Your Say

BY IBRAHIM BELLO

Since the meeting with some traditional rulers from southern extraction where President Muhammadu Buhari said there is need to change the security architecture of the country, the social media and the security and intelligence space have been awash with insinuations as to who and who is qualified or may be favoured to handle the frightening security conundrum threatening the nation.

Knowing that the office of the National Security Adviser may not be left out like the Service Chiefs, there is already growing discuss as to persons that may jostle for the top security positions. Names of contenders are flying around. There are unconfirmed reports that Babagana Monguno, the incumbent national security adviser, would be retained, some are saying Abdulrahman Dambazau, former minister of interior, would step into that office; Ahmed Rufai, an ambassador has also been listed.

It is that time of democratic reign when appointments are made and loyalists rewarded for their unflinching supports or loyalties to the “powers that be”.

Interestingly, some high profile names have been dropped from that list and while new ones are being adopted, some are trying to remain relevant in politics and look at the slightest opportunity to explore. Unfortunately, the past will catch up with some of them and history will be the mirror to judge if they deserve what in today’s political space.

Buhari has been somewhat quiet about the reappointment of his Monguno even though Monguno’s name, far and above other names, is on the lips of every discerning minds, especially within military environment.

Appointed on July 13, 2015, he replaced Dasuki Sambo. Before his retirement in 2013,  Monguno was chief of Nigeria’s Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). His last assignment in the army was commander, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) from January till September 2013.

As NSA, Monguno witnessed a challenge when his village in Borno state was captured by Boko Haram but within days, security forces retook the territory in a coordinated air and ground attacks.

At a time when the fragile unity of Nigeria was on the brink, the ability of Monguno to speak the three major languages fluently including Idoma could pass as an asset. Indeed, this asset was extensively deployed to good use as he was at home with all military chiefs and speaking their local dialects. A clear example of this asset: At the war fronts, according to an impeccable source, some of the soldiers were said to have approached Monguno, speaking in their dialect and explaining challenges being faced. His understanding of Yoruba language makes even an easier communication with the Ekiti State born Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Abayomi Olonisakin, the same with Buratai, the chief of army staff, who is a northern extraction, like himself.

Unlike other military chiefs, Monguno work is unseen, because it is strategic. It is far more important than all the military chiefs. His office as security adviser is the coordinating room between the office of the president and all security related matters in the country. These include all the military formations, purchase of all military hardware, security and safety of Nigerians both within and outside the shores of the country, curtailing smuggling within the country’s borders. The work of the office is enormous.

Without discountenancing the credibility of other speculated contenders, Monguno efforts in helping Buhari to stabilize the country cannot go unnoticed. He might not be often seen or talking on the pages of newspapers, just like Buhari, but the military, especially within its hierarchy will give a thumbs up for his professionalism, understanding and detribalized nature.

DAMBAZAU

While he was chief of army staff between 2008 and 2010, Dambazau was investigated for corruption during his tenure as COAS, though not indicted. He is alleged to be lobbying through some Arab leaders from Middle East whose views Buhari greatly respects and appreciates to speak on his behalf.

MARWA

The former military administrator of Lagos and current chairman, Committee on Drug Abuse, is also tipped as a likely successor. Marwa is reported to be relying on his relationship with close allies to the president to get the top job.

SD ALIYU

Maj Gen SD Aliyu, alleged to be an ally of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is also part of the struggle for the NSA office, he was among the Army officers allegedly involved in the Dasukigate when he was the Nigerian Defence Attaché to China.

BURATAI

The current Chief of Army Staff is said to be also jostling for the same office when he exits his current office which observers say he has have overstayed. There were a series of complaints from different quarters within his constituent that the Army chief is the longest-serving Chief of Army Staff which they say is against the tradition of the institution.

There were a series of corruption allegations levelled against him at the beginning of his tenure especially the Dubai Property scandal he confessed he owned even though he said the property were acquired through loan. That explanation nevertheless never cleared the doubt and suspicion the public had about him.

USMAN

The current Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI) , is reportedly pursuing the position of the NSA through a woman who claimed to be close ally to the President. He was reported to be dishing out money to the woman to help him secure the position. While the Agency he is heading is filled with disgruntled staff due to the poor welfare of the staff.

AHMED RUFA’I

The current Director National Intelligence, Ahmed Rufa’I, is also target for the plum job. Until his current job, he was the secretary to Babagana Kingibe’s Committee which reviewed findings of the Vice President committee on the money, about$43 million, found by EFCC in an apartment belonging to the wife of the former DG NIA. His appointment at that time was greeted with some criticisms by the reading public.

LAWAL DAURA

Lawal left his office-Director, State Security Service, unceremoniously. He is alleged to be lobbying through the President of the Niger Republic to speak with the president on his behalf. It is remained to be seen how and who the president chooses in view of the various competencies and baggage each of the contenders carried.

For more than 13 years, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of Nigeria and now presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, kept away from the United States.

Once, the US even turned down his request for a visa.

But on Thursday, he landed in Washington DC for talks with some American officials on his campaign in Nigeria. His visit, said to have been facilitated by his former boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo and other lobbyists, threw up questions as to why he had avoided America in the first place.

What is known is that nine years ago, there was a US Senate Committee report detailing money laundering activities against him, including being a recipient of a bribe by Siemens.

The Committee known as the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations was chaired by Senator Carl Levin.

ICYMI: We’ll grill Atiku when he returns from US, FG vows

The probe was motivated by US government concern about corruption in the Third World and its corrosive effects on the  development of honest government, democratic principles, and the rule of law.

“It is also blamed for distorting markets, deterring investment, deepening poverty, undermining international aid efforts, and fostering crime. Some have drawn connections between corruption, failed states, and terrorism. Corruption also continues to be a massive problem. The World Bank has estimated that $1 trillion in bribes alone exchange hands worldwide each year,” the committee noted in its bulky report.

Abubakar was not the only foreign Politically Exposed Person(PEP) probed by the committee. He had company in Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, now the 48-year-old son of Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mbasogo, the President of Equatorial Guinea (EG), late President of Gabon, Omar Bongo and three Angolan PEP accounts, involving an Angolan arms dealer, an Angolan government official, and a small Angolan private bank.

The committee submitted its report on 4 February 2010, three years after Abubakar left office as Nigeria’s vice president.

The report  unveiled violations of US laws by Abubakar and his fourth wife, Jennifer Douglas. It also  included revelations about Siemens bribe paid into one of the accounts, and it possibly  provided the basis for Abubakar being barred from entering the United States, since then.

This  Report examines how politically powerful foreign officials, their relatives, and close associates – referred to in international agreements as Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) – have used the services of U.S. professionals and financial institutions to bring large amounts of suspect funds into the United States to advance their interests. Using four case histories, this Report shows how some PEPs have used U.S. lawyers, real estate and escrow agents, lobbyists, bankers, and even university officials, to circumvent U.S. anti-money laundering and anti- corruption safeguards. This Report also offers recommendations to stop the abuses.

Here is a summary of the report: 

Abubakar Case History.

From 2000 to 2008, Jennifer Douglas, a U.S. citizen and the fourth wife of Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and former candidate for President of Nigeria, helped her husband bring over $40 million in suspect funds into the United States through wire transfers sent by offshore corporations to U.S. bank accounts.

In a 2008 civil complaint, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Ms. Douglas received over $2 million in bribe payments in 2001 and 2002, from Siemens AG, a major German corporation.

While Ms. Douglas denies wrongdoing, Siemens has already pleaded guilty to U.S. criminal charges and settled civil charges related to bribery and told the Subcommittee that it sent the payments to one of her U.S. accounts.

In 2007, Mr. Abubakar was the subject of corruption allegations in Nigeria related to the Petroleum Technology Development Fund.

Of the $40 million in suspect funds, $25 million was wire transferred by offshore corporations into more than 30 U.S. bank accounts opened by Ms. Douglas, primarily by Guernsey Trust Company Nigeria Ltd., LetsGo Ltd. Inc., and Sima Holding Ltd.

The U.S. banks maintaining those accounts were, at times, unaware of her PEP status, and they allowed multiple, large offshore wire transfers into her accounts. As each bank began to question the offshore wire transfers, Ms. Douglas indicated that all of the funds came from her husband and professed little familiarity with the offshore corporations actually sending her money.

When one bank closed her account due to the offshore wire transfers, her lawyer helped convince other banks to provide a new account. In addition, two of the offshore corporations wire transferred about $14 million over five years to American University in Washington, D.C., to pay for consulting services related to the development of a Nigerian university founded by Mr. Abubakar.

American University accepted the wire transfers without asking about the identity of the offshore corporations or the source of their funds, because under current law, the University had no legal obligation to inquire.

Executive Summary

Combating corruption is a key U.S. value and goal, due to its corrosive effects on the rule of law, economic development, and democratic principles. In 2001, the Patriot Act made the acceptance of foreign corruption proceeds a U.S. money laundering offence for the first time, and required banks to apply enhanced scrutiny to private banking accounts opened for senior foreign political figures, their relatives, and close associates. In 2003, the United States supported the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, now ratified by over 140 countries. Also in 2003, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) formed an investigative group dedicated to combating foreign corruption by PEPs. In 2004, President Bush issued Presidential Proclamation 7750 denying U.S. visas to foreign officials involved with corruption, and Congress later enacted supporting legislation. A 2009 study sponsored by the World Bank analyzed PEP controls worldwide and recommended stronger measures to reduce corruption.

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Subcommittee) initiated this investigation to learn how U.S. laws apply to PEPs utilizing the domestic financial system, and examine how foreign senior political figures, their relatives, and close associates may be circumventing or undermining anti-money laundering (AML) and PEP controls to bring funds that may be the product of foreign corruption into the United States. It is the latest in a series of Subcommittee hearings examining foreign corruption and its U.S. aiders and abettors.

During the course of its investigation, the Subcommittee staff conducted over 100 interviews, including interviews of lawyers, real estate agents, escrow agents, lobbyists, bankers, university professionals, and government officials. The Subcommittee issued over 50 subpoenas and reviewed millions of pages of documents, including bank records, correspondence, contracts, emails, property records, flight records, news articles, and court pleadings. In addition, the Subcommittee consulted with foreign officials, international organisations, financial regulators, and experts in anti-money laundering and anti-corruption efforts.

Read the full report here: FOREIGNCORRUPTIONREPORTFINAL710

In addition, there was the case of Congressman William Jefferson who was jailed for accepting a bribe from a would-be Nigerian investor, Lori Mody, who was wearing a wire.

Jefferson told the investor that he would need to give then Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar $500,000 “as a motivating factor” to make sure the company obtained contracts for iGate and Mody’s company in Nigeria.

The case put Atiku in bad spotlight, with his mansion in Potomac, Maryland searched by the FBI in 2005. But there was nothing incriminating found in the house.

About 12 years after the raid, Atiku sold the property.

NAN

By Kareem Babawande

The Politics of Lagos has always been peculiar and for all those who consider themselves political watchers, yesterday’s declaration by Jide Sanwoolu sent a clear signal; “This is the incoming Governor of Lagos State”

A conspicuous political heavyweight at the event who’s attendance has caused a stir on social media, with various platforms trying to decode the meaning of his presence at both the declaration of the incumbent Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and that of Jide Sanwoolu yesterday was Senator Gbenga Ashafa. A known loyalist of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

ICYMI: Sanwo-Olu declares bid to battle Ambode for Lagos APC guber ticket

All politics they say is Local and you will agree with me that 24 hours is a very long time in politics. As at 10th of September when the Governor went to Abuja to pick his nomination form and declare his campaign for a 2nd Term Open, there was no clear signal from Bourdillon as to the direction of the party in relation to Governorship in Lagos State. Ashafa, who represents Lagos East where Ambode comes from, had a responsibility to attend that event. The sitting Governor was declaring and the Senator from his district should have been there.

Secondly, considering his pedigree as a Lagosian born in the Luther-Bamgbose area of Lagos Island, Ashafa’s presence at the declaration of Jide Sanwoolu’s declaration was a clear pointer of the need for him to enjoy the acceptability of the people and also a clear signal of where Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is heading.

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Recall in 2007 when Fashola was to emerge as the Governor? He was perceived even in the political establishment as very rigid and unlikeable. Gbenga Ashafa a civil servant at the time was appointed the Chairman of the campaigns Think tank and was charged with taking him round till he was accepted by the establishment and the people. Fast forward to 2014 during the campaign of Ambode, Same Ashafa was the first to take Ambode to meet all the Traditional Rulers in Ibeju Lekki, which was used largely to establish the roots of Ambode in the Eastern Senatorial District.

Gbenga Ashafa is used to confer legitimacy and acceptance by the establishment. Dear Lagosians, Jide Sanwoolu is your next Governor except the PDP’s Otedola is strong enough to put up a fight. But I doubt much. If you don’t believe me, you can put a bet on it.

On September 2, 2018, I was contacted for an interview by Social Innovations Academy, the first fully digital academy for social entrepreneurs in Europe and based in Luxemburg. Although Africa is not a part of their primary targets for obvious reasons they thought after looking through the work we are doing, they can learn from individuals in Africa in the social space.

Then I realised that to build more global ambassadors for Nigeria, children of the poor must, as a priority, have access to quality education at our public educational institutions at all levels. Government much deliberately be interested in education and development of young people especially in vulnerable communities across the 36 states including FCT.

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For so long now, the governments at the three tiers have relegated education while promoting mediocrity in the name of youth empowerment to score political points. The most rewarding empowerment any government can give to her people is a deliberate investment into their future through proper funding and monitoring of education policies and their implementations. According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Nigeria has the highest number of out of school children in the world and of course, our university system is also one of the worsts in the world and not even near top five in Africa.

Also, a joint research By Ikediashi and Amaechi (2011) on Teacher Ratio: Implication For Quality Education In Nigerian Primary Schools published in International Journal Of Arts & Humanities revealed that for effective learning system, the teacher to pupil ratio should be 1:30 for theory course; 1:20 for both theory and practical courses and 1:30 for practical courses.

Unfortunately, according to a 2010 report by the Universal Basic Education (UBE), the ratio in Nigeria is 1:40 and it is even worse for disciplines like Home Economics, Computer Studies and Vocational courses. These are fundamental issues that need to be addressed if the children of the low in the society will have access to quality education and become global shapers.

The solution is not in creating ‘Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES)” that breeds a sense of entitlement in young people to be dependent on the government for N20,000 monthly stipend. It is not in conditional cash transfer of N10,000 to run a business that depends on electricity, fuel and energy which collects N30,000 from them.

Let me jump a bit and talk about our university system. I grew up to know that the best universities you can attend are the federal institutions; OAU, UI, FUNAAB, UNILAG etc. In fact, a line in the OAU anthem says ‘Africa’s most beautiful campus’. Even if private schools were appealing to me then, where on earth would I raise hundreds of thousands to pay for tuition let alone upkeep?

Right now, the tables are turning and private universities are leading the so-called ‘Africa’s most beautiful campuses’ in aesthetics, infrastructure and quality. I wish one day we have a young, brilliant and vibrant education minister that can dedicate a week or two annually just to visit student hostels in these federal universities. I also wish that one day, we have a young, brilliant and vibrant president who can sacrifice a week or two annually to meet with Vice Chancellors of Federal Universities to review and question how funds are appropriated.

We cannot do this until we have a bold leader who would make education his top priority. It is a big shame that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are indicting our so-called erudite scholars in the universities for misappropriation. These are people entrusted with moulding the future of this country.

On May 22, 2016, I wrote a piece titled “Who is Adamu Adamu?” the article was as a result of the frustration I encountered each time our team visited local communities in the south-west and witness the dearth in education. I agree that we have commissioners of education in these states but the policy drafting and implementation are being controlled from the centre. And these make the commissioners more or less political figureheads assigned to those posts so to amass resources for the next election cycle. Every institution in Nigeria including education; NIPOST, NPF, NRC, NABTEB, NIT, UBE etc are being controlled and directed from the centre. This sort of system leaves no room for accountability at the state or local government level.

The Federal Government in February 2018 promised to declare a ‘state of emergency in education’ by March 2018 but seven months had gone now and not a single word from the federal ministry. After several pressures from interest groups, the ministry began what it called “Mass Literacy Campaign” to be enabled by IT. I wonder what that means in this century and the objective of such an endless initiative. It’s already less than seven months to the end of this administration (if not re-elected) and no significant capacity investment had been made by the ministry.

Lastly, it would be an injustice on my part if I don’t recognize the individual efforts of some states like Oyo, Osun and Kaduna contributing positively to this sphere. Oyo State government for example initiated the first intervention scheme tagged ‘OYOMESI’ led by Dr Akin-Alabi, Special Adviser on Education; the initiative has received commendations from UNESCO and DAWN commission thereby recommending same for other states in the west. The Osun States, on the other hand, inaugurated a committee led by Prof Wole Soyinka in 2010 and has followed through with the committee’s recommendation on infrastructures for public schools. Kaduna State is doing a whole lot on teacher capacity development and ensuring only qualified teachers are teaching in public schools.

While it is understandable that the children of rich politicians and public servants don’t attend our public schools, I would, therefore, appeal to government and policymakers to rethink and start investing in the lives of pupils and students in our public institutions. They are our ambassadors and tomorrow’s global leaders.

Adetunji Adeniran is the Founder Hopefield Network

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By Reuben Abati

One of the usual features on Nigerian social media is the nostalgic passion with which Nigerians often distribute pictures of the old Nigeria Airways and how that company once considered one of the best in Africa was mismanaged and made to fail. Established in 1958, it was liquidated in 2003.

I have seen pictures of old tickets, images of Nigeria Airways pilots and crew, and for anyone who travelled with Nigeria Airways, you cannot but be moved to pity.

Pity yes, because while Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa can no longer manage an airline of its own, the African skies are dominated by such airlines as Ethiopian airlines, Air Maroc, Kenya Airways, and South African airlines. Rwanda has a functional airline too. There is also Air Namibia.

ICYMI: 12 hours with ex-Nigeria Airways workers: Tales of pains, abject poverty, and death

The assets of the Nigeria Airways of old have not only been liquidated; most of its former staffs are wasting away. In the aviation sector, Nigeria has the biggest market in Africa, and has signed Bilateral Air Service Agreements with over 70 countries, but it lacks the capacity to compete. Even the few private airlines operating within the country are barely struggling to survive.

The agony of the Nigerian air traveller is not something to be imagined: we all face a daily grind of disappointment from airlines that cancel flights at will and offer no explanation.

When you complain, the airlines simply tell you that things are very hard. So, if things are hard, are they supposed to be so shabby? The other month, the door of an aircraft on the domestic route flew off as the plane landed.

That has not stopped Nigerians from patronizing that same airline. Most of the country’s airports are also poorly equipped and poorly maintained. The air-conditioning rarely works; the toilets are a nightmare. Aviation is big business but more than that, it is a major catalyst for economic growth and development. If there is any sector that is in urgent need of rescue, the Nigerian aviation sector is that sector.

It is therefore a thing of interest that the Federal Government says it is now determined to revitalize the aviation sector and bring back Nigeria Airways or Air Nigeria as it has been referred to.

This much was disclosed when the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika received a certificate of no objection, an Outline Business Case certificate of compliance it is called, from the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC).

Today, July 18, in London, Minister Sirika is launching a Road Show to attract investors, and formally unveil the name, the logo, the colour scheme and the structure of the national carrier.

It all sounds so exciting and I am sure many Nigerians who agonise daily over how other African countries seem to succeed where we keep failing would like to see Nigeria run its own national airline and create opportunities for the business sector. The only problem that I see is that there is so much that is opaque in the proposals that have been put forward so far by Mr. Sirika. Being a former pilot, the Minister is definitely not a tyro in the business, but as he engages both the local and international audience, there are many questions that must be addressed. I intend to raise a few of these in this preliminary comment.

The Ministry of Transportation and ICRC, the regulatory body, do not seem to be on the same page. The ICRC and similar institutions involved may face challenges with their own reputation. The Outline Business Case Certificate by the ICRC seems to agree only in principle that a national carrier can be established. It goes further to give specific conditions under which this may be done, and the Minister himself has quoted some of these conditions which the Ministry under his watch seems to be breaching already.

Having noted that the business case and market study submitted to it are “in substantial compliance with the ICRC Act, 2005 and the National Policy on Public Private Partnership”, the ICRC avers: “This certificate is granted on the condition that the Federal Government demonstrates her commitment to leverage private sector capital and expertise towards the establishment of the National Carrier through the provision of an upfront grant/Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to fund aircraft acquisition/start-up capital.

The FGN also agrees to zero contribution to airline management decisions and zero management control by the government. Any attempt to impose government control over the management of the Airline invalidates this certificate and the entire process”.

It goes further: “In view of the fact that the mitigating conditions for the project may change over time, this Certificate is valid for 12 months from the date indicated below. This certificate is therefore issued to enable the Ministry commence an international open competitive bidding process to procure a world-class strategic investor to manage, operate, maintain, and invest in the National Carrier.”

The ICRC provides further information on its website with regard to other aviation sector projects including the development of an aerotropolis, the establishment of a maintenance, repair and overhaul centre (MRO) and the development of cargo/agro-allied airport terminals.

Except the role of the infrastructure concession regulatory body is a mere formality, I do not see any evidence that the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Transportation (Aviation) is keen about compliance with the strict provisions outlined in the Certificate of No Objection.

The Road Show scheduled for Farnborough, London, tomorrow, does not sound like “an open competitive bidding”; it is a launch. Do you do a roadshow for a transaction that does not yet exist, or for a company that is not yet in existence? Minister Sirika and whoever his transaction advisers may be have already determined that the proposed airline would cost the Nigeria government $8.8 million.  How was that arrived at? He has also talked about a take-off grant of $300 million to purchase 5 aircraft to be delivered by December 19?

There certainly must be some known best practices in the setting up of a national carrier. Whatever business model, that we are following does not look like the very best. Who starts an airline by first buying aircraft at full cost? Hadi Sirika reportedly met with officials of Boeing, the aircraft maker in May. Would it not be better to lease the proposed five aircraft from Boeing and enter into a partnership agreement with them, with a private investor in charge of the new airline?

The ICRC says the Federal Government must not operate or control the proposed airline.  This is precisely what Hadi Sirika and his team are already doing.  And if they say no, and insist that the private sector is already involved in the project, perhaps Mr. Sirika will disclose this tomorrow in London! But let him also disclose basic information about when the tender was placed for an “open competitive bidding.”

And if there was no tender, who is that person who may have appropriated the power to determine the private sector partners for the national carrier? And when Mr. Sirika talks about a N300 million for the purchase of five aircraft to be delivered by December 2018, he should be asked where that money is coming from? Is it provided for in the 2018 budget?  And if so, under what line entry, or will the money come through virement?

The National Assembly should raise these questions. Nobody should use taxpayer’s funds to buy some end-of-life aircraft and claim that they are setting up an airline for Nigerians.

I also find it curious that all the relevant persons and agencies that should be involved in the planning of something as important as a national airline have been quiet. Did the National Economic Council headed by the Vice-President discuss the matter for example? Is the Ministry of National Planning aware of it? Is the proposed airline part of the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP), and what is the framework in place to ensure fairness and transparency? Is the substantive Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi even involved in this at all; his studied silence is odd.  Or abi the thing no concern am?

If Nigeria must have a national airline again, then we must get it right. This is my point. The ICRC is obviously insisting on private sector control and management, because it was government inefficiency that killed off the old Nigeria Airways. The airline became a gravy train for the big men in high places.

They used the planes for their private purposes, including going for weekend parties in London at government expense. Directors of government agencies and departments travelled with the airline on free tickets. Nigeria Airways was supposed to provide a hub for the aviation sector in Africa, its eventual mismanagement made that impossible. We must learn from history in order not to repeat it. Sirika says the proposed airline will take advantage of the African Single Air Transport Market.

The Open Skies Agreement is part of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement – 44 countries signed up to it in Kigali in March. Nigeria wants to benefit from this agreement, but it is yet to make up its mind about the value of African integration and free trade. You see our people?  “We want to buy aircraft, we want to buy aircraft…” That’s all I hear them saying as if an aircraft is a toddler’s toy.

I raise another poser: why do we even have to create a brand new national airline from the scratch. The Federal Government, through the Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) is already in possession of three airlines that are indebted to AMCON: Arik Air, Aero and whatever is left of Virgin Nigeria or Air Nigeria.  AMCON’s mandate is to rescue these airlines and put them back on their feet. Can they not form the nucleus of the proposed national carrier;  and turned, surviving assets and all, into one airline that Nigeria can brand for national purpose under the management of competent investors, and with government providing the needed oxygen?

Would this not be more advisable than embarking on a new set of opaque transactions? Government can rescue moribund airlines such as the ones I have mentioned, encourage quality private sector participation, and just ensure a level playing field. A national airline that will be under the control of the Minister of Transportation in charge of Aviation, will sooner than later constitute itself into a threat to industry competitiveness.

What remains is a moral question. Whatever the Federal Government decides to do eventually, it would be most unfair to set up a new national carrier without resolving the lingering matter of the unpaid entitlements and benefits of the old Nigeria Airways staff. When that company crashed, many lives were destroyed. Some of the pilots ended up as taxi drivers; many of the crew had to go and learn new trade, a few got jobs with the new commercial airlines.

There was a time former Nigeria Airways staff formed a union and they used to carry placards to lament their fate and the injustice that they suffered. I don’t see those placards anymore; they have probably given up hope, and some of them may have died.

Not to pay their entitlements – calculated at a total of N45 billion, and already approved for payment by the Federal Executive Council more than a year ago, would be an assault on their memory and an act of cruelty.

BREAKING: International Criminal Court invites Buhari 

Oyo as a land of opportunity

The population of Oyo is now in the region of 6 million. The state is largest southern state in land area and is suitable for cultivation of maize, yam, cassava, millet, rice, plantain, cocoa, oil palm and cashew. Oyo is the 18th largest economy in Africa. The pacesetter state boasts of first position in many areas of human endeavour in Africa and Nigeria in particular.

The list include: University College Ibadan, Television Station, Liberty Stadium, Cocoa House, just to mention a few. The import of the state’s premier position in the field of education, sports, and infrastructure can best be appreciated if one considers availability of pool of experienced manpower (engineers, academics, medical doctors, lawyers, accountants etc,) that constructed, administered and continue to administer these monumental edifices. Oyo State has the highest concentration of research institutes in Nigeria. With a functional airport and completion of both Lagos Ibadan Expressway and Lagos Ibadan railway lines in the next few months and the massive road construction in Ibadan, all these provide ample investment and income earning opportunities for resident individuals and businesses.

Oyo State is the investment destination for any discerning investor. Opportunities for investment in the state exist in agribusiness, light manufacturing, healthcare, tourism, energy and mining (include Clay, Kaolin and Aquamarine). It’s on record that no fewer than 36 companies had been attracted to the state in the last seven years, generating about 4,000 direct employments for residents according to figures from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, while the state was rated fifth most investment-friendly by the National Bureau of Statistics having attracted more than $61m (N22.4bn) in foreign direct investment.

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Challenges of governance

However, on the flip side, Oyo State particularly Ibadan, bears the burden of rural-urban migration. With a growing population like any other mega city, the government of Senator Abiola Ajimobi grapples with and must find solutions to waste management, transportation and traffic, affordable and quality education, disaster management, environmental pollution, unemployment, street lights, security, health services, provision of portable water, judicial system, crime prevention and control, housing, etc. All these require substantial investment in socioeconomic infrastructure.

Thankfully, Oyo State Government under the leadership of Ajimobi, has risen up to the challenges of administering the pace state and delivered dividends of democracy to the people of the state in the last seven years must especially in the area of infrastructure development, security, education, agriculture and health care.

Some of the completed roads include: the dualisation of strategic township roads in Ibadan such as Toll Gate Interchange-Challenge; New Garage-Toll Gate Interchange and Onireke-Jericho-Aleshinloye-Dugbe-Agbarigo Road, as well dualisation of major township roads in Oyo, Ogbomoso and Iseyin.

Ongoing roads include Eleyele-Ologuneru-Eruwa road, dualisation of Saki township roads, Idi-Ape-Basorun-Akobo-Odogbo Barracks Junction Road; Gate-Old Ife Road-Alakia, as well as the expansion of Oke Adu-Iwo Road. Ibadan Circular Road project, which had remained a dream in the last 15 years has been revived, the first phase of the project has been awarded for N70bn, under a build, operate and transfer arrangement.

The infrastructure upgrade included the urban flood management initiative targeted at checking the reoccurrence of the 2011 flooding in Ibadan, which consumed many lives and property.

The government had also tackled the perennial water shortage, which residents of Ibadan had been experiencing, by carrying out wholesale rehabilitation of Asejire Waterworks and also recently flagged off rehabilitation works on the Eleyele Dam, which was badly hit by the 2011 flood disaster.

The state also recorded milestones in education with “the floating of the Education Trust Fund through which stakeholders now collaborate with the government to improve service delivery and boost the standard of education in the state. This is aside the establishment of the Oyo State Model Education System Initiative (OYOMESI), which seeks to inculcate moral values in students and the School Governing Board (SGB) policy, which is a participatory model that brings together all stakeholders in the education system in the management of public secondary schools. The SGB policy is now being studied by other states in the South-West zone as a masterstroke in participatory approach to the management of public schools.

The health sector has also benefitted from the unique vision of the government with the floating of a N50bn Health Endowment Fund and a Health Insurance Scheme, both of which are firsts in Nigeria, as well as the launch of a five-year cancer control strategic plan to reduce cancer-related incidence and mortality

Other success stories of Senator Ajimobi’s administration include, restoration of security in all parts of the state through the establishment of a special security outfit, code-named ‘Operation Burst’ and the provision of patrol vans, communications equipment and armoured personnel carriers for the police and other security agencies.

Nigeria may cease to exist in 12 yrs time, says Gen Momah

Socioeconomic benefits of taxes

Payment of taxes will provide Oyo State Government with a stable and predictable fiscal environment to promote growth, finance social and physical infrastructural needs and also reduces long term reliance on other none sustainable sources of financing government; allocation from the federation accounts, debt and aids. Tax payment ensures good governance by promoting the accountability of the State Government to the good people of Oyo.

Tax payment as civic responsibility

More importantly payment of taxes is statutory as provided for in Section 24(F) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Similarly, it a civic responsibility of every resident to contribute to the common wealth from where public expenditure is financed. Finally, it is a moral duty that must be performed as it is morally wrong for anybody who had not paid his taxes to enjoy facilities and infrastructure put in place through other people’s taxes.

Bisi Alli, chairman, Oyo State Board of Internal Revenue.

President Muhammadu Buhari

By Dr Festus Adedayo

Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari unwittingly provoked the age-long discourse on the relationship between God, religion and the state. Confronted by hundreds of dead bodies and rivers of blood aftermath a gruesome carnage suspected to have been unleashed on Barkin Ladi, Riyom and some parts of Jos South of Plateau State by Fulani herdsmen, Buhari, who had made a pleasantly shocking, prompt visit to Jos, as against his wont, lapsed into a narrative that is difficult to piece together. “I contested for this position (presidency) four times before I got it, so I cannot complain of the challenges we are facing,” he had said. In the same breath, he had said that, “Nobody can say that we haven’t done well in terms of security, we have done our best, but the way this situation is now, we can only pray.”

As I will argue presently, Buhari’s we can only pray reveals and indeed symbolizes the character of Nigerian leadership since independence and by that very fact, the key reason why Nigeria has remained grossly under-developed. God and prayer, on one side; as well as the State on the other are a major issue whose need for matrimony or permanent divorce has been subjected to debates for centuries. The question has always been should there be a formal/mutual relationship, separation or distance between religion, its observances and the state?

In America, Martin Luther of the Protestant Reformation propounded a doctrine that he called “the two kingdoms,” reinforced by James Madison, its modern proponent, who articulated the need for the separation of the church and the state. This doctrine can be said to be a precursor of today’s conception of separation of religion and the state.

Though secularism is enshrined in the Nigerian constitution, the country obeys this verse of its grundnorm in abeyance. While secularism means that a country does not officially recognize any religion, Nigeria attempts to recognize both Islam and Christianity in equal proportion.

This actually isn’t the tragedy which Nigeria finds herself; it is that her leaders, over the years, have hidden under the banner of religion to foist charlatan rule and their personal limitations and inadequacies on the people.

Under the maximum rule of General Sani Abacha, marabouts and imported Islamic clerics were alleged to have been flown in from Senegal and other neighbouring African countries to divine solutions to knotty issues of state.

Live cows and human beings were rumoured to have been buried in the four corners of the State House and the marabouts decided the Commander in Chief’s itinerary. Not much is known of the now-bearded Abdulsalami Abubakar.

When Olusegun Obasanjo took over the mantle of office in 1999, he merely substituted the long apparel-wearing and unkempt-bearded marabouts of the Abacha era with his Christian religion brethren who wore clean suits to cloth their innumerable sinful lives.

Failures of state and its runners were explained from the prism of Christianity. In spite of all the flakes of misrule which dogged his government, those who encountered Obasanjo at the Aso Rock Chapel testified of a fire-spitting, Holy Ghost tongue-speaking prayer warrior whom you could not reconcile the numerous infractions of his government with the pious, sober character he was once he entered the “House of God.”

While his Deputy, Atiku Abubakar, accused him of purchasing a Peugeot 607 saloon car for a woman friend allegedly dispossessed while mediating between her and her estranged husband, with proceeds of the Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF) and his soldiers stomped their blood-thirsty feet on Odi and Zaki Biam, mowing scores to their deaths, Obasanjo, with his blood-tainted apron, was busy at the chapel acting the biblical King David and rolling on the chapel floor.

Then came Umaru Yar’Adua. Dogged by an undecipherable sickness which, at the twilight of his life, was largely veiled from the rest of Nigerians, the Villa under him was said to have been taken over by Islamic clerics who took sole proprietary of divination of solutions to Nigeria’s 21st century problems and the Head of State’s health challenge.

When Goodluck Jonathan took over the reins from him, he merely reversed to the Obasanjo template as he was held by his presidential apron by a self-acclaimed Bishop who once confessed that he smoked marijuana while growing up. We are now in the reign of Buhari, a man whose subservience to Islamic clerics and religion is said to be legendary.

What unites virtually all of these rulers is what I call the disease of African Government Houses where the leader hands over government into the hands of foreign religions or African metaphysics.

I still insist that, never in the history of the country, had there been such river of bloodshed within such a spate of time, except during the civil war and perhaps, the Northern genocide against the Igbo in 1966.

More instructively, TI accused the Nigerian government of complicity of silence in many of the killings. The genocide by Fulani herdsmen last week is still riling the globe, especially when gory pictures of disemboweled victims and cracked skulls of children flash back to its memory, making world leaders lose appetite at meal time.

The world wonders why such two-footed animals who inflicted such horrendous savagery on their fellow man could have been lumped together in the same human space with it.

In the midst of all these, all Buhari could do was throw up his two hands in resignation. For, we can only pray is nothing but resignation and total handover of a purely governmental issue which needs a thinking, committed and unbiased leadership, into the opaque, unscientific, prone-to-abuse hands of metaphysics.

Let it be said that if Nigerians believed that the existential problems ravaging the country were basically spiritual, Muhammadu Buhari was not the most qualified to be entrusted that responsibility. If they were convinced that securing the country was solely in the province of appeal to God, perhaps Enoch Adeboye, Mathew Hassan Kukah or even the Sultan of Sokoto, would be most qualified to call the shots today from the Aso Villa.

But Nigerians, apparently erroneously, with the benefit of hindsight, believed that their problems, though can be sprinkled with some garnishing of prayers, can be solved solely by mental alertness of the leadership.

If the President is this helpless to ensure peace in Nigeria, he can as well vacate office and let someone who can think through the problem take over from him. We can only pray mocks us as a people and shows that our leadership is clueless, lazy and deserves to vacate office immediately.

Nigeria needs a leader who can heal deep wounds not another Buhari ―Atiku

TribuneOnline