So much has been said about Magnus Kpokol and the agency he runs at the beginning of this year that one expected he should have been rusting in the Kirikiri or Gashua jail by now. However, like other corruption cases, raised by the National Assembly, since the era of probes began; the NAPEP probe has been buried and forgotten in the nation’s corruption cases archives. On February 2, 2009, several national dailies carried a news report, which stated that the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has presided over a plenary, where the Senate approved the motion to probe the activities of the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP). NAPEP, according to the Senate Committee on National Planning Commission, lacks direction and suffers from administrative perfidy. The Committee also accused it for failure to register a formidable impact on the lives of the Nigerian populace, in spite of the alleged huge budgetary allocations made available to it by the Federal Government. The NAPEP probe provided a rare opportunity to unearth the whereabouts of billions of naira allocated to the agency since its formation ten years ago, to alleviate the scourge of poverty. But the probe like others was abandoned.
The Committee was to probe into the purchase of the N2.4 billion 5,000 units of tricycle, popularly called "Keke NAPEP." The Committee’s Chairman Hajiya Zainab Kure told the Senate during the hearing that 70% of Nigerians leave below the poverty line, eight years after the introduction of NAPEP and despite the huge funding through appropriation and Millennium Development Goal (MDG) funding, the agency could not effectively impact on the lives of the less privileged Nigerians. Most of what has been heard of the agency was just on the pages of national dailies as each of its numerous mouth watering schemes ends with the grandeur of its official launching ceremony. However, eight months after the submission, nothing was heard of the probe.
NAPEP as it is today, constitute a waste and a huge financial burden with very inconsequential results. The total cost of the budget of NAPEP as provided in 2007, 2008 and 2009 is N3 billion and the level of poverty today from available statistics is estimated to be over 54.4% in 2004. Though different measurement techniques provide somewhat different data about the level and incidence of poverty, the general picture of poverty in Nigeria is indeed critical. We have to remember that the World Bank has earlier in 2001 estimated that 70.2% of Nigerians live on less than a $1 a day. And the National Bureau of Statistics noted that poverty incidence in 2004 may have been 57% not 54.4% as estimated. The fact that 50% of the population is poor is supposed to be a major concern for political leaders and policy makers. The rate of poverty in the nation is largely caused by unemployment and misplaced priorities from our political leaders. Studies show that an estimated 2.8 million graduates enter the labour market annually with little over 10% securing a job.
In its editorial of September 22, 2009 the Nigerian Vanguard reported that in 2005, an estimated 80 to 90 million Nigerians live in poverty; only India and China have more poor people. India and China each has a population over 1 billion to Nigeria’s 140 million. What is very clear from the foregoing is that in spite of claims by the NAPEP leadership that over 200,000 jobs were created in the last decade, the incidence of poverty is still high and unemployment remains a major problem. NAPEP, and to a large extent, other poverty alleviation programmes, designed to tackle poverty and unemployment are well articulated on paper, but in practice these programmes benefit ‘the boys’, selected by politicians, who were not in the category of the poor or unemployed. Therefore, hardly any poverty alleviation programme will have an impact because the real poor are left out in favour of party loyalists or relatives. The reality is that corruption, favouritism, nepotism and lack of political will from our policy makers in recent years have hampered the institution building efforts geared to address poverty and unemployment in the country.
In order to genuinely address the problem of poverty and employment in this country, government at all levels need to redirect their attention to addressing the problems associated with agriculture. For long we have abandoned agriculture, which is supposed to be the main stay of our economy. They should invest more on dry season farming as is done in some states like Kano, Sokoto and Kaduna. Governments should also try to invest more on social sectors, such as health, education, etc. leading to enhanced human capabilities and improved living standard of living. There is also need to review all our anti-poverty and empowerment programmes and initiatives in the country. However, all these can work if the Federal Government on one hand and the National Assembly on the other hand are guided by the desire to serve the people that voted {?} them to power.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Nigeria @ 49: X-raying PDPs burden of leadership
When Sir Abubakar Balewa, Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, delivered his first speech to the nation on October 1, 1960, he had no fore-knowledge of the situation in today’s Nigeria. However, the last statement quoted from the speech, 49 years old today, captured our situation today as if the former Prime Minister was referring to today’s Nigeria. Sir Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr Nnamdi Azikwe and their ilk, were men of honour and integrity who sacrificed their entire life to make Nigeria a great country. A country that can stand in the comity of nations, where the right of its citizens is well respected, their lives valued and where access to education, health and basic necessities of life is ensured. But alas, contemporary political leaders deviated from the Nigerian dream; they changed and alter the foundation which these men of integrity laid for the country and its citizens. What we see today is a political leadership guided by greed, selfishness and highest sense of irresponsibility.
Balewa’s speech was a kind that one would love to listen and listen again because it was a speech coming from a leader with a vision and responsibility. A leader who knew the problem of his nation and who with honesty and sincerity was ready to confront it. Unlike today’s leaders, whose take in leadership is to amass wealth through fraudulent means, the founding fathers of modern Nigeria were people who died leaving behind them virtually nothing in terms of material things. They were political leaders with humility, dedication and service, unlike the boastful & arrogant political leaders of today, they were leaders with vision, unlike the corrupt and greed infested looters, short-sighted political nonentities we see today parading themselves as leaders.
As we are now, even if we pretend to join the band wagon by saying things are walking well, one knows that he was lying to himself. Nigeria is not working and by extension the country has collapsed. As am talking to you all state owned universities, with the exception of Ahmadu Bello University, which was suspended by ASUU leadership, are closed down due to strike by SSANU, ASUU and NASU, no town in the whole of Nigeria can burst of steady one hour power supply. Our hospitals are not only mere consulting centres, but according to a national daily in its editorial recently, are mortuaries. Public schools, whether primary schools or secondary schools are overcrowded with students, with dilapidated structures, in some instances the structures are not even there. Our roads remained death traps, where thousands lose their lives daily. The only institution that remains functional in the country, as of now, is the inner core of the People’s Democratic Party machinery, an institution that has direct access to the nation’s resources.
With over 90% of the nation political leadership under their control, PDP is to blame for our present woes. They sold our nation and our freedom; they turned us into slaves and paupers in our own country. In the last ten years the nation under the PDP, has witnessed an unprecedented income from the oil windfall that would have moved the country to the fore-front of leading economic viable nations of the world. However, gross indiscipline, inefficiency, ineffectiveness and wide scale corruption which was characterized by massive looting in virtually all sectors of our lives has totally destroyed everything, including the little hope that came with our return to democracy 10 years ago.
Today as Nigeria celebrates its 49th birthday, the inborn patriotic zeal we have seen when in primary school from our teachers, the selfless service we heard and see from them, the concern for unity and equitable development foresight of our leaders has been eroded. No thanks to the destructive leadership spearheaded by the PDP in the last decade. Our political leaders, majority of them from the ruling PDP, are people that pay little or no attention at all to our plights. Dilapidated infrastructure, collapsed educational system has been the characteristics of the nation. They deliberately allowed things to crumble, for instance lack of power supply has killed our industries thereby creating a huge number of unemployed persons. As we celebrate our independence, we are left to fight many wars; poverty, homelessness and above all insecurity.
Nigeria should not be allowed to continue like this; our leaders need to make a u-turn; they should realize that they have a responsibility. We need to realize that the existence of this country as a nation can only be possible when our leaders change from the non-challant attitude they show to the plight of the Nigerian people to real commitment. We have all what it takes to develop this country, but the country is held ransom by greedy and selfish leaders.
Nigerians have no problem; they have been obedient citizens for the past 49 years, withstanding the civil war, military dictatorship and abuse of power by political leaders. Our problem lies, as Achebe clearly put it, in the unwillingness of our leaders to rise to their responsibilities. We have lamented for so long; we have cried in frustration; we have complained virtually of everything but it seems our political leaders are not listening. The hope that tomorrow will be better than today is dashed by insensitive and greedy elites. May God rescue us and the country from these crop of leaders.
Balewa’s speech was a kind that one would love to listen and listen again because it was a speech coming from a leader with a vision and responsibility. A leader who knew the problem of his nation and who with honesty and sincerity was ready to confront it. Unlike today’s leaders, whose take in leadership is to amass wealth through fraudulent means, the founding fathers of modern Nigeria were people who died leaving behind them virtually nothing in terms of material things. They were political leaders with humility, dedication and service, unlike the boastful & arrogant political leaders of today, they were leaders with vision, unlike the corrupt and greed infested looters, short-sighted political nonentities we see today parading themselves as leaders.
As we are now, even if we pretend to join the band wagon by saying things are walking well, one knows that he was lying to himself. Nigeria is not working and by extension the country has collapsed. As am talking to you all state owned universities, with the exception of Ahmadu Bello University, which was suspended by ASUU leadership, are closed down due to strike by SSANU, ASUU and NASU, no town in the whole of Nigeria can burst of steady one hour power supply. Our hospitals are not only mere consulting centres, but according to a national daily in its editorial recently, are mortuaries. Public schools, whether primary schools or secondary schools are overcrowded with students, with dilapidated structures, in some instances the structures are not even there. Our roads remained death traps, where thousands lose their lives daily. The only institution that remains functional in the country, as of now, is the inner core of the People’s Democratic Party machinery, an institution that has direct access to the nation’s resources.
With over 90% of the nation political leadership under their control, PDP is to blame for our present woes. They sold our nation and our freedom; they turned us into slaves and paupers in our own country. In the last ten years the nation under the PDP, has witnessed an unprecedented income from the oil windfall that would have moved the country to the fore-front of leading economic viable nations of the world. However, gross indiscipline, inefficiency, ineffectiveness and wide scale corruption which was characterized by massive looting in virtually all sectors of our lives has totally destroyed everything, including the little hope that came with our return to democracy 10 years ago.
Today as Nigeria celebrates its 49th birthday, the inborn patriotic zeal we have seen when in primary school from our teachers, the selfless service we heard and see from them, the concern for unity and equitable development foresight of our leaders has been eroded. No thanks to the destructive leadership spearheaded by the PDP in the last decade. Our political leaders, majority of them from the ruling PDP, are people that pay little or no attention at all to our plights. Dilapidated infrastructure, collapsed educational system has been the characteristics of the nation. They deliberately allowed things to crumble, for instance lack of power supply has killed our industries thereby creating a huge number of unemployed persons. As we celebrate our independence, we are left to fight many wars; poverty, homelessness and above all insecurity.
Nigeria should not be allowed to continue like this; our leaders need to make a u-turn; they should realize that they have a responsibility. We need to realize that the existence of this country as a nation can only be possible when our leaders change from the non-challant attitude they show to the plight of the Nigerian people to real commitment. We have all what it takes to develop this country, but the country is held ransom by greedy and selfish leaders.
Nigerians have no problem; they have been obedient citizens for the past 49 years, withstanding the civil war, military dictatorship and abuse of power by political leaders. Our problem lies, as Achebe clearly put it, in the unwillingness of our leaders to rise to their responsibilities. We have lamented for so long; we have cried in frustration; we have complained virtually of everything but it seems our political leaders are not listening. The hope that tomorrow will be better than today is dashed by insensitive and greedy elites. May God rescue us and the country from these crop of leaders.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Niger and the burden of democracy in Africa
That President Mamadou Tandja of Niger has succeeded in destroying all democratic institutions in his country for his selfish ambition to rule the West African nation till eternity is no longer news. What is news however was the effort of AU and ECOWAS in trying to stop him. ECOWAS or AU could have stopped him long ago in order to avoid plunging the country into chaos and political crises. However, due to what analysts see as the moral burden of legitimacy hanging on almost all the leaders in the West African sub-region and the continent in general, most of them kept quite. To me the only leader that has the moral authority to talk to him or challenge this illegal move in ECOWAS is the Ghanaian President, Professor John Atta Mills, who the whole world acknowledged came to power through free and fair election.
Tandja felt that since majority of his counterparts came to power through either fraudulent elections or imposed themselves on their people through military coup, nobody can lecture them on democracy. Tandja, who came to power ten years ago was to vacate office in four months time as his legal tenure expires in December, but decided to extend his tenure first by dissolving the parliament and later dismissing the country’s constitutional court. He went further to ridicule democratic tenets by organising a referendum described by civil society groups in the country as a sham, to seek the opinions of Nigeriens to allow him stay in office beyond the stipulated time of two tenures of five years each.
In Africa, a continent that is used to the power longevity of its leaders in office and where acts of political bullies are always non-events and political attitudes are more compliant and dictators come at a dime a dozen, Tandja’s story is one of many. From Egypt, Tunisia, Uganda, to the almighty Robert Mugabe to Ghaddafi, the present AU President – we have leaders who spent more than twenty years ruling their own countries, and who have no intention to vacate office. So Tandja is no fool, he knows that no leader in the continent can challenge his tenure elongation since majority of them are guilty of the same offence. Who do you think in the AU or ECOWAS has the moral authority to do so? Even those leaders that can speak out for instance, like the Ghanaian president, in ECOWAS or South Africa’s Jacob Zuma, who has a Mugabe in his neighbourhood, on whose support are they going to rely upon? Is it from Umar Hassan Albashir, Mubarak, or Mugabe? Or is it from Museveni?
Africa’s democratic experience is one characterised by leaders whose major take in the process is subversion of people’s will. A continent ravaged by AIDS, overpopulation, poverty, starvation, illiteracy, corruption, social breakdown, vanishing resources, overcrowded cities, drought, war, and war refugees, the continent’s problems were compounded over the years by greedy, selfish and visionless leaders whose main preoccupation is to amass stupendous wealth which even their 6th generation of lineage cannot spend . These are leaders who have turned their nations into their handbags and believe that their nations can not and should not do without them. In the process they turned their citizens into slaves, beggars and paupers denying them their basic rights of decent living as human beings. In some countries even the rights to choose leaders in election is not allowed, for instance Ethiopia, while in others elections are won before they are even conducted like the charade we have seen in Nigeria in 2003 and 2007! Constitutions are tampered with at will. Some have even groomed their sons to take over if there is an emergency or if they die. We have them in Egypt, Cameroun, Togo, Libya, Guinea, etc, not to mention absolute monarchies like Swaziland and Lesotho.
Tandja’s decision to manipulate necessary provisions of the country’s constitution to suit his purpose and actualise his vaulting ambition is not a new phenomenon in African politics; the only difference is the fact that nobody expected that from him. He has disappointed many of his admirers and draws the political progress of his country backward. The relative stability enjoyed by the country in the last decade has been fractured by Tandja’s actions and this constitutes a negative signal for democracy and the stability of this poverty ravaged country. With a history of military take-overs, nobody can rule out this possibility, as the military can use the present disturbances in the polity; arrest of opposition politicians, journalists and civil society groups, as a convenient excuse to take over.
But what is clear from the political crises in Niger is the fact that Africa is yet to come to terms with the advances achieved in other continents in the new millennium. While leaders in Europe, America and even Asia are guided in their leadership by service to their countries, developing new ideas, intelligent vision that can enable them to connect to their people, in Africa the opposite is the case. Everywhere the story is the same – of poor leadership, corruption, election rigging and intolerance of the opposition. Tandja and his sit-tight colleagues in other part of the continent are a disappointment. The challenge here is for civil society groups, democrats and journalist in African to stand up against these leaders who did not see their destinies as tied up with that of their fellow Africans.
Democracy, as it is now has become a burden to Africa and Africans. Our democratic development and our hopes of joining the league of free societies, where citizens elect their leaders who can rule according to rule of law is being impeded by sit-tight rulers like Tandja Mammadou and his friends. This will continue for a long time to come in Africa, because of hypocrisy from the Western countries in addressing Africa’s problems. Their sole interest in the continent is to have leaders that they can continue to use to milk the continent’s resources dry. They will continue to support them as long as they can get cheap energy for their industries and in return arm rebel groups to destabilise the continent.
Tandja felt that since majority of his counterparts came to power through either fraudulent elections or imposed themselves on their people through military coup, nobody can lecture them on democracy. Tandja, who came to power ten years ago was to vacate office in four months time as his legal tenure expires in December, but decided to extend his tenure first by dissolving the parliament and later dismissing the country’s constitutional court. He went further to ridicule democratic tenets by organising a referendum described by civil society groups in the country as a sham, to seek the opinions of Nigeriens to allow him stay in office beyond the stipulated time of two tenures of five years each.
In Africa, a continent that is used to the power longevity of its leaders in office and where acts of political bullies are always non-events and political attitudes are more compliant and dictators come at a dime a dozen, Tandja’s story is one of many. From Egypt, Tunisia, Uganda, to the almighty Robert Mugabe to Ghaddafi, the present AU President – we have leaders who spent more than twenty years ruling their own countries, and who have no intention to vacate office. So Tandja is no fool, he knows that no leader in the continent can challenge his tenure elongation since majority of them are guilty of the same offence. Who do you think in the AU or ECOWAS has the moral authority to do so? Even those leaders that can speak out for instance, like the Ghanaian president, in ECOWAS or South Africa’s Jacob Zuma, who has a Mugabe in his neighbourhood, on whose support are they going to rely upon? Is it from Umar Hassan Albashir, Mubarak, or Mugabe? Or is it from Museveni?
Africa’s democratic experience is one characterised by leaders whose major take in the process is subversion of people’s will. A continent ravaged by AIDS, overpopulation, poverty, starvation, illiteracy, corruption, social breakdown, vanishing resources, overcrowded cities, drought, war, and war refugees, the continent’s problems were compounded over the years by greedy, selfish and visionless leaders whose main preoccupation is to amass stupendous wealth which even their 6th generation of lineage cannot spend . These are leaders who have turned their nations into their handbags and believe that their nations can not and should not do without them. In the process they turned their citizens into slaves, beggars and paupers denying them their basic rights of decent living as human beings. In some countries even the rights to choose leaders in election is not allowed, for instance Ethiopia, while in others elections are won before they are even conducted like the charade we have seen in Nigeria in 2003 and 2007! Constitutions are tampered with at will. Some have even groomed their sons to take over if there is an emergency or if they die. We have them in Egypt, Cameroun, Togo, Libya, Guinea, etc, not to mention absolute monarchies like Swaziland and Lesotho.
Tandja’s decision to manipulate necessary provisions of the country’s constitution to suit his purpose and actualise his vaulting ambition is not a new phenomenon in African politics; the only difference is the fact that nobody expected that from him. He has disappointed many of his admirers and draws the political progress of his country backward. The relative stability enjoyed by the country in the last decade has been fractured by Tandja’s actions and this constitutes a negative signal for democracy and the stability of this poverty ravaged country. With a history of military take-overs, nobody can rule out this possibility, as the military can use the present disturbances in the polity; arrest of opposition politicians, journalists and civil society groups, as a convenient excuse to take over.
But what is clear from the political crises in Niger is the fact that Africa is yet to come to terms with the advances achieved in other continents in the new millennium. While leaders in Europe, America and even Asia are guided in their leadership by service to their countries, developing new ideas, intelligent vision that can enable them to connect to their people, in Africa the opposite is the case. Everywhere the story is the same – of poor leadership, corruption, election rigging and intolerance of the opposition. Tandja and his sit-tight colleagues in other part of the continent are a disappointment. The challenge here is for civil society groups, democrats and journalist in African to stand up against these leaders who did not see their destinies as tied up with that of their fellow Africans.
Democracy, as it is now has become a burden to Africa and Africans. Our democratic development and our hopes of joining the league of free societies, where citizens elect their leaders who can rule according to rule of law is being impeded by sit-tight rulers like Tandja Mammadou and his friends. This will continue for a long time to come in Africa, because of hypocrisy from the Western countries in addressing Africa’s problems. Their sole interest in the continent is to have leaders that they can continue to use to milk the continent’s resources dry. They will continue to support them as long as they can get cheap energy for their industries and in return arm rebel groups to destabilise the continent.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Addressing the unemployment menace
In a survey conducted by the Federal Ministry of Education sometimes in 2006, a very alarming rate of youth unemployment emerged in the country of over 60%, in which, although the figures might be higher now after three years, it is an indicator to the crisis in which this country finds itself. With a population of over 140 million and a youth population of 80 million, with 64 million unemployed, also with an estimated graduate turnover of over 600,000 graduates yearly, the Nigerian labour market is in crisis. We have every reason to sound an alarm bell especially in a situation where over 70% of working people are either unemployed or underemployed. For instance, in the same report by the Ministry of Education, it is estimated that only 4 million people were on paid employment, while over 60% of youth ages 15-29 are unemployed.
For the nation to get out of the current unemployment crisis according to Dr. Magnus Kpakol, the National Coordinator, Poverty Eradication Programme, 3 million jobs are needed annually. Dr. Kpakol said the nation has suffered a prolonged unemployment problem due to the disequilibrium in the demand and supply at the labour market. Unemployment in Nigeria has persisted for too long or even more than that. Since the economic crisis of the early 80s and late 80s, when the nation's economy took a turn for the worse as world petroleum prices tumbled, the Nigerian currency became devalued, corruption became rampant, and the population of Nigeria ballooned at a breathtaking pace which was compounded by the Structural Adjustment Programme. Large number of graduates from our educational institutions, most of who are without any adequate skill joined the labour market annually. This led to what we are seeing today of large number of people roaming the streets of major cities in search of jobs.
Our country is lucky to be endowed with diverse and scores of resources - both human and material. However, due to gross mismanagement, profligate spending, graft and adverse policies - sometimes misplaced priorities of various governments in Nigeria, these resources have not been optimally utilized on one hand and on the other they have not been adequately channelled to profitable investments to bring about maximum economic benefits. As a result of these, accumulated problems compounded the already existing problem. Today our country is faced with the problem of unemployment, poverty and energy crisis, which experts believe are the major causes of the ethnic and religious crises we see in the North on one hand and Niger-Delta unrest.
Unemployment is a societal problem in any nation. That is why in advanced countries of the world, employment is made part of the government agenda, which candidates for political office have to make an issue for them to be taken serious by the electorate. Short-term or frictional unemployment can be tolerated but prolonged unemployment promotes and aggravates societal income and expenditure inequality, poverty, hunger, disease, anarchy, hooliganism, armed robbery and other vices. Yours sincerely believes that even the boko haram crises that ravaged the Northern part of the country was caused by unemployment and lost of hope from our youth.
Economic growth, which is supposed to be a solution to the problems of unemployment and poverty, appears not to be so in Nigeria. Nigeria’s official statistics show that economic growth has not always been accompanied by decline in unemployment and poverty. In fact, economic growth has even contributed to what we are seeing today of massive unemployment and poverty which led some people to take arms and risk loosing their lives as we have witnessed recently.
We have to point out that the situation we found ourselves today is as a result of I-don’t-care-attitude and recklessness exhibited by our political leaders in the last ten years. This is evident in the way and manner they handle issues of national importance especially the non-implementation of budgets or diverting state resources for personal use. Since the inception of our democracy ten years ago, no single budget was implemented; in fact, it is even right to say that the country in the last few years was running a disorganised economy, where money was spent arbitrarily by an individual or group of individuals.
This attitude has to stop. We need to have a budget that can be fully implemented and at the same time address our social and economic problems. Our vision of 20: 2020 is only feasible when our politicians show real commitment to addressing our collapsed infrastructures, revive polytechnics and vocational centres, and encourage small scale industries. There is need also for governments at various levels to initiate a labour policy that can link education with the demand of the market. The government have to reinvent system that can empower our youth to meet the changing needs of the economy, market and the expectation of the society.
It is the opinion of this writer that if government is serious about addressing unemployment problem then serious measures needs to be taken. We keep emphasizing anytime that unemployment and poverty can never be solved by distributing motorcycles to party loyalists or dashing them money, which are all short term strategies. The government has to strengthen agencies like the National Directorate of Employment, which has the capacity to offer millions of Nigerians the skills and knowledge to be self employed and self-reliant. The NDE offer people vocational and skills acquisition courses after which they will be offered soft loans to go and start their own businesses. Only God knows how many people these set of people will train in turn. If carefully supervised and monitored it will go a long way in reducing the rate of unemployment in the country and also address the issue of boko haram and other crises that are trying to consume the nation. But to do that, our leaders have to focus on substance, not spin.
For the nation to get out of the current unemployment crisis according to Dr. Magnus Kpakol, the National Coordinator, Poverty Eradication Programme, 3 million jobs are needed annually. Dr. Kpakol said the nation has suffered a prolonged unemployment problem due to the disequilibrium in the demand and supply at the labour market. Unemployment in Nigeria has persisted for too long or even more than that. Since the economic crisis of the early 80s and late 80s, when the nation's economy took a turn for the worse as world petroleum prices tumbled, the Nigerian currency became devalued, corruption became rampant, and the population of Nigeria ballooned at a breathtaking pace which was compounded by the Structural Adjustment Programme. Large number of graduates from our educational institutions, most of who are without any adequate skill joined the labour market annually. This led to what we are seeing today of large number of people roaming the streets of major cities in search of jobs.
Our country is lucky to be endowed with diverse and scores of resources - both human and material. However, due to gross mismanagement, profligate spending, graft and adverse policies - sometimes misplaced priorities of various governments in Nigeria, these resources have not been optimally utilized on one hand and on the other they have not been adequately channelled to profitable investments to bring about maximum economic benefits. As a result of these, accumulated problems compounded the already existing problem. Today our country is faced with the problem of unemployment, poverty and energy crisis, which experts believe are the major causes of the ethnic and religious crises we see in the North on one hand and Niger-Delta unrest.
Unemployment is a societal problem in any nation. That is why in advanced countries of the world, employment is made part of the government agenda, which candidates for political office have to make an issue for them to be taken serious by the electorate. Short-term or frictional unemployment can be tolerated but prolonged unemployment promotes and aggravates societal income and expenditure inequality, poverty, hunger, disease, anarchy, hooliganism, armed robbery and other vices. Yours sincerely believes that even the boko haram crises that ravaged the Northern part of the country was caused by unemployment and lost of hope from our youth.
Economic growth, which is supposed to be a solution to the problems of unemployment and poverty, appears not to be so in Nigeria. Nigeria’s official statistics show that economic growth has not always been accompanied by decline in unemployment and poverty. In fact, economic growth has even contributed to what we are seeing today of massive unemployment and poverty which led some people to take arms and risk loosing their lives as we have witnessed recently.
We have to point out that the situation we found ourselves today is as a result of I-don’t-care-attitude and recklessness exhibited by our political leaders in the last ten years. This is evident in the way and manner they handle issues of national importance especially the non-implementation of budgets or diverting state resources for personal use. Since the inception of our democracy ten years ago, no single budget was implemented; in fact, it is even right to say that the country in the last few years was running a disorganised economy, where money was spent arbitrarily by an individual or group of individuals.
This attitude has to stop. We need to have a budget that can be fully implemented and at the same time address our social and economic problems. Our vision of 20: 2020 is only feasible when our politicians show real commitment to addressing our collapsed infrastructures, revive polytechnics and vocational centres, and encourage small scale industries. There is need also for governments at various levels to initiate a labour policy that can link education with the demand of the market. The government have to reinvent system that can empower our youth to meet the changing needs of the economy, market and the expectation of the society.
It is the opinion of this writer that if government is serious about addressing unemployment problem then serious measures needs to be taken. We keep emphasizing anytime that unemployment and poverty can never be solved by distributing motorcycles to party loyalists or dashing them money, which are all short term strategies. The government has to strengthen agencies like the National Directorate of Employment, which has the capacity to offer millions of Nigerians the skills and knowledge to be self employed and self-reliant. The NDE offer people vocational and skills acquisition courses after which they will be offered soft loans to go and start their own businesses. Only God knows how many people these set of people will train in turn. If carefully supervised and monitored it will go a long way in reducing the rate of unemployment in the country and also address the issue of boko haram and other crises that are trying to consume the nation. But to do that, our leaders have to focus on substance, not spin.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Boko haram and the culpability of Northern elite
To say the generation of Northern elite, from 1970s through to 1980s to the present, have failed the region in virtually sphere, is an understatement. We have, in the North today elite, that takes pride in seeing fellow citizens live in abject poverty and squalor; elite that is happy to be the only educated and enlightened ones in their villages and neighbourhoods; elite that prides itself of being the richest in their communities, while majority can’t afford to feed their families. Northern elites have failed the North; I say this, times without number and with all sense of responsibility. We deserve better in the North.
The North has all that is needed to solve its economic and social problems. But look at the North today; go round the states, the local governments; check the indices of education, check the state of our public schools, hospitals, look at our industries, check out how we are fairing in agriculture, etc. But what are the elites doing? To secure a position in either the civil service or ensure winning the next election by hook or crook and afterwards abuse the public office by stealing public funds meant for education, for healthcare, for water.
When the events surrounding ‘boko haram’ started in some parts of the North, this time with violence in Bauchi, Maiduguri, Yobe and other parts, which claimed hundreds, I blamed no-one but the insensitive and greedy Northern elites. For the greater number of its independence, Nigeria has been ruled by Northerners, the only interlude was John Thomas U. Aguiyi-Ironsi, Earnest Shonekan and General Olusegun Obasanjo. But in all these years, the North remained a backward region in terms of education, and accounted for the highest level of poverty in the country. The region remained a leading region in producing the highest number of Almajirai, local manicurists, shoe shiners, manual labourers and all other menial jobs you can think of. One might argue that a typical Northerner is very difficult in accepting change, but the fact remains that if we removed the Sardauna and his friends of the First Republic, a generation that did their best in transforming the region, the generation of leaders that came after them have been a big disappointment. They failed to build from where the Sardauna and his associates stopped. Today what we have in the North is a social crisis, which, if not tackled, and tackled urgently, is going to consume the whole nation.
The nation’s problems of erratic power supply, poor drinking water, inefficient civil service, inadequate crime control, inadequate primary healthcare, and less than average educational system, compound already existing problems of the North - almajirci, street begging (a purely Northern affair), ‘maula’ and many other social and economic problems. And let truth be told, the ‘boko haram’ crisis was caused by nothing but the combination of poverty and bad governance. The trillions of naira that accrued from the federation account made available by the office of Accountant General of the Federation to the region through state and local governments is enough to pull the region out of these problems. But why are people in this region living in abject poverty? Take for instance the small Mikang local government in Plateau state, which received N762, 644.76 in 1999, today receives close to N100 million every month, but nothing would tell the difference between what accrue to the local council and the living conditions of the people of that area. One would be shocked if he checked the level of poverty indices in that local government area today.
Boko haram sect members, in their myopic thinking, were not fighting book, or Western education per se; it was the only way they felt they could fight the people that they saw as having hijacked a system and turned it, or misused it and turned the citizens into slaves in their own country.
We, as guides, have betrayed our people and failed to give them hope, a sense of belonging. Our governors have turned their states into fiefdoms. They steal with impunity. They arrogantly convert state resources to their own. They have deliberately destroyed the public school system, which most of these young people that found themselves in the boko haram sect are supposed to attend. They denied them access to education; they deprived them living a decent life.
Our elites need to have a re-think. Nigerian political leaders should learn to respect the wishes of their people. They should address basic issues that affect the people. They should go beyond promises by showing a serious commitment to efforts to address the problems of development. They should show real commitment to education, reviving our power sector, addressing the issue of unemployment by reviving our collapsed industries. The government has to show real commitment to fighting corruption and outright stealing of public funds. If not the crises we see in Niger Delta and the boko haram is just a sign of what is to come.
The North has all that is needed to solve its economic and social problems. But look at the North today; go round the states, the local governments; check the indices of education, check the state of our public schools, hospitals, look at our industries, check out how we are fairing in agriculture, etc. But what are the elites doing? To secure a position in either the civil service or ensure winning the next election by hook or crook and afterwards abuse the public office by stealing public funds meant for education, for healthcare, for water.
When the events surrounding ‘boko haram’ started in some parts of the North, this time with violence in Bauchi, Maiduguri, Yobe and other parts, which claimed hundreds, I blamed no-one but the insensitive and greedy Northern elites. For the greater number of its independence, Nigeria has been ruled by Northerners, the only interlude was John Thomas U. Aguiyi-Ironsi, Earnest Shonekan and General Olusegun Obasanjo. But in all these years, the North remained a backward region in terms of education, and accounted for the highest level of poverty in the country. The region remained a leading region in producing the highest number of Almajirai, local manicurists, shoe shiners, manual labourers and all other menial jobs you can think of. One might argue that a typical Northerner is very difficult in accepting change, but the fact remains that if we removed the Sardauna and his friends of the First Republic, a generation that did their best in transforming the region, the generation of leaders that came after them have been a big disappointment. They failed to build from where the Sardauna and his associates stopped. Today what we have in the North is a social crisis, which, if not tackled, and tackled urgently, is going to consume the whole nation.
The nation’s problems of erratic power supply, poor drinking water, inefficient civil service, inadequate crime control, inadequate primary healthcare, and less than average educational system, compound already existing problems of the North - almajirci, street begging (a purely Northern affair), ‘maula’ and many other social and economic problems. And let truth be told, the ‘boko haram’ crisis was caused by nothing but the combination of poverty and bad governance. The trillions of naira that accrued from the federation account made available by the office of Accountant General of the Federation to the region through state and local governments is enough to pull the region out of these problems. But why are people in this region living in abject poverty? Take for instance the small Mikang local government in Plateau state, which received N762, 644.76 in 1999, today receives close to N100 million every month, but nothing would tell the difference between what accrue to the local council and the living conditions of the people of that area. One would be shocked if he checked the level of poverty indices in that local government area today.
Boko haram sect members, in their myopic thinking, were not fighting book, or Western education per se; it was the only way they felt they could fight the people that they saw as having hijacked a system and turned it, or misused it and turned the citizens into slaves in their own country.
We, as guides, have betrayed our people and failed to give them hope, a sense of belonging. Our governors have turned their states into fiefdoms. They steal with impunity. They arrogantly convert state resources to their own. They have deliberately destroyed the public school system, which most of these young people that found themselves in the boko haram sect are supposed to attend. They denied them access to education; they deprived them living a decent life.
Our elites need to have a re-think. Nigerian political leaders should learn to respect the wishes of their people. They should address basic issues that affect the people. They should go beyond promises by showing a serious commitment to efforts to address the problems of development. They should show real commitment to education, reviving our power sector, addressing the issue of unemployment by reviving our collapsed industries. The government has to show real commitment to fighting corruption and outright stealing of public funds. If not the crises we see in Niger Delta and the boko haram is just a sign of what is to come.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
How many political parties do we need in Nigeria?
In an ideal democracy, in which political parties are built based on ideology and the desire to provide public service, one could say our political landscape is widened, given Nigerians more alternatives during elections, with the registration of new political parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Last week, four additional political parties were registered by the electoral body, bringing the number of political parties in Nigeria to 54. These newly registered parties are United National Party for Development (UNDP); National Movement of Progressives Party (NMPP), Kowa Party (KP) and People for Democratic Change (PDC).
A cursory look at all the registered parties one find it difficult to identify where they differ, in terms of ideology or programmes, they are only associations that revolve around individuals, who were aggrieved, because they were denied tickets to contest elections, or are paid by the People’s Democratic Party to cause further division in the opposition. Others are group of people – members of the same Mosque or Church, or group of old boys association – people who are in no way representing the will of the people. In other cases you will find the party as just an association of people who joined the party simply because their colleagues or village members are in the party. Or they joined the party because they are married to the daughter of the chairman of the party.
To many observers and commentators, the democratisation process in Nigeria is a one characterised by our inability to evolve a workable political system due largely from lack of vision of most of the political elite. Nobody can dispute the fact that political party pluralism or multi-partisan is very important for the progress and development of democratic system. Political parties are necessary and desirable institutions for democracy, however, we have to note that, no progress will come out of most of these political associations, basically, because in the first place they were formed with a sole intention of having a platform to do business with the ruling party during elections. We have seen in the last ten years, in almost all the political parties an alliances of influential individuals and small groups who are able to control and, often enough, manipulate party structures, candidacies, deciding who becomes a councillor, chairman and or members of house. To a large extent, these individuals decide who becomes a governor of a state and or the president. The parties are turned into a business venture where “political entrepreneurs” who invest huge amounts of money expect rewards on such investment, through large contracts.
From 1999 to date, the parties that emerged, from the ruling party, to the smallest parties, are characterized by undemocratic practices, intra-party strive, and corruption. Besides fuelling corruption, the political parties or association’s state of affairs is decidedly non-transparent and undemocratic. Take for instance the ruling PDP – a party characterised by strange bed fellows, whose idea of democracy is imposition of candidates from the party level up to general election and where money is the bedrock of loyalty and support and mobilisation and conscientisation of the people took the back seat. However, we have to acknowledge that the PDP, despite all these, is one party in Nigeria that can be said that has a defined focus – to remain in power for the next sixty years. With the kind of opposition we have today, yours sincerely believes PDP will rule till eternity.
The tragedy of the Nigerian society today is the fact that we can seem always to know that we have a problem, we can even discover the cause of the problem, but unfortunately display a tragic lack of will to take the necessary appropriate action. If not why should we be talking about INEC registering political parties now? Of the over 50 political parties that participated in the last general elections, only five made any meaningful impact. The remaining 45 or 95% have not secured even a councillorship seat in any of the 754 local governments in Nigeria. Whereas the Electoral Act was very specific that any political party that fails to score 10 per cent of the seats during the local government elections as envisaged by paragraph, 10(2) of these guidelines, the political party shall continue to operate only at local government level in all subsequent elections as envisaged by paragraph 10(1) until such a time it complies with the provisions of paragraph 10(2) of these guidelines. We wait and see how many political parties will be allowed to fill in candidates for national elections in 2011.
It is sad to say, but what we have in Nigeria as political parties are anything but parties. It is what political commentators described as mushroom ‘outfits’. No political party in all the registered parties by INEC represent the interest of poor Nigerians. This alienates the electorate, led to emergence of poor representation at all level of government and prevents the evolution of an accountable governance in the country.
Political parties are important vehicles for candidates’ recruitment and the organization of parliament and government and serve as key institutions of representative democracy and intermediary between individual citizens and the state. For our democracy to survive we need strong and ideological parties that reflect the interest of everybody – the poor, the rich, the educated, the uneducated, the farmer and business entrepreneur. They have to provide alternatives, clearly spelt out on how to move this country forward. Anything short of that will just strengthen the PDP, which for the last ten has virtually done nothing in terms of improving the standard of living of ordinary Nigerians, thereby ruining the hopes they had for democracy.
A cursory look at all the registered parties one find it difficult to identify where they differ, in terms of ideology or programmes, they are only associations that revolve around individuals, who were aggrieved, because they were denied tickets to contest elections, or are paid by the People’s Democratic Party to cause further division in the opposition. Others are group of people – members of the same Mosque or Church, or group of old boys association – people who are in no way representing the will of the people. In other cases you will find the party as just an association of people who joined the party simply because their colleagues or village members are in the party. Or they joined the party because they are married to the daughter of the chairman of the party.
To many observers and commentators, the democratisation process in Nigeria is a one characterised by our inability to evolve a workable political system due largely from lack of vision of most of the political elite. Nobody can dispute the fact that political party pluralism or multi-partisan is very important for the progress and development of democratic system. Political parties are necessary and desirable institutions for democracy, however, we have to note that, no progress will come out of most of these political associations, basically, because in the first place they were formed with a sole intention of having a platform to do business with the ruling party during elections. We have seen in the last ten years, in almost all the political parties an alliances of influential individuals and small groups who are able to control and, often enough, manipulate party structures, candidacies, deciding who becomes a councillor, chairman and or members of house. To a large extent, these individuals decide who becomes a governor of a state and or the president. The parties are turned into a business venture where “political entrepreneurs” who invest huge amounts of money expect rewards on such investment, through large contracts.
From 1999 to date, the parties that emerged, from the ruling party, to the smallest parties, are characterized by undemocratic practices, intra-party strive, and corruption. Besides fuelling corruption, the political parties or association’s state of affairs is decidedly non-transparent and undemocratic. Take for instance the ruling PDP – a party characterised by strange bed fellows, whose idea of democracy is imposition of candidates from the party level up to general election and where money is the bedrock of loyalty and support and mobilisation and conscientisation of the people took the back seat. However, we have to acknowledge that the PDP, despite all these, is one party in Nigeria that can be said that has a defined focus – to remain in power for the next sixty years. With the kind of opposition we have today, yours sincerely believes PDP will rule till eternity.
The tragedy of the Nigerian society today is the fact that we can seem always to know that we have a problem, we can even discover the cause of the problem, but unfortunately display a tragic lack of will to take the necessary appropriate action. If not why should we be talking about INEC registering political parties now? Of the over 50 political parties that participated in the last general elections, only five made any meaningful impact. The remaining 45 or 95% have not secured even a councillorship seat in any of the 754 local governments in Nigeria. Whereas the Electoral Act was very specific that any political party that fails to score 10 per cent of the seats during the local government elections as envisaged by paragraph, 10(2) of these guidelines, the political party shall continue to operate only at local government level in all subsequent elections as envisaged by paragraph 10(1) until such a time it complies with the provisions of paragraph 10(2) of these guidelines. We wait and see how many political parties will be allowed to fill in candidates for national elections in 2011.
It is sad to say, but what we have in Nigeria as political parties are anything but parties. It is what political commentators described as mushroom ‘outfits’. No political party in all the registered parties by INEC represent the interest of poor Nigerians. This alienates the electorate, led to emergence of poor representation at all level of government and prevents the evolution of an accountable governance in the country.
Political parties are important vehicles for candidates’ recruitment and the organization of parliament and government and serve as key institutions of representative democracy and intermediary between individual citizens and the state. For our democracy to survive we need strong and ideological parties that reflect the interest of everybody – the poor, the rich, the educated, the uneducated, the farmer and business entrepreneur. They have to provide alternatives, clearly spelt out on how to move this country forward. Anything short of that will just strengthen the PDP, which for the last ten has virtually done nothing in terms of improving the standard of living of ordinary Nigerians, thereby ruining the hopes they had for democracy.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Re:quacks,fraudster s, and 419ers
Dear Sir, Iread your column today (The Nation, Tuesday, July 21,2009)
Our country today is filled with funny characters. I think we (in the media) share in the rascality, in one way or the other. David Mark himself is a 419er, because he was in the senate through a controvercial election, which even the verdict of the tribunals is still debatable. But that not withstanding we should not take his comments for granted, or brush them aside, because we feel 'His Excellency', Right Honourable David Mark said them. There are quacks, fraudsters and 419ers in the media. In fact, Sir, you know better. The rot in the media is so pervasive that comment like this keep on coming.
And I mentioned it in an article I wrote sometimes last year, where I specifically mentioned your name, and other prominent journalists in the country, that you are the only people that can resque the profession. You know how it started and what led to the present state of things, especially of poor pay,the hirelings, quacks and crooks who invaded the profession and turned it to what it is now.
Agreed, what is happening in the NASS is a shame but, in a situation where what we do best in the media is to blackmail them into sharing the loot is unacceptable. Sir, it happens in the media and you know it. We should not pretend that we don't know all these. Today what we hear in the NUJ, is how the ex-president embezzled the Union finances or having the president to come from one part of the country or particular ethnic group. Not this alone, we criticise politicians on the basis of where they come from, we defend them because at one time in our lives we worked under them as press secretaries.
Does this speak well of a profession regarded as fourth estate of the realm in a democratic society? Sir, we have to stop pretending, this country is in crises. As I am talking to you, almost 80% of Nigerians are living below the poverty level, ASUU, NASU, SSANU are on strike. Nobody knows where Nigeria is heading to as a nation, our schools, hospitals, roads and every thing are in shambles. We have to 'export' our children to Ghana, Malaysia for secondary education. Do you think these children can have a sense of national culture? Do you think a child, trained overseas can be patriotic?
Our country today is filled with funny characters. I think we (in the media) share in the rascality, in one way or the other. David Mark himself is a 419er, because he was in the senate through a controvercial election, which even the verdict of the tribunals is still debatable. But that not withstanding we should not take his comments for granted, or brush them aside, because we feel 'His Excellency', Right Honourable David Mark said them. There are quacks, fraudsters and 419ers in the media. In fact, Sir, you know better. The rot in the media is so pervasive that comment like this keep on coming.
And I mentioned it in an article I wrote sometimes last year, where I specifically mentioned your name, and other prominent journalists in the country, that you are the only people that can resque the profession. You know how it started and what led to the present state of things, especially of poor pay,the hirelings, quacks and crooks who invaded the profession and turned it to what it is now.
Agreed, what is happening in the NASS is a shame but, in a situation where what we do best in the media is to blackmail them into sharing the loot is unacceptable. Sir, it happens in the media and you know it. We should not pretend that we don't know all these. Today what we hear in the NUJ, is how the ex-president embezzled the Union finances or having the president to come from one part of the country or particular ethnic group. Not this alone, we criticise politicians on the basis of where they come from, we defend them because at one time in our lives we worked under them as press secretaries.
Does this speak well of a profession regarded as fourth estate of the realm in a democratic society? Sir, we have to stop pretending, this country is in crises. As I am talking to you, almost 80% of Nigerians are living below the poverty level, ASUU, NASU, SSANU are on strike. Nobody knows where Nigeria is heading to as a nation, our schools, hospitals, roads and every thing are in shambles. We have to 'export' our children to Ghana, Malaysia for secondary education. Do you think these children can have a sense of national culture? Do you think a child, trained overseas can be patriotic?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Of Police and Subversion of People’s will
Over the years, the Police in Nigeria have earned themselves a very negative perception from the citizens. The institution has earned itself negative perception basically, through what people saw as its biased and partisan approach to issues of politics and its blind support to any government in power regardless of whether this government is right or wrong. This singular act made the force to be seen as an enemy by many a citizen in Nigeria instead of a friend, as the force preaches everyday.
A careful study of the Nigeria Police Force, apart from the general negative perception most people have about the institution, the institution itself has contributed a lot in building a negative attitude it earned from Nigerians. First, there is widespread ignorance and misperception about the role and powers of the police, even within the ranks and file of the Nigeria Police Force on one hand and the general public on the other. This derives generally from the historical legacy of using police to suppress the citizens by colonial and post-colonial governments. Thus, citizens resent police, even when they are exercising their legitimate powers in the course of legally permissible law enforcement activities.
That aside, the personality of the force itself does not speak well of an institution, instituted to safeguard and protect the lives and property of citizens. The hostile police-public relations contributed a lot to the present state of the police force. In many cases the police allowed themselves to be used by politicians, which in most cases put their top officers on their pay-roll, so as to look the other way, when they are doing their dirty job. In their bid to satisfy their pay masters, these corrupt officers sometimes forget their primary duty of protection of the rights of the citizens, sometimes even used obnoxious laws, to violate fundamental rights of citizens provided for in the constitution, on a simple pretext of maintaining peace and order.
One is forced to make above assertion based on the event of July 11, 2009, in Kafanchan town in Kaduna state. On Saturday, July 11, 2009, the Movement for a Better Future, a civil society organisation with the objective of intervening in the social, economic and political life of the Nigerian society, organised a Public Lecture Kafanchan, Kaduna state. The Movement invited prominent Nigerians, politicians, scholars, professionals, civil society groups, religious and community leaders for a seminar to discuss on a burning issue ‘Corruption and the Crisis of Development’. Those billed to present papers include Vicar General of the Kaduna Catholic Diocese, Rev. Fr. Mathew Hassan Kukah, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Professor Sam Egwu. Unknown to the organisers, there are people, top officials of government, who don’t like issues of corruption to be discussed.
The organisers started receiving calls on their mobile phones and invitation from the SSS, and strong warnings on the pages of newspapers, particularly the New Nigerian, Friday, 10th July 2009, page 1-2, and New Nigerian on Sunday, July 12, 2009, page 36, where the Kaduna state police commissioner, Mallam Tambari Yabo Muhammad, issued a warning that they have reliably gathered that there are groups that hold, according to him, ‘clandestine meetings’. This, he said, violated the provisions of the Public Order Act Cap 382 and the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria.
The Saturday event left no one in doubt about the outcome of 2011 elections. It is also a pointer to the fact that still the Police have failed to learn from our ten years democratic experience. It is surprising that the institution regarde as one of the pillars of democracy could allow itself to be used by desperate politicians, who want to perpetuate themselves on power even if their people think otherwise. It is wrong and indeed very wrong for the police to allow themselves to be used in subverting people’s will to organise themselves to chart a new course for the society which majority of Nigerians feel ia suffering from moral bankruptcy.
No doubt there is popular frustration in Nigeria, emanating from what Nigerians are experiencing under the present dispensation for the past ten years, of misrule, total disregard for their basic rights as human beings, corruption, open stealing of public funds, election rigging, manipulation and abuse of democratic principles. Our politicians, it seems, are ready to go to any length, including ordering the police to shoot at sight, anybody who they feel can stand in their way to perpetuate themselves on power. If not, how can one answer the question of what the Area Commandant of Kafanchan Command alleged to have told the organisers when served with the notification of the Public Lecture that his men are going to shoot anyone who dare go to the Public Lecture. Is that what the law says? That law abiding citizens who organise themselves within the ambit of the constitution to discuss about how they want to be governed, to be threatened with shoot at sight order?
The Movement for a Better Future is not a secret society. It is an interest group registered under the Ministry of Youth and Social Development with registration number KDS/YC/06/4773. It conducts its activities openly and does not hold ‘clandestine meetings’ as stated by the police authorities as the basis for stopping the public lecture. The constitutional provisions quoted by the police authorities to stop the public lecture have already been nullified by the Court of Appeal since December 2007 in the case of IGP vs ANPP (2007) 18 NWLR (PT. 1066). The provisions of the Public Order Act and the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria are also inconsistent with the provisions of the 1999 constitution, especially section 40. So it is clear Nigerians have constitutional rights to organize without any unlawful permit from anybody. Article 2 of the code of conduct for law enforcement officials adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, resolution34/169 of 17, December 1979, which is binding on Nigeria, stated that ‘in the performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons’.
Today, forty years after the establishment of the Nigeria Police Force, we can rightly say, nothing much has change in the way the police work, from the way they were during the colonial period. Allegation and counter allegation in the way they perform their duty, especially during elections, their relationship with government in power has been a disappointment. As one of the pillars of democracy, the police in the last ten years have displayed highest sense of partiality, when what is needed from them was neutrality. The police in several occasions were accused of looking the other way when politicians rig election or clamp on opposition. In fact, there are instances where the police are accused of fully participating in the subjugation, suppression of the opposition or participating in rigging and manipulation of election results.
For our democracy to survive, there is need for total re-orientation of the force to understand the role which the police are expected to play in a democracy. There is also a need for structural and institutional reforms, legislative initiatives as well as monitoring, research, and training and advocacy and mobilisation activities by civil society, in order to introduce and implement necessary changes within the police institution and in the relationship and partnership between the citizens and the police. These are necessary for the sustenance and survival of our democracy.
A careful study of the Nigeria Police Force, apart from the general negative perception most people have about the institution, the institution itself has contributed a lot in building a negative attitude it earned from Nigerians. First, there is widespread ignorance and misperception about the role and powers of the police, even within the ranks and file of the Nigeria Police Force on one hand and the general public on the other. This derives generally from the historical legacy of using police to suppress the citizens by colonial and post-colonial governments. Thus, citizens resent police, even when they are exercising their legitimate powers in the course of legally permissible law enforcement activities.
That aside, the personality of the force itself does not speak well of an institution, instituted to safeguard and protect the lives and property of citizens. The hostile police-public relations contributed a lot to the present state of the police force. In many cases the police allowed themselves to be used by politicians, which in most cases put their top officers on their pay-roll, so as to look the other way, when they are doing their dirty job. In their bid to satisfy their pay masters, these corrupt officers sometimes forget their primary duty of protection of the rights of the citizens, sometimes even used obnoxious laws, to violate fundamental rights of citizens provided for in the constitution, on a simple pretext of maintaining peace and order.
One is forced to make above assertion based on the event of July 11, 2009, in Kafanchan town in Kaduna state. On Saturday, July 11, 2009, the Movement for a Better Future, a civil society organisation with the objective of intervening in the social, economic and political life of the Nigerian society, organised a Public Lecture Kafanchan, Kaduna state. The Movement invited prominent Nigerians, politicians, scholars, professionals, civil society groups, religious and community leaders for a seminar to discuss on a burning issue ‘Corruption and the Crisis of Development’. Those billed to present papers include Vicar General of the Kaduna Catholic Diocese, Rev. Fr. Mathew Hassan Kukah, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Professor Sam Egwu. Unknown to the organisers, there are people, top officials of government, who don’t like issues of corruption to be discussed.
The organisers started receiving calls on their mobile phones and invitation from the SSS, and strong warnings on the pages of newspapers, particularly the New Nigerian, Friday, 10th July 2009, page 1-2, and New Nigerian on Sunday, July 12, 2009, page 36, where the Kaduna state police commissioner, Mallam Tambari Yabo Muhammad, issued a warning that they have reliably gathered that there are groups that hold, according to him, ‘clandestine meetings’. This, he said, violated the provisions of the Public Order Act Cap 382 and the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria.
The Saturday event left no one in doubt about the outcome of 2011 elections. It is also a pointer to the fact that still the Police have failed to learn from our ten years democratic experience. It is surprising that the institution regarde as one of the pillars of democracy could allow itself to be used by desperate politicians, who want to perpetuate themselves on power even if their people think otherwise. It is wrong and indeed very wrong for the police to allow themselves to be used in subverting people’s will to organise themselves to chart a new course for the society which majority of Nigerians feel ia suffering from moral bankruptcy.
No doubt there is popular frustration in Nigeria, emanating from what Nigerians are experiencing under the present dispensation for the past ten years, of misrule, total disregard for their basic rights as human beings, corruption, open stealing of public funds, election rigging, manipulation and abuse of democratic principles. Our politicians, it seems, are ready to go to any length, including ordering the police to shoot at sight, anybody who they feel can stand in their way to perpetuate themselves on power. If not, how can one answer the question of what the Area Commandant of Kafanchan Command alleged to have told the organisers when served with the notification of the Public Lecture that his men are going to shoot anyone who dare go to the Public Lecture. Is that what the law says? That law abiding citizens who organise themselves within the ambit of the constitution to discuss about how they want to be governed, to be threatened with shoot at sight order?
The Movement for a Better Future is not a secret society. It is an interest group registered under the Ministry of Youth and Social Development with registration number KDS/YC/06/4773. It conducts its activities openly and does not hold ‘clandestine meetings’ as stated by the police authorities as the basis for stopping the public lecture. The constitutional provisions quoted by the police authorities to stop the public lecture have already been nullified by the Court of Appeal since December 2007 in the case of IGP vs ANPP (2007) 18 NWLR (PT. 1066). The provisions of the Public Order Act and the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria are also inconsistent with the provisions of the 1999 constitution, especially section 40. So it is clear Nigerians have constitutional rights to organize without any unlawful permit from anybody. Article 2 of the code of conduct for law enforcement officials adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, resolution34/169 of 17, December 1979, which is binding on Nigeria, stated that ‘in the performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons’.
Today, forty years after the establishment of the Nigeria Police Force, we can rightly say, nothing much has change in the way the police work, from the way they were during the colonial period. Allegation and counter allegation in the way they perform their duty, especially during elections, their relationship with government in power has been a disappointment. As one of the pillars of democracy, the police in the last ten years have displayed highest sense of partiality, when what is needed from them was neutrality. The police in several occasions were accused of looking the other way when politicians rig election or clamp on opposition. In fact, there are instances where the police are accused of fully participating in the subjugation, suppression of the opposition or participating in rigging and manipulation of election results.
For our democracy to survive, there is need for total re-orientation of the force to understand the role which the police are expected to play in a democracy. There is also a need for structural and institutional reforms, legislative initiatives as well as monitoring, research, and training and advocacy and mobilisation activities by civil society, in order to introduce and implement necessary changes within the police institution and in the relationship and partnership between the citizens and the police. These are necessary for the sustenance and survival of our democracy.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Religious leaders and leadership failure in Nigeria
I want to discuss a rare and delicate subject, which most shy from discussing.This has to do with an experience I had last week with somebody, who I respect so much as a scholar. The attitude of this man and other so-called scholars has contributed a lot in the leadership crisis we are witnessing today.
Leadership, according to scholars, is seen as involvement of a wide range of institutions and actors in production of policy outcomes, including non- governmental organisations, private companies, pressure groups and social movements apart from the traditional and formal state institutions. However, one institution that receives little or no attention in Nigeria, when it comes to failure of leadership is the religious institution. Religion provides the ultimate source of a group's identity and reason for being. To be religious is to effect in some way and in some measure a vital adjustment (however tentative and incomplete) to whatever is reacted implicitly or explicitly as worthy of serious and ulterior concern. All our life – our aspect of behaviour, interaction etc. can be given religious significance. That is why religious leaders play a vital role in the moral and spiritual aspect of our lives. They are respected everywhere. Their contributions towards ensuring peace and social harmony cannot be overemphasized. However, since the inception of democracy in Nigeria 10 years ago, the attitudes and behaviour of some religious leaders is becoming pathetic and to some extent shameful. It is a common knowledge to all, how some clergy men in this country degrade themselves to sycophancy level, boot leaking and twisting the teachings of their religion just to gain favour from politicians.
When we list how indices of failure stare us in the face – a weak political foundation, an irresponsible, unaccountable political elite, passive citizens, the crippling effects of corruption, lack of social order, spiritual and moral bankruptcy, a rise in the spiral of violence, poverty, hunger and misery, lack of social services, collapse of infrastructure, we tend to forget one important factor – the role which religious leaders play or failed to play, which led to where we found ourselves today. Although it is absolutely difficult to believe that the supernatural sanctions of religion can be bought off by proper observance of purely religious rules, it is not surprising that they carry little weight as motive. Nor is it easy, in a period in which all moral authority is dominated by secular ideology, to determine precisely that extent of the influence of religion or religious leaders on the contents of our moral beliefs. However, we cannot dispute the fact that religious leaders still play a very prominent role in the way and manner we go about interacting with our fellow human beings.
Nigeria is a religious country, even though we pretend to be running a secular constitution. The number of churches and mosques scattered in every corner in our major cities, towns and villages is an indication of the role religion play in our personal life. However, to be sincere our Ulemas and Pastors contributed a lot to the present state of the country. They have failed, as guides, to provide, either in their preaching or in a forum, the needed leadership or call the attention of our leaders on their excesses. Never in the mosques or churches do they come clear to tell their followers the repercussion of public stealing, for instance, or tell them that God is never happy with any leader that is unjust to his people. They have failed to imbibe the attitude of honesty and God fearing and have contributed sometimes in the stealing and looting of public treasury, by encouraging corrupt leaders.
Religion provides a meaning for life which reinforces the morals and social norms held collectively by all within a society. Religion provides social control, cohesion, and purpose for people, as well as another means of communication and gathering for individuals to interact and reaffirm social norms. But for us, reverse is the case, religious and political forces join hands in the exploitation and oppression of their followers.
Think of it, how much is spent every year by politicians, top government officials on Ulemas to go and perform the lesser hajj? The money runs into billions. Then the same amount is also expended on Hajj using tax payers’ money. Or imagine billions spent on Christians visitors to the Holy Land every year with tax payer’s money. Where as millions of Nigerians are living in abject poverty and lack of basic amenities. To these Ulemas and Pastors, a politician that sponsors them to these trips is a good politician, even if their neighbours are walloping in poverty. The most pathetic aspect of it is that the followers failed to understand these people and their treachery against them and the religion.
The same Ulemas and Pastors are ready to preach enmity and division and instigate their followers to start killing each other because a Christian has parked his car in a Mosque premises or a Muslim has done so in a Church premises. What a country? As Nigerians we need to realise that our major problem is not our Muslim neighbour or a Christian neighbour, who daily struggle to make ends meet, but that politician you ‘voted’ for and failed to keep his campaign promises. The sooner we realise this better.
Leadership, according to scholars, is seen as involvement of a wide range of institutions and actors in production of policy outcomes, including non- governmental organisations, private companies, pressure groups and social movements apart from the traditional and formal state institutions. However, one institution that receives little or no attention in Nigeria, when it comes to failure of leadership is the religious institution. Religion provides the ultimate source of a group's identity and reason for being. To be religious is to effect in some way and in some measure a vital adjustment (however tentative and incomplete) to whatever is reacted implicitly or explicitly as worthy of serious and ulterior concern. All our life – our aspect of behaviour, interaction etc. can be given religious significance. That is why religious leaders play a vital role in the moral and spiritual aspect of our lives. They are respected everywhere. Their contributions towards ensuring peace and social harmony cannot be overemphasized. However, since the inception of democracy in Nigeria 10 years ago, the attitudes and behaviour of some religious leaders is becoming pathetic and to some extent shameful. It is a common knowledge to all, how some clergy men in this country degrade themselves to sycophancy level, boot leaking and twisting the teachings of their religion just to gain favour from politicians.
When we list how indices of failure stare us in the face – a weak political foundation, an irresponsible, unaccountable political elite, passive citizens, the crippling effects of corruption, lack of social order, spiritual and moral bankruptcy, a rise in the spiral of violence, poverty, hunger and misery, lack of social services, collapse of infrastructure, we tend to forget one important factor – the role which religious leaders play or failed to play, which led to where we found ourselves today. Although it is absolutely difficult to believe that the supernatural sanctions of religion can be bought off by proper observance of purely religious rules, it is not surprising that they carry little weight as motive. Nor is it easy, in a period in which all moral authority is dominated by secular ideology, to determine precisely that extent of the influence of religion or religious leaders on the contents of our moral beliefs. However, we cannot dispute the fact that religious leaders still play a very prominent role in the way and manner we go about interacting with our fellow human beings.
Nigeria is a religious country, even though we pretend to be running a secular constitution. The number of churches and mosques scattered in every corner in our major cities, towns and villages is an indication of the role religion play in our personal life. However, to be sincere our Ulemas and Pastors contributed a lot to the present state of the country. They have failed, as guides, to provide, either in their preaching or in a forum, the needed leadership or call the attention of our leaders on their excesses. Never in the mosques or churches do they come clear to tell their followers the repercussion of public stealing, for instance, or tell them that God is never happy with any leader that is unjust to his people. They have failed to imbibe the attitude of honesty and God fearing and have contributed sometimes in the stealing and looting of public treasury, by encouraging corrupt leaders.
Religion provides a meaning for life which reinforces the morals and social norms held collectively by all within a society. Religion provides social control, cohesion, and purpose for people, as well as another means of communication and gathering for individuals to interact and reaffirm social norms. But for us, reverse is the case, religious and political forces join hands in the exploitation and oppression of their followers.
Think of it, how much is spent every year by politicians, top government officials on Ulemas to go and perform the lesser hajj? The money runs into billions. Then the same amount is also expended on Hajj using tax payers’ money. Or imagine billions spent on Christians visitors to the Holy Land every year with tax payer’s money. Where as millions of Nigerians are living in abject poverty and lack of basic amenities. To these Ulemas and Pastors, a politician that sponsors them to these trips is a good politician, even if their neighbours are walloping in poverty. The most pathetic aspect of it is that the followers failed to understand these people and their treachery against them and the religion.
The same Ulemas and Pastors are ready to preach enmity and division and instigate their followers to start killing each other because a Christian has parked his car in a Mosque premises or a Muslim has done so in a Church premises. What a country? As Nigerians we need to realise that our major problem is not our Muslim neighbour or a Christian neighbour, who daily struggle to make ends meet, but that politician you ‘voted’ for and failed to keep his campaign promises. The sooner we realise this better.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Still on the Assassination of Sheikh Ja'afar
I read the stories linking Governor Shekarau and other top officials of Kano state government with the assasination of Sheikh Ja'afar and comments made by people in different foras. I don't know, but as a journalist, I feel the death of Sheikh Ja'afar is much more than what people are speculating. Ja'afar was killed by powerful and mighty in the land and with active collaboration of some people, that know the scholar personnally.
Ja'afar, unlike other Islamic preachers, was different, because he was more than a preacher,he was a guide, who made his disciples see reasons behind everything he preached. He made people scholars by bringing out different opinions of Ulemas on an issue and allow you to take decision.
He was somebody, that tried to make Muslims realised that their problems lie in them. They should solve their political and social problems with the application of the teachings of the Prophet of Islam and those that came after him. He was a threat not only to his contemporaries, but also to the powers that be. They were afraid, if allowed, Jaafar would have mobilised people to challenge the authorities, whom we know for the past thirty years or so hold the country to ransom.
Jafar was a member of Mumtada Al- Islami, a group branded by US intelligence as terrorist. It will be difficult to rule that out. He posed a threat to Shekarau and Obasanjo at that time, they can also not be ruled out. There are also religious groups within the Islamic circle that are not comfortable with his style of teaching. Then come the other likely suspect, his students. Those students who felt Jaafar was soft in the way he tackled the issue of Jihad and obedience to dagut or the government that is driven by man-made constitution.
Let us not allow politicians to just use us in order to score a point. They are good at that. They are in one way or the other responsible for his death. If they are not directly involved, they are indirectly, due to their actions or inactions. Nobody is safe in this country. It is either the assassin's bullet, armed robbers or the police. Which ever way is death.
Ja'afar has gone and one indisputable fact about his life is that, even his enemies come to accept that Mallam was an honest, dedicated, intelligent and God fearing individual who devoted all his life to serve his creator.
I think that is the most important issue. He is dead and nothing can change that. Although he was the first Islamic preacher to be assassinated, he was not the only one brutally killed in the most gruesome manner. The only difference I think was the fact that, the others were politicians. Harry Marshal, Bola Ige, Rimis wife and a host of others, that up to this date, no trace of the culprits.
I think what Ja'afar need from us is not speculation about his killers, but prayers. May Allah forgive his excesses and make Janna firdaus his abode. Ameen.
Ja'afar, unlike other Islamic preachers, was different, because he was more than a preacher,he was a guide, who made his disciples see reasons behind everything he preached. He made people scholars by bringing out different opinions of Ulemas on an issue and allow you to take decision.
He was somebody, that tried to make Muslims realised that their problems lie in them. They should solve their political and social problems with the application of the teachings of the Prophet of Islam and those that came after him. He was a threat not only to his contemporaries, but also to the powers that be. They were afraid, if allowed, Jaafar would have mobilised people to challenge the authorities, whom we know for the past thirty years or so hold the country to ransom.
Jafar was a member of Mumtada Al- Islami, a group branded by US intelligence as terrorist. It will be difficult to rule that out. He posed a threat to Shekarau and Obasanjo at that time, they can also not be ruled out. There are also religious groups within the Islamic circle that are not comfortable with his style of teaching. Then come the other likely suspect, his students. Those students who felt Jaafar was soft in the way he tackled the issue of Jihad and obedience to dagut or the government that is driven by man-made constitution.
Let us not allow politicians to just use us in order to score a point. They are good at that. They are in one way or the other responsible for his death. If they are not directly involved, they are indirectly, due to their actions or inactions. Nobody is safe in this country. It is either the assassin's bullet, armed robbers or the police. Which ever way is death.
Ja'afar has gone and one indisputable fact about his life is that, even his enemies come to accept that Mallam was an honest, dedicated, intelligent and God fearing individual who devoted all his life to serve his creator.
I think that is the most important issue. He is dead and nothing can change that. Although he was the first Islamic preacher to be assassinated, he was not the only one brutally killed in the most gruesome manner. The only difference I think was the fact that, the others were politicians. Harry Marshal, Bola Ige, Rimis wife and a host of others, that up to this date, no trace of the culprits.
I think what Ja'afar need from us is not speculation about his killers, but prayers. May Allah forgive his excesses and make Janna firdaus his abode. Ameen.
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