The Bitter Truth On Power Supply

By Adisa Gbadamosi  

It  has  been said  from times immemorial that the truth is bitter. In terms of  the cause of poor electricity supply ravaging  the nation nowadays, that fact was brought home vividly  by a statement issued by the office of the Minister  of Power, Works  and Housing, Mr.  Raji Babatunde Fashola, SAN.  In a statement issued by one of his aides,  the Minister said it was immoral to expect the Federal  Government to  blame electricity distribution  companies  called Discos  for the poor  electricity  supply  in the nation.

Ostensibly,  the honourable power  minister  was responding  proactively  to the news  that  the House  of  Representatives had  invited  him and stakeholders in the electricity  industry to  a meeting to  explain the  cause  of  power  failure  in  Nigeria. The  press  statement  was,  therefore,  meant  to  apprise  the legislators before-hand  till  he eventually  showed  up physically  in  the  House  for  grilling on  the subject. In  effect  the minister  killed  the proverbial  two  birds  with  one stone. He answered the  question of the legislators from  afar as it were.  He  also  allayed  their  fears also  at  a safe  distance  on the  mistaken  notion  that  the Discos  were the culprits of  the poor power supply  problem  in the country. Let  me state clearly  as a keen  observer  of the  power  sector  and its development in the right  direction in  Nigeria that I  find  the pronouncements  and statements  of  the  minister candid, informed  and  most  patriotic.  In    particular ,  I urge  our lawmakers  to  emulate these  virtues  even  as they grandstand to nail  perceived  culprits  for  the poor  supply  even  though  the cause  is well  known  to  all  Nigerians except  perhaps  our  legislators  and  trade union  leaders.

The  minister’s  statement  pointed out some facts. The  first was that pipeline vandalisation had  disrupted  and decreased  electricity  supply  massively  nationwide  and power  generation, and transmission had suffered massively  and such distribution  had  been scanty all over the nation. The  second  is that  many  government  parastatals  and institutions owe the  distribution  companies  a lot  of  money  predating  his  recent  appointment as Minister  of  Power thus  tying  his  hands  to stop  the  Discos  from  demanding immediate payment  from  such  government  agencies  or  have  them face massive  disconnection.  Which  ipso  facto  is the legal  resort  for  such  breach  of  payment  in the face of  continuous enjoyment  without  payment  of electricity  supply by  these  government facilities and corporations .

How To End Governors’ Profligacy

By Bayo Oluwasanmi

Arguably, many Nigerians see state govern­ments as bankrupt. Given their financial conditions, many state governments are currently facing dire financial straits that have resulted in non-payment of workers’ salaries.

The bad news is that there is a zero chance that solutions are near. The problems are one hundred per cent caused by the governors, not by the reces­sion, not by dwindling oil revenues, and not by dwindling allocations, from Abuja.. There is pov­erty, hunger, anger, disease, killings, kidnappings, abductions and insecurity all across the states.

President Buhari and Nigerian some governors 

Former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu recently spoke the minds of a majority of Ni­gerians about the prodigality and profligacy of state governors. He attributed the inability of state gov­ernors to pay workers’ salaries to what he described as propensity to squander public funds on personal luxury.

Speaking to State House correspondents in May while leading a delegation of investors in the power sector to a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osin­bajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he said some governors claim as much as N35 million as trav­eling allowance on one trip. According to Kalu: 

“These governors don’t have enough funds to work for their people because if you check, the money drawn as security votes, they should stop that...Un­less they stop drawing security votes, they will not have enough funds to work with and most of them are living in absolute luxury. So, it is impossible to continue living in this manner.

“Most of the governors are even living in Abuja now. They don’t live in their states. Honestly, if you look at the books very well, for a trip they make, they will take a traveling allowance of N35 million. What are you going to do with that? So, how are we going to progress? Let them sit down and do the job they are elected for.”

The governors of these insolvent states would want Nigerians to believe that their states are broke. In a state broadcast, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State said: “I want to thank you for your pa­tience, endurance so far in the face of this strike and our financial challenges … What I don’t have I can’t give. Ekiti State is broke.” His Ondo State counter­part, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko addressing protesting workers over the non-payment of salaries for months, said: “So, we can no longer pay salaries, even when they are due…. buckle up for a financial crash, as the state is broke”.

Buhari Working To Be Nigeria's Last President

By Brady Chijioke Nwosu

A king that transformed a jungle to a city will forev­er be remembered, at the same time, a king that turned a city into jungle forever would not be forgotten.

The way things are going, it is obvious that many nations are likely to emerge from Nigeria. When the histories of such na­tions that were hitherto Nigeria would be written, one name that would be scrolled in bold prints is President Muhammadu Buhari for presiding and writing the epi­taph of ones a country.

In this vein, There Was A Coun­try, the last book of late literary icon, Prof Chinua Achebe be­comes prophetic.

When in the early 2000, it was alleged that the American Cen­tral Intelligence Agency (CIA) had predicted that Nigeria would fragment in 2015, there was pal­pable tension in the country es­pecially in the face of the gen­eral election that generated so much acrimony and hatred and the country was polarized along ethnic and religious divides. The election came and gone, many heaved sighs of relief, believing the worst was over.

True to their thoughts, the worst could have been over if the winner of the election, Presi­dent Buhari was interested in the unity of the country. He could have embarked on reconcilia­tion and unification across the country so that the grievances and disappointment that attend­ed the election would be forgot­ten. Instead, he started to posi­tion people from one section of the country and equally started promoting his religion, while he saw the rest as conquered people, who should not impugn his au­thority even in a democracy.

How can somebody be pissing on your head and be telling you that it is raining?

Events the last one year gave rise to the frenzy of self determi­nation by various ethnic groups. Before it was only MASSOB in the Southeast and right now more groups have sprang in the region all working in synergy to­wards self determination.

Then, like a joke, another up­rising is going on in the Niger Delta region. It started with Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), and now many other groups have come out working in the same direc­tion for self- determination. They are holding the nation to its jugu­lar and their persisted attacks on oil facilities in the region has re­duced the nation’s crude oil ex­port from 2.2 million barrels to about 1.2 million.

The reason is that Buhari saw the Southeast and the South-south as conquered people. He has been accused to have an agenda to Islamise the country and his actions and body lan­guages lay credence to such ac­cusation.

Talking With The Avengers

By Paul Onomuakpokpo  

Although the struggle to halt the ecological degradation and wanton appropriation of the oil resources of the Niger Delta has resulted in the gristly end of agitators like Isaac Boro and Ken Saro-Wiwa at the hands of the state, there has been no dearth of such  benign moments when the  Federal Government spared a thought for the people of the region.

Indeed, through the setting up of the Niger Delta Development Board (NDDB), Oil Mineral Producing Areas Commission (OMPADEC), Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC), Ministry of Niger Delta, the amnesty programme and the payment of derivation funds, successive governments have attempted to ameliorate the imperiled existence of the people of the Niger Delta.

But government’s interventions are largely self-serving and this is why the results they generate do not last. Whenever there is a resurgence of militancy in the region, the government moves to restore peace not for the sake of the people of the region but because of the need to protect its interest in the oil resources of the region. Oil remains the economic strength of the nation as long as it has not developed other sources of revenue.

 The government’s move for negotiation with a new set of militants who call themselves the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) derives its validation from the fact that the country cannot exist without the oil from the Niger Delta that sustains the economy. If there must be peace in the Niger Delta for the nation to access its prime source of revenue, the government should not listen to those who are opposed to negotiation with the militants. While one does not support a resort to armed struggle, those who are affected by the ecological ravages in the Niger Delta region have a genuine reason to call the attention of the world to their plight if their own government and the oil companies making billions of dollars from the region are not willing to develop the region. Besides, it is clear by now that the military option is not workable not only because it has not stopped the militants from destroying oil facilities but also because it is innocent  people who are often brutalised by the troops.

Bridget Agbahime: Public Lynching of Nigeria's Citizenship

   By Joseph Rotimi

Last week a senior, was lynched in a market in the northern city of Kano in circumstances that are yet to be clarified. As usual, the people doing the lynching were Muslims and the person being lynched a Christian.

(pix: broughtonplayers)

The story goes that a young man in the evening of a particular market day decided to go to the front of Mummy Bridget's shop to perform the customary washing done by Muslims before prayers. Irked by Mummy Bridget's resistance to performing ablution in front of her shop, an argument ensued and the young man in typical fashion escalated the confrontation into a mob action by making the Muslim call on other potential murderers to come for the killing feast. Efforts by saner minds to intervene and calm things down failed and the elderly woman was eventually beaten to death right in front of her husband.

Mob action and willingness to destroy Nigerians who profess other religions apart from Islam has been a recurring theme in Nigeria's quest for nationhood. The attitude of religious superiority is one of the clogs in the wheels of Nigeria's progress and the most ardent culprits are northern Muslims.

In 2001, a non-Muslim woman traversing the prayer ground during Friday prayers ostensibly triggered the Jos riots that resulted in the killing of thousands from which the city has not yet recovered. Teachers and youth corpers have been lynched for carrying out official assignments without any form of justice meted out to culprits.

The lynching of Christians or what northern mobs call "infidels" goes to the core of what the life of a citizen is worth in Nigeria. How many lives have to be sacrificed before meaningful actions are taken to forestall such occurrence, and why do organized mobs feel so confident in destroying other Nigerians at the slightest provocation? Why should other Nigerians live in fear of reprisals and death simply by acting out the rights of citizenship? Why does the average northerner think that southerners or non-Muslims are subhumans whose life can be extinguished without compunction?

When confronted with these questions, southern intellectuals and writers, especially those who think they have a stake in the Nigerian experiment bring up didactic improbabilities that suggest killing innocent people by northern Muslims is simple criminality that is similar to extrajudicial killings in other parts of the nation. They give examples of the Aluu four, the Abuja six and other nuanced occurrences to justify a clear religious and ethnic bias regarding killings involving Moslems/Hausa Fulani and others.

No other form of deliberate genocidal behavior in Nigeria reaches the extent and impunity of that visited by Moslems on non-Moslems. This is a country where the actions of a misguided cartoonist in Europe could result in you and your family being publicly barbecued alive on a whim, just because you are anything other than Muslim and/or Hausa/Fulani. We are gradually being forced to live according to Sharia laws and those who should know and defend the secularity of the Nigerian state are burying their heads under mounds of political correctness.

How The Poor Got Poorer Under Jacob Zuma

Last week, it was reported that South Africa’s economy shrank by 1.2% quarter-on-quarter, according to the latest gross domestic product figures from Stats SA. Read that again: Shrank. It did not slow down. It is going backwards.

*Jacob Zuma

Then there is unemployment. Our jobless rate was 26.7% in the first quarter, the highest in at least eight years. Eight years? That’s how long Obama has been in power in the US. That’s how long President Jacob Zuma has been in power in South Africa.

You might think that this unemployment figure is terrible. It’s far worse than you think because it does not include “discouraged” job-seekers (those who have given up looking). If you include them, then the unemployment rate soars to 36.3%.

 In total, there are 8.9million unemployed people in South Africa.

In February the World Bank said South Africa needs annual economic growth of 7.2% from 2018 to achieve the government’s target of reducing the jobless rate to 6% by 2030. It is 2016 and our economy has contracted by 1.2% in the first quarter.

In 2008, when Zuma and his supporters got President Thabo Mbeki fired, and he promised to do better, it was growing at a respectable 3.6%.

Zuma has been a disgrace to the great movement that was once the ANC. His actions over the past 10 years have turned all South Africans into a laughing stock across the globe. He is a shame to himself and his glorious movement.

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Threat To Mugabe’s Life: Two Cops Arraigned

The two police officers who were on Monday taken to court for assaulting President Robert Mugabe’s motorcade outriders yesterday denied threatening the life of the 92-year-old leader in any way.

BY MARY TARUVINGA

Applying for bail through their lawyer only identified as Sithole, Munyaradzi Chivengwa and Lubelihle Nyathi argued that Mugabe was not the complainant in the case.

President Robert Mugabe 

“The State did not substantiate the threat that was posed to His Excellency (Mugabe). The complainant is here in his personal capacity, and not on behalf of the President. The two are still serving members and have been serving since 2005. If they were a threat, they could have been nabbed long ago,” the lawyer said.

Opposing bail, prosecutor Francisca Mukumbiri said the pair’s offence was of a serious nature.

She said the accused officers had no right to disturb the smooth flow of Mugabe’s motorcade.

Mukumbiri also said the two were likely to abscond if granted bail considering the nature of their charges.

The State further submitted that investigations were yet to be finalised.

Sithole, however, told court that both officers were Zimbabweans, adding chances were very high that they were not going to be convicted.

From Power Epilepsy To Complete Power Paralysis

By Sunday Onyemaechi Eze

After the razzmatazz that accompanied the privatisation of the power sector in 2013, we have awaken to the obvious fact that the nation was manipulated and misled by a few to believe that the best that could have happened to the sector was to auction it. The bogus claim by these then power brokers that privatisation provides every answer to the abysmal power supply situation in the nation has also awfully failed to provide the desired results. The wool placed over the eyes of Nigerians is gradually fallen off as many prominent Nigerians have once again found their lost voices and picked up the guts to constructively criticise the privatisation of the power sector.

A fiery social critic, human right activist and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign and Domestic Debts, Senator Shehu Sani has despite the seeming conspiracy of silence amongst the elites lent his voice to this horrible performance and failure of the post privatisation of the power sector. In his words which summed up the general feelings of Nigerian he said, Power supply has dropped to an unprecedented and embarrassing low level. We are in a state of power paralysis. It’s ironic that high electricity tariff has only led to low electricity supply. Our DISCOs are now distributing darkness. After the privatisation of PHCN, we thought there will be light at the end of the tunnel, but we only transited from the darkness of the tunnel to that of a cave. Private power investors moved Nigeria from manageable power epilepsy to a complete power paralysis. We used to be often in the dark, now we perpetuate in it. Light is now luxury and luxury is now light. We now live “a generator life.” No nation can develop being powered by generators.”

Also in line with the mood of the nation, the House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation to investigate the investments and pledges made by power Distribution Companies (DISCOs) and Generation Companies (GENCOs). The House also directed the Committee to ascertain the revenue accrued to the companies and their level of compliance with the privatisation agreements. This followed a motion by Rep. Muktar Dandutse which was unanimously adopted by members through a voice vote. Dandutse expressed concern over the prevailing situation after the takeover of privatised Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) by the successor companies.

He lamented among others that DISCOs “particularly charged arbitrary bills, not minding whether there was outage or not.” The lawmaker said there had not been new investments by DISCOs and GENCOs. He added that “transformers, fallen electricity poles, prepaid metres and other basic infrastructure are still being replaced or provided by states, local governments, communities and individuals. Customers are being charged flat rates, which is unjustifiable in this austere period, a situation that is causing untold hardships to the people. He said that the money spent on such infrastructure by communities and individuals could have been used to service other needs.” The House also urged Mr. Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing to collaborate with relevant agencies to ensure immediate amelioration of the hardships being experienced by the people.

June 12, Not May 29, Is Nigeria’s ‘Democracy Day’

By Mike Ozekhome

On Sunday, June 12, 2016, leading lights in the human rights and pro-democracy movement in Nigeria, gathered at the late M.K.O. Abiola’s house, to mark “June 12”, 23 years after this talismanic, watershed and cornerstone of a people’s election. I was one of them. We paid tribute and sang solidarity songs. We x-rayed the state of the nation. We laid wreath at his tomb. We did not forget his lovely wife, Kudirat, who was martyred with him. We prayed by her graveside. An amazon that carried aloft the liberation torchlight after her husband’s incarceration in military dungeon, she epitomised women’s potency, fervour  and ardour.

June 12 is very stubborn. It is simply indestructible, ineradicable, indelible, imperishable and ineffaceable. It sticks out like a badge of honour, the compass of a beleaguered nation. It cannot be wished away. Never. Aside from October 1, when Nigeria had her flag independence, June 12 remains the most important date in her annals.

Nigeria and June 12 are like Siamese twins. The snail and the shell. They are inseparable.  Like six and half a dozen. Like Hamlet and the Prince of Denmark. You cannot discuss May 29 without its forebear and progenitor, June 12. To attempt that is comical, droll chucklesome, even bizarre and freakish. June 12 is not just a Gregorian calendar date. It is Nigeria’s authentic democracy day. That was when genuine democracy berthed in Nigeria. Nigerians had trooped to the polls to vote for Abiola. On June 12, 1993, Nigeria stood still. Nigerians became oblivious to religious sensibilities and ethnic nuances. They did not care that Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, Bashorun and Aare Onakanfo of Yoruba land, was a Moslem who was running with another Moslem, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe. The gods and goddesses of ethnicity, tribalism and religious bigotry were brutally murdered and interred.

The apparitions of gender, culture and class discrimination, were sent back to their graves. Abiola, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, squarely won the election under Babangida’s option A4. He trounced his challenger, Alhaji Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC). He had campaigned with “Hope 1993” (a message of possibilities later adopted by Obama in 2008). His was “Farewell to Poverty” manifesto. Both resonated well with Nigerians. Abiola, who had joined politics at 19 under NCNC, in 1959, had used his stupendous wealth to water the ground and build bridges of unity, understanding and acceptability across the length and breadth of Nigeria. He had Concord newspaper and airline to help propel his ambition. He regarded money as nothing but manure with which, like plants, human beings are nurtured. Abiola had defeated Bashir Tofa, even in his Gyadi-Gyadi Ward, Kano.

In Memory Of Martin Luther

By Bayo Ogunmupe  

The year 2017 will mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the Christian reform movement when Martin Luther nailed his theses on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany. This Luther decade provides for celebration and reflection.

Wittenberg is a sleepy middle-size town on the borders of Saxony and Brandenburg. Located on one of Germany’s longest rivers – Elbe, Wittenberg has a proud history. There is no shortage of testimonies to the Renaissance in Wittenberg. The reformer, Martin Luther (1483-1546) is inseparably linked with Wittenberg, which is why we should really refer to it as Lutherstadt. But they don’t call it so because people think: why all the fuss about a renegade monk called Luther?

*Martin Luther 

Yet at the moment, it looks all this is gradually changing. Luther, who has always lived on the hearts of Protestants, is being brought closer to other inhabitants of the town and its surroundings. Not least because so many tourists, especially from abroad and overseas go there in search of Martin Luther’s trail. After all, the Luther monuments in Saxony-Anhult have been under UNESCO protection as part of the world heritage since 1996. Luther tourism is certainly an economic factor, not only in Wittenberg, but also in Wittenberg’s sister, Eisleben, in Mansfelder district, where Luther was born and also died.

It was at Eisleben that the person the Roman Church outlawed as Junker Jorg lived in hiding, and in 1521 and 1522, worked on his German translation of the Bible. This was a momentous act, of which there can be no doubt. For many people, the Book of Books is as topical as ever. Sadly in Eastern Germany, during more than 40 years of communist rule, the citizens had their faith driven out of them. Indeed, to a degree the communists succeeded in something that the Christian churches of all denominations unanimously lament.

So the imminent jubilee of the Reformation is coming just at the right time. For this jubilee, the Evangelical church in Germany has instituted a position for a prelate, which was filled by the theologian, Stephen Dorgerloh. The Luther Decade refers to the period up to 2017 the year that will mark the 500th anniversary of Luther’s legendary nailing of his theses to the door of Wittenberg Church.

In those 95 theses, Luther denounced the Roman Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences. He criticised the conditions that prevailed at the time with pertinent references to the Bible.

The posting of the theses took place on October 31, 1517. Therefore the October 31 is Reformation Day, which is a public holiday in the Protestant central German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.

What Other Niger Deltans Must Do

By Sunny Ikhioya

The devastating effects of the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers on the Nigerian economy has made it imperative for the Federal government to reach a compromise with the militants. In fact, the PM News edition of Tuesday 7th June reported the setting up of a committee to discuss with the avengers. The questions that logically crop up from this development are: What will be the basis for discussions? Will the issues cover other Niger Delta ethnic groups? If an agreement is reached with the avengers, will that guarantee peace in the region? Do the authorities really want peace in the region? What must be done to guarantee that?

It is very important for all to know that the Ijaws are not the only ethnic group in the Niger Delta that have oil deposit in their land. The wikipedia source estimates over 40 ethnic groups in the whole region and almost all of them are oil rich and suffer the same degradation of their land as the Ijaws. The Ijaws also, are not the only tribe fighting for the resource control of their land.

The late Ken Saro Wiwa a foremost minority rights activist was of the Ogoni ethnic stock. But the recent militancy of the Ijaw group has made it seem like they are the only oil producing community in the region. The import of their struggle is, if they had remained docile, the federal government and international communities will continue to ignore the degrading conditions in the region. The people of this region have always been hard working and contributed significantly to the economic development of the country at different times in our history.

Long before crude oil came to the fore, it was known as the oil region and European businessmen set up trading posts in different parts of the region. It was known as the oil region because of the predominance of palm oil production. So, the peddlers of the lies that the other regions resources were used to develop the oil businesses in the Niger Delta are only deluding themselves or speak out of ignorance. The Niger Deltans have always been productive but they have never been known to come up with one voice on issues affecting them. It has always been to the advantage of those in authority to keep them fighting amongst themselves through the divide and rule technique.

The Niger Deltans have always been productive but they have never, ever come up with one voice because of the deliberate policy of the federal authorities to keep them apart. It began with the slave traders and later, during colonial times the British continued with it by setting tribes against one another, if it is not through land acquisition, it was deliberate trade decisions that pit one against the other. The federal government of Nigeria continued from where the colonial government stopped and it got to its peak during the civil war, with Chief Obafemi Awolowo as finance minister, the derivation policy for revenue generating communities was reduced to zero.

Even with the glaring pollution and destruction of their land, successive governments have continued to ignore their pitiable plights. You just have to go to the oil producing areas to experience first hand what goes on there. It is genocide through environmental poisoning. Even with their son Goodluck Jonathan as President, the majority ethnic groups rebuffed efforts to bring succour to the oil communities. For example, the Petroleum Industry Bill was killed in the National Assembly, now they have brought out a much toned down version that does not take the communities into consideration. You cannot allow the ‘goose’ that lays the golden eggs to die.

Hopes Fading For Buhari’s Regime, Unless…

By Hector-Roosevelt Ukegbu

Early last year, in the run-up to the 2015 general elections, this writer argued in two newspaper articles that Nigerians should vote for then presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari and against Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and the then-ruling PDP. I pointed to the massive systemic corruption in the Jonathan government and how this was seriously impeding economic growth and miring the hapless citizens in poverty.

*President Buhari and VP Osinbajo

I called the entire Nigerian government system a vast criminal enterprise. In truth, my whole premise of advocating support for Mr. Buhari was not for his vaunted economic management skills, but for his self-discipline, for his circumspect way of life, for his nationalism. My belief was and still is, that Mr. Buhari was the lone person in Nigeria’s political firmament capable of slaying the hydra-headed monster called Nigerian corruption.

My belief remains that if corruption is crushed, economic recovery will come, and so will improve all other indices of human growth among the people. President Muhammadu Buhari while he met with the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury and the most senior bishop in the Church of England, Justin Portal Welby, Monday. The crash in world oil prices has thrown a wrench in the wheel of Nigeria’s economic recovery even as the battle against corruption proceeds. It pains me, as I am sure it pains lovers of the Nigerian people, that the Buhari/APC government appears to be willy-nilly trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The people are groaning under the unfamiliar burdens of severe fuel scarcity (something that the Jonathan government had largely gotten rid of in the recent past). They also contend with declining electricity generation, making worse an output that was already abysmal (reportedly from sabotage of gas pipelines that send feedstock to generating plants), and serious shortages of hard currency (due to reduced oil export revenue inflows). Which way out now for the Buhari/APC government?

As Impunity Reigns At PenCom

By Ikechukwu Amaechi

The Pension Reform Act (PRA), which established the National Pension Commission (PenCom), was enacted by the National Assembly (NASS) in 2004 to create a body that would regulate, supervise and ensure the effective administration of pension matters. Before then, pension schemes in the country were bedeviled by many problems, including the fact that the public service operated an unfunded Defined Benefits Scheme. Though the payment of retirement benefits was budgeted annually, most times there were no funds to execute the scheme.

The situation was even worse in the private sector where many employees were not covered by the pension schemes put in place by their employers, and even where they were covered, many of the schemes were not funded.

So, the PRA was hailed as pragmatic, just like PenCom, the regulatory body that would formulate, direct and oversee the overall policy on pension matters by establishing standards, rules and regulations for the management of pension funds.

But what the PRA did not envisage in setting up PenCom was the establishment of a regulatory agency that would see itself as being above the law or which would go out of its way to undermine the same organisations it was set up to nurse to good health.
Unfortunately, that seems to be the situation now.

PenCom has become a law unto itself. Its management is contemptuous of court judgments and treats well-meaning advice from constituted authorities with levity.

In PenCom, bias against certain business interests trumps equity and justice. That is a dangerous value proposition for a regulator in such a critical industry.

The story of the regulator-engineered crisis that has engulfed an otherwise frontline Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) is pathetic. It is a classic illustration of the ‘might is right’ philosophy of those who think they control the levers of power in Nigeria.

The contrived crisis which has hobbled First Guarantee Pensions Limited (FGPL) for over five years is orchestrated by PenCom headed by Chinelo Anohu-Amazu.

I commented on this matter a few weeks ago, hoping that somehow the shenanigans will stop.
But the impunity continues and I am appalled and horrorstruck by the propensity of a government agency to flagrantly disobey court orders.

To recap, FGPL is a Nigerian company incorporated in 2004 and licensed as a PFA in 2006, with a total 37 shareholders.
Despite the teething problems, the management turned around the fortunes of the company in 2010 and subsequently paid dividends, a feat PenCom acknowledged.

Buhari And His Praise Singers

By Victor Anya

It is indisputable that the greatest undoing of the President Muhammadu Buhari-administration is his praise singers. Since he assumed office on May 29, 2015, they have been moving from one television and ra­dio station to another speak­ing vehemently in support of whatever decisions he has taken so far. His supporters who have the flair to write are also keeping the newspapers awash with opinions defend­ing his actions too.

*President Buhari

Recall, when Buhari wasted six months searching for his proverbial saintly and incor­ruptible ministers, the praise singers eulogized him to high heavens insisting it was the best decision ever taken by any Nigerian President. But when the names of the “angelic ministers” were re­leased, the same people were perturbed and disappointed. Within the six months of searching for the sanctimoni­ous ministers, Buhari ran the country as a sole administra­tor and the poor management of the economy are the pains Nigerians are reaping at the moment.

By November 2015, when he clocked 181 days, Presi­dent Buhari had travelled to 12 countries under the de­lusion of seeking foreign in­vestors. By May 2016, he has made 26 foreign trips! With the scenarios painted above, one can imagine the num­ber of foreign trips he would make at the end of his four-year tenure in 2019. Reports had it that Buhari spent about N64 billion on foreign trips alone in just one year in of­fice!

Since May 29, 1999, he re­mained the greatest critic of successive administrations. He criticised former Presi­dent Olusegun Obasanjo for his excessive foreign trav­els. He took the same hard­line position against the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua, but his criticism became more acidic and ven­omous against former Pres­ident Goodluck Jonathan’s foreign journeys. As the Pres­idential candidate in the 2011 general elections under the defunct Congress for Pro­gressive Change (CPC), one of the political parties that merged to form the All Pro­gressive Congress (APC), he chided Jonathan over his for­eign trips. CPC spokesman, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, stat­ed: “It is conventional wis­dom that charity begins at home. Unfortunately, Pres­ident Jonathan has not im­bibed this. Where did the in­cessant shuttles of Obasanjo’s eight years lead us to in terms of foreign investment? Did it positively affect our balance of trade?"

Former National Chair­man of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), now part of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, chastised Jonathan for his foreign trips too. Akande spoke through Mr. Lani Baderinwa and said: “We are not saying he should not travel abroad, but the mood of the country should dictate his sojourn abroad. The Bra­zil summit is likely to benefit Nigeria, but of what use is the summit when Nigerians are being killed on a daily basis?”

It is therefore baffling that the same people who con­demned Jonathan for his for­eign travels are extolling Bu­hari over his excessive travels even in the midst of inces­sant massacre of Nigerians by Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen.

No doubt, the purported N64 billion that President Buhari has spent so far on foreign trips is a misadven­ture which ought not to, giv­en the antecedents.

Buhari’s Loyalty: To His Fulani Kinsmen (Herdsmen) Or To Nigeria?

By Godwin Etakibuebu
President Muhammadu Buhari's broadcast to the nation on May 29, 2016, a day dedicated to the celebration of democracy in Nigeria, once again brought to the front burner the question of where Mr President’s loyalty lies between the Nigerian Nation and the dreaded Fulani Herdsmen terrorising the whole country.

*President Buhari and Emir Sanusi of Kano

On that day, Mr President spoke to Nigerians, ditto the whole world, as he broadcast live to the whole globe through satellite about the challenges facing his one-year administration and how he was tackling them. He brought Nigerians up to date on the war against Boko Haram. He touched on the new threats to our economic survival by the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta and told us how his government would deal with the Niger Delta Avengers. But surprisingly the President was silent about the most notorious Fulani Herdsmen’s activities, in a broadcast that went for almost an hour. Yet, the criminality of these Herdsmen is most likely to wipe the name of Nigeria out of the world map in the not-too-distant future if care is not taken.

Many people around the world who listened to that broadcast would not understand why Mr. President would chose to keep silent at a time of tyranny of the Fulani Herdsmen. Questions and more questions would arise from the president’s action. Is he afraid of the Fulani Herdsmen? Is he deliberately refusing to speak against their nefarious activities because of tribal affiliation? Is his silence his own way of encouraging the domination of the Fulani oligarchy to subdue the whole country? Or is this the quickest means of taking Islamic religion across the Sahara desert of the North to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean of the South? Even above all, the most famous question is who are these Fulani Herdsmen?

Permit me to submit that these are not the Fulani Herdsmen who have been around with us in this country for the past one hundred years. I grew up in my village with good knowledge of those sweet and friendly Fulani men with their sticks over their shoulders and enjoying the hospitalities of their host communities. They never carried any dane gun, which every local hunter of those days possessed. They had with them only daggers, bow and arrows. No cutlasses and no swords.

They were at peace with every one and everyone was at peace with them. But today, the story is different as this new generation of Fulani Herdsmen are expert in both the usage and functionality of AK 47: a very sophisticated military weapon that is most deployed in every modern war because of its light flexibility, accuracy and rapidity in operation. This is what they carry about these days. Where did they get it from and who trained them to be so efficient in its usage?

Africa’s Chance To Lead Next Digital Revolution

By Gordon Graylish

One interesting theme took centre stage during panel discussions at the recently concluded World Economic Forum on Africa in Rwanda; that what the continent needs as much as roads, dams, power plants (although there is still more development required) is a way to embrace technology and infuse digital transformation in all sectors.

It was interesting because when questions such as “how can we diversify our economies” and “how can we improve efficiency” or “how do we prepare our young generations to have jobs” were asked, the answer from a lot of different players including politicians, think tanks, investment organisations and the private sector was the same; embrace the “3rd industrial revolution”; the digital transformation revolution.

With a 350-million strong middle and upper class currently expected to jump to 430 million by 2020, in a 1.3 billion continent by that time, the private and public sector strongly concurred that technology will have a significant impact in modernising African governments in effect creating what I call the next-generation governments.

It’s encouraging that this revolution is already being stirred in small offices and houses across Africa that have wholly embraced mobile communications. Thanks to Kenya’s pioneering M-Pesa, Africa is leading the mobile money revolution and this has already had a noticeable impact on the continent in expanding financial inclusivity.

But mobile technology alone is not enough. The next logical step should be to harness technology for industrialisation, agriculture and social transformation. The world is entering one of the most exciting eras of technology.  Everyday objects are becoming part of an integrated system of smart devices that are changing the way we live. Opportunities are endless in smart energy power grids, smart cities, smart agriculture, building secure government services and developing a vibrant globally competitive technology industry. These opportunities have the ability to fuel GDP, create new jobs, and boost economies.

This Is Our Continent, Not Yours! – President Museveni

SPIEGEL speaks with Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda for three decades, about the West's role in fostering African Islamist terror, his opposition to the International Criminal Court and whether he is himself abusing his power.

Interview Conducted by Susanne Koelbl and Jan Puhl

*President Museveni and his wife, Janet

SPIEGEL: Mr. President, as a young politician you castigated autocratic African leaders who ruled for their entire lives. When you came to power, you changed the constitution so you could stay in office longer. It has been 30 years now. When will you leave?

Museveni: My critics always forget to mention that I was democratically elected, the others were not. Everyone in Uganda can challenge me, everyone can vote, the elections are free. Not many countries have achieved what we did. One third of the seats in parliament are reserved for women, five seats for youth, five for workers, five for the disabled and 10 for the army. How many democracies with such a record do you know?

SPIEGEL: So far, the political party system has yet to succeed in Uganda. Your only serious challenger, Kizza Besigye, has been arrested repeatedly. International observers certified the recent election as unfair, and on one day during the election campaign, you were on television for 12 hours while your opponent was only on for four minutes. Is this democracy?

Museveni: Our laws and institutions are excellent, but the population is not yet ready. They must develop their views and need to be provided with the right information. We now also have private broadcasters and many are very critical of me, hostile even, yet they operate freely.

SPIEGEL: Aren't you afraid of an African rebellion similar to the Arab Spring? Uganda's rapidly growing population is young, globally connected and its biggest problem is the lack of jobs and the feeling of not being able to breach the old leadership structures.

Museveni: Our population is growing rapidly because of our good health policy. When I came into office, there were 14 million Ugandans, today there are 38 million, despite the catastrophe of AIDS, which we have also tackled. The Ugandans know and appreciate this, especially the elderly. This makes it very unlikely that Uganda will face a chaotic scenario similar to that in Syria or other places. Incidentally, doctors, scientists, engineers and nurses are highly sought after and find jobs immediately.

SPIEGEL: Last year, 1.3 million refugees came to Germany, mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, but also from Africa. Many believe this is only the beginning of an exodus to Europe. What do you suggest to stop this wave of migrants?

Museveni: Mistakes were made. But I would prefer to talk about these issues in detail with your political leaders.

SPIEGEL: Is this in reference to the wars in the Middle East or the uprisings in Libya and Tunisia?

Museveni: When the problems in Libya started, the African Union set up a committee to address the situation. We urgently advised the Europeans not to intervene. You have done so anyway. Now we are seeing absolute chaos there.

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