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FHA AND THE HOUSING PROJECTS  

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Government should empower mortgage banks to provide affordable housing for Nigerians  

Labour impact assessment studies in countries with similar demographics and economies as Nigeria estimate that no fewer than five direct jobs can be generated with every new home, and two indirect jobs in housing-related expenditure. Hence, mass housing projects can help in mitigating the unemployment problem in the country. But many Nigerians do not believe that the approach being suggested by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) is the way to go. At the groundbreaking ceremony of the Golden Jubilee Estate at Mbora district recently in Abuja, the Chief Executive of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Gbenga Ashafa was in expansive mood, waxing lyrical about “a performing agency.” Not many people will buy into Ashafa’s position regarding the agency’s performance in the discharge of its functions.  

Created under the National Development Plan in 1973, the FHA is essentially mandated to coordinate, drive, and execute government housing agenda to the low, medium, and high-income groups. Over the years, FHA has been able to deliver thousands of housing units across the nation, despite obvious challenges. The Jubilee estate being built in partnership with Nugga Best Regis International, marks 50 years of FHA’s existence, and will be adding about 7000 units of different house types to the national housing stock on completion. As a further memorial, the agency intends to build additional 20,000 housing units of different types across the six geo-political zones in the country. There are other ongoing housing projects like the Zuba Housing Estate, Bwari, the Smart City/ Diaspora Estate in Maitama Abuja, Yenagoa Housing Estate in Bayelsa State, and many more. Even so, public housing in Nigeria accounts for less than 10 per cent as most Nigerians are dependent on the informal sector for their housing needs.  

However, what is worrying is that many of the old estates built by the FHA are in bad shape: they are ill-kept and ill- maintained. Many are increasingly falling into slums. Perhaps the most prominent among them is FESTAC Town, initially dubbed “little London”. Built with substantial resources to house participants of the Second World Festival of Black Arts and Culture of 1977, the federal government allocated the houses and landed property to winners, after a ballot. Like Gowon Estate (Ipaja Federal Housing Estate also in Lagos}, initially built for FESTAC, it is seedy with plenty of crimes. The sewage system in both estates has collapsed leading to constant outflow of sewage. Last year Ashafa instructed the agency’s Southwest Zonal management to explore private sector funding to stem the infrastructural decay in the estates. But nothing came out of it, as the estates continue to deteriorate.  

Developments in Nigeria contrast with some other climes where public housing contributes largely to social engineering. In the United Kingdom for instance, there are council apartments built and either sold or let to individuals. The councils maintain, collect rents, and administer sales mortgages. Unfortunately, the local governments in Nigeria have been rendered prostrate by the governors. But like several other areas, the federal government should keep its hands off retail housing provision as they are far too removed from the people. What should be done is to empower both the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) for the task of providing affordable housing to Nigerians.  

There are already existing examples to draw from. At the industry level, there are houses built and owned by private people and companies. These constitute the housing stock and determine the supply and demand of housing in an open market. But they are very expensive with short-term mortgages being financed by banks. This is an area the FHA should work on with other stakeholders if it is to fulfill its mandate to Nigerians.  


ENFORCING WILDLIFE PROTECTION LAWS 

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Nigeria should protect its wild species and their habitats

The recent conviction and sentencing of two Nigerians to four years imprisonment for conspiracy and unlawful possession of 839kg of pangolin scales and 145 kg of elephant tusks has received commendation from the West Africa Fund. The duo pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them before the Federal High Court by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). “We hope this signals a new era for Nigeria to become the regional leader in policing and prosecuting wildlife crime,” says Fund founder, Peter Knights. Unfortunately, in what has become an everyday spectacle in our country, itinerant traditional medicine sellers and owners of small circuses move around towns and cities dragging along fettered animals that have been declared endangered and near extinct by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and by the World Conservation bodies. 

 It is noteworthy that Nigeria is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as “CITES”. The treaty aims to protect wildlife from over-exploitation from international trade. It also provides different levels of protection for a large list of plant and animal species, working to protect their numbers in the wild. It does this by imposing a specialised permitting system on the transport and trade of specific listed species. By those extra hurdles, CITES has created an environment that has had a significant impact on the rampant over-exploitation of the species it monitors.  Nigeria has several animal and plant species that are listed by The World Conservation Union (IUCN) in the 2004 IUCN “Red List of Threatened Animals” as ‘vulnerable’ to extinction. 

 Regrettably, the government has not been able to adequately equip forest guards to stop poachers, who operate almost freely within the nation’s protected game reserves in Yankari, Bauchi State; Okomu, Edo State; Gashaka-Gumti National Park in Adamawa and Taraba States; Cross River National Park; and Omo Forest Reserve, Ogun State. The poachers are usually not interested in the orphans that they leave either to die of hunger or get picked up by people who sell them to itinerant medicine men or circus operators. 

This unchecked thriving trade in wildlife in Nigeria led to the suspension of the country from CITES in March 2008. Five years earlier in 2003, after two gorillas that were being illegally trafficked were intercepted in Kano, international and local conservationists labelled Nigeria a hub in the illegal trade in endangered wildlife. The two captured female western lowland nine-year-old gorillas were subsequently sent back to their homeland in Cameroon to the shame of our country. 

 Incidentally, Nigeria was once said to have the most diverse population of monkeys and apes in the world, but as its forests have dwindled many animals have been hunted to extinction. Nigeria’s remaining gorillas are from a particularly endangered sub-species of the lowland gorilla: the Cross River gorilla that lives in the rugged mountainous jungle on the Nigeria-Cameroon border. The federal government recently employed some forest guards, but they can do more by mopping up the wildlife on our streets and sending them to conservation agencies that will later introduce them back into their natural habitats. 

 The 1999 Constitution prohibits the abuse of animals under Miscellaneous Offences. It states in Chapter 50 on ‘Cruelly to Animals’ that any person who cruelly beats, kicks, ill-treats, over-rides, over-drives, over-loads, tortures, infuriates, or terrifies any animal, or causes or procures, or, being the owner, permits any animal to he so used “is guilty of an offence of cruelty and is liable to imprisonment for six months or to a fine of fifty naira, or to both such imprisonment and fine.” 

The authorities should not only make the law stiffer, they should enforce it. 

THE NEED FOR FUNCTIQ!!ON@AL PUBLIC LIBRARIES

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All the stakeholders should invest more in libraries

In most countries, a public library is a serious component of the education infrastructure at all levels of government. But we have largely neglected this vital aspect that can help extend knowledge to a vast majority of our people. As we therefore join the rest of the world to celebrate the International Literacy Day (ILD) under the theme ‘Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies’, we must work to revive public libraries. That is the surest way to fight illiteracy. 

It is rather ironic that in an information and knowledge-driven world, those in positions of authority in our country are still not conscious of the importance and the need for libraries in our public space. Yet a functional library helps in providing information to society in different formats in the bid to encourage and promote a good reading culture which is indispensable to personal, and indeed national development. Even where they exist in Nigeria today, public libraries, often named “the poor man’s university,” are unattractive and poorly maintained while in most cases, the necessary facilities are inadequate. Besides, the books in stock are dated just as it is a rarity to stumble on new and current journals. Indeed, reference materials, where they exist, are old and dusty. Audio-visual materials are hard to come by. The quality of manpower is not encouraging. 

If the current trend of neglect continues, the Nigerian Library and Information Science Students Association (N-LISSA) warned recently, public libraries will soon go into extinction, thereby destroying the knowledge base of the nation. Most libraries in the country, according to the student association, “are in a devastating, pathetic, critical, emergency, and worrisome condition”, adding: “Most Nigeria’s public libraries are characterised by dilapidated structures, falling roofs, bushy environment, absence of electricity supply, lack of staff, abandonment of library building, lack of library materials, among others.” 

A functional library is expected to stock all kinds of items that add to knowledge – from books to audio and visual materials, internet through computers and artefacts that advance the cultural and recreational needs of the society.  Ironically, most public libraries in the country–from those established by the states to those in the universities–are ill-equipped. As demonstrated by the fate of the National Library that has been under construction for decades, libraries are starved of funds and are largely abandoned. 

 There is a connection between the reading culture of a people and the development of their society. In our country today, majority of the children, just like many adults, have limited exposure to quality reading materials. And that is very telling on the state of our nation. To underscore the current challenge, the National Librarian said recently that the agency could no longer fund the collection of legal deposit resources, development of virtual library service department, capacity building in addition to overwhelming outstanding staff claims. 

Again and again, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has harped on the fact that functional libraries are very important to the development of any society. This is because people who read are more alert and empowered while a good reading culture improves the academic performance of children and students and helps them to develop knowledge outside the classroom environment. Therefore, the relevant authorities in Nigeria will do well to invest in public libraries and make them attractive to meet the informational, educational and the recreational needs of the people. 

DEALING WITH SUICIDAL THOUGHTS  

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The authorities should do more to stem the trend

As millions of people around the world marked the 2023 Suicide Prevention Day yesterday with the theme, ‘Creating Hope Through Action’, not much awareness was created in Nigeria. Yet, reports on suicide have moved from an occasional blip to a very disturbing trend in our country. It is not restricted to any demographic group as both the young and the old are killing themselves. Marked on 10th September every year, the World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) was established in 2003 by the International Association for Suicide Prevention in conjunction with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to reduce stigma and raise awareness, with a singular message that suicides are preventable.  

Unfortunately, there is nothing to suggest that there are efforts to tackle this health challenge in Nigeria. According to the WHO, one in four Nigerians suffer from some sort of mental illnesses. With only eight federal neuropsychiatric hospitals in the country, serious budget constraints, the exodus of most experts in the field for greener pastures abroad and ignorance, it comes as no surprise that suicides are on the increase. To successfully deal with this problem, the authorities must do more, including the urgent need to leverage on social media at least to address the issue of stigma while an awareness campaign is also important for the prevention of social habits that are detrimental to mental health, especially among young people.    

There are many theories as to why these Nigerians take their own lives and they are traceable mostly to the emotional and financial stress as well as pervading poverty and hopelessness. It is an established fact that impoverished individuals are a major risk group for depression. The use of hard drugs (particularly Indian hemp, cocaine and even methamphetamine) are commonplace in the society and one of the adverse effects is depression. And depression, according to experts, is the most common reason why people commit suicide.  

 Medical practitioners under the aegis of the Society of Family Physicians of Nigeria, (SOFPON) have for years been raising concerns about the growing number of Nigerians living with depression, a major risk factor for suicide. According to a SOFPON official, Dr. Blessing Chukwukwelu, “only one-fifth of those with a depressive episode receive any treatment, and only one in 50 receives treatment that is minimally adequate.” She recommends that medical practitioners who see various cases of ailment at the Primary Health Centres should be trained on how to identify the symptoms of depression.  

While the authorities must begin to deal with this problem, there are also other reasons why people take their own lives and devastate members of their family and friends with shock. For instance, underlying mental disorders such as schizophrenia, excessive alcoholism, drug abusive play significant role in triggering suicidal thoughts. Schizophrenia is a disease with a wide range of weird symptoms like hallucinations, inner voices, disordered thinking and irrational fears and “emotions that seem out of tune with reality”.  

 Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. Like diabetes and heart disease, it is a medical condition which is treatable. Many people with mental health illness return to a productive and fulfilling life after promptly seeking help. But the country is not doing enough to tackle this public health emergency and it is responsible for the growing cases of suicides. Stemming the tide requires a multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approach involving various government ministries, agencies, and departments especially that of health, labour and employment, and social services. As a forensic psychiatrist, Dr Folashade Olajubu said recently, there is need to improve awareness of the significance of suicide as a global health problem and improve the knowledge of what can be done to prevent it.    

TREATMENT FOR GUNSHOT VICTIMS 

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Victims should be treated promptly, with or without police report

In a society where incidents of ‘stray bullets’ are almost becoming a norm and where many lives are endangered daily because of street violence and cult wars, to insist on police report in cases of medical emergency is patently wrong. But despite the ‘Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017’ which compels every hospital in Nigeria to provide immediate medical attention with or without police clearance to any person with gunshot wounds, many victims are still dying in hospitals for lack of care.  

A recent case involved an Abuja-based lawyer who was shot in the presence of some of his family members. Although he survived the attack, medical personnel at all the hospitals to which he was taken refused to admit him for treatment because he had bullet wounds and his family members could not provide a police report. Following his death, the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA- SPIDEL) vowed to use his case to fight for the rights of such victims, even though nothing has happened in that direction. While medical personnel complain of police harassment despite the law, the attendant effect has been grave on the society with the loss of several innocent lives. 

Before the recent 2017 legislation signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, the misinterpretation of the provision of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provision) Act, Cap 398 of 1984 had led to the death of several innocent Nigerians. Part of the act states: “It shall be the duty of any person, hospital or clinic that admits, treats or administers drug to any person suspected of having bullet wounds to immediately report the matter to the police…It shall be an offence, punishable under this Act for any person to knowingly house, shelter, or give quarters to any person who has committed an offence under Section (2) of this Act.” 

While there is nowhere in the act which barred attending to gunshot victims, even if they are armed robbery suspects, there were several instances when doctors were brutalised by the police and arrested for performing their professional duty for treating gunshot victims. But it has also been established that many doctors simply latch on to this to insist on police report where timely and effective response to emergency victims could mean the difference between life and death. 

 When Ms Nkiruka Onyejeocha, the current Minister of State, Labour and Productivity, sponsored the bill for the compulsory treatment and care for victims of gunshot wounds in the House of Representatives many years ago, she argued that during medical emergencies, saving lives should be the first duty at any hospital whether private or public. “The issue of conditional access to medication by victims of gunshot in Nigeria has generated thorny arguments among scholars, policymakers, medical practitioners and the general public”, said Onyejeocha at the time. “The central thesis of the argument revolves around the issue of saving lives vis-à-vis the provision of the law.” 

 Two years ago, the current First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, proposed an amendment bill which among others, sought to establish the Medical Emergency Assistance Fund to cover the treatment of victims of gunshot, knife wounds, and other life-threatening emergencies. “It is shocking that despite the act, the flagrant disregard of human life continues unabated; it is particularly sad that we continue to let brilliant and skillful mind go to waste, in what are apparently avoidable deaths,” she said while leading debate on the issue. “In a country where emergency response is almost non-existent, and getting victims to hospital is already burdensome, it is sad that where the victims make it to a hospital alive, they are still denied treatment and left to die.”  Well said.

ILLEGAL MINING AND ALAKE’S ULTIMATUM 

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The minister has his job clearly cut out

The 30-day ultimatum given all illegal miners to join notable cooperatives or face the full wrath of the law by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, is in the right direction. The plan to establish a surveillance task force that would include policemen and other relevant agencies to secure the mines is also a good one. But the challenge remains how to enforce the law in a sector now almost captured by criminal cartels. The spate of illegal mining activities in several states, especially in the north, is not only undermining the economy, but has also thrown up security challenges with widespread cases of banditry, kidnapping and community unrest. 

Indeed, the bid to exploit mineral deposits by criminal networks is fuelling community violence particularly in Zamfara where some influential and well-connected individuals connive with some foreign corporations to loot the commonwealth of the nation. According to a former governor of the state who is now a senator, Abdulaziz Yari, over $500 million was being generated annually, with no single naira going into the public treasury. Since the problem is national, no reasonable country should allow such brazen economic haemorrhage.  

Just recently, the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), announced that dozens of illegal miners have been arrested in the past one year with truckloads of assorted minerals. These culprits reportedly operate different mining sites without permits. The development validates the 2018 Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) solid mineral sector report which highlighted the prevalence of illegal mining activities in the country. The comprehensive audit explained that except for isolated cases of registered cooperative societies, the sector is largely challenged by illegal miners. About 80 per cent of mining in the Northwest region is said to be carried out illegally.  

To be sure, Nigeria’s solid minerals sector is private sector driven. Through a cadastre-like system, the government allocates mineral titles to investors and subsequently provides oversight functions through policy direction and regulations. The country’s law in the sector also specifies who could be in possession of or purchase minerals in Nigeria and establishes Minerals Buying Centre (MBC) which according to NEITI are more than 100 across the country. But from Osun to Niger and elsewhere, illegal mining is done in the open.  

A recent report commissioned by Global Rights blamed the federal government for the challenge in the mining sector. Lead researcher, Nana Nwachukwu listed factors promoting illegal mining activities in the country to include poverty, high cost and cumbersome criteria required for formalising operation, and the lucrative nature of the illicit business. While artisanal mining makes up about 80 per cent of all mining activities in Nigeria, that aspect of the sector is not properly defined. “There is a lot of confusion in the industry about what is illegal mining, unregulated mining, and informal mining. Those are terms that have come up overtime and it is about what level of responsibility the government is willing to take for itself,” said Global Rights executive director, Abiodun Baiyewu.  

Even so, we must acknowledge some of the reforms initiated by the immediate past administration. These include improving mobility for field officers and organising artisanal miners into cooperatives.  The challenge of the moment is how to improve on them to significantly reduce the incidence of illegal mining in the country. There should also be more focus on how to properly organise the sector to attract local and foreign investors. Now that he has pledged to confront that challenge, Alake has his job cut out for him. 

THE LAGOS MASS TRANSIT RAIL 

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It is a dream come true

Several commuters in Lagos recently heaved a sigh of relief as the first phase of the Blue Rail Line commenced commercial operations. Thirteen kilometres in length, the rail links the mainland with the Island and runs from Marina to Mile 2. It will service five stations including Marina, National Theatre, Iganmu, Alaba and Mile 2, and when completed will extend operations to Okokomaiko on the outskirts. Powered by electricity and fitted with standard cars that are automated, the train runs 80 kilometre per hour, and is forecast to move 250,000 passengers daily. Ironically, it was commissioned last January by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who incidentally stopped the state rail project when it was first conceived 40 years ago. 

We commend the Lagos State government for this massive infrastructural investment. Indeed, the Lagos State Transport Master Plan (STMP) has made provision for six rail lines and one monorail, 14 Bus Rapid Transit routes, 485 Independent Bus Routes, and over 20 water terminals, with regular upgrades every 10 years to accommodate changing realities. The 37-kilometre Red Line, which will also be operational soon, is being implemented in two phases. The construction of the first phase from Agbado to Oyingbo, a 27-kilometre stretch, is about 90 per cent completed with stations at Oyingbo, Yaba, Mushin, Oshodi, Ikeja, Agege, Iju and Agbado. 

For cities like Lagos, rail provides a significant escape from the potholed-ridden roads and vexatious traffic gridlocks which have become permanent features of the environment. Indeed, commuters in Lagos and beyond have for years awaited the take-off of the blue and red lines, strategic mass transit vehicles aimed at easing the daily traffic nightmare. Lagos is home to about 20 million people and to more than four million small cars, rickety buses, fume-belching trucks, and three-wheeled rickshaws. These in addition to hordes of commuter motorbikes, all jostling to negotiate roads most of which are in poor shapes.  

Amid all of this, the chaotic traffic is sometimes slower than walking speed. Even in the most affluent part of town, the joy in car ownership is counterbalanced by the awfulness of the traffic. The new rail lines will hopefully ease the traffic congestion, reduce traffic accidents, take out some of the strain from commuters, and in the era of climate change, help in containing the worsening air pollution associated with emissions from many ill-maintained vehicles on the roads.  


With the intra-city rail services, many commuters in Lagos have a choice, even if limited, on how they want to move within the city as transportation is slowly but increasingly becoming multi-modal. A ferry system, even though still needs plenty attention, is offering a faster alternative to time spent on the road, just as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network in which buses run on dedicated lanes on surface streets. These are in addition to the buses taking people to and from their streets and neighbourhoods, all striving for a more efficient public transportation system. 

To ensure safety of the commuters, there are 300 cameras at every station and on the tracks, trained staff to secure the facilities in addition to plain clothes security operatives on board. Security is vital to the smooth operations of the rails as could be learned from the ones operated across the country by the federal government where some criminal elements have almost ruined the rails constructed at huge costs to the nation. 

However, while having infrastructure is commendable, maintaining it properly is much more important. And that is usually a problem in Nigeria. The Lagos intra-city trains have been built at enormous cost, mostly through debts. We therefore hope that they will run like proper businesses to ensure adequate value and sustainability.    

WILLIAMS: THE PASSAGE OF A PIONEER

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 Akintola Williams, foremost accountant and statesman, dies at 104

The death, on Monday at age 104, of Mr Akintola Williams has robbed our country of a patriot, a foremost accountant and a statesman. Not surprisingly, there have been an outpouring of tributes from across the country for the man who earned the sobriquet ‘Doyen of Accounting in Nigeria’. But the remarkable life and career of Williams transcended the profession he pioneered in the country. He made far-reaching contributions to the growth and development of several sectors, including arts and music and remained a worthy role model to the very end.  

Born in Lagos on 9th August 1919, Williams was the older brother to the late legal luminary, Chief Frederick Rotimi Alade Williams. He attended both Baptist Academy and CMS Grammar School in Lagos before proceeding to Yaba Higher College where he obtained a Diploma in Commerce on a United African Company (UAC) scholarship. His journey to accounting as a profession is an interesting story of its own. As he once recalled, his main interest was in surveying, a course not available in Yaba College of Technology at the time. But a chance meeting with an expatriate named John Selby changed his perspective and he decided to pursue accounting. 

During the Second World War in 1944, Williams left for the United Kingdom on a government scholarship to pursue his dream. In London, he joined the firm of Binder Hamlyn & Co. as an articled clerk while studying for his accountancy examinations. At the same period, he completed his degree programme in Commerce at the University of London. And in December 1949, Williams passed the final examinations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. With his admission into the membership of the Institute early in 1950, Williams effectively became the first Nigerian chartered accountant.   


Williams started his professional career with the Colonial Office in London and was posted to Nigeria same year to take the post of Inspector of Taxes where he would work with Selby, whose counsel had prompted him to study accountancy. After working for two years, Williams decided it was time to venture out into private practice. And in May 1952, he established his own firm of Akintola Williams & Co. as the first indigenous firm of accountants in Nigeria. Today, the firm has more than 600 members of staff and operates under the name of Akintola Williams Deloitte. 

Williams lived a disciplined life as attested to by many Nigerians, including President Bola Tinubu in his tribute. Having chosen to stay outside partisan politics, Williams became a mentor to many Nigerians in the profession he pioneered and helped to grow. In December 1960, two months after Nigeria’s independence, Wiliams co-founded and was named the first president of the Association of Accountants in Nigeria. It was from that position that he worked with a few others to ensure the incorporation of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) through an Act of Parliament in September 1965 during the First Republic.  

 Beyond accounting, Williams pursued other interests. He was particularly instrumental to the establishment in September 1960 of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Until his death on Monday, he remained the last surviving signatory to the original NSE Memorandum and Articles of Association. In his lifetime, Wiliams also received several honours both at home and abroad. In April 1997, the late Queen Elizabeth honoured him with the title of the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for the promotion of arts, culture, and music through the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON) which he helped to establish. 


Without any doubt, the late Williams impacted our society greatly. May his gentle soul rest in peace. 


AU AND THE G-20 MEMBERSHIP  

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Africa should put its house in order. It should strive to run efficient economies as well as respectable political systems

The permanent membership status recently granted the African Union (AU) by the G-20 at their last summit in New Delhi, India, has continued to elicit debate across the continent. But it is important to understand the context. In his opening remarks at the summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited the AU, represented by Chairperson Azali Assoumani, to take a seat at the table of G-20 leaders as a permanent member. What that confers on the AU, a continental body of 55- member states, is the same status enjoyed by the European Union – the only regional bloc with a full membership. The previous designation of the AU was “invited international organisation”.  

 Therefore, membership of the G-20 by the AU is not the issue. What Africa may be missing in the scramble by our leaders to join the ‘big boys’ in either BRICS or G-20 is the global struggle by big powers. Between the West and the counterweight of China and Russia, a hemispheric recruitment race is on for allies. What is Africa bringing to the table of these clubs? Begging bowls and raw natural resources? Photo opportunities in the capitals of both condescending blocs without money and technology? Are our leaders presenting only ‘opportunities’ for either side to exploit without strategic demands? These are legitimate concerns. Besides, G-20 derives its nomenclature from comprising 19 sovereign countries, along with the EU. Now with the addition of AU, will it now become G-21?  

 There is a measure of inferiority complex in the choices our leaders make. Africa should stop presenting itself as geopolitical fishing ground without a direction. The continent should act as a bloc of economic consequence. If we must join these elite clubs, we must work to meet their requirements. We should not ask for the standards or requirements for membership to be lowered for us to enter as it is currently the case. The clubs will seek our membership if we develop and run efficient economies, protect our people from poverty and institute respectable political systems.

 For decades, African leaders have toyed with the idea of bringing their fragmented economies together through an integrated market. And since trade is a catalyst to economic development, a single market which enables free movement of goods and services within the 55 countries will boost the economy of a continent that increasingly lags others as it has the least percentage of intra-regional trade. Its inability to interconnect and pull resources together has cost it much in development and influence. At a period when Africa should produce more and, perhaps more important, process more of what she produces, there should be a strategic plan even if we must join these groups. At present, there is none. With an African as the new Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), there is no better time than now to maximise the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). There are also no efforts in that direction.  

African leaders have repeatedly made a compelling case for strengthening economic ties through the creation of a common market without success. They tried to reduce the thickness of their artificial borders and exploit the economies of scale, all in a bid to speed up the development of the continent and to curtail the deep-seated challenges of poverty. The Lagos Plan of Action which was adopted more than four decades ago set out with the ambitious target of integrating Africa’s market by the year 2000. The apparent failure of that plan gave rise to the Abuja Treaty of 1991, aimed also at the creation of a common African market, but which ironically is getting little or no attention by way of implementation. For decades, African leaders have not summoned the political will to enforce treaties and measures that would lead to the prosperity of their people.   


Overall, the real race for Africa in the second half of the 21st century is for the emergence of specific economic and political breakthrough nations that can compete on the global stage. It is such nations that can proudly enroll in the new big power blocs on their own merit. That is what Nigeria should aspire to by putting its house in order. Other interim concessionary gestures remain cosmetic and condescending token gestures.  

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Africa should stop presenting itself as geopolitical fishing ground without a direction. The continent should act as a bloc of economic consequence. If we must join these elite clubs, we must work to meet their requirements

FATALITIES ON THE WATERWAYS  

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The authorities should enforce minimum standards for water transportation

The rising number of deaths occasioned by boat mishaps on the nation’s waterways has caught the attention of President Bola Tinubu. Last week, he ordered a ‘thorough and comprehensive investigation’ into the recurring tragedies. For almost two decades there has hardly been a month without boat accidents and often with heavy casualty figures. No fewer than a thousand people reportedly lost their lives to these accidents with the victims mostly rural dwellers.  

 Most Nigerians living in the creeks and coastlines have no alternative means of transportation. Because of that, people tend to pile into whatever watercraft happens to be moving towards their destinations. But the death tolls are getting too high. In a particular incident two years ago, the boat taking a bride-to-be along with other family members capsized along the Benue River killing all but three of the passengers. The bride’s body was never recovered.  

It is a notorious fact that there is hardly any ferry, canoe or the so-called ‘flying boat’ that keeps to the exact passenger number specification. Many of these small wooden canoes most often carry passengers far beyond their capacity. In some instances, boats that were constructed to carry not more than 20 persons could be loaded with 50 or more passengers especially at peak periods when people are in a hurry to get back to their places. Consequently, when the canoe encounters stormy conditions along the water, the sheer weight of the human cargo and other luggage would make it easily susceptible to capsizing.  

Aside from overloading, another cause of these marine accidents is the fact that most of the boats are old and suffer from lack of proper maintenance. Perhaps more important is the obvious absence of enforcement of safety standards. In fact, not much is known about the existence of any mandatory operational guidelines for ownership of ferries and boats and the minimum standards that must be met to be in the business of ferrying people through the waters. Furthermore, the fact that there are usually no life jackets on board is a sure guarantee that casualty was bound to be high..  

Some of the accidents also result from the carelessness of relevant authorities. Last week, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) spokesman, Hussain Ibrahim, disclosed the cause of the latest boat accident that claimed 30 lives.“The people stay up on the stream of Jebba Dam and the river was recently dredged to create more space for carrying parcels of the water. In the process of this dredging, some trees were cut down but not completely down,” according to Ibrahim. “So, when the water rises, you will not see these tree stumps. The boat had a collision with a tree stump, and it was what caused the breakage of the boat and caused it to capsize.” 

There is no doubt that water transportation could be one clear source of decongesting the roads in places where road travel could result in spending frustrating hours in traffic. However, the operational standard should be enforced nationally so that all ferry and canoe operators have a universal safety standard. There should also be regular inspection of these boats just as motor vehicles are inspected for their road worthiness to detect dilapidated and rickety ones which constitute serious hazard.  

Provision of emergency services along the waterways is also important. The absence of such emergency agencies often contributes to the high casualty figures recorded when boat accidents occur since the operators have little or no knowledge about first aid steps to take when faced with emergency situations. All these and other safety measures would go a long way in minimising the number of deaths on the nation’s waterways.  

STILL ON THE $418 MILLION PALAVER 

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There is need to deal with the issue once and for all For the past two years, the federal government and the 36 states have been embroiled in a legal controversy over the propriety of the $418 million Paris Club refund fees demanded by some consultants/contractors. In the latest of what has become a running scandal, the federal government is moving to block the redemption of about 62 promissory notes issued to these consultants purportedly engaged by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).  

 The controversy started on 11th November 2021 when a letter by the then Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed notified the 36 governors through the NGF of a plan to commence the deduction of $418 million from their monthly statutory allocations. The said amount represents what she described as the approved consultancy/service fees which were supposed to have been deducted at source by the federal government during the payment of the various tranches of the London/Paris Club refunds to states beginning from 2016.  

The letter sparked an instant push-back from the NGF whose leadership argued that the states were not parties to any suit on the issue, hence not liable to any person or entity in any judgment debt being relied upon by the federal government. As a preemptive measure, the NGF also approached the court. While the case was pending at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, the NGF on 1st August 2022 petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari. In the letter signed by its chairman and former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, the NGF alleged that the finance minister, and then Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami were making surreptitious moves to kick-start the payment of the controversial $418 million fees to the contractors.  

  Aside from highlighting the legal cases it had won on the issue, including at the Supreme Court, the NGF also made serious allegations against Ahmed and Malami, the two ministers at the centre of the controversy. One, according to the NGF, it appeared the allegiance of the two ministers in the contentious $418 million fees was with the contractors rather than the Nigerian people. Two, the ‘uncommon zeal and speed’ with which these two ministers were pursuing the cause of the four contractors was suspicious, describing the attempt to stampede the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to approve the payment as part of this plot.  

Unfortunately, as weighty as the allegations against the two ministers were, President Buhari never instituted any measure to intervene on the issue before he left office in May this year. But many Nigerians have been concerned that such a huge amount of public money should be handed to some private individuals under suspicious circumstances. In the current suit, the federal government wants the court to, among others, issue an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants and their agents “from exercising any proprietary rights” over the promissory notes. The argument of the federal government is that the promissory notes issued to the consultants are invalid because they were charged on its assets whereas it has no business with the claimants.  

However, the bigger issue is the lack of transparency and accountability that has for years trailed all previous efforts by the federal government to pay the contractors with whom it has no business. The NGF under Fayemi was persistent in calling out some principal officials of the Buhari administration, accusing them of underhand dealings in the attempts to pay off the $418 million to the consultants/contractors. The former president looked the other way. Now that a new administration is in place, a revisit of the issue is necessary. We therefore endorse the case instituted by the federal government. 

TEACHERS IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS 

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The authorities should establish an effective inspectorate department to ensure qualified teachers are hired

Recruitment of teachers has been a persistent and age-long problem in the Nigerian education sector. Relying on a recent survey it conducted, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has indicted many private school owners for contributing to the poor standard of education in the country by employing quacks as teachers. According to the council’s registrar, Josiah Ajiboye, some of the private schools provide less than optimal circumstances for creditably discharging their basic functions, accusing them of unleashing just anybody on pupils in the name of teachers. But the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) has rejected the accusation, and as being short on specifics. 

The TRCN is an agency of the Federal Ministry of Education with a mandate to regulate and control the teaching profession, private and public. The report claims that about 90 per cent of teachers in private schools in the south-western states of Ogun, Lagos, Osun, Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti were not qualified to be registered with the council. “If this is the situation in the Southwest, you can imagine the preponderance of unqualified teachers in private schools in Nigeria as a whole. Whereas a large percentage of teachers in public schools are qualified and have registered with TRCN, the same cannot be said of teachers in private schools.” 

There is no doubt that there are many challenges facing private primary and secondary schools across the country. One is their alarming proliferations, found in every nook and cranny across the states. But there are more pertinent questions: What are the minimum standards? Are they endowed with quality staff, infrastructure, and teaching materials? Who is licensing them? Are the teachers well remunerated? Private schools are tiny businesses that vary largely in quality.  

 The worry stems from the fact that there are many educational entrepreneurs who are interested mainly in the bottom line, on how much they can reap from their investments. Some of the teachers they hire are, to put it mildly, incompetent. They are neither trained nor committed, just hanging in there for want of anything else. Perhaps these are the ones the NAPPS president, Abayomi Otubela, referred to as “illegal schools.” Some of their teachers receive less than N20,000 a month. And there are plenty of them. But there are also many private schools who are meticulous, equipped with quality and well remunerated teachers and operate from the best of environment. They are disciplined and orderly. Indeed, they are not only competing well and holding their own, but they are also contributing to laying a solid foundation for many of our children. 

 The crisis in education is a systemic one that cannot be dumped at the doorstep of private schools.  While many public schools in Nigeria pay their teachers far more than private ones, their students are often worse off. Many government teachers are often absent from schools at any given time, for one reason or the other as teachers spend their time engaged in things not related to their job during official hours. Many poor parents would prefer to send their children to private schools if they could afford it. Indeed, the fact that poor parents are sending their children to private schools instead of free public schools speaks volumes. Even though private schools train a small fraction of the population they have consistently recorded better results in external examinations. 

The TRCN has taken the commendable step by its campaign of ensuring that teachers are certified professionals, besides calling on states to vet the list of teachers before registering new schools. It must now establish an effective inspectorate department, while ensuring that school proprietors do not take undue liberties with the curriculum, or toy with the future of our children. 

DISASTERS IN MOROCCO AND LIBYA 

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The catastrophe in Morocco and Libya provides lessons for Nigeria

Within a period of 48 hours, two horrendous disasters occurred in two North African countries – Morocco and Libya – claiming thousands of lives and causing incalculable economic loss. It started in Morocco on 8th September when an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 shook the country’s High Atlas Mountains, 71 kilometres from Marrakesh. Many remote villages and towns in the neighbourhood were destroyed, killing many inhabitants, and in some cases wiping off members of the same family. At the end, no fewer than 3,000 deaths were recorded with many more injured from massive boulders that smashed into them. In Morocco today, the air is reportedly filled with the stench of decomposing bodies because of the difficult and inaccessible terrain that has made rescue efforts almost impossible.  

Unfortunately, at a time the African continent and the rest of the world were mourning the untold loss in Morocco, ‘Storm Daniel’ made landfall in Libya, causing devastating flash floods worsened by the burst of two dams. With that, large volumes of water at very high speed swept through the coastal North-eastern city of Derna, washing humans, houses, vehicles and everything on its path into the Mediterranean Sea. The death toll has exceeded 11,000 with about the same number yet to be accounted for. Meanwhile, decomposing bodies are still washing up the shores of the Mediterranean Sea at Derna. 

 Unlike the earthquake in Morocco, the heavy rainfall caused by Storm Daniel is an extreme weather event associated with climate change. In Libya, vulnerable populations are worst hit because of the ongoing conflict between the Western and Eastern regions that has made governance and maintenance of infrastructure, such as the dams, difficult. “The convergence of climate-related disasters, protracted crisis, and economic instability in Libya creates a lethal cocktail that leaves people and communities grappling with minimal preparedness, inadequate infrastructure, and limited access to essential services. This triple burden of challenges makes it extraordinarily difficult for them to cope and recover,” the International Rescue Committee (IRC) stated during the week. 

 According to experts, the absence of early warning systems exacerbated the death toll in Morocco and Libya. This same problem is in most of the developing world that are plagued with corruption-driven insensitivity, which is being tendered as responsible for the burst dams in Libya. People saw the fault lines on the walls of the dams before the rains and notified the government which did nothing about it until the catastrophe that has now exposed their incompetence. “Thousands of people who have died in Libya’s devastating floods could have been saved had early warning and emergency management systems functioned properly,” according to a statement by the United Nations. The UN’s World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) claims that most of the human casualties could have been avoided with better coordination by the authorities. Besides, if there had been a properly functioning meteorological service in Libya, they could have issued the warnings and the emergency management forces would have been able to evacuate the people.  

 While we commiserate with the people of Morocco and Libya and urge the federal government to lend hands of support, we must also note that the two dams in Derna were built in the 1970’s, and have not been maintained in 20 years, according to experts. Most dams in Nigeria are in the category of Derna’s and the devastation that occurred in Libya should be a lesson for our country. The Director-General of Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NiHSA), Clement Nze, recently observed some serious gaps in the nation’s early warning system that the federal government must address urgently. As conventional wisdom teaches, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. 

RISING DEATHS BY ELECTROCUTION 

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The relevant authorities must do more to safeguard lives

The recent death by electrocution in Port Harcourt of five people while trying to mount a billboard, and a 17-year-old boy in Lagos while playing football have yet again brought to fore the rate at which lives are being lost to this menace.That such a tragedy continues to recur raises serious questions about how the authorities in the power sector take the issue of safety. Indeed, the statistic of death by electrocution is long. Yet most of them result from a lackadaisical attitude of the electricity company workers, who most often ignore early warnings and appeals from residents about faulty wires in their neighbourhoods. From available records, the time lag between when a fault is reported, and it is fixed, many cases could be up to one month. There are also times when there would be no response from the authorities thus leaving residents with no other choice but self-help with all the attendant risks. 

 In several places across the country, there are many old and broken down wooden and concrete electricity poles, some with naked wires dangling overhead. It only takes a serious rainfall or heavy wind to blow off some of the poles. In such a situation, inhabitants of the affected areas live in constant fear of instant death. That is why we reiterate our call on the authorities in the power sector to develop a habit of quick response to complaints about fallen electricity poles, and exposed live wires. In 2019, six inmates serving various prison terms at Ikoyi Correctional Center, Lagos, died of electrocution, following electricity surge that led to an explosion of cables. Several inmates were also injured. Although the then Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola visited the centre in the aftermath and made some feeble promises, no action has been taken since thenIn its report for the second quarter of 2019, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) lamented that no fewer than three persons were electrocuted every week.  

 Yet, while the body counts continue to mount, the regulatory authorities have not been able to provide any solution. In one incident a few years ago, a high-tension wire snapped off a pole, electrocuting a staff of a power distribution company, and a security guard who had lived and worked in the area for about 30 years. In yet another shocking incident, a middle-aged woman and her son were electrocuted in Osogbo, also in Osun State by a cable felled by rain. Mother and son reportedly stepped on live electric cable as they attempted to escape from the electric shocks that reportedly affected their homes when the cable fell. 

 What the foregoing suggests clearly is that we place little or no premium on human lives in Nigeria and if we are to develop, that culture must change. We therefore urge authorities in the power sector to implement proper educational programmes regarding the use of safety appliances and insulators as most of the death from electrocution in our country are fatalities that could be prevented. We also implore them to come up with stringent policies to deal with many of these issues around safety. Besides the risk of electrocution, people living around power lines are prone to possible negative health effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by the transmission lines. 

Meanwhile, we should also not discount the factor of carelessness and ignorance. Driven by pressure from demand for urban spaces without considering the risk factors, encroachment of the electricity cable lines right of way has become the order of the day. And until we address the ignorance that pushes people to indiscriminately develop properties around electricity cables in many places across the country without recourse to law and protocol, we will continue to harvest untimely deaths.

THE STATES AND FOREIGN DEBTS  

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The states must cut down on cost of governanceand free resources for development

Amid continuous depreciation in the value of the naira, state governments across Nigeria have ramped up their borrowing from international lenders. In just about six months, bilateral borrowing has soared by 64 per cent resulting in $463 million financial hole.  The loans were secured by 23 states from various international sources, including China’s Exim Bank, France’s Agence Francaise Development (AFD), Japan International Cooperation Agency, and others. If these loans were driving development and economic growth in the states, there would be less outcry. The rising debt portfolio is causing increasing anxiety because they are mostly huge liabilities for the people.  

 According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), Abia, for instance grew its bilateral loans to $3.82m; Adamawa grew to $4.75m; Akwa Ibom grew to $3.82m while Bauchi went up to $3.82m. The frail economy of Cross River is in the red to the tune of $46.85m; Ebonyi, $31.29m; Enugu, $4.75m; Imo, $26.04m; Jigawa, $864,535; Kaduna, $91.47m and Kano, $24.39m; Ogun, $32.29m, and Lagos, $130.67m. There is no doubt that the value of the dollar-denominated loans is increasingly exponentially because of the steady decline in the value of the naira. The directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to remove the rate cap on the naira at the official Investors and Exporters’ Window of the foreign exchange market last June has plunged the exchange rate from 471/$ to 750/$ by the end of June and has continued its downward trajectory.  

In addition to foreign loans, domestic debts in many of the states are mounting. From N3.03 trillion in 2015, their collective debt profile together with that of the FCT climbed to N5.28 trillion in the second quarter of 2022. While borrowing could be healthy for the economy as it may help to ramp up vital infrastructure for economic growth, there is little evidence on ground that the funds are being properly utilised. Most of these debts being incurred for future generations of Nigerians are expended on projects that bring little or no returns on investment. Yet, things will likely get worse with the ever-declining revenue from Abuja.  

The rising debt profile raises serious concerns, as most of the states have feeble revenue base, too weak to service the debts. The governments actual revenue can hardly cover the recurrent budget, which implies that the entire capital budget and part of the recurrent expenditure are being funded from borrowing. This is not sustainable. For many of the states, the situation is so dreary that they cannot even take care of half their needs. The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the umbrella body for the 36 states governors, admitted last year that most states were already experiencing fiscal stress and that continued decline in their revenue from the federal purse might cause crisis in meeting their recurrent expenditures. So many of them are not only owing backlog of workers’ salaries, but they are also yet to implement the national minimum wage of N30,000 signed into law since 2019.  

Despite the misery in their doorstep, many of the states are still on a spending binge. The travel budget of a state governor is in many cases far bigger than the education budget of their state even when the schools within their jurisdictions operate under trees or are at best rag-tag enclosures with squalid infrastructure. Many of the state governments have scores of agencies and commissions which add no value to governance. Besides, public funds are diverted to political activities while the burial and wedding ceremonies of family members of top public officers are turned into state carnivals at huge expense to the public.  

What the current challenge calls for is not to borrow more money but rather to have a serious re-think of the fundamental assumption of the fiscal arrangements. The states must cut down on the enormous costs of governance and free resources for development and payment of salaries. They must create wealth to run their states as the template under which state governments exist as mere pay offices for redistributing the monthly proceeds of oil rent from Abuja is fast outliving its value.  


THE DANGER POSED BY QUACKS  

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Regulators must be alive to their responsibilities

Findings of the Lagos State House of Assembly, on the circumstances that led to the disappearance of late Adebola Akin-Bright’s small intestine have once again brought to fore the danger posed by quacks in critical areas of our national life. The medical doctor reportedly told the committee that he did not carry out any medical examination before performing surgery on the deceased patient. From fake pharmacists whose prescriptions are often fatal to fake teachers whose pupils/students are candidates for failure to fake journalists who write to blackmail, it would appear as if it were difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake professionals in our country today with all the dire implications for the society. Such is the level of decay that when an ordinary Nigerian walks into a hospital, they would be lucky to find a ‘doctor’ to attend to them let alone finding out if the ‘doctor’ is in fact an impostor or a glorified ward attendant.  

In 2016, a fake medical doctor was discovered to have served in the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) for nine years. To worsen matters, the fake doctor rose to Grade Level 13 in the ministry and had worked in the Departments of Hospital Services and Health Planning Research and Statistics (HPRS) before he was eventually detected as a fraud. According to the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, the quack doctor secured his fraudulent employment by using the stolen documents of his childhood friend and best man who happened to be a medical doctor. With that, he was offered appointment by the commission on 30th August 2006 and was posted to the Federal Ministry of Health in September same year.  

Many make claims they cannot substantiate and there are no consequences while the media cannot be exonerated from this national parade of shame. When people arrange for some of these dubious titles or certificates, especially politicians, the media immediately begin to address them by these bogus labels – ‘Professor’, ‘Doctor’, ‘Engineer,’ etc. Soon it becomes a manner of speaking and the rest is added on. In 2018, the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara lamented that quacks had infiltrated the engineering profession in Nigeria with “all kinds of persons” now parading themselves as engineers.” The resultant effect, according to Dogara, is that “our lives are put at risk by collapsed buildings and potholed roads as well as failing equipment and machines, among others.” Unfortunately, the same thing can be said of many other professions.  

Even when Nigeria is not in lack of professionals in any field of human endeavour, the failure of the regulatory agencies to properly perform their supervisory roles has given way to situations where quacks have taken over in most industries. In Nigeria today, fake policemen are all over the place, doing damage to both the institution and the society just as fake soldiers are rampant. In fact, there is hardly any professional field today where these fraudsters have not invaded.  

However, if our society must advance, we must deal with this quackery that is so pervasive. But more worrisome is the realisation that many top decision makers in our public services are people who conned their way into critical positions without the qualifications they claimed. Underlining the danger that impostors pose to the system, a former Chief Justice of Nigeria once said: “Indeed, judges find it difficult to identify which counsel, appearing before them, is genuine or otherwise. Of even greater concern is the fact that members of the public are often left in a quandary over who they can place their trust, property and even lives in.”  

We call on the regulatory authorities, including professional bodies, to put in place measures that will checkmate the antics of these fraudsters.  

FILLING SUPREME COURT VACANCIES 

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There is urgent need to appoint ‘fit and proper’ persons to the apex court 

The retirement of Justice Amina Augie, having reached the mandatory age of 70, has further depleted the number of justices at the Supreme Court to 11. Against the background that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) prescribes 21 Justices as the full complement of the court’s bench, the requisite number now falls short by 10. That has dire implications for the administration of justice and rule of law in Nigeria. “A single drop in the number of justices here brings about a sudden increase in our workload,” the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola recently lamented.  

Speaking at a valedictory session held in her honour, Augie made the same point by decrying the workload that the apex court judges must deal with. She added that a constitutional amendment was needed to limit the cases that come up to the court. “One remarkable day, we found ourselves entertaining an appeal in an unusual criminal case. Surprisingly, it was not the accused or convict who had filed the appeal. It was the state,” Augie recalled as she painted a pathetic picture of how the apex court is now being bogged down by all manner of frivolous cases. “The case involved an incident of arson where 12 goats were set ablaze.” When the Supreme Court of a country begins to sit over goats, then there is a problem.  

As we have consistently argued on this page, beyond the issue of depletion in number, there are several concerns about justice administration in Nigeria that should be addressed. While the National Judicial Commission (NJC) must ensure that the apex court is fully constituted with 21 Justices in line with the provision of the Constitution, we suggest a quick return to the glorious era of the Court when it comprised of vibrant judges appointed from the high court and court of appeal as well as from among law lecturers and lawyers in legal practice.  

The apex court is the ultimate determinant of questions of justice in the land. Beyond it, the next level of appeal is to God! Therefore, the right of every citizen to justice, the entire principle of rule of law and equality before the law which are fundamental to the existence of a democratic order reside in the apex court. Minimally then, those who are appointed must inspire in the citizenry and the international community a certain confidence derivable from the meritocratic rigour of their selection process.   

Initiating the process for appointments into the court is the prerogative of the NJC. But many have also observed that the process is flawed ab initio. The first consideration is geopolitics, which is about where such nominees come from. After that comes the practice of elevating only justices of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court. The argument has always been that senior lawyers with pedigree and respected academics should be appointed to the Supreme Court to make it more virile. Furthermore, this may be the time to restructure the NJC in such a manner that removes it from being an appendage of the CJN.  

Meanwhile, when the list of nominees is finally submitted to the Senate, the lawmakers must also recognise the enormity of their responsibility especially when it comes to the confirmation hearings. The object of these hearings is first to reassure the public that persons nominated to become Supreme Court Justices meet the criterion of ‘fit and proper persons.’ In addition, such nominees must possess the appropriate requisite qualifications in a proven manner. Reducing such hearings to the banality of ‘take a bow’ or asking questions that require no rigour will be nothing but a gross disservice to the administration of justice in Nigeria.  

TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN ORGANS 

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All critical stakeholders should do more to stem the menace

The latest, and most heinous, dimension to human trafficking in Nigeria is that it has gone beyond sexual exploitation. The traffickers now invest in the harvesting of human organs which has become a very lucrative enterprise. With so many people wanting to go for kidney, liver and heart transplants, records reveal that these organs are in high demand, especially in developed countries. Out of desperation, many Nigerians also now sell their vital organs and, in the process, endanger their lives. That some of our medical personnel are being incriminated in this crime against humanity is why the health authorities and critical stakeholders should be concerned.  

   A recent report by an organ of the United Nations on human trafficking rated Nigeria poorly in tackling the multi-dimensional crime. The trade in human organs and trafficking in human eggs and human embryos is multibillion dollar businesses, and it is no surprise that some Nigerians are increasingly enmeshed in it. And given the level of economic deprivation in the country, it is also no surprise that there are many willing customers. There is therefore a need for collaborative efforts by the relevant local agencies, state governments and the international partners if we are to successfully tackle this most heinous menace. 

 With increasing poverty, many Nigerians are being lured by traffickers into either slavery abroad or their death at home. There have been reports of how some Nigerian women are often administered with drugs that cause ovarian hyper stimulation to extract their eggs afterwards. There have also been instances where female undergraduates of some Nigerian universities sell their eggs to willing buyers.  The ever growing need to feed the IVF ‘factories’ with embryos has engendered the exploitation of young women for their eggs. 

There is also another dimension to the problem with some unscrupulous Nigerians now recruiting from villages young boys and girls with the promise of securing them good jobs when the real intention is to harvest their organs for sale. Therefore, a demonstration of political will to diligently prosecute offenders would serve as deterrent to those engaged in the nefarious trade,. That has been demonstrated in many countries where prominent people have been convicted for such crimes. 

 The sheer magnitude and sophistication of this human merchandising indicates that for any meaningful breakthrough to be achieved in the efforts to arrest it, collaborative attempts must be made by governments, non-governmental organisations, corporate bodies and even influential individuals. Critical stakeholders can no longer continue to watch from the sidelines while unscrupulous people classify fellow human beings as commodities and exploit their ignorance and desperation. 

 For years, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has been raising the alarm over the increase in organ harvesting in the country. A former Director General, Julie Okah-Donli once argued that some people were being allowed to get away with murder, following the rescue of a 10-month-old baby whose eyeballs were being gouged out. 

 All said, trafficking in human person and trafficking in human organs cannot be combated without the effective reform of the country’s criminal justice system. That explains why it is important for NAPTIP to partner with other organisations in tackling this threat. NAPTIP officials have always cited corruption and slow judicial process as the main obstacles in bringing human trafficking offenders to justice. But beyond mere lamentation, all the stakeholders must pull resources together to effectively tackle the human trafficking scourge and its allied crime of organ trafficking. 

THE ABDUCTION OF VARSITY STUDENTS  

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The authorities should do more to safeguard students

The killings, abductions of staff and students as well as the wanton destruction of school structures have impacted negatively on education, especially in many northern states. While many secondary schools have in recent years been target of these criminal gangs, that they would carry their dastardly operation to a tertiary institution is why the authorities should be concerned. On 22 September, according to the police, suspected bandits, riding on motorcycles, armed with sophisticated weapons invaded three students’ rented apartments in Sabon Gida Village near the Federal University Gusau and kidnapped an unspecified number of students.  

Unfortunately, at a time when Zamfara officials and their federal counterparts should be working together to secure the release of the students, they are engaging in war of words. Yet, the governor of Zamfara State must understand that incidents like this explain why many parents would rather keep their children out of school. “Attacks on education create a ripple effect and set in motion a range of negative impacts,” according to the Chief Executive of Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Josiah Ajiboye, “such as loss of education, early marriage, early pregnancy, and stigma associated with sexual violence and children born from rape, all of which can dramatically affect female students’ futures.” Indeed, Manuel Fotaine, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) director for Emergency Programmes has long noted that when schools are under repeated attacks and students become targets “not only are their lives shattered, but the future of the nation is also stolen.”   

 It all started with the 25th February 2014 brutal attacks on Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State. It was designed to instill fear in the minds of children and their teachers and to discourage the parents from sending their wards to school. On that tragic night, no fewer than 51 students were murdered. Attacks on other schools were to follow across many states. Thousands of boys and girls abducted from several schools, particularly at the peak of the conflict, were used as suicide bombers, while the girls were also subjected to all kinds of indignities, including forced “marriages” and sexual violence.   


   In 2018, some criminal gangs abducted 108 schoolgirls from Dapchi before most were eventually returned after a controversial deal in which a Christian girl (Leah Sharibu) was left behind reportedly on account of her faith. In 2019, gunmen killed three people at the College of Agriculture and Animal Science in Bakura, Zamfara State, and kidnapped 15 students and four staff. In December 2020, motorbike-riding bandits attacked Government Secondary School, Kankara in Katsina State to ferry away about 300 students. Some weeks later, they also snatched pupils and a teacher of an Islamic seminary heading home after school in the same state. In February 2021, a school pupil was killed, and 27 others were abducted by armed men from their school in Kagara, Niger State.    

The spate of violence has prompted many to look out for ways of safeguarding students and teachers from physical threats and generally making the schools safe for study. The Safe Schools Initiative launched in 2014 after the Chibok kidnap was meant to counter the growing attacks on the right to education and to build community security groups to promote safe zones for education, consisting of teachers, parents, police, and community leaders. Endorsed by the federal government in May 2015, the Safe School Initiative, with the support of national and international organisations, has developed several measures to rebuild schools and provide improved security for schools. Now that these criminal gangs are targeting universities in the North, critical stakeholders must find workable solution to deal with the challenge.  

REVISITING THE E-CUSTOMS PROJECT  

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There is urgent need to look into the e-customs project

For Nigeria, the E-Customs Project is supposed to be a landmark initiative by the federal government to provide a digital platform for holistic automation of customs processes covering administration, payments, border management, import, export, and transit processing. The aim is to migrate the Nigeria Customs Service (NSC) operations to paperless systems. Unfortunately, a project that aims to instil transparency and accountability is at risk because of inability to stick to rules.  Curiously, at the twilight of the Muhammadu Buhari administration in April, the FEC gave a fresh approval to another company as a concessionaire, despite the subsisting contract and the ongoing court case about its enforcement. The former Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, feigned ignorance on the matter.  

The story began in 2015, when the ‘NCS Modernisation Project’ was conceived and developed as a qualification evaluation, based on pass-fail criteria for bidding companies. The presidency adopted the project as its initiatives on ‘Custom Modernisation Project (Establishment of a digital/paperless customs administration).’ The evaluation summary covered financial capability, eligibility, presentation content, and experience. The NCS hosted presentations from 94 companies, ending with an offer to Bionica Technologies (WA) Limited “to partner with the NCS by direct capital investment to modernise the scanners and ICT infrastructure of the NCS”. While the financial consultants of Bionica prepared the economic model in cooperation with the Africa Finance Corporation and First Bank, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) and other government transaction advisers endorsed it. At the end of these processes, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) gave the green light to Bionica in September 2020.   

However, the former Comptroller General of Customs, Hameed Ali, had a different idea as he, along with the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) officials brought in another contractor to execute the same project. They sidelined the extant approval issued by the FEC for the E-Customs Project and contracted a new SPV named Trade Modernisation Project Limited (TMPL) to handle the project. This came almost two years after FEC approval and alleging “recalcitrance” on the part of Bionica, amid speculations that the project is ceding responsibilities of the Customs Service to private contractors. But this raises a serious question: Why should Customs override FEC approval without cancelling the previous one by the President-in-Council?    

For years, the country’s ports remain enmeshed in corruption and inefficiency. Due to incessant breakdown of equipment such as scanners for examination of imported goods, many containers bearing dangerous goods including illicit drugs and guns find their way easily into the country, and in the process endangering everyone. Thus, besides improving Customs’ clearance efficiency and trading facilitation and stemming tax and duties’ evasion, the e-Customs project will enhance national security through the development of systems and networks aimed at prevention and suppression of smuggling activities. In obvious choice for peace and path of prosperity for the nation and ease of doing business, the acting NCS Comptroller General, Adewale Adeniyi, said recently of the need to find way around the issue.


Indeed, the country has paid dearly for many legal battles occasioned by faulty contractual agreements. The Ajaokuta Steel contractual disputes that dragged on for decades, and the ongoing Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) dispute are unfortunate examples. It is worrying that the E-Customs project could be another unpleasant one in the making.  Many red flags around the modernisation project require the scrutiny of the President Bola Tinubu administration to straighten immediately. It must show more than a passing interest in the venture where Nigeria stands to reap huge revenue. The project should be investigated to ensure the sanctity of Nigeria’s contracts and agreements. A country with a crippled economy cannot afford to fritter away resources it does not have on expensive legal battles.    

NIGERIA AT 63: RETHINKING GOVERNANCE  

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There is urgent need to trim the cost of governance

Despite recent measures that have pauperised majority of Nigerians, it is unconscionable that profligacy remains the name of the game for public officials at all levels of government. With the long convoys of vehicles that accompany government functionaries around town, the jumbo expenditure on consumption in various government houses and a plethora of political appointees, most of them with no clear or meaningful schedules, there are groans about the expensive nature of our democracy. Therefore, as Nigeria marks its 63rd independence anniversary today, albeit with a sense of foreboding, people in leadership positions must reflect on some of the things that are keeping the country down.  

We make these observations against the background of the ‘shared sacrifice’ mantra, following the recent fuel price hike, and merging of the exchange rates. We see, instead, an ever-growing number of idle public officials being appointed by the president and governors purely for political reasons. Indeed, the insensitivity of public officials seems to be growing starting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who has appointed 47 ministers into his cabinet aside from countless other aides. The same indiscipline is being replicated by governors. Just two days ago, the Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf appointed 116 more special assistants, senior special assistants and personal assistants, 48 hours after appointing 94, bringing the list to 406 aides. Some governors have more than a thousand such aides.  

This huge drain on public resources has been taken to another height in Cross River State, where the main priority of Governor Bassey Otu is to spend billions of Naira refurbishing his office. “I will not stop to spend money to make the governor’s office very befitting. It ought to be the signpost of the state. I will do the same in all our liaison offices. It’s when you make your abode or office befitting that will add value and appeal to investors,” Otu said to justify his decision to expend huge public resources for his personal comfort. “The renovations will be done with transparency. It is estimated that the costs of the renovations will be between N3 and N5 billion.” Instructively, the entire state is sharing N2 billion as palliative to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal!  

As home to about one out of every four black persons on earth, the abundance of human resources in the country is not in doubt. Even the enemies of Nigeria do not deny its social and economic potential, despite the generations of waste and abuse it has so far experienced. But there is a structural challenge that holds us back. The counter-veiling mechanisms that ensure some level of accountability at the centre are either non-existent or too weak in the fragmented units. The logical result is that the promise of good governance is delivered almost always in the breach.  

 Over the years, revenues from oil have stifled innovation and continue to limit accountability. While states and local governments seek oil-rents and jeopardise internally generated revenue, successive national governments have also not adequately used oil revenue to lift the ordinary Nigerian out of poverty. Rather, and in addition to rent-seeking, these revenues have served as slush funds and continue to enrich a few individuals. In the process, Nigerians continue to be ranked among the poorest people in the world.  

We therefore call on the federal government and the 36 states to begin to cut down on the waste that is now associated with government. We suggest a review of government spending and, even more importantly, a rethink of the cost of maintaining our public office holders. Most of the resources being wasted can be deployed to areas of pressing challenges both at the federal level and in the states. Meanwhile, whatever may be the misgivings of some citizens over certain issues, Nigeria has come a long way as a nation. All our citizens must now look beyond primordial considerations and artificial differences to collectively fight poverty, ignorance and underdevelopment. There is a lot to gain from harmonious living.  

We wish Nigeria Happy 63rd Independence Anniversary.    

THE GROWING THREAT OF DIPHTHERIA    

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There is urgent need for mass vaccination against the disease

The federal government disclosure that Diphtheria has killed 453 persons, infected 7,202, and spread to 18 states across the country, is rather disturbing. A joint statement from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) stated last week of about 11,590 suspected cases of  the disease in 105 local government areas, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This is another public health emergency that is preventable. And it is a shame that Nigerians are burdened with it, especially at this period.   

 Diphtheria is a serious and highly contagious bacterial infection previously known to be endemic only in the Caribbean and Spanish countries. It affects the throat and nose and can lead to difficulty in breathing, heart rhythm problems, lungs, kidney issues, and ultimately death. Like many other African countries that do not take pre-emptive measures against looming diseases, Nigeria’s poor vaccination for Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus (DPT) has become the finger-bed for the incessant outbreaks of the disease in the country since 2011.   

A renowned epidemiologist and Professor of Virology, Oyewale Tomori said recently that only 60 per cent of Nigerians have so far been vaccinated against diphtheria, going by official figures. But he also added that many of those registered to have been vaccinated could be only on paper as the possibility of having mopped up the figures were high. Conservatively, according to Tomori, the number of unvaccinated people in our country could be as high as 87 million. Unfortunately, most of the victims of this disease are children below five years whose immunity are unable to withstand the associated illnesses for diphtheria.   

  The chief factors for the diphtheria scourge are low vaccine coverage, insufficient storage and transportation, inadequate disease and laboratory surveillance. Poor response system, and the citizens’ low awareness on vaccination against diphtheria are other factors putting the entire country at risk. The greater danger is that health authorities in Nigeria are not doing enough to tackle the problem. Yet, evidence has shown that the disease has the potential to snowball into a widespread outbreak with the capacity to kill hundreds of thousands of people and belabour the fragile health system just like was the case with COVID-19.   

To halt the current spread of the disease and prevent future outbreaks in the country, government at all levels must take urgent coordinated steps, including mass vaccination of Nigerians. Relevant authorities must also prioritise treatment for infected persons, as well as set up mass awareness programmes on the need for Nigerians to embrace the vaccines and immunisation process. Infected persons should be hospitalised as against the current situation in which most persons are given medications while they remain in their homes. Health facilities, especially primary health centres, should be equipped enough to manage cases where secondary and tertiary health facilities are not available. Contact tracing should commence while affected persons should be isolated, travel advisory should be publicised especially against states with high infection, among other solutions.   

To prevent future outbreaks of the disease, there must be collaboration between education and health authorities to ensure that vaccination against DPT becomes requirement for primary and school admissions or for continuous learning. They should also borrow a leaf from many countries free from diphtheria that require people already vaccinated against the disease to take booster shots after being vaccinated for a considerable number of years.   

  As late in the day as it may seem, government at all levels should isolate infected persons and commence mass vaccination. Diphtheria outbreak is a threat to Nigeria’s health security.  


THE URGENT TASK BEFORE CARDOSO   

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The CBN must regain its esteem as the custodian of financial wisdom

Mr Olayemi Cardoso has assumed office as the 12th Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), following his nomination by President Bola Tinubu and subsequent confirmation by the Senate. He is coming to that exalted office along with four newly appointed deputy governors at a moment of great expectations and tremendous anxiety created by two immediate factors: One, the prevailing circumstances about his predecessor, Godwin Emefiele, who remains in incarceration amid allegations of impropriety; and two, free fall of the Naira in the exchange rate markets due mainly to speculations as dollar becomes a store of value for many Nigerians. There are of course other challenges associated with the economy at a period most Nigerians can hardly afford the basics of life.  

Regardless of the fancy figures and statistics being bandied in recent years, most Nigerians remain massively impoverished. Our youth cannot find work even though they keep trooping out of institutions annually. Banks continue to lend mostly to those who either do not need the loans or have no intention to repay them while majority of deserving prospective borrowers’ grumble. In general, our banks have no stomach for innovation and remain risk averse on venture capital. It is quite encouraging though that Cardoso has promised to address these broad concerns during his confirmation hearing, an indication that he has a firm grasp of the basic political and macro-economic environment into which he is stepping. What he does with this seeming awareness is an entirely different matter.  

Cardoso must learn from the experience of his predecessor that dabbling into partisan politics is a slippery slope. Occupants of CBN Governor’s office or its equivalents in most jurisdictions, including notably the United States and the United Kingdom, try very hard to keep away from politics while dealing with the larger issues of mediating between the socio-economic objectives of the incumbent political dispensation and the monetary and fiscal policy measures required to achieve those objectives. But beyond side-stepping political booby traps that unfortunately terminated Emefiele’s tenure, Cardoso has the additional task of reverting the CBN to its requisite advisory and mostly technical intermediary roles. In this regard, his identification of developmental economics as a viable policy springboard deserves commendation and support when it comes into effect. This would seem to be the most credible route for ensuring that the CBN becomes more relevant to the needs and aspirations of ordinary Nigerians.  

These are the realities that confront us and the CBN has a critical role to play in mitigating these disasters through its management of the banking sector and the general economic direction of the nation. In summary then, the CBN must create the monetary environment in which most Nigerians can honestly hope to realise their dreams for a better life through honest dealings in the nation’s financial system. For a people that have been acknowledged as hard working and enterprising, that is not asking for too much.  

Ultimately, then, the best way to counsel Cardoso is perhaps to remind him of what the CBN is not. It is not a traditional government Ministry nor is it a political platform. It is not a philanthropic outfit nor is it a non-governmental charity. Most crucially, he must neither be an errand boy of the presidency nor set out on an ego competition with politicians and corporate show men. Instead, the CBN must regain its hallowed esteem as the custodian of financial wisdom and the government’s treasurer of last resort. In this regard, it must remain the epitome of accountability and should not hide under its regulatory authority status to violate the very rules from which its credibility and sanctity derive.  

 We wish Cardoso all the best as CBN Governor.  

BETWEEN GOVERNORS AND THEIR DEPUTIES 

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There is need to define the roles of a deputy governor

Perhaps nobody expected the cordial relationship between Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy Philip Shaibu to sink this low. In the build-up to the 2020 governorship election, both men exhibited an enviable alliance by confronting their former boss and then All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, to win. But such is the acrimony between the duo that Shaibu was recently locked out of his office in Government House and shoved into the street. Even though the relationship has been patched after Shaibu tendered a public apology, no one can predict what will happen next as the state approaches its off-season gubernatorial election. 

But Edo State is not alone on the crisis between governor and deputy. Such feuds are commonplace across the political space with dire implications for governance. In neighbouring Ondo State, for instance, mutual suspicion between Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa may lead to the impeachment of the latter. The trouble started in June when it became imperative for Akeredolu to seek medical solution abroad for his failing health. As demanded by law, Akeredolu duly handed over the reins of government to his deputy. But while away, the rumour mill was abuzz that Aiyedatiwa had started fancying his prospects of becoming the governor, with his media team reportedly flying kites. He was also said to have procured a N300 million bullet-proof sports utility vehicle (SUV) for extra security. Now that Akeredolu is back to the country, his loyalists in the House of Assembly have vowed to impeach Aiyedatiwa. 

Since the return of democracy in 1999, several states have had the history of threats or outright impeachments of deputy governors, due to the rivalry with their principals. From Ondo, Kogi, Abia to Adamawa, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Plateau, to Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Taraba, Oyo, Osun, Enugu, Imo, Kano and Lagos, deputy governors were either impeached or forced to resign, some on cooked up charges. For instance, President Bola Tinubu’s two terms in office as governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, experienced the sacking of Kofoworola Akerele-Bucknor, and Femi Pedro, who were variously his deputies, just as pioneer fourth republic governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah and his deputy, Chris Ekpenyong had their problems. The frosty relationship between Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and the immediate past Deputy Governor, Rauf Olaniyan, lasted for about two years before the latter was impeached. The current APC national chairman and immediate past governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje also had problems with his erstwhile deputy, Hafiz Abubakar. 

At the heart of the conflicts between states’ chief executives and their deputies is succession, and schedule of duties. Very few governors assign their deputies supervisory roles over certain government ministries and agencies. The deputy governor is at the mercy of his governor to be politically relevant as the 1999 Constitution as amended assigned no duty to them, prompting the derogatory phrase of their position as “spare tyre.” Section 193 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, for instance, states that “The Governor of a State may, in his discretion, assign to the Deputy Governor or any Commissioner of the Government of the State responsibility for any business of the Government of that State, including the administration of any department of Government”.  

The office of deputy governor thus becomes only relevant when the office of governor becomes vacant by reason of death, resignation, impeachment, or permanent incapacity. As many suggest, the way out of these persistent frictions is the need to define the roles of the deputy chief executives of states. But we believe that the moment our politicians understand the whole essence of public service, which is about seeking the good of the people, the frictions will reduce. 

SPARING A THOUGHT FOR TEACHERS 

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All critical stakeholders could do more to encourage the teaching profession

In societies that value quality education, high premium is placed on teachers who are well-remunerated. In Nigeria, the reverse is the case. Today, many take to teaching for want of anything else to do. Unlike in the past, teaching is now a job of last resort for most people. Teachers are poorly paid and hardly regarded in the society. Yet these are people we expect to shape the future of the nation. As Nigeria therefore joins other countries to mark the 2023 World Teachers’ Day, it is important for authorities at all levels and other critical stakeholders to appreciate the sacrifices of teachers. 

 Held annually on 5th October since 1994, the aim of the World Teachers’ Day is to celebrate all teachers around the globe. It commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1996 International Labour Organisation (ILO) and UNESCO joint recommendation “which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers, and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions.” According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), it is a day not only to celebrate how teachers are transforming education “but also to reflect on the support they need to fully deploy their talent and vocation, and to rethink the way ahead for the profession globally.” 

Two years ago, apparently to encourage Nigerians to take up career in teaching, the federal government announced that those studying education in public universities would be paid N75,000 stipends every semester. Similarly, colleges of education students were also billed to receive N50,000 per semester. Not surprisingly, the promise was never fulfilled even when teachers need all the encouragement that they can get to take their work seriously. The National Association of Parents-Teachers Association (NAPTAN) had rejected the offer outright, arguing that the amount to the students is higher than the minimum wage which many states have not been able to implement. “Is the federal government aware that the number of students studying education-related courses is in multiple thousands?”, asked NAPTAN publicity secretary, Ekundayo Ademola. “Also, after being paid in school, do we have job placements waiting for them?”   

The same cynicism greeted the earlier special salary package and other pecks for teachers, including the increase of their years of service from 35 to 40, and retirement age from 60 to 65 years. While the rationale of attracting quality teachers to the classrooms is good, the federal government did not plan where the funds to implement the programme would come from. The states and local governments that own these schools were not even consulted before such a major policy decision was announced. The states have been agitating for a review of the revenue allocation formula to pick up their mounting bills. Besides, we considered the elongation of service year from 60 to 65 years in the face of mass graduate unemployment of teachers and others somehow misplaced.   

   At the 2022 National Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Union of Teachers last year, the Chief Executive of Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Josiah Ajiboye, revealed that repeated attacks on schools by terror affiliates have claimed the lives of more than 2,295 teachers while about 19,000 others were displaced between 2009 and 2022.  

This development has created classrooms without teachers in many northern states. Since education is on the concurrent list, there is an urgent need for the federal government and the 36 states to come together on how to create a safe space for teachers. 

As we join the rest of the world today to celebrate our teachers, we must understand that any nation that discounts human capital formation is courting a big disaster for itself. 





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