Ominous signs that the fundamental rights of Nigerians might be trampled upon by some security agencies, during the 2019 general election, despite being guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution, are worrisome. The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, declared Kazeem Afegbua wanted, and ordered his arrest recently, shortly after he released a scathing statement on behalf of his principal against President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Afegbua is the media adviser to a former military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida. The statement did not pull any punches as it canvassed the emergence of a new generation of leaders in 2019, instead of those of the analogue age. It wondered why the All Progressives Congress had been pussy-footing on devolution of powers in line with its electioneering promise to restructure the country for effective governance, among other concerns that resonate with the public.

But instead of responding effectively to mounting security challenges which soldiers are routinely deployed to confront, the IG charged Afegbua with “making false statements, defamation of character, and for acts capable of instigating public disturbance.” It did not matter to him that the purported “false statement” was swiftly defended by its real author, amid the confusion set off by an unauthorised release, which tried in vain to rebut or mitigate the earlier one.

Afegbua’s harassment is not the first. Tendencies like this have been cascading. Just on February 16, the police arrested Adekunle Aliyu, the Vanguardnewspaper’s Online Editor at Ikotun, a suburb of Lagos, for taking pictures of officers with okada riders. They pushed him into a Black Maria and damaged his iPad in the process. There have also been reports of some clerics being harassed or quizzed by the DSS for failing to be apolitical. But everybody is a political animal. It is time these security outfits realised that Nigeria is a democracy and respect the liberties of individuals. Citizens should keep these security agencies under watch so that the country is not turned into a fascist state.

The loyalty of security agencies should be to the country and not to the President. It is how it works in established democracies around the world. For instance, in November 2017, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, was questioned for several hours by the police for the fifth time following corruption allegations that bordered on accepting gifts like champagne, jewellery and cigars in return for pushing the interest of cronies.

But it rests squarely on the President’s shoulders to whom these overzealous police/DSS operatives are responsible, to ensure that they do not go off the radar of civil and acceptable behaviour. Buhari displayed this last November in Anambra State when he ordered the IG to restore immediately the security details of Governor Willie Obiano, which he (the IG) had withdrawn in curious circumstances, with a few days to the governorship election. The aides, according to the IG, were withdrawn based on the flimsy excuse that an Aide-de-Camp to an anonymous governor was caught by the military during a previous poll, escorting a vehicle loaded with arms on election day. But an illegality like this was why 26,000 police personnel, 300 vehicles, three helicopters and 15 gunboats were deployed to ensure law and order prevailed at the last election in the state.

Previous polls had overwhelmingly shown that partisan cops, soldiers and the DSS operatives undermined the integrity of the process and ultimately subverted the will of the people. This way, the 2007 general elections, conducted with a do-or-die mentality, got the dubious distinction of being the worst globally by international observers. Some governorship elections were annulled, thus introducing extant staggered elections in our democracy.

One IG was sacked a few years ago for allegedly switching his phone off on Election Day, to avoid being reached. By so doing, he betrayed the political neutrality required of his office. Sagir Koli, a captain, exposed the partisan role of the Nigerian Army in the Ekiti 2014 governorship election. Embarrassed by the details, the Army high command set up a probe panel that made far-reaching recommendations. A major-general was sacked; nine officers were handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for corruption; 62 officers from the rank of major and below were reprimanded.

It was the same election that the police imposed a 60-hour restriction on movement in and out of the state. As a result, the APC governors like Adams Oshiomhole and Rotimi Amaechi of Edo and Rivers states respectively, were stopped from entering the state to attend the governorship campaign of their party’s torchbearer.

Unlike the Army, the police and the DSS never purged themselves of these subversive democratic elements. Therefore, they need to be restrained through eternal vigilance by all.

Punch

Ordinarily, Abimbola Adelakun is one of the engaging, perceptive and incisive columnists of The PUNCH newspaper. It would, however, appear that her awareness that she commands a not insubstantial readership sometimes goads her to tread in the realm of sheer recklessness, carelessness with facts, and embarrassing illogicality.

This is certainly the case with her article of Thursday, February 22, 2018, titled, “Dear Senator Tinubu, Buhari has thrashed us all”. In the piece, Adelakun seeks to paint the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the most uncomplimentary light, denigrate his personality and devalue his monumental contributions to Nigeria’s political development.

The columnist’s piece is pegged entirely on an alleged comment by Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Asiwaju Tinubu’s wife, to the effect that she felt frustrated that her husband was “thrashed” by the Buhari administration that he had helped put in office.

Nowhere does Adelakun demonstrate that Mrs Tinubu’s allegedly-expressed views represent the position of her husband. Or is this columnist who loves to pose as an advocate of women liberation insinuating that a woman cannot hold and express views autonomous of her husband? One would have thought that a more conscientious columnist with some degree of regard for her readers would have made the weighty statements she expressed on the basis of the various authoritative statements on the matter by Asiwaju Tinubu himself.

She writes that Asiwaju Tinubu has lost his relevance and clout in the APC and yet does not find her position ridiculous in the light of the fact that she admits that President Muhammadu Buhari chose the Jagaban as the best suited to bring about reconciliation and healing among aggrieved and mutually antagonistic individuals and groups within the party. Is that not a testimony to the fact that the man’s political sagacity, wide network and respect across different divides of the party are appreciated by the Presidency and the various individuals and groups within the party that have hailed President Buhari’s initiative in this regard? Almost every paragraph of the article drips with either outright falsehood or mischievous and misleading innuendo.

For instance, she claims that Tinubu was once “such a political force that could put his wife and children in offices without even a whimper from any of the voices that now complain about Buhari’s sin of nepotism…”

This is fake news at its best. Senator Oluremi Tinubu contested to represent Lagos Central Senatorial District on her own merit; she was elected not just once but won a second term on the basis of her sterling performance in the upper legislative chamber. Again, is Adelakun suggesting that Senator Tinubu’s talents must be put in check and in chains simply because of her husband’s eminent attainments in politics? Is this “radical feminist” a closet feudalist after all? A great pity!

Nowhere does Adelakun expose her embarrassing ignorance of the dynamics of Nigerian politics than her puerile attempt to explicate the outcome of the 2011 presidential election particularly in the South-West. She verges dangerously on the fringes of libel when she insinuates that Tinubu was “bought off” by the Peoples Democratic Party to deliver his party, the former Action Congress of Nigeria, to former President Goodluck Jonathan at the expense of Buhari. Adelakun obviously realises this when she writes that “The account of Tinubu being “bought off” by Jonathan remained mostly speculative; just strands of historical possibilities reconstructed from both whispered rumours and the insight and clarity we sometimes achieve in the wake of events”.

So, an eminent columnist of a highly respected newspaper predicates her supposedly authoritative postulations on “speculations” and “rumours”? This is a gross disservice to journalism.

The facts in the 2011 elections are not complicated for those whose minds have not been jaundiced by prejudice. Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change and the ACN had an informal agreement to work together with the former producing the presidential candidate and the latter the vice presidential candidate.

While Buhari would most likely have been the presidential candidate of the alliance, no decision had been taken on who would be the running mate. Surprisingly, the CPC unilaterally picked the radical cleric, Dr. Tunde Bakare, as Buhari’s running mate without consultation with the ACN, which controlled five states to the CPC’s one. If the ACN had gone on to assist the CPC’s victory, despite the disdain with which it had been treated, would it not be committing political hara-kiri? The 2011 electoral debacle was, with the benefit of hindsight, a blessing in disguise.

That was what led to the mutual respect and spirit of give and take responsible for the successful formation of the APC and the latter’s unprecedented victory in the 2015 elections. In any case, I challenge Adelakun on her honour to cite any authoritative source that can credibly claim that Tinubu was “bought off” to deliver the South-West to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in 2011.

Adelakun makes such ridiculous remarks as Buhari, after his election, “firing Tinubu as kingmaker and compensated him with the cynical task of reconciling the party”. This lady is so astonishingly ignorant of the way politics works. So, political office holders and seekers can fire and hire at will those with the political following to influence the outcome of elections? It is a laughable proposition. And if the columnist does not know it, so important is the task of reconciling the party before the next elections, that only the most trusted and capable hands can be entrusted with the task; a selfless party man who will not utilise the opportunity to pursue his selfish interest.

As far as Adelakun is concerned, Tinubu’s comments on political issues these days “seem like a forced attempt to be relevant”. She does not offer even one example of such statements. It is obvious she has not been reading the Jagaban’s periodic and well-timed observations and suggestions on the country’s politics, economics and society. Hers is clearly a minority opinion. Many have likened the quality of Asiwaju’s contributions to public discourse to that of the late Awo’s strategic interventions on weighty matters of state.

Adelakun concludes her piece with the comical view that “If Buhari is returned to power in 2019…With power in his hands and no other presidential contest in his future, Buhari would probably have Tinubu jailed!” And so, is this a country of laws or the arbitrary rule of men? Is this a country where a President can easily get anyone jailed without following the rule of law? Adelakun forgets that top PDP leaders had boasted that once Tinubu quit office in 2007 and no longer enjoyed immunity cover, he would be heading straight to jail for still undisclosed offences. It is over a decade now since Tinubu left office and not a whiff of credible criminal infractions has been found against him.

Rather, he continues to soar in terms of political clout and relevance even when most of his contemporaries as governors have sunk into political oblivion. Adelakun should wake up from her day dreaming and face the reality.

Rahman is Media Adviser to Asiwaju Tinubu.

“Disregard any rumor that Zuma has stepped down! I visited him in Owerri this morning and he is still standing there”

Nigerians now kill each other with more reckless abandon.  Kidnapping for ransom, abduction of innocent school children from school, unleashing of general mayhem at will, invading of crowded places and places of worship with bombs and explosives and generally having little or no regard for each other’s lives, have become mainstream occurrences. Hate speeches have become the order of the day and ethnic and religious war mongering seem to take centre stage in our daily discourse. Matters are not helped by the poor state of the economy. It is only the social media that keeps some people entertained.

In the midst of all these, Jacob Zuma, the ‘interesting, if not ‘near-comical’ leader of ANC was forced to retire from power. I am sure that one of the people who did not welcome the ouster of Zuma with excitement is the Executive Governor of Imo State, “Uncle Roche” who not long ago had raised a controversial statue for him in Owerri, thousands of kilometers away from where Zuma enjoyed any significant facial or name recognition. The name “Uncle Roche” came from a recent encounter I had with a woman who was preparing some youngsters for a presentation at a forum for the South South and South East Governors. I am not sure of the details, but what I was meant to understand was that there was going to be a banquet where the kids were going to entertain the Governors and their guests. The kids were going to address the Governors, not in their official appellation but as uncles.

As I came in, I saw that they had resolved how to address the Governors save for two South South governors, those of Rivers and Bayelsa States. They felt “Uncle Wik” sounded like “Weak” and did not represent the man well, given his fighting and “never say die” spirit as he was not weak by any standards. They had more problems with the Bayelsa governor given that “Uncle Dick” did not sound very appropriate for the “Country Man”. They were concerned about the mischievous connotation “Uncle Dick” could be associated with. They needed my input. I solved the problem for them when I recommended that they should work with their first names, which will not only be consistent with the other governors, but will save them the trouble. Nyesom became “Uncle Nyes” while Henry became “Uncle Hen”. As I went through the rest of the list, I found that there were bigger problems with how to address the governors of Abia and Imo, which they apparently weren’t conscious about. To their disappointment, I explained that “Uncle Oke” had a very negative connotation because “Oke” in Igbo language means rat. I was sure that they didn’t have any intention to judge the governor nor address him in a derogatory manner. I also quarreled with the appellation, “Uncle Roche” given that this may also be misunderstood as it may be a short form of cockroach. They were still struggling with it when I left and I’m unsure if and how they resolved the two names.

Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, 76, was the fourth President of Independent South Africa. He took office in 2009. He was one of the strong members of the African National Congress (ANC) which was founded in 1912. As a member of the militant wing of the ANC, he served a 10 year jail term in Robben Island, the same gulag where the late Nelson Mandela was held. Before taking over as President, he served as Deputy to President Thabo Mbeki from 1999 to 2005, a position he was sacked from for bribery and money laundering that had to do with an arms deal involving a French company. Mbeki, was subsequently forced to leave office on September 20, 2008, owing to a ruling by the South African court that he had interfered with the operations of a prosecuting authority which in fact was prosecuting Zuma for corruption. The ANC acted promptly by recalling Mbeki and in response to this, he put in his resignation. The case of corruption, fraud, money laundering and racketeering against Zuma suffered many setbacks at the courts and at the end of it all, it was struck out for procedural error and political interference. Nigeria may not be alone, you might say!

Then enter the case of improper sexual conduct against Zuma. Even though he was not convicted, Zuma confessed to forcefully sleeping with an HIV positive family friend, but put up a ludicrous defense to the effect that he had a shower after the act to prevent him from being infected by the virus. That he was not convicted was not because he was innocent but the court went into technicalities and dropped the charges against him. Sounds familiar, right? All these happened just before he was elected President in May 2009.

Zuma was a man of controversy all around; from politics to business and down to the home front. He has six wives and over twenty children, some of them out of wedlock.

Moving from one scandal to another, in 2013, Zuma was accused of using public funds to engage in massive renovation and retrofitting of his private palatial property in Kwa Zulu Natal. Three years later, after employing all sorts of tactics to frustrate the matter in court, he was found guilty of abuse of office and corrupt diversion of about $27m of public funds to personal use. Sequel to the conviction, President Zuma apologised and offered to make refunds of some $16m to the public treasury.

Sometime in the middle of 2017, Zuma was again to get involved in yet another scandal. Some email leaks implicated the influential Indian family, the Guptas, in a “state capture” allegation. This family was accused of influencing the appointment of some key government functionaries and illegal award of juicy contracts to themselves (and most likely those they represent). This scandal led to attempts by leaders of the party to force Zuma out. All the efforts, however, hit a brick wall as parliament was unable to muster enough support to pass a vote of no confidence on the President. There is no doubt that Zuma understood how to manipulate his way to remain in power and this worked for a while. As should have been known by now, manipulation can work for a while, but in the final analysis, it fails. It was therefore, time for it to fail and on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2018,  Jacob Zuma whose middle name means “one who smiles while causing others harm” had to this time around be at the receiving end of the harm as South Africans were able to smile for the first time in almost a decade. Cyril Ramaphosa became the beneficiary of Zuma’s fall and was sworn in on the 15th of February as his successor. Ramaphosa was actually the person that Nelson Mandela favoured to succeed him.

Are there lessons to learn from the South African experience? I believe there are and I believe that there are also similarities between our experience and that of South Africa. Somehow, society has a way of throwing up some of its worst into leadership positions. Other than participating in the militant wing of the ANC, just like being in the military, there was no reason why the country should elect Zuma as its President. Having made the mistake of electing him, there was also no reason why he should have been there for nine years given the close to 700 corruption cases hanging like a Sword of Damocles over his head. That he was able to work his way around them and still hung on to power for that number of years, remains a mystery. Just before his ouster, there had been about 6 votes of no confidence in the parliament, sponsored by the Opposition, which did not see the light of the day.  Basically, this was because the ANC, which holds the majority in Parliament, would not support those Bills. He was only made to leave because the party had withdrawn its support from him. This clearly reveals a very sharp difference from what we have in Nigeria. The Zuma episode demonstrates the supremacy of the party in South Africa, even if it came too late. When the Party decided that it had had enough of Zuma, it took a decision and removed him. Our experience in Nigeria is that because leadership of the parties is under the President, it is difficult for party supremacy to function in Nigeria. If anything, what we have is Presidential Supremacy and sometimes, both the party and the President would be deluding themselves in the face of national crises until both of them fall like a pack of cards.

The second lesson, and which is enduring in itself, is that at the end of the day, the will of the people must prevail, no matter how much manipulation and filibustering that the party and its President embark on. It may take time, but somehow, someday, good will always triumph over evil. This was clearly demonstrated in the Zuma case. It is also true of the case of Zimbabwe where Robert Mugabe held sway for decades, yet his dynasty was toppled by the collective will of the people.

Again, in the contest between strong men and strong institutions, the latter will always prevail. It may take time, but strong men have expiry dates, strong institutions don’t. It is therefore imperative to focus on building strong institutions and deemphasize strong men. History records that strong men, if not checked, eventually become despotic and may not know when the line is crossed. Even when they are good, their legacy may be dismantled shortly after they are gone if there are no institutions to protect them and build on what they had achieved.

Because power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, those whose responsibility it is to make laws should always make laws that do not put absolute powers in the hands of one man, no matter what role they want him to play. There must be clear checks and balances. The constitution that Nigeria is forced to operate since 1999 is very defective. The President has too much power such that one President had remarked that if he used 30% of his power, his opponents would be in serious trouble. Talking about opponents, it is very clear from the South African example that strong and virile opposition is critical for a successful democracy. Virtually all failed previous attempts to oust Zuma were sponsored by the Opposition because not only does it exist, it is effective. There is still confusion here in Nigeria, as to whether opposition exists and if it does, if it understands its role in the political process.

The most important lesson to learn is that governance is about the governed and not government. It is not a spectator sport! The governed must therefore show interest in how they are governed. Like I had written in my previous interventions, we seem to be very docile and unconcerned about how we are governed. That has made underperforming governments remain very comfortable. This is true of local governments, it is true of State governments and it is also true of the government at the center. Sometimes, when we do get interested, we are more concerned about the Federal government and seem to forget that the other tiers of government should also be put to even greater scrutiny as their activities should affect us more. Some of our leaders get away with so much incompetence and malfeasance because we don’t seem to know the right questions to ask and sometimes, they (and even we), forget that they are accountable to us. The case of the local governments is even more pathetic. Because some governors have captured the local government  system by appointing their cronies and thugs as Chairmen and Councilors, those appointees only account to their principals and show up to the people only during election time where their main role is to deliver their benefactors and their parties. Once that is done, you would only hear from them again in the next four years. The point being made here is that the actions and inactions of leaders at any level affect the people most. The people, therefore, should move away from their present state of docility to the level of activism so that leaders can sit up.

I must congratulate South Africans for rising to the occasion and taking their destiny in their own hands, even if it ought to have happened nine years ago. Like it is said, it is better late than never. On the issue of the Zuma Statue still standing in Owerri, I shall leave that matter to “Uncle Roche” to determine what to do with it. My sense is that if he chooses to do nothing, as he leaves in one year, the people of Imo State may decide to do something. It would be up to them, what that would be.

The authorities must do more to secure the future of our children

The fact that Nigeria hardly learn from its experiences was brought to fore last week when the “technically defeated” Boko Haram insurgents invaded a female secondary school in Yobe State and carried away dozens of girls with the authorities, both in the state and Abuja, left in a state of utter confusion. Yet, the experiences of Federal Government College, Buni Yadi where no fewer than 58 male students were brutally assassinated and that of Chibok where several girls are yet to be accounted for almost four years after, should have taught lessons on how to prevent or manage such tragedies.

Unfortunately, repeated attacks on schools by the insurgents in recent years have created fear in many vulnerable students and their parents, especially in some parts of the country and is affecting the attitude to education with Boko Haram whose guiding philosophy is “western education is sinful” winning the psychological war. The implication of such a state of affair is damaging. When a school is under attack and students become targets, according to Manuel Fotaine, West Africa Regional Director of United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), “not only are their lives shattered, the future of the nation is stolen.”

In the wake of the tragedy, the Lagos State Chapter of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) Coalition raised several pertinent questions which require answers from the authorities. Some of these questions include but are not limited to: “Are there so many roads and settlements in the immediate area that 100 people can disappear without a trace? Are the insurgents ghosts who move through the landscape unseen and unheard? What arrangements have been made to support the devastated family members of the missing who are holding a vigil until their children are back? What has happened to the Safe Schools Initiative that was launched in 2014 under which schools were to be pooled into safer areas with a military presence?”

The Safe Schools Initiative, launched after the Chibok kidnap, was meant to counter the growing attacks on the right to education and to build community security groups to promote safe zones for education, consisting of teachers, parents, police and community leaders. “We cannot stand by and see schools shut down, girls cut off from their education and parents in fear of their daughters’ lives,” said former British Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown, then UN Special Envoy on Education at the launch. “The Safe School Initiative will put Nigeria on track to help more and more girls and boys go to school and learn.”

Unfortunately, the idea has long been abandoned with the schools, including those in the Boko Haram area of operation, left to their individual devices. But with the recent attacks by the insurgent—who have proved conclusively that regardless of what the authorities are saying, they still possess sufficient capacity for evil—there is an urgent need to go back to the drawing board.  We cannot afford to leave our children at the mercy of violent predators bent on truncating their future. It is also time the Buhari administration admitted the reality that Boko Haram is still very strong in their areas of operations that more efforts would be needed to root out the insurgents.

Thisday

Daniel Dubois maintained his 100% knockout record in boxing with victory over DL Jones on Saturday night, taking his career record to 7-0-0.

It took the 20-year-old just three rounds to break down Jones, who also entered the bout unbeaten but was unable to handle the power of Dubois' punches.

He stayed tight in the opening rounds looking to land big punches, whereas Dubois used combinations to wear his opponent down.

And it worked. Come the third round, Jones was visibly exhausted and after taking some strong right hands from Dubois fell to the canvas at 2.23.

At that point the referee rightly stepped in, giving Dubois his seventh consecutive victory in what looks like a promising career.

Dubois is widely tipped to succeed Anthony Joshua in the heavyweight world and some even believe he's not far away from being able to challenge the current champion.

But some boxing fans aren't having it - and rightly so.

Dubois is an immense talent, there's no question, but it's still far too early to genuinely compare him to Joshua, let alone suggest a fight between the two.

What AJ has achieved requires something special and Dubois has far more to prove before we can truly believe he's capable of the same.

Nevertheless, the future is bright for Dubois and he recently discussed the idea of sparring with Tyson Fury so he can learn from the self-proclaimed 'Gypsy King'.

"Getting in the ring and learning a few more things from him - I don't mind that," said Dubois. "My management team look after all that, they arrange all that stuff but it can definitely happen."

"It excites me that he (Fury) is coming back, it adds to it all, it's a competitive division and him coming back is going to be good.”

Givemesport

THERE was hoopla when the government of President Muhammadu Buhari announced the list of the chairmen and members of the boards of parastatal-agencies recently. The number of the dead named as chairmen of board and the number of duplications recorded caused the alarm bells.

Notwithstanding the awkward development, some have seen something good to it all. The precision with which the dead were accounted for in that appointment shows the dexterous capacity of the government for accountability after all; even if it is all about the dead.

That precision was further demonstrated when figures of the dead started rolling in from the Benue killings, the Taraba killings and the massacres in Zamfara. The social media feasted on the scary statistics in different ways. But one that struck was the announcement by the association of the dead, thanking the Buhari government for involving its members in governance. One of the posts recognised that as evidence of life after death.

It is, however, sad that emerging trends are daily showcasing the government’s aversion for accountability, especially when it concerns the living. Incidentally, accountability was a trumped up issue in the 2015 electoral contest. But consistently, the government is beginning to show its abhorrence for accountability and the trend is fast showcasing that change mantra as misconceived, packaged or overrated.

Upon his assumption of office in 2015, President Buhari and the APC made a meal of the state of the economy. Though the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as at May 28, 2015, indicated that

Nigeria’s foreign Reserve stood at $29.61 billion; the new administration lamented its fate. It claimed to have inherited a totally empty treasury and a broken down house. Even at that, there was also the sum of $2.1 billion in Excess Crude Account.

The nation sympathised with Buhari especially on account of the falling prices of crude at the international market at the time. Within months, the Foreign Reserves came down to below $24 billion and oil hit $27 per barrel. Heat waves circulated around the economy and there was recession. That recession was blamed on the failures of the past administrations to “save for the rainy day.” And you got the wink that once things stabilized by design or divine, the new government would display the first class accountability.

For more than a year now, oil prices have rebound, selling at $70 per barrel at a stage. The Niger Delta Creeks have been quiet, thus paving the way for ease of oil exploration. Yes, the government has announced an upsurge in the Foreign Reserves to about $40 billion as a result of upscale in crude prices, but that appears the end of accountability.

Again last week, the House of Representatives had to halt a $1.8 billion contract for Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) for the nation’s four refineries as the Representatives could not understand the basis for continuous pumping of public funds into the moribund refineries. And to think that TAM contracts have remained a recurring feature of planned revival of these refineries. Still on accountability for the living? Check out the manner of recall of the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf, who was suspended in respect of an investigation caused into the expenditure of over N900 million belonging to the scheme.

Apart from that, reports also indicated that the Ministry of Health was also looking into some expenditures totalling about N10 billion in the NHIS. Rather than call him to account, Yusuf was rewarded with a recall.

The nation under Buhari looked to have attained an inglorious height in lack of accountability (for the living) with the unfolding kidnap saga in Dapchi, Yobe state. Last week, some gun-toting operatives of the Boko Haram sect stormed the Government Girls Technical College Dapchi, Yobe state, carting away some yet to be identified number of girls. Initial reports indicated that out of 936 female students, many of whom ran into the bush upon hearing sporadic gun shots, 810 returned while 46 were missing.

Another report indicated that the Army was able to repel the attack on the school and yet another indicated that all the girls were recovered by the Army. Again, another report indicated that 94 students were missing still missing as at Tuesday. The last of the information indicated that no fewer than 111 students are missing as a result of the insurgents attacks. Really a confused state of things, leaving the parents and relations in mystery. After the depressing Chibok girls’ saga, it looks stranger than fiction that an incident of such magnitude would repeat itself in similar fashion.

It is a scandal of unimaginable value. Chibok was said to have caught everyone by surprise, but that the same incident repeating itself is nothing but absurd. After Chibok, it should not be heard of that a school in the troubled North-East is left without adequate security, but this is what we are witnessing.

Sad enough, rather than demand accountability from the executive, the representatives of Yobe State in the Senate are about political pillars and factions. While Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan and

Senator Bukkar Abba Ibrahim are all for political correctness on this, Senator Hassan Mohammed (Yobe South) was ready to hit the bull’s eye. Whatever the actors think, the emphasis should be on the living, rather than the dead. The Dapchi girls and others deserve to return home alive.

The Arewa Christians and Indigenous Pastors Association (ACIPA) have condemned the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) for rejecting the proposal of state police.

President of ACIPA, Reverend Luka Shehu, who made the condemnation at a press briefing in Jos, said the ACF position amounted to double standards, having been the proponent of Sharia Hisbah police, while rejecting a secular police state.

He said Nigeria needed state police to arrest the spate of insecurity, adding that his association also rejected every aspect of the proposed open grazing reserve bill for herdsmen.

According to him, “the Federal Government has no business acquiring land for herdsmen, and that any state with indigenous herdsmen, who desires to promote open grazing as a means of business, should allow individuals purchase land for such purpose in their state.

“Nigeria is not among the top twenty nations in global cattle business, not among the top beef-exporting countries, not among the top exporters, not among the nations with top cattle inventory. None of the nations with cattle practise primitive cattle grazing or have cattle colonies like the herdsmen of Nigeria.

He further stated that the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association could not dictate to any Middle Belt State government the law to enact to protect their citizens, and therefore called on Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State and his counterparts not to compromise their people’s destiny and land by foot dragging on enacting such law.

While condemning the use of security apparatus to intimidate or harass clerics and Nigerians against the style of present leadership in the country, he alleged that there was an attempt recently to arrest Prophet Isa El-Buba, in Jos.

Tribune

The resignation of Bishop Okpalaeke of Catholic Diocese of Ahiara marks a new development in the church

The politics and tension that engulfed the Catholic Church following the rejection of The Most Rev. Peter Ebere Okpalaeke by the clergy and laity of Ahiara Diocese was partially resolved last week as the bishop resigned his appointment. The rebellion and stiff resistance by the faithful of the diocese over a five-year period was unprecedented. Appointed in 2012 by then Supreme Pontiff (Pope) Benedict, the bishop could neither be consecrated in nor granted entrance to the cathedral. He was a bishop in limbo. A contradiction in terms!

It is unfortunate that neither the authority nor office of Pope Benedict and Francis was enough to sway the Mbaise Catholic faithful. The reasons adduced were as ludicrous as the violent resistance that has portrayed the well regarded church in bad light. The people have insisted that only a bishop of Mbaise extraction would be acceptable to them.

Ethnicity and intolerance, the bane of Nigeria’s development have eaten so deep into the church that no appeals or threats could sway the people. Explanation that appointments are made by the leading of the Holy Spirit meant nothing to them as they insisted that the Mbaise people have the largest number of Catholic priests in Sub-Sahara Africa, yet, none, so far, has been deemed fit for appointment as bishop. Since 2012, John Cardinal Onaiyekan has been superintending affairs of the diocese, but the embattled bishop’s resignation has produced The Most Revd Lucius Ugorji, Bishop of Umuahia, as the new Apostolic Administrator until a final resolution of the unusual crisis is effected.

However, we commend Bishop Okpalaeke’s maturity in realising the damage that the stand-off has caused and continued to cause the Catholic Church’s image. His resignation is an indication that he knows that the church must not suffer the result of human frailties. In his letter, he indicated: “I am convinced that my remaining the Bishop of Ahiara Diocese is no longer beneficial to the church … I do not think that my apostolate in a diocese, where some priests and lay faithful are ill-disposed to have me in their midst would be effective.”

The Ahiara Diocese crisis is a pointer that the church should carefully examine the appointment process and strictly adhere to time-tested laid down rules. The rebellious faction insists that Bishop Okpalaeke’s appointment did not follow due process as neither the Metropolitan Bishop of Owerri nor any of the local ordinaries was allowed to play the part expected of them.

We call on the local authorities, including the leadership of the Catholic Bishops Association of Nigeria, the Metropolitan Bishop of Owerri, the immediate Past Apostolic Administrator, Cardinal Onaiyekan, the new Apostolic Administrator, the respected Francis Cardinal Arinze, the Apostolic Nuncio in Nigeria, representatives of the Knights and Laity on both sides of the divide, to prayerfully consider the issues involved in the crisis with a view to restoring order in the diocese as well as improving on the process of appointing bishops. Only this could sustain the respect the church commands in the society.

Only recently, the Catholic bishops visited President Muhammadu Buhari and spoke for the people. Crises such as in Ahiara Diocese could muffle the voice of the bishops. It is also an eye opener to other churches that, while the spiritual should be their primary concern, other issues regarding structure and administration deserve due attention. Church history shows that the laity has never accepted to be shoved aside. The Pope in far away Rome might be credited with making appointments, but recommendations are locally made. What the Mbaise Catholic faithful demand is akin to the “taxation without representation is tyranny” slogan of the American Revolution.

It could be indicative of a resentment of over-centralisation of decision-making. Deification of the Pope was one major reason for the 16th Century Reformation drive that gave birth to protestantism. A parallel could be drawn between the prevailing issues that fuelled that revolt and the seeping challenge that could be gleaned from the Ahiara Diocese that withstood the church for more than four years and seems to be having its way.

As Nigeria’s steady and seemingly inexorable drift into an abyss of anomie continues, it is difficult not to notice the striking resemblance between the way Boko Haram was propped up in the not-too-distant past, by those in a position to have nipped its incipient danger in the bud, and the way the marauding Fulani herders are being egged on in their sanguinary pursuits today. What is happening now, as was the case with the murderous Boko Haram group then, is a government adopting a policy of appeasement, or even turning a blind eye, in a situation that requires courage to deploy the full weight of the law to crush a certain and undisguised danger confronting the country.

This is really not surprising because Nigeria has an uncanny reputation for ignoring insidious signs of national disasters until they assume gargantuan proportions and start wreaking incalculable havoc on the country. Whenever such situations present themselves, rather than act swiftly and dispassionately, in national interest, the response has most often been coloured by politics, ethnicity and religion. This is still a sad reminder that, more than a century after the colonial powers unwisely yoked together a diverse multitude of nations and groups into a single entity, Nigeria is yet to attain the status of nationhood.

But after the initial onslaught, resulting in the death of its founder, Mohammed Yusuf, and hundreds of others, Yar’Adua soon took ill and eventually died; but his order to snuff out the Islamist group was not effectively carried out. Boko Haram would later become the most deadly terror organisation in the world by 2014, according to the Global Terrorism Index. Not only has the terrorist group been credited with the death of over 100,000 people, it also carried out an audacious kidnap of about 272 schoolgirls, many of whom have yet to regain freedom. But as if contending with Boko Haram is not enough headache for one country, the Fulani herdsmen, designated the fourth deadliest terror group in 2014 by GTI, soon joined to effectively mark Nigeria out as the most terrorised country in the world.

But Nigeria is in this sorry pass because of the role of some Northern elite who politicised the Boko Haram narrative just as they are doing with the Fulani herdsmen carnage. Even the tepid response of the Goodluck Jonathan’s inept administration was frustrated by those who thought they could score political points using the unfortunate circumstances. A prominent champion of this cause was the former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, who, in an infamous memo to the Northern Governors’ Forum, accused the Federal Government of committing genocide and blaming it on “innocent” Boko Haram.

Describing Boko Haram attacks as induced calamity, the retired vice-admiral attributed the mass killings of students and children in their schools’ dormitories and examination halls, and the mass kidnapping of girls, to Federal Government’s agents. Yet, these were acts for which the murderous group clearly claimed responsibility. Such wild claims by a supposedly respected elder left those with the responsibility of fighting terror in a quandary.

Nyako, a former Chief of Naval Staff, was just one among the elite cast of that gruesome drama. At a critical time when the group had just pulled off an incredible feat of bombing Nigeria Police headquarters in Abuja, in 2011, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, also a retired senior military officer, warned against a military crackdown on the group, saying, “You cannot solve violence with violence.”

Two years later, the then presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, granted an interview to Radio Liberty where he also condemned the clampdown on Boko Haram. Buhari, who was quoted as saying that he did not support the declaration of a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, complained that the government was killing members of the Islamist sect and destroying their houses while giving special treatment to militants in the Niger Delta.

At a time when Boko Haram had started occupying large swathes of territory in the North-East, targeting its critics, some governors came out openly to apologise to the mindless killers. Some people even attempted to lure them into dialogue, with a view to granting them amnesty, which, in Nigeria, comes with monetary reward. Of course, this was a proposition that the Islamists, who were only interested in foisting Sharia, the strict Islamic law, on the country, were not ready to consider. It was only when Boko Haram started targeting mosques, Islamic clerics and even made attempts on the lives of the then Emir of Kano and the Shehu of Borno that they started taking the group seriously. By then, it was already late, and Muhammadu Shuwa, a retired major-general, and some other prominent people, had been killed.

Nigeria is in a very precarious state now because acts inimical to the security and wellbeing of the country are being condoned. As the Fulani herdsmen and militia are wreaking havoc across the country, the loud voices of condemnation that should be heard have been muffled by the politics of ethnicity and religion. There is hardly any part of the country that has not tasted the brutality of the group that specialises in sacking villages and in invading people’s farms with their cattle. What the herdsmen do in some places is akin to ethnic cleansing.

While Boko Haram has been limited largely to the North-East, the herdsmen’s threat is more widespread and can be felt even in the most southerly parts of the country. But, like Boko Haram, the destructive spirit of the herdsmen may eventually not be limited to their present targets. Very soon, those propping them up today may become their victims tomorrow. That is the time that the country will start voting billions of dollars to fight Fulani herdsmen terrorism.

Now is the time to stop the arms-bearing herdsmen and the militia that are killing on their behalf. When a similar problem cropped up in Ghana, the security forces responded swiftly by chasing them out of the country. Some of those that left Ghana eventually found their way here. Nigeria should not be a dumping ground for terrorists. The government has a responsibility to protect citizens against any external aggression, be it from Fulani herdsmen or any other terror group.

Punch