Golden Jubilee of Grace and Wisdom

On this golden milestone, we celebrate not just the 50 years of life of our Principal, Ọọ̀ni Babatunde Adeyeye Ènìtan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, but the profound impact he has had on the Yoruba race and beyond Your reign has been a beacon of hope, unity, and cultural renaissance.

Your Ascension has quickened the pace for Economic Empowerment for our people, through the many endowments, grants, foundations development ventures you have personally launched and funded. 

Your messages of unity and peace resonate deeply. Your efforts in conflict resolution and community building have strengthened the bonds within the Yorùbá race and with other ethnic groups, 

As we celebrate this golden jubilee, we look forward to a future where the Yoruba race continues to thrive under the guidance of Ọọ̀ni Ogunwusi. May your reign continue to be filled with wisdom, piety, surplusity and peace. 

Balógun Akin Osuntokun: Coordinator 

Yomi Layinke Ph.D.: General secretary

President Bola Tinubu proudly joins Nigerians, the people and chiefs of Ile-Ife, and the global Yoruba community in commemorating the 50th birthday of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, CFR, the Ojaja II.

The President notes Ooni's extraordinary leadership and maturity since ascending the throne at 41, emphasising his significant role in preserving the rich traditions of the Yoruba people in the ancient city known as The Source.

President Tinubu acknowledges Oba Ogunwusi's deep sense of duty, wisdom, and knowledge as he fulfils his responsibilities as both the traditional ruler of Ile-Ife, Osun State, and the revered spiritual leader of the Yoruba people.

The President also recognises Ooni’s critical contributions as Co-Chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, where he serves as a unifying figure, a steadfast supporter of government policies, and a passionate advocate for religious tolerance, peace, and the unification of our nation.

President Tinubu commends Oba Ogunwusi's tireless advocacy for women and youth empowerment through education and entrepreneurship, underscoring his admirable philanthropy and unwavering commitment to uplifting those in need throughout Nigeria and beyond.

With heartfelt optimism and support, the President pays tribute to the Ooni for exemplifying the traditional Yoruba values of humility, peace, and generosity while also honouring the dignity and integrity of his exalted throne.

As the esteemed Yoruba monarch celebrates this significant milestone, President Tinubu offers his sincere prayers for the continued success and prosperity of His Imperial Majesty's reign, which will undoubtedly benefit the people of Ife and the nation at large.

Bayo Onanuga

Special Adviser to the President  

(Information & Strategy)  

Some 250 days after the tragic death of its founder, Wigwe University formally opened its doors to its first set of students on Thursday, October 17, 2024, marking the fulfilment of late Herbert Wigwe’s dream to build a world-class citadel of learning in his community in the rain forest of southern Nigeria. In a brief opening ceremony at the new campus located in Isiokpo, near Port Harcourt, the university’s Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council, Prof Julius Okojie, cut the ribbon at the gate, formally signaling its inauguration. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Marwan Al-Akaidi, other members of Council and Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Ovy Chinedum Chukwuma, applauded excitedly in the balmy early autumn weather. A matriculation ceremony has been scheduled for Saturday, November 9 to formally admit over 200 new students into the institution. Soon after the ribbon-cutting, the dignitaries moved to the Family Hall where traditional chiefs from Isiokpo community in Ikwere LGA; parents and students as well as other dignitaries were already seated, waiting for the second part of the ceremony which consisted of speeches and traditional dances performed by the women of the community.

Prof. Marwan Al-Akaidi described the day as ‘’the threshold of history’’, a poignantly fitting characterization. Dr. Wigwe had meant to spend the second phase of life as the Pro Chancellor after retirement from Access Bank end next year. Construction work started in earnest in 2022 and NUC issued the license in June 2023. Herbert worked day and night and committed huge resources to get the university ready for inauguration in September 2024. He travelled the world, spoke glowingly of his vision and made all arrangements. But his sudden death in California in the night of February 9 (early February 10 Nigerian time) threatened to derail the project. Funds dried up; emotions went raw and frustrations set in. During Herbert’s funeral service in Lagos in March, Chairman of its board of trustees, Prof. Fabian Ajogwu, easily one of Nigeria’s most respected senior lawyers, told the grieving audience that the ‘’dream of Wigwe University would not be aborted’’. Many were not convinced, even after Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Herbert’s business partner and close friend, repeated the same pledge in his eulogy at the funeral. We are used to seeing dreams die with the dreamers.

Not long after the funeral, I began to hear of rumours of a quarrel between Aig-Imoukhuede and Herbert’s family over his Will and the manner his children were being taken care of. I did not think much of it for I have absolute confidence in Aig-Imoukhuede’s capacity to do good to the memory of his departed ally. Rather, I was more concerned about the fate of the university. Herbert spoke so much about it and his dream of making it one of the best in the world. After his burial, I talked to the VC, Prof Al-Akaidi and Mrs Yvonne Olomu-Victor, the CEO of HOW Foundation, the owners of the university, quite often, trying to gauge the progress of work and the school’s readiness to receive the first set of students in September, which was Herbert’s target. I was relieved to learn in August that the university was already receiving many applications for admission. My plans to visit the campus did not quite succeed, but my interest never waned. You can therefore imagine my relief when I received a note from the VC early in the week, advising of the opening ceremony. It was such a big reprieve, coming in the midst of the raging controversy over Herbert’s Will.

 It has taken the unmitigated resilience, grueling hard work and absolute determination of the seven-member Board of Trustees and nine-member Governing Council, together with the goodwill of Herbert’s friends to bring this very noble dream into fruition. ‘’This is not just the beginning of an institution; it is the realization of a profound vision, a dream from the belief that education is the key to unlocking Africa’s vast potential’’, Prof. Al-Akaidi told the audience at the opening event. He stated that the university is founded by the principles set forth by the late Herbert Wigwe ‘’whose legacy inspires us to ignite Africa’s potential for prosperity, to nurture thoughtful and fearless leaders, and to create an institution that will one day be the leading institution in Africa’’.

The chairman of the governing council, Prof Julius Okojie, who is also Nigeria’s foremost university administrator, put it more succinctly in his speech: ‘’I was the Executive Secretary of NUC for ten years, and during this time, I licensed 80 private universities. None of them started off so well as Wigwe University. In fact, while many of them commenced temporarily on the premises of secondary schools, Wigwe University is starting off on a world-class purpose-built site’’. Okojie traced the history of university education to pre-medieval era and emphasized its importance in national development. ‘’Today, I can hear the voice of Herbert Wigwe ringing through and I believe that his dream has come alive’’, he said, urging the community to protect the facilities at the campus. He received a standing ovation. By admitting over 200 students in its first year, WU has recorded unprecedented achievements, he emphasized ‘’Many new private universities I licensed commenced with less than 50 students, including Obasanjo’s Bells University’’, he told me in a post-event interview. Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Ovy Chinedum Chukwuma, who stood in for Gov. Fubara said the state government has supported the institution in many ways, chief among which is the 100 scholarships offered to 70 Rivers States indigenes and 30 non indigenes who live in Rivers States.

Many parents, students and would-be students attended the brief event. I met with Mrs. Isi Omiunu, a parent from Edo State who came with daughter Onohie, a student of Fine & Applied Arts. I asked her why WU? She went off as if she had anticipated my question all week, and asked: ‘’Do you know that this is the only private university in Nigeria that offers Fine & Applied Arts? My daughter is very passionate about the arts, and I believe in seeking high quality education for my children, wherever it is found’’. I look forward to the matriculation ceremony.

Prosecutors play a vital role in society that demands respect and recognition. They represent the State in criminal matters, presenting the necessary evidence to establish the guilt of the defendant. In discharging this responsibility, they make crucial decisions such as whether to file charges, what charges to file, and when to plea bargain. This heavy responsibility is guided by ethical considerations considered fundamental in all civilised societies. They include but are not limited to focusing on the objective of prosecution, which is to achieve justice and not merely to convict at all costs.

 Justice is three-way traffic- Justice for the victim, society, and the accused person. This requires prosecutors to be impartial and unbiased, as well as uphold legal procedures and safeguard the rights of the defendant. A breach of this duty can prove disastrous to the defendant and society at large. Hence, the reason civilised societies hold their prosecutors to the highest ethical standards, and whenever there is a breach, sanctions are promptly applied to serve as deterrence. This was what played out last week when it was widely reported in the media that “An Italian court sentenced two Milan prosecutors, Fabio De Pasquale and Sergio Spadaro, to eight months in prison on Tuesday for failing to file documents that could have supported Eni’s defense in an alleged corruption case involving a $1.3 billion oilfield in Nigeria. The case, involving Eni and Shell, centred around the $1.3 billion acquisition of a Nigerian oilfield and was regarded as one of the energy industry’s most significant corruption trials. The court noted that De Pasquale and Spadaro had omitted key evidence, including a video from a former Eni external lawyer that could have been favourable to the defence.” The sanctioning of the prosecutors in Milan affirms the ethical standards required of their calling. It will be recalled that the Supreme Court of Nigeria had, as far back as 1966, in the case of Chief Odofin Bello V. State ( 1966) LPELR-25291(SC), reiterated the time-tested duty of the prosecution to disclose all facts in the following words: "We cannot do better than remind counsel that the prosecution must put all the facts at its disposal before the Court and not to hide any fact. Anything short of this is an attempt to conceal from the Court any evidence favourable to the accused." Per Ademola, JSC (P. 16, paras. C-D)

The Guidelines for Federal Prosecutors issued by the Attorney General of the Federation, which applies to all prosecutorial agencies and private prosecutors prosecuting on behalf of the State, also provide direction to prosecutors that “the essence of criminal prosecution is not to obtain conviction at all cost. It is to lay before the court what the prosecutor considers to be credible evidence relevant to the allegation of a crime”. Regarding fairness, the Guidelines require the prosecutor to “inform the defence and the court of directions, warning or authorities which may be appropriate in the circumstances of the case, even where unfavourable to the prosecution”. Prosecutors are further enjoined to weigh the strength of the evidence before embarking on the prosecution that: “no prosecution should be undertaken where essential evidence if the basic elements of the offence are lacking…it is not in the public interest to use public resources on the prosecution of a case which has no reasonable prospect of success”. To do otherwise may amount to an abuse of legal process and loss of public confidence in the criminal justice system, especially where the prosecution results in an acquittal.

Despite these Guidelines and the locus classicus of Bello v. State, prosecutorial agencies such as the EFCC continue to run roughshod over defendants’ rights without appropriate sanctions. Embolden by the apparent lack of accountability, they routinely file charges that they cannot substantiate just to satisfy their ego and that of their Bosses, intimidate accused persons to make implicating admissions, pressure witnesses to lie and conceal evidence favourable to the defence all in an attempt to secure a conviction at all costs. Such was my experience in the hands of the EFCC, where the EFCC prosecutors filed similar charges against me before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and the Federal High Court, Abuja, ostensibly to overwhelm me. Apart from concealing that the FHC, Abuja Coram Binta Nyako J, had delivered a judgment absolving me of any blame in the implementation of the Settlement Agreement of 2006 between Malabu Oil and Gas Limited and the Federal Government of Nigeria, the EFCC proceeded to file bogus charges against me on the same transaction.

 It is on record that the High Court of the FCT roundly deprecated the conduct of Mr Bala Sanga, one of the EFCC prosecutors for pressurising one of the witnesses to lie against me. Apart from filing unsubstantiated charges against me, it took the prosecution over four years to call their witnesses, after which the Court came to a reasoned ruling that I had no case to answer. Hon. Justice Kutigi, J expressed his disapproval thus: “As I round up and because of the rather unfortunate narrative relating to the length of time of nearly four (4) years for the prosecution to produce all their witnesses in proof of this case, it appears to me imperative to call on learned prosecuting counsel to show more circumspection in filing charges of this nature… A charge must, therefore, not be filed for the simple sake of doing so or to soothe the ego of any person or institution”.

The conviction and sentencing of the prosecutors in Italy for breaching their professional duty and ethics should serve as a lesson to their counterparts in Nigeria. It is a wakeup call for stakeholders in the justice sector, particularly the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), the Judiciary, and civil society. Urgent steps need to be taken to hold prosecutors accountable for any breach of their sacred duty of prosecution. This is crucial to maintaining the ethical standards that are fundamental to the justice system.

This was tough to write. My heart resisted it, but I yielded to my head. The petrol in my car, a 2.0-litre 2012 Tokunbo Camry, was at half-tank the day before writing.

When pump prices went from 195/litre to 617/litre between May and June 2023, I parked my Jeep and, despite being occasionally mistaken for an Uber driver, opted for the saloon, which, as of the third fuel price increase by September this year, cost about 65k to fill up.

After petrol pump price went up again by about 15 percent last week, it would now cost about 80k to fill up the saloon, depending on where you bought petrol from and how badly the pump was rigged.

The changes in petrol price and energy costs have affected everything else, from the price of fish to milk and the cost of bread and grains. Essential medicines are a different thing altogether. Life was hard. But it’s been a nightmare for millions more since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government was inaugurated.

Generation crisis

In July, The Financial Times said the hardship under Tinubu has triggered “the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.” The newspaper gave the president credit for tackling two of the most malignant economic problems in decades – the petrol subsidy and fixed exchange rate – but said the shock therapy was so disjointed that calling it “Tinubunomics” would be a joke.

But Nigerians hardly need a foreign newspaper to render their misery in torrid colours. They know this was not the life promised. Tinubu pledged to prioritise security and jobs, tackle the mounting debt, and improve infrastructure when he took office. He came with a pro-business credential and a track record of success in Lagos that was difficult to ignore.

In the last year, however, with millions impoverished by the government’s economic policies and two major nationwide protests against hunger and bad governance, Tinubu’s reputation has taken such a severe beating that promises of light at the end of the tunnel have been brushed aside.

Turn of excuses?

His government has explained that the rot was worse than expected; that whereas previous governments since 1973 said oil money was not the problem, but how to spend it, President Muhammadu Buhari handed his successor an empty treasury, to which the response has been: yours is a continuation of the APC government, deal with it.

Complaints about post-Covid-19 supply chain problems, long-standing structural problems, the protracted legal challenge to his election, and a hostile opposition have also been dismissed as untenable for a man who said it was his turn to govern.

Temptation

Yet, I wouldn’t write off the government, however tempting. If Tinubu’s shock therapy has been disjointed, and his economic policies severely criticised by a despairing public, the tax-and-spend remedy by The Financial Times, the West’s standard response to budget deficits – apart from the added trope about transparency and corruption – is hardly the cure in Nigeria’s case for at least two reasons.

Apart from severe loopholes, rampant poverty makes it difficult to expand the tax net or improve the yield, except if the government wishes to levy taxes on blood. Poor industrialisation, even de-industrialisation, and heavy dependence on imports, especially food imports, compound the problem and further reduce wiggle room to raise badly needed cash.

For Tinubu to dig Nigeria out of its current hole – and I believe he still can – efforts to restructure government income, including taxes, by repurposing the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) must be matched by policies that create wealth.

Options for compound problems

The government should intentionally target industrialisation and food production, with reduced foreign input. Unfortunately, widespread floods have piled on insurgency and kidnapping to reduce farm supplies and worsen food inflation.

Yet, while elites like me complain the most and the loudest, the measure of Tinubu’s success is not how much petrol I’m able to buy in my car but the impact of government policies on the rural poor, mainly farmers, who make up the bulk of the country’s 220m population.

Tinubu must work with Nigeria’s state governors, who collect security votes monthly before thinking of what to do with it to fix the security problem so that farmers can return. The country needs a system to incentivise farming, one far better managed than the Anchor-borrowers’ scheme under which the Buhari government staged occasional shows of huge grain pyramids that disappeared as soon as the events were over.

Examples from elsewhere

There would be no easy options. Examples of countries that have turned things around show that their leaders defied the norm in pivotal moments. Deng Xiaoping reversed Zedong’s isolationism by introducing market reforms and imposing a one-child policy.

Lee Kuan Yew ignored Western prescriptions of democracy, even laying down markers for the foreign-owned Strait Times, limited protests, and restricted strikes and industrial actions.

Those who obsess about diversity and size would find India a good example. To the displeasure of the elite, Indira Gandhi focused on rural India. She achieved self-sufficiency in food production, reducing poverty and laying the groundwork for long-term national development.

One thing common to all three but lacking in Tinubu’s government is energy and speed of execution. For example, three months after he announced an interim measure to remove tariffs on grains and essential pharmaceuticals, the Customs have yet to get the memo – or perhaps they have, and it’s been washed up by red tape.

Sitting on the mines

Sadly, oil isn’t about to take the backstage soon. Yet, our assets, especially oil mining leases in seven blocks, including OML 111 and disputed Pan Ocean assets, have been poorly managed by NNPCL. The corporation that ought to be alarmed at divestments from the upstream and midstream is too busy piling on the government’s debt by brokering crude-for-loan deals to think of what to do with massive, fallow oil assets that it has cornered since 2009.

Experts estimate that prudent management of these assets could increase Nigeria’s production quota by between 500kbpd and 1mbpd and improve the pool of investible funds. How and why, despite his experience in the oil industry, Tinubu indulges NNPCL’s damaging and scandalous incompetence, only he can explain. 

Eat that frog!

But I’m not giving up on him yet. I’m hoping he was playing politics when the political pressure group, the Patriots, led by the statesman Chief Emeka Anyaoku, visited him, and he said he needed to fix the economy before restructuring the country.

Except he prioritises that, the current system, which puts revenue sharing ahead of innovation, competition, production and reward, but instead creates a phantom of Abuja as Father Christmas, will continue to retard the country’s progress.

It’s not Tinubu’s fault that the states are yoked to Abuja. However, he cannot make any lasting changes, keep his election promises on security, jobs, the economy, or infrastructure or even inspire the states to depart their waywardness without changing how the country is governed.

He starts to lose me, not when I pay a higher petrol price but when his actions show, irretrievably, that despite his solid credentials as an advocate of restructuring, he is determined to put the cart before the horse.

Ishiekwene, Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP, is the author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It.

By now, you have probably seen Seyi, the president’s son, at presidential meetings and functions where he, ideally, has no business. Remember, his father had to ban him from attending the weekly meetings of the Federal Executive Council, saying his access was “undue.” Undeterred, Seyi still showed up at the swearing-in ceremony of Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the Chief Justice of Nigeria. While his meddlesomeness has spurred some people to wonder if he has any other job besides being “daddy’s boy,” I have also wondered if he is just another self-unaware member of the Nigerian political class or is intentionally shaming his father.

Since his father got into office last year, Seyi has been doing public charity and ensuring he is seen doing so. Through his associates, he has given out relief items to people involved in a fire disaster in Nasarawa, gifted “palliatives” in Abuja, and sponsored some medical outreaches. In September, he donated N500m to victims of the Maiduguri flood. Seyi flew to Borno with a team of associate-sympathizers and was received by the state governor, Babagana Zulum. If Nigeria were not a place where even governors have been thoroughly emasculated into subservience, why would the governor set aside his official duties to host the president’s son? The president’s son is unrecognized by the constitution, and Seyi has no business interloping in official affairs.

Anyway, one of the striking parts about Seyi’s visit was not just the money he donated but the speech he gave. It was more thoughtful than the perfunctory one his father had delivered a week earlier when he too visited. Seyi also assured the victims of the flood that he—or his foundation―would be further intervening until they were back on their feet. But in what capacity would he be making this “further” intervention when, as the son of the president, he is neither a private individual nor possesses an official designation? He cannot claim to be a neutral observer who is merely concerned about people’s welfare because the basis on which he does what he does is his filial connection to the president. If he were not the president’s son, Zulum would not have rolled out the carpet to receive him in Borno. Yet, it was not his place to intervene in the Borno crisis. He has no business doing any of these things.

Just last week, Seyi announced that he would once again be saving Nigerians from a bad fate. A foundation he had founded said they would be alleviating the financial hardship Nigerians face while procuring prescribed medication by creating a drug bank that would serve over 10,000 indigent people in 60 hospitals around the country. Just like in Borno, Seyi’s speech, read by a representative, as the scheme launched was compassionate, better than the yawnfest his father reads on national television on the few days in a year he deigns to talk to people. Seyi’s speechwriter managed to throw in all the right phrases about the burden people face accessing life-saving medications. This drug bank, they say, is more than medicine but a “commitment to dignity, to equality, and to the fundamental human right to healthcare.”

Now, that is where the problem lies. It is not enough that the president’s son is taking up initiatives that should be carried out by designated government officials—and in the process spending a humongous amount of money no one knows where he gets it from—but he also subtly disrespects his father in the process. Because there is no way Seyi is talking about the necessity of his drug bank initiative and the “added weight of crushing financial hardship” people confront without indicting his father whose poorly wrought policies have so impoverished the populace that they now need the son’s charity.

A couple of days ago, Seyi also shared bags of rice branded with his visage to some poor women who were then pressed to pray for him for his generosity. You know that it was not those women’s prayers he needed; he just wanted to be seen as a benefactor. Look, if Seyi truly cared about those women, he would not give them rice. He would face his father and tell him to take his paws off their destiny.

One can, of course, argue that Seyi has a prior record of charity, but still doing it especially while his father’s administration is falling apart gives the impression that Seyi is trying too hard to be seen as the successful son of a failing man.

Seyi’s adult life has been tied to his father; everything he has ever achieved professionally was muscled for him through daddy’s totalitarian politics. Given how that same father is diminishing in value and therefore unlikely to hand over valuable political capital to his children as their inheritance, the hope of a dynasty on which politicians’ scions calibrate their future political ambitions is tanking. The son seems to have read the handwriting scribbled everywhere and wants to cut loose to build something apart from daddy. That is why he jumps from Maiduguri to Ibadan, trying to prove he has the compassion—even if not the capacity—his father sorely lacks.

Seyi’s struggle to win the hearts of the folk even as his father is losing them is not exactly a political patricide—it is doubtable if he is even gutsy enough to even dream of attempting that—but impressioneering a better image for himself and generating some social capital, that while can be related to Tinubu, is still not Tinubu. While the savviness is consistent with the character of high-stakes politics, Seyi is not doing anything excitingly different from the jeun sókè jeun sápò political calculations that made his father. One would think a man that young would depart from his father’s politics of orifice that swings back and forth between mouths and agbada pockets, to try something refreshingly new, but Seyi seems wedded to the old and, frankly, boring methods of giving people a mere 0.000000001 percent of what has been stolen from them.

His aspirations might be legitimate enough, but there are challenges ahead. There is a good reason dynasties hardly hold up in this part of the world. First is the issue of the competitors. Far too many people want what Seyi’s father has, but since they know they will not get it, they have settled for subordinate positions. While they may have submitted to Tinubu’s powerful grip after serially losing in the power game against him, they are somewhere seething, raging, and biding their time. When the time comes to bid for the throne, they will easily oust daddy’s boy. They are far more desperate and more practiced in the Game of Thrones, and he is no match for them. Besides, our people too get tired of serving successive generations. When that time comes, they will remind him that they cannot serve his father and still serve him. Whatever they owe their family patriarch must be considered paid off at some point.

Second is that money, the basis on which the public relates to the Tinubus is the flimsiest of all the grounds on which one can build a lasting relationship. Love that flows with the tide of money will ebb when it ebbs. The Tinubu family is one that nobody will love if not for their money. That, of course, includes Mrs Tinubu who needed to hand out huge sums of money just to stimulate interest in her farming and fabric projects. Even now that she has had a Nebuchadnezzar-sized statue carved for her, nobody who has not been pre-paid will bow before her graven image. So, yes, Seyi too can try his desperate best but the love he will get will come with a receipt.

When my authority inspires sycophancy, I have no followers, only resentful manipulators of my power for their own selfish gain—George Kunz

Released last week, the World Bank’s Food Security Update Report listed Nigeria among countries that have seen a significant rise in the number of people facing acute food shortages when compared with the previous year. If the situation in the country is worse than the 2023 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report which classified Nigeria as having “a level of hunger that is serious,” one can only imagine the gravity of the deprivation our people are facing. And just Tuesday, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the latest Consumer Price Index report revealing that the headline inflation rate for September rose to 32.70 percent. Year-on-year inflation surged by 5.98 percent points. Sadly, our lawmakers gleefully tell us to scavenge for food anywhere we can find a free meal. That’s the latest ‘gospel’ according to St. Akpabio. But then, we have a National Assembly whose members seem blind, deaf and dumb about the existential challenges in Nigeria today.

To satisfy the preference of President Bola Tinubu for the old national anthem, the National Assembly initiated and passed the ‘National Anthem Bill, 2024’ for Nigerians to move from singing ‘Arise O Compatriots,’ to ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’ on the first anniversary of the current administration. A day later, the same National Assembly named their library after the president. Two months after that, lawmakers amended the police act in one day (first, second and third reading) so that the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun could enjoy an elastic tenure at the pleasure of the president. And now, a bill seeking to establish the Bola Tinubu University in Aba, Abia State to teach Nigerian languages has passed the first reading in the House of Representatives. Sponsored by Deputy Speaker Ben Kalu, the co-sponsors are Inuwa Garba, Nasiru Shehu, Alex Ikwechegh, Bako Useni, Amobi Ogah, Akin Rotimi, Halims Abdullahi, and Felix Nwaeke.

To be sure, sycophancy has always been a national pastime in Nigeria. That explains why the birthday ceremonies of political office holders and that of their spouses as well as the burial ceremonies of their parents have become state functions. Even within religious institutions, we see how the Papas and Mamas are worshipped sometimes more than the God from whom those individuals claim to have secured their spiritual mandates. Yet, as I have argued in the past on this same issue, when you create an environment in which leaders are hero-worshipped, as is the case in Nigeria today, development is a mirage, and the people are the ultimate losers.

In her piece on the danger of sycophancy, Aasha Mehreen Amin, a famous Bangladeshi journalist, wrote that leaders who surround themselves with sycophants are vulnerable to the malaise of becoming blinded in the smog created by these yes men and yes women. “These are not the people who genuinely care about the leader or act in the leader’s best interest,” she wrote. “No, these are the individuals who will never fail to flatter the leader at the drop of a hat and will always agree with whatever the leader says – just so they stay in favour and accrue some benefit.” But it will take perceptive leaders to understand that. 

My main concern is that sycophancy is being institutionalised under the current administration. A few days before leaving office in May last year, President Mohammadu Buhari directed that 15 of the federal airports in the country be named after prominent Nigerians and it was difficult to fault the list. The one in the Niger State capital was named ‘Mallam Abubakar Imam International Airport, Minna’. But early this year, Governor Umar Bago renamed the airport ‘Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Airport’. Beyond sullying the memory of the late Imam—a respected journalist and contemporary of the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe in precolonial days who is regarded as a premier figure in Hausa literature—the Niger State governor was allowed to overturn the decision of a former president on something within the Exclusive (federal) List in the Constitution!

That provides a ready backdrop to some of the decisions being taken by the National Assembly. Sadly, when an institution saddled with the primary responsibility of serving as a check on the excesses of the executive would rather play the role of sycophant, the needs and aspirations of the people they are supposed to serve are lost. That point was made so eloquently by Dr Gai Chol Paul, a South Sudanese scholar and author of ‘The Stolen Nation’ in the piece, ‘How Sycophancy Destroys a Nation’. The reason why some nations are unable to progress despite having all the resources and potential, according to him, lies in the toxic culture of sycophancy. “In a nation where sycophancy is rampant, meritocracy is replaced by favouritism and nepotism, leading to the downfall of the nation.”

Sycophancy creates a culture of mediocrity where people are rewarded not for their competence and hard work, but for their ability to flatter and please those in power, Paul further argued. “The brilliance of sycophants lies in the way they will make the leader believe that the conclusion that has been arrived at, the decision that has been made, is completely of their own accord. The fact that the leader has been influenced with slow poisoning, that the outcome serves the sycophant’s agenda, will never be detected,” he wrote. “It will leave the leader more and more clueless about what is really going on while pushing them further away from the people they are leading. It will give them a false sense of invincibility and grandeur. The leader will become more and more vulnerable to the lies of the sycophants. Eventually, they will stand helpless in front of a wall that has cracked in too many places.”

The first inclination of leaders surrounded by sycophants is to believe they are above the law. Once hooked on such an idea, they begin to crave constant applause from these professional flatterers, even when the people they are supposed to serve are no longer with them. It is a dangerous place to be for any leader. Seven years ago, when I wrote on this same issue of sycophancy to warn then President Muhammadu Buhari, I illustrated my point with the Biblical story of King Ahab of Israel, who sought the collaboration of King Jehoshaphat of Judah in his bid to reclaim a city. While Jehoshaphat agreed to the request, he advised Ahab to first seek God’s counsel. “Go, for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand”, the 400 prophets quickly assembled by Ahab roared. But being more circumspect, Jehoshaphat asked: “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”

Jehoshaphat must have seen through these 400 palace prophets, the leading advisers of Ahab, and concluded there was no point relying on the prophecy of sycophants. His question provoked a predictable response from Ahab, as recorded in second Chronicles Chapter 18, Verse 7: “The King of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, ‘There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me…He is Micaiah the son of Imlah.”

Invariably, Ahab was simply seeking validation for a decision he had already taken, even if it was wrong. And those 400 prophets were ‘his men’—people who always told him what he wanted to hear. We have several such well-placed individuals at practically all levels of governance in Nigeria. They are, as George Kunz described them, resentful manipulators of power for their own selfish gain. But for dancing to the tune of sycophants, the story ended tragically for King Ahab.

This dreadful culture of sycophancy is deeply rooted in our society so President Tinubu should be wary of the antics of bootlickers. Nigeria is in a very bad place today and millions of citizens are going through harrowing times, not knowing where the next meal would come for their families. Since that is not what his sycophants are telling him, the president must begin to immunize himself against the ‘400 prophets’ in the National Assembly, Federal Executive Council and among State Governors. They do not mean well for him, and they care even less about the country.

DNA and the Crisis of Paternity

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recently published a damning report on Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) testing trends in Nigeria based on findings by a leading DNA testing centre in Lagos. According to the report, 27 per cent of paternity tests conducted came back negative, indicating that more than one in four men tested are not the biological fathers of the children in question. Most of the tests (85.9 per cent), the report further reveals, were conducted for ‘Peace of Mind’, rather than legal motivations. “These findings offer a unique window into the changing dynamics of Nigerian families and society” said Elizabeth Digia, the operations manager at Smart DNA which conducted the survey. “The high rate of negative paternity tests and the surge in immigration-related testing are particularly noteworthy. They reflect broader societal trends that merit further discussion and research. The concentration of testing in Lagos also raises important questions about accessibility and awareness of DNA testing services across Nigeria.”

Four years ago, a Delta State High Court Judge claimed that DNA tests conducted on three children from his first marriage revealed that he is not their biological father. The Judge detailed how he first received an anonymous message questioning the fatherhood of the youngest. When that information proved to be true, DNA tests were extended to the others. The Judge further explained that his decision to address the press on the matter was “to prevent damaging speculations, half-truths and outright lies from persons who may want to cash in on the tragedy that has befallen” his home while leaving his ex-wife “and her boyfriend or boyfriends to their conscience”.

Following the publication, I wrote a column, ‘I am Not Your Father’. Although the DNA tests may have brought to light infidelities concealed for two decades, the real damage of that tragic saga, as I wrote back then, was to the innocent children who had become young adults. By publicly disowning them, the Judge conferred on them the ‘bastard’ stigma in a society where victims suffer consequences for the transgressions of others.

Ordinarily, DNA tests are used in forensic criminal investigations to match suspect(s) with evidence collected from crime scenes. They also help to determine victims of mass disasters, (for instance, an earthquake or plane crash) and now also for immigration purposes. While most countries have laws governing the use of DNA in paternity matters, Nigeria appears not to have any, leading to a gross abuse of this scientific method. In countries where DNA has become common, there are strict laws to protect the privacy and rights of the child whose paternity may be in question.

In the age in which we live, people must understand the limits of DNA, current trends in parenting and family dynamics as well as how nurture has literally supplanted nature. In the end, a child (whether biological or by adoption) brings us comfort and is a product of our love and care. In the United States, federal agencies that regulate genetic tests include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). They are regulated and evaluated on three criteria, including how well the test predicts the presence or absence of a particular gene or genetic change and whether the tests consistently and accurately detect whether a specific genetic variant is present.

Considering the increasing popularity of DNA testing in Nigeria, we need to borrow from other countries by putting in place the requisite regulation that will address all salient issues in the sector.

NICN Lecture: What I Said

Dear Mr Adeniyi,

I attended the National Industrial Court of Nigeria Legal Year lecture on 9 October 2024 where you delivered a lecture which I commented on. In your column in THISDAY Newspaper last week, you noted my comment but did not reflect it fully. In your said column, you wrote that I said that the (Federal High) Court did not restrain the Police (in the case filed by the APC against the Police, INEC and others). But you did not go further to state the full position in my comment being that the court in that case did not restrain the Police from carrying out its duties but rather ordered them not to give security cover to the Rivers State Electoral Commission regarding the conduct of the local government election of 5th October in the State, as the condition precedent for having it had not been met. The above position is clearly spelt out in orders 3 and 6 of the judgment, a certified true copy of which you acknowledged has been availed you by Mr Jibrin Okutepa, SAN. Please, it is hoped that you will clarify my position in your next column.

–Nnamonso Ekanem, SAN

It is with great joy and pride that I congratulate you on the occasion of your 67th birthday and a life replete with milestone achievements.

You have attained the pinnacle of your legal career as a learned silk (SAN), a professor of law, a multiple national honours awardee, and a holder of multiple chieftaincy titles bestowed on you for your admirable community work and contributions.

Your passion for the legal profession, scholarship, and human rights activism has earned you global respect. It is fitting that on the occasion of your 67th birthday, you chose to celebrate the same with a rare display of intellectual potpourri by the publication and launch of numerous books on law and other subjects.

Congratulations, my brother, and may God reward you with continued wisdom, good health, and the vigour to continue impacting humanity.

Happy Birthday, learned SAN

FROM:

Prof. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu

Former Honourable Minister of State

Petroleum Resources

Former President of OPEC, APPO, GECF

“It’s an unfathomable paradox”, ruefully stated the woman sitting next to me at the discussion segment of the three-day Energy Summit at the Landmark Events Centre when the 2024 annual conference started on Tuesday, October 15, “that a country so blessed with brilliant and talented persons could be in the present development morass”. The lady, in her early 30s and from one of the largest commercial law firms in the country, was impressed, like the rest of the considerable audience, at the presentations of executives of different power generation firms in the country. The discussants were Meyen Etukudo, the CEO of Ibom Power; Edu Okeke, CEO of Azura Power Ltd; Oti Ikomi, Vice Chairman & CEO of Proton Energy Africa; and two amazons, Mrs Atinuke Taiwo, Executive Director and General Counsel of Mainstream Solutions Ltd, and Mrs Agatha Nnaji, Group Managing Director of Geometric Power.

Mrs Nnaji received the most sustained applause each time she spoke. Each time, she provided a new, totally refreshing insight into the electric power sector. The first insight is the imperative of aligning interests between public servants and entrepreneurs in the power sector. The second is the revelation that her Geometric Power firm has been operating effectively without government subsidies, in contrast to the case with other power generation and distribution firms in Nigeria.

She believes that Nigeria will remain in the woods unless there is a new culture and mindset in the public servants, including civil servants who run agencies dealing with the sector.

Nnaji argued that if civil servants, for instance, continue to earn their salaries and benefits regardless of their performance, it would be difficult for the country to make a dent in the electricity sector. She wants civil servants to be incentivized so as to develop an entrepreneurial spirit that will benefit them and the nation.

Nigerian top officials and civil servants need to learn a lesson from China in this respect. China has five government tiers, stretching from over 40,000 townships to 2,800 counties to 333 municipalities to 31 province-level regions and the national administration. One critical criterion for promoting a person from one layer to another is the number and size of investments attracted to a person’s area within a given period.

In a well-circulated article entitled “What the West Misunderstands about Power in China” and published in the influential thought magazine, Noema magazine, on November 10, 2023, Xiao Ma of Peking University wrote: “The desire to reach higher positions generates incentives for local officials to reach and balance goals such as promoting growth, attracting investment, preserving the environment, and maintaining social stability.

“Local leaders have to be entrepreneurial to outperform their equally motivated peers in local development. Some resort to policy experiments, transforming the local bureaucracy to make it more amicable to residents and outside investors; others lobby their superiors, in particular those in the central government, for additional policy handouts”.

In a popular book published in the United States in 2009 entitled The China Strategy: Harnessing the Power of the World’s Fastest-growing Economy, Edward Tse, an investment consultant based in Hong Kong who writes for Harvard Business Review, notes on page 10 that the amazing success of Chinese new cities and towns owes to officials who govern them in a way to “attract as much business as they can”.

On page 18 of the book, Tse, who notes the immense patriotism in all Chinese officials, continues: “They have taken on responsibilities beyond their job description, acting as the guiding hand in the creation of China as a world-leading country. Their interests extend beyond self-enrichment to the creation of national wealth and pride. This has been the motive behind building up the infrastructure necessary to economic development. It also means a long-term commitment to ensuring incremental development, as well as a willingness to experiment and collaborate across government agencies and with the private sector”.

What led Mrs. Nnaji to call for a new culture and mindset in the public agencies dealing with the power sector was a question from the moderator of her session on power generation and sustainability. The moderator, Nicholas Okafor of Belo-Osagie and Udo Udoma law firm wondered how the Geometric Power group, comprising the 188-megawatt Geometric Plant in Aba, Abia State, and the embedded Aba Power distributing firm, Nigeria’s 12th distribution power company, was able to survive despite being in limbo for 20 years as a result of deliberate man-made obstacles before it was eventually commissioned last February 26 by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

While the other electricity generation and distribution companies have been lamenting that the Federal Government, which has paid over seven trillion naira (N7tr) to them since their privatization in 2013 as subsidy, is still owing them so much money, the Geometric Power group has not received a kobo from any person as subsidy. More incredibly, the Geometric Power group it is not expecting any because it is designed to operate with no such support.

No wonder, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has been saying that the Federal Government is studying the Geometric Power model intending to replicate it in other parts of Nigeria. The minister says that the DisCos cover very wide territories which makes efficient management difficult, citing the example of the Ibadan DisCo that services industries in Ogun State and places in Oyo, Ondo, Osun, and even Kwara states. In contrast, Aba Power serves only nine local government areas in Abia State, making it efficient to manage.

But the more important point about Geometric Power operations, as Mrs. Nnaji revealed, is that it is Nigeria’s foremost power-integrated group, that is, it generates its own power and sells it to itself for a dedicated or niche market. Other electricity companies in Nigeria are either power generation firms or electricity distributing ones. Therefore, when other GenCos complain of not being paid by DisCos after supplying them electricity, Geometric Power doesn’t complain because Aba Power does not owe it.

As Dr Shamsudeen Usman, the former Minister of Economic Planning, revealed recently, most of the 11 DisCos privatized in 2013 were hijacked by extremely greedy people in the Federal Government and their agents. They are today’s in a big mess. They are perhaps the weakest link in the country’s electricity value chain. The Federal Government, which still retains a 40% stake in them, should consider selling them to GenCos willing to purchase them. There is no future for eight of the 12 DisCos in Nigeria. There is a limit to how long the Federal Government can subsidize them.

Dr (Mrs) Adewala-Johnson is a business consultant in Lagos.

Following enquiries by journalists as to who is in charge of our country as the President and Vice President are out of the country, we want to clarify:

1. It is important to note that the President and Vice President are fully engaged with the nation's affairs, even while they are away. There is no leadership vacuum in the country.

2. President Tinubu left the country on 3 October and is on a two-week working vacation. During this time, he has been busy answering phones and issuing directives on matters of state. He will soon return to the country before the vacation officially expires. 

3. The vice president departed the country Wednesday for Sweden on an official visit, working for Nigeria.

4. All state organs are functioning as usual. The Senate President, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ministers, and Service Chiefs are all in their respective positions, ensuring the smooth operation of the government.

5. We had a similar situation in 2022 when former President Buhari and former Vice President Osinbajo were found to be simultaneously out of the country. President Buhari attended UNGA 77, while Osinbajo participated in the burial of Queen Elizabeth ll. 

6. We have also experienced it during this administration. Between late April and early May this year, while President Tinubu was in London, after visiting the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia, where he attended the World Economic Forum, Vice President Shettima left Nigeria, first of all for Nairobi to attend the International Development Association (IDA21) Heads of State Summit. After returning, he left for Dallas, Texas, to attend the US-Africa Business Summit organised by the Corporate Council on Africa. President Tinubu returned home on 8 May. During this time, the government's machinery did not halt. 

7. The Constitution, a testament to our adaptability in the virtual age, does not explicitly require the physical presence of either the president or the vice president in the country at all times to fulfil his duties.

Bayo Onanuga 

Special Adviser to the President

(Information and Strategy)