Buhari, Change And Democratic Tyranny

By Arthur Nwankwo |

“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” – George Santayana

One thing you cannot take away from most Nigerians is their penchant for collective amnesia. Despite the lessons of our history, we seem to learn nothing. On several occasions, especially in times like this, most Nigerians find themselves in a state of apparent exhaustion, as though drained of all their physical and mental energies; in a kind of torpor from which we are aroused only by difficulty and hardship. I have come to appreciate the fact that of all human institutions, none is as pervasive and inescapable as the state.

As socio-political beings, God has destined man to live together; to form groups for physical and emotional sustenance. In forming such groups, the most powerful group, which man has formed is the state. In line with the principles of “social contract”, it is to the state that we grant, explicitly and implicitly, willingly and unwillingly, powers that affect every aspect of our lives. History has shown that when the state exercises its coercive powers without restraint we have little choice about this grant, and we may find ourselves with hardly anything beyond the hope for survival. In such circumstances, we can only take recourse to history to raise society’s consciousness to prevent the birth of tyranny; to avoid finding ourselves with no choices except suffering oppression and brutality.

The present government of Muhammadu Buhari is a direct threat to this country. Make no mistake about this – the lessons of history weigh heavily in this direction. I have in one of my earlier articles drawn attention to the activities that heralded the collapse of the ancient Mali Empire. In about 1203, Sumanguru (the Sorcerer King) took over what was left of old Ghana Empire. He was cruel and killed all that challenged his power. He killed many Malinka people but did not kill one of the crippled princes named Sundiata. In 1235, Sundiata crushed Sumanguru’s forces. This victory was the beginning of the new Mali Empire. Sundiata took control of the gold-producing regions and became Mali’s national hero.

Sundiata’s first major assignment was to eliminate all those who helped him to power; introduced a regime of monster and brutality comparable only to the monstrous Maghreb warrior, Samouri Ibn Lafiya Toure of the infamous ‘earth-scorch’ policy – much in the mould of modern day Boko Haram attacks. A few years in power, the people of the ancient Mali Empire would actually come to realise that he was more brutal and sadistic than Samanguru.

History is coterminous with the fact that brutal leaders all over the world have always emerged under the veneer of changing the status-quo in favour of the society. This trend sign-posted the emergence of Adolph Hitler in Germany, Benito Mussolini in Italy, Joseph Stalin in former USSR, Nimiery in Sudan, Jean-Bedel Bokassa in Central African Republic and Mobutu Sese Seko in Congo. This was also the trend that greeted Buhari’s jackboot dictatorship in 1983. Despite the euphoria that greeted the emergence of his military junta, his colleagues booted him out on August 27, 1985.

General Muhammadu Buhari, more than anything else, would be remembered as the coupist who led a severe military dictatorship that imprisoned its opponents without trial, publicly executed convicts by firing squad, arrested journalists who criticised it, ran an Orwellian intelligence apparatus that bugged the phones of government ministers; a man whose overthrow three decades ago was welcomed with relief by his countrymen, and who lost three consecutive presidential elections in 12 years. That such a character could be considered electable in any civil society would be unthinkable. But in a country like Nigeria, where majority of the people have been condemned to very short and embarrassing memories, such electoral “abracadabra” is possible. As a military ruler, Buhari’s uncompromising temperament invited opposition. Today, as a civilianised president, he has reinvented the Buhari persona with intensity and yet again inviting fierce opposition.

In the run-in to the last general election, I followed painstakingly the campaigns especially that of General Muhammadu Buhari and the APC change mantra. Like many discerning Nigerians, I had come to the inevitable conclusion that both the APC and Muhammadu Buhari displayed galling emptiness and hollowness. I also came to the conclusion that given Buhari’s poor intellectual capacity; those promoting his candidacy had other reasons for backing him, essentially because Buhari lacks the requisite credentials to launch Nigeria on the path of genuine rebirth. Events in the past 14 months have proved me right.

That, as a people, we have not learned very much from the lessons of history is, to me, the most important of all the lessons of Nigerian history. As Samuel Taylor Coleridge noted, if men could learn from history, it would teach men so much! But in Nigeria, ethnic, religious and prebendal passion and political party blind our eyes, and the light which experience gives us is a lantern on the stern which shines only on the waves behind. Perhaps this explains Hegel’s conclusion that people and governments neither learn anything from history, nor acted on principles deduced from it.

Today, in the name of change, we have gone back 31 years in history to exhume memories of hardship, brutality and bestiality. As I have noted earlier, Buhari’s method of fighting corruption 31 years ago failed woefully and presently he is still reintroducing the same old strategy.

I have always asked this question: Can a man known for his uncompromising and rigid tendencies resolve issues that require tactical adroitness and pragmatic flexibility? I do not think so! His anti-corruption war has failed because of “sacred cow syndrome”. He is afraid of stepping on powerful toes and has made the corruption war apparently very selective. What Nigeria needs now is a reconstructive surgeon who must perform a painful operation in order to extricate a painful ailment and not a bulldozer or robot. Buhari is not a constructive surgeon and therefore lacks the requisite credentials to perform Nigeria’s surgical operation.

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Will The Real Muhammadu Buhari Please Stand Up

By Tabia Princewill

Nigerians are intensely political people, full of fire and outrage in their support or ability to undermine any figure of authority. Ours should have been the greatest of democracies, given our profound interest in public affairs. Unlike many Western countries where belief in any ideology is waning and voter turn-out is lacklustre, Nigeria is a country where fortunately and unfortunately dogma endures: we believe in many things (many unsubstantiated, antiquated convictions with destructive powers) but we differ from our Western counterparts in our unwillingness to critically assess and scrutinise said beliefs, hiding behind ethnicity and religion to justify those mysteries which enrich a few at the expense of the many.

Our rigid support system, based on how we worship, or what part of the country we come from, shows our mistaken understanding of political participation which is more a conspiracy to commit, support and justify theft than anything else. Politics rarely goes beyond, in the immortal words of Patience Jonathan: “na we time ” (to do what? I’ll leave that to the readers’ imagination).Now a crucial question poses itself: in the battle between the old, corrupt ways and the new, can the President rid himself of those undesired elements, even if they may be his nearest and dearest, who could ultimately cost him his re-election?

Our society is not educated (or mature) enough to turn partisan debates into civic engagement: country first, rather than party first, is a concept which continuously eludes us. However, APC must be wary of Nigerian disillusionment. Nigerians have slowly begun to realise their power: if they no longer believe in the APC because its narrative is unconvincing (a far cry from its fervent pre-election sense of national urgency), because, it seems, many in APC look all too comfortable with the old ways they campaigned against, then this would spell the end for the party. Nigerians won’t accept to be fed the romanticised notions of ethnic or primordial loyalty which dictate support based on everything other than rational considerations of performance: it’s already happening. A party that consistently gets votes in the modern world isn’t one that puts food on the table by sporadically donating relief items, it is, instead, one that empowers and prepares people for self-reliance.

What Nigerians really need, right now, is for the real Muhammadu Buhari to please stand up. I’m following the aftermath of the political conventions in America. There are so many lessons to be learned about what involvement in politics truly means, about the part every individual citizen has to play in mending a country and telling a new story. Ours (both our tragic story and heart-breaking country) needs Buhari, if he can let go of some of his friends before it is too late.

Perhaps his experience of being removed from power by striking at the heart of the cabal which enjoys and profits from Nigeria’s dysfunction, made him more of a realist. Perhaps it turned the soldier into a politician who is more ready to compromise by keeping some of those undesirable elements close, despite the scandals and unanswered questions, because of the greater damage they could do behind his back. Perhaps the strategist in Buhari can still surprise us. But we need the man who doesn’t pander to the interests or fear-mongering of corrupt individuals who either use militants or separatism as blackmail. He doesn’t have to have all the answers (those who voted for Buhari were no fools, no one mistook him for a policy wonk) but he must surround himself with more qualified, talented people who can provide said answers. Enough of the recommendations and placements based on rumoured or alleged familial connections, etc.

His communications team never tapped into his strengths and never sold a post-election plan or vision. The cynics might say there wasn’t one. But Buhari’s personal narrative, his knowledge of the civil war and all it wrought upon us in ethnic politics, could serve to unify this country, if he had the right people to articulate and sell his personal thoughts and memories to the masses. Obama once said: “There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America.” I doubt many around our President fully understand the power of words. Many of the criticisms currently directed at the President, including the perceived lack of economic direction, would be far less if only there was someone regularly speaking to Nigerians, explaining the reasons for the hardships and detailing a way out, as opposed to ignoring the problems in the “Jonathanesque” way previously criticised.

The President does occasionally mention our values but not enough in connection to economic realities. Everything about the collapse of our economy, our reliance on FX dependent imported goods, etc, is a direct consequence of our shallow mind-set, never mind the elite schools many in our society will tell you they attended. We think and behave like paupers, semi-illiterates, awed by meaningless things. We’re paying the price for it now. A communications team should have used the President’s personal story, his humble beginnings, to inspire us to think differently about money and its uses. Very few people remember policy in detail but they remember the stories told about said policies: the intellectual passion, the storytelling prowess shown in the US when discussing the American idea is totally absent in Nigeria. Those few would-be intellectuals Nigerian Presidents have around them are often relics of an unfortunate past. Few are creative enough to craft the new policies we need to catapult ourselves into modernity and by extension, prosperity. The Muhammadu Buhari we need at this point must find a way to synthesize the old and the new. Not by providing jobs and opportunities for his friends’ children as is often the case in Nigeria but by allowing real talent to thrive. If the best man can get the job in Nigeria, half of our problems would be solved.

DOGARA

In Nigeria, offensiveness seems to be a legitimate form of engagement or even defence. The idea that padding the budget isn’t illegal isn’t just a dangerous one, it’s a testimony to the mind-set of politicians who think Nigeria is a country to be ruled rather than governed. Is decriminalising an accusation not a form of self-indictment? It amounts to saying “even if I did do it, it isn’t a crime”. Either way, one now sees the legislature has little grasp of its true functions. Only the executive is allowed to re-write the budget and replace projects, etc. Lawmakers are only empowered to trim sums, not allocate money themselves! Then of course there’s:”You mean I can’t come and see my President? Do I need any reason to come and see my President? It was a private visit.” Therein lies the problem. Without a doubt, Obama receives private visits—many in private locations. The White House or in this case, State House, belongs to every citizen and it is their right to scrutinise what goes on within it. But to a Nigerian politician, the state is often a private rather than a public affair. How this all ends will undoubtedly reveal who the real Buhari is and either bode ill or well for APC’s future.

CBN

Either not everyone in government is on the same page or the “real” Buhari is someone else entirely. After being told that subsidised rates would be reserved for more essential and productive functions of the economy, and that parents who send their children abroad can “afford” to source for FX in the parallel market, subsidised rates are given to pilgrims (both Muslims and Christians). Prayers can’t on their own boost Nigeria’s revenue, never mind what some fanatics, hiding under the cover of religion to help themselves to Nigeria’s resources, will tell you. Prayers are immaterial in a country of hypocrisy and generalised stealing. Sai Baba who so hated waste, where are you?

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Nothing Like Single Mother

By Luke Onyekakeyah

I was provoked by the story in the Punch newspaper of Friday, August 5, involving our amiable Nollywood star actress, Kate Henshaw, concerning a lady sex worker, identified as Mary, who allegedly abandoned her child Michael, at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba.

Our sister Kate has been unduly traumatised for doing good to a helpless woman and her child. But there is nothing to regret about, for it is written, blessed are those who suffer for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Sister Kate should rejoice and be glad that her name is written in heaven.

I decided to take a critical look at the principal actor, in this case, Mary, who in our society, may be referred to as a “single mother.” I am nauseated, indeed, upset, by the nomenclature “single mother”, which is wrongly applied to women such as Mary, whereas, in the real sense of the word, Mary is not single; she, indeed, has partnered with four different men for whom she had four children. How then could she be said to be single?

According to the story, Kate Henshaw’s attention was drawn to the condition of the mother and her child through the social media, while they begged around the Onikan area of Lagos State. Mary’s youngest child, Michael, who she had for a Malian man, was said to have been born with a cancerous growth in the face. Cashing in on the boy’s condition, Mary was taking him to beg on the streets of Lagos.

Henshaw said she was tagged on Twitter sometime in March, 2016, and she was touched by the plight of the boy and took interest to help him. She said she asked people to find both mother and child, and after a while, they were found at Osborne, Ikoyi, a suburb of Lagos.

From there, she said someone assisted her in getting a bed space for the sick child at LUTH and both the mother and child were admitted. She reported the matter to Project Alert on Violence Against Women, a non-governmental organisation involving the Lagos State Government. But Mary was said to have initially refused to cooperate with the hospital until she was threatened with arrest.

Henshaw said the attitude of Michael’s 30-year old mother prompted a DNA test, which confirmed that she was the biological mother of the child. Mary was said to be aggressive to the nurses and other mothers in the hospital ward, to the extent that on April 24, she fought with a hospital maid and was sent out of the ward. She was re-accepted after the hospital was begged and she promised to be of good behaviour.

Furthermore, Henshaw said they visited Mary’s relatives in Irawo, Ikorodu, where they discovered that she had three other children for different men, who she left to the care of her aged mother. Then, on June 9, 2016, Mary finally abandoned her baby at the hospital absconded.

What prompted this comment is the term “single mother”, though not directly used in the story. Is it proper to call Mary a “single mother”, when in actual fact, she has a chain of partners all over the place and could even have the fifth child, and more, since she is still young? The story identified Mary as “a sex worker”, which to me, is a more appropriate classification for her kind. Does the nomenclature “single mother” make any sense?

Let’s begin by defining the terms “single” and “mother” for better understanding and appreciation. The Encarta Dictionary defines “single” to mean, one; considered individually; without spouse or partner, etc. The third meaning clearly explains the fact that a man or woman can only be appropriately called single if he/she has no spouse or partner. In marital classification, a woman can only claim to be single if, truly, she has no spouse or partner, meaning, that she is available for marriage. In biblical times, such a single girl would be a virgin, pure and undefiled. Viewed from this angle, no woman is single if she has had a child. Referring to a woman who has chain of failed spouses and or partners all over the place as “single mother” is a misnomer. It is totally incorrect to do that anywhere in the world.

This position would further be strengthened with the definition of mother. The same Encarta Dictionary defines “mother” as female parent – a woman who has a child; also, a woman acting as parent of a child to whom she has not given birth to. Whereas, the first woman who has born a child cannot be rightly called a single mother, even, if she is living without a spouse or partner; only a woman acting as parent to a child whom she has not given birth to could be rightfully called a single mother, if she has never had a spouse or partner.

Based on the foregoing, there is nothing like single mother among the host of women/ladies who never married officially but have children from men of their choice. The fact that a woman has given birth to children means she has had a spouse or partner. And, quite often, those partners are very much around the corner still “servicing” the so-called “single mothers.”

I would like to clarify that a divorced or separated lady is not in this category. Such ladies are recognised by society as divorced or separated. But as for the free women who prefer not to get married but would like to have children from any man of their choice, they are better referred to as ‘unclassified mother. ’ This is a better nomenclature under marital status than free woman, which might be offensive.

As civilisation goes haywire under the post modernisation information age, age-long cherished family values are discarded. Today, there are no less than eight gender classifications over and above the traditional male and female genders. We now have lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (transsexual) (LGBT) subcultures. A man who has changed his sex to a woman might have a child and would like to be addressed as “single mother”!

As lots of women and even men would prefer to have children without getting married in the traditional way, it is important to understand that none of these people can rightly be called “single mother” or “single father”, so long as they have had a spouse or partner.

10 Point Recipe For Getting Along With People

By Dr. Mike Omotosho

My 10-point recipe for getting along with people :

A. Learn to remember people's names .

B. Be someone who is easy to get along with.

C. Guard against the impression that you know it all.

D. Acquire an easy going nature , so that things don't ruffle you.

E. Cultivate the quality of being interesting. -

F. Study to get the "scratchy" features out of your personality.

G. Drain off your grievances and heal your misunderstandin
gs.

H. Practice liking people until you genuinely do .

I. Never miss a chance to praise people .

J. Give spiritual strength to people and they'll give genuine affection back.

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Hypocrisy Of The Kano Puritans

Kano, the ancient commercial nerve of northern Nigeria, home to the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote and the finest politicians this country has ever seen, the likes of Abubakar Rimi, Aminu Kano and Maitama Sule “danmasaninkano” just to mention but a few.

This great city with all of its impeccable historical antecedents, part of which earned it the nickname “tumbingiwa” (the huge elephant), has struggled to live up to its full potential. Its groundnut pyramids have gone extinct, it’s once thriving hides and skin industry has gone comatose, its numerous industries have become residential estates for the elite and its tye and dye heritage has been reduced to a few pages on historical books taught in a few secondary schools.

As governments, civil society and social entrepreneurs strive to take Kano back to its glory days, a few clerics, overly vocal with antiquated ideas and little apprehension of the city’s potential have become marine drill sergeants barking orders to a gullible populace. These clerics (usually in the minority but seem to have the loudest voices) are bereaved of tangible ideas capable of advancing the lives of people but will stick a clog in wheel of any meaningful and progressive initiative. Their often repugnant and conquistadorial messages have been the chief instigator of many crises that have claimed innocent lives over the years.

To think that these puritans will galvanise public action against a film village capable of creating 4500 jobs but lose their voice to the devastating hunger of children in northern Nigeria particularly those in IDP camps, the millions of almajiris helplessly roaming the streets of Kano or the alarming maternal mortality rate in the north is simply beyond me. Their argument is that the film village will encourage immoral sexual activities and promote the abuse of hard drugs, perhaps, a visit to sabon-gari in Kano will only show how legendary their hypocrisy is. Without the risk of sounding grandiloquent, their ‘monafiki’ is vintage. According to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Kano has the highest drug abuse rate based on number of seizures, arrests of addicts and convictions of arrested dealers.It might also interest you to know that Kano has the highest divorce rate in the country to the extent that the state has to organise and pay for mass weddings to reduce the backlog.

These puritans were vehemently against the fight against polio which was clearly ravaging the society with hundreds of thousands of children losing the use of their hands and feet. They stirred up series of propaganda about the polio vaccines and discouraged parents from having their children inoculated. Imagine the millions of children whose lives will have been dead on arrival if the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and Dangote were not brave and passionate enough to have followed through with the project to eradicate polio. Those clerics should hide their face in shame today knowing that polio in Kano is no more.

It was Ghannouchi the leader of the Islamic party in Tunisia who uttered the following words “we want religious activity to be completely independent from political activity. This is good for politicians because they will no longer be accused of manipulating religion for political means and good for religion because it will not be held hostage to politics”. Morocco, another Muslim nation has tourism representing a key segment of its economic outlook. In 2013, the sector contributed 17.2 billion dollars representing 18.7 percent of the total GDP. When many Muslim nations, like the UAE, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and a host of others are opening their doors to the world and separating religion from politics or socio economic development, Kano state under a secular nation seeks to shut its doors to global trends and advancements ostensibly for religious purposes championed by hypocritical puritans.

These guys were so blind to the fact that a film village hands them a fantastic tool for societal engineering and to shape behaviour. They were so blinded by hypocrisy that they missed out on an opportunity to export ideas, culture and even their religious beliefs via the film village.

I rest my case with the words of my friend and professor of Islamic studies at the Bayero University Kano (but won’t have me mention his name) who opened his Ramadan lecture in 2011, after returning from the United States on a brief trip. “I have been to a non-Islamic country and I have seen real Muslims, I am back to a highly Islamic state and have not found true Muslims”.

It is time these puritans stopped holding us hostage. ‘Allah yataimaka’.

Ayodele Adio a social critic, wrote from Lagos

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Nigeria’s Journey To A New Low

By Ayo Oyoze Baje |

Your leaders have no respect for their people.
They believe that their personal interests are the interests of the people.
They take people’s resources and turn them into personal wealth.
There is a level of poverty in Nigeria that should be unacceptable.
-Nelson Mandela

The statistics are simply scary. I mean the inexcusable social inequality and injustice in my dear fatherland, Nigeria. These are characterised by the pervasive poverty level, the irredeemably corrupt, conscienceless, kleptomaniac ruling elite; blindly driven by the greed for personal gains and of course, the grinding wheels of the acquiescent and ignorant led majority.

Looked at the Human Development Index (HDI), which is a summary rule for assessing long-term progress in the three basic dimensions of human development, there is nothing to write home about. The three key areas of long-term healthy life, access to knowledge and decent standard of living paint a parlous picture of pure deprivation of the long-suffering masses.

For instance, Nigeria’s HDI for 2014 stood at 0.514, putting the country among the lowest in the low developing category. In fact, Nigeria placed 152 out of the 188 countries and territories so assessed. And it was the only oil-producing country languishing in that shameful socio-economic stratum. Also, according to the 2015 HD Report Work for Human Development for 188 countries assessed by the United Nations, life expectancy index was 0.44, education index was 0.59 while the GDP index and HDI value were placed at 0.36 and 0.466 respectively.

Furthermore, between 2005 and 2014 Nigeria’s HDI value rose from 0.467 to 0.514 (10.1%) an average of 1.07%.When the value is discounted for inequality the HDI falls to 0.320, a loss of 37.8 % due to inequality in the distribution of HDI dimension indices. Sadly, Nigeria sordid social inequality was comparable to that of Ethiopia and Congo (DR) at 29.4% and 36.2 % respectively.

Do not be confounded by these figures. What all these translate to is that there is hunger in the land. Incidentally, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo not too long ago admitted that about 110 million Nigerians were still living below poverty line despite the policies of past governments to improve their welfare. His reason was that the policies were wrongly formulated and as a result did not have direct impact on the people. Said he: “When you look at the economic and social policies, and you look at the level of illiteracy in parts of the country, some are extremely bad and some with cases of about 80% or 90% of children out of school, and other cases of unimaginable decayed infrastructure.” According to him, “governments have not been accountable to the people, otherwise policies should have roots in the real conditions of the people.” He aired his view during a courtesy visit by members of the Alumni Association of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), at the State House, Abuja. But Nigerians want their leaders to walk the talk.

Between May and July 2016 inflation rate galloped from 13.7% to 15.6%. Compared to that of South Africa of 6.3 %, Republic of Niger of 2.3 %, Zimbabwe of -1% and Mali of -0.4% there is nothing to cheer about. And all that is because the dynamics of consumables and essential needs such as food, kerosene, transportation, housing and utilities. The reason is the close correlation which exists between fuel hike and inflation. Nigerians may have endured it all in their characteristic legendary resilience but the sudden hike in fuel price from about N97 to N145 per litre has had deleterious effects on the quality of life of the average Nigerian. As it happened in Venezuela so it did in Nigeria.

One had expected that the political helmsmen of the current administration would concentrate much more energy on re-jigging the economy coming at a time of the free fall of oil prices in the international market. We had admonished Mr. President back in 2015 to assemble a team of top technocrats and seasoned economists, who know their onions; irrespective of their political or religious persuasions and be ready to listen to them. But that was never done.

As usual the tightening of monetary policies has led to devaluation of the naira. Since we do not produce or export much of home-grown products, importers would spend more naira to the dollar. With insurgency in the North-East, which has led to food shortages in addition to hike in the price of farm products, a recycling of economic policies will not get us out of the wood. Our policy makers should think out of the box. We need foreign exchange for industrialisation. We should stop transferring our economic fortunes to foreign hands. We need to revisit the policy of liberalisation and the social benefits of privatisation.

And of greater significance is the need to critically address the obscenely high cost of accessing political power as well as running the machinery of government. The governors and the legislators should come to terms with the harsh economic realities and tread the path of frugality as President Buhari has amply demonstrated so as to become true servant leaders as late President Umaru Yar’ Adua advocated. With another steamy soap opera of the alleged budget padding fiasco playing itself out at the House of Representatives, while the Sarakigate is still rolling, it is obvious, as one has identified back in 2001 that here in Nigeria, corruption has many colours. It does not belong to any political party, ethnic group or religious belief.

Our political leaders should therefore, reflect on the wise counsel of the Nigeria Democratic Liberty Forum, NDLF, New York (June, 2010):

“While other nations are faced with the challenges of the 21st Century, we are bogged down by the avarice of the elite. Every time we believe we have seen the worst from our country, the shameless, opportunistic power grabbers take us back to a new low.”

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Do Nigerians Really Abhor Corruption?

By Taiwo Oladokun |

Overt public sentiments against corruption and the allegedly corrupt, have never been strident as they have been in the last one year. More than anything else, the promise to tackle corruption head on, was the main current that overwhelmingly swept President Muhammadu Buhari into power in an unprecedented manner. And it remains one of the major promises the President has kept among a plethora made by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) before demolishing PDP’s 16-year old government.

I have been hesitant in blaming Mr. President for not keeping promises because, in my own view, he has kept almost all the promises he made; that is, those promises he actually made. Those he appears not to have kept were made on his behalf by desperate party stalwarts given to propaganda. President Buhari does not indulge in propaganda. He is known to be a man of few words who would rather take action. He promised to tackle Boko Haram and significant success has been recorded in that area.

He promised to fight corruption and he is doing it, though some of his approaches may be controversial. He is known to be frugal with resources, though most of his current economic policies are said to be increasing misery, at least at the moment. But he is keeping those few promises he made. He never promised to give N5,000 stipend to extremely poor Nigerians. He did not say fuel would sell for N50 a litre under his government. Providing a meal, a day, for school children was also not his promise. Nigerians know those who made these bogus promises just to grab power. It is these people citizens should hold responsible, not Mr. President.

Among the promises that came directly from Mr. President and to which he has remained faithful, the fight against corruption is apparently the dearest to him. One can even accuse him of being too emotional with the crusade; but his is an emotion birthed by passion: the passion to change his people to change his nation. Going by public sentiments, most Nigerians appear to be on the same page with him on this. Random observations of public discourses across a wide range of communication platforms in the country, reveals that anti-corruption narratives have been dominant. The passion and emotion of Mr. President in his fight against the menace appears infectious. But, is the public really on the same page with the President on this? Do Nigerians really abhor corruption? I do not think so.

While we are vociferous in our call for the eradication of corruption, our hearts are actually with the corrupt. This is because, in my considered opinion, Nigerians are supporters of corruption. Our system supports corruption. Our institutions support corruption. The way we have chosen to practice our adopted foreign religions supports corruption. This is one major reason why the incredulity that follows the revelation of monumental corruption by our leaders remains a mere vapour. It fizzles out as soon as it is expressed; because we are all guilty.

We are guilty not because most of us have stolen part or much of our common patrimony directly or indirectly. Our guilt is derived from the pressure we mount on political office holders from our various communities to take care of their constituents. The guilt is powered by the ridiculous demands we place on them. Most times, we expect them to solve our individual and personal problems instead of holding them to account on the ground of providing for the common good. We expect them to be responsible for our pregnant wives, our children’s school fees, and, even the feeding of our households. Many may blame this on the pervasive poverty in the land but will the law forgive a thief who pleads poverty as the cause of his or her action? Is poverty enough reason for mounting ceaseless pressure on political office holders for financial assistance?

Another dimension to this is the fact that our society rewards the few, who may have chosen integrity over corruption with contempt. Such people are seen as not being smart. They are branded as those who ‘’can never make it,’’ having wasted the opportunity to cut their own slices of the national cake. I do not know of any community that rewards their sons or daughters with honours for integrity after public service. Instead, such people will be derided, secluded and avoided.

It is from this prism that I consider the anti-corruption ship of President Buhari as heading nowhere. For the anti-corruption crusade to succeed, the government must first address the fundamentals. These include massive job creation; equal opportunities for all; value re-orientation; restructuring of the polity; wealth redistribution; review of extant electoral laws, especially to lessen emphasis on money politics; upward review of the national minimum wage and restructuring of the public service sector, among others.

Current approaches to economic management, are to me, antithetical to the fight against corruption. We cannot expect the crusade to produce positive results when government is reeling out policies that add to the misery of citizens. For instance, reality is the fuel price hike from N86 to N145, occasioned by removal of subsidy, has increased economic hardships. Regardless of the gain of availability being brandished by the government, how many Nigerians can afford to buy petrol under present economic regime? I equally disagree with those who opine that the increment has forced citizens to manage resources.

I wonder if proponents of the astronomical increase never considered the domino effects of that policy, especially on consumables and other goods and services. One does not need a Professor of Economics to confirm that it was the hike in fuel price that led to the increase in the prices of goods and services. I also think it is trite knowledge that no anti-corruption crusade can succeed in a country ravaged by hunger and deprivation. For these reasons and more, Nigerians can be said to abhor corruption only with their lips, their hearts will continue to be with corruption and the corrupt as everyone continues to devise alternative means of survival. Mr. President should first tackle the roots of corruption before addressing the effects.

Dr. Oladokun wrote from Abuja through mayotaiwo@yahoo.com.

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HOW TO DEAL WITH DISAPPOINTMENT

By Camille Styles

I’m a pretty “glass half full” kind of gal, which serves me well except for those times when my assumptions that the best will happen don’t really pan out. It’s those times that I’m taken off-guard, shocked to learn that, occasionally, the worst does indeed happen. Today we’re talking about disappointment, that universal feeling that is an inevitable part of life but is still so tough to deal with. And although it’s painful, it doesn’t have to break us.

There’s the everyday kind of disappointment that most of us can handle, no problem (favorite salad sold out at lunch, boss didn’t notice the amazing job you did on a project, Match date turned out to be a loser.) It may not be fun, but we can pick ourselves up and (in the wise words of Taylor Swift ) shake it off. Then there’s
disappointment, the kind that won’t be healed by a quick pep talk or a long soak in the tub ( the job of your dreams didn’t work out, best friend totally betrayed your trust, pregnancy test turned up negative, yet again. ) I’ve found myself in a couple of situations that were of the latter variety over the last few months. Although I’m unable to fully elaborate on the details, suffice it to say that they knocked the wind out of me and left me gazing at a glass that now looked, most definitely, half-empty.

Of course, since I’m the kind of person who recoils from the thought of wallowing in misery (at least, for more than a day or two ), these experiences left me with a desire to come up with some coping strategies for disappointing situations, because, hey: this wasn’t the first time I’d felt it, and it certainly won’t be the last. And since everyone in the world experiences setbacks, I believe that our ability to be resilient plays a huge role in how happy and successful we are in achieving our goals. By coming up with some steps to healing from disappointment, my hope is that in the future, they won’t keep me (or you) down for too long. And these same strategies may even help us bounce back more quickly from the little hiccups that happen every day.

So, after first talking it out with a friend and thoroughly allowing myself to feel the disappointment I’ve experienced (always necessary first steps ), here are a few actions I’ve recently taken to get over my disappointment, reclaim joy in my life, and move on so that I can accomplish what I really want to be doing:

1. Take a creative approach. I always feel better when I take a proactive approach to a problem and, instead of feeling like a victim, get out a pen and notebook and jot down ideas for ways to get myself out of this mess. Negativity can stifle creativity, so first, remind yourself that it will be okay, then take a deep breath and allow your mind to freely brainstorm alternate approaches to the problem. Is it worth giving it another try? Or even better, is there another tactic you can take? Are there other resources you can tap into or a different response you could take to the issue? Disappointment clouds our judgement, so take a step back and be open to the fact that the best possible scenario may still be out there waiting for you to find it.

2. It may not be personal. While it’s true that our actions bear many results in our lives, sometimes, life just happens and a situation is out of our control. When I experience disappointment, I often find myself obsessing over what I could have done differently to change the situation. Sometimes, the answer is “absolutely nothing,” and sending myself on an endless guilt trip is a pointless and destructive exercise. The only thing that is always in our control is our response to the situation, and we can can choose to either be driven by the things that happen to us, or we can choose to stand true to our own principles and act in the way that reflects our truest and best selves. Of course, sometimes, our actions could have resulted in a different outcome, making it especially important to…

3. Adjust your perspective. Look at the big picture and reevaluate your attitude towards the outcome. Maybe we labeled it as “terrible,” when there actually could be positive consequences to the way things worked out. And there’s almost always something that can be learned from a situation. Sometimes it takes time and distance to figure out what that is, but there’s no doubt that the toughest situations in our lives are usually the ones that mold us into wiser, stronger, savvier women. And although it sounds simple, I often feel better when I just remember that while the situation may be sucky, it is not the end of the world.

4. Adopt an “others” focus. There’s no better way to give your attitude a total makeover than choosing to smile, ask others about themselves, and empathize with their feelings instead of focusing on how miserable we are. Think about everything in your life that you have to be grateful for, including your family and friends who are always there for you. There’s nothing like getting outside of ourselves to help us forget the problems that once seemed so insurmountable.

Disappointments will happen to all of us, and we can either let them make us cynical, or we can use them as an opportunity to grow into stronger women with a deeper wisdom and a heightened empathy towards others. I’d love to hear in the comments — what have been your biggest disappointments, and how have you moved on from them?

“ Don’t let today’s disappointments cast a shadow on tomorrow’s dreams. ” -unknown

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WHY YOU SHOULD STOP APOLOGIZING

By Kelly Krause

The defining moment for me happened last April.

My fellow Rapha Ambassadors and I were headed out for our final and longest day of riding. I looked around at my ride group and took inventory: “fast, fast, great climber, pro, fast, lives on the podium.” Out of everyone, I was the newest to cycling. I knew these ladies were faster than me, but the weekend had evolved into one of the

Top 5 weekends of my life, so I was mostly relying on my endorphins and excitement to get me through the 64 miles ahead of us. We clipped in (the sound always gives me the chills) and took off into the sunrise as one big group. Less than 5 miles in, we came upon our first hill.

My heart started to flutter. I knew what was ahead. I was used to it.
I settled into my lowest gear, spinning at an easy cadence and focused on calming my mind. Just as my breathing becomes hard, my legs quickly become heavy. Happens every time. I’m inspired by the ladies in my group who are crushing it, holding a steady yet quick pace as they soon become tiny spots in the distance. Cynthia , who noticed I was trailing off the back, turned around to make sure I wasn’t riding alone (a very pro and selfless move, by the way).

I turned to her in between heavy breaths, “I’m sorry I’m going so slow. You don’t have to wait for me. I’ll catch up with you guys at the top.” The last thing I wanted to do was keep the group waiting for me every time we came upon a hill or slow down their pace, putting us behind schedule. In a stern but kind tone she said, “Kelly, I’m riding with you today. We’ll go your pace, whatever you want that to be. But I have one rule: no apologizing. For anything. You’re not allowed to say the word sorry.”

She was right. There was nothing to apologize for. I was out there doing what I loved — riding my bike with new friends and mentors, exploring unfamiliar territory and pushing myself. What was there to be sorry about? Throughout the rest of the ride, I struggled. As the day became hotter, the climbs became harder. Then we hit a nasty headwind and I was losing momentum. We rode as a team — better yet, a SQUAD — as they kept a pace I could hang onto. I sat on everyone’s wheel that day. Everytime I began to say “Sor…,” Cynthia cut me off almost immediately. She’s pro like that.

The day ended up being humbling, not to mention a true display of teamwork. From Jolene and Cynthia pushing me up hills (seriously, they are half my size) , to Abby stating “If you’re in, we’re in” at the last 10 miles when I didn’t think I had it in me to finish, to the entire group waiting for me after a climb, then encouraging me take off on a sprint when I had the energy — I walked away with a new perspective on how I view and treat myself. I left that weekend replaying Cynthia’s words over and over in my mind. Then I came across this wonderful piece on self-deprication and the female cyclist. It hit home and took me back to that day in April on the bike. I thought about how many times I’ve said “I’m sorry” for things that simply don’t require an apology. Namely: pushing myself on the bike, stepping out of my comfort zone and trying something new, asking a question I don’t know the answer to, or declining an opportunity or viewpoint I don’t believe in.

While I do think there’s a certain courtesy when it comes to being transparent about your abilities so your group or instructor can keep an eye out, like, “I’m getting over the flu, so I’m going to ride my pace,” or “This is my first yoga class, so I’d love extra guidance,” there’s zero to be sorry about.

So here is my ask of you: let’s move away from apologizing when we’re out there trying our hardest and focus more on what you accomplished.

Didn’t ride as fast as you normally do on that road? That’s ok. You got out on your bike and made a healthy choice. Couldn’t keep up on the run with your pals who had to wait for you at the water stop? That’s cool too. You know how good it felt to see them there, so you’ll reciprocate when you’re faster than your pals. Channel your inner Cynthia when you’re working hard and keep sorry out of your vocabularly.

Be kind to yourself. Be honest with yourself.

Be proud of yourself.

I mean, do you think Beyoncé apologizes for being amazing?

I doubt it.

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Rochas Okorocha’s Endgame In Imo State

By Obi Nwakanma

First, let us start by where Rochas Okorocha began: he was swept into government on the wings of the APGA, following a populist revolt at the polls in Imo state that threw out the PDP government of Mr. Ikedi Ohakim in 2011.

Ohakim was a man of ideas. He just had trouble with implementation, and so his program sounded too futuristic to a people who wanted immediate relief, and immediate benefit from government programs.
*Imo state Governor, Okorocha

Take for instance the dredging of the River Nworie and the rebuilding of the ecological floodplains and swamps that might serve to provide both recreational and ecological benefits to the city of Owerri: it was a possible, laudable, actionable project, which was mismanaged, misrepresented, and ultimately bungled because that administration failed to secure citizens buy-in for such a monumental project.
Ohakim was also perceived as brash and alienated in the views of most people, and could not connect with the electorate at the very popular level.

He was also believed to have squandered much of the state’s revenue, and like previous governors before him saw Imo state as no more than a honeypot, and Imo people, as no better than troglodytes requiring weekly “how-to” lectures that were big on pictures but small in details.

Everywhere you went to in Imo state in those days, all one saw were idolatrous pictures of Ikedi Ohakim hung on proposed projects. It was the subject of a fierce exchange I had with my late friend and colleague, Pini Jason, who insisted to the very end that Ohakim was on to something.

The problem was that I couldn’t see it. And Imo people apparently couldn’t see it, and they rebelled at the poll. The upsurge of the faith the Igbo always had in Emeka Ojukwu, not on the upstart Okorocha, propelled the present governor to Douglas House.
On the strength of a party supposedly backed by Ojukwu, on one hand, and on a capacity for populist demagoguery on the other, Rochas Okorocha was swept into office as Governor of Imo state. It was one of the greatest mistakes the APGA as a party made in 2011.

So, in a terrible misjudgment, APGA handed Rochas Okorocha, a bird of flight in that party, the slot for governor. It also so happened that aside from his personal capacity for street drama, Okorocha is an astute politician. His politics of course derives not from solid or fundamental ideas, but on simple notions of power and the drama on which power is sometimes staged.

And so, he presented an alternative face to the Imo people, and for a very brief moment, the Imo electorate, normally informed and discerning bought into his melodrama.
He even put up a great show at the debate organized that year by the Catholic Church for Gubernatorial candidates in Imo state. Some who knew a little about Rochas’ background cried out against a great mistake that was about to be made in electing Mr. Okorocha. He had promised a great load of bullshit. Among these, “free education” for Imo children up to the tertiary level.

I knew personally, as does anyone who does a bit of strategic policy analysis that this was a promise wrapped in wonder and full of wonder.

Imo did not need “free education;” what Ndi Imo needed and still need is “quality education” and there is a material difference in that. Quality education is what prepares people with new sets of skills, expands their horizons, and updates their learning environments in ways that would make them compete with their peers all over the world.
Besides, Okorocha did not clearly establish how he would pay for the “free education” and the monthly stipend to primary and high school students he had promised. What was Imo state’s tax base? He had no clue. What is the property stock of the schools in the Imo school system? He had no idea? What is the population and distribution of children in early child and Infant programs; the Primary School system, the secondary schools?
He had no clue. He simply came like Falstaff full of beer and hokum. It was a policy and a program driven by a highly uninformed mindset. A census of schools and of teachers in public schools in Imo state should reveal a number of things: one, the quality and number of teachers in the Imo state’s Public Schools have so radically declined, yet the state government continues to post a high payroll unaccountably.

But something even more tragic has happened in the five years Rochas Okorocha has been governor in Imo state: it is called the tragic decline of education in Imo state. For all the years WAEC figures, and JAMB results have been published, until three years ago, Imo state had remained consistently on the top with the highest number of student enrollments, often sidelining the next state to it with as much as 100, 000 students. Since Okorocha’s government, Imo has slid to the 8th position on the table!

This is radical diminution. Not to the second or third positions, but to the 8th position on the list of School certificate enrollment and passes, and on the JAMB scores table, for the first time in its history! Sam Mbakwe used to say that education was Imo’s number one industry. Not anymore.

Poverty is Imo States number one industry by all accounts these days. Okorocha has achieved the one thing that eluded every of his predecessors however they tried: his government has finally brought a resilient state like Imo to her knees.
He has destroyed the school system, and the system of public service on which Imo had established a long tradition. Teachers are not paid. Civil servants are not paid. Retirees are not paid, and yet, no one knows exactly what Imo state’s revenue is used for.
Okorocha’s tenure has not registered a single investment in any industry. He has built third-rate roads, and opened up, to be fair, roads that now give people some access in Owerri.

But the quality of work he has done with these rather basic examples of public work is terrifyingly below standard. In actual fact, some of those are simple municipal roads which a well-organized Public Works Department should do on a routine basis.
Now, just last week, reports indicate that the government of Mr. Okorocha has succeeded in evicting retired residents of the Alvan Ikoku College of Education from the Alvan quarters at the famous Shell Camp, and according to Imo Commissioner for Information, the government is putting these government lands and property up for the highest bidders.

“Anybody who is able to put down N50 million will have any one of these lands” says Vitalis Ajumbe. This is unconscionable, and this must be stopped by all means necessary.
The eviction of retires from government quarters, and the sale of public property by this administration to individuals must be counted as one of the highest acts of brazen robbery of the commonweal by official means.

Over and over again, Rochas Okorocha has demonstrated that he has no respect for Imo people, he has no regard for the highest public interest, and he has no interest in public opinion. He is playing an endgame with Imo, after which he would retire to Abuja, and let the state and its inhabitants suffocate from the bad effects of his actions today. He may yet force Imo people to rise and do “Otokoto” on its own government, and its government officials!

Imo people have been pushed to the very end of their wits with this government which last week also announced the reduction of the five-day work week to three days, without annual leaves or sick leaves.

This is a terrible policy, and it is really not up to the executive arm to impose this. It requires an act of the Imo state House of Assembly to change the Labor Laws, and the laws governing public service in Imo state, not an executive order. But Imo State has only a “photo Assembly” – legislators who have never sat, or represented the will of the people. As a body it one of the most useless parliaments in the land. It has never held the governors to account.

Okorocha has committed all kinds of impeachable offences against Imo state, yet the Imo Assembly remains in perpetual vacation. It is now up to Ndi Imo to begin a massive recall process of their legislators who fail to rise in defence of their mandates.
The Imo people must rise up and defy this aberration called the government of Imo state, or go to sleep and wait for death itself. Okorocha must account to citizens in Imo: how much of Imo’s revenue went to the campaign to elect Buhari, and what has this governor done with the bail-out money? It is urgent matter.

When Goodluck Jonathan Visited His Former Office

By Olalekan Adetayo

Penultimate Monday, former President Olusegun Obasanjo was in the Villa to hold talks with President Muhammadu Buhari. On Wednesday, it was the turn of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The first assignment for that day was the meeting of the Federal Executive Council which hitherto was held weekly under Jonathan. Since the inception of this administration, the meeting only holds when necessary.

As the meeting was underway on Wednesday, we heard that Jonathan would be visiting the President. Since he left the seat of power in the morning of May 29, 2015 for the Eagle Square where he handed over to Buhari, the former President had only been sighted once in the Villa.

That time, the meeting with the President was held inside the new Banquet Hall. Journalists were not allowed near the venue, so we could not interview him. Some other meetings had been held between the two leaders away from the prying eyes of journalists. Much of this was revealed by Jonathan himself when he told us that he had been meeting with Buhari mostly in the night when we would have left the Villa.

With the FEC meeting over on Wednesday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, led the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; and Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, to brief State House correspondents of the outcome. That was at about 1.30pm. We were aware that Jonathan’s visit was scheduled for 2pm, so we wanted the briefing to be done with as soon as possible.

Luckily, that briefing ended a few minutes before 2pm and we rushed from the Press Gallery to the forecourt of the President’s office to wait for the august guest. At exactly 1.55pm, the black Range Rover marked KWL 86 CN conveying the former President made through the Service Chief’s Gate. About 100 metres to where journalists were waiting for Jonathan, the Sport Utility Vehicle conveying him stopped abruptly. We initially thought Jonathan was not comfortable with the sight of the journalists. But as it turned out, the driver was only waiting for the security vehicle to come forward.

The former President stepped out of his vehicle and was received by one of Buhari’s aides. He exchanged pleasantries with us as he made his way to the President’s office. Buhari was already waiting in front of his office upstairs to welcome his predecessor. As they exchanged greetings and made to enter the President’s office, Buhari turned to the cameramen and asked jokingly, “Do you want to follow us into the office?”

The meeting was a short one. It lasted less than 20 minutes. At about 2.17pm, Jonathan emerged from the President’s office. Buhari accompanied him downstairs but he did not step out of the building to the point where we were laying ambush for the former President.

With the way we positioned ourselves, Jonathan had no choice but to talk to us. We strategised before his arrival and we agreed that we would begin the interview from “friendly” to “not too friendly” issues in order to encourage him to talk.

We succeeded to some extent because one of us massaged his ego on how relaxed he was looking before he asked him his mission to the Villa. Smiling, the former President started by telling us how pleased he was to see us again. “It is good to see some of your faces. Of course, I was with you for a period of eight years. For over a year now, I have been out. It gladdens my heart to see you again,” Jonathan said.

He then went further to tell us that his mission was to inform the President of some of his recent and future international engagements. Again, another “friendly” question came in the form of his role in the government’s efforts to end the violence in the Niger Delta. He told us how he and other opinion leaders in the region had been intervening at their various levels to ensure peace. He also reiterated his popular sermon of “one indivisible Nigeria.”

Then came the big one. Jonathan was asked to comment on Buhari’s ongoing anti-corruption war especially as it concerns his former ministers and aides currently being investigated or prosecuted. He smiled and said, “I don’t want to talk about that one because there are too many cases that are in court. It will not be fair to make comments. I will talk at the appropriate time when most of these things are resolved.”

Some presidential aides who were on hand to witness the interview also became uncomfortable and started saying, “Thank you, no more questions please,” as Jonathan made his way to his vehicle.

For us in the Villa, that was not the first time Jonathan would promise to talk to us at “the appropriate time.” I mentioned his first time of making such an unfulfilled promise here last week. We shall therefore not be surprised if the latest promise goes the way of the first one which was not fulfilled.

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No Plebiscite, No Referendum

By Eric Teniola |

Certainly Nigeria’s problems did not start with the adoption of the Presidential System of Government. And neither has the Presidential System of Government solved our problems. In retrospect, the Presidential System of Government has created more problems for us.

Occasionally we make our voices known through the media but that is where it ends. And that is why in desperation, words like restructuring and regionalism are now taking the front seat in our agitation for a better nation. In other countries of the world, plebiscite and referendum are commonly practised to invite the people to decide on major issues affecting their destiny but not in Nigeria. Everything is just forced on us and most times, as docile as we are, we have no choice.

A constitution is simply the body of rules in accordance with which the powers of government are distributed and exercised. Let us go back to the origin of the adoption of the Presidential System of Government.

On assuming power in 1966, the first thing Major General Thomas Umanakwe Aguiyi- Ironsi did was to suspend the 1963 Constitution under Decree No 1. From that time till 1975, we had no constitution under General DanYuma Yakubu Gowon.

On October 1, 1975, there was a ray of hope on the issue when General Ramat Murtala Muhammed (1938-1976) announced in a broadcast that he would hand over power in 1979. And true to his words he set up a 50-man constitution drafting committee under the leadership of Chief Rotimi Frederick Alade Williams.

A member of the committee, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, GCFR opted not to serve in the committee insisting that having written and participated in the making of past Nigerian constitutions, there was no more to add. On October 18, 1975, General Murtala Muhammed inaugurated the committee at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Lagos. He said on that day that ‘the Supreme Military Council has carefully discussed and agreed on an executive Presidential System of Government. ’

On October 6, 1977, General Olusegun Aremu Okikiolu Obasanjo, inaugurated the Constituent Assembly and re-echoed the stand of General Murtala Muhammed on the adoption of the Presidential System of Government, insisting that members of that assembly were not to change what the Supreme Military Council had decided on the Presidential system of Government. He declared: “May I emphasise that the purpose of your being here is to discuss the draft constitution already by the Constitution Drafting Committee and to come out with your recommendations. These will then be taken to the Supreme Military Council. Thereafter, a Decree on the subject of Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria will be considered and promulgated to usher in the new Constitution”.

On January 10, 1978 the Constituent Assembly then went to the committee stage to deliberate properly on the Presidential System presided over by Justice Egbert Udo-Udoma , then a serving Justice of the Supreme Court from Ikot-Abasi in present-day Akwa Ibom State. Dr. Ibrahim Tahir, representing Bauchi/Alkaleri, who later became the Talban Bauchi raised a motion objecting to the Presidential system of Government and pleaded that we should revert to the Parliamentary system of Government. He said:” I beg to move the Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper as follows: That this House resolves to amend Chapter VI, Title and Section 109, Sub-section (1)-(3) as proposed and to accept the consequential Amendment to the relevant sections of the same Chapter; and further resolves that the Constitution of Nigeria shall reflect a Parliamentary form of government with such other modifications as the House may decide.”

Tahir advanced further argument that the presidential system of Government was too expensive to operate and that the contradictions within that system will cripple the act of governance. His only supporter on that day was Alhaji Umaru Dikko from Kaduna/ Birnin Gwari constituency.

In opposing Tahir, Chief Richard Osuolale Abimbola Akinjide, from Lagelu/Oluyole/Akinyele Constituency said Tahir was wrong. Chief Akinjide declared “I rise to oppose the motion. With the greatest respect, there is nothing new in the arguments of the Hon. Member for Bauchi/Alkaleri. (Tahir) I had the privilege of exchanging correspondence with him in a foreign journal in respect of whether Nigeria should go Presidential or Prime Ministerial. At the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), he was roundly defeated, and although I would not be a judge in my own cause, on the balance of probability in the correspondence in the foreign journal, he was also defeated.

The issue before this House is quite simple. Should this country go Prime Ministerial or Presidential? It is as simple as that. We should not take umbrage in the British history, in the Russian history, or in the American history. The test we have to apply is quite simple. It is a subjective test. It is not an objective test, and that subject test is this. Having regard to our history for the past 17 or 20 years, what form of government is best for this country? All the arguments advanced by the Member for Bauchi/Alkaleri (Tahir) against the Presidential System could also be advanced against Prime Ministerial System and we must consider that there is no form of government in this world that is fool-proof. There is no form of government in which a dictator cannot emerge. All we can do is to try our best and rely on the best judgment of this country.

On the balance of probability, my submission is that a Prime Ministerial system of government for this country is a recipe for chaos. At the chief executive level, you will have what is called bifurcation of authority. You will have the Head of Government, and you will have the Head of State. The Parliamentary type of government does not augur well for stability. The Prime Minister can fall on a vote of no confidence, whereas a President has four years’ term of office”.

It was at this stage that Professor Ben Nwabueze and Mr. Paul Wataregh Unongo requested that the issue be put to vote and when the question was put to vote by Justice Udo Udoma, Tahir’s amendment was overwhelmingly rejected.

The Constituent Assembly adjourned sine die on June 5, 1978 without finishing its work and that assembly was never reconvened.

However on September 21 1978, General Olusegun Obasanjo came out with Decree No 25 promulgating the 1979 Constitution. The decree states that” Whereas the Constituent Assembly established by the Constituent Assembly Decree 1977 and as empowered by that Decree has deliberated upon the draft Constitution drawn up by the Constitution Drafting Committee and presented the result of its deliberations to the Supreme Military Council and the Supreme Council has approved the same subject to such changes as it has deemed necessary in the public interest and for purposes of fostering the promotion of the welfare of the people of Nigeria and whereas it is necessary for the Constitution to be vested with the force of law. This Decree may be cited as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Enactment) Decree 1978”.

In short, that was how the Presidential System of Government came to be in Nigeria.

In the light of present events, it is being suggested that we should go back to the parliamentary system of government which gave full powers to the regions.

I don’t know how possible it is but I think the parliamentary system of government is more democratic and more representative and costs less than the presidential system of government.

Eric Teniola, a former director at the Presidency, stays in Lagos.

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Article: BUTCHERS OF JUBA

Butchers of Juba.
                  By Owei Lakemfa.
When I watched South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit make a short speech on the floor of  the African Union (AU) Heads of State conference in January 2013, I was impressed. He said King Mohammed VI of  Moroccan  had called to congratulate him on the independence of South Sudan from Sudan. But he had retorted that Morocco should  likewise, let  Western Sahara  be free. That struck a chord in me. I thought he was progressive and Pan Africanist; the type of leader we need on the continent. I did not expect less from a man who was with John Garang in the long struggle for independence from Sudan.
For about five  decades, South Sudan had fought for  independence and when the opportunity of a United Nations-supervised referendum presented itself in January 2011, the people voted 98.83 percent for independence. That 2013, I was the then Secretary General of African Workers and   was determined  to integrate South Sudan workers with their brothers and sisters on the continent. So, strenuous efforts were made to ensure that their labour leaders attended the fortieth anniversary of the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) which was held on April 13, 2013 in Addis Ababa. A major problem was flight connections. But we overcame all obstacles and the South Sudan Workers Trade Union Federation delegation led by Hon Sinon Dieng, for the first time, took its seat amongst other African trade unions.  A few months later, I received a message that Dieng had fled South Sudan; a victim of the December 15, 2013 shootout amongst the Presidential Guards in Juba. Following the incident, President Kirr accused Vice President Riek Machar of an attempt to overthrow him.  Earlier that  July, President Kirr had exhibited signs of dictatorship by sacking the  Vice President and the entire cabinet under the pretext that he wanted to reduce the size of government; what has the size of government got to do with the Vice President who was supposedly a product of elections?
As is usual in Africa, in their private struggle for power and to maintain it, the gladiators presented issues as an ethnic conflict. What followed were massacres across the country. A country which decades  of war had devastated, lacks basic infrastructure especially housing with over half the population living under the poverty line, was so quickly afflicted with another civil war. On the first day of the conflict, soldiers of Kirr’s Dinka ethnic group went out into the capital, Juba,  rounding  up Nuers; Machar’s ethnic group. They netted some 300 of them, detained them overnight before executing all but 13 of them.
The attacks spread across the country. In the first two months, the town of Bor  in the Jonglei State, changed hands four times in two months and Malakal in the Upper Nile State, changed hands six times in four months;  every time they did, conquering soldiers and militias, as much as they could, wiped out the populace from the other ethnic group. Patients in hospitals, people taking shelter in churches and mosques were executed and  the structures of such  places, destroyed. Needless to say, education and basic needs have been disrupted in a young country that has bled for five decades now. Also not spared are United Nations compounds where people taking shelter are attacked and executed. The latest was in February, 2016 when the UN displacement Centre in Malakal was attacked with 25 killed and 120 injured. Looting and rape are acceptable means of compensation for the  marauding soldiers and militia some of who are mere children.
Internally Displaced persons or those who have fled their homes are over 2.3 million out of a population of 12.6 million. Over  720,000 have fled to the  neigbouring countries; Kenya, Ethiopia Uganda, and Sudan; the very country they broke away from just five years ago. Many of the elites on both sides, relocated or sent their families to Kenya and Uganda where they maintain homes  even after independence.
Primarily, the civil war has resulted in  over  six million people or at least half the population, facing  severe hunger. The UN in 2015 appealed for $1.5 billion to support 4.6 million of the most vulnerable persons, but got $1 billion while its appeal this year for $1.29 billion has only netted 39 percent of the needed funds. If the war continues, there is a high possibility that the interest of the international community will wane, there will be less response, and more people will die of starvation and preventable diseases.
 The human suffering, massacres and disaster are man-made. There have been a couple of Peace Agreements signed, and violated including one in January. However, the most promising was the one signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  this  May. It provided for a ceasefire, formation of a Transition Government, drafting of a new constitution,  capped with new elections. Machar came to  Abuja and assured the Nigerian government that the new agreement will be respected and implemented. As part of the agreement, he actually went back to Juba to resume as Vice President. Within weeks, it had been violated; the latest violence began  on July 8, 2016 with clashes in Juba which left 300 dead.
The crisis and its seeming intractable nature are due to a combination of personal ambition, the rich  oil resource of South Sudan, national interests of neigbours like Uganda   and lack of a pan-national agenda.  The  binary division of the old Sudan into Sudan  and South Sudan has neither brought peace nor development; a further breakup of the latter, cannot be a solution. The African Union must be supported by the international community to force the actors at all levels, to accept a ceasefire, share power, build a national army, register political parties that must be pan-national, de-militarize the country and build a new national orientation. The UN and AU must be empowered to enforce peace. There will never be a solution unless the butchers in South Sudan are made aware that they face arrest and prosecution  for  crimes against humanity if they refuse or fail to allow peace reign  in the country. 

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