Abuja Vs Lagos: The Perversity Of Nigeria’s Ethnicised, Zero-Sum Politics

 By Olu Fasan

The controversies over the Federal Government’s plans to relocate some departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, from Abuja to Lagos are yet another proof that Nigeria is deeply divided. The country that the British colonialists cobbled together from several ancient kingdoms and distinct civilisations remains today, over 100 years after its forced marriage of convenience, a fractured state, not a unified nation. Nigeria is so polarised that everything is seen through the prisms of ethnicity and religion, and politics is a zero-sum game. 

In societies where politics is perceived as zero-sum struggles, each group sees its ‘loss’ as another group’s ‘gain’. Therefore, there’s intense loss-aversion, whereby each group fights to protect its interests and prevent ‘loss’ to other groups. But oppositional identities and zero-sum politics are characteristics of a fragile state because they are indicative of deep divisions in the society. Instead of inter-group cooperation to achieve common purpose for mutual gains, every group is concerned about loss to other groups, and that loss-aversion shapes political actions. That explains what’s happening in Nigeria.

Nigeria: Disaster Foretold; More Disaster Inevitable!

 By Tony Eluemunor

What Nigeria is going through now, be it religious, ethnic, social, political and economic, national insecurity, uncontrolled militancy and banditry, all our national ills, were disasters that were clearly foretold in a major publication.

*Tinubu

Next month will mark the 30th anniversary of Robert D. Kaplan’s “THE COMING ANARCHY – How scarcity, crime, overpopulation, tribalism, and disease are rapidly destroying the social fabric of our planet”.

Published in the Atlantic Monthly magazine in February 1994, it pretended to scrutinize the entire planet Earth, though it actually focused on West Africa – with Nigeria receiving a special attention which detailed out our problems and warned that things were about to get worse.

Cash Scarcity Lingers, Food Scarcity Follows

 By Dele Sobowale

“Why is cash scarce again?” — Lekan Sote, January 10, 2024.

Lekan, one of the most perceptive columnists in Nigeria today astonished me when he asked that question. Vanguard readers knew as far back as March 2023 that another round of cash scarcity was coming. It occurred in December. It will linger for a while – as long as the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, continue to miss the point. 

Nigerians should actually be asking two questions regarding cash scarcity: will it end? How? The answer to the first is “Yes”; but not next month or perhaps even March. It will certainly not end before a great deal of damage would have been done to the economy. The answer to “How?” will be left untouched for now. The FG and CBN will be shocked to know the major cause of the lingering scarcity. The stranglehold on cash supply is now assuming the characteristics of a plot. 

The Economy Is Wobbling, And The Govt Is Fumbling

 By Ugoji Egbujo

While the naira gasped for breath, the nation sent 400 tourists to Dubai to fill the gallery in a climate change conference. Two weeks ago, the President dabbed powder on the wound. He announced a cut in his entourage and those of his wife and ministers. The general attitude of the country to the looming disaster seems surreal.

At N1400 for a dollar, alarm bells should be ringing. But in the highest offices in the land and amongst politicians, the dollar has become the preferred instrument of settlement and lubrication. Nothing moves the leaders of this country. In the middle of this economic tornado, a minister signed off air tickets to a non-existent Kogi airport. The new government met a mess. But it has been sloppy and haphazard.

Will Buhari Ever Face The Truth About His Govt?

 By Dele Sobowale

“But, the fact in our favour is that nothing was done under the veil of secrecy. We were as transparent and accountable as possible, being aware of the fact that posterity was the ultimate judge” – Ex-President Buhari at the launching of the books chronicling the purported achievements of his administration.

*Femi Adesina and Buhari display the book on Buhari 

I have not read the books; and for two reasons. One, I was not aware they were coming out until the news reports about the launching. Two, I have my own project requiring a lot of money. Reading a book predictably self-serving about the Buhari government is not top on my list of priorities. However, if anybody is willing to donate a set, then I promise, on my word of honour, to read the entire thing – line by line. After that, I will write a rejoinder – for the sake of posterity.

A Word On Nigeria’s Deadly Enemies

 By Banji Ojewale

Our leaders are our deadliest enemies.

Not given to altruism, these leaders don’t also subscribe to the law of the power of example. This is the golden rule insisting that rulers aren’t graded great until they exhibit selfless, sacrificial and Spartan conduct that sparks same virtues in the citizens. But our leaders, elected, selected or ‘dictated,’ believe in the precept of the example of power. Here, the goal is, as you grab power, you must dig in, you must live in it and flaunt it and extend its frontiers like you’d be in its embrace forever.

Tinubu and Buhari

They invest their all in it, nursing it with a lusty affection that outlaws competition or regard for other existential concerns. They bequeath a depressed economy after fattening their personal bank accounts and acquiring more property than they had at the point of entry. They exploit the led and desecrate their sacred office. They arrange a superannuation that glides them into a lifetime of cloying affluence and luxury. 

Toothless Bulldog: Tinubu’s EFCC Can’t Fight Corruption

 By Olu Fasan

Ola Olukoyede, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, recently appointed by Nigeria’s new president, Bola Tinubu, is saying the right things and making the right noises about fighting corruption in Nigeria. Recently, he struck a chord with me when he called for unexplained wealth legislation in Nigeria.

*Ola Olukoyede

Unexplained wealth laws are the most powerful tool for tackling corruption, as I wrote in a piece titled: “Fighting corruption? Nigeria must tackle unexplained wealth” (Vanguard, November 22, 2021). Yet, despite my positive opinion of the new EFCC chairman, the stark reality is that the EFCC won’t and can’t make an iota of difference in stemming the inexorable rise of corruption in Nigeria. The agency is so bedevilled that it has become part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Nigeria: The Creeping Celebration Of Vanity: The JAMB Question

 By Owei Lakemfa

My experience in highbrow Asokoro on Friday, January 19, 2024 was like a nightmare. I had an important appointment and I felt comfortable I was going to be some 40 minutes early. Then it happened: blocked roads in the narrow streets. That was when it dawned on me this was the day the Supreme Court delivered its verdict on gubernatorial elections in some eight states. Now, Asokoro is where the Governors have their lodges in the nation’s capital, and some with their supporters had blocked the roads.

I was, like many motorists, trapped, but just when I thought I had extricated myself, the worse happened: Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule and his supporters were celebrating further down, and the road was completely blocked. There was no escape. While they celebrated in Abuja, there were protests and bonfires in the state. At the end of the wild celebrations, Governor Sule told the press at the Presidential Villa that those protesting in his state were just “1,000 people (who) are protesting somewhere”.

Ibadan Explosion And Security Gaps In Oyo State

 By Oludayo Tade 

On the ‘roof-top-bar’ of the Senior Staff Club, University of Ibadan, I sat with my professor friend switching between discussions on the social economic conditions and the precarity of our lives as public university lecturers in Nigeria and watching the African Nations’ cup.

We requested for a bottle of coke and mixed it with water, sipped it when we felt the need to and talked about how those who are supposed to protect Nigerians have abdicated that responsibility.

It was not long when we heard a massive bang, the only thing compared to it was a bomb. Paul, one of the waiters in the club ran up as the surface upon which he stood vibrated heavily. We experienced the same.

Nigeria: The Making Of Supreme Confusion

 By Chidi Odinkalu

Most people do not know or remember that, strictly speaking, there were and remain no official results for Nigeria’s 2007 presidential election. Organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the vote itself occurred on April 21, 2007 under Maurice Iwu, a professor whose academic discipline coincidentally was alchemy. His main qualification for the position of Chairman of the INEC was that he was close to President Obasanjo’s fixer, Andy Uba.

The results began trickling in the following day. Under Nigeria’s Constitution, a winner of a presidential election must secure the highest number of votes in addition to winning a minimum of 25% of the votes in at least 24 of the 36 states of the federation. What this means is that it is impossible to declare a lawful result in a presidential election until the results in at least 24 states have been computed.

It’s Time To Hold Nigerian Judges Accountable

 By Tonnie Iredia

The National Judicial Council (NJC) is the body set-up by law to among other things discipline erring Nigerian judges. This was probably to prevent different agencies from harassing judges thereby boosting judicial autonomy. One would therefore have expected that the body would be up and doing in ensuring sanity in the Nigerian judiciary thereby giving no room for outsiders to pry into its internal matters.

But this has not been so. Instead, the NJC has for long shown that it is incapable of effectively performing the function. Many judges who have openly misbehaved to the chagrin of other sectors of the Nigerian society, often got off the hook. Some Nigerians actually believe that the NJC has acted more as a tool for covering-up erring judges on the basis of esprit de corps.

Nigeria: Where Is The Hope?

 By Ezinwanne Onwuka

I am smitten with nostalgia when I remember the ‘good old days’. The days when N5,000 could buy a big fowl that would feed a family of six. How much did you buy a fowl last Christmas? 

*Tinubu

Oh! How could I have forgotten that Nigeria’s economy dealt with the majority of us last year so much so that we had no option but to be grateful for life and good health, and watch the clock tick away the minutes?

In Kano, Plateau, Zamfara, Supreme Court Simply Dodged A Bullet

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

Since the Supreme Court reversed the Appeal Court judgements that sacked Kano State Governor, Kabiru Yusuf; Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State; and Zamfara’s Lawal Dauda, many Nigerians, characteristically, have been ululating about how the judiciary has redeemed itself. Those wishing to cut the apex court a bigger slack talk about how the Supreme Court has redeemed the image of the judiciary.

Some have even stretched the inane adulation by claiming, rather ludicrously, that the verdicts are a veritable proof of President Bola Tinubu’s democratic credentials because it must take the non-interference of the president for the judiciary, a supposedly independent arm of government, to do the needful.

Betta Edu: Why Ministers Abuse Public Office In Nigeria

 By Olu Fasan

Few things confer greater honour and privilege than being a minister in the government of one’s country. From a wider population, you are one of the select few called upon to run your nation. But a ministerial office is not a source of personal wealth, power or prestige.

*Betta Edu and Tinubu

Rather, it’s a call to service, an opportunity to use your talent to advance your nation’s progress and the wellbeing of its people.

Therefore, it’s an unpardonable betrayal for any minister or officeholder to abuse his or her office and put private gain above public good. Sadly, in Nigeria, private gain triumphs over public good. 

Fraud: Another Minister May Soon Be Caught

 By Tonnie Iredia

In many developing societies where the government of the day is unable to provide basic facilities to improve living standards the way out is usually to resort to the tokenism of distributing palliatives to citizens. 

*Tinubu and Federal Ministers 

Nigeria adopted the option in 2015 – an option which from inception has been unable to wear a transparent and credible toga. No one including those in government had faith in Sadiya Farouq, pioneer minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development as well as her officials who were mandated to superintend the subject during President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Brain Drain And Funding Challenges In Nigeria’s Health Sector

 By Aishat Abisola

Over the years, Nigeria has dealt with a profound crisis plaguing its healthcare system, exacerbated by the alarming rate of brain drain among its highly-skilled medical professionals. Nigeria’s health sector is in a precarious state as doctors, nurses, and other essential healthcare personnel depart the country for greener pasture abroad.

A closer look at the issue reveals a critical factor that fuels brain drain, which is harming our health sector. The consequences of this phenomenon are dire, and have led to a shortage of healthcare professionals, compromising the overall quality of healthcare services in Nigeria. 

Nigerians Counting On Tinubu To Fix Economy

 By Kekemeke Gboloibai

Quite frankly, the telltale scars of general delusions caused by the volatility in the economy in 2023 earnestly need a presidential healing balm to give soothing relief to the many Nigerians whose means of livelihood have disappeared with the times, their self-worth undervalued,  and their manliness of mind continually eviscerated. Thankfully, help may be on the way as President Bola Tinubu, in his New Year address to Nigerians, said he feels the pulse and the groaning of Nigerians across the country.

*Tinubu

Regrettably, the average Nigerian cannot meet his family’s expectations as current food and general inflation rates hit an all-time high of 33.93 per cent and 28.92 per cent respectively.

T.B. Joshua Made Childless Couples To Exchange Spouses!

 By Debo Akinyemi 

Having related closely, though for a short time, with TB Joshua as a journalist, I feel a compelling need to weigh in on the controversy trailing the recent expose released on him by BBC.

*T.B. Joshua 

The argument in favour and against the BBC documentary shows that opinion is divided as to whether he was a genuine man of God or not. Let me submit that from my personal view he was neither here nor there. It was difficult to place him because of his almost perfect outward posturing and inner suspicious conduct. Those who judged TB by his looks and humility fail to draw from the biblical saying that outward appearance could be deceptive.

My Dangerous Encounter With T. B. Joshua

By Justus Nwakanma

Whatever you are going to read in this piece happened. I am putting this up in a very simple narrative that people will understand. I am not publishing this to condemn anybody or to praise anybody. 

*T. B. Joshua 

Every child of God owes it a duty to narrate his experiences to encourage others on this pilgrimage called life. 

I will keep the names of some of my senior editors and colleagues secret as I have no permission to use their names here. But many of them are my friends on Facebook and may be reading this piece.

From Buhari To Tinubu: Under-50 Disasters In Government

 By Adekunle Adekoya

A fortnight ago, I started this column lamenting that we always have one issue to contend with all the time. I had wanted to vent my anger on power supply providers, the ones we call DisCos here, following weeks of uninterrupted blackout in many parts of the country. 

*Tinubu and Buhari 

Then news of the well-choreographed killings in Plateau State broke. We all lamented the failures of a reactive, rather than proactive security architecture that failed, time and again, to anticipate and prevent the marauders from achieving their evil objectives.

As our leaders were mouthing the usual rhetoric about the Plateau killings, convincing very few of us that action will be taken to prevent recurrences, Betta Edu happened to Nigeria.

A memo, said to have been signed by the suspended minister directing payment of more than N585 million into a private account ruled the internet for days and dominated conversations on many platforms. Earlier, as we all know, the CEO of the National Social Intervention Programme, Halima Shehu had been suspended to pave way for investigations into how N44 billion of the agency’s funds found its way into private accounts.

To complete the picture, former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Poverty Alleviation and Disaster Management, Sadiyya Umar Farouq became a guest of the EFCC over some N37 billion of the ministry’s money that had vanished. 

My commentary will begin from the demographic angle. Please take note that Sadiyya Umar Farouq is the eldest of the trio, born in 1974. Halima Shehu was born in 1978, while Betta Edu was born in 1986, a confirmed millennial. By the way, millennials are people born between 1981 and 1996. None of the three is 50 years old yet, though Sadiyya will hit that milestone next November. By their conduct in office, they have sent the wrong signals and did incalculable damage to the school of thought that believes that Nigeria’s problems have to do with the old and ageing class of leaders that have refused to let go.

Once now and then, a president incubates a magician that is presented to the rest of us as a minister. Buhari had at least two of them. One tried to conjure a national carrier for us out of the thinnest air in Nigeria. The other, of course, is Sadiyya. If she isn’t a magician, how did she spend more than N500 million to feed schoolchildren who were in their parents’ houses during the COVID-19 lockdown? Another magical feat was how her ministry trained 177 youths on smartphone repairs, and spent N5.9 billion on that. I thought that N5.9 billion could be spent to open a factory or two that will manufacture smartphones!

It is somewhat surprising that Betta Edu could commit the offence she was accused of. What happened to her mind if education is what remained after one has forgotten what was learnt? She had been a cabinet commissioner in Cross River State, and must have been conversant with the proper procedures when it comes to spending government money. 

Or she was freewheeling on Cross River money and blind eyes were turned? Beats me how a beautiful, trained medical doctor could self-destruct this way. She could as well be one of Tinubu’s magicians, afterall she was said to have approved N2.5 million as air travel expenses for an aide to a state that has no airport. Was she trying to conjure an airport for the state?

I am equally disturbed by Halima Shehu’s predicament, given her educational background and work experience as a banker. At Inter-City Bank where she worked for about a decade, she  served as  Audit and Internal Control officer, among other duties. What happened to her experience when she came to work for government?

From their backgrounds, these women knew the right things to do, just simply opted to do what they wanted.

To the Federal Government and President Bola Tinubu, it’s reforms time. I propose that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Poverty Alleviation and Disaster Management be scrapped without delay. My reasons are simple: there has been nothing humanitarian about that ministry since Buhari created it. 

The conditional cash transfer programme of the ministry was a failure, even from conception. What can N5,000 do for anybody in Nigeria, even before subsidy removal, not to talk of now. It is simply wasteful, and besides, unjust as nobody knows the criteria by which beneficiaries were chosen. 

What is worse is that the ministry seems to have become the ATM machine of some vested interests. Want some millions? So a proposal and take there. In addition, the ministry has failed to alleviate poverty; there is no initiative of this ministry that has the interest of masses at heart. But it has generated the disasters that these women have become. The ministry should be scrapped before it generates more disasters. 

*Adekoya is a commentator on public issues