News Headlines Jun 21, 2021. Headlines From Nigeria’s Major Newspapers

News Headlines Jun 21, 2021. Headlines From Nigeria’s Major Newspapers

Compiled by Demola Adefajo

The Nation

Borrowing to fix roads, rail good for economy, says Fashola
Anger over Buhari’s jibe at restructuring advocates
‘$43.4m Ikoyi cash with CBN’
NADECO calls for return to 1963 Constitution
‘BUA not increasing price of cement‘
Heavy security at Ogiame Ikenwoli’s funeral rites
Drunk policeman kills five in Enugu
Nigeria to save $156m on Maritime insurance
Southeast insecurity: Fed Govt to explore dialogue, says Ngige
Unpaid claims set policy holders against Insurance firms
Ondo election: Appeal Court delaying release of judgment, PDP alleges
‘Fed Govt not owing lecturers’
Okeho Development Association elects officers
Minister, NISER union leaders to meet over DG’s tenure
Youth, Sports Minister bags another award
APC group accuses governor of arrogance
JAMB delists 25 CBT centres for not conducting exam
Ekiti 2022 election under threat, says Fayemi
CSOs urge Senate to reject Onochie’s nomination for INEC job
NYIF: Only N3b available out of N12b for first year
Insecurity: Cleric calls for three days’ prayer, fasting
OPC chief to Makinde: do more for security
Taiwo Mati gets ITTF Scholarship
Crisis likely in varsities over plan to remove staff school workers from 2022 budget
England aims to play last cards right
CAF President reiterates commitment to football dev’t
Injustice fuels insecurity in Niger Delta, says monarch
UEFA to probe Hungary over ‘discriminatory incidents’
Council chief promises security, employment
Mexico Friendly: Iwuala, Olawoyin, 23 others to resume camping in Abuja
Restructuring is not secession
Lawmaker, others defect to APC in Cross River
EURO 2020: Italy make history with 30-game unbeaten run
Tokyo 2020 olympic games: Nigeria inches closer to relay qualification
Berrettini emulates Becker to win Queen’s crown
Why federal system is dysfunctional, by governorship aspirant
Emmanuel pushes for passage of Electoral Bill
Monarch urges Fed Govt to explore local cure for COVID-19
Niger targets N1.5b monthly IGR
Centre advocates free education for girls
I’m ready to open state’s account books, Sule tells Nasarawa NLC
1,000 benefit from free medical outreach in Niger
Badaru congratulates Galambi on success at polls
Lalong, others receive awards
‘We need 300m hectares of land to meet food demand by 2030’
Out of the cocoon
To make Black Lives Matter
Youths decry attempt to shut down Plateau agro-market
Reading Buhari on IPOB, et al
ECOWAS at the crossroads
Looters and losers
Bawa, take heed before Magu happens to you
Deforestation: Appeal to Bauchi governor
PMB should talk more to Nigerians
New vista
Not now!
Who is a journalist?
UCHE ELENDU: Why some people can’t deal with fame
Igboland isn’t a dot, it’s not landlocked
Religion as opium in Nigeria
Truth, dialogue and reconciliation as panacea to Nigeria’s many problems
COVID-19: African economies won’t revive until vaccine deficiency is addressed – AfDB
Baba Buhari: Benign bullying or battering? (1)
Of guns, bombs and banditry
Ekiti teenager stages own kidnap to avoid studying medicine
KAYODE OLARENWAJU: If not for football, I’ll be in Ibadan selling fufu
Obasanjo for Oke Ogun youth agric summit
PDP wins Kaduna Assembly bye election
2023: Will Omo-Agege contest Delta governorship seat?
Ekiti 2022: Fayemi’s arrogance may cost APC victory, members warn
Anambra 2021: APGA’s succession intrigues may favour Soludo
Fresh cracks in Ogun APC over LG polls
CAF President reiterates commitment to football dev’t
UEFA to probe Hungary over ‘discriminatory incidents’
Mexico Friendly: Iwuala, Olawoyin, 23 others to resume camping in Abuja
EURO 2020: Italy make history with 30-game unbeaten run

ThisDay

Just In: Troops Rescue Three Kebbi Students, One Teacher, Kill Bandit
Breaking: Rescue Operation Still on for Kidnapped Kebbi Students
Breaking: 15 Kidnap Victims Escape from Captivity in Niger
Kebbi Students May Have Been Rescued as Scores of Bandits Killed
Bawa: EFCC Won’t Hand over Cases of Interest to any State
Enugu APC Passes Vote of Confidence on Eze
Lagos Police Arrest Proprietor for Alleged Sexual Assault of Female Student
Auditor-General Queries NIPC over Unlawful Spending
NDPHC Plans to Develop Small Hydro Power Plants
Ondo Governorship Election: PDP Seeks Release of CTC of A’ Court…
FBNInsurance Boss Lists Importance of Digital for Retail Insurance
Bandits Kill Village Head in Kaduna
Adi Appointed Newstide Publications Board Chairman
PDP Celebrates Victory in Kaduna By-election, Mocks El-Rufai
Enugu APC Passes Vote of Confidence on Eze
Young Leaders in Niger Delta Advocate Panacea for Development
S’East Insecurity: Buhari Meets Gambari, Ngige
NADECO: Buhari’s ‘Fulanisation Policy’, Disregard for Constitution Fueling Secessionist Agitations
Buhari Mourns Fola Alade, Says Late Architect Left Legacy of Brilliance,…
FG to Train 600 Youths on ICT in Katsina
Afenifere: Restructuring Popular among Knowledgeable Personalities, Govs, Others
Benue: 10 Killed in Communal Clash, Police Gun down 14 Bandits
Kwara APC Seeks Extension of Registration for New Members
UTME 2021: JAMB Delists 24 Centres for Poor Performance on Day…
PDP Wins Kaduna Assembly By-election
FEC Decision on Land Swap, a Revolutionary Step, Says Investor
Lawmakers Pledge Speedy Passage of NDIC Amendment Bill
‘Digital Transformation Will Enhance Business Growth, Expansion’
Sealink Eyes Stock Exchange Listing
WISTA to Sensitise Women on AfCFTA
VersionFlex to Redefine e-Hailing Services
ACCI Seeks Private Sector Input on Digital Economy Blueprint
Winning Seyi Makinde Over in an Argument
Bumpy Ride to 2021 Guber Polls in Anambra
Peace Dialogue in the Creeks
Navy Hands over 10 Suspected Vandals to NSCDC
Lessons as Atuche Begged for Mercy
Day Concerned Benue Mothers Gathered to Plead With President Buhari over Killings in Benue
NASRDA, SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY AND NIGERIA’S SECURITY
Okagbare Leads Nigeria’s 4x100m Quartet to Improved Ranking
‘Bronze Bomber’ Deontay Wilder Traces His Roots to Edo State
24 States Enter for Lagos Open Athletics Championship
Enyimba forward, Iwuala, 24 Others to Resume Camping in Abuja
Italy Top Group A on Maximum Nine Points, Wales Through
NPFL: Jigawa Ruin Kano Pillars’ Chance to Consolidate
WHEN KIDNAPPERS TARGET SCHOOLS

The Punch

APC fixes convention for October, crisis in states persists
Cross River Rep, Assembly member, PDP chieftain join Ayade in APC
I’ll grant Anambra LG autonomy within one year in office – Ekwueme’s daughter
Consultations responsible for delay in forming Edo cabinet — Shaibu
INEC should conduct LG elections, says Adebutu
States cry for cops, bandits change strategies, attack schools enmasse
Police intensify search for Super TV CEO’s killers, block account
NDLEA arrests security agent selling drugs to undergraduates, cultists
Police intensify search for Super TV CEO’s killers, block account
Suspected land grabbers attack woman, workers on Ogun site, three nabbed
FCT phone thief stabs female victim to death, robber killed
Lagos estate residents tackle firm over month-long blackout
FRSC partners NAICOM, NHIS on compulsory motor, health insurance
Coronation Insurance pays N3.2bn claims
Nigeria may earn N462bn from EMT levy in 2021 — World Bank
Recapitalisation: Insurance industry assets rise to N2.02tn
APC fixes convention for October, crisis in states persists
I’ll grant Anambra LG autonomy within one year in office – Ekwueme’s daughter
Consultations responsible for delay in forming Edo cabinet — Shaibu
INEC should conduct LG elections, says Adebutu
Rohr names home-based squad for Mexico friendly
Team Nigeria miss out again on Olympics relay qualification
Super League project still alive, says Barcelona president
Euro 2020: Hazard says ready for start in Belgium, Finland clash
Don’t deprive kids of fatherly love, Actress Damilola Adegbite advises single mothers
Father’s Day: Mercy Aigbe, estranged husband fight dirty on social media
Pictorial: Yvonne Jegede, Alex Ekubo, others show off dad on Father’s Day
Father’s Day: Basketmouth, Peter Okoye, others celebrate selves on social media

Leadership

Lekoil Cayman Board Crisis Forces Resignation Of Directors, Others
Bello Laments Unhealthy Rivalry Among Maritime Agencies
Insurance Sector Underwrites N520bn Risk Businesses, Targets N1.5trn
Kaduna Govt Proffers Solution To Farmers/herders Clashes
AIICO Unveils New e-Business Portal
Green Technology Can Help Nigeria End Gas Flare – Ikuku
Rightsizing: 99 Political Appointees Sacked
Nigerian Becomes African HR Deputy Sec Gen
School Kidnappings: Implications On Posterity
Checking The Spread Of Banditry To Kebbi
Benue Police Kill 14 Gunmen In Attack On Station
Secession Agitation: Northern, Southern Leaders Back S’East Governors Against IPOB
LEADERSHIP Hosts Dokpesi, Dabiri-Erewa, Musawa, As Podcast Studio Opens
Audit Report Indicts NIPC Management Of N4.9bn Fraud
Rightsizing: 99 Political Appointees Sacked
Kwara APC Seeks Extension Of Membership Registration
JUST-IN: PDP Wins Kaduna Assembly Bye-election
Bello Laments Unhealthy Rivalry Among Maritime Agencies
Insurance Sector Underwrites N520bn Risk Businesses, Targets N1.5trn
Nigerian Becomes African HR Deputy Sec Gen
Nigeria’s power Sector Peak Generation Drops To 4,388MW In 24 Hours
Collaborative Efforts Needed To Raise Future Business Leaders’x
Italy Complete Perfect Euro 2020 Group With Victory Over Wales
Beach Volleyball: Team Nigeria Eyes Tokyo Olympics Qualification In Morocco
Athletics: Chukwuebuka, Timothy, Shine In Olympic Trials
You Can’t Bring A Good Man Down’ Ighalo Blasts Estranged Wife, Adesuwa
EDITORIAL: Checking The Spread Of Banditry To Kebbi

The Sun

NDLEA nabs law enforcement officer, 6 others for dealing in cocaine
Security beefed up as Olu of Warri burial rites begin
FG, Lai sued over directive to broadcasters to stop using Twitter
2021 UTME: JAMB delist 25 CBT centres for poor performance
Buhari under fire
Buhari meets Ngige, Gambari over insecurity in South East
Father’s Day: Kalu tasks fathers on nation building
FGC: Troops rescue more students, bandits kill village head
Buhari meets Ngige, Gambari over insecurity in South East
…Our boats sinking, Kaigama warns
Father’s Day: Kalu tasks fathers on nation building
Anambra guber: Return of PDP’s quadrennial rancour
Cross River North Senatorial by-election: Tribunal upholds Odey’s victory
Kwara APC wants registration extended for new members
Rep, state lawmaker, Agara, 30,000 others defect to APC in Cross River
…PDP’s national leadership backs Sandy/Gershom ticket for 2023 guber
Government realised N79.96 bn from solid minerals in 2019 –NEITI
Julius Berger celebrates sustainability, success at 51st AGM
$12bn NLNG Train 7 targets gas flaring reduction, economic growth
FAAN generates over N80m monthly from Lagos Airport tollgate
FG insists 2nd Niger Bridge’ll be ready in 2022
Firmino to quit Liverpool
Chelsea, PSG interests frustrate Hakimi
Making new passport regime work
Udom Emmanuel: Footprints of professional in politics
The vexed question of gratitude
Nigeria: Potpourri of impaled truths
NAF aircraft strikes ISWAP logistics commander, 6 guntrucks in Lamboa
Military Kills 15 bandits in Niger gun due
SS3 student shot dead as security agents, smugglers
Achebe’s allegory of Nigeria and underappreciated genius
Healthcare: How Rivers entered golden era

The Guardian

Team Nigeria relay teams fail to pick tickets in Lagos
NADECO sends SOS to UN over Buhari’s government
PDP faults President’s rejection of restructuring
‘Neglect of grassroots stifling governance in Nigeria’
Niger senators set to tackle Al-Makura, others for APC chairmanship seat
Senate describes Lekki free zone quadrant, others as national assets
Atiku deplores Nigeria’s woes, makes case for youths
Insecurity taking toll on education, Lawan laments
YCE, Adams, Adeniran, farmers flay Buhari over grazing route recovery
Military retires 26 women, 317 men, tasks them on dedication, discipline
Chief planner’s unplanned voyage to death
Police kill 14 bandits in Benue gun duel
Gunmen kill on-air personality, Titus Badejo ‘Eja Nla’, in Ibadan
Egypt souvenir market pins hopes on tourism resurgence
Motsepe says Africa will learn from Europe and launch Super League
‘Super League project still alive,’ says Barcelona president
Beach volleyball teams begin Tokyo 2020 qualifiers in Morocco
Denmark look to sneak into Euro 2020 knockouts as Austria, Ukraine face off
Lagos Sports Trust Fund plans mini golf courses
Group honours Ajunwa 25 years after Olympics’ gold medal feat
June 12: Protesters test Buhari’s democratic credentials
INEC has removed 749 polling units from inappropriate locations, says Yakubu
Editorial: Nigeria’s government versus Twitter
In search of justice for hate speech victims
COVID-19 jab: Death corruption and those Hallelujah men
Southern Nigeria in poverty of elders
Farewell to Zambia’s founding father
The key to reviving Africa’s economic backbone

Daily Trust

Troops Rescue 4 More Victims Of Kebbi Abduction
IPOB Partners Cameroonian Secessionists On Training, Arms Exchange
As NLNG Flags Off Train 7 Project
Looters, Drug Barons Using Real Estate As Cover-Up — REDAN
Students’ Abduction Threatening Education In North — Lawan
PDP To Buhari: Nigerians Have Right To Demand Restructuring
Female Students Threaten To Jail Randy Lecturers
Killings: Revisit Our Security Plans, Ibadan Family Heads Tell Makinde
Staff, Students Apprehensive As Kaduna’s Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic Reopens
Cultists Murder Policeman In Ogun
Trigger-Happy Policeman Kills 5, Injures 4 In Enugu
Tinubu’s Probe Ongoing — EFCC Chair
Over 20 Physically Challenged Register For JAMB In Nasarawa
Govt Must Tackle Poverty, Injustice To Restore Peace In Nigeria — Expert
NEDC, Stakeholders Move To Harmonise Humanitarian Response In N/East
FG Releases N500m To Sokoto Health Scheme For 43,000 Indigents
FG Vs ASUU: Before The Next Strike
Maiduguri: Great Expectations
General Muhammed Gado Nasko @ 80
EDITORIAL: Open Letter To Governor Darius Ishaku
President, Please Talk More To Nigerians
Sabon-Gari Bye-Election: A Lesson
Mainstreaming Agri-Tech For Agricultural Growth And Sustainability
EDITORIAL
As INEC Creates Additional Polling Units
Varied Views In Telecoms Sector As Twitter Ban Remains
NIMASA Seeks Halt On War Risk Insurance For Cargoes
FG Can Earn N4tr From Auctioning Recovered Assets — Auctioneer
Niger Targets N2bn Monthly Revenue
Winners To Get N39m In Fidelity Bank Promo
Aba Importers Decry Hurdles In China Trade
Sokoto Farmers Fear Hijack Of N7.5b Loan, Fertilizers
After Attracting Airlines, Fare Crashes On Ilorin Route
United Airlines To Begin Flight To Bayelsa Airport
Entrepreneurship: Mapping The Environment For Opportunities (II)
CAC Dismisses Alleged N6.5bn Fraud
Nigeria Gets First Female Tugboat Captain
Why Every Property Needs A Manager
Tackling Cement Production, Price Problems
7 Arrested For Selling Illicit Drugs To Varsity Cultists
Police Kill Robber, Recover Pistol In Abuja
How Troops Wiped Out ISWAP Terrorists In Borno
15 Bandits, 1 Soldier Killed In Gunfight With Troops
15 Victims Of Tegina Kidnap Escape From Captivity
Kebbi Shuts Schools After Birnin Yauri Kidnapping
14 Gunmen Killed As Bandits Attack Benue Police Station
Fashola: Why Nigeria Needs To Continue Borrowing
Always Give Back To Your Alma Mater, Osoba Urges Nigerians
APC’ll Wax Stronger Beyond 2023, FCT Minister Says
How Female Migrants Are Reduced To Sex Slaves In Libya
Your Genotype Should Not Stop You From Getting Married, Says Sickle Cell Expert
SSANU Threatens Strike Over FG Directives On Workers Of Staff Schools
Kebbi Shuts Schools After Birnin Yauri Kidnapping
2021 UTME: JAMB Delists 25 CBT Centres In FCT, Lagos, 10 Other States

Tribune

JUST IN: Fuel scarcity looms as IPMAN threatens strike action
14.3 million Nigerians abuse drugs — NDLEA
HORROR: Woman tortures, nearly starves stepchildren to death with husband’s consent
Buhari’s achievements will propel APC beyond 2023 ― FCT minister
Police Inspector goes berserk, kills 5 persons, injures four others in Enugu
Most of proposed 20 model schools to be ready in 2021 ― UBEC
Rotary empowers special needs students with vocational training in Oyo
Tambuwal flags off sale of fertilizers at subsidized rates to farmers
Rotary empowers special needs students with vocational training in Oyo
Gunmen murder ex-Naija FM presenter in Ibadan
16-yr-old girl who faked own kidnap to avoid studying Medicine lands in police net
Olamide goes higher again with new album, Uy Scuti
Faulty constitution, political instability, unemployment,…
Buhari’s achievements will propel APC beyond 2023 ―…
Insecurity: Deploy armed policemen to institutions, Ajayi…
Revisit our map out security strategy, Ibadan family heads…
Police Inspector goes berserk, kills 5 persons, injures four…
Most of proposed 20 model schools to be ready in 2021 ― UBEC
Stop making inflammatory references to war, PDP tells Buhari
Jigawa bye-election: APC candidate declared winner
Rotary empowers special needs students with vocational…
Tambuwal flags off sale of fertilizers at subsidized rates…
Niger emir debunks rumours of invasion of Borgu by armed…
No going back on ban commercial motorcycle operations in…
Vetarian journalist, Okosun, dies at 80
Experts converge on Benin, seek to manufacture African made…
Rotary empowers special needs students with vocational…
‘AFAN crisis, a set back towards achieving food…
We are yet to receive certified true copy of Court of Appeal…
Akeredolu replies Ondo CJ counsel over judgement
Buhari has accepted dialogue as solution to South-East…
#EndSARS: Ondo govt facilitates release of 18-year-old girl…
Be civil on national issues, Ekwueme’s daughter,…
Consequential adjustment: We do not receive up to N23,000,…
Auchi Poly rector harps on massive production as panacea for…
Afro-Indian TCAMI can provide cure for COVID-19, diabetes,…
Buhari’s statement on restructuring, unpresidential,…
Revisit our map out security strategy, Ibadan family heads…
Buhari’s achievements will propel APC beyond 2023 ―…
Stop making inflammatory references to war, PDP tells Buhari
5,200 youths get N1.62bn loans under FG’s Youth…
Police Inspector goes berserk, kills 5 persons, injures four…
Vetarian journalist, Okosun, dies at 80
How Ifeanyi Ubah emerged YPP candidate for Anambra guber…
Experts converge on Benin, seek to manufacture African made…
Tambuwal flags off sale of fertilizers at subsidized rates…
Buhari has accepted dialogue as solution to South-East…
Rotary empowers special needs students with vocational…
#EndSARS: Ondo govt facilitates release of 18-year-old girl…
‘AFAN crisis, a set back towards achieving food…
Be civil on national issues, Ekwueme’s daughter,…
Consequential adjustment: We do not receive up to N23,000,…
Afro-Indian TCAMI can provide cure for COVID-19, diabetes,…
500-level student becomes 2021 Bowen ‘one-day’ VC
2021 UTME: JAMB delists 24 CBT centres over poor performance

‘True Federalism’ and other Fallacies

‘True Federalism’ and other Fallacies

SIMONKOLAWOLE! BY SIMON KOLAWOLE

Public debate in Nigeria, permit me to say, is not as educative as you would find in many civilised societies. The predominant elements here are ethnic and religious emotions, garnished with delicate lies and dangerous half-truths. The first casualties, as always, are facts and logic. There is the “herd instinct” which makes us believe, say and do things like the people in our corner. The groupthink syndrome has stifled common sense and meaningful interlocution. For the fear of “dragging”, nobody wants to express an unpopular opinion. If you try to apply reason, you may be shredded. As Professor Wale Adebanwi would say, “It is treasonable to be reasonable in an unreasonable society.”

One topic of debate that has raged for ages, and will never stop dominating the airwaves, is the campaign for “true federalism” in Nigeria. I have done extensive research on federations across the world and I must admit that Nigeria is the only country where the term, “true federalism”, is in use. I stand to be corrected. While no two federations are exactly alike, I don’t know of any other country where people are campaigning for “true federalism”. Why? Because there is no such thing. “True federalism” is a complete fallacy, a made-in-Nigeria fantasy. You either run a federal system or not. There is no “true” or “false” federalism. Every federal system has its peculiarities and practices.

The basic definition of federalism can be captured in one sentence: a political entity in which power is shared between the national and subnational governments. One thing is common to ALL federations: the centre controls defence, monetary policies and foreign relations. How the rest of the political and legislative powers are shared differs from one federation to the other. In Nigeria, the powers that belong to the federal and state governments are defined on three lists: exclusive (federal), concurrent (federal and states) and residual (states). I have not found any two federations where the items on each list are exactly the same. So, what really is this “true federalism”?

In most federations, there are only two levels: the central and the subnational governments. In Nigeria, we have three tiers: the centre (federal), 36 states and 774 local government areas. The LGAs, though, are only third tier in name: they are part of the states. The three-tier system is somewhat peculiar to Nigeria. In the US, as with Germany, Ethiopia and most other federations, there are only two tiers: the national and the subnational. Councils and municipalities are under the states. That does not mean they are practising “false” federalism. In 1988, Brazil introduced a third tier called municipalities, which are independent of the states. The country has 5,570 of them.

Federal vs Unitary Systems

While the campaign for “true federalism” — as misleading as it sounds — has gained so much ground in Nigeria over the years, by far the bigger fallacy is that we can only develop if we practise this imagined system. It is a common argument among the protagonists that unless Nigeria practises “true federalism”, the country will remain stuck in underdevelopment. There is no evidence anywhere in the world to back this claim. No matter the indices we deploy, there is no proof that federalism develops or retards the development of any country. If we push this argument too far, we may end up discovering that centralisation of powers, as in the unitary system, works better.

In a unitary system, power resides with the centre. It decides what to delegate or devolve to the administrative units. (This is markedly different from federalism where the states self-govern. In Nigeria, states are constitutionally empowered to legislate on several items: taxation, education, healthcare, environment, and rural development, among others.) You know what? The UN has 193 members and 165 of them run a unitary system. Do the math. That is an overwhelming 85 per cent! In case you are wondering which countries make up the 165, let me list just a few: China, France and the UK. You can google it. Did you notice that these three are Super Powers? You didn’t? I did.

Let me take it a bit further. Using the UNDP Human Development Index — which measures the quality of life and standards of living in 189 countries — we could say the world’s most prosperous countries in 2019 (reported in 2020) run a unitary, not federal, system. In the Top 20, only seven practise federalism. In fact, in the Top 10, seven are unitary states and only three are federations. If we are to apply a mischievous logic, therefore, we can say that federalism makes countries poor and unitary system makes them prosperous. Of course, that would be absolutely false: federal or unitary system does not develop any country. It is good governance that has always done the trick.

Fiscal Federalism vs Resource Control

There is a campaign for “fiscal federalism” in Nigeria which is mistaken for “resource control”. The fiscal federalism theory was propounded in 1959 by Richard Musgrave, a German-American economist. He argued that the federal government should address the inequality in the distribution of wealth among the states in order to achieve economic stability in the entire federation. His key proposition is that the federal government should play the lead role of “redistributing” resources while the states should handle the “allocation” to specific sectors, such as education. This is to have a fiscally balanced federation so that no part is left behind for being poorer than the others.

It is true that in most federations, states own the oil in their territories — but that is not the whole story. In Canada, oil provinces are in control of their resources. But because only very few provinces have oil (Alberta and Saskatchewan), the federal government has an “equalisation fund” from where other provinces get grants for fiscal balancing. Conversely, in Mexico, the federal government is in total charge of all the oil revenue. Mexican states, whether or not they have oil, receive a flat 20 per cent as allocation. Municipalities where oil-production and shipping take place receive an extra 3.17 per cent as compensation for the environmental challenges. Different strokes for different folks.

Australia uses “horizontal fiscal equalisation” to support states with lower capacity to raise revenue. Belgium has the “national solidarity intervention” to beef up the finances of regions where the average per capita yield of personal income tax falls below the national average. In Germany, taxation is exclusively under the federal government, but the parliament passed a “state tax law” in 1920 to ensure that every state gets at least 80 per cent of the average tax revenue accruing to the 16 states. That means if the average tax revenue generated per state is $100 million, no state will get less than $80 million from the federal purse — even if the tax is not derived from its territory.

Why Federalism for Nigeria?

I might have argued that unitary systems are the most common in the world and that they dominate the list of developed countries, but I am by no means suggesting that we should ditch federalism. Federalism is usually practised where there is ethnic and cultural diversity, and Nigeria absolutely qualifies on that count. I want us to continue along that path. Because of the self-governing feature, the states or regions can determine their priorities, policies, traditions and, in most countries, internal security. The wisdom is for the states to maintain independence from the centre — as long as this independence does not undermine the integrity and sovereignty of the federation.

Established in 1789, the US federation is the world’s oldest. It is often cited as the perfect example of federalism by Nigerian campaigners. It would appear that when these campaigners say Nigeria needs to practise “true” federalism, they mean the US variant. But this position ignores an all-important fact: the history of state formation. The US is a consensual union: all the states voluntarily agreed to form a federation. All the terms and conditions were agreed upon before they signed the dotted lines. The Nigerian federation, on the other hand, was set up by the British colonial government and Nigerians only started negotiating the union terms thereafter. Big difference.

To be clear, there is a point I would still like to make, lest I be misunderstood (I will still be misunderstood in any case, but I want this on record): I am not saying all is well with the Nigerian federation or that we do not need to tweak the constitution. That has never been, and will never be, my position. We, without any doubt, need to make critical changes to deliver development to the Nigerian people. The centre needs to devolve more responsibilities and revenue to the states because the states are closer to the people. But we can make all these arguments without whipping up ethnic sentiments, without lying to the children that there is something called “true federalism”.

I will repeat myself yet again: all countries that have developed did so on the basis of competent and patriotic leadership — not “true federalism”, “fiscal federalism”, presidentialism, parliamentarianism, regionalism, balkanisation and such like. In Nigeria, we appear to have deliberately erected plenty ethnic, religious and regional barriers in the development discourse so that we do not address the real obstacles to our progress. If we succeed in balkanising Nigeria by playing up these sentiments, even the new nations that will come out of Nigeria will only develop if they have good governance. Trust me, there is no alternative to competent and patriotic leadership.

Let me now summarise my takes on these fallacies. One, there is nothing like “true federalism” as being regularly canvassed in Nigeria; rather, there are variants of federalism and no two federations practise the system exactly the same way. Two, “fiscal federalism” means a fiscally balanced federation where no part is left behind for being poor; it does not mean “resource control” as being popularly canvassed here. Three, countries are not developed by federalism or unitary system — it is the quality of leadership that determines the height a country will attain. I hereby implore those who are willing to learn: read wider and stop being misled by the loudest voices in public discourse.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…

TAMING TWITTER

As I was saying, Twitter and other social media apps have been hijacked to propagate fake news and hate speech, thereby putting societies at risk. They certainly need moderation and sanitisation — if civilisation is not to be eroded. But I insist: Nigeria is not going about it the right way. In a democracy, there are civil ways of doing things. While I won’t question the resolve of the federal government to address threats posed to national security by the misuse of social media, the way to go is get the tech giants to take responsibility for the sanitisation. There are bigger threats to the “corporate existence” of Nigeria, such as insurgency, banditry, kidnappings and arson. Priorities.

NBC BULLIES

When the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) threatened to sanction broadcast stations if they continued to tweet, it turned out to be a big opportunity in the struggle for media freedom in Nigeria. I would have loved members of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) to, in unison, defy the NBC cowards. Let NBC go wild and ban all the private stations. That would have been a great landmark in the history of media freedom in Nigeria. And I am damn sure any sanctions imposed by the power-drunk NBC cannot stand in a court because no law would have been broken. What an opportunity to assert press freedom and spit in the face of the NBC bullies. Missed.

END SARS AND FDI

Asked by ARISE TV to comment on declining inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Nigeria, President Buhari took a curious detour by linking it to the End SARS uprising and the ensuing burning and looting. This, he said, discourages investment. Something tells me the president was only looking for the slightest opportunity to fire back at the protesters, whom he accused of trying to bring down his government (#EndBuhari trended along with #EndSARS, and there was a street theory that the UN would remove a president if protests lasted for 30 days). Truth be told, though, the fall in FDI pre-dated the End SARS mayhem. But, well, Buhari fired the shot all the same. Noted.

THE BUHARI PERSONA

Recent TV appearances and pronouncements by President Buhari must have confounded a number of people, particularly those who say he is “Jibril Al Sudani” as well as those Facebook professors who theorise that he has dementia. They are living with the contradictions: in one breath, they’ve been criticising the “real” Buhari after the interviews and unwittingly admitting that he is not Jibril and does not have dementia; in another breath, they insist he is Jibril or that he has dementia. I would rather stick to one position and be damned than moving the goalpost based on the argument at hand. From the TV interviews, though, I can say this is the same Buhari of pre-2015. Indisputable.

Credit: ThisDay

Historical record: How Nigeria came into being in 1914

Historical record: How Nigeria came into being in 1914

Fredrick Lugard

by Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

One hundred and five years ago, on 1st January 1914, the country, Nigeria, was born, but the order sealing the amalgamation of the then Southern and Northern protectorates to become the country of Nigeria was signed on November 22, 1913.

The document was signed in London by the trio of King’s most Excellent Majesty Earl Spencer, Lord Stamfordham and Lord Emmott on behalf of the government of the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland..

Obviously, no Nigerian was part of the deal. This, perhaps, accounts for the various agitations for national conferences by the various ethnic nationalities and other stakeholders within the country since shortly after it was born. Rather than abate, agitations for redefinition of terms of engagement get hotter by the day.

As the nation basks in the ecstasy of the centennial celebration, The Nation reproduces the full text of the document that gave legal birth to Nigeria.

NIGERIA PROTECTORATE ORDER IN COUNCIL, 1913 AT THE COURT AT WINDSOR CASTLE, THE 22ND DAY OF NOVEMBER, 1913. PRESENT, THE KING’ MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY EARL SPENCER, LORD STAMFORDHAM, LORD EMMOTT

Whereas by the Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1890, it is amongst other things, enacted that it shall be lawful for his Majesty, the king of hold, exercise, and has, or may at any time hereafter, have within a foreign country in the same and as an ample a manner as if His Majesty has led acquired that jurisdiction by the cession or conquest of territory.

And whereas by an Order-in-Council bearing date: the Twenty-seventy day of December, 1889, and known as the Northern Nigeria Order-in-Council, 1889, provision was made for the administration of the Government of the Territories known as Northern Nigeria. And whereas by further Order-in-Council bearing date, March, 1908, and October, 11, 1912, and known respectively as the Nigeria Northern Order-in-Council, 1908 and the Northern Nigeria Order-in-Council, 1912: the Northern Nigeria Order-in-Council, 1899, has been amended.

And whereas by an Order-in-Council bearing date the Fourth day of February, 1911, and known as the Southern Nigeria Protectorate Order-in-Council, 1911, provision was made for the administration of the Government of the territories known as the protectorate of Southern Nigeria.

And whereas by further Order-in-Council bearing date, the Twenty-eight day of March, 1912 and known as the Southern Nigeria protectorate Order-in-Council, 1912, the Southern Protectorate Order in Council, 1911, has been amended.

And whereas by certain Letters Patent passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland bearing date at Westminister the Twenty-eight day of February, 1906, His late Majesty King Edward the Seventh did constitute the office of Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Southern Nigeria and provide for the Government thereof.

And whereas his Majesty has this day, by and with the advice of the Privy Council, been pleased to direct that letters patent be passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the purpose of providing, amongst other thing that the colony of Southern Nigeria, as in the said Letters Patent more fully appears and the draft of the said Letters Patent has this day been approved by His Majesty in Council.

And whereas, it is expedient to make further and other provision for the peace, order, and good government of the territories, known as the Protectorate of Northern and Southern Nigeria.

NOW THEREFORE, His Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the power by the Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1890, or otherwise in His Majesty vested, is pleased, by and with the advice of His Privy Council, to Order, and it is hereby Ordered, as follows:

(i) The Order may be cited as the Nigeria Protectorate Order in Council, 1913.

(ii) This Order shall apply to the territories of African which are bounded on the South by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west, north and north-east by the line of the frontier between the British and French territories, and on the east by the frontier between the British and Provided always that such part of the territories so bounded are within that portion of His Majesty’s Dominion which is known as the Colony of Nigeria, shall not be included within the limits of this Order. The order shall be known and described as the protectorate of Nigeria

(iii) In this Order unless the subject or context otherwise requires. His Majesty includes His Majesty’s heir and successors. Secretary of State means one of His Majesty’s principal secretaries of state. Treaty include any treaty, convention, agreement or arrangement, made by or on behalf of her Majesty, with any civilised power, or with any native tribe, appended to any such treaty convention, agreement, or arrangement. Governor means the Governor and commander-in-chief for the time being of the colony of Nigeria and includes every person for the time being administering the Government of the said colony. ‘Colony’ means the colony of Nigeria. ‘Nigeria’ used without qualification means the colony and protectorate of Nigeria.

(iv) The Governor and Commander-in-chief for the time being of the colony of Nigeria (hereinafter called the Governor) shall be the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the protectorate of Nigeria and he is hereby authorised, empowered and commanded to exercise on His Majesty’s behalf, all such powers and jurisdiction as His Majesty at any time before or after the passing of this order had or may have within the said territories, and to that end to make or cause to be taken all such measures and to do or cause to be done, all matters and things therein as are lawful and as in the interest of His Majesty’s service he may think expedient, subject to such instruction as he may from time to time receive from His Majesty or through a Secretary of State.

(v) The Protectorate shall be divided into two or more portions, each under the immediate administration of a Lieutenant-Governor appointed by His Majesty. Provided that every Lieutenant-Governor shall be under control and authority of the Governor and subject to such instruction as he may from time receive from him. And provided further that it shall be within the discretion of the Governor, subject always to the approval of a secretary of State, to transfer a Lieutenant-Governor from the administration of one portion of the protectorate to another portion, and to vary the limits of the area administered by a Lieutenant-Governor.

(vi) Every person appointed to fill the office of Governor shall with all due solemnity, before entering on any of the duties of his office, cause the commission appointing him to be read and publish at such place in the protectorate as he may deem expedient, in the presence of the Chief Justice or some other Judge of Supreme Court, and of such members of the Executive Council to the colony and Protectorate as can conveniently attend, which being done, he shall then and there take before them the Oath of Allegiance in the form provided by an Act passed in the Session Holden in the Thirty-first and Thirty-second years of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, intuited ‘An act to amend the Law relating to promissory Oaths, and likewise the usual Oath of Governor and for the due and impartial administration of Justice, which Oaths the said Chief Justice, or, if he be unavoidably absent, the senior member of the Executive Council then present, is hereby required to administer.

(vii) The Executive council of the colony of Nigeria shall be and deemed to be the Executive Council of the Protectorate.

(viii) It shall be lawful for the Governor, from time to time, by ordinance, to provide for the administration of justice, the raising of revenue, and generally for the peace, order and good government of the Protectorate, and of all persons therein, including the prohibition and punishment of acts tending to disturb the public peace.

Provided as follows:

1. That nothing in any such ordinance or ordinances contained shall take away or affect any rights secured to any natives in the said territories by any treaties or agreement made on behalf or with the sanction of her Majesty, Queen Victoria. His Late Majesty King Edward the Seventh, or shall be and remain operative and in force, and all pledge and undertaking therein contained shall remain mutually binding on all parties to the same.

2. That all laws, Ordinances, Proclamations, bylaws and regulations of whatsoever nature in force at the date of the commencement of this force until repealed or revoked by or in pursuance of any Law or Ordinance passed by the Governor.

3. That the Governor in making Ordinances shall respect any native laws by which the civil relation of any native chiefs, tribes, or populations under His Majesty’s protection are now regulated, except so far as the same may be incompatible with the due exercises of His Majesty’s power and jurisdiction, or clearly injures the welfare of the said natives.

4. That every suit, action, complaint, matter, or things which shall be pending in any Court within the said territories at the commencement of this Order shall and may be proceeded within such court in like manner as if Order had not been passed.

(ix) The right is hereby reserved to His Majesty to disallow any such Ordinance as aforesaid. Such disallowance shall be signified to the Governor through a Secretary of State, and shall take effect from time when the same shall be promulgated by the Governor. The right is also hereby reserved to His Majesty, with the advice of His Privy Council, from time to time to make all such laws or Ordinances as may appear to him necessary for the peace, order, and good government of the protectorate as fully as’ if this Order had not been made.

(x) In the making and establishing of all such Ordinance the Governor shall conform to and observe all rules, regulations and directions in that behalf continued in any instruction under His Majesty’s Sign Manual and Signet.

(xi) Whenever and so often as the Governor is absent from the seat of Government, or is absent in the colony, and any place in the protectorate of Nigeria in the exercise or discharge of any powers or duties conferred or imposed upon him by His Majesty or having obtained leave from His Majesty under His sign Manual and Signet or through a Secretary of State, is absent from the said passage as aforesaid, he may continue to exercise and shall be deemed to be capable of exercising all and every powers invested in him by this order in councilor by any instructions from His majesty and may be an instrument under the public seal appoint any person or person to be his Deputy or Deputies within and part the protectorate during such absence, and in that capacity to exercise, perform and execute for and on behalf of the Governor during such absence but no longer, all such powers and authorities by this order in councilor otherwise vested in the Governor as shall in any by such instrument be specified and limited, but no others. Every such Deputy shall conform to and observe all such instructions as the Governor shall from time to time address to him for his guidance, provided nevertheless that by the appointment of a Deputy or Deputies as aforesaid the power and authority of the Governor shall not be abridged, altered or in any way affected otherwise than his majesty may at anytime hereafter think proper to direct.

(xii) Whenever the office of Governor is vacant, or if the Governor is vacant, or if the Governor becomes incapable or is from any cause prevented from acting the duties of his office, then such person may be appointed under the royal sign manual and signed or if there be no such person so appointed, or if such person be absent from Nigeria or unable to act, then the senior member of the Executive council present for the time being in Nigeria shall, during his Majesty’s pleasure, administer the government of the protectorate, first taking the oaths herein before directed to be taken by the Governor, and in the manner herein prescribed which being done, the acting Governor his hereby authorized, empowered and commanded to do and execute, during his Majesty’s pleasure, all things that belong to the office of Governor according to his majesty’s order and according to his Majesty’s instructions and law of the protectorate.

(xiii) Whenever the office of the lieutenant Governor becomes vacant or if a lieutenant-Government is administering the Government of the colony and protectorate or is absent from Nigeria or otherwise becomes incapable of or is for any cause prevented from performing the duties of his office, the Governor may, by an instrument under the public seal of the protectorate appoint another officer to act provisionally as lieutenant-Governor.

Such officer shall cease to act as lieutenant-Governor as soon as either his majesty shall have appointed another officer to the office shall again be capable of performing the duties of the office,or the Governor shall appoint another officer to act provisionally as lieutenant-Governor.

Such officer shall cease to act as lieutenant-Governor as soon as either His Majesty shall have appointed another officer to the office shall again be capable of performing the duties of the office, or the Governor shall appoint another officer to act provisionally as lieutenant-Governor.

(xiv) The Governor may constitute and appoint all such judges commissioners justices of the peace and other necessary officers as may be lawfully constituted and appointed by his Majesty, all of whom unless otherwise provided by law shall hold their officers during pleasure.

(xv) The Governor may upon sufficient cause to him appearing, dismiss any public officer not appointed by virtue of a warrant from His Majesty whose pensionable emoluments do not exceed one hundred and fifty pounds of intended dismissal are definitely stead in writing, and communicated to the officer in order that he may have full opportunity of exculpating himself, and the matter is investigated by the governor with the aid of the head for the time being of the department in which the officer is serving.

The Governor may, upon sufficient cause to him appearing, suspend from the exercise of his office, any person holding any office within the Protectorate whether appointed by virtue of any commission of Warrant from His Majesty, or in His Majesty’s name, or by any other mode of appointment. Such suspension shall continue and have effect only until His Majesty’s pleasure therein shall be signified to the Governor. If the suspension is confirmed by a Secretary of State, the Governor shall forthwith cause the officer to be so informed, and there upon his office shall became vacant. In proceeding to any such suspension, the Governor is strictly to observe the direction in the behalf given to him by any instruction from His Majesty signified through a Secretary of State.

(xvi) When any crime or offence has been committed within the Protectorate, or for which the offender may be tried therein, the Governor may, as he shall see occasion, in His Majesty’s behalf, grant a pardon to any accomplice in such crime or often, who shall give such information as shall lead to the conviction of the principal offender, or of anyone of such offenders if more than one, and, further, may grant to any offender convicted in any court, or before any judge, justice, magistrate, or other officer within the Protectorate, a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions or any remission of the sentence passed on such offender, or any respite of the execution of such sentence, for such period as the Governor think fit, and may remit any fines, penalties, or forfeitures due or accrued to His Majesty.

(xvii) The seal now or hereafter in use as the Public Seal of the Colony of Nigeria shall be and be deemed to be also the Public Seal of the Protectorate of Nigeria, and shall be used for sealing all things whatsoever that shall pass the said Seal.

(xviii) This order shall come into operation of the First Day of January 1914, and shall be published in the Government Gazette; and the Governor shall give directions for the publication of this Order as such time or times as he thinks proper for giving due publicity thereto within the protectorate of Nigeria.

(xix) The above-recited Order to Council of the Twenty-seventh day of December 1899, the Nineteenth day of March 1908, the fourth day of February 1911, the Twenty-eight day of March 1912 and the Eleventh day of October 1912,shall from the commencement of this Order be revoked, without prejudice to anything lawfully done thereunder.

(xx) His Majesty may from time to time revoke, after, add to, or amend this Order. And the Right Honourable Lewies Harcourt, one of His Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State, is to give the necessary directions herein accordingly.

Courtesy: The Nation

Obasanjo drops bombshell , says God will never forgive me if I support Atiku for President

EXCLUSIVE: God will never forgive me if I support Atiku for president — Obasanjo

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar

Samuel Ogundipe
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said on Friday that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar should not count on him for support in his latest bid to actualise his life-long ambition of being elected the president of Nigeria.

The former president, one of the most influential of his living peers, hinged his blistering position on the unsavoury corruption perception of Mr Atiku while speaking with PREMIUM TIMES shortly after his arrival from Kigali on Friday afternoon.

“How can I be on the same side with Atiku?” Mr Obasanjo asked. “To do what?”

“If I support Atiku for anything, God will not forgive me. If I do not know, yes. But once I know, Atiku can never enjoy my support,” he added.

Mr Obasanjo rejected all notions that his remarks could be deemed too personal, coming as 2019 presidential campaign gathers steam with Mr Abubakar amongst the front-runners.

The pronouncement comes barely two weeks after Mr Abubakar declared his intention to run for president, touting his pro-business credentials and lambasting President Muhammadu Buhari for his handling of the country’s security situation.

Before then, the former vice president, who has unsuccessfully run for the top office multiple times, spent the past few months criss-crossing the country as part of a strategy aimed at broadening his appeal amongst politicians and the electorate.

It also comes a little over a month after the two met at an event in Abuja and shook each other’s hands before photographers, days after reports said Mr Obasanjo was under pressure to back Mr Abubakar.

“I do not have personal grudges with anyone,” Mr Obasanjo said. “If you do not do well for Nigeria, you do not do well for all of us.”

“It is not a question of working with or not working with an individual,” he said. “If you are working for the good of Nigeria, I am working with you. If you are not working for the good of Nigeria it does not matter who you are I am not working with you.”

In making his position clear on Mr Abubakar ahead of the presidential primaries in October, Mr Obasanjo has put to rest several months of speculation about whether he would soften his borderline disposition to his former vice president of eight years.

Settling old scores

The disclosure also exposed a fundamental fracture between Mr Obasanjo, who seems hell-bent at ensuring that the alleged transgressions of the past were not forgotten, and Mr Abubakar, who now appears in high spirit for reconciliation.

The former vice president is locked in a fierce contest for the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential ticket with several political bigwigs on the platform of the major opposition party.

The ever-broadening field already includes Rabiu Kwankwaso, Sule Lamido, Ahmed Makarfi and Saminu Turaki. While some of these politicians are already capable of challenging Mr Abubakar for the ticket, the recent addition of Senate President Bukola Saraki and Governor Aminu Tambuwal, both of whom are being rumoured as equally running for president, could further complicate Mr Abubakar’s chances.

Mr Obasanjo did not specifically say whom he would back for the PDP ticket. Already, the African Democratic Party, with which he now publicly identifies, has entered into an alliance that would see it and over 30 other political parties present a joint presidential ticket with the PDP..

After the former president said he would not support President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term, widespread conclusion had been that he would back anyone presented as the major challenger, even if this turned out to be Mr Abubakar.

“Most of you do not understand the way I operate,” Mr Obasanjo said. “And I thought your own paper will understand better.”

“I know Atiku very well. And I have mentioned my position with Atiku. My position has not changed,” he said.

On a personal note, he added, “If my children are getting married, he has sent representatives. If his children are getting married, I have sent representatives. That is social. That is not political.

But “on political ground, my position has not changed. If I support Atiku for a political office other than the one I supported him in the past when I did not know him,” maybe, but not “now that I know him, God will not forgive me.”

A spokesperson for Mr Abubakar did not provide a response to Mr Obasanjo’s statement when reached for comments Friday night, indicating that the the campaign was likely going to ignore the former president rather than engage him openly.

Mr Obasanjo did not offer further remarks on his grouse with Mr Abubakar, but he had repeatedly complained of his former right-hand man’s alleged sharp practices.

Mr Obasanjo, 81, tapped Mr Abubakar as his running mate in 1999, and both went on to rule Nigeria until 2007. The pair started on a good note for Nigeria’s democracy, working together to dismantle the statist political economy imposed by successive military administrations for more liberal economic policies.

Mr Obasanjo trusted Mr Abubakar with key government initiatives, placing him in charge of the National Council on Privatisation to midwife the sale of federal assets which were not only dysfunctional at the time but fast becoming white elephants draining national resources.

But years into the administration, Mr Obasanjo started accusing Mr Abubakar of corruption, and at a point, set up a panel to probe his deputy. aAnti-graft detectives allegedly came up with damning dossiers that linked his lieutenant to a slew of financial misdeeds.

When United States authorities commenced investigation into the infamous iGate scandal, Mr Obasanjo asked Nigerian anti-corruption agencies to cooperate fully with their counterparts from America.

The F.B.I. accused Nigerian and American officials of running a bribery racket in the award of a broadband project to expand Internet coverage in Nigeria in the mid-2000s.

Specifically, Mr Abubakar was said to have received kickbacks for his role in helping iGate, an American firm, secure the contract. Williams Jefferson, an American politician who was a member of the U.S. Congress at the time, was identified as a political associate of Mr Abubakar with whom the Nigerian leader allegedly connived to inflate the contract and get illicit payouts for seeing it through.

It was further reported that the infamous $100,000 cash which investigators found in Mr Jefferson’s refrigerator was intended as parts of the bribes to be paid out to Mr Abubakar. Mr Abubakar strongly denied ties to the fraud.

Mr Jefferson was convicted on 11 out of 16 counts of criminal charges filed against him in 2009 and sentenced to jail shortly thereafter.

But Mr Abubakar was never arraigned, much less convicted of any crime. During Mr Jefferson’s trial, prosecutors failed to prove him guilty of allegations of bribing foreign officials, which meant that there was no evidence to link Mr Abubakar to the $100,000 bribe.

Still, the claims that Mr Abubakar was involved in the bribery remained widespread. They were also largely linked to the mystery surrounding the former vice president’s ability to travel to the U.S., which was perhaps the biggest of his alleged political baggage until the position of Mr Obasanjo.

Mr Abubakar strongly denied having any questions to answer in the U.S., and repeatedly said he applied for U.S. visa but was not granted. The U.S. Embassy in Abuja often declines comments on visa matters involving Mr Abubakar.

Mr Obasanjo, whose two terms were on the platform of the PDP, has since become estranged from the party. In 2015, he abandoned former President Goodluck Jonathan and threw his support for Mr Buhari, after years of tension over which direction held better promise for the country’s future.

Although Mr Obasanjo said he regretted supporting Mr Buhari, and now said he would work to ease him out of office in 2019. He also wrote a public letter aimed at the president in January, urging him not to run for reelection and or risk being disgraced out of office.

Yet, he felt that Mr Abubakar would not be appropriate as his stand-in candidate next February.

“If Jonathan had performed, we would not have had Buhari,” Mr Obasanjo said.

Mounting vulnerabilities

Mr Abubakar defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress last November. It would be his third time of leaving a political party in a quest to actualise his presidential ambition which began in 1992.

He contested against Moshood Abiola for the Social Democratic Party’s ticket in the 1993 elections, but said he stepped down for the late business mogul after being pressured to do so.

After completing his two terms as vice-president under the PDP, Mr Abubakar moved to then-newly-formed Action Congress after it became clear that Mr Obasanjo will not tip him as his successor.

He won the ticket of the AC, now defunct, but lost to Umar Yar’Adua in the 2007 presidential polls. He later returned to the PDP, in time for his disclosure of interest in the then-ruling party’s presidential ticket for the 2011 elections. He was, however, beaten to this by Mr Jonathan, whose status as acting-president following the death of Mr Yar’Adua in May 2010 placed him in a better position to use the party’s machinery to his advantage.

In 2014, Mr Abubakar again abandoned the PDP and joined the APC, which was a merger of at least four political parties. He vied for the party’s ticket and lost to Mr Buhari at the December 2014 convention in Lagos.

Mr Abubakar made his way back to the PDP in November 2017, after it became clear to him that Mr Buhari would seek re-election and he would be difficult to stop him as an incumbent.

Mr Abubakar’s apparent inconsistencies, the raging controversy around his U.S. visa status and now the unambiguous position of Mr Obasanjo could all make for a devastating political cocktail, said political analyst Gbola Oba.

Mr Oba said the short term consequence of Mr Obasanjo’s comments is two-fold: “One, he is now vulnerable to easy shots from those contesting the primaries with him. And secondly, there would be genuine fears amongst the kingmakers within his party that Mr Obasanjo might work actively against the PDP if Mr Atiku gets the ticket.”

Mr Oba, chief executive at Automedics in Lagos, said Mr Obasanjo’s statement was not entirely surprising.

“Once you have offended him, you can never get rehabilitated to the point that he will like you again,” Mr Oba said, implying that the former president is vindictive. “Atiku is politically dead if Obasanjo is still around.”

Mr Oba expressed strong doubts that Mr Obasanjo’s reasons for not supporting Mr Abubakar was strictly based on alleged corrupt personality traits.

“It was because of what Atiku put him through in 2003 when governors said they did not want Obasanjo to return as president,” Mr Oba said. “Once Atiku accepted the pleas of his boss at the time, many concluded that his future in politics would be very tough.”

On Thursday, Nobel laurete, Wole Soyinka, said Mr Obasanjo “knelt down” Mr Abubakar in 2003 to clinch the ticket of the PDP.

Wole Soyinka [Photo: dailytimes.com.ng]
Speaking during the presentation of his new book in Lagos, Mr Soyinka was quoted by The Nation as saying he warned Mr Abubakar that he would pay a heavy price.

“Before the PDP primaries in January 2003, Obasanjo got everyone he knew could reach me on the surface on the earth including Yemi Ogunbiyi and my son, to get me to help him intercede when it was clear that (Abubakar) Atiku was in a position to take his job. He knew Atiku had a lot of regard for me and calls me ‘Uncle’” The Nation reported.

“The pressure was intense. Of course, I could not have knelt before Atiku not to embark on a course of action that would lead to his boss’ disgrace. But I can confirm to you that Obasanjo as president knelt down before Atiku so that he would not lose his job.

“But I warned Atiku that for making Obasanjo to kneel down for you, be sure you would have to pay heavily for that. I guess my warning came to pass if you remember Atiku’s dramatic change of fortune once Obasanjo was sworn in for a second term of office.”

Still, Mr Oba said Mr Abubakar may continue his campaign, but should be ready to swim against the tide where Mr Obasanjo is concerned.

“He should not see Obasanjo as a complimentary force in any way, shape or form,” the analyst said.

Mr Oba described Mr Atiku as “one of the very few characters who are well-resourced to play the game on the field of play now,” because to be a president of Nigeria now, “you need a minimum of between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.”

Mr Abubakar is seen as a favourite for his vast wealth. A former Customs officer, former vice president has investments in agriculture, education, logistics and even fast-food businesses.

While he is expected to mouth these credentials throughout the campaign, his major policy thrust is rooted in the urgent needs to restructure the country. He has since taken the message of restructuring to Nigeria’s inner corners, describing the current federal system as unitary and virtually unworkable.

At a time of heavy sentiment and growing distrust against the federal structure, which critics say concentrates power at the centre to the detriment of a larger, diverse population, Mr Abubakar’s campaign said his message was resonating greatly amongst Nigerians. But how far he would be able to go would depend on which support he gets and at what price, analysts said.

Although Mr Obasanjo currently holds no position in the PDP, his contacts within the party are still widely deemed deep enough to influence decisions. The former president has been courted extensively in recent weeks, and the party’s leadership is still said to be keen on getting his support in regaining its lost political fortunes.

Only three weeks ago, PDP Chairman Uche Secondus led other party stalwarts to hold talks with Mr Obasanjo at his residence in Abeokuta.

But next year’s presidential ticket would be won largely by a candidate’s ability to convince the delegates than the domineering influence of a politician, said PDP’s spokesperson Kola Ologbondiyan.

“There will be a convention and there will be statutory candidates elected from all the local government areas in the country,” Mr Ologbondiyan told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone Friday night. “It is those who would participate in the election that the delegates would vote for, and there would be no internal or external influence.”

A backhanded compliment

Before wrapping up his exchanges with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Obasanjo weighed in on Mr Abubakar’s campaign. The former vice president appointed Gbenga Daniel as campaign director at the end of May, becoming the first of PDP’s presidential candidate to fully form a campaign structure.

But the former Ogun State governor also has a history with Mr Obasanjo.

“As for Gbenga Daniel, they are birds of the same feather” with Mr Atiku, he said. Mr Daniel had an open confrontation with Mr Obasanjo over the 2011 governorship ticket in Ogun State. As Mr Daniel wound down his two terms, Mr Obasanjo favoured Tunji Olurin, one of his long-term associates, a proposal Mr Daniel rejected, according to those familiar with the feud.

Although Mr Obasanjo had his way, as Mr Olurin got the PDP’s ticket in the election, he strongly believed that the PDP would have defeated Ibikunle Amosun had Mr Daniel not supported Gboyeka Isiaka in Peoples Party of Nigeria, using his power of incumbent to split potential PDP votes in the three-way race.

Both Mr Daniel and his spokesperson declined PREMIUM TIMES’ requests for comments between Friday night and Saturday morning.

Culled from Premium Times

Between Nigeria Airways and Nigeria Air

Between Nigeria Airways and Nigeria Air

Simon Kolawole

Anytime Senator Hadi Sirika, minister of state for aviation, spoke about setting up a “national carrier”, I always switched off. Even though I like his ideas — and I still salute his single-mindedness in closing down the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for a critical runway reconstruction last year — I just could not see eye-to-eye with him on the matter of a national carrier. It was going to be a waste of time and resources, I argued. I had evidence. For decades, the Nigerian government has satisfactorily shown that it cannot run any business professionally. There is no single commercial entity run by the government that does well. We always end up burning money.

The defunct national airline, Nigeria Airways, started off so well in 1958 but eventually crashed in 2003 as the Nigerian disease of mismanagement ate it up. Its business class seats were reserved for government officials and their cronies, girlfriends and families — most of whom flew free of charge. That is the way government business is run in our country. Nigeria Airways flew from turbulence to turbulence despite the economic opportunities in the aviation industry. Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways and South African Airways, owned by their respective governments, were doing fairly well but our own Nigeria Airways was descending both in service quality and profitability.

President Olusegun Obasanjo assumed office in 1999 lamenting that Nigeria Airways had 32 aircraft when he left office as military ruler in 1979. Twenty years later, only one aircraft was functional. He promised to revive the airline. I was in the team of journalists that flew to South Africa in 2000 for the signing of a “lucrative” code-sharing deal with South African Airways on the Johannesburg-Lagos-New York route. We were told the deal would breathe a new life into Nigeria Airways. It was only on paper. While SAA is still going strong, our own national airline finally collapsed under heavy debts in 2003 — unable to keep head above water despite subventions and subsidies.

The climax of the sad Nigeria Airways story, as narrated by a passenger, was in May 2002. A New York-Lagos flight was delayed for 24 hours because the airline couldn’t pay for fuel. Passengers had to contribute to fuel the aircraft. One passenger gave a loan of $5,000 to the airline. It turned out to be the last flight. Another sad story is that of the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL), set up by government in 1959. It sank in 1995 under the weight of debts and mismanagement. All its 21 vessels were sold off. With these stories at the back of my mind, I was not excited when the Buhari administration started talking about setting up a “national carrier”.

But I am having a rethink with the unveiling of the Nigeria Air brand on Wednesday. Sirika said the federal government will own only 5% as well as raise the start-up capital for operations to commence in December. He said it is going to be a public private partnership (PPP) to be privately managed. Investors will own the remaining 95%. There is already an international drive to market the venture to partners and investors. The proposed carrier is expected to be a major player in the aviation sector, serving domestic, regional and international routes. The business projection is that in five years, it will be carrying four million passengers and boasting of a fleet of 30 aircraft.

For starters, “national carrier” is not the same as “national airline”. Many commentators are getting the two mixed up. A “national carrier” flies the country’s flag and gets preferential treatment in international operations while a “national airline” is owned by the government. A national carrier, sometimes called flag carrier, does not have to be government-owned. There are different models. For instance, British Airways is the UK flag carrier but it is not owned by the British government. It’s the same for Lufthansa (Germany) and Japan Airlines. But Ethiopian Airlines and EgyptAir are 100% state-owned. Kenya Airways was wholly state-owned until 1996. It is now public-private.

Actually, my interest in Nigeria Air is fuelled by many factors. One, government will not have a say in the management. With 5% stake, it will be a minority shareholder. If the airline runs well, therefore, Nigeria will be reaping dividends rather than burning subventions. We will now have to pray that Nigeria Air will not be managed by the mindless and clueless Nigerian big men and buccaneers who have not the foggiest idea about how the airline business is run. There are too many failed examples in our aviation industry. The success of Nigeria Air will depend on the quality of management. But, to start with, the government will not be involved. That sounds better.

Two, the benefit of solid start-up capital means we can be assured of good aircraft. When Arik launched operations in 2006, its selling point was the “tear rubber” (brand new) aircraft. Despite all its troubles, Arik’s safety record is still intact. That is a benefit of a well-invested capital and maintenance. I once argued that government should invest in businesses that require huge capital outlay in order to spark off investors’ interest. When no investor was interested in building hotels in Abuja, federal government built Hilton and Sheraton, which it later privatised. Can you count the number of hotels in Abuja today?

Three, Nigeria is not enjoying much benefit from its bilateral air service agreements (BASA). For instance, British Airways flies to Lagos and Abuja daily and Virgin Atlantic flies to Lagos also daily, but there is no Nigerian airline flying to the UK. Not even one flight! You are not likely to find this anomaly in many countries with a huge market like ours. According to Sirika, Nigeria Air will fly 41 international routes, in addition to 81 domestic and 40 regional. If anything, virtually every sector of the Nigerian economy should benefit from the business, not forgetting the little matter of job creation in a country direly trying to tackle unemployment.

Four, the fact that government is investing in a business does not mean it is doomed. A ready example is Nigeria LNG Limited, in which government owns 49% but which it does not run. It is one of the best NLGs in the world. If it was run by government, it would have become another NNPC — which is just a sleazy centre for the distribution of political patronage. We have not only recovered our investment in NLNG, we have continued to enjoy the fruits of our seed capital. Therefore, that government is investing in an idea does not necessarily doom it. What makes the difference is who manages it. The government must not have the power to play patronage politics with Nigeria Air.

Five, economists will say everything has an opportunity cost. I agree that the money government is going to invest in Nigeria Air can be used for other pressing needs in education, healthcare, water, roads, bridges, and so on. However, the fact that we need roads and schools does not mean we don’t need to improve options for Nigerian travellers and incentivise competition in the aviation space. We can do many things simultaneously. One does not stop the other. And given the expected multiplier effect, this looks like an investment worth making, all things being equal. It is more than national pride — it is sowing seed in an economic driver.

All said and done, I still have my reservations. Virgin Nigeria was running fairly well until the Nigerian factor ruined it. Its successor, Air Nigeria, was a natural disaster. Arik was considerably successful until it was infected by the Nigerian disease of mismanagement. Our Nigerian “billionaires” are always guaranteed government bail-out whenever they ruin their businesses. The moral hazard encourages bad behaviour. If Nigeria Air ends up in the hands of these buccaneers, then its fall will be mightier than that of Nigeria Airways. Ironically, Nigeria Airways was profitable when it was managed by KLM. Nigerians took over in the 1980s and… (please help me complete the sentence).

Lest I forget, there is still a lot of housekeeping to be done by Sirika. From the comments I have read on twitter, ex-workers of Nigeria Airways are still being owed. In September 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari approved N45 billion for the settlement of their severance benefits. The national assembly did not pass it. This issue has to be resolved before we can start a new carrier. Also, investors are expected to inject between $150 million and $300million over a number of years. We need to know how much in total Nigeria will be committing to it and how the funds will be raised. We can use all the transparency at this stage. Already, the PDP has described it as a scam.

Finally, my understanding is that PPP has three stages — development, procurement and implementation. The idea has been developed. That is what we saw with the unveiling of the brand at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK last week where the biggest guys in the global industry usually gather. The next phase is procurement. Where will we get the funds to pay for the aircraft? Will it a recoverable loan from the federal government? Will we source funds from Exim Bank, AfDB or commercial banks? We need to know. Investors are expected to inject at least $150 million by 2019. Have investors started showing interest? We need answers, Senator Sirika.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS

THE DASUKI DRAMA
Except there is a supernatural dimension to this issue, I still don’t know why the federal government will not release Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) from detention. The former national security adviser has been granted bail by the court countless times. Our great attorney-general, Mallam Abubakar Malami, says Dasuki was responsible for the death of 100,000 people and will not be released on bail. Does that mean Dasuki is already serving a prison sentence? Normally, it is a court of law that pronounces an accused guilty. The attorney-general would be better off arguing his case against bail in court. But he has now assumed the role of a judge. And he is even a SAN! Nigeria!!!

NYSC SAGA
While we await the final word on the controversial NYSC discharge certificate of Mrs Kemi Adeosun, the minister of finance, I must confess that I have learnt a lot from this saga. For one, I never knew you have to serve even if you are 60 — as long as you graduated before clocking 30. I just assumed if you return to Nigeria after 30, you will be exempted. I also never knew that even if you never set a foot on Nigerian soil, as long as one of your parents is a Nigerian, you are automatically a Nigerian. Meanwhile, now that a generation of Nigerians are schooling abroad, I hope their parents will remind them to come home and serve, even if they will still return to live abroad. Lessons.

EKITI TEST
The Ekiti governorship election was keenly fought. Dr. Kayode Fayemi won a battle that definitely took a bit of a bounce off the steps of PDP in their bid to oust APC from Aso Rock in 2019. There were reports of vote-buying by both parties (which supports my position that the PVC is highly overrated). There is also the technical bit of 18,857 voided ballots and Fayemi’s victory margin of 19,338. But even if you give all the voided votes to PDP, APC would still win. Nonetheless, I am in support of litigation by PDP. Whatever we need to do, legally, to strengthen our practice of democracy must be done. And yes, I’m so happy that nobody was killed on election day. Progress.

AND FINALLY…
It is called Freudian slip, right? Shortly after the announcement of the result of Ekiti governorship election, an excited Twitter handler at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) poetically tweeted: “The parri is over; The cloak of immunity torn apart, and the staff broken. #Ekiti Integrated Poultry Project/Biological Concepts Limited N1.3bn fraud case file dusted off the shelves. See you soon.” The tweet was eventually deleted. However, Mr. Ayo Fayose, the outgoing governor, would still be without immunity even if his candidate had won. Although it appeared as if Fayose himself was a candidate in the election, the EFCC guy was still overzealous. Pathetic.

Source: ThisDay

Atiku formally declares presidential bid, vows to reclaim power from APC

‘I’m back to reclaim what belongs to PDP’, Atiku vows as he launches presidential bid

Atiku Abubakar

•Says party will give economy, unity, security new lease of life
•Secondus: PDP’ll end cycle of bloodletting

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said yesterday that he is back in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to reclaim what belongs to the party.

Atiku who was formally launching his bid for the party’s presidential ticket for next year’s election said the PDP would revamp the economy, re-unite the country and secure the lives and properties of Nigerians.

The former vice president delivered a 17-line speech in which he aimed barbs at the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and appealed to “all of you wherever you may be that it is time to now re-embrace the party that has given us unity, prosperity and security in this country.”

He said the APC government has failed, “to unite Nigerians. Today we are more divided than in any time in the history of this country.”

Economic growth, according to him has gone down to less than 2% from 7%, adding: “Today we are witnessing the most insecure situation in Nigeria ever since APC took over.

“More people have died in Nigeria under the APC than in Iran and Afghanistan. Is that what you want?

“Today we have the highest unemployment rate in this country. More than 10 million of our people have been made unemployed under the watch of the APC administration. Is that what you want?

“Now what the PDP is going to do is to restore our economy, to unite our country, to ensure we have security of lives and property.

“My fellow brothers and sisters of Adamawa State, it’s time we take back our state PDP! Power!”

National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, was among party stalwarts at the Ribadu Square, Yola, Adamawa State to witness the declaration.

He said at the event that a rebranded and repositioned PDP is clearly the party of choice determined and ready to rescue Nigeria from the hands of APC.

“PDP is determined to end the circle of continued bloodletting in the country,” he said.

“A sign of a drowning party, the APC administration is threatening everybody, the lives of Reformed-APC leaders are now in danger but we are not afraid, they can’t kill everybody.”

Copyright © 2017, All Rights Reserved.

Awolowo, Abiola, Obasanjo and Afenifere

Awolowo, Abiola, Obasanjo and Afenifere

Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and former President Olusegun Obasanjo

Posted By: Bayo OSIYEMI

I REMAIN a genuine admirer and believer in the ideals that Pa Obafemi Awolowo espoused in his life time. I also loved his dress sense since I first encountered him as a primary school pupil in 1957 and also from 1978 when I got close to him at both his Park Pane, Apapa home and his ancestral home in Ikenne, Ogun State, due to my professional and political callings.

So, if some of those who shared the same passion for the man Awo can now be seen to be rallying support for Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who they believed (and still believe) stood between Awo and the Presidency of this nation which he coveted in his lifetime, then I feel hugely vindicated that I engineered the political coming together of Alhaji Lateef Jakande and late Bashorun Moshood Abiola, first in the late 80s, and later, in the early 90s, until the political spoilsports in our clime came to put spanners in the works of the few of us then, who believe that political recrimination, stubborn unforgiveness, vindictiveness and vendetta will, and, can never stand the Yoruba nation in good stead.

No harm if what some of us saw then, the latter-day converts are now seeing. But I smell a rat. Whereas it was for altruistic reason that informed our own action then, the same cannot be said of the few that gathered together recently to host former President Obasanjo and try to whip up tribal sentiment in his favour.

Of course, I’m not deceived into believing that Obasanjo himself is not playing cat and mouse game with our respected and elderly Afenifere chieftains and their younger followers; that he only needs them now to help him out of the consequence of the cobra tail he had stepped on; and that if he succeeds, he won’t go back to the club of few who, for countless number of years, after the demise of the First Republic, have held Nigeria by the jugular.

I submit, with due respect that the meeting held with Obasanjo in Chief Ayo Adebanjo’s Lekki residence recently was to a partisan end, that it has nothing to do with their tribe and their love for the race or the nation. It was, without mincing words, a meeting instigated to work for the preservation of privilege and the return of a group of political desperadoes to power at the centre, since Buhari has made it be known that with him, it will no longer be business as usual.

Let the few Afenifere choristers and Obasanjo offer us refreshingly different tunes from the ones we have had in the past and tell us who these new singers are, if it won’t be evident that they are in the genre of the jaded voices from our very recent past, those rejected massively at the last polls, and who are using every trick in the book to stage a come-back.

When all their bag of tricks is drying up, they are now trying to stigmatise our integrous President of an attempt to Islamise Nigeria, an attempt I know Buhari is fully conscious of what the consequence of that will be to him as a person, and Nigeria as a corporate entity. Take it from here that he will not dare contemplate such gamble!

Elections are in the air and political parties, especially the PDP, are jittery and therefore anxious to find what else they can do to overtake the APC for scoring impressive points on the issue of Abiola and June 12. It is in their desperation that they are wooing just any group – socio-cultural, religious, youths, et al, to recruit, to join in their bid to upstage Buhari and the APC in the next elections.

It is within their right under the law but, in doing so, they should be mindful of spreading venom into susceptible minds and not engage in acts that are inimical to national cohesion, unity and progress. They should also remember that laws are no respecters of anybody and that those who run foul of the nation’s laws in any subtle or discerning form, will have nobody but themselves to blame.

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Source: The Nation

Five things we learned from Nigeria’s win against Iceland

Five things we learned from Nigeria’s win against Iceland

By Solomon Fowowe

Ahmed Musa produced an outstanding performance to put the Super Eagles in the path of qualification to the second round. The Super Eagles after their opening game loss against Croatia had to win to stand a realistic chance of qualification to the next round. Gernot Rohr’s men struck in the second half to defeat Iceland 2-0 at the Volgograd stadium that was crackling with energy.

Ahmed Musa pays faith with record-breaking brace

The Man. The Myth… The Legend. The best mental image that describes Musa after his feat is one with forward turbaned, riding majestically on the back of a camel into the sun as he waves us his subjects. For we are unworthy of his brilliance. The opener was as exquisite as they come, Musa brought down Moses’ cross into the box from the air with his stretched foot before he hit a beautiful half-volley past Hannes Halldorsson. It was a sheer delight, a beautiful moment etched into the annals as he became Nigeria’s highest goal scorer at the World Cup.

It was Musa in all his splendid glory for his second goal. He raced onto the ball beating Ari Arnason for pace before he checked in to dribble past goalkeeper Halldorsson. The forward seemed to stop time afterwards, he was unusually calm after he took the touch past Halldorson, he turned goal-ward, was with razor-sharp focus as if muting Kelechi Iheancho, who was bellowing and visibly gesturing for a pass. Musa after picking his spot, gently but convincingly stroked the ball past the two covering defenders on the goal line. It was reminiscent of his excellent performance in the last World Cup against Argentina where he scored a brace. Certainly, he is odds on to start the match and perhaps get a goal in the final group stage game against Argentina that could confirm the Super Eagles qualification.

Rohr’s shake up pays dividends
After the loss to Croatia, Gernot Rohr shook things up in the side, changing both personnel and tactics. The German manager opted for a 3-5-2 with Kelechi Iheanacho and Ahmed Musa playing as a pair up front. The front pair replaced Odion Ighalo and Alex Iwobi while Abdullahi Shehu, who started the first game was on the bench.

Omeruo came into the side to play as the left sided centre-back in the back three and to good effect. But perhaps, the most important change came in adjusting John Obi Mikel’s role in the side. The Captain was criticized for his lack of incisiveness while playing in attacking midfield behind the striker but against Iceland, Mikel conducted play from deep where his passing range and precision shone through.

Omeruo’s addition gives backline solidity

Kenneth Omeruo was introduced into the back line and was solid all through barely putting a foot wrong all game. John Ogu had been used during friendly games as the third defender when Rohr deployed the three-man defence. However, Rohr chose Omeruo who is a better defender than Ogu to start. He helped strengthen the team’s defence and also added a bit more quality in defending set pieces. It won’t be surprising if the Chelsea defender reprises his role for the final game against Argentina.

Counterattacking still Nigeria’s strongest weapon

It could be clearer that the Super Eagles are strongest when breaking hard and fast. Both goals on the night were from counterattacking plays that involved effective movements of the players on and off the ball. Musa’s first goal was from a cleared set-piece where Iheanacho got the ball in the midfield third before he fed it to Moses. Moses moved the ball briskly before he lofted the cross for Musa to finish. The second goal involved a clearance from deep after defending a set piece. Musa raced onto it to produce a guileful finish.

Qualification permutations

Nigeria have their qualification in their hands and there is just one final hurdle left after the Super Eagles defeated Iceland. The Super Eagles would have been effectively out of the World Cup had they lost to the European side. A win against Argentina ensures qualification for Nigeria regardless of result from the other group game. While a draw could also see the Super Eagles go through, the team will have to hold a superior goal difference to Iceland if Iceland defeats Croatia. However, If the Super Eagles lose to Argentina in the final game, they will not qualify from the group stages.

Source: The Guardian

You lied, Ghana disowns Jonathan over comment on Nigeria

Ghana disowns Jonathan over comment on Nigeria

Former President Goodluck Jonathan

Posted By Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor Northern Operation and Jide Babalola, Assistant Editor,

Ghanaian authorities are angry with former President Goodluck Jonathan over his recent comment alleging that the President of Ghana, Nana Akuffo-Addo, mocked Nigeria.

They dismissed as untrue claims by Jonathan in Ado-Ekiti penultimate Friday that Akuffo-Addo recently mocked the poor state of security in Nigeria and the weak status of the country’s currency.

Speaking at the inauguration of a flyover in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, the former president had said that things had deteriorated so much in Nigeria that it had lost its respect in Africa.

But responding to the statement yesterday, Ghana’s High Commissioner in Nigeria, Mr. Rashid Bawa, said Jonathan “took the words of President Akufo-Addo completely out of context.”

He said: “Indeed, in the speech delivered by President Akufo-Addo at the Oxford African Conference, one of the instances used by former President Goodluck Jonathan, these were the exact words of President Akufo-Addo: ‘For most of you in the audience today, it is probably before your time. But in the late 1970s up to the mid-1980s, as a result of the discovery of considerable petroleum deposits, Nigeria was booming. It was the place to be.

‘We Ghanaians, who were going through very difficult times then, would arrive at Heathrow Airport, and be herded into a cage to be subjected to the full third degree by Immigration , and we would look on as our Nigerian cousins would be waved through, with a ‘welcome sir’ and a ‘welcome madam’ .

‘The newspaper headlines in this country were full of Nigerians leaving or forgetting bundles of money in taxis and telephone booths. Nigerians were the preferred tenants for those who had apartments to let. You could stop by any Thomas Cook shop on any High Street in this country and buy or sell Naira, the Nigerian currency, and you could do the same in New York, and I suspect in many other Western country cities.

‘I do not need to spell out today’s reality to anyone in this audience. I cite this just to make the point that the “the outside world” is well able to tell that there are separate sovereign nations on the African continent. But when the news is not good, then Africa is treated as one entity.’

Bawa also took exception to Jonathan’s reference to Akufo-Addo’s purported disposition towards cattle-rearing.

His words: “The other alleged remark that ‘Ghana is not Nigeria where cattle can roam about anyhow’ has never been made by President Akufo-Addo. That is not his way of speaking.

“President Akufo-Addo, in many of the speeches he has made in Nigeria and elsewhere since becoming the President of Ghana, has described Nigeria as ‘a country I describe as my second home in the world’, and will never use Nigeria to make negative examples as the former President Goodluck Jonathan sought to portray.

“President Akufo-Addo enjoys a very good relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari , as he has with many other Nigerian leaders.

“Ghana and Nigeria are like siblings, and it would be most inappropriate, because of politics, for anyone, regardless of his or her status in society, to try to sow seeds of discord amongst the leadership and peoples of our two countries.”

Source; The Nation

On Ohanaeze’s six-year term proposal…

On Ohanaeze’s six-year term proposal…

Former Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme

By Simon Kolawole

So how can we have a much better Nigeria, a country we can proudly call our own? The debate continues. The dominant line of discourse has been that of “restructuring Nigeria” and there are certainly different shades of the argument. I was fascinated by the communiqué of Ohanaeze Ndigbo at the end of the South-East Summit on the Restructuring of Nigeria in Awka, Anambra state, last week. The socio-cultural group put a number of proposals on the table which, going by the mood of the participants, can be considered unanimous. The proposals are not completely new, just that most are now attaining consensus among the leading lights of the restructuring campaign.

Among other things, Ohanaeze demanded a constitutional conference backed by law, a new constitution that is “truly federal” to be produced by a Constituent Assembly and adopted through a referendum by the people of Nigeria for “legitimacy and validity”, and the repeal of Decree No. 24 of 1999 by the National Assembly to void the current constitution and enable a new one. The group proposed the retention of the presidential system and bicameral legislature at the federal level. Ohanaeze wants the current geo-political zones to be the federating units with their own system of government, although it prefers uniformity for “ease of transaction” and “comparability”.

The Igbo outside the south-east zone — such as Anioma in Delta state and Ikwerre in Rivers — who desire to be united with their kith and kin should do so via a referendum; it should be voluntary, Ohanaeze said. Every region will have its constitution; if it conflicts with the federal constitution, the latter will take precedence. This is not too far from what obtains under the 1999 constitution in which there are exclusive, residual and concurrent lists. Ohanaeze proposed that if states would be federating units, then the south-east should get an additional state for the sake of equity. It proposed removal of local governments from the constitution – each region should decide the local structure it wants.

Ohanaeze proposed a single-term tenure of six years for presidents (and, by extension, governors) and five vice-presidents, one from each geo-political zone other than the president’s own, and that each VP should have supervisory powers over key ministries. In other words, there should be federal character and quota system in picking VPs. Ohanaeze further proposed rotational presidency, another aspect of federal character, and went further to recommend something similar at the state level: there should be rotation of governorship between senatorial districts — or whatever sub-structure is eventually adopted at the regional level. This, it said, is in the interest of equity, fairness and justice.

My interest today is the six-year tenure. It is not entirely new – the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme proposed it some 22 years ago. He, however, wanted six vice-presidents, not five, with a proviso that if the sitting president dies, resigns or is impeached, the VP from his or her zone will step in and complete the tenure. If we had had such a provision in the 1999 constitution, the tension caused by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s fatal illness in 2009-2010 would have been avoided. Some political analysts still believe that the death of Yar’Adua and the ascension of President Goodluck Jonathan to power in 2010 wounded the north, poisoned the body politic and we are still paying the price.

Jonathan, meanwhile, also proposed a six-year single-term tenure after winning the 2011 presidential election. His argument was that re-election bids often heat up the polity. He also said it would reduce INEC’s electoral expenses as polls would now be held at six-year intervals. His proposals were met with cynicism, especially as it was interpreted to mean he wanted to be in power for another six years rather than the four he was elected to do. When he spoke in Ethiopia that he would do only one term if elected, he was perhaps hinting at this; but he denied planning to be a beneficiary of six years. Critics said he was plotting to stay in power for seven unbroken years. The proposal died in no time.

Nevertheless, the six-year tenure proposal being promoted by Ohanaeze Ndigbo has its merits. One, a six-year tenure will guarantee that presidency goes round the geo-political zones, thus addressing issues of marginalisation. Imagine we had a six-year tenure arrangement since 1999: south-west would have had it till 2005, the north (east, west or central) would have carried on till 2011, the south-east or south-south would have had it till 2017 and it would be back to the north by now. It would be predictable. As things stand, Ndigbo are convinced there is a conspiracy to keep them out of the No. 1 position. Only a transparent arrangement of this nature can ensure that every part of Nigeria is guaranteed a shot.

Two, when presidents (or governors) have only one opportunity to perform, the rational ones will put in all efforts to write their names in gold within the six years. But when there is the possibility of a second chance, they may be busy settling political IOUs and plotting to survive power games in order to bid for a second term, thereby paying little attention to quality governance and instead accumulating funds to get re-elected. Most governors are still trying to settle in by the time it dawns on them that another election is around the corner. They then lose focus and delay or avoid critical decisions in order not to offend voters. Reform is very difficult when you are eyeing a second term in office.

Three, an incumbent president going for second term has an undue advantage. The heads of all the agencies central to the conduct of elections are appointed by the president, from INEC and police to DSS and sometimes the military. The incumbent also has incredible access to resources. It is a frightening war chest no individual or group of individuals can rival. It was not an ordinary feat that Jonathan was defeated by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 – that is why we still consider it to be historic. In the history of Nigeria, incumbent presidents were always returned no matter how poorly they performed in office. A single-term tenure can, to some extent, reduce re-election desperation.

Now where do I stand? Pardon my intransigence, but we are only discussing this because of the perennial failure of leadership in Nigeria. There is a reason for the provision of two terms of office for governors and presidents. The carrot of a second term is supposed be an incentive for the incumbent to perform and then be rewarded by voters with another four years for a job well done. As we say in Nigeria, “one good term deserves another” (whoever coined this aphorism deserves a medal). However, we have seen people spend eight years in office with little or no impact on the community despite the hundreds of billions of naira at their disposal. Thus, the aim of two terms is defeated.

The other side of the coin, though, is: what happens if you have a competent and patriotic leader, someone who really inspires confidence and is committed to fairness, justice and equity, someone who is actually delivering the goods? Under the single-term tenure, there will be no reward for the hard work! Not just that, there is a fat chance all the good work will be disrupted and discontinued by their successors who will want to prove to the world that they have their own ideas. I think we are assuming that our leaders will always underperform in office, so we want them to get out of office as quickly as possible through single-term tenures. We may end up throwing the baby away with the bath water.

In sum, Ndigbo appear to be shut of the No. 1 position in the land, something that they think can be resolved through a system that guarantees power rotation among regions within short intervals. My view has always been that no part of Nigeria should feel isolated from power; the political system must ensure that everyone is fully represented and integrated. Every part of Nigeria must be given a fair shot at presidency. It is good for the peace of the land. Without federal character, things would even be worse. We could have a cabinet that does not have a single south-easterner and no law or principle would have been broken. Federal character guarantees that every state is represented.

Having said that, I like the sound of the one-term proposal, but you know my position: it is not the solution to the Nigerian conundrum. It will address one problem – that of political equity – but it will not guarantee food on the table, 24-hour power supply or drugs in the hospitals. Nothing is inherently wrong with our system but everything is wrong with the operators. Until we address the leadership deficit ravaging every nook and cranny of Nigeria, until we have leaders who are irrevocably committed to development, we will remain stuck. One term, two terms, six years, eight years, presidential system, parliamentary system, regionalism… none of these things will turn Nigeria to Dubai on their own.

Finally, if the one-term proposal will help institute what I call “development as a relay race”, I’m in. That is, successive administrations will treat government as a continuum and carry on with the good ideas they meet on ground. My biggest admiration of President Buhari since he came to office three years ago is the commitment to completing some of the projects and ideas carried over from Jonathan. As a Nigerian, as a student of development, I looooooove it. Politicians and partisans won’t like it – for them, politics always comes first. All I want to see is a prosperous Nigeria built on sound ideas. That’s why we must keep the national discourse alive and robustly debate every proposal. Imperative.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…
BUHARI VS OBASANJO

In the 2011 presidential debate organised by NN24 and moderated by our own Kadaria Ahmed and CNN’s Jonathan Mann, Candidate Muhammadu Buhari promised to probe the “$16bn power expenditure by PDP from 1999 to 2007” for which there were no bright results. Seven years later — and three years after finally becoming president — Buhari has “re-opened” the file. Not many think Buhari will actually probe former President Olusegun Obasanjo, his erstwhile supporter turned traducer. There is an unwritten rule that former Nigerian leaders are untouchable. However, something tells me that the rule will be broken someday. We are getting closer and closer. Equality.

MILITARY VS AMNESTY

I don’t know who is advising the Nigerian military, but if I were in a position to advise their advisers, I would say they should tell their clients to pipe low in their war against Amnesty International. There seems to be this feeling in the military hierarchy that AI can be intimidated into silence. It won’t happen. The international human rights organisation, set up in 1961 “to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end abuses of human rights”, has survived the most brutal military regimes all over the world. I would suggest that we deal decisively with the issues of rape, extrajudicial killings and other abuses by Nigerian soldiers. We will be the better for it in the end. Commonsense.

JIBRIN VS HOUSE

Now that another court of law has ruled that the legislature does not have the power to suspend members, let us hope that our lawmakers will find another way of enforcing discipline without the military-style sledgehammer. Different courts had previously voided the suspension of Senators Ali Ndume and Ovie Omo-Agege, and now Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin has been let off the hook. Dissent is essential to democracy. Senator Arthur Nzeribe was the first to be hit with the suspension sledgehammer in 2003 when Senator Anyim Pius Anyim was senate president. Let everything be done decently and in order, no matter the perceived offence. Draconian.

AND, FINALLY…

On Friday, a delegation of Nigerian female parliamentarians paid a visit to President Buhari at the presidential villa. They made a case on the marginalisation of women in Nigerian politics (an indisputable fact, by the way). Personally, I think the Buhari administration has not been gender-equitable in the distribution of important political offices. Well, the women have requested for the slot of vice-president. In his response, Buhari joked: “It’s a pity the vice-president is not here. But I believe the secretary to the government of the federation will tell him that his position is threatened.” I blame the women: they should have asked for the position of president. LOL.

Culled from TheCable