New Year Message: Africa must return power to the people
New Year Message:Africa must return power to the people as way forward
On July 26th 1847, Liberia became independent from the American Colonization Society, becoming one of the foremost African countries to be independent from any form of foreign rule. A number of African countries like Ethiopia in the East and Morocco in the North have no known history of foreign rule. Then from Liberia, other African countries achieved self-rule, such as Egypt, on February 28, 1922 (from Britain); Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast), on March 6th, 1957 (Britain); Ivory Coast, on August 7, 1958 (from France); Nigeria, on October 1st, 1960 (from Britain) etcetera.
However, about 173 years down the line, Africa is still in a bad shape, with appalling stories on all facets development indices. As at 2019, last year, African governments celebrated their ability to secure international loans as monumental achievements; thereby sticking out their heads again for re-colonization.
Second Scramble for Partition of Africa
There is currently a great deal of interest in Africa by China, the US and Russia. The reasons is largely because Africa has not been able to organize itself and harness its resources. Despite being home to largest mineral deposits in the world, Africa still depends on foreign aid for survival.
The US accused China of having undue interest in Africa. China on the other hand accused the US of wanting the whole world for itself, describing its plans for Africa as “fairly simple and transparent,”; Russia is also making inroad in Africa.
According to Ejeviome Eloho Otobo, the three big powers are deploying the traditional tools of statecraft and diplomacy. These include economic cooperation; military assistance; and technological support.
The share of each of the big powers’ arms export to Africa during the period 2013-2017, Otobo said, was China 21%; Russia 13%; and US 2.2%. Conversely, he stated, the share of arms imports by African countries from the big powers during the same period were Russia 39%; China 17%; and US 11%.
“In terms of military foot print, during 2017-2018, the United States has military bases or Lily Pads in 17 African countries; offered training assistance for 22 countries; military exercises in 12 countries; combat operations in nine countries; and air drone strikes in two countries.
By contrast, China has a military base in one country; and offered anti-piracy drilling exercises in four countries; and medical team visits to four countries. Russia also has a military facility in one country and offered in-country training to two African countries”, he noted.
What is the problem with Africa?
Several authors on the problem with Africa have pointed at leadership challenge. Everything revolves around politics and power. Like Sam Adeyemi noted, the cultivation of leaders with exceptional character and skills is critical to Africa’s development.
In addition to their inordinate ambition to remain in office forever, there is this prevailing incompetence in leadership in most African countries. This is also a reflection of the leadership culture. In the same vein, Adeyemi noted: “We’ve had different leaders with the same results for decades. The power distance that exists between leaders in government and citizens is also reflected in organizations and families. In such a structure, leaders don’t serve; they are served, because occupying leadership positions make leaders superior and unaccountable to the people they lead. Africa needs leadership development systems, and it is incumbent on development partners and global leaders to understand how cultural differences affect these”
True Democracy is the solution
Africa must emphasize democracy as the form of government that could quicken development. At several fora, Africans have yelped for a change. When they travel to Europe and America, Africans desire a change. This is expressed during elections. But in most cases, the will of the people is not midwifed in the electoral process. The biggest virtue of Democracy is that it is government by the people for the people. The government represents the views of the people who elect them and can throw them out if the government does things that the people do not like. Unlike other forms of government democracy is about the little man, everyone rather than the elite that are often disconnected from how everyone else lives their lives.
Reckya with South African Prez and Togo President Faure Gnassingbe
OPINION: Madougou is self-made woman of Influence in Africa, By Agbon
Today, Africa is prone to several questions. Especially from an economic and governance policy aspect. There is still a long way to go. But although many of them need to work together to win public debate to the point of offering their grasp of the world and Africa, their vision remains coherent, innovative and unique. In this feminine galaxy in Africa, we are interested here in one of the most important ones. She inspires through her profile, and her stances towards the challenges facing Africa. Her name? Reckya Madougou.
Like the fairytale’s frog, the good people unravel the illusions and stagnation that let them perish “clear headed”. In Africa, only disaster unleashes captive truths. And Reckya Madougou had no difficulty in exposing it and sharing it at strategic meetings. This was the case at MEDays 2019 The African equivalent of the Davos Forum.
She presented her vision on major and important issues with remarkable contributions from MackySall, President of Senegal, Lionel Zinsou, economist and former Prime Minister, and Olusegun Obasandjo, former President of Nigeria. She was on three high-level panels whose issues were of great relevance: the strengthening of SMEs to support entrepreneurship, and new sources of growth in the banking and financial services sector. And finally, parity as a trigger for development.
The former Minister of Justice was able to make the diagnosis on these various issues. Ineffable, therefore, or inaudible inward. And on each of the themes her sentence is final.
As on the first one. “(…) capacitation measures must be taken as a matter of urgency in priority areas of intervention to enable these young people to achieve their potential. We must improve and strengthen our policies that promote employability and enable them to undertake,” said the woman who is also the Special Advisor to the President of the Togolese Republic. It did not fail to “formulate concrete solutions to take advantage of this potential and the opportunity offered by our priorities in agriculture, energy, digital and innovative financing mechanisms”.
A few days after Tanger in Morocco, meet in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, at the Salon de l’Epargne, de l’Investissement et du Patrimoine. Since financial exclusion is considered to be the black river fueled by development failures, the ineffectiveness of social inclusion and, of course, the impossible projection and perfect coherence between investment desires and reality. Like so many wrecks, it carries the tramping of women’s potential, ignorance of the role of savings, and placing opportunities under the bushel. There is a lack of knowledge of policies and especially of the inability to implement them. The river flows into the ocean of regret. By participating in this exhibition, Reckya Madougou raised the new challenges of financial inclusion in Africa. In a high-level panel, she discussed gaps and solutions for better inclusion to achieve economic growth objectives. “Nowhere else in the world is there more money on mobile phones than in sub-Saharan Africa. The region is currently responsible for 45.6% of the world’s mobile monetary activity – an estimate of at least $26.8 billion in transaction value in 2018 alone – this excludes banking solutions,” she said to give an idea of the huge financial windfall circulating in Africa and which requires real prospects for the inclusion of youth and women. The same position was also expressed with regard to the high-level meeting on debt sustainability and development held in Dakar, which brought together donors and several Heads of State and Government under the co-chairmanship of H.E. MrMackySall and Ms Kristalina Georgieva, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund. “While the debt burden had been reduced thanks to relief programs, Africa’s external debt has risen again. Mainly because of the need for massive investments in infrastructure. The challenge remains to finance the continent’s development ambitions while ensuring debt sustainability.
This requires reforms oriented towards the relevance of investments related to their impacts, processes and policies at the national and international levels, but also greater confidence from the IMF in our countries as long as they are well governed,” said Reckya Madougou.
With regard to the extraordinary summit of the Heads of State of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) held in Dakar on 3 December 2019, she welcomed the further step taken by the Union in the fight against terrorism but also and above all for intra-African trade.
On 5 and 6 December 2019, she was once again very active in promoting economic relations between Togo and South Africa. Reckya Madougou testified to the importance of a common market to meet the challenges of sustainable development with the arrival of the president Cyril Ramaphosa in Togo. “Intra-African trade between South Africa and Togo is ahead of the schedule. For example, since the beginning of this year, there has been a new air service between Johannesburg and Lomé operated by ASKY Airline. As well as South Africa’s direct participation in Ecobank’s capital,” she stated. Obviously this experienced pan-Africanist will not be done surprising us!
Sémèvo Bonaventure AGBON is editor in chief of “Bénin Intelligent”
OPINION: Stop giving us aid, it’s killing us!, By NJ Ayuk
Africa needs long-established support
Looking at Africa and only pushing for aid is not in the interest of the everyday Africans. It is about the egos of the elites and latte intellectuals who believe they have the solutions to why the continent is still poor.
As Africa’s population and economies surge, greater opportunities for development are presented, societies change, and the aspirations of everyday Africans are increasingly requiring urgent attention.
On the other hand, Germany’s energy transition anticipates a vastly more efficient and interconnected energy system in the future, one that I believe, young African technology entrepreneurs can certainly learn from and accelerate the growth of the energy sector.
With technology start-ups with the intention to build sustainable power solutions emerging across the continent particularly in the power sector, Germany can look to this market on how it can invest in Africa while providing energy and technology solutions and African entrepreneurs can embrace German products in reshaping and restructuring African energy economies.
While the economies of some countries on our continent have grown considerably in recent years, particularly as a result of energy sector developments, economic diversification and sustained foreign investments, there is still no denying that Africa still has a long way to go.
With this comes the question of how will Africa achieve prosperity? The answer – not with monetary aid.
In my book, Billions at Play: The Future of African Energy and Doing Deals, I examine the topic of foreign aid as a solution to Africa’s problems in great detail because for too long, well-meaning foreign entities have stepped in to provide us aid, and in doing so have inadvertently stepped on our toes. This, considering that donor nations and foreign institutions do not sufficiently understand what we need and how we operate.
Aid is not a solution for Africa.
Africa needs long-established support. We need skills development, key infrastructure, sustainable and enabling environments that drive results and, we need to build vibrant energy economies that will bring long-lasting change that is beneficial to the everyday African woman and man.
Determined to promote cooperation with Africa, increase investment on the continent and help improve standards of living, the 2019 G20 Compact with Africa Summit kicked off in Berlin this week. I believe this initiative led by Chancellor Angela Merkel can work and can be beneficial to both Africa and Germany. However, Germany (and other foreign countries looking at the continent) need to understand that Africa is a true partner for development and in addition to relationship-building with governments, African businesses also need to be engaged. They are also key in driving development.
We have to move beyond aid.
As Africa emerges and takes its place on the global stage, it not only stands to benefit from its relationship with Germany but can contribute to Western Europe’s objectives, as presented by the Compact with Africa Summit.
With the continent having nearly 600 million people without access to electricity, Africa’s challenges seem insurmountable – especially given the amount of opportunities and fast-tracked development access to electricity can unlock. But there is hope. With a number of African nations developing and launching large scale renewable energy projects, countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Senegal and Mozambique championing gas developments and launching world-class projects, the continent is resolute on transforming and diversifying its energy mix, proving that it is a worthy partner, particularly for Germany.
Earlier this year, the Germany Africa Business Forum (GABF) announced its multi-million Euro funding commitment to invest in Germany energy start-ups that focus on Africa. This commitment pledged funds to German start-ups with exposure to African energy projects. The role that such German companies from the private sector can play for Africa is increasingly coming to light. German companies ESC Engineers and Noordtec for instance collaborated with Equatorial Guinea’s Elite Construcciones on the Akonikien project – the region’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasification plant.
Forming part of the government-led LNG2Africa initiative, the project advanced the nation’s efforts to monetize gas resources through the creation of domestic gas-to-power infrastructure, a sector which presents major opportunities for the private sector all across Africa. This is a true example of German’s expertise serving Africa’s best interests.
On Tuesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel said she saw the investment in Africa’s growth and development as a “win-win” and encouraged that instead of talking about Africa, “we should do everything we can to cooperate with Africa.”
I agree with this view, the continent has a lot to offer and collaboration is critical for Africa’s future. We do not need quick fixes, we need capital and technology that are supported by hard work, due diligence and solid execution in order to have an impact. We can only achieve this through recognition and collaboration, not with the same old strategies of proving aid that has not been very useful.
NJ Ayuk is the CEO of Centurion Law Group and the Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. His experience negotiating oil and gas deals has given him an expert’s grasp of Africa’s energy landscape. He is the author of “Billions at Play: The Future of African Energy and doing deals.”
Garba Shehu is the Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media & Publicity.
OPINION: Buhari’s ‘many travels’ is plus, not problem, By Garba Shehu
Roughly three years ago, President Muhammadu Buhari visited the Kingdom of Morocco. He asked King Mohammed VI to give Nigeria from their rich phosphate mineral so that fertilizer can be produced here at home for the teeming farming population. Agreement reached, President Buhari set up a Presidential Fertiliser Initiative in his office.
Three years down the road, 24 moribund blending plans are now working, providing 100,000 direct and indirect new jobs to Nigerians. The cost of fertilizer is down by more than 50 percent. Nigeria makes a saving of USD 200 million used for its annual import and a further N60 billion in budgeted annual subsidy.
Nigeria wanted to build a power plant at Mambilla in the Northeast. The plant design had been made in 1959, a year before independence. We have dreams of modernizing our railway system because, without power and railroad, National development will continue to be a pipe dream.
In planning for his trip to Beijing for a meeting with President Xi Jinping, President Buhari rightfully chose to prioritize his requests, put Lagos-Kano railway and Mambilla power plant on top: President Xi’s word is the silver bullet. Today, China is giving these projects together with the finance and many more.
On the recent trip to Russia, President Buhari had a wish list that included railways, power projects and military procurements. He had a wish to get the Russians who own the Aluminum smelter plant, built at a whopping USD 4 billion to operationalize it; Ajaokuta Steel plant built at a similar cost, with 20,000 engineers trained to operate it, many of whom are now dead from hunger and lack of engagement is another 40 year – old problem. To these and others, President Putin held the keys to the solutions. President Buhari asked, and he was given. It will take volumes of books to document the achievements of these trips.
When I go through the media, including today’s edition of the Daily Trust, the social media blogs and those jokes, through funny cartoons, there is a mistaken sense that active diplomacy is the cause of some kind of governance deficit, assuming there is any. Channels Television, last night confronted me with a litany of countries the President visited this year and the number of days he spent abroad. The mistaken opinion among many is that the President spends too much time abroad and this is affecting his domestic responsibilities.
The reality is very different. The success of the visits to Morocco, China and Russia reported here represent just a fraction of the achievements recorded. Many countries and major corporations have listened to our leaders and agreed to come here and put their money in the economy in win-win deals.
In the last few years, global giants like Siemens, Toyota, Hyundai, General Electric (GE), among others are talking to Nigeria about their commitment to investing billions of dollars through manufacturing and other forms of Foreign Direct Investment. Add these to the many Chinese companies that are involved with us in the construction of railways, roads, airports and power plants. These Chinese engagements are coming, complete with succession plans in which thousands of Nigerians are being trained over there, to ultimately manage the new projects.
Other global giants are talking to the government at the centre and the States, with declared interests in projects like highways, metro rail networks, roads, railways and investment in the clusters of manufacturing hubs, the Special Economic Zones, in each of the geopolitical zones. In the coming years, the Qatari and Saudi sovereign wealth funds, the Russians and the Americans amongst the world’s richest are working with Nigeria towards investments in oil and gas and other infrastructure.
President Buhari’s strategy of selling Nigeria’s infrastructure priorities to countries with economic clout is paying off handsomely is in reality, doing Nigeria proud by tackling the gaps in infrastructure deficit.
The records of some of his predecessors in office bespeak a greedy trail, when they go abroad they first ask: what is in it for me? What is there for my family? President Buhari is different. Understood correctly, he is an opportunity manager who knows the worth of person to person contact in a working relationship.
Given the possibilities of economic development and jobs creation, no sensible critic will ever say that there is anything wrong with this government’s efforts at attracting foreign investment
The problem many of the critics have is that they are more interested in scoring cheap headlines and generating a gossip on social media. Many in the opposition are a frustrated lot. We understand that when they express their frustrations, they become happy.
For one thing, President Buhari’s travels have not been excessive by the standards of this country’s past leaders and those of his counterparts in other countries. Given advances in modern travel and technology, a leader can maintain communication and govern from the air, on the road or at the sea. Given the advances made with satellite feeds, a leader needs not to be tied to his desk to make important decisions. The days of frequent travel by leaders is the new norm, it is not something that will go away no matter the volume of crocodile tears shed by a critical opposition.
In today’s interconnected world, international engagements of nations are calendared in specified times of the year. No nation will fail to take advantage of the important international gatherings to make their views known and express their concerns. Not many leaders will ignore invitations to the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, the Commonwealth, the African Union or that of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The attendance at these meetings is not mandatory. But it is an established norm, the absence from which, by an important country like Nigeria, will obviously be an issue of its own.
Finally, to all those who say these visits must bring quick, tangible returns. Yes, quick returns are possible as we have with fertilizer. The breaking of the age long fertilizer jinx by the Buhari administration has brought good fortune to the farmers who now produce about all that is needed to feed the nation. The achievement by the Buhari administration on food self-sufficiency is the real independence after flag independence. So too for the President, who handsomely won the February 23 election with a margin of four million votes, most of it cast in his favour by farmers in full appreciation of his policies. This is clear evidence that facts and results, not social media following convince voters when it comes to making choices.
But it is equally important that Nigerians accept the fact that, although active diplomacy as pursued by President Buhari fetches instant results, there are many instances where results take months, sometimes years to manifest.
Garba Shehu is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity.
Nigerian Brand of Politics and Our Brokenness, By Philip Onoh
OPINION: Nigerian Brand of Politics and Our Brokenness, By Philip Onoh
In today’s fast paced world, if you are not leading, you would be left behind, and if you fall behind, it is likely that someone less capable, less creative, with little or no resources, and less prepared than you would quickly take your place, and speedily have you relegated
There’s no super country anywhere in the world now that didn’t have their low times at a certain time in history, be it politically, economically, infrastructural wise among others. But the difference today cannot be far-fetched from the fact that these countries drew valuable lessons from failing occasionally and are most unlikely to repeat the same mistakes that saw them crumble as a nation.
It suffices to say that failure is not falling to the ground, but remaining there once you have fallen. And the greatest failure of all is when a nation deliberately decides not to stand up again.
There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigeria is crumbling down the ladder of national prosperity and development. She does fall every micro second with a frequency seemingly irreparable. She has not only fallen, but has sworn never to learn anything from her dungeon of ineptitude.
How on this earth did Nigeria become the giant of Africa in the first place?
The white man’s wisdom of amalgamation of southern and northern protectorate of 1914 was the threshold of our problems as a nation. But worse even was the idea of the white man under severe pressure to grant her subjects self-governance. By so doing, handed over a weighted rock to an ant to sojourn with. Nigeria at point of independence was handed over to a set of desperate power mongers and politically disoriented black elites who also used a certain political gerrymandering as a viable tool to further deepen their leadership naivety and orchestrate an unworkable nation.
Would we have wished the white man to continue with his quest for Colonialism, hell no!, Did they hand over a resourceful nation into the hands of wrong minds, pretty yes!
Since independence, have Nigeria ever had a clear shot at nationalism? well, the only regime according to history that championed such quest at ensuring one Nigeria and a workable nation was the six months old (17th January – 29th July,’ 66) military government of late major-general Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi.
But the 42-year old seemingly innocent and abiding vision for Nigeria was welcome and breathed out by a gruesomely repellent murder of a national hero, the murder of Aguyi Ironsi at Lalupon, Oyo State by certain desperately blinded northern political heavy weight was the last stroke that broke the reconciliation defence line of a battered marriage. Since then, Nigeria has been crumbling from grace to grass in all aspects of ethnoreligious and socio-political endeavours, the very key factors that catapults nations to enviable heights.
It is safe to say that the very last time Nigeria had and experienced true and an ideal sense of leadership was all through the Colonial era, shortly after the demise of the white man’s direct press and control button era.
Every elected or appointed regime/government were fully committed to the task of denigrating our collective national struggles, thereby compounding every single problem and challenge they were brought to power to salvage. At this very juncture, the crumbling of a purported giant of Africa started in earnest.
When a nation fails to adhere to the instincts of development, democracy and civilisations, they become very vulnerable to a collapse in national structure, security and stability. And often, they lose the very foundations on which their prosperity was built. They also risk being subjugated to tyranny and hardship, and after a few years of recession, lose most if not all the benefits, status, reverence and respect they had acquired over several decades of experiment on development.
Squarely speaking, the above is the raw and unadulterated truth about the present status of Nigeria and Africa, generally. It is sad to say that Nigeria may have lost it all, no than to her brand of politics.
The Nigeria of present has procured as her most lucrative adventure, the expansionism of tyranny, political polarisation, discrimination and disintegration, masses oppression and subjugation. There is broad way and broad day public fund looting, collapse in education sector, and victimisation of all sorts amongst so many evil. In summary, the above stated is a forehand truth of the evil that has refused to unregister Nigeria in the international roaster of abandonment.
Taking a stroll into dissecting our illustrious past reveals that Nigeria was not just a super and superior power in intelligentsia and politics, we were the economic and population hero of Africa which brought about the appellation (another Japan in Africa) by the government of Harold Wilson of great Britain in the late 60’s when a part of us took the world by surprise by innovating creatively and crudely the technology of such era.
Nigeria has failed and fallen to the mud, but most annoyingly is the fact that she’s deliberately refused to stand up again, one may aver that the reason is simply because most of our leaders have first class honours in global incompetence, mediocrity and ineptitude index.
In conclusion, the only viable, dependably tested and vetted antidote to the extinction of the name and nation Nigeria is having a leader with a clear vision to pioneer and inject the political will of resources appropriation and management and astute leadership into the arteries and veins of our national structure, since our problems are those of leadership and management, any panacea short of this, would spell more extinction factors to our global stance.
Hence, Nigerians must wake up and set in motions for actions, because the nakedness of our nation’s brokenness requires much more than we’ve given already, if we continue to remain on the path of failure without significant outputs to get working again, then we are currently enjoying our best days and Just about to be plunged into Hades.
There’s just one way to kick start the process of regaining our lost glory – since corruption is the enemy that has milked away our vast human and financial resources, government must tackle that first by implementing a law that spells death to corrupt officials if convicted.
Implemented projects must be strictly supervised to stipulated standards. Our education system must be given global standard curriculum and seriously overhauled to meet and address global challenges and the needs of globalisation.
Our overpopulated youths must be engaged resourcefully by the government through various social schemes of human capital development and management. This would be a way to tackling and fighting insecurity and unemployment to a standstill. Our dilapidated infrastructures much be awaken and resuscitated to pave ways for well to do investors. Most importantly, our over dependence on Niger-Delta soil must be curbed, hence our economy must be seriously diversified to welcome other means of revenue generation.
Finally, nobody claims any monopoly of political wisdom. This writer may not have offered the best panacea for our nation’s resuscitation. But the above stated suggestions are not bad ideas. It is simply a thesis upon which other patriotic citizens may offer better ideas on moving Nigeria forward.
Whatever thing anyone does, especially Nigerians, it should be aimed at remedying the disgraceful public image of Nigeria in the international waters of global politics.
Philip Onoh, a Nigerian sent this piece from Ebonyi State.
Why Nigeria’s development rests on unity of her people, By Edet Umo
Why Nigeria’s development rests on unity of her people, By Edet Umo
Bible Text: Nehemiah 2:1-3,5*
1. Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence.
2. So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.” Then I was terrified,
3. But I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
4. I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”_
In summary of the passage above,
1. Jerusalem was in ruin.
2. The city gate was an eye sore, filled with shame and ridicule.
3. The dwellers were unable to rebuild the city.
4. The message got to Nehemiah, who at the time was living comfortably in the palace with the King in a foreign nation.
5. On hearing the report about Jerusalem, Nehemiah became saddened and appeared before his boss with a downcast appearance.
6. He didn’t hide his feelings, desire and plea from the King.
7. He mobilized resources both from the foreign land that he was and from within the city of Jerusalem.
8. He set for a rebuilding of Jerusalem.
9. He gathered people with a united mind and will, despite the opposition from Tobiah and Sanballat, he accomplished his task.
This picture shows Nigeria in both her past glory and her current state. The need therefore to rebuild our Jerusalem cannot be over preached.
J. K. Rowling did say, “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided”. Gwendolyn Brooks added, _”We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.”
These statements are true and should be adopted as a necessity by all who has the mind of developing the nation with the instrument of unity.
Unity is the soil where development grows, the root that feeds empowerment, the leafs that shades prosperity, the wings that fly peace, the seasoning that sweetens love and the light that illuminates togetherness. A united mind is a key to building communities based on justice, equality and mutual respect. Nation development involves _changing the relationships between ordinary people and people in positions of power, so that everyone can take part in the issues that affect their lives and well beings.
Areas we need to develop in the Nigeria Nation with unity of purpose and harmony includes, but not limited to:
✍🏽 Health care delivery by increasing access to healthy foods that will confer equal important to economic benefits, providing new jobs, job training programs, increasing wages, stimulating local economic activity, and improving the viability of our natural endowment of aquaculture, solid minerals and the likes.
✍🏽 Education by ensuring that the schools in Nigeria, both pre-primary, secondary, technical and university education are pursued with an improved facilities and manpower.
✍🏽 Banking system by providing a workable Bank in all LGAs, if not all ward chapters in the country. We all will agree that banking sector is a catalyst in community development.
✍🏽 Structural development by canvassing for the establishment of Government agencies in all political wards in the country, thereby taking development and government presence closer to the people. There should be either an administrative or a liaison offices for the Ministry or Agencies in all political wards due to their respective vast natural resources that will boast the State/Local Government revenue, and as a result open Communities to the world. These can only be possible through the anchor of communal and citizens united participation by eschewing party politics.
✍🏽 Road construction, rehabilitation and maintenance. This need not be overemphasized as most of our federal and States roads are glorified graves and deep sea port. Someone did ask, Road Safety and VIO asking for Vehicle Worthiness, are our roads Roadworthy
Community Development requires citizen’s Participation whereby individuals and families assume responsibility for their own welfare and develop a capacity to contribute to their own self-worth and the community at large. It is an active process whereby beneficiaries influence the direction and defend the program towards achieving the set goal(s). This was what Nehemiah did. He was uncomfortable in his comfort zone because his community was in ruin.
Principles of Community Development will always ask these five questions:
Sustainability: Do my plan for the community have a long term solution to the decay at hand?
Community-based: Does it serve the interests of the broader community or just for me and my immediate family?
Participatory: Do the broad and diverse range of community members been involved and will they embraced the program?
Asset-based: What are the communities resources and assets?
Developing the community with a united mind will give birth to Human development which ultimate aim is not or should not be to create more wealth or achieve higher economic growth, but to expand the range of choices for every human being.
All these can only be achieved through united minds and attitude. Bob Marley did sing,
One love, one heart, Let’s get together and feel all right
And Rumi Jalalu’l-Din confirmed same when he said, _”Like a sculptor, if necessary, carve a friend out of stone. Realize that your inner sight is blind and try to see a treasure in everyone.”
Winston S. Churchill added, _”When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.”_
Conclusively, we must be driven by the slogan, “all for one and one for all.”
What role do you think you can and should play for the National Development?
Rev. Edet E Umo, a Presbyterian Minister, is based in Abuja, Nigeria
A picture of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, is displayed at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, October 11, 2019 [Reuters]
‘Why I nominated Abiy Ahmed for the Nobel Peace Prize’
By Awol K. Allo
The prize not only acknowledges the Ethiopian prime minister’s commitment to peace, but encourages him to do more.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 100th Nobel Peace Prize to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Dr Abiy Ahmed Ali, for “his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation” and for his “decisive initiative” to end the long-running military stalemate with neighbouring Eritrea.
I was one of the people who nominated Abiy Ahmed – not just for his remarkable achievements, but also for his profound commitment to the cause of peace and friendly relations among nations in the Horn of Africa and beyond.
In the nomination letter, I wrote: “By saving a nation of 108 million people from the precipice of an economic and political explosion, he captured the imagination of his own people and people across the African continent as an embodiment of hope … and his messages of peace, tolerance, and love and understanding are being felt far beyond Ethiopia.”
When I submitted the nomination in January 2019, Abiy had only been in office for nine months, and Ethiopia was still in the grip of Abiymania. The new prime minister had surprised Ethiopians by taking actions no one had thought possible: he opened up the political space, released thousands of political prisoners, invited members of political groups previously designated as “terrorist organisations” back home, lifted the state of emergency, removed from office intelligence and army officers seen as complicit in the oppressive practices of the previous regime, sealed a peace deal with Eritrea, appointed a gender-balanced cabinet, and took many other progressive steps.
In addition, Abiy made sustainable peace at home and in the region one of his central domestic and foreign policy objectives. He argued that a stable, peaceful and prosperous Ethiopia is inconceivable without the peace, stability and development of the wider Horn of Africa region. He often preached about peace, forgiveness, reconciliation, unity, synergy and understanding. He even established a cabinet-level ministry with a mandate to build peace and national consensus and to oversee federal law enforcement organs, including the country’s security and intelligence agencies.
At the regional level, he initiated an economic integration plan, a programme that aims to link the Horn of Africa region through joint investment in infrastructure and economically vital strategic assets with the aim of making nations and communities in the region frontline stakeholders in peace and stability.
In the process, he captured the imagination of Ethiopians and other people in the region.
While his domestic achievements were an important part of the picture, Abiy won the prize, in the words of the Nobel Committee, “for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea”.
When he made the commitment to end the impasse in his inauguration speech, it was largely dismissed as a token gesture that would carry little weight. After all, his predecessors had made similar commitments and failed to follow through.
Abiy, however, made good on this by unconditionally accepting the terms of the Algiers Peace Agreement and the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission, which handed the town of Badme, the flashpoint of the senseless 1998-2000 war, to Eritrea. He did so against considerable internal opposition. In less than three months, the two countries signed a peace deal, normalising diplomatic relations, opening phone lines, restoring air travel and border crossings, and reuniting tens of thousands of families splintered by the war.
In addition to ending the state of “no-war-no-peace” with Eritrea, he also mediated between Eritrea and Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia, Somalia and Kenya, and pushed the various factions in South Sudan to give peace a chance. Most recently, he brokered the power-sharing deal between the Transitional Military Council and the opposition alliance in Sudan, following the ousting of Omar al-Bashir.
To be clear, I did not nominate Abiy because I believed he had effectively transformed the peace and security landscape in Ethiopia or the Horn of Africa. Although his achievements were nothing less than stellar, I nominated him partly because I view the Nobel Peace Prize as a call to action – a prestigious award that would give Abiy the moral authority to redouble his efforts to achieve a new political settlement in the region based on peaceful co-existence and economic interdependence.
Peace should be defined not by the mere absence of active hostilities between nations, but by how secure, safe and dignified people in the region feel. It is a largely intangible, elusive and malleable public good that requires ethical and political commitment, as well as considerable pragmatism, from all stakeholders involved in its building and maintenance.
The Horn of Africa is still one of the most volatile and unstable corners of the world. Peacebuilding there demands the establishment of comprehensive structures and institutions that involve all stakeholders, and a policy-level alignment, coordination, resource mobilisation and coherence among regional actors.
Ethiopia is the most powerful and geopolitically significant country in the region and there is a considerable expectation of it to play a role befitting of this. Hence for Abiy, with the Nobel Peace Prize comes great responsibility. He will be expected to use this honour as a tool to bolster his peacebuilding efforts.
The domestic front
Ultimately, Abiy will be judged by his ability to bring sustainable peace and democracy to Ethiopia. In fact, this will be his single greatest challenge, and how he manages Ethiopia’s democratic transition will define his legacy more than anything else.
Change is hard. It is slow. The task of constructing a new society from an old one is enormously challenging, and it is particularly so when this society is extremely diverse and divided. While Abiy has taken a slew of decisive actions that put Ethiopia on a path to democratic transition, the process is still fraught with operational and strategic challenges.
Democratic transition in Ethiopia requires two critical elements: political settlement and national reconciliation.
Political settlement
For Ethiopia to move forward, some of the key political questions that have crystallised over the last several years, such as language policy, the status of Addis Ababa, the character of the Ethiopian federation and the constitutional right to self-determination must be settled. The country’s leaders must reach a consensus on all of these issues and secure a new political settlement.
The upcoming election is a critical test for Abiy’s government, and for the prospects of democratic transition. For any government to tackle those critical questions, the next election must be free and fair, and the new government has a democratic mandate to take on major constitutional issues.
National reconciliation
To achieve this and secure any future political settlement, Ethiopia needs true peace. In a democratising empire, true peace requires strengthening the rule of law, reforming the security and justice sector, managing the present and planning for the future.
Most importantly, true peace requires reconciliation and healing. Without a programme of national reconciliation, healing and peacebuilding that is credible, legitimate and has significant public support, it is very difficult to bring the country together around a common and inclusive vision for the future.
And true peace requires confronting the country’s contested past, repairing social tissues, mending deep fissures, and healing individual and collective traumas inflicted by decades of repressive rule. It requires overcoming the complex and multidimensional social and political cleavages that divide the county along a binary line and instituting a more equitable, fair and sustainable dispensation.
The government has established a peace and reconciliation commission tasked with dealing with the past and helping the country move forward. However, it is not clear to what extent the body, as currently constituted, is fit for purpose, and it clearly lacks the institutional capacity and professional competence to meet its extremely demanding objectives.
While Ethiopia’s destiny will be tied to the destiny of its neighbours in the Horn, Abiy’s legacy will be determined largely by his successes and failures at home. How he addresses the structural uncertainties, and the competing and seemingly irreconcilable demands of the various communities in his country, will determine how we remember the legacy of Abiy Ahmed’s premiership, and Ethiopia’s first Nobel Laureate.
He has time. With the Nobel Peace Prize he has a new momentum and renewed national and international goodwill. He should use this opportunity to reach out to friends and foes to move Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa forward.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
A picture of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, is displayed at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, October 11, 2019 [Reuters]
A young boy walks past a digital image of late former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe as his body lies in state at Murombedzi Growth Point, about 107 km northwest of Harare, Zimbabwe, on September 16, 2019, as people have been accorded the opportunity to view Mugabe’s body a week after his death. – The remains of former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe were taken to his village for a wake on September 16, a family member said, as his final burial is prepared in about a month. Mugabe died a week ago aged 95 in Singapore, nearly two years after he was ousted in a 2017 coup that ended nearly four decades of increasingly autocratic rule. After a state funeral on September 14 in the capital Harare attended by African leaders, his body went to his rural village of Kutama, 90 kilometres (55 miles) to the west, to allow villagers to pay tribute and bid farewell. (Photo by Jekesai NJIKIZANA / AFP)
OPINION: The Mugabe legacy, By Ray Ekpu
Without any speck of doubt, Mr. Robert Mugabe can be regarded as the icon of the liberation struggle of Zimbabwe. He was one man, among a few others, who rose to his full height when duty called.
Armed with about half a dozen degrees, a bulky frame and a rough tongue he carved the image of a man who was ready to lead his people to the land of freedom. The arguments for freedom against minority rule whether in South Africa or Southern Rhodesia or anywhere else are always unassailable at a universal level but to get there has always been the difficult part.
Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, had been under the clutch of white minority rule led by Mr. Ian Smith. Mr. Smith had boasted that the independence of that territory would only happen after 1000 years and certainly not during his lifetime. He declared what came to be called UDI, unilateral declaration of independence from the colonial master, Britain.
Strangely, inexplicably, Britain’s reaction to this illegal action was tepid. The British Government decided to send a warship NS Tiger with the Prime Minister, Mr. Harold Wilson on board to hold talks with the rebel leader, Smith. This was not what the lovers of freedom expected from Britain. So it was obvious to black Africans of South Rhodesians descent that they would have no freedom except they were ready to fight for it. With a vicious white minority regime in power that meant trouble, enormous trouble. That is when the audacious Robert Mugabe took it upon himself to recruit other patriots such as Joshua Nkomo, Bishop Abel Muzarewa and Reverend Ndabani Sethole into the struggle. They adopted asymmetrical warfare called today guerrilla war.
Mr. Mugabe was tried and imprisoned on a charge of sedition from 1964 to 1974 because of his opposition to minority rule in Southern Rhodesia. After his release from prison in 1974, he relocated to Mozambique and led the struggle from there. That struggle which was largely a guerrilla affair came to be called the Bush War.
Mugabe’s leadership in that epic confrontation, his seminal and poisonous remarks on minority rule and the exemplary courage that he exhibited throughout the struggle that led to Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 are what can be regarded as the real pillars on which his relevance rests. So it would be correct to regard him as the icon of his country’s liberation. It is in acknowledgement of that contribution that he was made the Prime Minister of that country from 1980 to 1987.
From 1987 to 2017 he was the President with extraordinary powers. So in all, Mugabe had ruled his country for 37 years. Until he was forced out of office in a palace coup in November 2017 by the Military that country knew only one man as its leader: Robert Mugabe. By the time he was thrown out of office by the military wing of his party ZANU-PF, he had established himself firmly as the maximum ruler of Zimbabwe even though his age demanded that he should throw in the towel. On September 6, he died in a hospital in Singapore where he had gone for medical treatment.
There were mixed feelings at his funeral but out of a sense of decency, African leaders gathered there, chose to harp only on his role in the liberation struggle. And in Africa, it is said that you do not speak ill of the dead. But it is true to say that Mugabe did well in the early part of his administration of Zimbabwe. As demanded by the black majority of his countrymen he embarked on land reforms which meant dispossessing the white farmers of the arable land that they controlled.
At the time of his ascension to power, the whites controlled 80% of the economy. His policy only took the land away from the whites but never gave the blacks the skills with which to turn the economy around. As a result, some of the white farmers emigrated and the deterioration in the Zimbabwean economy began. Mugabe gave considerable attention to education.
From 177 secondary schools that he inherited in 1980, he took the figure to 1548 by the year 2000. But he did very little in other areas such as health. The public health system had virtually collapsed by the time he was thrown out of office. That was why he often travelled abroad for his own medical attention. It is a tragedy in Africa that even the well-off countries such as Nigeria do not provide good medical facilities for their citizens. The result is that their leaders can seek medical treatment abroad at public expense while their countrymen can stay in their countries and die of poor medical attention.
Some years ago when the World Health Organisation (WHO) was about to bestow an award on Mugabe, his countrymen told the global health body that the health facilities in Zimbabwe were nothing to write home about and that Mugabe deserved no such honour. And throughout his time in office, Mugabe made Singapore that was also a third world country some years ago his medical tourism destination.
Mugabe’s review of his country’s constitution to make him a maximum ruler did not serve the country well. The constitution review dispossessed the white minorities of the 20 parliamentary seats reserved for them. This caused considerable unease in the country. The decision was a ploy to get the black majority on his side while he acquired for himself extraordinary powers. Such powers obviously led to the erosion of people’s rights and freedom and the general oppression of the populace by his security operatives.
In the last days of Mugabe as Zimbabwe’s President, the country had degenerated into something like Dante’s Inferno; oppression was rife, the economy was on its back, the opposition was throttled and there was a phenomenal growth in the poverty level and its currency was worse than toilet paper. Essential goods were hard to find and when found the cost was sky-high.
Mugabe economics was incoherent because he was trying to fuse his ill-digested theory of Socialism with what he called Africanism. But perhaps what took the breath away was the depth of corruption around him and his family. His extravagant wife, Grace had been nicknamed GG, that is Gucci Grace, a backhanded compliment her exotic appetite for extravagance. Everyone knew that he was grooming this former Secretary of his for the presidency of the country. The generals thought it was time to pull the plug so that the abhorrent idea did not take firm root either in his mind or hers. Besides, they were convinced that the law of diminishing returns had set in after more than three decades at the helm of office and that Mugabe was frail and not fully in control and that his wife had become the surrogate President. That is why they stuck in 2017.
Part of the African tragedy is that some of the warriors for their country’s independence who took office after independence exhibited a sense of entitlement. They thought that their pre-independence exertions gave them the right to stay in office forever. Other leaders thought that even if they did not fight for independence they deserved to stay in office as long as possible because the country could collapse without them. Africa is the only continent in the world where we have had Presidents staying in office for 20 years or more.
For example, President Museveni of Uganda has been in office for 33 years and is still hanging in there while President Paul Biya of Cameroons has done 37 years, the chronological age of the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Ms Jacinda Arden. This philosophy of sit-tightism has been Africa’s undoing. Mugabe stands tall in the history of his country’s liberation but falls short in the history of good governance.
Ekpu is a Nigerian writer, journalist with a niche in The Guardian of Nigeria
EDITORIAL: Nigerian Government must not force RUGA on the people
Why Nigerian Government must not force RUGA on the people
Through the benefit of hindsight, one can understand why most Nigerians, especially from the South are against the new RUGA settlement project of the President Muhammadu Buhari.
The migration of the Fulani herdsmen into various parts of the country and their threats and domination through guns and machetes is sending worrying signals to neighbourhoods.
States like Benue, Taraba, Plateau, Kaduna, Niger, Kwara, Nasarawa, Zamfara among others in the North have had more than their own fair share of communal crises because of the establishment of Fulani settlement in those states many years ago. Today, both the migrant herdsmen and the original inhabitants of those states are claiming ownership of lands and this is causing bloodshed at all times.
In the South, States like Enugu, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Rivers among others are living in constant fears of attack by arms-welding Fulani cattle herders who unleash terror on them occasionally.
The new RUGA project of the Nigerian government is meant to settle more Fulani communities in more parts of the country, the same way the herders were settled years ago.
Nigeria has been battling with settling disputes between the Fulani migrants and their host communities. But not much progress seems to have been achieved. Creating more settlement of the Fulani across the country the way RUGA is seeking to achieve will compound Nigeria’s problems. It is either that the Fulani succeed in conquering the whole country or that all parts of the country would be enmeshed in bloody wars at all times. This is the reason Nigerians are protesting against RUGA and this is the more reason the government should not force the project on the people.
On Wednesday, reports had it that President Buhari has succumbed to pressure, suspending the controversial Ruga settlement scheme.
The suspension was announced in Abuja after governors representing the six geopolitical zones of the country met with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Chairman of the National Committee on Food Security/Herders/Farmers Conflicts and Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr Dave Umahi, disclosed the government’s decision to journalists after the meeting.
Besides Umahi, others at the meeting included Plateau State Governor, Mr Simon Lalong; Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu; and the Deputy Governor of Adamawa State, Mr Martins Nasir.
Umahi explained that the controversial Ruga policy was not consistent with the National Livestock Transformation Plan, which was earlier deliberated upon and approved by the National Economic Council. Osinbajo is the Chairman of the NEC.
The Ebonyi State governor spoke further, “We, the NEC committee on farmers/herders crises under the chairmanship of His Excellency, Mr Vice-President, met today to deliberate on the approved programme of NEC and the Federal Government, tagged ‘National Livestock Transformation Programme.’
“We are aware today that Mr President has suspended the implementation of the Ruga programme, initiated and being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
“(This is) because it is not consistent with the NEC and the Federal Government-approved National Livestock Transformation plan, which has programmes of rehabilitation of internally displaced persons resulting from crises and also the development of ranches in any willing state of the federation. The word is willing state of the federation
“The beauty of the National Livestock Transformation plan is that what NEC and the FG approved is a voluntary programme for all the 36 states that like to participate. So, it is not compulsory; it is for any state that is willing to key into the programme.
“Any state that is interested in this programme is required to bring up a development plan that is keyed toward the implementation in line with our own programme here that is unique to his state, based on the challenges that he has in respect of the crisis. That is the decision of this committee.”
The government had last week named 12 states as the pilot states for the Ruga scheme, resulting in immediate nationwide outcry.
The states mentioned included Sokoto, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kogi, Taraba, Katsina, Plateau, Kebbi, Zamfara and Niger.
Wednesday’s meeting of the committee was the first after the President’s inauguration on May 29.
Last week, as the Ruga project generated tension in the country, the VP’s office quickly denied that Osinbajo was supervising the implementation of the scheme.
The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice-President, Mr Laolu Akande, in a statement, said the VP only knew about the NLTP and not Ruga.
He stated, “The National Livestock Transformation Plan 2019-2028 is a programme to be implemented in seven pilot states of Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara (as decided by NEC in January), being states in the front lines of the Farmer-Herder crises. Afterwards, six other states have indicated readiness to also implement the plan. They are Katsina, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Ondo, and Edo states.
Akande gave other details, “The plan has six pillars through which it aims to transform the livestock production system in Nigeria along market-oriented value chain while ensuring an atmosphere of peace and justice.
“The six key pillars include, economic investment, conflict resolution, justice and peace, humanitarian relief and early recovery, human capital development and cross-cutting issues such as gender, youth, research and information and strategic communication.”
But, on his own part, Buhari’s spokesman, Mr Garba Shehu, stated that Ruga and the NLTP were “semantics”, as both meant the same thing.
However, some group of Nigerians are yet satisfied with the reported suspension of the RUGA idea. The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, the Afenifere, dismissed the suspension of the Ruga settlement programme by the Presidency, describing it as a ploy to buy time.
It endorsed calls for referendum by various groups to determine the future of the country, noting that the insistence on the implementation of the initiative by some northern groups showed that the need for a referendum was more urgent than ever.
Afenifere’s spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, stated, “I think they are just buying time. We would have said they were bending to public opinion if the programme was cancelled.”
He expressed suspicion over the ultimatum issued by the northern groups and their threat to evict Southerners living in the north if the Ruga programme was not allowed in the Southern part of the country.
Odumakin noted, “How come the day the Ruga was suspended was the day a coalition of northern groups is issuing an ultimatum that the policy must be implemented within three weeks?
“We support the calls by different groups that a United Nations-supervised referendum should hold to determine whether we should live together under true federalism or go our separate ways.”
Opposing the suspension of the initiative, the Pan-Niger Delta Forum said it expected the government to cancel it.
The PANDEF National Secretary, Dr. Alfred Mulade, argued that the scheme could compromise national security and the safety of Nigerians.
He said, “The suspension is not enough, it should be cancelled outright because suspension is a temporary measure, what we want is total cancellation. Ruga shouldn’t be mentioned at all. It is against the collective peace and survival of the people of Nigeria.”
Earlier on Wednesday, there were indications that traditional and religious leaders in the three senatorial districts of Akwa Ibom State would meet on Saturday in Uyo, the state capital, over the suspended Ruga herdsmen settlements.
The state Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Ndueso Ekwere, who stated this in a statement, said the meeting became necessary to take a concrete position on the issue.
He stated, “There are plans for a meeting between the leaders of Christian communities and traditional rulers in Akwa Ibom State. The meeting becomes necessary following rejection of the Ruga by Christians in Akwa Ibom State. We viewed President Buhari’s move to establish Ruga settlements as counterproductive to the economy of the state, as such establishment will deprive most farmers of their land and space for infrastructural expansion and location of industries, to boost economic activities and revenue generation.”
On its part, the apex Igbo cultural organisation, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, commended the Federal Government for suspending the Ruga project.
In a statement in Enugu, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo President , Chief John Nwodo, through his Special Adviser on Media, Chief Emeka Attamah, said “It is heartwarming to observe that for the first time the current leadership at the federal level has deferred to people’s opinion on public issues.
“The Federal Government should take immediate measures to disarm the Ak-47 trotting herders throughout the country. Issues surrounding the suspended Ruga scheme indicate the importance of consulting the people before taking certain decisions that will affect them.”
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo is as worried about the restoration of peace between farmers and herders in the country as the Federal Government and believes that the ultimate solution to it is to embrace ranching
“Government should carry out an audit of foreigners in the country and ascertain those with genuine entry papers, deport those illegally in the country as well as ensure that the nation’s borders are properly controlled and manned to avert further massive infiltration.
“As a process towards healing the present wounds and uniting the country, adequate compensation should be paid to relations of victims of the unwarranted killings in the country in recent times.”
It is clear that Nigerians are not in support of RUGA. Experience is teaching them lessons. Nigeria is a democratic country and the government should allow the will of the people to prevail. Our position is that Buhari should outrightly cancel RUGA or whatever thing that means establishing Fulani settlements across the country.
Wanted: A faster wheel of justice, By Dare Babarinsa
OPINION: Wanted: A faster wheel of justice, By Dare Babarinsa
What is becoming worrisome about General Muhammadu Buhari’s second coming is the apparent lack of speed. Considering the antecedent of 2015 when he took several months to constitute his cabinet, one expected a greater appreciation now of the urgent imperative of governance at a faster pace. Today, Nigeria is facing a war of no definite frontier and the enemy camp is populated by ghostly figures appearing occasional as Boko Haram terrorists, kidnappers, ritual killers, de-commissioned suspected Fulani herdsmen and robbers. These new foes are challenging the very essence of the Nigerian state which is to maintain security of life and property. When you open the newspapers tomorrow you will be confronted with new statistics and gory tales about this new war.
There are enough reasons to spur Buhari to immediate action and yet, there is a feeling of languor and reckless ease on his part. The Boko Haram terrorists remain active and they are still keeping Lear Sharibu almost two years on. No one is sure whether the young lady of 16 spirited away with 108 other girls from Dapchi is still alive or not. If she is still alive, she would be a different person now at almost 18, older, wiser and inflicted with horribly experience. Yet our republic, represented by our beloved President, has not been able to get her back home nor punish the criminals who have so mindlessly assaulted our collective humanity.
The criminal enterprise is taking on new dimensions and attracting new recruits every day. In many university towns, young men and women are suspected to have veered into another alley of depravities in the search of quick and illegal wealth. They are armed and dangerous, not with guns and bombs, but with the mobile computer, tablets and android phones. They populate expensive hotels in the neighbourhood of the campuses, spending money as if there is no tomorrow. They are the new dark knights of the Yahoo trade, the internet based fraud that has spurred a new generation of criminals among these youths. Indeed the truth for many of them is that there is no tomorrow.
In the simpler days of old, the entire community was involved in ensuring the security of the community. Any new person entering the community is monitored and his or her movement would be reported at the oba’s palace. His or her host would be expected to take responsibility for his guest’s movement and action. Today, nobody is responsible for anybody. Today, it is difficult to hold anybody responsible for the actions of his neighbour or his guests. To underscore that is happening to us, even religious leaders are now going about with armed guards. For them, angels are not enough!
When we were young during the hot season, people sleep on the corridors of their houses. In the old Ibadan, houses even in the GRA, have no fence except flower hedges and the rich were not afraid of the poor. People were free to travel day or night. By 6 a.m., vehicles from the interiors of the old Western Region would be arriving at Ogunpa Oyo, in Ibadan and the traders would fan out to Gbagi Market to buy wares. They must have left home at 3 or 4 a.m. Then there were no fear that some children could be stolen before day break. Today, even the powerful government officials live behind high walls. Nobody feels safe enough not to feel threatened anymore.Even the priests, the doctors and the traditional rulers are not immune from the long arms of the criminals and kidnappers.
In some communities, new dimensions are being introduced to criminality. A Lagos family built a country home in Ekiti State. For the past three years, they had not visited their country home for one reason or the other. Last year, they decided to visit home and on arrival they were shocked when they realised that the locks to the house has been broken and there were new occupants of their house! They met total strangers occupying the entire house! They were barred from their own home.
One enquiry, one of their neighbours had broken into the houses and rented out the two apartments in the premises. The new tenants would not allow the real landlord into their premises. Who could have believed that an attempt would be made to kidnap a house while the owner is alive and well? Such is the impunity that has overtaken our country.
Yet this impunity percolates from the top. The greatest incentive to criminals is that the last criminal was not caught and when he is caught he is not punished. In our republic, the wheel of justice grinds so slowly, so uncertainly and so erratically that it can be grounded at any time. When a case drags on for so long, the witnesses too, preoccupied with their own lives, would be tired of giving evidences. New lines of evidences may grow cold or disappears and justice would not be serve and the losers would be the ordinary citizens of the republic.
A case in point was the assassination of Mrs Kudirat Abiola, the senior wife of Chief Moshood Abiola whose victory at the June 12, 1993, was voided by the dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida. Kudirat was gunned down in broad daylight on the street of Lagos in June 1996. That night, the Federal Government sent a condolence delegation to the Abiolas in Lagos when the people knew that Kudirat was killed by suspected agents of the General Sani Abacha junta.
In 1998, the Lagos State Government assembled the suspects for Kudirat assassination. Among the suspects were Lt. General Ishaya Bamaiyi, who was Chief of Army Staff under Abacha and Major Mohammed Hamza al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to Abacha. After almost a decade of trial before many judges, the suspects were acquitted by the Appeal Court and left to the judgement of their conscience. One of the suspects, suffused in the euphoria of freedom, announced he would like to run for President.
![A picture of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, is displayed at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, October 11, 2019 [Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/discoverafricanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Abiy.jpg?resize=580%2C326&ssl=1)
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