The planned visit of former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, to Ekiti State has been rejected by the Ayo Fayose-led State Government.

The government advised the former governor to, “take his advocacy for peace to other parts of the country where security of lives and properties of Nigerians is under threat, not Ekiti State that even the Police adjudged as the most peaceful State in the country.”

Kalu, who is acting as the Chairman, Advisory Board for the National Movement for Re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari, has embarked on a tour of the South West purportedly to advocate for peace, fairness and unity of the country with a view to rallying support for the President’s second term bid in 2019.

However, Ekiti State Government, in a statement issued on Saturday, by the Special Assistant to the governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said that, “There is no threat to peace and unity of Nigeria from Ekiti State for anyone, including Orji Kalu to address. Therefore, he should not expect to be welcomed to any palace in Ekiti State.”

The government urged traditional rulers in the State to ignore the former Abia State governor, saying; “it is an insult on the collective sensibilities of Ekiti people, whose only benefit from the government of President Buhari is hardship occasioned by the government’s cluelessness for anyone to hide under advocacy for peace to canvass support for the President.”

The government said it was unspeakable that because of his EFCC case, Orji Kalu saddled himself with the task of doing image laundering for a President whose government is inflicting sufferings on Nigerians.

The statement reads further; “If he has sold his own conscience to the agenda of selling an already rejected product to Nigerians, we in Ekiti State have not, and we are telling him categorically that such advocacy is not welcome in our State.

“He should rather take his peace and unity advocacy to his own State, where he is already rejected and other States where Nigerians are being killed on daily basis by armed bandits.

“It is also ridiculous that instead of joining Nigerians to tell the President the truth about the state of affairs in the country, Kalu is castigating Nigerians that have summoned courage to speak out against the President through letters and public comments.”

DailyPost 

President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, has criticized the approval given by President Muhammadu Buhari for the withdrawal of $1billion for the purchase of security equipment.

Saraki spoke at a retreat on “Strengthening Executive -Legislature Relations” organised by the Senate Press Corps held in Jos, Plateau state on Saturday.

He also expressed regret over the delayed passage of the 2018 budget, saying there must be collaboration and engagement between the Executive and the Legislature.

The Senate President said: ”So long as the process for the passage of the budget is not based on participation, engagement and collaboration, much will not be realised.

“The Executive and the legislature are partners. We need each other: the constitution does not allow one arm to work alone, that is why there is checks and balance.

“There is no security architecture of this country that can work without a strong synergy between the executive and the legislature.

“When you see certain agencies, who by their actions and utterances frustrate the relationship between the two arms, you begin to wonder.

“What do we need to do? Do the police need more funding or more powers? Do they need new legislations to strengthen them. These are the issues where the executive and the legislature must work together.

“Just few days ago, there was the issue of providing funding for the purchase of security equipments. In a good environment, such an issue needed to have been discussed with lawmakers.

”Already, some senators are angry. They said they were not consulted by the executive before such a decision was taken. These are the issues we are talking about.

“I needed to be here to speak on these issues. It is not just about today. Posterity will be here to judge us that what I am saying is true. If we do not change the way we behave, we will remain like this for many years to come,” he said.

According to the Senate President, for democracy to be strengthened, the priority of everybody should be to strengthen the legislature.

“If you do not defend the legislature, there is no way that our democracy will be strengthened because government is not built on individuals. It is built on institutions.

“That is why in developed countries, governments can change, but it does not affect the stability of their democracy because their institutions are strong.

“We decided to run a presidential system of government. By its nature of checks and balances, there are bound to be frictions. The question now is how healthy is that friction,” he said.

DailyPost 

The Lagos State Government said on Saturday it would deploy over 800 buses soon to start operations at the newly inaugurated Ikeja Bus Terminal.

The government said the terminal will cater for four million people across the state daily.

The state Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Ladi Lawanson, stated this during a visit to the terminal and the Oshodi Transport Interchange construction site.

According to him, the newly procured buses will ensure efficient and effective transportation to people of the state.

“The state government is coming with multimodal and integrated transportation system which will take care of about four million people on a daily basis across the state.

“The idea is to cater for Lagos residents especially lower and middle classes, who cannot afford to fund their own cars every day.

“We should be expecting some buses like over 800 that Lagos State Government has procured to kick-start operation for the benefit of the residents,” he said.

He said Ikeja, the state capital, has about 900,000 inhabitants.

“It is also a major transport hub on the Lagos mainland, as it is a major node of very important corridors in Lagos such as Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Agege Motor Road, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Oba Akran Way and Awolowo Way.

“Ikeja Terminal is a key transport infrastructure constructed to improve efficiency in system connections, reduce traffic congestion caused by ongoing street loading and dropping off of passengers, reduce environmental pollution and improve security and safety of the commuting public,” the commissioner added.

NAN

INTRODUCTION

If there is an area in which Ogun State prided itself as leader in Nigeria, it is education. Not only that Ogun State indigenes and residents excelled in various educational pursuits in almost six decades of post independent Nigeria, the State led all others in terms of access to education. When Nigeria celebrated her 50th Independence anniversary in 2010, the Federal Government honoured 50 greatest Nigerians of all time. Among those 50 Nigerians, seven (7) were Ogun State indigenes who attained greatness by virtue of the education they had. Chief Obafemi Awolowo who democratised education and made it available to the poor was one of them, just as Professor Wole Soyinka, the first African to win a Nobel Prize was included.

Before now, it was routine that Ogun State was counted among the highest performing States in national examinations such as WASCE and UTME. No thanks to the neglect and commercialization of the education sector by Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun State has slid to be part of the bottom 50 percent in performance in WASCE, for example. In both 2016 and 2017, Ogun State came 19th in ranking among the 36 States in Nigeria. Borno State which has been grappling with the big challenge of insurgency performed better than Ogun State in 2017 WASCE!

For close watchers of the education policy of Governor Amosun in the 7 years that he has mounted the saddle, the consistent decline of education and contraction of access of the poor to it in the State are a matter of course.

FACTS AND FIGURES UNDERLYING THE ROT
Because of the economic recession in the country and resultant widespread poverty among our people, many parents who are forced to transfer their children and wards from private to public secondary schools are prevented from doing so because Ogun State government increased the transfer fee for each pupil by a whooping 700 percent from N2,500 to N20,000. It is the same percentage increase from N2,500 to N20,000 for those parents, who for one reason or another, seek to transfer their children from another State to any public school in Ogun State. Even to transfer a secondary school pupil to another secondary school within the State will set a parent back N10,000 from the former fee of N2,500, a 300 percent hike. To make a transfer for a primary school pupil in any of the three categories of transfer, parents have to cough out N5,000 for the services that were free of charge before Amosun took over Ogun State.

In addition to the above, to obtain First (Primary) School Leaving Certificate, pupils in public schools now must pay N1,000 (it was free of charge), while those in private schools must pay N2,000 to the State Government instead of N500 previously paid. For students in private schools to sit for JSS examinations, they each have to pay N5,000 to the government, up from N2,500.

Now, Ogun State government has announced that henceforth, it’ll no longer assist parents in the payment of WAEC fee. This fee, which successive Ogun State governments had paid for almost 20 years, is currently N13,000, excluding administrative charges of about N2,000 by the different schools. From available data, the number of students in public schools in Ogun State for which the government paid never exceeded 40,000 in any given year. At N13,000 per student, this amounts to N520 million maximum per annum. A government that claimed to have expanded one kilometer of road for N1.98 billion has found it burdensome to sustain payment of WAEC fees for children of the poor who are in public schools mainly because of their poverty. The amount claimed to have been spent on just one kilometer of expanded road is enough to pay for WAEC for Ogun State indigent students for 4 years, and it is just 8.67 percent of the N6 billion collected monthly as IGR in the state. I’m told that the government is justifying its stoppage of the WAEC fee support on the ground of the specious argument that Ogun State students performed poorly in WASCE because they didn’t pay for it. The sterling performance of Abia, Rivers, Edo, Imo and Bayelsa states which came first to fifth respectively in the 2016 WASCE, but which incidentally all pay for their students, empirically refutes this lie of the Amosun government.

Despite all the fees and levies forced out of pupils and students in both private and public schools, the state of facilities in public schools in the state remains pathetic and an eyesore.

Perhaps the worst of all these is the 18 months of Deductions owed teachers in the State’s public schools. Deduction is the fraction of a worker’s salary signed off to be deducted directly from their salary and allowances and paid as saving to a Cooperative Society owned and operated by the workers. It is, in some cases, up to 70 percent of the gross earnings of the worker concerned. Ogun State government makes this deduction monthly without remitting same to the cooperative societies. This criminal diversion of teachers’ entitlement not only deprives them of their hard earned income but demoralises them in the onerous duty of teaching our children knowledge and character. It is the main reason why the performance of our children in public schools continues to nosedive.

TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS
More neglected in the education sector of Ogun State are the tertiary institutions. The statutory subventions to all the institutions (Olabisi Onabanjo University, Tai Solarin University of Education, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Tai Solarin College of Education, the four ICT Polytechnics, and the College of Health Technology) have either been drastically reduced or stopped outright. In TASCE for instance, the government is owing staff 18 months salaries. And since September 2016, TASCE staff have been receiving half salary.

In OOU, TASUED and MAPOLY, the institutions are able to pay their workers mainly from fees they charge students. Besides the annual grants they get from Education Tax Fund (ETF), in Abuja, these institutions get nothing from their owner government for academic support (learned conferences, linkages, infrastructure, etc). The level of demoralisation among staff members of those institutions is all so palpable.

Concerning students of tertiary institutions in Ogun State, in the past several years, they have not been paid bursary, neither do they have any scholarship support or students loan facilities from the government.

Now, all these assaults on education by the Amosun government are taking place when it has become firmly established that the substantial wealth of nations comes (contrary to Adam Smith) no more from natural resources (crude oil, solid minerals, etc) but from quality human capital. The preponderance of the wealthiest in the world currently are technology entrepreneurs and executives, all of who are products of quality education facilitated and supported by the modern State.

The commercialisation of education, and consequently, restriction of access to it, in Ogun State is particularly unfortunate because it is happening when Nigerians everywhere in the country are reported to be getting poorer by the day. According to the latest World Bank study on poverty prevalence, a whooping 83 million Nigerians live on less than $1.9 per day, which is highest number of the absolutely poor in the whole world.

OUR OFFER
We will revamp all the State-owned tertiary institutions and ensure that they are not run as glorified secondary schools through the regular release of subventions and other support funds in addition to improved governing structures and attention.

• We will see to it that more privately-owned tertiary institutions are attracted to the State, while strengthening the ones already on ground.

• We will ensure that all primary and secondary schools in Ogun State qualify as model schools and ensure prompt payment of salaries, leave bonuses and allowances to teachers.

• We will invest in training in ICT and other modern teaching techniques. We will gradually introduce electronic teaching boards and other teaching aids into primary and secondary schools in the State.

Targets:
- education for skills development as part of total human development

- ICT-based and ICT-driven learning in all facets of education in the State

- e-library for all public schools
- making education available to all children in the State

WHAT IS TO BE DONE?
As we all know, Governor Amosun is determined to foist another of his kind on Ogun State as his successor. Parents, teachers at the different educational levels, and students of voting age must resist this sinister move by Amosun. Those who are directly the victims of this government’s assault on education must also not make the mistake of allowing the warlords and money bags in other parties who are throwing money around with the supposition that they could buy our people to get to power to do even worse than Amosun is currently doing. I therefore call on all people of goodwill in Ogun State to come with me as we embark on this RESCUE MISSION to take back our State from the cabal of corrupt, visionless and incompetent politicians. Ogun State must rise again! Omo Ogun Ise ya!!

• For details of alternatives to the current misgovernance, kindly view my Manifesto and that of SDP on: www.sinakawonise.com.ng

Sincerely yours,
‘Sina Kawonise (SK),
Governorship Aspirant,
Social Democratic Party,
Ogun State.

Last week Forty-four (44) African countries signed on to the controversial African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Nigeria, the continent’s biggest economy under the legitimate pressures of stakeholders notable Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and MAN (Manufacturers Association of Nigeria) commendably pulled out on Tuesday, 21st of March. 

AfCFTA is the Africa’s version of European Union’s Treaty of Rome (signed by member-countries some 60 years ago!). Paradoxically the Europeans had plagiarized the vision of the late Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana who in his historic speech at the founding of OAU (AU) in 1963 had envisioned a common African market and indeed a United States of Africa! African trade agreement came into being at the 10th Ordinary Session of African Union Heads of State summit held in Rwandan capital, Kigali on Wednesday 22nd. 

President Muhammadu Buhari said  (and I agreed)   that while “Nigeria fully recognizes & appreciates the efforts of the African Union Commission so far, regarding the implementation of a sustainable Continental Free Trade Agreement(CFTA) for Africa”. It is nonetheless, “widening and deepening domestic consultations on the CFTA, to ensure that all concerns are respectfully addressed.  African Free trade agreement must Fairly and Equitably represent the interest of Nigeria, and indeed, her African brothers and sisters,” Buhari added.  

The continental trade deal is a fallout of the  Agenda 2063 of the A.U founded on the principles of national ownership and mass consultations with all African stakeholders. Given the last minute cancellation of Nigeria’s delegation to Kigali, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah owes all Nigerian stakeholders the explanations while a continental trade deal with impact on investment,  jobs, Labour and human rights was rushed through the Federal Executive  Council (FEC) without the mandatory consultations with relevant stakeholders. 

All African leaders must show the proof that  AfCFTA is not another top-down deal signed behind the legitimate aspirations of African peoples for a common wealth, not just common market. AfCFTA enthusiasts say it is the world’s largest free trade area “since the World Trade Organization which was formed in 1995!” And that is the first problem! 

The  uncritical  membership of World Trade Organization (WTO) of most African countries including Nigeria in the 1990s with attendant massive lowering of tariffs through wholesale trade liberalization arrested the nascent African manufacturing and development leading to massive collapse of labour intensive industries like textile and automobile due to unfair competition. 

How would AfCFTA foster African re-industrialization process and uplift millions out of income poverty is a critical question begging for answer. There is no doubt that Africa needs intra-trade rather than external Aid and loans and unfavorable trade with Europe, America and China. Trade between African countries is miserably relatively low. It accounts for only 10% of all commerce on the continent - compared with 25% in south-east Asia. 

With One African Market, undoubtedly, the agreement brings together 1.2 billion people (almost population of India or China) with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than $2 trillion! The host and current African Union (A.U.) president, Paul Kagame said: “This agreement is about trade in goods and services”. But only producing nations trade in goods. 

The painful truth is that by and large, this is not a producing Africa, the likes of Nkrumah envisioned. On the contrary, Africa is a dumping ground for imports of all types and exporters of raw materials in the tradition of the colonial economy. Only South Africa with 25 per cent manufacturing value added qualifies as a trading nation. Nigeria’s 20 percent manufacturing value added (MVA) of the 80s has sharply fallen to less than 5 percent. 

While intra-African Trade can bring economic benefits to member states, there should be   broad consultation and participation to avoid the pit-falls of past trade agreements. Trade, (sorry fair trade!) is the means to development, not the end itself. Therefore   any genuine trade pact must necessarily foster growth, create mass decent jobs and development. 

For Nigeria to further reduce import duties to 90 percent, as envisaged by ACFTA will fuel cheaper imports smuggled goods that would overrun domestic markets of local products. Domestic high production costs have undermined competitiveness, perpetuating in turn deindustrialisation, unemployment and income poverty. What are the implications of the ACFTA, for existing ECOWAS treaty, and its notorious Common External tariff (CET) and the contentious new-colonial Economic Partnership for Africa (EPA)? President Buhari must initiate a trade summit and its impact on job creations. Whatever the outcomes of such deliberation, ACFTA should allow Nigeria the domestic policy space such that the current policy objectives of job creation and industrialization as contained in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (EPRG) and Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) are not jeopardized. 

Twice beaten by WTO and bilateral trade deals of dubious values, Africa must be endlessly shy of new trade deals. With Donald Trump’s America damning globalization and Europe, China and America in trade wars, AU must do quality and quantity control of ACFTA’s clauses. Most African countries are neo-colonial dumping grounds. With Brexit and Britain’s desperation for market outlets, ACFTA must show that it is not another route to European products labeled “made in Africa”. Common market must also go with common labour and human standards. EU, which ACFTA belatedly apes, operates on respect for labour and human rights. Paul Kagame emphasizes trade in goods and services.

What about the workers that produce the goods. Are they humans with minimum pay and trade unions or slaves without voices? What about the movement of Africans and their rules of engagements? ACFTA should incorporate the ILO standards and African human rights charter. 

Federal Government must be weary of trade pacts which are domestic industry-decent job blind. With 50 per cent open unemployment in Nigeria, development and growth should take precedence before controversial trade deals. Economic development of Africa is work in progress not just an event of a televised ratification of trade deals. 

Issa Aremu, mni

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Anthony Joshua has revealed he won £650 when Dillian Whyte knocked out Lucas Browne. The IBF and WBA (Super) champion is a long-time rival of Whyte’s and the pair have clashed once before in their pro careers. There is talk of a second fight between the two Brits, and speculation has only increased after Whyte ran through former world champion Browne on Saturday night in London.

The feud between Whyte and Joshua stretches back into their amateur days and the two have always kept a close eye on one another. Joshua was watching Whyte’s fight with Browne from his home and collected a huge reward for correctly guessing when his old rival would finish the bout. A crunching left hook ended Browne’s resistance after six rounds of punishment and Joshua shared on Snapchat a screenshot of his winnings.

It seems Joshua may have a crystal ball lying around somewhere, because he managed to correctly predict when Whyte would knock Browne out. Whyte and Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn were on hand to discuss the possibility of a second Joshua encounter. Hearn, who promoters both fighters, revealed that if Joshua had his way, he would face Whyte in his next bout.

AJ loves watching Dillian fight, he loves fighting,’ Hearn said. ‘Like Dillian said, they’ve just got this thing [between them]. If you said to Anthony, ‘Tell me who you want to fight next’, he’d say ‘Give me Whyte’. Every time. ‘Which is mad really. It used to be hatred, but they got each other’s respect in that first fight. They enjoyed it and want to do it again.’

Despite Whyte’s eagerness to get in the ring again with Joshua, the 29-year-old will first chase a fight with WBC champion Deontay Wilder. ‘At some point this year the WBC will order a mandatory,’ Hearn revealed. ‘We’ve offered Wilder $3million plus US TV. That’s around $4m. I reckon he made about $2.5 against Luis Ortiz.’

Metro

Below is an interesting whatsapp conversation between two friends, on the presidential aspiration of Fela Durotoye. Sit calmly. Read through. It may prove enlightening.
Gold: "Fela Durotoye is the best presidential aspirant we've ever had. But I'm scared he may not win the next election. Either way, that's the man I'm voting for. That's the Nigerian president of my dream. If you don't know about this great man, just check Google. Let engineers build. Let Physicians heal. But most of all, let true leaders lead"

Sola: "What particularly makes Fela suitable for Nigeria Sir? There is actually limited information about him on Google. He does not even own a Wikipedia page. Fela I have read is a successful motivational speaker. But I have equally learnt over the years, that while talk is cheap, dedication is expensive. Nigeria has proven to be a difficult country to govern. I personally will not recommend someone who has no background political experience for the foremost office in the land.

It is great Fela has shown ambition. It will at least help further our national political discourse and consciousness. While he can still be president, it's definitely not this time. And I think that may even be in the interest of Nigeria.

I want a presidential candidate with significant contribution to national development, preferably someone with a track record of excellence in our political arena. Fela clearly falls short of that. The presidency is a rather big game. We can't afford to play Lotto with it. We need someone who has been tested and can be trusted. Fela is hardly that man.

To close, even Nietzsche the philosopher said ' he who will learn to fly someday must first learn to stand and walk. You cannot fly into flying' that summarises my point. My case is rested"
Gold: "But you have been playing lotto all the while my friend. In the end, what I really want is a knowledgeable president, a young president that has the interest of the youths at hand. I know that sounds a little cliché. But 6 years ago, a book on academic excellence by this man changed my life. In that book, there was a vision for 2040.

I want a president who understands the importance of education. I'm tired of old men who simply purchase civilian attire, but wear their uniforms within let's stop recycling these people. Yes talk may be cheap. But in the mouth of these 'tested and trusted" politicians you speak of, it's actually worthless. Durotoye represents a new wave of young, ambitious technocrats. Truth is, we have never had such a leader in this country. I'm not expecting a magical transformation. However, I'll definitely pick someone with genuine interest in the education sector than another who has been shown to be more interested in rubbishing the opposing party.

One more thing you must realise is that the old generations, especially the former military heads of state have extremely nepotistic views. As long as those guys remain there, there will be favouritism. It is these behaviours that have caused Nigeria's intra-relationships to be strained. The new generation, perhaps thanks to the declining influence of tradition, is not affected by these views. In the very end, I want a Nigerian in Aso rock. Not a Yoruba, Hausa or IBO man.

If there was ever a young, educated, capable young man with genuine interest in Nigeria's growth, its Fela. I must add that the book I read was given to us free of charge. The quality of the printing was almost 4 times the cost of a normal book. It'll have easily sold for 3k. If a man can spend that much on his goals for Nigeria, he has my heart.

And yes, in 2013, he was part of the organisers of an impromptu contest between all major schools in lagos. The theme was ' the Nigeria of my dream' so you see, his contesting is not some suddenly aroused desire to hold political office. It’s been nurtured over time, Durotoye is prepared"
Sola: "Smiles. This debate is becoming interesting. You made some wrong assumptions in your submission. I'm not at all comparing Fela with the old establishment. I didn't even suggest any fitting candidate for the next election. All I'm saying is that Durotoye is by no means the dream Nigerian president like you portrayed. We don't even know our options for 2019 yet. But Durotoye offers nothing that should make the populace euphoric.

If the country has been playing Lotto all the while, you suggest we should still go down that lane with Durotoye? Is that the dream? Shouldn't we do something for a change? Besides you can't exactly call the last election Lotto. Buhari is a retired military general whose past government was known for intolerance for indiscipline and corruption
Because of his military background, we felt he perhaps would be able to tackle the menace of Boko Haram - which was the greatest challenge we faced as a nation then, better. So we had things to point to. There were precedents, even though he was also largely voted for due to animosity for Jonathan. He clearly was our best bet.

Since his election, though we've not achieved total victory, we've recorded huge success in the fight against Boko Haram, until the recent increase in attacks. But even at that, I think we've made progress. And though the anti corruption war is imperfect, it's not business as usual for the political establishment. Mind you, I'm not advocating for a rerun for Buhari. I want a new president. I'm just saying there's nothing inspiring about Durotoye, no previous record of excellence in public office, which is quite different from success in private life.

Being young is no recipe for good governance. Benjamin Netanyahu is not young. Angela Merkel is not young. Nana Akufo-Ado is not young. Your interest maybe in the youths, because theirs is the future, and you're a youth yourself, but how has Durotoye communicated his plans, even for the youths? Where are his blue prints for youth development? What creative solution is he proposing? What particularly makes Durotoye knowledgeable? It is important to note Sir; that emotions, sentiments, and polished diction, do not run governments. What creative solution is Durotoye proposing to revive the education sector? Which budgetary allocation does he intend to cut to fund education? Where does he intend to get funds?

It is even important to note that ours is a democracy and the president does not decide it all. Knowing that Durotoye has a weak political base, even if he becomes president, how much of power will he be able to wield? If as president he troubles the waters too much, I bet you he will be impeached. There are many Nigerian authors with immense impact. There are many philanthropists too. That does mean they'll make fine presidents. You have to understand that success is one aspect of life will not always translate to success in another. We can't vote Durotoye as president because you read a book by him that changed your life. What are his solutions to Nigeria?

You assume it is either Durotoye or retired generals. We don't even know our options for 2019 yet. But Durotoye may not even perform as well as those retired generals. I make bold to say a green president cannot solve Nigeria's problems. But that'll be another debate. I won't delve into that now. I'm not comparing Durotoye with the old establishment. I write of a dream president which I claim Durotoye is not. And please do not ask me of an example of such candidate, because I know no one. I'm only being hopeful. But don't paint Durotoye like he's an option with messianic tendency.

Interest or good intention is not enough. What are his plans to salvage the education sector? Are they feasible? Where will the funds come from? The new generation you speak of is not any better, if you've been following the conversations on social media. Our youths are equally very tribalistic. Remember the conversations around Nnamdi Kanu. Remember the hate speeches from many youths. Remember the tribal wars on twitter.

By the way, Obasanjo is one of the most detribalised Nigerians I know and he belongs to the old establishment. You may condemn his presidency, but you can never claim it was about Yoruba agenda. Obasanjo did not even enjoy so much support from the West. It was criticism day and night. Till today, when you see Obasanjo, despite his failings, he strikes you as a national rather than a Yoruba leader.
There are many philanthropists in Nigeria. At least Kola Daisi is in Ibadan. And he's even way above Fela. That does not mean he will make a fine president. I know you claim he wrote of goals in his book, but talk is cheap. Oration is not enough. Let's see the blue prints for development. Let's do the feasibility studies.

The crux of my argument is that while Fela may possess leadership potential, he needs to start small. Let's see him apply his principles with success in his locality, before giving him the national stage. Trust me public service, if genuine, is tough, even more so in Nigeria. Let's be sure Fela can chew slices of bread, before giving him the complete loaf.

Whoever will be successful as president needs to have planned over the years. He needs a strong political base, needs to understand the political terrain, and needs to have identified a team of disciples with similar interest. Buhari has at least taught us euphoria does not always translate to good governance.

We await the dream Nigerian president. Maybe you can even someday be the one. Maybe Durotoye can still be, but he is today, not that man. Please Sir above the sentiments and emotions, we need feasible plans. We need practicality. Durotoye? Not this time"

Gold: “I’m pondering on your message seriously. In the mean time, please read through this document (his manifesto)”
Sola: "Ok. Thanks for sharing"

To be continued

Adeyoose wrote from Ibadan.
He can be reached via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As the historic West African nation of Sierra Leone prepares for one of its most controversial electoral contests ever events preceding the scheduled run-off of its latest Presidential election suggest that the exercise might be bedeviled by unprecedented crises and controversies. 

For example on Wednesday, barely six days to the second round of the contest, the National Elections Commission (NEC} released a public statement in which it raised alarm over acts of intimidation that it alleged were being perpetrated against it by the security agencies, especially some units of the Sierra Leone Police (SLP). Knowledgeable observers say that a protest of this scale against the government’s own agencies by the NEC has never been recorded in Sierra Leone before. 

They attribute this situation to reaction by the ruling party to the outcome of the first leg of the election which saw the main opposition candidate the Sierra Leone Peoples Party’s (SLPP)  retired Brigadier General Julius Maada Bio emerge as front runner over the ruling All Peoples Congress’ (APC) candidate Samura Kamara.  

Typical of the allegations tendered by the NEC is the following paragraph; “In recent days however, the SLP has unwarrantedly entered NEC premises unannounced and at random, interrogated NEC staff, and obstructed them from performing their duties, In addition to delaying the time-sensitive work that is critical to the conduct of the presidential run-off election, the unsystematic and confrontational nature of these visits has served to intimidate some staff.” Coming at a time when the sensitive issues of regional sentiments and party loyalty are being marshaled for what is expected to be a close race between the contestants, the suggestion that the ruling party’s underdog status is probably being covertly supplanted by the use of official power is very provocative. 

In the recent past the consequence of political violence in Sierra Leone generated a total breakdown of law and order and led to the complete collapse of the state. The potential for a return to this distressing state of disorder is one eventuality that must occupy the minds of all observers of the present state of affairs in the country.  It was therefore not surprising that the new President of the ECOWAS Commission Jean Claude Kassi BROU led a delegation of officials to Freetown immediately after the statement was issued to discuss modalities for ensuring that the exercise would be carried out without disruption and on schedule.

Apart from the anxieties expressed by the managers of the NEC other events and signals arising in the run-up to the run-off should serve as a warning for all those who wish to ensure that the election does not descend into a destructive and inconclusive confrontation among unprincipled adversaries and supporters of dysfunctional conduct. An injunction that has been raised by a supporter of the ruling APC is actually seeking to have the courts halt the second round on the grounds that the NEC cannot be trusted to conduct a free and fair election. 

It is hardly to be doubted that if the ruling party’s candidate had been the front-runner this order would not have been sought by the plaintiff. Some analysts have suggested that this strategy is part of a concerted effort being mounted by supporters of the ruling party to provoke retaliation and protests on the part of the supporters of the SLPP. 

They say that given the widespread allegations of partisanship on the part of the security agencies they can then be used to intimidate and even disenfranchise those who protest any interference with their right of free association and assembly. Any such tactic will be bound to undermine the peaceful conduct of the run-off and so should be guarded against by the regional monitors, while the judiciary must be wary of being used to create instability. 

The danger signals that have emerged since the announcement of Julius Maada Bio as the front-runner in the first round of the elections include a sudden upsurge in vocal expressions of regional bias being uttered by some supporters of the ruling party’s candidate from the Northern Provinces. 

For example, they have suddenly revived some old and unproven allegations against Maada Bio of anti-Northern bias when he served as former military Head of State. Maada Bio has made noticeable inroads in some sections of the country that had been considered impregnable APC strongholds and this has apparently unsettled the party hierarchy and emboldened some of the political stalwarts who had expected incumbency to serve as a key asset to enable their victory in the first round. 

The outcome has clearly rattled their presumptions and led to them becoming almost desperate in their reaction to the results that have been announced.  The NEC has placed the nation on notice that it is hopeful of being allowed to conduct a contest that will be impeccable for its fairness and this open declaration of neutrality has apparently provoked anger rather than support from those who claim that they were instrumental in appointing the members of the Commission. As a result, the mood in Sierra Leone as the historic second round contest approaches is one of anxiety and apprehension and all of West Africa is watching that nation with bated breath.