•President orders minister to calculate cost, Labour gives one-week ultimatum

Organised Labour may settle for N100,000 minimum wage as the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage commences daily meetings for five days to reach a consensus.

Multiple sources in the labour movement told The PUNCH on Tuesday that the union leaders were willing to review their demand from N494,000 to N100,000, following the criticism and controversy that trailed their proposal which was considered outrageous and unrealistic.

In a statement by his media aide, Rabiu Ibrahim on Saturday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the proposed minimum wage would result in an annual expenditure of N9.5tn, a burden he described as untenable for the nation’s finances.

Despite the intervention of the leadership of the National Assembly, labour embarked on an indefinite strike on Monday, a development that grounded economic activities nationwide.

Banks, airports, public schools and courts were shut, forcing the Federal Government to convene an emergency meeting to find a way out of the impasse.

In a bid to move the negotiation forward, the unions on Tuesday announced the suspension of the industrial action for five days after President Bola Tinubu agreed to pay a national minimum wage higher than N60,000 and the tripartite committee pledged its readiness to convene daily until a new minimum wage is announced.

To show his commitment to the negotiation, the President on Tuesday directed the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, to present the cost implications for a new minimum wage within two days.

 Tinubu gave the order at a meeting with the government negotiation team led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Speaking with The PUNCH in confidence because Labour had not formally presented its final offer to the tripartite committee, a senior NLC official confirmed that the unions would insist on N100,000 minimum wage.

Agenda setting

He stated, “Today’s (Tuesday) meeting was essentially to set an agenda and plan how to complete the assignment within the five days.

“The government representatives did not mention a raise in the N60, 000.  They just set the agenda on what to do and how to go about the negotiation. There was no mention of any increment. But labour planned to close the negotiation on N100,000 minimum wage.’’

The Deputy Head of NLC Political Commission, Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, also confirmed that the Tuesday tripartite meeting on minimum wage was to draw an agenda for the daily meetings.

“We met today (Tuesday) to draw up an agenda for the one-week daily meeting. We met today and drew the agenda because the agreement was that we meet daily for the meet one week and on our own, we said we are relaxing the strike not even suspending it.

“It’s more like putting everybody on red alert. It means we are not going to give any notice. Which means by this time next week, we are going on strike. There is a difference between relax and suspend. Relax is to stay on your duty post and put your hands on the trigger. It is tomorrow (today) that we are expecting the government to submit another proposal,’’ he explained.

The organised labour vowed to reject any little addition to the N60,000 offer by the tripartite committee on the new minimum wage.

The President of the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, made this known on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday.

TUC warns

When asked whether labour would accept a few thousand naira additions to the offer, the TUC boss said,  “No, we also told them that it’s not that we’d get to the table and you start adding N1, N2, N3,000 as you were doing and we got some good guarantees here and there that they would do something good.”

Osifo added that labour was not fixated on N494,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the country but the tripartite committee must show seriousness and offer workers something economically realistic in tandem with current inflationary pressures.

Though the union leader refused to mention a specific amount, he said the new minimum wage must be equal in purchasing power to the value of N30,000 in 2019 and N18,000 in 2014.

But disclosing to journalists the presidential directive to the finance minister, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said Tinubu during the meeting directed Edun to provide the financial implications of the new minimum wage in 48 hours.

He noted, “The President has just summoned a meeting of all those who negotiated on behalf of the Federal Government led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The minister of finance was there, the minister of budget planning, the minister of information, the minister of budget and national planning, the minister of labour, and the NNPCL GMD.

“We were all there to look at all issues and the President has directed the minister of finance to do the numbers and get back to him between today and tomorrow so that we can have figures ready for negotiation with labour.”

Presidential directive

Idris assured of the President’s readiness to accept the committee’s resolutions, adding that “The President is determined to go with what the committee has said and he’s also looking at the welfare of Nigerians.

“The government is not against or opponent of labour discussions; the government is not an opponent of wage increase but what is there is that government is always there to ensure that there is a balance between what government pronouncement is and what the realities are on the ground.

“And therefore, we will work assiduously to ensure that whatever promises the government makes are promises that will be kept. That is the idea of this meeting.”

Furthermore, he said President Tinubu had directed the government representatives to work collectively with the organised private sector and the sub-nationals to achieve a new affordable wage award for Nigerians.

Idris explained, “The President has given a marching order that all those who have negotiated on behalf of the Federal Government and all those who are representatives of organised private sectors, the sub-nationals to come together to have a new wage that is affordable, sustainable and that is also realistic for Nigerians.

“The wage is not just that of the Federal Government as I mentioned earlier, the sub-nationals are involved, the organised private sector is involved; it was labour that stepped out during that procedure. Now we have come back to the negotiation table.”

The minister assured that all hands would be on deck to present a new minimum wage for Nigerians in one week.

“All of us will work together assiduously within the next one week to ensure that we have a new wage for Nigeria that is acceptable, sustainable and also realistic,” Idris said.

Meanwhile, Labour said it had “relaxed” its strike for one week to enable fruitful negotiations with the Federal Government on minimum wage.

The NLC and TUC announced this in a communique on Tuesday, after a joint National Executive Council meeting.

The suspension of the strike followed a six-hour meeting between the leadership of organised labour and the National Assembly in Abuja on Monday night.

The Federal Government had expressed the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to raising the N60,000 offered as the minimum wage.

The agreement stated, “The President of Nigeria, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, is committed to establishing a National Minimum Wage higher than N60,000; and the Tripartite Committee will convene daily for the next week to finalise an agreeable National Minimum Wage.”

The organised labour also agreed to “immediately hold meetings of its organs to consider this new offer, and no worker would face victimisation as a consequence of participating in the industrial action.”

The resolutions were signed on behalf of the Federal Government by the information, Idris, and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha.

In its statement announcing the strike suspension, the unions said there was a greater need to create the right ambience for negotiation to continue unhindered.

“The indefinite nationwide strike action is, therefore, relaxed for one week from today (Tuesday) to allow the Federal Government to commit to a concrete and acceptable National Minimum Wage; take definitive steps to reverse the electricity tariff hike back to N66/kwh and abolish the discriminatory classification of electricity consumers into bands,” the unions said.

Labour also mandated its affiliate unions and state councils, to return to their respective workplaces immediately

On the issue of the electricity tariff, the unions said they were deeply disappointed by the government’s silence and lack of concrete action regarding the reversal of the electricity tariff hike and the abolition of the apartheid classification of electricity consumers into Bands.

“The NEC reaffirms that these issues are critical to alleviating the financial burden on Nigerian workers and the general populace. The electricity tariff hike and discriminatory Band classification remain unacceptable and must be addressed alongside the wage increase.”

In their position on the minimum wage, opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives called on the Federal Government to implement a new minimum wage of more than N100,000 to assuage organised labour.

Speaking with The PUNCH on Tuesday, the Minority Leader of the House, Kingsley Chinda, lamented the condition of the average Nigerian worker, stressing that the failure to pay a living wage is a constitutional breach.

He said, “In Nigeria today, any wage below $200 (N298,800) is ridiculous. The Nigerian worker is heavily underpaid and it is the responsibility of the government to ensure the security and welfare of its citizens. Failure to pay a living wage is unconstitutional as the welfare of citizens is neglected.

“Public and government officers should have their monthly wages while we consider the hourly rate for private or casual employees. The earlier the government concludes this matter with labour unions, the better.”

Like Chinda, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party and the lawmaker representing Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency, Osun State, Oluwole Oke, also made a case for the payment of a living wage which he said would enable the majority of Nigerians to cope, given the current economic realities.

“The minimum wage the Federal Government should pay should be N120,000. I say this because wage increase has its linkages, effects and consequences. Nigerian workers deserve living wages,’’ he argued.

Not unaware of the challenges his proposal would attract, Oluwole who chairs the House Committee on Judiciary, urged the private sector to be taken into consideration.

“We need to look at productivity in the private sector. Would the private sector that feeds the government survive? We have a serious issue at hand,” he added.

Asked what is good enough to count as a living wage, the lawmaker representing Abuja Municipal/Bwari Federal Constituency of the Federal Capital Territory, Chinedu Obika said, “N150,000 based on the current reality.”

Obika, a member of the Labour Party, further urged the Federal Government to consider the inflation rate in the past few years, when negotiating the new minimum wage for the workers.

In a bid to resolve the impasse on the minimum wage, the Senator representing Abia North District, Orji Kalu, has proposed a new minimum wage of N90,000.

Speaking during a brief plenary session on Tuesday, Kalu said a new wage in the region of N90,000 may be enough for workers to return to their duty posts.

Following a motion moved by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labour and Employment, Diket Plang, Kalu urged the Senate to prevail on both parties to reach an agreement in the interest of the nation.

While calling for an end to the standoff,  Kalu described the complete shutdown of the power grid by the labour unions as a “daring move” which should not have happened.

He said, “Sixty thousand might sound very good but let the entire Senate see how we can persuade both labour and the Federal Government to agree between N75,000 and N90,000

“If you go by N90,000, it means in the last five years in which this law (N30,000) was made, it means if you divide 200 per cent of N90,000 by 5, it will give you 40 per cent. The food inflation,  purchasing parity and other things you have in the market are around 32 per cent to 33 per cent. So,  labour should be very happy with what we are doing.

 “Let us send a Senate delegation to the Federal Government and Labour with the proposal of N90,000 and all the parties should agree to that.”

 The lawmaker expressed dismay over the shutting down of the nation’s power grid by the unions as part of their demands for improved wages.

“Pulling down the national grid is not an easy job and it might take up to three to four days for it to come up. Shutting down and starting a national grid is a problem.

“The Federal Government and the Labour should be cautioned to agree. Though, it’s going to be difficult for the private sector to pay, they must manage,” he said.

 On his part, Senator Ali Ndume urged the Senate to collaborate with the executive arm to sponsor a bill on a new wage. to address the situation.

Also speaking, former Senate President, Ahmad Lawan urged his colleagues to be mindful of the value of the naira, noting that a new minimum wage may not have much impact on the standard of living of Nigerians.

 He insisted that emphasis should be paid on strengthening the value of the naira adding that the new minimum wage will be useless if the naira continues to depreciate.

 “If it is N200 to a dollar, the impact will be more on the entire Nigerians, both the employed and the non employed”, Lawan stated.

 In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio said though it was heartwarming that the strike had been suspended, the conduct of the unionists, he said, deserved condemnation.

 “One of such excesses was the shutdown of the national grid which is more of an economic sabotage than agitation for a new minimum wage.

 “Also, disruption or prevention of students from writing their West African School Certificate Examination by some labour unionists during the strike was bad because the examination is not organised by Nigeria but by West African Countries,” he said.

 He also condemned the disruption of Hajj flights by the unionists, saying such a development must not occur again.

 Weighing in on the matter, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu, noted that Nigeria’s level of productivity cannot support the N494,000 minimum wage organised labour is demanding.

Moghalu disclosed this on his official X handle on Tuesday.

Moghalu said the demand is deserving but not realistic and therefore recommended a minimum wage of N75,000 to N100,000.

“In the debates on the national wage in Nigeria, we miss the fundamental point: there is little or no productivity in the economy,” he said.

“If we had a truly productive economy, there is no reason we can’t have the kind of minimum wage of N400k or N500K that Labour wants. But we can’t, because the level of productivity in the economy cannot support it. Remember, the minimum wage is not just about government salaries.

“There are not more than 2 million, at most 3m civil servants in Nigeria. It is even more about what is paid in the private sector to household staff, etc.

“All of this is why, all things considered, including avoiding a minimum wage that multiplies already ravaging inflation (assuming such a wage can even be paid), I recommend a minimum wage of between N75,000 and N100,000.”

He further explained that productivity can be achieved by human capital development and electricity, amongst others.

“In fact, speaking about productivity, how productive is an average Nigerian worker? How skilled is he or she, and thus how much value does he or she create?

“I know we are all upset at our insensitive political class, who do not care about the masses and only for themselves. But the economics of it all is far more complex.

“Sadly, it is quite obvious that the political will to reduce the waste in governance does not exist.

“Human capital development, skills that create value addition, which is economically quantifiable. Wealth creation and profitability increase. Wages go up naturally and of course, the almighty electricity,’’ he stated.

[Punch]

The Enugu State Chapter of the Nigeria Red Cross Society has faulted the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its Chairman, Ugo Agballa, on the claim that it lost a baby in the process of demolitions at Holy Ghost, Enugu, where the state government is clearing the old motor park and some properties to build a modern transport terminal.

It also faulted the claim that it had over 100 children at the time of the demolition, saying they had only 14 children who had all been safely and temporarily relocated to another orphanage in the state capital, asking to be left out of Enugu politics.

It is recalled that the Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the APC, Chief Ugo Agballa, had on Monday addressed the press at Holy Ghost where he levelled several allegations on Governor Peter Mbah Administration over some of the development projects in the state.

But reacting to the development, the state scribe of the Red Cross, Udegbu, said, “It is not true that any child died. We are healthy. The governor relocated us and they are working on our new site. And we do not play background politics. The Red Cross is an impartial body all over the world. And the role we play is auxiliary to the government’s role. So, we want to be left out of politics because we are not a partisan organisation.

“We do no have anything near 100 children. They are 14. “What happened that time wash that they were renovating a place for us at the old UNTH road. But that place was not ready when they came with a bulldozer. But when the governor got to know about the reality, he relocated the babies to Ken David’s Orphanage Home and they are working on that permanent place right now.

“So, by the grace of God, His Excellency, the Governor, has since relocated the babies to an orphanage they call Ken David’s Orphanage Home. And the children are there temporarily until they finish the new place.

“I thank the governor for taking a decisive action by making the babies comfortable when he got to know the truth.

“The governor is the Patron of the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Enugu Branch, by the Nigerian Red Cross Act 1960. So, those babies are his own too,” the Red Cross said

[Vanguard]

On June 3, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked the banking licence of Heritage Bank Plc, raising curious questions about how depositors and shareholders would fare in terms of getting back their funds.

The CBN had explained that its decision on the licence revocation was made due to the bank’s inability to improve its financial performance.

The regulator said Heritage Bank, which was nationally licensed, has not improved and “has no reasonable prospects of recovery”, thereby making revoking the licence the next necessary step.

According to the CBN, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has been appointed as the liquidator of the bank in line with Section 12 (3) of the Banks and Other Financial Act (BOFIA) of 2020.

A liquidator is an organisation with the legal authority to act on behalf of a company to sell the company’s assets before the said firm closes, in a bid to raise capital for various purposes such as debt repayment.

Following the licence revocation, the NDIC said it would pay a maximum of N5 million insured deposits to each customer of Heritage Bank.

However, the corporation said depositors with funds more than “the insured deposits will be paid as and when the assets of the closed bank are realised”.

Deposit insurance involves insuring a financial institution so that depositors are guaranteed against loss in the event the bank fails.

HERITAGE BANK NOT NEW TO REGULATORY ISSUES

This is not the first time the bank has run into issues with regulators.

Heritage Bank was founded in the 1970s as the Societe Generale. The CBN, in 2006 closed down the institution due to failure to meet new capital requirements of N25 billion ($155 million), after which the bank successfully challenged the closure in court. The CBN reissued the licence as a regional bank in December 2012.

Having acquired the banking licence, the new ownership rebranded the bank as Heritage Banking Company Limited and opened for business on March 4, 2013.

In October 2014, Heritage Banking Company met the requirements of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and the CBN for 100 percent shares in Enterprise Bank Ltd.

In January 2015, AMCON officially transferred ownership of Enterprise Bank to Heritage Bank.

With the bank now enmeshed in another regulatory woes, TheCable looks at the implications of Heritage Bank’s licence revocation on depositors’ funds and stakeholders.

WHAT HAPPENS TO CUSTOMERS?

According to the CBN, the NDIC is required to commence liquidation of the revoked bank’s licence and the payment of depositors.

The insured institution’s assets, according to the NDIC, must be available to cover its deposit liabilities, which will be prioritised over all other liabilities.

Payment of the insured deposit to customers of banks — in this case, Heritage Bank — is expected to be done by the corporation within 30 days of being appointed liquidator, according to Section 28 of the NDIC Act.

The payment can be made by cash or a negotiable instrument, and customers can also receive the specific amount payable via transfer to another financial institution.

The NDIC, at its discretion, would require proof of claim from all qualified depositors of the bank, the Act also states.

The corporation may also seek a final determination by a court of competent jurisdiction if it is not satisfied with the validity of a claim for an insured deposit.

According to Section 31 of the NDIC law, after payment of insured deposits, the corporation may make interim dividend payments from proceeds of realised assets of the failed insured institution.

The law, in Section 57, emphasises that shareholders and directors are individually liable after a bank’s licence revocation.

STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS FOR DEPOSIT REPAYMENT

In a statement on June 3, Bashir Nuhu, spokesperson of NDIC, assured that depositors would retrieve their funds, stating the process for such retrieval.

“Visit the nearest branch of the bank with proof of account ownership, verifiable means of identification such as driver’s license, permanent voter’s card, National Identity Card, together with their alternate account and Bank Verification Number (BVN) for the verification of their deposits and subsequent payment of insured sums” he said.

“Creditors are advised to visit the nearest branch of the bank to file their claims or via the online platform. Please note that the process of payment of creditors will commence immediately after all depositors have been paid.

“Debtors’ Repayment of Loans: Debtors who have yet to repay loans are advised to contact the Corporation’s Asset Management Department (AMD). Visit the NDIC website for more details.”

WHAT HAPPENS IF DEPOSITIORS DO NOT CLAIM PAYMENT?

Section 30 of the NDIC Act mandates that a corporation must give depositors at least three months’ notice to pay, either by mailing a copy to their last known address or publishing a general notice in at least two national dailies and electronic media houses, notifying them of the venue and dates for payment.

According to the regulation, any depositor who fails to claim the insured deposit within six years after the notice would forfeit such sums to the corporation.

To protect depositors, the NDIC could decide to appoint another financial institution to assume the deposits of Heritage Bank.

If the customers fail to claim or arrange to continue their transferred deposit with the new insured institution within six years, all of their rights against Heritage Bank and its shareholders will be reverted to the corporation.

The amount of any transferred deposit not claimed within six years will be refunded to the corporation.

Section 30(6) of the Act states that a court proceeding cannot be commenced against the corporation in respect of its obligation to make payment to depositors of the failed financial institution after six years.

CAN AGGRIEVED DEPOSITIORS, SHAREHOLDERS SUE NDIC OVER PAYMENT ISSUES?

Moreso, depositors or shareholders who, for instance, do not receive deposits or dividends from the NDIC after following due process, can sue the corporation.

According to Section 29(2) of the NDIC Act, in case of any suit against the corporation, what will be paid (remedy) to claimants would be limited to the amount of actual loss suffered.

For depositors, it is the maximum insured deposit, while shareholders get the nominal value of the shares in the insured institution. A group of shareholders will receive the nominal value of the aggregate of the shares in the insured institution.

Like depositors, financial institutions and its shareholders can challenge their licence revocation, according to the CBN.

However, aggrieved parties can only do so within a 30-day period after licence revocation.

In the BOFIA Act, Section 12(5) states that no action in respect of the licence revocation of a financial institution must be filed or maintained unless it is filed within 30 days from the date of the revocation.

One year into his administration, President Bola Tinubu is yet to fulfill the pledges he made on women and youth inclusion in governance and empowerment, an Agora Policy paper has found.

Ahead of the 2023 general election, Tinubu launched an 80-page document on his ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ for the country.

The 2021-2026 national gender policy mandates 50 percent female representation in political spaces. In his campaign document, Tinubu earmarked a 35 percent slot for women but even this has yet to be met.

Only nine(18.75 percent) of 48 ministerial appointees are women while four females are special advisers.

“Nigeria’s ‘gender character’ cannot continually be overlooked,” Ejiro Otive-Igbuzor, a gender, social inclusion expert and a monitoring and evaluation specialist, wrote in the latest policy paper of Agora, a Nigerian think-tank.

“Just as the ‘Federal Character Principle’ enshrined in the Nigerian constitution provides for fair representation in appointive and elective offices among geopolitical zones, gender character needs to be engraved in laws and policy.

“Women, who comprise 49% of the population and who actively participated in the struggle for democracy, rightfully deserve a seat at the decision-making table. This is the fairness argument.”

FULL INCLUSION OF DIVERSE GROUPS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

While the GESI expert lauded Tinubu for his efforts in improving inclusion, she noted that more can be done.

Otive-Igbuzor urged the president to fulfil his promise of 35 percent affirmative action for women and to effectively engage the country’s youthful workforce as part of the 30 percent inclusion pledge.

The monitoring and evaluation specialist also called for the prioritisation of PWDs and the involvement of sub-nationals to promote active ownership and coordination in implementing the country’s development plan.

“Beyond the ‘right speak’, concrete actions and accountability are crucial to ensure meaningful progress and full participation of marginalised groups in governance, and to ensure that no one is truly left behind by 2050,” she said, noting the importance of stronger political will.

Otive-Igbuzor said the failure of the president to prioritise these issues puts him at risk of repeating past failures.

[TheCable]

It made a lot of sense that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu chose to mark, not celebrate, his first year in office. Celebration would have been termed insensitive by many, and the president would have been charged for profligacy and extravagance. Which serious or sane leader celebrates when the people he leads are in great and excruciating pains?

Truth be told, the suffering in the land beggars belief. In that, I am one with the critics of the president. But we part ways when they say one year is enough - or even more then enough - for Tinubu to have cleansed the country’s Augean stable.

The rains started beating the country a long time ago; unfortunately, we seemed not to have taken notice until it began to pour, if I must quote “Ogbuefi” Godwin Nzeakah (where are you?), my colleague on The PUNCH newspaper’s Editorial Board. Godwin was fond of saying it doesn’t just rain for him but that it pours!

Nigerians did not take notice of - or they ignored - the incremental damage done to the country right from Independence in 1960, through the time of the first military coup in January 1966, to the wasteful years of Yakubu Gowon, who was credited with saying that Nigeria’s problem was not money but how to spend it. Oil money that should have been invested in agriculture and industrialization, thus, was wasted.

Military ruler after military ruler continued where Gowon stopped, with the gap-toothed one, IBB, acclaimed for institutionalizing corruption and the “settlement” syndrome as well as destroying esprit de corps and discipline in the military. Since 1999, mention a Nigerian leader whose administration did not add heaps of rot on the country’s Augean stable?

Pardon me, I am not one of those who expect a miracle or magic from President Tinubu. I know it is easier to destroy than to repair or rebuild. So, I expect that more than one year is needed before we begin to see appreciable results. But my worry is whether or not the president is headed in the right direction; whether or not he is pursuing the right policies; and whether or not he is clear-headed and deeply-foresighted as to where he is taking us.

Are we heading farther into the dark tunnel? Are we sinking deeper in the miry clay? Is the president leaving the substance and chasing shadows? Unfortunately, two decisions of his which coincided with his first year anniversary got me deeply worried. The first was his decision to drag the 36 state governors to court over so-called autonomy for local governments.

I have said quite unambiguously in my “Nigeria: Federalism, unitarism, hybrid or what?” that what is needed is the total scrapping of the 774 local government areas and not strengthening them in any form. It is the duty of federating units to create, manage and fund local governments, not that of the Federal or Central Government. The question must also be asked: The 20 local governments and the additional 37 Local Council Development Areas created by Tinubu as governor of Lagos State (1999 - 2007) - did he let them enjoy the fiscal autonomy he (Tinubu) is now demanding from the present governors?

The second decision of the president that has made him the butt of cruel jokes is the return of the country to the old national anthem. Please, get me right: old or new, I am not a fan of any of the anthems. As my people will say, a man is engulfed by fire and you are still asking after his lush beards! Nigeria itself is on fire and some wailing wailers (apologies, Femi Adeshina) are bringing down the roof on our head over a common anthem!

If I may ask, which of the anthems is better than the other? There may, however, be a spiritual significance lurking somewhere; to wit, that the country’s glory years remain in its past! May we not know better yesterday! Ask Nigerians, they will tell you that this country has known better yesterday. My people say where going forward is impossible, going backward becomes inevitable.

Is that also what is playing out in Kano? Why the hullabaloo if not that our people have very short memories like Adolf Hitler did posit? How dare we easily forget the many lives lost to the fire of religious extremism stoked by this Emir, even if we overlook his shenanigans at our apex bank? Was he the rightful occupant the first time he was dashed the throne? And then he lost it the same way he had got it. A new Emir then got to the throne the same way the old Emir did. He, too, now lost it the same way the old Emir did. New/Old. Old/New. Game of musical chairs. What goes around comes around. Every usurper has his cup full some day. If the House of Uthman dan Fodio becomes like the House of Abraham in the land of Palestine, then, their cup of tea! Let them drink it!

Back to Tinubu! I read Bayo Onanuga’s “One year after: The legacy man and his strides” and Tunde Rahman’s “Tinubu’s silent and unreported achievements” and felt empathy for the two presidential spokespersons, who are both my friends and professional colleagues. They have a task to perform. And it is not an easy one. Besides, I agree with them that their principal has done a lot within such a short time. The chicken sweats but the feathers wont let us see.

The task before Tinubu is gargantuan. And one year is such a short time. When trees fall upon trees, you start by first pulling off those on top before you get to those at the bottom of the pile. In Nigeria’s present predicament, the trees on top are the powerful and mighty; those with a voice, and those we call the ruling class. We have seen how Tinubu has quickly attended to them. Those underneath, the underlings, the hoi polloi, the suffering masses, will have to be patient. It is turn-by-turn. Emilokan before Eyinlokan!

I am not a fan of Ayinde Wasiu but there is a song of his that I love so much: Nwon maa pe yin, ijo o ti kan yin/Ijo maa kan yin, nwon o ti pe yin! It is a song of appeal at a party to those rushing to take their turn on the dance floor that it is not yet their turn. Be patient! It will still/soon be your turn. The big masquerades are the ones dancing now. Lesser mortals, be patient. Has it not been said that the patient dog eats the fattest bones? But I heard it in my spirit: Not in Nigeria! Here, the fastest and smartest dogs eat the fattest bones!

But let us remind Onanuga and Rahman that what the people are saying is not that the President has not been working his arse out in the past one year. No, the people have eyes and can see their president working real hard. What they are saying is that he is not working in their direction yet. The great work the President has done in the last one year has not added value to the life of the majority of our people. Instead, they get more impoverished by the day.

Our people say if you give a mad man a hoe, he will make the first ridges to benefit himself. That is natural. What the people are saying is that, lest the suffering in the land kill them before it is their turn to enjoy the proverbial dividends of democracy, the President should quickly look in their direction - NOW! They are also saying that delay is dangerous. And they are not asking for the Moon!

Permit me to be their spokesperson as I list their demands as follows: 1. Tackle insecurity, which still struts the arena like a colossus 2. Curb inflation, which is making nonsense of every decent effort to eke out a living 3. Arrest epileptic power supply and bring down the cost, which is frustrating big and small businesses, and making life miserable for the people 4. Do something about the Naira that is rising and falling every day in the forex market 5. Resolve the lingering ASUU/FG dispute so our children’s stay in school is not unnecessarily prolonged with the attendant cost implication on parents; not to talk of the frustration it causes students and lecturers alike 6. Resolve the dispute with Labour once and for all so that the losses and damage inflicted on the economy and on individuals by incessant strike actions can cease 7. Drive a vigorous return to the land (agriculture) so that soaring cost of foodstuffs can be arrested. 8. Decrepit infrastructure, especially inland and township roads, should be addressed expeditiously as Tinubu has done the Lagos - Calabar coastal expressway. 9. The unemployment rate has become damn too alarming for comfort; the “Japa” syndrome is an ill-wind that blows the country no good. 10. A prayer that everyone prays these days is: May we not fall sick! The cost of medicine and medicare has soared beyond the reach of many. Our hospitals are bereft of quality hands and are now worse than the “mere consulting centres” of the military era.

I as a person appreciate our President. As our people will say, “Okunrin l’ada”. Tinubu is the Lion Heart. But now is the time for him to come to Macedonia and help the perishing poor!

I hope I have spoken well!

Being a statement released by Policy House Int'l on the sidelines of the 2024 Korea-Africa summit held on June 4-5, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea.

Although Africa as a continent with its estimated 1.2 billion population accounts for less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it is significantly negatively impacted by global economic activities, forcing most of its population into poverty. The devastating effects of climate change are evident in degraded forests and agricultural lands across the continent, resulting in famine and food shortages.

Recurring landslides in East Africa and uncontrolled natural rainfall in large swaths of the continent have led to loss of lives and economic livelihoods. Although the continent's contribution to global economic growth hovers around 3% over the last 5 years, cumulative economic activities globally have reduced the quality of life due to ozone layer depletion and other negative consequences.

Most heartbreaking is that indigenous African women farmers, who have always depended on farming for survival, have lost their farmlands to drought, occasioning hunger and forced migration. The traditional rain-fed farming system, which promotes social protection, has reduced significantly, resulting in forced rural-urban migration, early marriages for teenage girls, and modern-day slavery via forced labor for underage boys across most parts of the continent, increasing the cases of out-of-school children and worsening the already dire situation.

Rising cases of street trading and homelessness in urban centers and major cities in Sub-Saharan Africa are traceable to the collapse of agricultural lands due to climate change, animal husbandry, and clashes between traditional farmers and herders, as in the case of Nigeria. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Available data shows that only 20% of global pledges made for climate change adaptation and mitigation have been met, calling into question the commitment of world leaders. According to the immediate past UN Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, most initiatives taken to fund climate change in the last decade have fallen off the cracks, which is discouraging.

As African policymakers have gathered in Seoul, South Korea, to discuss business, agriculture, social protection, infrastructure, trade, and human development, it is a great opportunity to call our human nature to order and, for once, think about our neighbor and take that step that will reduce poverty and hunger while improving the quality of life through deliberate climate policy action that protects us all as a collective humanity.

On their part, African leaders must cut down on the cost of governance, profligacy, unending white elephant projects, address weak public institutions and their capacity to respond to the climate crisis. African leaders must invest significantly in irrigation technology and the associated value chain, reducing over-reliance on rain-fed agriculture, embark on urban renewal programs to save the cities from erosion and waste management disasters, invest in recycling research and technology, and tackle land-related struggles between traditional/indigenous farmers and animal pastoralists.

As an organization, we believe that while encouraging large-scale commercial agriculture, efforts must be made to protect traditional farmers, especially women, which will in turn reduce rural-urban migration, encourage basic education and skills development for their children, and reduce criminality and homelessness in urban centers across the region.

Thank you.

Taiwo Akerele
Executive Director, Policy House Int'l and Convener, Independent Working Group on Social Protection (IWG-SP)
Seoul, South Korea, June 5, 2024.

If you ask an American, they are the world. Just check everything of theirs, it’s not only humongous, it is designed for immense things – the cars, the homes – even the concrete jungles called cities. On the political scene, no-one does it like America. They are the real democracy – forget the Greeks and their claim to the invention of the concept, or the Indians with the longest practice. These Americans have provoked hatred for other forms of government and incited wars with the exception being Saudi Arabia, the only sacred cows. America needs affordable gas to power those monsters.

When it comes to morality, America is Sodom and Gomorrah. Every idea capable of leading to upheaval comes from America. From benefitting and ending slavery to hip-hop and the acceptance of institutionalised same-sex relations America is the curator of them all.

Until our own Professor Farooq Kperogi weaned us from calling America God’s Own Country, we were forgiven for thinking that God lives in Washington DC. Kperogi is a naturalised citizen, a mind moulder and an avowed critic; so we accept his correction and America is just America; that works for them as it works for us.

Englishman Jeremy Bentham might have been the father of jurisprudence, when it comes to testing the elasticity of law, America wins the tug-of-war game. Until its justices have made a pronouncement on an issue, the remaining silks in the world are merely clearing the field. Yet, the last five years have pushed America to the brink of jurisprudence for better or worse.

 Its supposedly aged and enlightened electorate chose a now certified conman, Donald J. Trump, over Hilary Clinton at a time the world’s under-represented gender was waiting for the prime nation to show that what men do could be done better by their better half.

Just as the Jews of yore chose Barnabas over Jesus the Christ, Americans preferred Trump to browbeat Hilary with all crudeness and misogyny. As president, Trump would play Jacob’s voice with Esau’s hand. He insulted his way to Kim Jung Un’s heart, pumped Vladimir Putin’s hands and even borrowed Putin’s show of force in Washington DC. Trumpism changed the trajectory of American politics and even tried to introduce civilian coup into the mix after manifestly losing his re-election bid.

Trump wants to come back and Joe Biden, the man that roundly defeated him four years back, wants to stop him by every and all means. Some swear that some of those means are not so fair. After a long trial, Trump was last week indicted on all 34 felony counts of falsifying his business records. As usual, Trump ignores the facts and focused on the politics of the trial while professing his innocence. He blames everyone but himself for his own actions.

While we wait for the final verdict Trump becomes the first ex-US president to wear the title of convict to his many titles. According to American law, convicts are forever banned from owning or firing a gun in their gun-loving nation. Trump pulls the majority of his motley crowd from gun-owners and big arms dealers and he is not dropping out of the November election race. Like his democratic counterpart, the Republicans can’t seem to find an injury hour replacement. While he is banned from putting his fingers on the trigger of a firearm, if elected president, Trump would have the combination of the world’s deadliest weapon – America’s nuclear arms.

Anyone that has followed the American maverick might be losing sleep over this denouement. We all know that Trump is that kind of a personality that would say – I have a nuclear weapon and I know how to use it! Unfortunately, or fortunately, or both, there is no law in America that could stop his ambition of returning to the White House.

On the global scene, there is enough gunpowder spread over the universe to test the limits of an unhinged person with the combination lock to human survival. Fear is okay here.

Nigerians might be wont to say that the joke is on America – but is it really? It sounds like the kind of thing that only those without precedent would dare to say. We have had our own big moments where the law becomes the ass that big wigs ride to victory.

Going down memory lane, in 1999 Senator Nuhu Aliyu was shocked to discover that he would be sharing the hallowed chambers of the Senate with some of the crooks he had investigated as a deputy inspector general of police. They would wear the title of distinguished to cover their sordid past. It broke Aliyu’s heart and he voiced out. That revelation outraged his ego-vaunting colleagues who asked him to swallow his fears and get ready to tango. In 2003, Senator Iyiola Ajani Omisore, found himself in a detention cell from where he comfortably won his first Senate seat.

All that paled into insignificance when Esho Jinadu aka Buruji Kashamu won a Senate seat from Ogun State. A fugitive drug baron wanted by the Americans, Jinadu upon assuming his monicker, Kashamu, denied he was ever in America but would fight every attempt to repatriate him there to prove his innocence. He stood on the claim of mistaken identity. He did not stop at being a senator, he contested the governorship of Ogun State.

For that adventure, he recruited Reuben Abati, President Goodluck Jonathan’s chief spokesman and former chairman of the Guardian Editorial Board, as his running mate before COVID terminated his quest. May Allah overlook his bad records and grant him al-Jannah Firdaus, because Allah is all-generous and all-forgiving.

We had to travel this far down memory lane to clear the halitosis of those who might be tempted to laugh at America. Our incumbent president was accused of criminality, but nobody could prove anything against him, not even America that always knows everything according to President Jonathan. So, hold your tongue and let Trump breathe! The joke is on humanity.

The National Anthem

Even if he achieves nothing in the next seven years of his presidency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has won his top priority project – a revert to the colonial anthem. It was rubberstamped through both chambers of the legislature in six days. That speed shows that change could happen whenever the interests of the ruining class is at stake. He could have done it with an executive order on May 29, 2023 without the heavens falling.

Here would have been my tweak on the old anthem.

Nigeria, we hail thee

Our own dear motherland

From east or west; from north or south

In nationhood we stand

Nigeria calls on us to serve

Our sovereign motherland.

This is gender-neutral, devoid of the pejorative term ‘native’. We all know the labour of past heroes are swallowed in corruption. Rising debts, inflation, underdevelopment and policy flip-flops are obvious signs.

With a level of cluelessness that makes Jonathan a wise man, we probably should ask the Commonwealth to ask Britain to retake us and send administrators except that even Britain is looking for a saviour. It goes to the polls in a month’s time. In the eyes of the world, Nigeria is a huge joke.

President Bola Tinubu extends his warm congratulations to the Prime Minister of India, His Excellency, Narendra Modi, on his epoch-making victory in the nation's parliamentary elections.

Prime Minister Modi's coalition - the National Democratic Alliance - won a majority of the parliamentary seats, paving the way for a third consecutive term, which is a rare feat and the second time an Indian leader will retain power for a third term after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister.

The President states that the outcome of the elections is a resounding affirmation of Prime Minister Modi's exceptional leadership of the world's largest democracy.

On behalf of the government and people of Nigeria, President Tinubu congratulates the people of India and assures the South Asian nation of Nigeria's commitment to strengthening relations and advancing shared goals and values as strategic partners in the league of nations.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to some information circulating in the public domain, suggesting that the CBN is set to revoke the licenses of three additional banks following its regulatory action against Heritage Bank Plc on Monday, June 3, 2024.

The CBN unequivocally states that these allegations are false and intended to trigger panic in the financial system.

The Nigerian financial system remains safe, sound, and resilient. Our banks have begun submitting implementation plans for the Banking Sector Recapitalisation Programme in compliance with the CBN Circular reviewing the minimum capital requirements for Commercial, Merchant, and Non-Interest Banks (CMNIBs). These plans are currently being reviewed by the Bank.

In addition to enhancing buffers to withstand economic shocks, this proactive measure by the CBN to require CMNIBs to recapitalize will result in increased capital for Nigeria’s banks, enabling them to provide much-needed credit to critical sectors of the economy. This will increase the financial system’s contribution to the growth and development of a $1 trillion Nigerian economy.

The CBN would like to reassure all stakeholders of its unwavering commitment to ensuring the financial system’s stability. Our financial system remains on a solid footing, and the CBN will continue to take all necessary steps to maintain its safety and soundness.

Hakama Sidi Ali (Mrs.)

Ag. Director, Corporate Communications

South Africa’s election has produced a stunning result, with the ruling African National Congress losing its majority for the first time since 1994, when Nelson Mandela led the party to its first post-apartheid victory. The ANC will now have to form a coalition government – and may never be able to rule alone again.

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa has just completed its seventh national election since Nelson Mandela’s post-apartheid victory in 1994. Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) had won the previous elections with comfortable majorities, from a high of 70% in 2004 to a low of 57% in 2019. Not this time: the ANC is now in the minority.

Over its three decades of political dominance, the ANC made some progress in providing social welfare, housing, electricity, and piped water to millions of people. Though its total vote had fallen in each of the last four polls, it had never declined by more than five percentage points. This time, however, the ANC lost 17 percentage points, receiving just 40.2% of the vote, which means it will have to govern as part of a coalition for the first time.

Before this election, the ANC controlled eight of the country’s nine provinces. The white-dominated Democratic Alliance (DA) controlled the tourist hub of the Western Cape, with its large mixed-race population, and had been making gains with the black middle class in the industrial heartland of Gauteng.

This time, the ANC lost its majority in two provinces, KwaZulu-Natal (home to one of Africa’s largest ports), and Gauteng, rendering the ANC a rural party based on large majorities in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. Though it still received nearly double the votes of the next largest party – the DA won 21.8% – this result represents a stunning reversal for the ANC. So, what went wrong?

The main cause of the ANC’s precipitous decline is its failure to reverse 32% unemployment, with nearly half of the country’s young people out of work. After 350 years of colonialism and apartheid, South Africa remains the world’s most unequal society, with 10% of the population controlling 80.6% of financial assets. Widespread corruption, particularly under President Jacob Zuma’s administration (2009-18), has exacerbated the problem, with state capture during this period estimated to have cost the country $26 billion.

In addition, state-owned enterprises have been looted, reducing the provision of electricity, water, and train services. Even though the black middle class grew from 2.2 million in 1993 to six million in 2018, there remains a widespread perception that a tiny cohort of black billionaires have used their ANC affiliations to benefit from cozy deals with white business. 

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Crime also represents a major concern, as South Africa has one of the world’s highest murder rates. The ANC’s support had already tanked at the local level, and before these polls, it governed only two of eight metropolitan municipalities, with the other six run by fractious coalitions.

At the same time, the 82-year old Zuma turned against the party he once dominated. His administration was excoriated by the independent Zondo Commission for grand corruption (which Zuma has denied), while the current president, Cyril Ramaphosa, condemned Zuma’s presidency as “eight wasted years.” (Zuma retorted that Ramaphosa had been his deputy for four of those years.)

Having built up the ANC’s comfortable majority on the back of his home province of KwaZulu-Natal, Zuma felt deeply aggrieved. Determined to give the party a bloody nose, he formed the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK, named after the ANC’s paramilitary wing during apartheid) six months ago. MK pledged to replace “constitutional supremacy” with “parliamentary supremacy,” expropriate land without compensation, and nationalize mines and banks.

Remarkably, MK gained a whopping 14.6% of the national vote, including 45% in KwaZulu-Natal, where it will almost certainly form the government. MK also became the official opposition in Mpumalanga as the second largest party, with 17%. The paradox is that the alleged architect of the corruption for which the ANC was punished won a sixth of the national vote, making MK the country’s third largest party.

So, with which party will the ANC form a coalition? Many believe there are only three realistic choices. The first option is the white-dominated, business-friendly DA, which Ramaphosa seems to favor. But many within the ANC would oppose this. The DA’s campaign slogan, “Rescue South Africa,” echoes “White Man’s burden” tropes. And the DA has consistently criticized the ANC’s social-welfare programs benefiting impoverished black people. A coalition could also pose risks to the DA, as it did to the apartheid era’s ruling National Party, which was swallowed up in an earlier coalition with the ANC.

The second plausible coalition partner is the left-leaning, youth-supported Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which is often caricatured as a “Marxist party” of extremists, having called, like MK, for uncompensated land redistribution and nationalization of mines and banks. But the EFF has also consistently maintained an anti-xenophobic Pan-Africanism, and raised issues of structural inequality that no other mainstream party has addressed.

An ANC-EFF alliance would be deeply opposed by the powerful white corporate sector and many white voters, with the DA describing it as a “doomsday coalition.” But it is unlikely that the EFF tail would wag the ANC dog, which won four times as many votes.

The third option could be a return to the 1994-96 government of national unity in which South Africa’s largest parties share portfolios according to their electoral support. There is also speculation about Ramaphosa’s future, with MK already conditioning an unlikely coalition deal on his removal. (Deputy President Paul Mashatile and ANC Chair Gwede Mantashe touted as likely successors.)

A president must now be chosen by parliament within 14 days, even as this election has raised two serious concerns. The first is that the pathologies of South Africa’s unstable government coalitions at the local level will become a national problem, triggering political paralysis. Second, it is feared that Zuma’s Zulu-led victory in his home province could lead South Africa to an atavistic ethnic politics that revives the violent clashes once stoked by the apartheid regime.

With the death of Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosutho Buthelezi last year, Zuma now towers over the country’s second-largest province like a political colossus. The astute South African pundit Steven Friedman predicted that this election could be the last time that any party gains a majority in a South African national election. Coalition politics could be here to stay.

Adekeye Adebajo 

Writing for PS since 2023

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Adekeye Adebajo, a professor and a senior research fellow at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship in South Africa, served on UN missions in South Africa, Western Sahara, and Iraq. He is the author of Global Africa: Profiles in Courage, Creativity, and Cruelty (Routledge, 2024) and The Eagle and the Springbok: Essays on Nigeria and South Africa (Routledge, 2023).