
OTHERS' VIEWS
It is no longer news that the former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, was ousted by his colleagues on Monday, January 13, 2025 while he was holidaying in the U.S., thus bringing his 10-year cruise on the Lagos gravy train to an abrupt stop.
Obasa was first elected in 2007 to represent Agege Constituency 1 and subsequently emerged Speaker in June 2015, chalked in an unprecedented third term, becoming powerful, or so he thought. And because, as the 19th century writer Lord Acton remarked, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” he got carried away and became conceited.
He started seeing himself as a political kingmaker, treating his colleagues condescendingly and had no respect for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. But apparently he didn’t reckon with the Igbo proverb which says that “when an idol becomes too powerful and arrogant, it is told the wood it was carved from.” That was exactly what happened. His colleagues said that much when they accused him of becoming an existential threat.
Tobun Abiodun, who represents Epe Constituency 1, alleged shortly after Obasa’s ouster that he was impeached to save Lagos State and the House of Assembly. Accusing the former Speaker of gross misconduct and unconscionable abuse of office, Abiodun said Obasa’s impeachment had become inevitable. “The members of the parliament today have decided to change the leadership of the House.
You know the constitution made it clear that the House has the power to regulate its proceedings. The members felt they have had enough of the leadership of Rt. Honourable Mudashiru Obasa… We have resolved to work together and ensure that we move the parliament to the next level. We cannot open our eyes and allow the parliament to dwindle. We owe the constituents a duty of ensuring that the sanity and integrity of the House are restored. We have unanimously agreed to carry out this action to save our image, and save the state.”
One of his crimes was his undisguised lack of respect for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Matters came to a head during the 2025 budget presentation on November 22, 2024 when he declared that he was neither too young nor lacked the requisite experience to run for the governorship “I have made it a personal task to mobilise people on the platform of Mandate, which has been misconstrued by some political detractors as being a selfish aspiration on the ground for me to become governor of the state,” he crowed impetuously.
“There is the need, however, to correct this wrong impression. My concern is about building our party, and whatever we do is mainly for this cause. To the blackmailers who have embarked on the mission to distort and redefine our mission, let me state it unequivocally here, our intention is to promote our party on the platform of Mandate. Becoming governor is secondary; it is something that I have not given serious consideration. Nevertheless, that does not mean I am too young or lack experience to run; whereas, those who have been before me are not better off.”
Of course, one of those that was there before him is President Bola Tinubu. Obasa’s needless outburst was political indiscretion stretched too far, a sacrilege reminiscent of the Nza bird, one of the smallest birds in Igbo folklore, that bumped into a sumptuous meal and after having his fill challenged his “Chi” (personal god) to a wrestling match. Little wonder that the same lawmakers who unanimously passed a vote of confidence in him, turned around barely two months later to sack him ignominiously
Obasa must have realised by now that he actually did not belong to the ‘owners of Lagos club.’ When they met to decide his fate, he was not even summoned to defend himself. He was not emotionally intelligent. Now, he has become a political leper that no one wants to openly associate with. The visits to his house have drastically reduced. As the 2027 political signalling in Lagos State becomes clearer, things will get worse for him politically. It will even be more so as his capacity for political patronage shrinks.
Today, Agege, his constituency is calm and the people have moved on. His few hangers-on who wanted to demonstrate at the Lagos State House of Assembly were quickly rounded up by policemen and taken away in a Black Maria even as they were singing, “on your mandate we shall stand.” That is the nature of politics. As Ndigbo would say, onye bu igu ka ewu na eso – a goat follows whoever has palm frond. Loyalties have shifted and there are no apologies.
But Obasa’s ouster shouldn’t be an end in itself. The lawmakers are within their rights to choose who leads them. They have exercised that right by replacing Obasa with Hon. Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, who has also made history as the first female Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly. But it is not just enough to impeach him. In moving the impeachment motion under ‘Matters of Urgent Public Importance,’ which was adopted by 32 out of 40 members of the House, Hon. Femi Saheed made allegations of financial misconduct, abuse of office and authoritarian leadership against Obasa. Most recently, there have been reports alleging that he approved the withdrawal of ¦ 43 billion for lawmakers’ vehicles. Most of these allegations were made by the lawmakers themselves, so it should be assumed that they are not frivolous.
It behoves, therefore, the State Assembly to submit a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the fraud allegations against Obasa and the anti-fraud agency to do the needful. Not only that, Obasa claimed to have received a bachelor’s degree in Law from Lagos State University in 2006. But recently, a document which surfaced on the social media reveals that his name is not in the record of legal practitioners in Nigeria. The document, a response by the Supreme Court to a verification request by an anonymous petitioner on his status as a lawyer, was dated July 24, 2020 and signed by one Gertrude Karenton-Mordi on behalf of the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court.
Titled, “Re: Verification of Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” the apex court, according to the document, advised the impeached Speaker to come forward with relevant documents for enrolment, as his name was not found in their records. Addressing the petitioner, the apex court wrote: “We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 23rd July, 2020 on the above captured subject matter. This is to inform you that we have checked our records and cannot find the name: MUDASHIRU AJAYI OBASA on the numerous Rolls of Legal Practitioners kept in this Honourable Court.
MUDASHIRU AJAYI OBASA is at liberty to come to this Honourable Court with his Call to bar and qualifying certificates for enrolment. If he has done a change of name, he is expected to show proof of same.” Supreme Court spokesperson, Dr Fetus Akande, has confirmed the document, acknowledging that, “It emanated from our office.” Obasa’s apologists insist it is a non-issue because law degree, or in fact any university degree for that matter, is not a prerequisite for becoming a lawmaker or even Speaker.
That is true. The immediate past governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari, became Speaker of the House of Representatives without any. That is how low the bar is when it comes to leadership in Nigeria. But it is a crime to ascend political office with forged certificates. I know that Obasa can challenge his accusers to cast the first stone if they can. And the truth is that they cannot. But that should not be the norm. Ours should not be a country where certificate forgers call the shots in public office without any consequences.
In the last few months, there have been talks about rebasing the two important economic indicators, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
While the GDP calculates the value of all goods and services in the economy within a year, the CPI calculates the average change in prices over time that consumers pay for a basket of goods and services. It is a key measure of inflation and reflects the cost of living.
Both have a base year, which is compared with other years in the compilation. For example, the last rebased year for GDP in Nigeria was 2014.
Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that it would release the results of the newly rebased GDP and CP1 by the end of January. This has excited stakeholders in the economy because rebasing the two important economic indicators would mean increased national income for the country.
This is because the result is likely to lead to an increase in per capita income in Niger. After all, the GDP is expected to expand as a result of the inclusion of new economic activities in the new calculation.
According to the press release issued by the NBS on Monday,” The activities of some sectors of the economy have grown tremendously since the last rebasing, making them significant among other sectors of the economy. They include Marine & Blue Economy, Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Information and Technology, Innovation, and Digital Economy activities. ”
When rebased, Nigeria’s GDP is expected to expand, reflecting a more accurate picture of the economy’s true size. Consequently, per capita income — GDP divided by population — is likely to increase, even if real incomes remain unchanged.
Given these insights, it is safe to say that the result holds profound implications for Africa’s largest economy. As these figures are updated to reflect current economic realities, the outcomes could reshape perceptions of Nigeria’s economic standing and influence policymaking, investment, and citizen welfare. This is certainly a good music to hear for most of Nigeria. But would it increase real growth in the economy?
In retrospect, Nigeria’s GDP nearly doubled during the rebase of 2014, making it Africa’s largest economy, surpassing South Africa. This was because the rebasing accounted for new industries like telecommunications, entertainment (Nollywood), and e-commerce, which had grown significantly since the previous base year of 1990.
While this statistical adjustment doesn’t necessarily translate to immediate improvements in living standards, its implications are far-reaching.
Pundits who are concerned about real income growth. They have concerns about statistical figures that would create an impression of higher income for an already improvised economy where the majority of the citizens are multidimensionally poor. They fear that people might be worse off in the face of a likely increase in inflation, which has climbed to 34.80% in December, up from 34.60% in November 2024. This marks the fourth consecutive monthly increase, driven primarily by heightened demand during the festive season, leading to price surges in food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Food inflation slightly decreased to 39.84% year-on-year in December, compared to 39.93% in November. Notable price increases were observed in staples such as yams, sweet potatoes, corn, rice, and fish.
These inflationary trends have exacerbated Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis, with more than 60% of the population living in poverty and many spending over 63% of their income on food.
However, an increase in gross income and per capita income as a result of the rebasing would neutralise these negative effects. Here are a few factors that will advance the positive impact.
First, Nigeria’s standing in global rankings, portraying the nation as more prosperous, may increase. This can positively influence international investors, who often consider economic indicators like GDP and income levels when making decisions. A rebased GDP could bolster confidence in Nigeria as an investment destination, potentially attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).
Secondly, the higher per capita income will prompt policymakers to re-evaluate socioeconomic strategies. For instance, the government might shift its focus from poverty alleviation to wealth distribution and middle-class expansion. This is closely related to the objective of the Tinubu tax reforms, which was recently embraced by the Nigerian Governors Forum. ( NGF) .However, this could also mean a reduction in access to international aid or concessional loans, as Nigeria might no longer qualify under certain global thresholds for low-income countries.
At the same time, a rebased GDP that highlights underrepresented sectors such as technology, entertainment, and services could spur efforts to diversify the economy. Policymakers might prioritize these emerging sectors, reducing reliance on oil and addressing the vulnerabilities associated with fluctuating global oil prices.
Yet, CI rebasing will provide more accurate inflation data, influencing monetary policy. This could lead to better-targeted interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to control inflation and stabilize the naira, directly impacting the cost of living for Nigerians.
The Nigerian creditworthiness would also increase because the debt-to-GDP ratio would be reduced. In the eyes of international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, Nigeria may be viewed as a more creditworthy nation. This can result in better access to loans with favourable terms and reduced borrowing costs.
Closely related is the fact that Nigeria’s elevated economic status can enhance its bargaining power in negotiating trade deals, enabling access to more beneficial terms in international trade agreements.
Similarly, there will be an Improved Human Development Index (HDI): High per capita income often correlates with better health, education, and living standards, which can boost Nigeria’s HDI ranking. This improved ranking can reflect positively on Nigeria’s global image and attract international partnerships.
Nigeria will also likely graduate from Aid Dependency. With higher income levels, Nigeria may reduce its dependence on international aid, transitioning towards self-sufficiency and enhanced economic sovereignty. That may likely attract global talent and partnerships. A wealthier economy can attract global talent, investors, and innovators seeking opportunities in Nigeria’s growing markets.
Other countries and organizations may seek partnerships with Nigeria, recognizing it as an influential player in the global economy.
More importantly, and at this time in our national life, a stronger economy backed by higher per capita income can stabilize and strengthen the naira in international currency markets. A stronger currency enhances Nigeria’s purchasing power globally, reduces import costs, and fosters economic stability.
The real income will, therefore, at the end of the day improve, as economists would say, all things being equal.
All things have been equal because the government plays a pivotal role in making real income improve.
This must be sustained by infrastructure development and human capital investment that will maximize these benefits and ensure inclusive growth that uplifts all Nigerians.
For ordinary Nigerians, the implications of the higher income could lead to improved access to international markets and more jobs due to increased investments.
On the whole, the planned GDP and CPI rebasing represents a critical step in modernizing economic measurements and aligning them with current realities. While the increase in per capita income will bolster Nigeria’s image and offer new opportunities, it also highlights the need for deliberate actions to address poverty by all Nigerians, policymakers must ensure that statistical growth is matched by real improvements in living standards.
Ajibola, former MD of DailyTrust, writes from Abuja.
On January 15 of every year, Nigerians remember what they were told was the most tragic incident that destroyed the ideal nation their founding fathers were building. That was the day Kaduna Nzeogwu and his co-conspirators executed a coup that ended the First Republic. As horrific as the events of that day were, that was not where the water entered the husk of the melon.
This year, Senator Shehu Sani argued that Nigeria has yet to recover from the assassination of Sir Ahmadu Bello and others killed on that day. It is hard to quarrel with Sani’s perspective. Even for people like Sani, who were not born when the incident happened, those interested in ensuring they did not forget had etched the narrative into them. It is a time-tested survival mechanism for humans to tell stories to younger generations to guide them in navigating their world. This ancient system of teaching the young about experiences started when our human forbearers were still living in trees.
Unfortunately, our forefathers noted that those who did not know where the rain started to beat them would never know where it stopped.
In the last few days, I have been recalling my conversations with the University of Ibadan-trained historian, Professor Chieka Ifemesia, who recently joined our ancestors. The core thesis of Ifemesia’s analysis of Nigeria’s malady was that “two ideas of nation-building have conflicted in Nigeria since amalgamation.” The clouds had been gathering since 1914, but it was in 1953 that the rain started to beat us, not in 1966.
By the year 1953, southern leaders were ready for Nigeria to become an independent nation. They were pushing for a three-year plan that would have granted Nigeria independence in 1956, one year before Ghana. The only problem was that the leaders of the north felt their region was not ready.
The north feared the south would dominate the new nation. As a result, the north argued for a delay. Their leaders believed that if given a few years, they could catch up on the number of northerners who had gone to school and were qualified to take part fully in governing Nigeria.
That was the country’s mood when, on March 31, 1953, Anthony Enahoro moved a motion at the Federal Parliament in Lagos for Britain to grant Nigeria independence by 1956.
Immediately, southern politicians in the Action Group and the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) joined him. The leaders of the north insisted on a gradual process. Ahmadu Bello proposed a compromise: the Enahoro bill should state self-government “as soon as possible” rather than “in the year 1956.”
The southern leaders’ insistence on 1956 led to all parties walking out of parliament, leaving the British colonial administrators in Nigeria at a loss as to whom to negotiate with.
As northern leaders left parliament, Lagos’ crowds jeered them on their way home. Northern leaders returned to Kaduna and issued a statement. In their 1953 statement from Lugard Hall in Kaduna, northern leaders listed eight points that the southern leaders had to meet before they would return to Lagos.
For all intents and purposes, the northern leaders were ready to leave the country. Southerners like Samuel Akintola, Anthony Enahoro, and other pro-independence politicians took their campaign for independence to the north.
That was how the riot of 1953 started.
On May 15, 1953, Northern People’s Congress supporters staged a demonstration to show Akintola and his team that they did not support their mission in the north.
The next day, Saturday, May 16, 1953, the Kano Native Authority withdrew the permission initially granted to Akintola and his group to hold their meeting at Colonial Hotel, Kano. Subsequently, mobs stormed the hotel and threw stones at Akintola and his fellow independence activists inside.
Initially, two people died. Then, the mobs moved to Sabon Gari.
By Sunday, May 17, it had escalated into a full-scale inter-ethnic crisis. The mobs chanted anti-Yoruba songs as they went on a rampage. British authorities called in the military to help quell the situation. By the time it was over, 46 people, mostly southerners, were dead.
The day after the riot, the British colonial government imposed a state of emergency in Northern Nigeria before they regained control of the situation. The British administrative officers also conducted a probe. At the end of the probe, their statement read: “No amount of provocation, short-term or long-term, can in any way justify their behaviour… the seeds of the trouble which broke out in Kano on May 16 (1953) have their counterparts still in the ground. It could happen again, and only a realisation and acceptance of the underlying causes can remove the danger of recurrence.”
That was the crux of Nigeria’s problem. The British identified the existence of the seeds of the trouble that broke out in Kano on May 16, 1953. They warned it could happen again unless Nigerians realised and accepted the underlying causes.
Of course, Nigerians neither realised nor accepted the underlying causes. Meanwhile, the seeds in the ground continued to absorb water and oxygen as their embryo’s cells enlarged. Again, for emphasis, one underlying cause is Ifemesia’s argument: the two conflicting ideas of nation-building that have plagued Nigeria since amalgamation.
After the riot, Ahmadu Bello and the northern leaders in the NPC issued another list of demands. This time, they presented it as a condition for their return to the Federal Parliament in Lagos.
The demands of the northern leaders included safeguards ensuring regional autonomy. The negotiations for Nigeria’s unity went so well that Ahmadu Bello was comfortable staying in the north as premier while he sent his protégé, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, to Lagos to serve as prime minister.
This is the uncontested sketch of what happened in 1953.
However, the underlying causes of the 1953 riot in Kano were neither addressed nor accepted. And nobody uprooted the seeds of the trouble in the ground. When they manifested again in 1966, it was not just rain this time; it was thunder and hailstones.
Whether in 1953 or 1966, we understand that if there are two players in a story, there are at least three perspectives: one from each player and a third from a neutral observer. Finding a neutral observer is not as easy as it seems. Those who consider themselves victims often have more compelling stories. Those considered perpetrators also hold what they believe to be interesting narratives—if only anyone cares to listen attentively.
In most deeply devastating human events, different players at different times cross the line that separates victims from perpetrators. Even when history, the ultimate arbitrator, renders its verdict, it struggles to pinpoint the exact moment of no return—the moment when identifying and accepting the underlying causes could have prevented the tragedy.
As humans, we have continued to do the easy part—pointing fingers and apportioning blame—rather than the difficult part of working toward a solution to prevent a recurrence. And when history repeats itself, we blame our stars rather than our inaction.
Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo teaches Post-Colonial African History, Afrodiasporic Literature, and African Folktales at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He is also the host of Dr. Damages Show. His books include “This American Life Sef” and “Children of a Retired God,” among others. His upcoming book is called “Why I’m Disappointed in Jesus.”
The 2027 political season is arriving a bit too early in Akwa Ibom State, and as usual, the starting point is mudslinging and salacious political publications targeting at the incumbent governor and his predecessor. This week, an NGO, Network Against Corruption and Trafficking (NACAT) filed a petition at the EFCC and ICPC alleging that there was ‘’wanton corruption and embezzlement of public funds orchestrated by former governor Udom Emmanuel’’. The petition is dated January 21, 2025 and signed by its operational manager, Stanley Ugabe. A week before the petition was delivered to the anti-graft agencies; a group known as Concerned Members of the All Progressives Congress in Akwa Ibom State, wrote an open letter to President Bola Tinubu in The Nation newspaper of Monday, January 13, 2025, in the form of an advertorial in which it made a number of spurious allegations against Gov. Eno; Udom Emmanuel and Mr. Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of Petroleum (Gas). The open letter alleges that the three leaders are scheming to support a PDP presidential candidate of Northern origin in 2027 and that their ultimate goal is to frustrate the reelection of President Tinubu.
The letter is copied to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; APC National Chairman, Abdullai Ganduje and NSA, Nuhu Ribadu. There are 10 signatories on the letter, representing the 10 federal constituencies in the state, but in actual fact, the names are all fictitious. I have been a prominent member of APC in Akwa Ibom State since November 2014 and participated in three governorship elections since 2015 as a communication strategist. I am in a position to know at least one of 10 persons who can buy a newspaper page for N1.2 million to place an open letter to the President. Those names do not just exist. I have been well informed from within the APC that the sponsors of the advertorial are the same as the brains behind the petition against Udom Emmanuel. Their objectives are to embarrass the former governor who is a PDP leader and the political godfather of Gov. Eno; make the governor look bad before the President and create problems for the governor and his reelection bid. The last paragraph of the advertorial says it all: ‘’Given your extensive experience in presidential politics, we trust that you won’t fall prey to Gov. Umo Eno’s deception. It’s time to activate plans to win Akwa Ibom State and secure your reelection’’. There is no single mention of the Senate President, who is the leader of APC in the South-South region, in the letter apart from indicating that he was in copy. That’s quite telling!
I have spoken to a lot of people within the APC in the state and I have discovered that the advertorial was sponsored by people with two major agenda: One, they are uncomfortable with the cordiality between the Senate President and the governor which was deliberately built by the governor, contrary to traditions. They are enraged by the simmering rumours within the APC that the governor might defect to the party, and that would upstage the existing political arrangement/structure in the APC. The second agenda is to stop the governor from going for second term. They do not necessarily believe that he would defect; but they want Akpabio to cut all ties with him and launch a political assault to weaken him and set the stage for APC to take over the state. The thinking within this group is that if Akpabio does not deliver the governorship seat to APC, his chance of being reelected Senate President would be slimmer. Akpabio is the only Senate President since 1999 to come from a state governed by an opposition party. Some party members believe that this is a major minus for him as far as 2027 is concerened, especially with Senator Oshiomhole poised to challenge him for the position.
The inclusion of Ekperikpe Ekpo in the publication is befuddling to many, especially those outside Akwa Ibom State. He is from the same senatorial district with Akpabio and was an Akpabio acolyte until the Senate President nominated him for the ministerial position and convinced President Tinubu to approve the appointment in spite of the need to spread appointments to other zones. But in recent months, there’ve been speculations of a frosty relationship developing between the Senate President and the Minister due to the latter’s perceived interest in gubernatorial politics. The Minister has reacted sharply to the advertorial, stating that he is not building any alliance with anybody to sabotage Tinubu’s reelection as alleged in the publication. Rather, he expressed his unalloyed loyalty to the President. Gov. Eno has also denied allegations of working against the President’s interest. The governor’s press secretary, Ekerete Udo wrote in a statement: ‘’The undisguised intent of the purveyors of the inane advertorial was to cause a strain in the widely acknowledged warm relationship the governor enjoys with President Tinubu; the Senate President and the Minister…the governor has not formed any such clandestine alliance as the group falsely and maliciously stated’’.
As for the petition to the EFCC and ICPC, neither Udom Emmanuel himself nor the governor has made any public statement. But, if history is our guide, I can tell how far this may go. In 2016, some persons, led by a lawyer who is now late, wrote a similar petition against Akpabio, alleging his misuse of security votes just as the accusation against Udom Emmanuel. It was Akpabio’s successor (Udom Emmanuel) who rose to defend Akpabio to the extent of filing a court case against the EFCC. The court ruled against the EFCC, barring it from investigating Akpabio’s tenure. Eight years later, Udom Emmanuel is a victim of a similar petition. How do you think his successor, Pastor Umo Eno, would manage the situation? History often repeats itself rather strangely in Akwa Ibom politics.
The tumult of 2027 is around the corner. I can only hope that the governor will brush this aside and concentrate on his agenda to the people.
It’s hard to argue when U.S. President Donald Trump says that God saved him to save America. Not only is a rational argument often suspended or lost when God enters the matter, but Trump’s return as the 47th president defies logic.
A leader’s job is never done. But how do you rationally explain Kamala Harris’s defeat in the presidential election and, along with it, the routing of Joe Biden and the Democratic Party in the Congress? If the election were a boxing match, it would have beaten the record of Vitali Klitschko vs Shannon Briggs’s 2010 fight as one of the most one-sided in boxing history.
Biden’s sins
And it’s not a laughing matter. Trump was a joke, but God, they say, uses jokers to teach serious people some lessons. I don’t mean his sordid personal record just yet. I mean where Biden had taken America compared to where Trump left it in 2021. Recovery from COVID-19 was largely exemplary, thanks to Biden letting data and science lead. The management of inflation on his watch (average 5.2 percent) has been the envy of most of the world, especially Europe.
The negotiations with Big Pharma to review the prices of prescription drugs saved taxpayers billions, not to mention the benefits of peace of mind.
He added 16.6 million jobs, achieved the lowest unemployment in five decades, and invested over $300 billion to rebuild roads and bridges. In contrast to climate change denier Trump, who pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, even though experts have described climate change as one of the world’s biggest threats in the next two to ten years, Biden returned America to the agreement and aggressively pursued investment in clean energy.
Forget the record!
But it turned out that whatever logic or facts might offer, God had other plans, according to Trump. It could only have been divine because how come voters didn’t remember Biden’s record or, if they did, we are now told the record didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was how they felt at election time – a concept obviously outside the realm of logic.
Follow divination
Trump’s sordid record didn’t matter in this solemn divination, this act of God. At the peak of his trials, Trump faced 91 criminal counts and multiple indictments. He was convicted on 34 counts for falsifying business records during his hush money trial and impeached twice. Just at the door to the White House, he was sentenced for a felony but received “unconditional discharge.”
Voters knew his record up until November 5; nothing was secret. Yet, in a divination that spared him to redeem America—one of the few countries, apart from South Africa, Sweden and Finland, where a candidate can be elected even with a convict’s milestone around his neck—Trump won resoundingly.
It’s pointless trying to figure it out. Trump is here to finish what he couldn’t in his first coming. At the Inauguration on Monday, he announced a glorious new American dawn, the very purpose for which 1) the hand of fate made voters turn a blind eye to Trump’s chaotic record and 2) God saved him from being killed twice. Who can argue against that?
While we’re getting used to the political science of feelings and divinations over facts and logic, it might be helpful to ask what this second missionary journey means for Africa. It does seem that God saved Trump not only to save America from itself but also to save America from Africa.
Relief, at last
His victory is a relief for several countries with strict LGBT laws. Nigeria has an anti-LGBT law that criminalises same-sex marriage and public display of affection by persons of the same sex, with a fine of up to 14 years imprisonment.
It battled to hold its ground against US pressure for over a decade. When Biden was going out the door, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed a law banning homosexuality in the military – something that may have played out differently if Harris of the Democratic Party had won.
But Nigeria’s anti-LGBT laws are not even close to those of Uganda, which imposed the death penalty, a move that Biden described as “a tragic violation of universal human rights” and on whose watch Uganda was removed from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), among other reprisals.
Tanzania and Ghana were not too far behind a backlash under Biden for their stringent anti-LGBT laws, a misery from which they have now been delivered. In his second missionary journey, Trump has condemned all forms of “social engineering” and declared from day one there are only two sexes in the US – male and female.
This second coming is not only about the sexes or gender. Money—well, not precisely real money—is involved, too, for Africans. Crypto is getting popular on the continent. Data from Creditcoin’s blog suggests that African youths, particularly in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, are playing big. One source says that 35 percent of those aged between 18 and 60 in Nigeria owned or traded crypto assets in 2022.
The year before was a nightmare for crypto traders in Nigeria after the Central Bank banned trading in crypto assets, and it has been a long winter since. Well, the new crypto godfather has just arrived on the scene. In what signalled a brave new dawn for the token and its youthful lovers on the continent, Trump and his wife, Melania, launched personalised cryptos and became crypto billionaires hours before the President’s inauguration.
Flipside
Yet, the flipside of this balance sheet is concerning for Africa. AGOA, which provides duty-free access to over 6,000 products from the continent, is due for renewal this year.
Some African countries have benefited significantly from it. For example, Ghana’s exports to the U.S. grew from $206 million in 2000 to $2.76 billion in 2022. Kenya’s AGOA-related apparel exports grew from $55 million in 2001 to $603 million in 2022, while South Africa’s automotive exports also increased. Angola and Nigeria have also gained.
These gains are at risk from Trump, who described “tariff” as the most beautiful word in the dictionary.
Trump’s America First policy means the continent may have to look out for itself, which it does poorly even at the best times. This is hardly good news for subregional institutions like the ECOWAS, whose fragile multinational security arrangement was recently further weakened by the exit of four West African countries.
Nor are swathes of African migrants still trying to find a footing in the U.S. going to see Trump’s second missionary journey with its promise of criminalising migration as funny. The President’s attack on the bishop of Washington who asked for mercy for migrants tells the whole story.
Ask God
It doesn’t matter. Trump is not pretending he is on this mission to save the world. He’s not in it to save the climate, make his neighbours happy, champion a global moral force for good, or prevent chaos in international trade. He is sure not on this journey for Africa that was not on the ballot when he was elected, warts and all.
Conservatives, especially African evangelicals, who love him do so for the same reason Christians swear by Israel in the mistaken belief that it is a Christian country. It is not, in the same token, by which Trump’s piety is skin deep. But that is immaterial now.
Anyone who doubts that Trump is on a divine mission can take up the matter with God.
Ishiekwene, Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP, is the author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It.
In his highly anticipated inaugural speech today, Donald J. Trump painted a vivid picture of an America on the precipice of a transformative era. With characteristic bravado, he declared, “The golden age of America begins right now.” Whether one agrees with his politics or not, the speech has sparked a conversation about what this “golden age” could entail for the nation and the world.
Without a doubt, his speech is a vision rooted in optimism. This is as Trump’s address was steeped in optimism. He outlined a vision of economic prosperity, national security, and unity that resonated with many of his supporters. Promising to prioritize American jobs, revitalize manufacturing, and rebuild the country’s crumbling infrastructure, Trump’s rhetoric centered on bringing “forgotten Americans” back into the fold.
In fact, it is a vision that appeals to those who feel left behind by globalization and technological change. By focusing on “America First,” Trump aimed to position himself as the champion of the average worker, pledging to reverse decades of policies he argues have harmed the middle class. His emphasis on reinvigorating domestic industries and creating jobs for Americans struck a chord with voters who yearn for a return to a time when American manufacturing was the backbone of the economy.
However, achieving this golden age will require more than words. Trump faces a deeply divided nation, skeptical allies, and an array of domestic and global challenges. His promise to restore America’s manufacturing dominance may clash with the realities of automation and global supply chains. Moreover, his hardline stances on immigration and trade could strain relationships both within the country and abroad.
Critics argue that Trump’s rhetoric oversimplifies complex issues. Economic revitalization, for instance, is not merely about bringing back jobs but also about adapting to the future. While Trump’s focus on traditional industries resonates with many, the global economy is rapidly evolving, with technology and renewable energy playing increasingly critical roles. Policies that fail to address these trends may risk leaving the United States behind in the global race for innovation.
Trump’s foreign policy vision, marked by his commitment to an “America First” doctrine, raises questions about the country’s role as a global leader. While his supporters see his approach as a much-needed recalibration of America’s priorities, critics warn that disengagement from global institutions and alliances could weaken the nation’s influence and security.
At this juncture, it is germane to ask, “What Does a Golden Age Look Like?” To answer the foregoing question, it is expedient to say that the term “golden age” evokes images of flourishing prosperity, cultural renaissance, and national pride. To achieve this, America must address systemic issues such as income inequality, racial injustice, and climate change. A true golden age would involve lifting all Americans, not just a select few.
Trump’s speech touched on these themes but left many specifics unexplored. His administration’s policies will ultimately determine whether this vision materializes or remains a rhetorical flourish. While his supporters believe he has the boldness to deliver, skeptics question whether his plans will deepen the divides he promises to heal.
One critical aspect of a golden age is inclusivity. Trump’s presidency has been marked by polarizing rhetoric, and bridging these divides will require a concerted effort to foster unity and understanding. The administration must prioritize policies that benefit all Americans, regardless of race, religion, or political affiliation. Only by building bridges rather than walls, figuratively and literally, can America achieve a truly golden age.
One of the most striking aspects of Trump’s speech was his call for unity. “We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny,” he proclaimed. While lofty words, they serve as a reminder that America’s strength lies in its diversity and shared purpose. For this golden age to take root, Americans from all walks of life must find common ground.
Trump’s call for unity comes at a time of deep political and social polarization. The rise of social media has amplified divisions, creating echo chambers where differing perspectives rarely intersect. For Trump’s vision to succeed, the nation must engage in meaningful dialogue that transcends party lines and ideological boundaries.
The role of the media in this process cannot be overstated. A free and fair press is essential for holding leaders accountable and fostering informed public discourse. Trump’s often contentious relationship with the media underscores the need for both sides to engage constructively. Journalists must continue to scrutinize policies and rhetoric, while the administration must recognize the press as a vital institution rather than an adversary.
Central to Trump’s vision of a golden age is economic transformation. His promise to bring back jobs and revive industries resonates with workers who have seen factories close and livelihoods disappear. However, achieving this will require innovative policies that account for the complexities of the modern economy.
Investment in infrastructure is a promising starting point. Rebuilding roads, bridges, and public transportation systems not only creates jobs but also lays the foundation for long-term economic growth. Similarly, prioritizing education and workforce development is crucial for equipping Americans with the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing job market.
Tax reform and deregulation are also key components of Trump’s economic agenda. While these measures may stimulate business growth, they must be implemented carefully to ensure that the benefits are broadly distributed. A golden age cannot be built on policies that disproportionately favor the wealthy at the expense of the middle class and working poor.
Trump’s speech emphasized a shift toward “America First,” signaling a departure from traditional foreign policy norms. While this approach appeals to those who feel that the United States has shouldered an unfair burden in global affairs, it raises questions about the country’s leadership role.
The challenges of the 21st century, including climate change, cyber security, and global health, require international cooperation. Trump’s willingness to engage with global partners will be critical for addressing these issues effectively. A truly golden age for America must also contribute to a more stable and prosperous world.
Donald Trump’s inauguration marks the beginning of a new chapter in American history. His promise of a golden age is ambitious and inspiring to many, but it comes with significant challenges. Whether his administration can rise to the occasion remains to be seen. As the nation embarks on this journey, one thing is clear: the next four years will shape not only the future of America but also its place in the world.
The golden age may be here, but its realization depends on unity, innovation, and a commitment to values that transcend party lines. Only time will tell if Trump’s vision becomes reality or a missed opportunity. For now, his words serve as both a rallying cry and a challenge to a nation ready to define its destiny.
As President Joe Biden, the 46th American president bowed out yesterday after 52 years of service to the nation he passionately served as a parliamentarian and president and Trump took over as the most powerful leader in the world in a seamless transition, devoid of the uneasiness and anxiety that heralded his first coming, it was the beauty of the American system that was in display.
Trump’s landslide victory over both Biden and Harris is but once again a confirmation that all politics is local. No matter how much Trump is derided by the rest of the world over what was considered his infantile behaviour, character deficit and right-wing world view, it is the Americans who wear the shoe that know where it pinches.
And lastly, the unexpected outcome of the American presidential election also once again confirmed the major weaknesses of the democratization process -free and fair election the hallmark of participatory democracy which is capable of throwing up anyone.
Biden had exploited what has turned out to be unfounded fears about Trump’s threat to democracy and the battle against Trumpism a “fight for the soul of the nation” to cruise into power in 2020. First, in order to rescind some of the Trump policies, Biden on his first day in office, issued executive orders that took back the US into the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, cancelled the US withdrawal from the World Health Organisation and a number of other executive orders in the areas of immigration, health care and environment.
In spite of the control of the presidency and both houses of Congress by the president’s party, after the 2020 mid-term election, three significant pieces of voting rights and electoral-reform legislations, including the For the People Act, passed by the House in March 2021; the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, passed by the House in August; and the Freedom to Vote Act, introduced in the Senate in September. (The first two bills were later versions of legislation passed by the House in 2019) were all blocked in the Senate by Republican filibusters, which could be overcome only with the support of at least 60 senators.
Finally, believing he, and his party knew what the people wanted without asking them, Biden became a victim of his own hubris. On December 13, 2022, Biden signed into law the “Respect for Marriage Act which formally repealed the federal Defence of Marriage Act (1996) which had defined marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman and had permitted states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriage performed in other states.
Biden had earlier alienated the power American Pentecostals who supported Trump by appointing Pete Buttigieg, a gay as U.S. Secretary of Transportation. Biden also went on to sign an LGBTQ executive order which advanced equality on June 15, 2022.
Of course, the unexpected outstanding performance of Biden and his Democratic Party in American last mid-term election was American women’s show of gratitude to the president and his party’s crusade over women’s right to control their bodies But their dismal performance in the last November election was American women’s rejection of the notion that institutions of state manned by individuals who have no children can decide for parents how best to groom their children. If there are American adults who today exhibit evidence of maladjustment as a result of challenges of growing up, parents don’t want confused state officials to tell their five year old boys and girls about their right to change their sex.
Biden, a veteran of foreign relations having served as Foreign Relations Committee chair twice (2001–03; 2007–09), was no less haunted by his mishandling of foreign issues with domestic issues content by failing to rise to the occasion as the leader of the world. His unconditional support for Jonathan Netanyahu was to set him up against moderate democrats, students, first time voters and American Arab voters and the rest of other world leaders that had expected him to use his moral voice to provide leadership for the world in disarray.
But then Biden could not give what he did not have. He instead on October 2023 secured Congress aid package $15 billion in additional military assistance for Israel in its war against Hamas. It was true Hamas started the war with the unprovoked killing of 1,200 Israeli civilians and soldiers. But informed members of the international community understood the act was out of frustration by Palestinians after over 50 years of Israel’s occupation, scores of rejected UN resolutions with tacit support of the US.
Israeli response in form of massive invasion and destruction of a ‘caged’ Gaza resulted in the death of over 45,000 Palestinians mainly innocent children and women.
Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of schools, hospitals and mosques, blockade preventing water, food, medicine, electricity, and fuel from entering the territory, was declared disproportionate response by the Pope, genocide by the United Nations and the rest of the world leading to issuing of warrant of arrest of Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, his former defence minister ‘for crime against humanity and war crimes committed from at least October 8 2023 until at least May 20 2024”.
Biden, a Catholic who takes Holy Communion every day and the only man with leverage on Netanyahu kept insisting Israel has the right to defend herself.
And finally, Trump’s triumph was one more evidence of the major weaknesses of democracy-free and fair election the hallmark of participatory democracy which often involve group bargaining. Democracy is capable of throwing up anyone including, outright idiots who do not know their right from their left or even those who have no faith in democracy at the expense of those who have faithfully served their nation in the military, bureaucracy and parliament such as John McCain in 2008, Hillary Clinton 2016 and Biden and Harris 2024.
In fact, the apprehension of most enlightened Americans during Trump’s first coming was the parallel between Trump, his rhetoric and Adolf Hitler. Like Hitler and most far right politicians, Trump had blamed economic and social crises in America on outsiders. And sounding like Hitler before the Jewish final solution, he had said ‘we have problem in this country. It is called Muslims; we know our current president is one, he is not an American”…”They have training camps where they want to kill us; we want to take our country back”. He blamed China for America’s economic woes and the menace of drug and unemployment on Brazil.
Like Hitler, Trump does not believe in political parties. Just as Hitler used Nazism as springboard to take over power, only to later destroy the leadership of the party as well as the party’s values before taking upon the world as a dictatorship responsible for the death of over 11 million people, six million of them from Israel, Trump hijacked the Republican Party to secure the party’s presidential ticket. Like Hitler, he went on to assault the core values and the soul of the Republican Party. And just like what Hitler did to his party leading members, Trump had humiliated leading light of the GOP before the far-right Republicans, particularly members of the Trump-led MAGA movement, who generally supported Russian President Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán, the authoritarian leader of Hungary took over.
Trump was against the Fourteenth Amendment which confers citizenship on all children born in America and threatened to deport all such children. Worried Americans back then could not but see the parallel between this and Hitler’s ‘bastardisation’ policy which considered children born in Germany but of non-German parents inferior and could not be given citizenship because citizenship was by blood of the Aryan race.
Trump neither believes in free press or shares the sentiments of Thomas Jefferson, the American founding father and the principal author of American declaration of independence (1776) that “were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter”. Today Trump has undermined confidence in the free press, creating his own alternative reality through lies propagated by Fox news and other platforms that supported him.
Trump’s ‘I am the only one who can fix America’ is not markedly different from Hitler’s delusion that he was ordained to protect the Aryan race.
But Trump’s 2020 defeat despite his failed insurrection and his return to the White House yesterday after four years in the political wilderness speaks to the resilience of the American system. It shows the American system has an in-built mechanism to prevent any America from taking a precipitate action which poses danger to American democracy.
[OPINION] Renewed Hope 2025 targets for health through the magnifying glass - Fredrick Nwabufo
AdminA healthy nation is a productive one. Health is existential and ranks extraordinarily on the pyramid of desiderata. Since 2023, the President Tinubu-led administration has foregrounded healthcare, making it a nucleus of its policy decisions and prescriptions.
For instance, in the 2024 budget of Renewed Hope, the first in the life of the administration, health, and other contributing sectors to the human capital index received due attention. Also, in the yet-to-be-passed 2025 budget estimates, N402 billion has been allocated for infrastructural investments in the health sector and another N282.65 billion for the Basic Health Care Fund, N188 billion for vaccines, and N40 billion for malaria vaccines.
A brief review of the past year
The Tinubu administration prioritises Nigerians – their health, social welfare, and otherwise. 2024 was a significant year for the administration in the health sector with many tangible outcomes. Over 53,000 frontline health workers were trained in the past year to deliver integrated, high-quality services in keeping with the objective of training 120,000 health workers by December 2025.
Also, the blanket of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) was expanded with over 2.4 million citizens enrolling in the national health insurance scheme in the year and with 10 million Nigerians under its sturdy cover.
Nigeria also secured a EUR1 billion European Investment Bank financing mechanism and a $1 billion Afreximbank financing mechanism to support incoming manufacturers in the health and life science sectors.
In addition, the health sector witnessed significant investment interest with over 70 new healthcare manufacturing companies with 22 large-scale projects in talks with international financiers, and more than 10 value-chain verticals already being established in the country.
The year, 2025, comes with a dispensary of possibilities, considering the streak of outcomes in the previous years. It should ordinarily be a year of new quarries, fecundated grounds, and consolidation.
According to projections by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, about 40 percent Level 1 primary health facilities will be enhanced and advanced to Level 2, widening the capacity and reach of facilities capable of delivering integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services across all states of the federation.
Over 60,000 frontline health workers will also receive training in comprehensive SRH service delivery in 2025, aiming to achieve feasible quality improvement in family planning (FP) and post-abortion care (PAC).
Also, there will be a fulsome activation of the free C-Section and VVF repair programme in 50 percent of the 172 priority local government areas, which account for the highest burden of maternal deaths in the country.
In addition, the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp), a mechanism for driving efficiency in healthcare service delivery, will ensure that performance and financial management officers are engaged in all 774 local government areas to supervise the construction of primary healthcare centres, as well as manage their operations with fidelity to transparency and efficiency.
The Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) achieved some milestones in 2024, and it is expected that the initiative will consolidate the gains and execute more multiplier interventions and programmes.
PVAC is a crucial all-wheel vehicle established by President Bola Tinubu to unleash the potential of the health sector and unlock the arteries in the healthcare value chain by increasing local manufacturing of pharmaceutical products to least 70 percent of total consumption by 2030; increasing the total direct full-time employees working in the life sciences manufacturing sub-sector to at least 50,000 (up from the current workforce estimated at approximately 20,000); establishing at least two commercial vaccine plants across the health sector; establishing at least five new medical supplies and diagnostics plants, and doubling Nigeria’s pharmaceutical market share in Africa to at least 15 percent.
In 2025, PVAC says it will focus on the priority areas of market shaping, advancing local manufacturing, regulation and policy advocacy, and execution of special projects.
Some of its interventions will include expanding the range of health products and medical technologies manufactured domestically to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare value chain, further addressing regulatory hurdles, advocating policy changes required to advance healthcare businesses across the sector by providing support to manufacturers, as well as working with public sector bodies.
Also, it will include implementing strategic, high-impact projects on behalf of the government to enhance local manufacturing capacity and improve health outcomes, addressing critical gaps in the healthcare sector.
In addition, establishing three to five manufacturing plants for pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, diagnostics and LLINs; leveraging global knowledge hubs to improve technical capacity for local manufacturing; supporting new manufacturers in obtaining WHO pre qualification and implement enabling ecosystems interventions; accelerating implementation of Executive Order and engage EO Technical Working Group to implement import duty and VAT exemption for manufacturing equipment and materials.
By the same token, it seeks to successfully deliver projects that support the establishment or expansion of local manufacturing facilities for essential health products and technologies and launch initiatives that improve healthcare access and outcomes for underserved populations, ensuring alignment with national health priorities.
Also, the Renewed Hope Medical Relief Programme once approved by parliament as proposed by President Tinubu, to be implemented through the Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), will see the federal government purchasing drugs, medical consumables, test kits directly from local manufacturers and distributing via technology-enabled public-private partnership, to 73 FTHIs, 37 general hospitals, and 8,800 PHCs receiving funds from BHCPF. This will subsidise the cost of medicines, channel activated real demand to Nigerian manufacturers, lower costs, and ensure quality.
The National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System (NEMSAS), a special-purpose entity which serves as the foundation for organising and institutionalising emergency medical services across Nigeria, says some of its future aims include the procurement and equipping of tricycle and boat ambulances, which is in process with the plan of distributing over 700 tricycle and 30 boat ambulances to rural communities across Nigeria; advocacy and behavioural change communication: each state is expected to implement a robust community level advocacy exercise to drive demand and utilisation of RESMAT services; formal launch and commencement of RESMAT operations; monitoring and evaluation and plan for scale up to 37+1 states.
Already, NEMSAS has supported some states in establishing State Emergency Medical Service Governance and Operational Structures. Some of these states are Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Gombe, Nasarawa, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Plateau, Taraba, Delta, Ogun, Osun, Rivers, Yobe, Jigawa, Kebbi, Adamawa, Borno, and FCT.
NEMSAS says in regions and universities where it is fully operational, individuals facing emergencies—such as complicated pregnancies or deliveries—can dial the national emergency short code (112) or a designated 12-digit number from their institution or state. An ambulance will be dispatched to assess their situation, provide initial treatment, and transport them to the nearest hospital at no charge.
To deepen access to critical emergency services and bridge EMS chasms in areas with limited NEMSAS coverage, NEMSAS seeks to launch the Rural Emergency Service and Maternal Transport Programme.
The World Bank through the IMPACT project is supporting a pilot of this programme, in 15 IMPACT Project states namely: Bauchi, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) itemises some of its key development benchmarks for 2025 to include public health legislation: passing of the Public Health Emergency Management and NCDC amendment bills, development of Public Health Emergency Management Standards and Structure for states in line with the SWAp Agenda and subnational EPR mentorship; health promotion and disease prevention for priority and epidemic prone diseases on all media platforms, improved national and subnational awareness, AMR/IPC implementation, surveillance and early warning systems (including SORMAS optimisation through a national digital transformation agenda); laboratory and diagnostic capacity optimisation (including genomic sequencing and a standard service menu for state (subnational) laboratories); expand laboratory network and capabilities; response, medical countermeasures, and event (outbreak) management actions (including risk profiling, simulation exercises, IPC, and stockpiling), and reduce outbreak mortalities.
In addition, other targets include increasing national efforts in public health emergencies, human resource capacity development (including field epidemiology and laboratory training, integrated training for surveillance officers); public health emergency training, case management training core personnel and SURGE staff, and definition of the minimum human resource competencies for state EPR programmes), including leadership training and performance review of outbreaks of priority and endemic prone diseases (Lassa fever, Meningitis, Diphtheria, Measles, Cholera, Influenza-like illnesses, Mpox and Yellow Fever).
Looking through the magnifying glass, 2025 is shaping up to be another stellar year for Nigeria’s health sector under President Tinubu.
Fredrick Nwabufo is the senior special assistant to the president on public engagement
I turned 83 years old on the 15th of September 2024 and recently realised that I have outlived a substantial proportion of acquaintances whom I encountered in the active and useful years of my life. If I was able to visit Jamaica, where I spent my childhood and adolescence, I would hardly find anyone with whom I attended school or with whom I played when I enjoyed a typical Jamaican boyhood. Nevertheless, these days I find myself wishing that I could return to my natal home not necessarily to see old friends so much as to experience old sensations.
This desire I believe is actually a sign of the arrival of old age as the wish to experience juvenile memories is a function of geriatric nostalgia. As I confront daily existence, especially by trying to overcome the unfortunate circumstance of the reduction of mobility and social intercourse occasioned by the loss of my left leg to diabetes in my 79th year, I feel compelled to reflect on various events that I have witnessed in the journey so far. However, this compulsion generates a terrifying sense of loss and anxiety over one’s own chance of survival when such reflections reveal the serial departure of scores of individuals who were either younger or not much older than myself.
This anxiety coupled with gratitude for my close family’s devotion to my welfare has rendered the consciousness of the importance of divine faith alive in my awareness. While I still entertain some misgivings about the use of religion to satisfy the opportunistic advantages of some of its practitioners I try my best to respect and honour the true belief of the advocates of the best principles of faith.
That is to say that I recognise the need for faith among the believers because my own circumstance makes me hope for divine intervention to make life be more than suffering. I reflect on this issue constantly these days because I am in need of faith as I recognise that old age has arrived.
Taxes, tariffs, duties and levies are ways the government rakes in revenue to run institutions of governance and finance provisions of physical infrastructures including social amenities.
Taxation is as old as humanity so much so that it is even in the holy books. Zacchaeus in the Bible is said to be a tax collector while Jesus himself paid tax.
Remember the popular phrase of giving unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God, what is God’s. Biblical records about tax payment can be found in Matthew 17:24-27 and 22:15-22. During the pre-colonial era, Yoruba people paid isakole and owo-ori, which are forms of taxation.
Really speaking, most people don’t want to pay taxes for different reasons. Many Nigerians believe that the government is rich enough with proceeds from crude oil and gas sales and does not need additional income to run its affairs.
Some refuse to pay because of the assumption that there is no accountability and transparency from the government on what it has done with monies paid by those who complied, especially proceeds from Pay As You Earn, which is deductible from the salaries of workers. Corruption is one of the barriers and impediments to voluntary tax compliance.
Many Nigerians are also of the opinion that they are not earning enough to enable them to pay taxes. Research has shown that many corporate organisations making super profits in Nigeria and the super-rich people in the country do not pay commensurate taxes if they pay at all.
As part of his economic restructuring, President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, August 3, 2023, inaugurated the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms with Taiwo Oyedele as its chairman. In October last year, the President sent four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for passage.
The bills are: the Nigeria Tax Bill, which harmonises all the major taxes, such as corporate income tax, personal income tax, VAT etc.; the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, which provides a framework for tax management covering taxpayer identification, registration, assessment, collection, enforcement, etc.; the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, which seeks to replace the FIRS with the NRS to perform a broader role of revenue administration in Nigeria and drive collaboration with subnational governments and MDAs and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill meant to transform the JTB to JRB with an expanded mandate and enhanced role for cooperation and tax harmonisation.
The bill also sets up the office of the tax ombudsman to protect taxpayers and advocate for tax simplification.
A December 3, 2024 tweet on the X handle of Taiwo Oyedele (@taiwooyedele) says, “Altogether, the bills offer a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s tax framework to drive economic growth, support Nigerian households and position the country as a competitive economy within the comity of nations. These reforms reflect a commitment to equity, efficiency, and sustainable development.”
It is noteworthy that since the bills were sent by President Tinubu to NASS for passage, there has been a lot of pushback by many northern elites including governors, senators and House of Representatives members.
Among those who spoke out against the bills were Governors Bala Muhammed of Bauchi, Prof. Babagana Zulum of Borno and Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State.
Senator Ali Ndume also did not hide his disdain for the bills. The bone of contention in the bill majorly was the revised sharing formula for the distribution of the Value Added Tax.
Recall that under the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, this was very contentious to the extent that the then Governor Nyesome Wike of Rivers State had to drag the Federal Government to court over what it considered to be an inequitable sharing formula of VAT.
The Northern Elders, Arewa Consultative Forum and many powerful northern power brokers queued behind their governors and federal lawmakers to issue subtle threats to President Tinubu, indicating that they would not support his reelection bid in 2027.
Indeed, on October 31, 2024, the National Economic Council asked President Bola Tinubu to withdraw the Tax Reforms Bills from the National Assembly to allow for wider consultations and consensus building.
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said that formed part of resolutions reached at the 144th meeting of the National Economic Council at the State House, Abuja.
On December 3, 2024, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement said President Bola Tinubu had directed the Ministry of Justice to work with the National Assembly to address the concerns raised by different quarters on the tax reform bills.
It is important to highlight some of the salient provisions of the four tax reform bills.
According to the earlier referenced tweet by Oyedele, changes to income tax laws will attract remote work opportunities in the global business process outsourcing sector, enabling Nigerian youths to thrive in the digital economy; goods, services, and intellectual property exports will benefit from zero-rated VAT and other incentives to enhance Nigeria’s global trade competitiveness; tax exemptions, including zero per cent corporate income tax, VAT, and withholding tax, will apply to small businesses with annual turnover of N50m or less; minimum wage earners will be exempt from personal income tax, while over 90 per cent of workers across the private and public sectors will see a reduced tax burden.
Essential items such as food, education, and healthcare will enjoy zero per cent VAT while rent, public transportation, and renewable energy will be exempted, providing relief for low-income households that spend nearly 100 per cent of their income on these necessities.
Furthermore, over 50 nuisance taxes are to be repealed, with the remaining levies harmonised into a few numbers of taxes.
Corporate income tax rates will reduce from 30 per cent to 25 per cent over the next two years, and earmarked taxes on companies will be replaced with a streamlined single levy; businesses will benefit from input VAT credits on assets and services, eliminating the minimum tax on loss-making and low-margin companies.
This will lower production costs and stimulate investment; a redesigned tax framework will ensure progressive personal income tax, VAT, and capital gains tax while safeguarding low-income earners.
Taxes on foreign currency-denominated transactions will be payable in naira, easing compliance for businesses and reducing pressure on the exchange rate; VAT revenue will be distributed among states based on an equitable model to reward economic contributions, rather than the current model which is skewed in favour of states with head office locations where VAT remittances are usually made; the introduction of tax ombudsman to improve the tax system by protecting vulnerable taxpayers and advocating for fairness and lastly, a strategic framework for fair taxation, responsible borrowing, and sustainable spending will be established to guide the fiscal system.
In a rider to those points, Oyedele said, “These tax reforms aim to alleviate the rising cost of living, foster economic equity, and create a business-friendly environment to attract local and foreign investments.”
It is heartwarming to note that the Nigerian governors who were initially against this bill were able to meet with the Taiwo Oyedele Presidential Tax Reform Committee last week and ironed out their differences.
In a communique issued by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the forum reiterated its strong support for the comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s archaic tax laws.
The forum endorsed a revised Value Added Tax sharing formula to ensure equitable distribution of resources: 50 per cent based on equality, 30 per cent based on derivation, and 20 per cent based on population.
Members agreed that there should be no increase in the VAT rate or reduction in Corporate Income Tax at this time, to maintain economic stability. The forum advocated for the continued exemption of essential goods and agricultural produce from VAT to safeguard the welfare of citizens and promote agricultural productivity.
The meeting recommended that there should be no terminal clause for TETFUND, NASENI, and NITDA in the sharing of development levies in the bills and lastly, the meeting supports the continuation of the legislative process at the National Assembly that will culminate in the eventual passage of the Tax Reform Bills.
This is a classic case of using political solutions to resolve economic conundrums. Commendable!
X: @jidejong
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American President Gerald Ford, in a posthumous eulogy read by his son, Steve, at the funeral of another American President, Jimmy Carter, his immediate successor, affirmed, “Honesty and truth-telling were synonymous with the name Jimmy Carter.”
This assessment by a president about another president is the exact opposite of what a Nigerian would probably say about a fellow Nigerian, both knowing that “honesty and truth-telling” will be antonyms to their characters as Nigerians.
That is a sad, but true, commentary on the character of the average Nigerian that prompted former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, to say that “Nigeria and Afghanistan are possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world”, to the hearing of Muhammadu Buhari, a sitting President of Nigeria, who hardly knew how to react to a biting insult.
The best that former President Buhari could muster was his trademark wide Cheshire cat grin, a “Yes” that Nigeria was “fantastically corrupt” and the underwhelming comment that he “was shocked and embarrassed” and would rather “demand… a return of (Nigeria’s) stolen assets (hidden in Britain), than “demand an apology” from ex-Prime Minister Cameron.
And to appear to be pushing what is no more than a half-hearted demand of his boss, the then Chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu. revealed that at that time, $37bn of stolen Nigerian money had been routed through Britain.
A joke that made the rounds in Lagos in the mid-1980s stated that when it looked as if an aircraft on an international flight was about to crash, the flight stewards thought of the most effective way to persuade the frightened passengers to don the parachute and dive into the sky.
To the gambling Americans, they said it was a 50-50 chance of survival. The Americans weighed their options, took the parachute and jumped out. The Japanese took the parachute when they were told that it was a matter of honour to be brave and jump out with the parachute.
It became a royal problem to persuade Nigerians to dive. No one knew how to get them to accept the parachutes. Until a retired pilot, who had lived in Lagos, offered to help. When he got the all-clear, he simply walked into the fuselage and announced, “Nigerians. It is illegal to jump out!”
In less than a jiffy, all the Nigerians on the aircraft jumped the queue, collected and wore the parachutes and saw to it that they all jumped out ahead of other nationals, who stood puzzled that the motivator for Nigerians was the zest to breach rules.
Following is another interesting story. A video gone viral showed a young lady, presumably a Diaspora Nigerian, in a rented boat trying to appease some gods by throwing US dollars into a lagoon. After the ritual, she was asked what she liked about Nigeria. She answered, “I like that I can pay my way through anything,” in the most casual manner.
These stories are probably a summary of the disdain that Nigerians have for orderliness, ethical guardrails and the rule of law. It also shows that any Nigerian state actor, in any official capacity, can be bought to compromise on any rule or policy.
To quote the character, Basi, in Ken Sawo-Wiwa’s TV series, “Basi & Company”, “It’s a matter of cash.” More uncouth Nigerians would use the phrase, “Cash for hand, back for ground,” in the capsule of transactions between a prostitute and her clients.
What all these negatives say of Nigeria is that there are no referees to call out those who engage in wrongdoing. If anything, it is those who are expected to caution and make Nigerians obey the rules that invite them to disobey the laws.
It was rumoured that a Nigerian estate developer who died under the rubble of one of his buildings was encouraged by Lagos State officials to raise the building beyond the level that was originally approved for him.
A referee maintains fair play by interpreting and enforcing rules, making impartial decisions on infractions, keeping stock of scores of the game, and ensuring that a player’s behaviour complies with laid-down rules and guidelines.
In today’s Nigeria, no one seems to be responsible for compliance, and those who should maintain the rules are the culprit-in-chief in the disgraceful act of breaching laid-down rules and regulations. Indeed, the average Nigerian seems to think that rules are to be breached.
When a boss restrained a company driver from driving against the traffic, the driver told him that no one obeyed highway codes anymore and continued breaking the highway codes. When the boss asked the unruly driver to be fired, the HR Manager was interceding on behalf of the errant driver.
You may not be too surprised that Nigeria endures so much impunity, with the two referee organs, the judiciary and the media, created by the Nigerian Constitution for dispensing justice and ensuring fair play, are hamstrung by the same Constitution!
Section 6 (6,c) absolves the government of responsibilities to Nigerians by saying, “The judicial powers… (that) shall be vested in the courts… shall not… extend to any issue or question as to why any act… or any judicial decision is in conformity with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy… in (Chapter II of the Constitution).”
What this convoluted jabber is saying is that the Constitution, grundnorm of Nigeria, gives no guarantees that the government shall provide security, welfare, an efficient economy, adequate educational and health services, and safeguard the air, land, forest and wildlife to Nigerians. In other words, the judiciary cannot compel the executive arm to perform its constitutional duties.
The Father Christmas Section 22 of the Constitution gave the Nigerian media the power “to uphold the Fundamental Objectives… and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people”.
But Section 45(1) withdrew that, along with a slew of other fundamental human rights, like the right to life, personal liberty, freedom of thought, association, and right to live or own property in any part of Nigeria, “in the interest of (the generally ill-defined) public safety, public order, public morality, or public health, or for the purpose of protecting the rights of other persons”.
Where the hands of the judiciary and the media have been tied behind their backs by the Constitution that created them, they would hardly make any impact, especially when you consider how much the military culture impacted the socio-cultural lives of Nigerians.
The military ruled Nigeria, for 29 of the first 39 formative years of the Nigerian state- from 1960 to 1999- when the military packed their baggage of impunity and disrespect for the rule of law and returned to their barracks.
When a predator Nigerian tells his victim to go to court or gets his less connected compatriot beaten up by friends in the military barracks, he is simply boarding the time-machine, back to the days when a connected Nigerian gets what is not due to him by associating with a senior brass of the military government.
To borrow a phrase from Lasisi Olagunju, a columnist with Nigerian Tribune newspaper, “We cannot become (like the countries that are prospering so well) until we have blind laws that recognise no class (and) no ethnicity.”
[OPINION] Bringing Political Science back into Public Administration Praxis in Nigeria - Tunji Olaopa
AdminWhen the politics-administration dichotomy inaugurated the practice of public administration, what was intended was a critical need to bifurcate the logic of the two in ways that will extend the relationship between the politicians and the administrator and make it more efficient. The politician is then, within the logic of the dichotomy, restricted to policy formulation while the administrator is confined to the realm of policy implementation. Reality however defeats the neat boundary between the two. Politics and administration, in practical reality, are almost inseparable. And one would expect that the relationship between political science and public administration discourse will reflect this inseparability. Unfortunately, it does not. The separation undermines the fundamental urgency of addressing the political foundation of administrative research and practices, especially as they relate with the issues of power, governance, politics and democracy.
Political science descriptively and critically studies political phenomena and how they contribute to our understanding of the political community. Significantly, political science analyzes the fundamental role that power plays in the articulation of politics especially in the attempt to unravel the dynamics of the political community and its social and political circumferences and trajectories. Public administration is the very embodiment of the state as the most critical embodiment of politics. The state is made most visible within the frameworks and institutional workings of public administration, especially through the public sector and the public services. The straightforward argument is that the political and administrative reality of any state cannot be studied in isolation of each other. This seems obvious enough given that each of political science and public administration reinforces each other in terms of shedding light on the complex and intricate workings of the state and its response to the citizens and the commonwealth. In other words, there is no way the concepts of power and governance, for example, would not intersect political and administrative questions, and complicate them. The issues of democratic governance and innovation, and collaborative governance demand thinking of the interplay between politics science and administration.
In my many years as a deep insider career bureaucrat in the public service, I have been aware not only of the role that politics play in administrative matters, and vice versa. I have also been apprised of how political acts of commission and omission actively promote or undermine the public service. Indeed, my theoretical and practical researches into the dynamics of government business and institutional reforms highlights how political and administrative factors interact. My deep worry however is that political science and public administration discourses in Nigeria carry on as if these interactions and interrelations are at best trivial or at worst non-existence. For instance, in institutional terms, there is nothing to write home about in the existence and possible cross-fertilizing relationship between the Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA) and the National Association for Public Administration and Management (NAPAM). Indeed, there cannot be such a cross-fertilization because while NPSA is active, NAPAM has remained comatose. And the vision and mission statement of NPSA is not broad enough to take in administrative matters and concerns, or the interplay of politics and administration.
The most fundamental observation that my status as a scholar-bureaucrat in the federal civil service afforded me is a practical understanding of the nature of the fundamental disconnections in public administration practices and the consequences on the state’s responsibility to her citizens, all due to crucial assumptions and principles that have been left lying fallow and unattended to in an interdisciplinary discourse and cross fertilization between political science scholarship and public administration theories and practice. A few examples suffice. In 1966, Nigeria shifted away from the parliamentary system of government and, after the long interregnum of military administrations, resumed with the presidential system, enshrined in the 1979 Constitution. This move was preceded by the Dotun Phillips studies report of 1985, and the Civil Service Reorganization Decree of 1988, which aligned the civil service with the presidential system of government. However, even with the reversal of the reform frameworks by the Ayida reform of 1995, it is still clear that many of Nigeria’s administrative practices still retain aspects of parliamentary elements that could be one source of unresolved structural troubles necessitating performance inefficiency.
This has some other implications for the practice of federalism and the stabilization of Nigeria’s governance structure. Since the intervention of the military in 1966 and the subsequent militarization of Nigeria’s political and governance structure of the Nigerian state, the federal arrangement that ought to have been the natural remedy for the unruly ethnonational diversity became compromised. For instance, inter-governmental relations and the critical need for fiscal federalism became caught in the cracks of constitutional and institutional dysfunction. The Babangida administration, through the recommendation of the IBB’s Presidential Advisory Committee, established the National Council for Inter-Governmental Relations (NCIS) as one in a series of government’s efforts—like the Centre for Democratic Studies (CDS), National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, etc.—to rehabilitate Nigeria’s governance and administrative structures.
All this goes to demonstrate a cogent reason why the political and the administrative in Nigeria’s governance context cannot be separated, even in terms of theoretical argumentation. Political science scholarship, in longing for an interdisciplinary relationship with public administration, must recognize how the latter has evolved first as a sub-discipline of political science, and later as a multidisciplinary endeavor that encompasses insights drawn from management science, organizational psychology, sociology, statistics, industrial engineering, computer science, etc. from which it draws to invigorate its curriculum and pedagogy. This point is still not demonstrated in the disciplinary silos that define the existence of political science on the one hand and public administration on the other in Nigerian universities. In some universities, public administration functions in a different faculty, or is its own faculty, as different from the faculty of the social sciences. And so, scholars carry out their scholarly discourses in different contexts, oblivious of the grave challenges that the Nigerian administrative and governance predicament pose to their theoretical and practical separation. In what follows, I will point attention at a few contentious institutional matters to which I have gestured in many of my works, but which I contend require the critical interrogation of political scientists.
First, there is the recurrent issue of the need to keep clarifying the nature and the role of the state in terms of administrative efficiency. While the state is central to the analysis of power, and constitutes one of the central thematic focus of political science scholarship, the fundamental need to redefine the role of the state has often not been taken up in terms of its significance for the restructuring of the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that are the critical engine room for measuring the developmental successes of the state. Aligning the role of the state to the understanding of the MDA becomes crucial as it facilitates the reform of the MDAs in terms of the need to remodel and strengthen their core vis-à-vis their non-core functions as both relate to the service delivery function of government. This could also instigate the urgency of conducting institutional audit that is crucial not only to determining the performance status of many state agencies, but to also jumpstart organizational development dynamics that are meant to motivate the movement of structures to institutions. It is institutions, rather than mere structures that government requires to undermine governance failure.
Second, political science scholarship in Nigeria is necessarily confronted by the need to clarify and explicate the thorny issue of the relationship between the administrative operational dynamics of the executive arm of government in terms of its apparatuses—like the Federal Executive Council—and the working of the American-styled presidential system of government. This is a key concern given that Nigeria’s adoption of many institutional dynamics has remained problematic in terms of relating them to her political and administrative realities. For instance, acute and critical attention need to be paid also to the political economy involved in the executive-legislature relations, and the implications deriving from the planning and budgeting processes from legislative oversight to appropriation and budget implementation. Peter Ekeh’s analysis of migrated structures alert us to the danger of adopting these structures without paying critical attention to their value orientation and the political realities of where they are coming from.
Democratic governance and all its ancillary structural and administrative apparatuses encompass a host of issues that require critical analyses. Since the notion of the public good and the commonwealth, in the idea of good democratic governance, constitute the formidable core of the relationship between politics, public management and public administration, then the discourse around stakeholder management, participatory governance, performance management and accountability become key and critical core issues that interact with the way we see politics, administration and citizenship. The recent discourse on the resuscitation of local governance, through the landmark decision of the Supreme Court to legally reinvigorate the constitutional strength of local government in Nigeria, points at the significance of connecting community development structures and traditional institutions to the state systems and democratic enablement through the principle of social capital and subsidiarity.
To reiterate, the predicament of the postcolonial Nigerian state demands that political science scholarship must necessarily and urgently signal an interdisciplinary collaboration that will instigate a ferment of theoretical, practical and institutional discourses from which both can expect not only to refresh their internal discursive vibrancy, but also collectively contribute to the understanding of the working of the Nigerian state and her capacity to induce participatory democratic governance.
The zoning of the presidency of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo to the Igbo-speaking people of Rivers State, and the subsequent emergence of three Ikwerre sons, each claiming to be the new President-General of the apex Igbo sociocultural group, has raised very interesting questions about identity construction. It should be recalled that three Ikwerre sons – Jackson Omenazu, Uche Okwukwu and Senator Azuta Mbata, at different conventions, claimed to have been elected the President-General of the association. In addition to Ikwerre, which is the largest group in Rivers State, other Igbo-speaking groups in the State are Etche, Ekpeye, Ogba, Egbema, Ndoni, Ndoki, Asa, Bonny and Opobo.
Senator Azuta Mbata who was proclaimed elected at a convention organized at the Old Government Lodge, Enugu, on January 10 2025, has been congratulated by a number of eminent Nigerians including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah; South-east senators; Northern Christian Youth Professionals, and the Chief of Staff to Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, Dr. Ehie Edison, which confers on him an additional halo of legitimacy to the office.
But there was a quick backlash: the Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide, which claims to speak in behalf of the Ikwerre ethnic nationality worldwide, disowned him. The group argued that by accepting to be President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, which it conceded was his constitutional right; he had willingly and freely renounced his membership and identity as an Ikwerre man. They further argued that Senator Azuta Mbata’s decision to identify as an Igbo “does not represent the collective view, will, position, or thinking of the Eneka community, Apara Kingdom, or the entire Ikwerre Ethnic Nationality”.
There have been suggestions that the decision of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to zone its presidency to the Igbos of Rivers State was part of the Igbo agenda of territorial ambitions. I think suggestions such as this are borne out of either ignorance or mischief. The truth is that the South-east Igbos, like many parts of the country, are themselves also in conversations about their own identity. It is not just about whether they should anchor their identity in Nigeria as presently constituted or have their own country, but also conversations on how to relate with their ‘cousins’ outside the South-east who share the same or similar language with them.
There are for instance those who argue that Ohanaeze Ndigbo should be exclusively for Igbos of South-east – partly to avoid being accused of nurturing territorial ambitions or running after people who do not want to identify with them despite sharing the same or similar language. There are however others who believe that limiting the leadership of Ohanaeze to the Igbos of the South- east would be a disservice to their ‘cousins’ in Delta and Rivers’ States who are proud of their Igbo identity, and want to be identified as such. I think the latter group won the argument which was why in 2008, the Ohanaeze Presidency was zoned to Delta State and Ambassador Ralph Uwechue, from Ogwashiuku, emerged the President-General of the organization.
It is important to bear in mind that even within the South-east, there are some areas that traced their history or myth of origin outside Igboland and would sometimes not want to be called Igbos. The people of Onitsha in Anambra State would for instance call non-Onitsha Igbos as ‘Nwa Onye Igbo’, meaning the “son or daughter of an Igbo person”. One of the limitations of relying on the myths of origin to construct one’s ethnic identity is that the ethnic group that another group wants to appropriate as its place of origin (usually one that enjoys some historical prestige), would themselves also have their own myth of where they migrated from.
This means that the fact that some Ikwerre people do not want to be identified as Igbo is not really a big deal. It is the same among the Igbo-speaking people of Delta – some would want to identify as Igbos while some will not want to. In Benue and Plateau states for instance, there are conversations and contestations on whether they are better off anchoring their identity in Northern Nigeria or create their own identity as Middle Belt. The same is true of Yorubaland where Yoruba nation activists feel they are better off having an Oduduwa Republic despite the fact that the country’s president, Bola Tinubu, is a Yoruba man.
This trend is not limited to Nigeria. For instance on 14 February 1974, barely 14 years after independence, Somalia joined the Arab League as part of the efforts by the leadership of the country at that time to make Somalis see themselves as Arabs rather than as Africans. It is important to underline that before colonialism, there was no consciousness of being Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa/Fulani. Ethnicity as an identity marker is therefore a recent phenomenon – a practice that was developed in the colonial urban centres.
The fact that three Ikwerre sons presented themselves for elections as President-General of Ohanaeze, and campaigned vigorously for the office, would challenge the claim by Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide to be the sole custodians of the aspirations of the Ikwerre people over their choice of ethnic identity. The truth is that such conversations are rarely conclusively decided, and would often mutate in line with the fortunes of the ethnic group which is the focus of the contestation. For instance at a time when the Italians and Irish were discriminated against in the USA, some concealed their ethnic and racial identities but began to proudly flaunt these as Italy and Ireland became economic successes. In the current climate of Igbophobia there are some of our Igbo ‘cousins’ who may fear that anchoring their ethnic identity on Igbo may be a career-killer. Elsewhere, this is called ‘Bleaching complex’ – denying or masking your ethnic/linguistic identity so that it does not inhibit your career progress.
Of course some Igbo ‘cousins’ outside the South-east who are opposed to anchoring their ethnic identity on the Igbo may have other reasons, including a genuine conviction that they have nothing in common with the Igbos and that their shared language is just an accident of history. Igbo ‘cousins’ who want to anchor their ethnic identity on their Igboness on the other hand may have their own convictions, including the potential benefits of being part of one of the dominant ethnic groups in the country rather than focusing only narrowly on the current state of the Igbos in the country. From an identity perspective, the furore raised by the emergence of an Ikwerre as the President-General of Ohanaeze raises a number of important questions: Who are the Ikwerres? Who do people say they are? Who do they want to be? And why?
In 2009, I published a very well received edited book on identity, entitled: ‘Who is an African? Identity, Citizenship and the Making of the Africa-nation’. The book had many very known Africanists as contributors, including the late Professor Ali Mazrui, Professor Kwesi Prah, Professor Mammo Muchie and Gamal Nkrumah, the late Kwame Nkrumah’s son. I introduced the book thus:
Who is an African? At face value, the answer seems obvious. Surely, everyone knows who the African is, it would seem. But the answer becomes less obvious once other probing qualifiers are added to the question. How is the African identity constructed in the face of the mosaic of identities that people of African ancestry living within and beyond the continent bear? Do all categorised as Africans or as having an African pedigree perceive themselves as Africans? Are all who perceive themselves as Africans accepted as such? Are there levels of “Africanness”, and are some more African than others? How does African identity interface with other levels of identity and citizenship in Africa? And what are the implications of the contentious nature of African identity and citizenship for the projects of pan-Africanism, the making of the Africa-nation, and Africa’s development trajectories?
Flowing from the above, there are some elements in identity construction that we should bear in mind: One, every individual or group embodies a mosaic of identities, not just one identity. You may have people with different ethnic and religious identities but share several other identities in common such as being members of the same political party, the same sports club, the same profession, the same gender etc. Essentially, one can be both Igbo and Ikwerre if the person feels sufficiently anchored on both identities.
Two, identities that are perceived to be under threat will often be the ones most vociferously defended. Though we embody several identities, if your identity as an Igbo, Yoruba, Ikwerre, Christian, Muslim, an academic and so on, is perceived to be threatened, your other identities will be submerged while you defend the identity that is felt to be under threat. For instance a Black person called ‘Black Monkey’ by a White person may lead to several Black people from across the world responding very vigorously, if not violently. On the other hand, a White person who is called a ‘White monkey’ may not elicit a similar response among the White people.
Following from this, it is understandable why the Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide decided to descend hard on Senator Azuta-Mbata including literarily ex-communicating him from the Ikwerre community and nullifying any chieftaincy title conferred on him by any of the Ikwerre communities. Does the organization really have such powers over any Ikwerre person? I seriously doubt that. The hard-line position of Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide may be more to remind us that despite the election of Senator Azuta-Mbata as President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the conversation on where the Ikwerres should anchor their ethnic identity remains inconclusive.
Three, identities have both time and space dimensions. Up to the creation of the 12 states by Gowon in 1967, both the Ikwerres and the Igbos shared the identity of being from the Eastern region. In the same vein, if the Ikwerres were to find themselves in a distant country with people of different ethnic and racial backgrounds, including the Igbos of the South-East, they are likely to feel more connected to the latter than to other groups in the imagined country simply by virtue of their common (or similar language) and culture.
The much-anticipated tax reforms initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration have become a battleground of competing interests, as the nation grapples with how to restructure its fiscal policies in a way that fosters growth while ensuring fairness. Four key tax bills, presented to the National Assembly in 2024, were supposed to set the stage for a new era of economic revitalization. Instead, they have ignited a series of debates that reveal deep fissures in Nigeria’s political economy. With state governors, major fiscal stakeholders, and the public all weighing in, the question remains: can the government navigate these choppy waters, or is it destined to crash upon the rocks of political resistance?
In the latest development, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), representing the collective voice of all 36 state governors, issued a communiqué on January 16, 2025, signalling strong support for the overarching goal of reform, but expressing serious reservations about certain provisions of the bills. Their opposition, particularly to proposals on Value Added Tax (VAT) and Corporate Income Tax (CIT), has added another layer of complexity to an already fraught process. These concerns come at a time when the country’s fiscal policy is in urgent need of clarity, and the implications of these debates could be far-reaching.
VAT and CIT: Sticking Points in Reform
The debate over VAT has quickly become the focal point of the reforms. While the NGF has expressed its backing for the need to modernize Nigeria’s tax laws, it has strongly opposed any increase in VAT at this time. For an economy already burdened by inflation, rising costs of living, and economic policy shocks, a hike in VAT could exacerbate the financial strain on everyday Nigerians. From food to fuel, and basic services, the cost of living has soared, making any potential increase in the VAT rate a highly contentious issue.
The NGF’s opposition is not without merit. With many Nigerians already struggling to make ends meet, a VAT hike would be akin to adding insult to injury. The governors have also raised concerns about the distribution formula for VAT revenue, suggesting a more equitable approach that considers factors such as derivation and population distribution. In this, they argue that a 50% allocation based on equality, 30% based on derivation, and 20% based on population would better reflect the needs of the country’s diverse regions.
However, the proposed reforms are not only focused on VAT. The issue of CIT has also sparked significant debate. The NGF has opposed the reduction of CIT, largely due to the potential loss of revenue at the state level. This position reflects the governors’ concerns about the already strained financial situation of many states, which depend on federal allocations to meet their budgets.
Yet, reducing CIT could be an important tool in fostering business growth and economic development. Lowering the corporate tax rate could make Nigeria a more attractive destination for foreign investment, encouraging businesses to expand and create jobs. In the long term, this could result in higher economic output and a larger tax base, ultimately benefiting both the private and public sectors.
The Federal Government’s proposal to cut CIT is a gamble, but one that could potentially pay off if the right balance is struck. However, there is no denying that such a reduction would need to be carefully managed to ensure it doesn’t undermine essential state-level revenues, which are already under pressure.
TETFUND, NASENI, and NITDA: The Unseen Stakeholders
Another critical aspect of the tax reform debate centers on the handling of development funds for key agencies such as TETFUND (Tertiary Education Trust Fund), NASENI (National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure), and NITDA (National Information Technology Development Agency). These agencies, which play crucial roles in education, technology, and infrastructure, have become the subject of controversy in the proposed reforms.
The NGF has called for the exclusion of a terminal clause for these agencies in the sharing of development levies, a position that highlights the governors’ concern about the potential erosion of funds meant for national development. These agencies rely on specific levies and allocations to support their vital work, and any changes to the distribution of these funds could have far-reaching consequences.
For instance, TETFUND is essential to Nigeria’s higher education system, ensuring that universities, polytechnics, and other tertiary institutions receive the financial support they need to develop infrastructure and improve academic standards. Any reduction in the funding available to TETFUND could lead to a deterioration in the quality of higher education, with long-term negative implications for the country’s human capital development.
Similarly, NASENI and NITDA play pivotal roles in the country’s push for technological advancement and infrastructure development. The funding these agencies receive supports crucial projects that could transform Nigeria’s technological landscape. Without adequate resources, these agencies could be left unable to fulfill their mandates, stalling progress in critical areas of the economy.
The NGF’s call for a more careful consideration of the funding mechanisms for these agencies is a valid concern, as reducing or altering the flow of funds could severely hamper Nigeria’s development goals.
A Flawed Budget: The Fallout from Miscalculations
If the National Assembly decide to align with the position of the NGF, it would have a direct impact on the 2025 appropriation of the Federal Government. It’s likely that the budget for the year was formulated based on the assumption that VAT would increase and CIT would be reduced, with projections reflecting these anticipated changes. Should these provisions be altered or blocked by the National Assembly, the Federal Government would be left with a budget built on faulty assumptions.
The ramifications of this could be significant. A shortfall in revenue, caused by the failure to implement the expected changes to VAT and CIT, would force the government to make tough decisions. It could either ramp up borrowing or scale back crucial projects in sectors like infrastructure, health, and education, areas that are already feeling the strain. Such adjustments could place additional pressure on an already fragile economy and lead to greater hardship for Nigerians. Essentially, the government may find itself scrambling to adjust its fiscal policy, possibly even revising its budget mid-year if the projected revenues fall short. In the end, these miscalculations could create an even deeper fiscal crisis and erode public confidence in the government’s ability to manage the economy effectively.
The Way Forward: Engagement and Dialogue
As the National Assembly deliberates on the proposed tax reforms, it is clear that more engagement and dialogue are needed between the federal government, state governments, and other key stakeholders. While the broader goal of tax reform is laudable, the implementation details are crucial. The government must carefully consider the concerns raised by the NGF and other stakeholders, and work to address these issues in a way that balances the need for revenue generation with the imperative to protect vulnerable Nigerians and foster business growth.
Ultimately, the success of these reforms will depend on the ability of all parties to find common ground and ensure that the tax system is both equitable and efficient. If the government can navigate these challenges, the reforms could lay the foundation for a stronger, more sustainable economy. However, if the government fails to address the concerns of stakeholders, the reforms could falter, and Nigeria’s fiscal future could be left in limbo.