The House of Representatives yesterday set up an ad hoc committee to investigate an alleged abuse of N2.3 trillion generated from the Tertiary Education Tax by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) from 2011 to 2013.

The committee is to report back within four weeks for further legislative action.

The House took the action following the adoption of a motion to carry out the probe, sponsored by Olusola Fatoba, David Fouh and Zakari Nyampa.

The Green Chamber of the National Assembly recalled that the Tertiary Education Tax was introduced as a special corporate tax to provide specialised funding for tertiary education in Nigeria, including capital projects, research and development, among others.

It said the tax was introduced following the repealing of Education Tax Act, which established the Education Trust Fund to impose Education Tax on Nigerian companies at the rate of 2.5 per cent of the assessable profit for annual assessment.

The House also recalled that in 2011, the Education Tax Act was repealed and replaced with Tertiary Education Trust Fund Establishment, Act in 2021, the Finance Act 2021, increasing the applicable Tertiary Education Tax rate from 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent.

The Green Chamber said it was aware that since the establishment of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund in 2011, the fund had earned trillions of naira as revenue.

It alleged that the fund had suffered numerous financial abuses in its operations, award of contracts and execution of projects.

The House said it was aware that the Standard Operating Procedure within the fund was porous and did not create a platform for proper supervision of projects domiciled with tertiary institutions.

The motion reads: “The House further notes that these abuses, actions, inactions and infractions have resulted in the misappropriation of funds and unjust enrichment of funds worth about N2.3 trillion.

“The House is worried that if urgent steps are not taken to investigate the allegations, the decay of the tertiary education system will continue to increase, thus resulting in strike actions, substandard institutions, lack of faith in the system, migration of talented youths and total collapse of the Education system arising from gross abuse of a laudable special intervention programmes and aspiration of the President to provide opportunities to young people through quality tertiary education.”

Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum yesterday released 80 vehicles to ease high cost of transportation for farmers arising from the withdrawal of fuel subsidy in May.

A statement in Maiduguri, the state capital, by Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to the Governor, Mallam Isa Gusau, said the vehicles compressed 50 buses and 30 pick-up vans to convey farmers to their farms for free.

“To reduce high cost of living caused by withdrawal of fuel subsidy, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, on Tuesday, released 80 buses and pick-up vans for free transportation of farmers.

“The 80 means of transport will comprise 50 luxury buses to be allocated from the fleet of the Borno Express Corporation, while the 30 pick-up vans will be hired by the state government.

“Due to the removal of fuel subsidy, which although has a long-term benefit, cost of transportation has increased.

“Therefore, the Borno State government has decided to provide 50 buses and 30 pick-up vans to convey farmers to their farmlands this rainy season,” the statement quoted Zulum as saying.

The governor also addressed farmers on the Maiduguri-Damboa road, urging them to cooperate with the military and other security agencies deployed in the area to protect them.

He expressed gratitude to the military and other security agencies for their sacrifices in protecting the people.

The Acting Inspector-General of Police, Ag. IGP Olukayode Adeolu Egbetokun has ordered the deployment of thirty-five (35) Commissioners of Police to various state commands and formations across the country.

A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi said, “This followed the approval of his recommendation by the Police Service Commission”.

The IGP assured that the postings are in line with the commitment of the police leadership to ensuring effective policing, security, and the maintenance of law and order in Nigeria.

Amongst the newly posted Commissioners of Police are CP Adelesi E. Oluwarotimi to Kwara State Command; CP Adebola Ayinde Hamzat to Oyo State Command; CP Augustina N. Ogbodo to Ebonyi State Command; CP Samuel Titus Musa to Kebbi State Command; CP Aderemi Olufemi Adeoye to Anambra State Command; CP Auwal Musa to Bauchi State Command; and CP Alamatu Abiodun Mustapha to Ogun State Command.

Others include CP Margaret Ochalla to Police Special Fraud Unit Annex Lagos; CP Banji Ogunrinde to head the Explosive Ordnance Unit; CP Rhoda A. Olofu to Ports Authority Police Western, Lagos; and CP Kareem Musa to Interpol Annex Lagos.

CP Audu Dabigi is posted to Border Patrol Force; CP Abibo D. Reuben to Police Mobile Force; CP Adekunle Ismaila Olusokan to Welfare FHQ Abuja; CP Omolara Ibidun Oloruntola to Special Fraud Unit FCID Abuja; and CP Abaniwonda S. Olufemi to Deputy Force Secretary amongst others.

Furthermore, the IGP charged the appointed Commissioners of Police to key into his policies, vision, and mission for the Nigerian Police Force while mandating them to prioritize the safety and well-being of the citizens they serve, ensuring adherence to the principles of fairness, professionalism, and respect for human rights.

While urging them to serve as exemplary leaders, fostering harmonious relationships with other security agencies, community leaders, and relevant stakeholders, the IGP tasked them to promote intelligence-led policing, proactive crime prevention strategies, and community engagement initiatives that will enhance public trust and confidence in the Nigerian Police Force.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, says the commission is working with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to prosecute electoral offenders in the general elections.

During a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja, Mr Yakubu said the NBA had provided a list of 427 lawyers offering pro bono services.

“Already, the NBA has submitted a list of 427 lawyers across the country who have volunteered to render pro bono services to the commission,” said Mr Yakubu.

He added, “They are not charging legal fees, but by mutual agreement, the commission will provide a token amount to cover filing fees/expenses. We are most grateful to NBA and its president, Yakubu Maikyau, for this historic collaboration.”

The INEC chairman announced that the commission had received 216 case files related to the 2023 general elections.

He said the files include one on the suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Adamawa State, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, and 215 other electoral offenders.

Mr Yakubu emphasised that INEC thoroughly examines all evidence of infractions during the elections and is committed to prosecuting the offenders.

According to the INEC chairman, the examination also extends to the activities of high-ranking officials within the commission.

Mr Yakubu assured that appropriate action would be taken within days, and the public would be duly informed.

To address vote buying and associated violations, he said INEC is working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to prosecute such cases.

Moreover, INEC has received reports from 54 accredited national and international observers.

The chairman urged RECs and senior officials to lead discussions on all aspects of the election, encouraging frank and constructive dialogue.

Mr Yakubu said the review would cover various areas, including the operational processes for Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and general elections, the legal framework for elections, and technology in the electoral process.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said Nigeria needs all the help that it can get at the moment.

The president said this on Tuesday while receiving visiting Bank of America officials in his office at the State House, Abuja.

He expressed confidence that his administration was on the pathway to success in spite of the challenges facing the country.

President Tinubu, in a statement by his spokesman, Dele Alake, said his government was committed to instituting reforms that would engender the sustainable growth and development of the country.

“We believe we are on the right track so far. We believe we need all the help we can get,” the President said as he asked the bank’s management for support and partnership that would advance mutual benefits for Nigeria and the financial institution.

The president said governance and development challenges facing the country could not be addressed without fiscal and institutional reforms.

“21st Century actions on climate change, finance and innovation are intertwined. Having a good platform and believing in innovation will help in undertaking reforms and tackling the issues.

“This is the largest economy and democracy in Africa and if we cannot do it, nobody will do it for us,” he said.

President Tinubu, while stating that no one could do it alone, made a case for the bank and other willing financing institutions to help the country, for instance in partnering to ensure Nigerian gas compete favourably in the global market, as a viable source of alternative revenue.

In his remarks, the leader of the delegation and President of International for Bank of America, Mr. Bernard Mensah, expressed excitement about the initial steps taken by the new administration, which, he said, is taking Nigeria back to its rightful place on the global stage.

He said the bank was willing to assist the country address its immediate and longer term challenges not only in the area of financing but also contributing with ideas.

In company with Mr. Mensah on the visit were Head of Sub-Saharan Africa of the bank, Mrs. Yvonne Ike Fasinro, and Head of Investment Banking Sub -Saharan Africa, Mr. Chuba Ezenwa.

A Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in Kano, on Tuesday, ordered the remand of a former Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Idris Wada Saleh, in Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission custody over alleged N1 billion fraud.

The defendant, a former Commissioner to Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, is standing trial on a two-count charge bordering on false information and return and cheating.

The Prosecutor, Mr Salisu Tahir, Assistant Director, PCACC, told the court that the defendant was arrested on July 3, at about 2:30 p.m.

He alleged that sometime in 2023, the defendant released the sum of N1 billion to Arafat construction company, No Stone Construction Company and Multi Resources, to rehabilitate 30 roads in the metropolis, noting that the projects weren’t carried out.

Tahir filed an exparte under section 295(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) 2019 urging the court to remand the defendant at PCACC custody for 14 days to enable them to complete the investigation.

“The defendant has a case to answer of N1 billion belonging to the Kano State government.

“The exparte application is supported by seven paragraphs deposed by one Insp. Sa’id Ilu, attached with six voucher exhibits,” Tahir stated.

He urged the court to grant the application to enable the agency to file a proper charge against the defendant in the interest of Justice and public outcry.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge.

According to the prosecutor, the offence contravened the provision of section 26 of PCACC 2010 as amended and section 322 of the Penal Code.

The defense counsel, Mr Mustapha Idris, urged the court to grant the defendant bail pursuant to sections 35(6) and 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

He said, “The defendant is presumed innocent and the offence is bailable pursuant to sections 168 and 172 of ACJL Kano State 2019 and order 5 rules 1 and 3 of ACJL rules 2023.”

Chief Magistrate Tijjani Sale-Minjibir, ordered the remand of the defendant in PCACC custody for 12 days.

He adjourned the matter until July 14, for a ruling on the bail application.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has joined the Federal Ministry of Education in a suit filed by a Seventh-day Adventist member seeking to stop the conduct of examinations and elections on Saturdays.

The court also joined the Council of Legal Education to the suit following an application by the plaintiff that the two agencies be joined to the suit.

When the hearing commenced on Tuesday, in the suit instituted by one Ugochukwu Uchenwa, seeking an order of the court to stop the conduct of examinations and elections on Saturdays, counsel for the plaintiff, Benjamin Amaefule told the court that he had an application filed on March 29, for joinder pending in court.

The lawyer told the court that he had attached relevant exhibits to the application to show that the council was conducting examination on Saturdays.

He stated that the Ministry of Education was being joined to the suit since all education institutions were under it to stop universities and other institutions of higher learning in the country from conducting academic activities on non-academic days.

Out of the six reliefs sought by the plaintiff, from the court, Justice James Omotosho granted only four of the reliefs.

The reliefs granted include: “An order of the court joining the Council of Legal Education and the Federal Ministry of Education to the suit.

“An order of the court allowing the applicant to amend the system in support of the originating application in the suit.

“An order granting leave to the application to amend the originating motion to reflect the parties joined.

There was no opposition to the application for a joinder from the respondents.

Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter to October 23 for hearing.

The respondents in the suit are the President, the Attorney -General of the Federation, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the West African Examination Council, (WAEC) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, (JAMB).

Others are the National Examination Council, (NECO), the National Business and Technical Examinations Board, Council of Legal Education and the Ministry of Education.

Professor Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Commission (INEC), on Tuesday, said the electoral body deliberately opted to remain silent in the face of various allegations of election manipulation levied against it following the declaration of results for the 2023 election.

The INEC Chairman shed light on the commission’s decision not to engage in public commentaries regarding the accusations of election manipulation. According to him, there were four compelling reasons behind the commission’s decision.

Drama on February 27 ensued at the International Conference Centre in Abuja where INEC was announcing the results of the 2023 presidential election when Senator Dino Melaye briefly distrusted the process, alleging fraud in the results declared from Ekiti State.

But speaking during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) as the commission commences review of the elections, Yakubu listed four reasons behind the commission’s decision to keep mute in the face of allegations from political parties, candidates, and their supporters, among others.

“Since the conclusion of the election, diverse opinions have been expressed by political parties, candidates, observers, analysts and the general public on aspects of the elections that took place in February and March,” the INEC chairman said, noting that such diverse opinions should normally be expected.

“The Commission has consciously not joined in these commentaries in the immediate aftermath of the election for several reasons.

“First, our preference is to listen more and draw lessons rather than join in the heated and often emotive public discussion on the election.

“Second, since we plan to conduct our own review of the election, we see no need to pre-empt the process.

“Third, the Commission would not want to be seen as defensive or justificatory in joining the ongoing discussions.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, several issues around the election are sub-judice and it is not the intention of the Commission to either undermine or promote the chances of litigants in the various election petition courts beyond what is required of us by the legal process. Indeed, practically anything coming from the Commission could be cited by litigants as either justifying their claims or an indication of bias against them,” he said.

Professor Yakubu further stated that the commission would conduct a comprehensive review of the 2023 general election, encompassing all stages of the electoral process.

He emphasized the need to assess the events before, during, and after the election to gain a complete understanding of the election’s conduct and outcomes and to “learn the full lessons of the election going forward”.

“Compared to some previous elections, we believe that the 2023 General Election was one of the most meticulously prepared for in recent times, “ Yakubu added.

“Learning from previous experiences, we started preparations immediately after the 2019 General Election, carefully ticking the necessary boxes over a four-year period. It is the need to learn from both the positives and the shortcomings that makes the stocktaking that we are embarking on today essential.

“Among the positive stories is that the security challenge which threatened to derail the elections did not materialise. Concerns that the polls will be disrupted by the perennial insecurity across the country fizzled out on Election Day as the elections were largely peaceful.

“Despite currency and fuel challenges and widespread attacks on our personnel and facilities nationwide, the Commission proceeded with the election as scheduled. The first set of elections, the Presidential and National Assembly, held as planned for the first time in the last four General Elections conducted in the country.

“Accreditation of voters using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has generally been scored very high by voters. Our records show that the success rate for BVAS accreditation stands at 98% compared to the Smart Card Reader’s 29.2% during the 2019 General Election. Above all, despite the divergent opinions about the outcome of the election, the overall outlook suggests that it is a fair reflection of a complex multi-party democracy.”

Yakubu acknowledged the challenges faced by INEC, which he said were “structural, infrastructural and human in nature” but assured that the post-election review would afford the commission an opportunity to “address the challenges as we prepare for future elections”.

The art of effective communication lies in the use of phraseology or soundbites that leave a lasting impact on citizens. It is commendable how leaders can convey their message in a crisp and resonating manner. President Franklin Roosevelt set the precedent with the New Deal during the collapse of the American economy in the 1930s. Subsequently, other US presidents followed suit with Reaganomics and Bidenomics under President Joe Biden.

As President Tinubu assembles his full economic team, it is advised that he establishes his own economic policy mantra, known as TINUBUNOMICS. This comprehensive policy will encompass fiscal, monetary, and all aspects of government economic strategies. By owning this unique approach, President Tinubu can leave a lasting impression on the Nigerian people.

Furthermore, it is crucial to align the economic policy with foreign affairs. This synergy can be achieved through the implementation of ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY. This approach will prioritize Nigeria's existing ties with Africa, recognizing the continent as the center of our diplomatic efforts. However, we must not limit ourselves to this region alone.

While South Africa holds the position of the second-largest economy in terms of GDP and is a member of BRICS, Nigeria should remain non-aligned. We should not be confined to a bloc with Russia, especially at this time. Instead, we should maintain open relations with the USA, UK, Europe, and Asia. As the leading economic power in Africa, we have a larger market to export our products to these continents.

It is important to note that the majority of our diaspora, whose remittances surpass revenue from oil, reside in the USA, UK, and Europe, rather than within the BRICS union. Therefore, joining BRICS should not be contemplated, at least not now. Our economic and foreign policies must be intertwined to ensure the prosperity of our nation.

In conclusion, TINUBUNOMICS offers a fresh approach to economic policy and diplomacy. By establishing our own unique economic strategy and maintaining open relations with key global players, we can solidify Nigeria's position as a leading economic power in Africa. Let us not be overshadowed by South Africa and instead forge our own path towards success.

Sonny Iroche, is an Investment Banker and a 2022-2023 Senior Academic Visitor at the African Studies Centre of University of Oxford. UK

“I watched President Tinubu in Ijebu Ode and Abeokuta last week. His movement suggested a sure-footed somebody. I watched him and wondered if he knew that tying the nuptial knots with one’s favourite lady is not the sole objective of marriage. He needs to be told that what makes the seas is more than sea water. Getting the presidency, complete with its power and glory, is not the end; making it work for the comfort of the people is. The eight million plus people who voted for him in February and the remaining millions on the street are dying slowly of hardship made worse by his recent policies. He withdrew petrol subsidy and is proud of it; he should be proud of enacting counter-policies that will deaden the pains. After all, when he was young and struggling, did he not join his folks to say that the one who knows how to eat isin must also know how to pluck out the death in its eyes?”

Immediate past Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, recently waxed proverbial and made a Facebook post which sounded like a loud complaint: “The axe forgets but the tree remembers…They are the axe. We are the trees. We have long memories. God Bless Nigeria. Amen.” El-Rufai made that sour post on June 13, 2023 – about three weeks ago. It sounded very ominous and sparked a feeling of deja vu. I read his post again, especially the two sentences: “They are the axe. We are the trees.” I felt like asking El-Rufai: who are the ‘they’ assailing innocent trees with their axes; and who are the ‘we’ – the victim-trees with ‘long memories’? But then, I could see that the message was his most popular social media post in recent times, attracting more than ten thousand likes and almost three thousand comments. Some of the commenters threw it back at the former governor. They said he was the axe and should stop acting the victim. One comment reads: “You are the axe here, Mallam. We, the citizens, are the trees. We’ll never forget.” And another: “We will remember; we will tell our children the stories when the time is right.” What stories?

El-Rufai described what he wrote as an African proverb. He may be correct. But where I come from, we say songs always presage rebellion (orin níí síwájú òtè, owó genge níí síwájú ijó). Nineteenth century American author, abolitionist and statesman, Frederick Douglass, said a variant of this: “The thing worse than rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion.” I think Nigeria should ask brilliant El-Rufai to explain what he meant and who wronged his “we”. If he says it is a harmless promise, a warning to his allies, then we may ask: what sort of man removes a fly from his friend’s forehead with a hatchet?

Beyond El-Rufai’s proverbs, I also like his choice of quotes. Take his Thomas Friedman quote of 15 October, 2022: “….sometimes the news is in the noise, in what is being said and shouted, and sometimes the news is in the silence, in what isn’t being said at all.” I would recommend that quotation to every person in government today who goes about sleeping because the traumatized hungry street is not saying anything. Think of everything that has happened in the last one month. Our government has removed fuel subsidy. The effects have been immediate in ruination and teeth gnashing. My problem here is not just petrol subsidy removal. How about where the gains will go? The gains will very likely feed the greed of the power elite or the elite will tell us there has been no gain yet; that we should, like Animal Farm’s Boxer, work harder and stop whining.

El-Rufai’s proverb says the tree does not forget what the axe does. Is that really true? If it is, why then does the tree continue to empower the axe with the comfort of wooden handles to wreak more havoc? Before our very eyes, we saw how perfect acts of acquiescence in the Orwellian Animal Farm wrecked the years from 2015 to 2023. A reenactment of same is afoot. Every squeal of disapproval from young porkers today attracts nauseating bleating from the sheep of the farm; the dogs of Napoleon, with menacing growls, tell their mates in hunger that the leader does right always. We are not complaining. We take anything our government offers; even when it offers nothing, we take and clap. “When Napoleon begins executing other animals, Boxer can only say, ‘I would not have believed that such things could happen on our farm. It must be due to some fault in ourselves. The solution, as I see it, is to work harder.’”

They are the axe, we are the tree. The people are increasingly made the fodder for the Knight’s horse, his charger. The government is celebrating a crash in demand for petrol as an achievement. They call it life style change; the poor call it trekking, suffering and sweating. Where are Tinubu’s policies against the rich? Installmental death of the poor is afoot. The elite applaud appropriate pricing of petrol. But the poor wears that shoe, he feels the pain. Petrol marketers have served us another notice of misery. They said from this month, because of the realities of the new FX policy, they may start selling petrol for N700 per litre. If and whenever that happens, the people will most likely ask if this democracy is really about them. That will be very dangerous. Again, Fredrick Douglass warned: “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”

International money lenders are also the axe here. They insist that there are too many trees in our forest. They cut, trim and prune life and living out of our lives. It is as if they do not care if the human ecosystem is destroyed and our forest becomes a desert. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are happy and dancing that Tinubu did well by carrying out what they called bold reforms. But most developed countries subsidise energy. Indeed, there is a report that German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, last November made plans for his country to spend €83.3 billion ($83.4 billion) on gas and electricity subsidies this year. Bloomberg, which published the report in November 2022, said it got it from a document it obtained from the ministry. Germany does that as we speak and it is not alone here. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated that consumption subsidies for fossil fuels doubled in 2022 to $1 trillion globally. A March 2023 report by Reuters said estimated oil subsidies in the US are as high as $50 billion per annum. No government in America has been able to stop it as part of the country’s transition to clean energy to tackle climate change. “Even with a commanding Democratic majority in the Senate in Obama’s first six years in office, he was unable to kill the subsidies. For many governments, keeping consumer energy prices affordable is the top priority. That’s why numerous countries, ranging from Japan to Brazil, last year imposed or increased subsidies to cushion consumers from skyrocketing prices,” the Reuters report said.

I have not heard the IMF and the World Bank tell those powerful countries that it was wrong to keep fuel prices low with subsidies. But at the launch of the Nigeria Development Update for June 2023 in Abuja last week, Alex Sienaert, chief economist at World Bank Nigeria, applauded Nigeria and its Tinubu. He said “the recently undertaken PMS subsidy and FX reforms are historic.” He said our country will make savings of N3.9 trillion in 2023 alone and that the action had stopped “Nigeria from going over a fiscal cliff and sets the stage for a new, upward Investment, growth, and development trajectory.” Then, he warned that “headline inflation is expected to rise…to 25 percent in 2023.” He added that if there were no buffers to cushion the impact of these reforms, over 7.1 million Nigerians would be further thrown into the poverty net. Ari Aisen, resident representative of the IMF in Nigeria, at the same event, said the reforms were long overdue. If you complain as I do about the effects, the IMF man had a response: it is natural that the policies have some side effects. “We have seen inflation already high and it is likely to increase further…” I read the IMF man and wondered if he did not know that many of the urban and rural poor have been made to believe that the spike in petrol price is just for some time. We need someone to tell the hopeful to tighten their seat belts because this láálá that has gone up isn’t going to come down to earth again.

Tinubu has been too much of a critic to fail in providing better life for the people. If he fails (we his friends say God forbid), he will be fed what he and his group regularly fed presidents who came before him. He will be introduced to the court hall where Thomas Rymer’s poetic justice is libatory wine, the undying gavel that “seeks to give to each what is owed.”

Inscrutable fate has heaved Tinubu onto power. Critics sometimes find themselves on the throne. When they do, they very often, because of their enormous street sense, get overconfident and take the people for granted; and, when they do this, they fail and fall and their enemies proceed to rejoice over them. I cite an example. Dr. Kofi Busia was one of the key opposition leaders whose criticisms provided the military the needed axe to sack Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, in 1966. Busia later got elected and sworn in as Prime Minister on October 1, 1969 and hit the ground running. Within the first six weeks of his Prime ministership, he promulgated the Aliens Compliance Order of 18 November, 1969 under which he chased an estimated 191,000 Nigerians and thousands of other nationals out of Ghana. His domestic economic policies were harsh and largely ineffective in making life better for the people of Ghana. He did everything he did to please the “international community” and made sure he was a friend of America and, unlike Nkrumah, supported Big Brother “on all procedural votes.” The American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in a declassified November 3, 1971 memo to the White House noted with applause that Busia’s policies had “earned him the respect and support of the World Bank, the IMF, etc…” The CIA noted in particular that “Busia has followed highly moderate policies, adopted two straight austerity budgets, and refused to renege on the inherited debts. As a result, he is subject to a good deal of domestic pressure and the success of Ghana’s experiment with responsible democratic government is in doubt…” As correctly read by the CIA, Busia soon suffered a fate similar to Nkrumah’s – his ‘friends’ booted him out of office in January 1972, two months, 10 days after that memo was written. Almost immediately after the putsch, exiled Nkrumah fired what he called “a letter of consolation” to the fallen Busia, his former arch critic.

Cheeky, old Nkrumah wrote salt right into the injury of smarting Busia who had just fallen from power. A few lines from his three-page letter here: “I am sure that you realise that those who criticise other people without bothering to assign good reasons for their criticisms eventually end up as victims of their own circumstances. You will also appreciate the fact that those who sow a wind reap a whirlwind, and after you have finished spoiling other people, you will be surprised to find out that you have spoilt yourself.”

I watched President Tinubu in Ijebu Ode and Abeokuta last week. His movement suggested a sure-footed somebody. I watched him and wondered if he knew that tying the nuptial knots with one’s favourite lady is not the sole objective of marriage. He needs to be told that what makes the seas is more than sea water. Getting the presidency, complete with its power and glory, is not the end; making it work for the comfort of the people is. The eight million plus people who voted for him in February and the remaining millions on the street are dying slowly of hardship made worse by his recent policies. He withdrew petrol subsidy and is proud of it; he should be proud of enacting counter-policies that will deaden the pains. After all, when he was young and struggling, did he not join his folks to say that the one who knows how to eat isin must also know how to pluck out the death in its eyes?