dismissive, and patronising approach to security, while the country continues to burn on multiple fronts.
The security of lives must be the priority for this administration. Tackling these factors of insecurity are precursors to the success of the president’s economic agenda to ensure food security, poverty alleviation, reduced unemployment, and social security. Food inflation rose to 33.93% in December 2023 and will continue its upward trend if farmers are unable to safely return to their farms.
Ali Ndume, the Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate, has consistently advocated the increase in the budget for defence, citing underfunding as the excuse for the poor performance of the military and security services at large. There is no doubt that security demands extensive financing. But we must interrogate the utilisation of the trillions of naira allocated in the past 13 years. The defence budget has grown year after year, yet insurgents, terrorists, and bandits continue to establish themselves and undermine the sanctity of life and Nigeria’s corporate existence.
Between 2011 and 2023, Nigeria budgeted N14.204 trillion for security and defence. This figure is exclusive of supplementary approvals through the years including the controversial withdrawal of $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account in 2018. Security Votes to State governments have exceeded N3 trillion and have remained unjustified as no state has been able to rise above the menace of insecurity. Insurgents daily taunt the Nigerian security forces through audacious attacks. They expose the vulnerabilities of our armed forces with attacks on multiple fronts across all regions of the country. Their weapons have become more sophisticated through the years, while members of the Nigerian military lament about inadequacies of personnel and equipment.
Our security challenges appear to have become a bottomless pit for our depleting national resources. In July 2023, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoheed Lagbaja assured Nigerians that the Nigerian Army has sufficient equipment to tackle insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, and other crimes. However, in December 2023, whilst appearing before the Senate Committee on Defence, made a call for more funding again “to nip in the bud, incessant cases of insecurity in the country”.
The IGP, Kayode Egbetokun echoed these sentiments while addressing the House of Representatives in November 2023. The Minister of Defence, Alhaji Abubakar, made a similar call in December 2023.
This raises questions about the appropriation of the billions and trillions deployed over the years.
Allocations to defence and security, which includes the military, police, intelligence services, Civil Defence and paramilitary services, have increased by 932.9% from 2011 (N348 billion) to 2024 (N3.25 trillion).
Succeeding governments have prioritised defence and security in the annual national budgets. However, we must go beyond throwing money at the security challenges and match this prodigious funding with corresponding structures that ensure accountability.
With the absence of accountability or improvements in the security conditions of the country, it would appear that a special ATM economy has evolved for the benefit of security elites and accomplices in the executive and legislative arms, at both the federal and state levels of government.
Criminals have become more impudent in their enterprise with the possession of advanced weapons and alleged collusion with security agencies. The Plateau state massacre was preceded by a note of warning to the communities that were attacked. The availability of this free intelligence made no difference and security agencies were absent in an attack that was reported to have lasted over 12 hours. Members of their community made efforts to reach security agencies via the call numbers provided without success, raising concerns about the complicity of the security forces with the attackers.
The country has been in distress in the past week over the killing of Nabeeha (18) and Folorunsho (13) after several families were kidnapped from their homes in Abuja, the seat of government. The oldest children of these families were killed after the kidnappers were informed that the ransoms were incomplete and the ransom amounts for the other victims were subsequently increased. The audacity of the abductors is both infuriating and baffling. Their actions openly challenge the Nigerian security agencies as either incompetent or complicit.
Criminals at different levels have not failed to fulfil their threats to harm Nigerians, while the Nigerian leadership and armed forces seem constrained in their ability to protect Nigerians. Kidnappers name their ransoms and increase them with confidence whilst watching Nigerians scamper around to raise the ransom amount for their latest victims.
The security forces seem bereft of ideas, competence, and courage to apprehend these malefactors, keep Nigerians safe, and restore sanity.
Rather, many have also become a threat to Nigerians through brutality, oppression, disregard, and sabotage that has led to the avoidable deaths of our soldiers and the destruction of military resources.
Mr President, again I ask, who is in charge?
In response to the request of Service Chiefs and the Inspector General of Police, the security and defence budget for 2024 reflects a marked increase from N2.98 trillion in 2023 to N3.25 trillion, a 9% increase. With the deteriorating insecurity despite enormous funding in the past years, Mr President must take charge and deploy the coercive powers of his office to demand accountability for every naira allocated to the security sector. President Tinubu must, as a matter of urgency, address the claims of corruption, collusion, and disenchantment within the armed forces.
We must depart from a budget performance report that only highlights percentages of allocated amounts spent. Security budget utilisation must be closely scrutinised on an ongoing basis by the Senate Committee on Defence and the National Security Adviser, with non-sensitive portions shared with the public.
A country embroiled in bloodshed, ethnic disputes, kidnappings, and crime on many fronts must implement heavy scrutiny of every amount allocated to the Ministry of Defence and the Nigerian Armed Forces.
We must begin to see the fulfilment of line items included in these budgets year after year.
Our intelligence services must be robust, earnest, and deftly integrated with other actors in the security sector.
Years of extensive financing must reflect in the continuous modernisation of our security architecture and services. Security Services must leverage innovation in the industry, deploying software and hardware technology that improves administrative and operational efficiency.
We also need to ensure increased police presence in suburbs, city centres and outskirts of cities that are prone to security breaches. There are no public records of additional recruits to military personnel, with available records showing a static figure of 223,000 members since 2018. It is critical to boost the manpower of our security agencies.
The above recommendations are familiar to the government and security operatives. However, we must go beyond knowledge to action.
In the same vein, the debate for the decentralisation of security architecture must reach a pragmatic conclusion and proceed to implement a framework that solves local crimes and security issues with local attention from the affected state governments.
The welfare of all servicemen, from the paramilitary to the police and soldiers on the frontlines must receive the utmost attention. Reassurances of improvements to welfare by successive Service Chiefs, IGP, and the government have only been followed by further deterioration of living barracks and remuneration. If we are serious about restoring discipline to the ranks and resolving security challenges, policies for the well-being of the officers and their families, serving and retired, must be rightly implemented.
We are in a state of emergency. In line with the words of General T.Y Danjuma in 2018, the Governors in the middle belt are also calling for the armament of citizens to protect themselves. The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant Lagbaja raised objections to this advice, stating that it would lead to anarchy.
The COAS must be aware that we are already teetering on the edge of anarchy. Nigeria has become a country where no citizen can boast of being safe, while its top government officials and most wealthy grapple for the privileged protection of security agents. We are not unaware that members of the elite brigade of guards were attacked in July 2022. That brazen attack demonstrated that insurgents will stop at nothing to achieve their enterprise. It shows that no one is safe and that the protection of one is the protection of all.
As the news of the Nabeeha and Folorunsho killings swirled in the media, Nigerians did not react by calling on the government or security agencies to apprehend the abductors and rescue the victims. Nigerians turned to themselves to raise the funds required for their release.
It would be ill-advised for the President and the service chiefs to ignore the underlying message that there is a dire lack of confidence in the government and security forces to protect the citizens. The dreaded anarchy is only moments away and no one will be safe if it happens.
Mr President, we have gone beyond being “troubled” and “disheartened” by the deaths of citizens across the country.
It is in our collective interest that you awaken to the reality that Nigeria is on the brink of failure.
You must rise to the occasion of the office you tenaciously secured and enact your command of the armed forces to benefit the Nigerian populace.
The world cannot contain Nigeria if we fall apart.
I wish Mr President and Nigeria great success.
Frank Nweke II, a former member of Nigeria’s Federal Cabinet (2003-2007) and Director General of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (2009 -2014) is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Lagos Business School.
“I am excited that we are back here today in Maisaiti district, Ndola, this time to commission our new state-of-the-art integrated cement plant, with a capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum, along with a 30 megawatts of coal-fired plant. This is our sixth integrated cement plant outside Nigeria. The others are located in Senegal, Cameroun, Tanzania, South Africa and Ethiopia”
“Dangote Industries Limited has helped Nigeria become not only self-sufficient, but indeed a net exporter of cement and by the time we complete our projects in agriculture and the petroleum sectors, we will also expect Nigeria to become not only self-sufficient but also a net exporter of rice, sugar and refined petroleum products. Over the next five years, our target is to expand installed cement manufacturing capacity in Africa outside Nigeria to 40 mtpa at par with Nigeria during the same period”. – 21st of August 2015
“Dangote Oil Refinery is a 650,000 barrels per day (BPD) integrated refinery project under construction in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, Nigeria. It is expected to be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility”.
“The Pipeline Infrastructure at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is the largest anywhere in the world, with 1,100 kilometers to handle 3 Billion Standard Cubic Foot of gas per day. The Refinery alone has a 435MW Power Plant that is able to meet the total power requirement of Ibadan DisCo*.
“The Refinery will meet 100% of the Nigerian requirement of all refined products and also have a surplus of each of these products for export. Dangote Petroleum Refinery is a multi-billion dollar project that will create a market for $21 Billion per annum of Nigerian Crude. It is designed to process Nigerian crude with the ability to also process other crudes”.- 10th of January 2024
It was at a comparable moment of Nigeria’s political history (marked by Yoruba political triumphalism), that I joined the Dangote Group in 1999. The pertinent background was the unbroken chain of 18 years of Northern supremacist military dictatorship that culminated in the virulent Sani Abacha regime. Arrayed against the military dictator were the largely Yoruba based pro-democracy coalition that fought for the validation of the presidential election result of June 12 1993 (personified by the winner, Chief Moshood Abiola).
It was in acknowledgement of Abiola’s martyrdom that recourse was made to compensate the Yoruba with the Nigerian presidency. Hence the contrivance of securing the presidential tickets of the two dominant parties, (Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the All Peoples Party, APP/Alliance for Democracy, AD coalition) for two Yoruba candidates, Chiefs Olusegun Obasanjo and Chief Olu Falae. For the Yoruba, it was heads you win and tails, you do not lose. Inevitably, a Yoruba was guaranteed to emerge the winner.
This triumphalism had impacted critically on Dangote. There were loud murmurs and animus that the concession to cite two or three major factories in the Apapa port-among them the third largest sugar refinery in the world, was a product of Northern nepotism in general and specifically under Abacha. A friend of President Olusegun Obasanjo was dispatched to enlist the overriding support of their most influential ‘son’ to send Dangote packing from the port. Those who know Obasanjo can very well predict his reaction in such circumstances. He walked the Yoruba emissary out of the villa and assigned him the status of persona non grata from that day on.
The general belief and outrage of the Lagos business elite was that Aliko Dangote had been able to phenomenally grow his business (especially the concession of siting his Sugar Refinery plant at the Apapa ports) at the expense of fair competition and level playing ground. That he had been enabled by discriminatory practices and privilege bestowed by the likes of Abacha on fellow Northerners in the economic sector.
Subsequently the political grievance evolved into the intimations of a hostile business environment for the Dangote brand. Confronted with the dilemma and the need to bridge the emergent chasm between him and the Yoruba oligarchy, Dangote concluded that time has come for him to seek the services of a mediator of my skills set: a Yoruba journalist/political activist and protege of the Afenifere political establishment.
My job definition was to preclude the vulnerability of Dangote to being perceived as the business sector face of the venal Abacha military dictatorship. Now, as then, he was doing something unique in the (Nigerian economy prescribed) diversification of his business from commodity trading to industrialisation. My task was made easy by my conviction that I was selling a good product. My marketing pitch was that, even if he was unduly patronised by the political powers that be, we can see the evidence of what he was doing with the privilege. I could not say as much for his peers who were similarly patronised and had nothing to show for it other than fat Swiss bank accounts. If these others were to follow his example, Nigeria will today boast of a sizable industrial sector.
There is actually the instance of a Nigerian oil block owner who loudly proclaimed he does not know what to do with the billions of dollars he was getting (doing nothing) from his oil wealth. Talk of the Nigerian resource curse syndrome. The positive Nigeria that is struggling to be born is that in which the many contemporaries of Dangote (who likewise acquire considerable resources from the primitive accumulation stage of Nigeria’s capitalist development) should equally embark on profitably ploughing back the accumulated capital into Nigeria’s economy.
As a student of political science, I was equally fascinated with his utility as a case study in the subject of the development of Nigerian capitalism. At close quarters, I saw in him an entrepreneur who was driven by the mentality of a professional investor as against the instant gratification syndrome of the Nigerian casino economy. He had a long term vision of birthing an industrial conglomerate to which short term material gratification was subordinate.
There Is also the fascinating aspect of his Northern Nigerian pedigree. Weaned on the aspiration of emulating the feat of his great grandfather, Alhassan Dantata, (who was reputed to be the biggest Nigerian investor of his time) he is the exact opposite of the stereotype of the Northern elite as generally lacking in the ethic of hard work and productivity. I’m endlessly tickled by the observation that the biggest industrialist in Nigeria, by a wide margin, is from the relatively economically backward North! We may never know the degree but it is inevitable that he would have caught the fancy of quite a number of the up and coming generation of Nigeria, especially from the North as a worthy role model.
In contrast, I have been accused, with some justification, of being a professional antagonist of former President Muhammadu Buhari. I plead guilty as charged. In his ruinous and destructive bequest to Nigeria, one of the legacies I find particularly galling was the ideological reorientation of the North back to viewing government and public sector patronage and corruption as of the essence, as an indispensable source of unearned income and livelihood. Wherever there was space and currency to be made in the Nigerian lingo of “juicy and lucrative” public postings, it is certain to attract the Buhari curse of Northern Muslim bias and nepotism. He was so blatant and unrestrained in this regard, that I came to the conclusion that any attempt by his successors to redress the injury will look like discrimination against the pampered constituency.
Fate has conspired, once again, to crosscut another era of Yoruba political triumphalism with an unprecedented Dangote industrial expansionism, undergirded by a similar refrain of instigating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to go after the acclaimed richest African. With the economically pivotal potential of the Dangote refinery, such would have typically amounted to cutting the Nigerian nose to spite its face. Some were actually rooting for the non fruition of the mega project.
I do not dismiss nor trivialise the allegations against him but they are inevitably exaggerated. Right now in Nigeria, he personifies, warts and all, the Peter Obi political vision of moving Nigeria from ‘consumption to production’. It is the reason I’m a fan of the Max Weber thesis of ‘the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism’, especially the inference of attitudinal dedication to money-making and rational self control as sine qua non to capitalist development. I’m less enthused with the Karl Marx obverse- ‘dialectical materialism’.
It is my understanding that both Weber and Karl Marx, (patriarchs of the theoretically divergent Marxists and Capitalists school of thought) agree to the independent variable role of the wealth accumulator in the causation of capitalist development; the former negatively so and the latter positively. The Marxists assert that progression to capitalist development is necessarily preceded by the utilisation of the proceeds of primitive accumulation of capital to seed and grow industrialisation.
Whereas in the cultural origins of capitalism, Weber argues that capitalism is rooted in the cultural mentality that deems wealth creation as a vocation, a calling and specifically, the protestant ethic. And according to the book of Proverbs, ‘biblical wealth rarely just falls into one’s lap. God’s blessing of wealth is usually obtained by great wisdom and responsibility and through discipline, hard work, savings and investment’,
Some years ago, there was a documentary that ran on the DSTV cable TV titled “the makers of America”. The cast comprised five historical figures including JP Morgan and Rockefeller; I cannot now remember the other three but they were all entrepreneurs and high stake investors. As distinguished as many American politicians were, no mention was made of any. This remarkable documentary was only being consistent with what we were taught in our political science classes- that the economy is the substructure, the foundation upon which political superstructure is anchored.
Though not a politician, he plays a considerable role in forging and fostering national unity and integration. His network of friends and associates cuts across the nation and his Lagos residence can be mistaken for a permanent national conference in session. On account of his nationalist credentials, cosmopolitan panache, discipline, humility and globally acclaimed entrepreneurial success, he had intermittently come under pressure to run for the Nigerian presidency. Quite significantly, he would have no need nor impulse to turn the public treasury into an open sesame for psychotic pillage. I think we should just leave him to continue to do what he knows best, industrialising Nigeria and Africa.
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I sympathise with the Nigerian judiciary. This is because, of all the state institutions, executive, legislative, the judiciary, the press and Civil Society Groups, it is by far the most vulnerable. It has in the last few years gone through great stress and strain as a result of the conspiracy of the executive and the legislative arms of government which with lacuna deceptively left in their laws, tie the hands of the judiciary they both regard as a stumbling block because quite often they are driven by selfish interest as against public interest.
This perhaps explains why the political class and their political parties, according to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola “could not manage their affairs well and ended up having about 600 cases from the party primaries alones in courts” during the last election. Unfortunately, instead of putting their rancorous house in order, the judiciary which is often made to carry the can for the malicious actions of politicians, often become becomes the scapegoat. The fear until last week was therefore whether tarred with the same brush with the political class, the judiciary that is increasingly coming under threat of political sore-losers, their supporters, their sympathetic media and those pretending to be public intellectuals, can as a part of a whole, be holier than the whole.
But the current leadership of Nigeria’s Supreme Court gave an indication of the direction it was headed when on Thursday October 22, 2023, it upheld President Bola Tinubu’s election through a unanimous judgment passed by seven Supreme Court judges, who threw out his challengers’ opposition which did not question the fact that he won the election ‘round and square’ with 37% of the popular votes at the expense of his warring opponents, but based on purely technicalities. It last Friday further consolidated this position when it chastised the justices of the various appeal courts that had attempted to upturn victories of popularly elected governors including Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Alex Otti of Abia, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, Cross River’s Bassey Otu, Abba Yusuf of Kano, Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara.
With the Supreme Court’s last Friday judgment, hailed by the opposition as “representing the triumph of democracy…and reaffirming the sanctity of the ballot as the determining factor for democratic legitimacy,” came some relief for the embattled Supreme Court whose credibility had for years been under repeated assault of political gladiators.
Its travail started when the Supreme Court nullified the election of Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as governor of Imo State and declared Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the March 9, 2020 governorship election even when the latter came a distant fourth during the state gubernatorial contest. The Supreme Court was to lose further credibility with the high-profile political cases of Lawan Vs Machina and Godswill Akpabio Vs Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and others, in which the court endorsed Akpabio and Lawan as candidates for the senatorial seats of their constituencies even though they were not available for the primaries of their political parties.
The cases according to a Punch newspaper editorial “have evoked excoriating public criticism and perceived somewhat as perverse… The decisions show that the Supreme Court is slavishly adhering to technical legalisms and formalism at the expense of substantial justice”. And for the same reason, Lasisi Olagunju of the Tribune accused the “the Supreme Court justices of abducting this democracy… and deciding who rules and who does not… They have evolved to become Bashorun Gaa of Old Oyo; they enthrone and dethrone as it pleases them.”(Nigerian Tribune Dec. 18, 2023).
The credibility of the apex court got further battered with “All eyes on the judiciary’ smear campaign led by sore losers – Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi and their supporters in the February 2023 presidential election. They openly expressed lack of confidence in the ability of the current leadership of the Supreme Court to guarantee justice and went on to claim without proof, that the judiciary under him was the worst in 45 years. Last week they swallowed their words.
But there are others who were genuinely concerned about the fate of our country and that of our young democracy. Among such concerned Nigerian opinion leaders are ex-president Goodluck Jonathan and Femi Falana (SAN), a celebrated human rights lawyer). For President Jonathan “the ballot paper should decide who holds any elective office from the councillorship to the presidency. That is democracy. “I am not saying the judiciary is not doing well. But my point is that our laws should suppress the issue of the judiciary returning candidates… If a candidate is declared winner after a flawed electoral process, what the courts can do is to annul the election and order a fresh one, where a winner will finally emerge through the ballot.”
And for Femi Falana and others, “Judges are not suited to determine the winners of elections…determining winners of election is an exclusive reserve of the Independent National Electoral Commission” (INEC) if things are done properly”.
Last Friday’s Supreme Court ruling must therefore be seen as a tribute to all those who campaigned for the sanctity of elections based on electorate’s votes cast at the polling booths and as much a tribute also to the current leadership of the Supreme Court that chose to listen to the people.
It is on record that similar campaign carried out in the past was ignored by the past leadership of the apex court who was probably convinced that justice was better served by upturning victories of popularly elected candidates on technicalities to demonstrate the judiciary’s zero-tolerance for disobedience of court orders as was the case in Zamfara in 2019 when duly elected officials from governorship to state House of Assembly members lost their positions and in Rivers where candidates and their supporters were disenfranchised.
The current leadership of the apex court on the other hand, whilst not denying that there was disobedience of courts orders in Plateau State, was sensitive enough to protest by voters in both Plateau and Kano to come to terms with Lord Denning’s dictum to the effect that “Justice must be rooted in confidence, and confidence is destroyed when right-minded people go away thinking: “The judge was biased.”
But the current leadership of the Supreme Court and the NJC and the president must go a step further by ensuring those Appeal court justices chastised for ignoring Supreme Court’s earlier pronouncements and for presiding over cases in which they did not have jurisdiction in Kano and Plateau must be sanctioned. In the corporate world, once there has been an infraction of corporate rules, the opportunity of getting to the apex of one’s profession by the erring officer becomes very slim. The problem with the judiciary is that judicial officers are hardly sanctioned for infractions or incompetence but promoted even when their fitness is in doubt.
As argued by Abiodun Owoniko (SAN) while answering questions on ARISE Morning show last Tuesday, ‘there should be career progress delay’, before they are allowed to move to the next level which is the Supreme Court” because of the danger they pose to the health of the judiciary.
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was a simple, straight forward man whose life ambition was to stop human beings from being exploited by others. His life was characterised by studies of all kinds, the power of human reason, a simplicity that concealed his tenacity, his audacity that led to the October Russian Revolution and his love for the human race irrespective of race, gender, region and religion.
Lenin did not set out to change the world, but when the world around him changed, he became a catalyst for change. He had a protected childhood and seemed unconcerned with the world until a month before his 17th birthday in March 1887 when Alexander, his elder brother who was a Zoology student, was arrested for involvement in a plot to bomb Czar Alexander III. Alexander Ulyanov was hanged two months later.
Lenin tried to move on a few months later by securing admission to read law at the Kazan University, but was expelled within months for participating in a students’ protest. He could not get a new admission and had to study as an external candidate at St. Petersburg University, graduating in 1891. But he remained on the radar screen of the Czarist monarchy and tried to evade arrest by using aliases like Petrov and K. Tulin. Three years later, he was sent to prison for one year and then moved to Siberia where he was released in 1900. He then adopted the alias Lenin, after the Lena River in Siberia.
Following the completion of his sentence, Lenin left for exile, and except for a brief visit in 1905 during a failed uprising, spent the next 17 years abroad before returning to lead the 1917 Russian Revolution.
Karl Marx had developed the revolutionary theory that became known as Marxism. But Marx passed away on March 14, 1883 and had such not witnessed the 1884/85 Berlin Conference where Europe and the United States met to carve out other parts of the world into colonies. This had a fundamental impact on the capitalist system Marx had so expertly analysed. Lenin in studying Marx, extended the theory in the context of new realities and concluded that humanity had gone beyond the capitalist system to build an higher system- imperialism. He posited that it was an era of oligopoly with a few countries accumulating capital and exporting it to the new colonies. He published his conclusions in a book titled: Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism. Lenin in his simple style of explaining what appears complex , said: “If it were necessary to give the briefest possible definition of imperialism, we should have to say that imperialism is the monopoly stage of capitalism.”
In his book, State and Revolutionary, he explained his praxis on Marxism: “During the lifetime of great revolutionaries, the oppressing classes constantly hounded them, received their theories with the most savage malice, the most furious hatred and the most unscrupulous campaigns of lies and slander. After their death, attempts are made to convert them into harmless icons, to canonise them, so to say, and to hallow their names to a certain extent for the ‘consolation’ of the oppressed classes and with the object of duping the latter, while at the same time robbing the revolutionary theory of its substance, blunting its revolutionary edge and vulgarising it.”
For his deepening and expanding revolutionary praxis, the ideology became known as Marxism-Leninism. At this time, the All-European War which was called the First World War was raging. While the various parties, politicians and ruling classes queued behind their various governments, Lenin and his relatively small party refused. He correctly saw it as a war to share colonies as booty and a struggle to accumulate wealth.
Lenin described the conflict as “an annexationist, predatory, plunderous war” over which workers and farmers across the world do not need to lose their lives. He led the Bolshevik Party to pressure Russia get out of the war. The programme for revolution was simple: ensure peace by getting out of the war, providing the masses, especially poor farmers, land, and ensuring food for the starving population. The slogan was simple: “Peace, Land, and Bread.”
While most in Russia dillydallied, Lenin saw the opportunity to carry out a socialist revolution many had theorised about. He analysed that power was lying in the street; so the issue was not about theory, but fighting to pick it up. Lenin led an armed attack bringing down the government in days of fighting. His theory is that: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” These were days that changed Russia and world politics.
The Bolsheviks within two years effectively took over the country in what became known as the Great October Revolution. So Lenin succeeded in turning the theory of Marx into practice.
The Russian Revolution inspired many revolutions across the world. These included that in Yugoslavia led by Marshall Tito, the Romanian, Czechoslovak (now Czech and Slovak Republics) and Polish revolutions plus those across Eastern Europe.
Marxism-Leninism gave birth to the 1949 Chinese Revolution and to what became known as Maoism. It inspired the Vietnamese to throw out French colonialism and defeat the American forces of occupation.
It led to the revolts by Latin American countries, including the Nicaraguan and Venezuelan Revolutions.
Many countries in the West like Britain, United States and Israel supported Apartheid, helped the racists build nuclear weapons and encouraged them to imprison or kill liberation fighters like Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Ruth First on the false premise that they were terrorists. In contrast, the socialist countries, including the defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republics which had been influenced by Marxism-Leninism, supported the liberation fighters. Thanks to the these followers of Leninism, many African countries, including Algeria, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa became free.
On August 30, 1918, Lenin was shot by a lady, Fannie Kaplan. He never fully recovered. On January 21, 1924 he died at 53. To mark a century of his exit, an international conference on his ideas is holding in Abuja, Nigeria from January 22-23, 2014. The theme is ‘Lenin, Leninism, Africa and the World.’
The idea according to the Conference Coordinating Committee which I chair, is to “specifically examine Marxism-Leninism as a tool for analysing neo-liberalism, multilateralism, the rise of bodies like the BRICS, globalism and the contemporary world…; examine why the Socialist Bloc collapsed and if Marxism-Leninism can be used to analyse, understand and tackle the current challenges of democracy and underdevelopment in Africa and whether it is still emancipatory and relevant today.”
Lenin was a simple man who changed the course of world history; his life teaches humanity loads of lessons.
[OPINION] A Good Insight: Major General Adekunle Abdullahi Martins (Rtd), former Commander, Nigerian Army Ordnance Corps (NAOC) - Bashir Adefaka
Admin- Says activities of thugs in state cause of living at cost higher than earning
- People, who used to live on govt and no longer have access to free money, have gone into crimes, reason for insecurity – General
- Insists Buhari inherited backlog of ‘seriously damaged’ economy
- Sad public institutions are not being run for good of the targetted people
- Says the political class using poverty as tool to control psychology of the Nigerian masses
As more concerned think-tanks continue to brainstorm and bare their minds on the current situation in Nigeria, a retired Army General has said the failure of Federal Government to hold Lagos dear to its heart is major problem that must quickly be looked into being, according to him, the core of the problems.
The retired officer, Major General Adekunle Abdullahi Martins, a former Commander Nigerian Army Ordnance Corps, spoke at length in an interview with The DEFENDER Saturday morning, during which he said, “you don’t leave the economy like of Lagos, upon which other economies depend, in the hands of mediocres, hoodlums and their sponsors. What you have is hardship across the land and it is what we are witnessing.”.
The former military top bras said President Muhammdu Buhari had done quite well enough but that some backlog areas needed to be looked into for his good work and performances to show.
“Once they can hold the economy of Lagos dear to themselves, automatically it will impact positively well on the others. But if you leave the economy of Lagos in the hands of thugs and their sponsors who dictate prices of food and fares that people pay to transport themselves and their goods, they will not make life comfortable for people.”
File: Major General Adekunle Abdullahi Martins (now retired), decorating Martin Elendu with his new rank of Brigadier General assisted by Mrs Elendu, while serving as Commander, Nigerian Army Ordnance Corps, Abati Barracks, Ojuelegba, Lagos, few months before his retirement on 9 January of 2015.
General Martins said the bottom line of the whole situation was that the Buhari’s Administration inherited a seriously damaged economy due to unpardonable corruption of the past and that it got worsened because, people, who had all their lives depended on government, have now gone into crimes because they no longer have access to free money hence the heightened insecurity the country has witnessed.
He said people just decided to set up one agitation or another not for any collective purpose but to force government to negotiate with them with intent to make money for themselves.
“They are the ones causing this insecurity, believe me,” the General said.
“And also, those who are crying and blaming President Buhari may not really be blameworthy for doing so because one; they do not feel secured, they are hit by abject poverty and so they are hungry. What you see happening, I must tell you, no single region in Nigeria wants to break away because they all know that to attempt it is to declare war on themselves and no one wants to go and do what has no justification.
“The political class are using poverty as tool to control the minds and psychology of the Nigerian masses. It is the reason, despite the effort the current Buhari’s Administration has made, public hospitals still are neither affordable nor safe for the sick people. God forbid that you are sick, if you go to public hospital, they make you cough out huge amount of money before they attend to you. If one does not have the money, that is death. We have seen it happening and how many Nigerians can afford to travel abroad for medical treatment?
“Same thing is public schools. More terrible things are happening in government schools and those who even manage to pass through that, they graduate and there is no hope of a good living. I have seen a medical doctor who graduated and his take home pay cannot take him anywhere. But he sees an illiterate, who dropped out of secondary school and is now a thug, who is now rich. Yet they say it is he that has money that has idea.”
The former Commandant, Nigerian Army College of Logistics, said it was not as if Nigeria was never great before, adding the indices that made up the better country of the past to include the effectiveness of the middle class with a doing well artisanship.
“While we were growing up, we saw welders, carpenters, tailors, air dressers, many people of skills who were doing well. But today those artisans have dumped those trades for thuggery because there is more money in it than what they were trained to do and the political class are happy to encourage this. Still, they do the thuggery in the day and still carry guns and go to rob in the night.
“This is how insecurity came about and when people don’t feel secured and safe, they would cry out and you cannot blame them for crying. And the insecurity was caused by those who no longer have access to free money as a result of the Buhari’s anti-corruption programme and therefore no farmer can go to farm and grow crops. This leads to scarcity of food and then when we don’t produce, you have situation where our Naira is devalued, hence, we are into serious economic problem despite sincerity of government. What you then have is poverty and you have situation of hunger.”
He continued by making his own suggestion: “President Muhammadu Buhari still have the time now to act by tackling poverty and hunger and do it concurrently with standing up more tactically to the face of insecurity elements and their sponsors. Let him do these and see if Nigerians will complain again, especially now that they have learned their lessons how not to wail unnecessarily,” General Martins said.
Activities of thugs in Lagos cause a living at cost higher than earning
Specifically, he explained how failure of Federal Government, especially in this better one, to show interest in how the economy of Lagos is managed is reason for why life is hard as people are being made to live life at higher cost than their earnings.
“Poverty and hunger are damaging the economy and as a result, there is no security. That is how it is all round, have you seen where people attack themselves, going into others’ houses to loot them? During #EndSARS that almost happened because they attacked super markets in Lagos, in Cross River they did the same thing and in Ibadan they went to where an individual stored his goods and looted them.
“So, what are we talking about? When survival becomes a challenge, people will have to feed and live on the other ones.
“That is why I will want to advice leadership of the Federal Government. They must hold dear to themselves the economy that other economies in the country depend upon; economy on which the entirety of the country depends upon, they must not leave it in the hands of mediocre.
“Once they can hold the economy of Lagos dear to themselves, automatically it will impact positively well on the others. But if you leave the economy of Lagos in the hands of thugs and their sponsors who dictate prices of food and fares that people pay to transport themselves and their goods, they will not make life comfortable for people.
“You live in a particular part of Lagos, all of those areas, how many roads have they done? There is no water, there is no health. If you go to public hospital in Lagos today, you must pay huge bill before they treat you; that is government hospital. For what purpose is government hospital in place if not, although money have to be paid but, to make life comfortable for people? Children can no longer go to school. Those who can afford it among the majority are now taking their children to private schools because the quality of education in government has collapsed.
“So, tell me, how do you want to run an economy like that. The economy that everybody is dependent upon like that of Lagos, if it is in the hands of hoodlums, how do you want to make it work? It can’t work.
“And then you are saying that people who are blaming Buhari should not do so. If the people, to whom he gave job to do for the good of the people he leads, fail, either by corruption or selfish interest, it is his name that people will mention. Let us sit right and think about our situation properly. I can assure you that President Muhammadu Buhari, with the capacity that I know that he has, can still achieve a lot more within the time that he has left. Let him take what happens in Lagos seriously. Let him and his administration hold Lagos dear to themselves stop the control of the place’s economy by thugs and see whether economies of other states across the country will not take shape.
“In essence, I am saying it once again that, the Federal Government should not leave the economy of Lagos in the hands of touts and their sponsors. If they heed to that, all the good works that President Buhari has done to make life comfortable for the people of Nigeria will begin to show whether some media organizations and their journalists choose to report those good works or not and Nigerians will smile because they will have been living well and good.
“This is because every state that has produced anything in Nigeria, Lagos is always the distribution point. Take for example food that is produced in the North. It is brought to Lagos and it is the people in whose hands the economy of Lagos is left by Federal Government that decide how much those food items are sold to traders who come from other parts of Southern Nigeria to buy.
“Findings have revealed how cheap the cost of these things are and used to be in the North. How come they are so hard for us once they get down to the South? Because in Lagos and its environs where they are brought to as distribution centre, the people there, who do not have the interest of the masses but of themselves at hearts, fix a price and administer oaths to say whoever does not abide by the price will face certain sanctions. Imagine that superstitious lifestyle by marketers in our markets in Lagos!
“Don’t also forget that they are the ones who decide what happens in the transportation sector also in Lagos and once these two areas: market and transportation are left in the hands of touts and those who sponsor them, there is no amount of good things that President Buhari will do that will show in the daily life of the people. They won’t be allowed to benefit by those who decide the distribution of those good things of life.
“Unfortunately, these elements have the louder media to their side and it does not appear that the Federal Government is working on alternative means of letting the people see the truth of what is happening. That is what is happening. That is why people are crying because, there is no how people will be hungry because they are being made to live at cost higher than their earnings and you think they will not complain.
“Let the President act now by ensuring that market and transportation in the nation’s economic nerve centre are taken out of control of hoodlums and their sponsors and see if things won’t change drastically, for better,” General Martins said.