The senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Shehu Sani, recently revealed in an interview that he and his colleagues in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly receive N13.5 million as monthly running cost. This, of course, is without prejudice to their consolidated regular monthly salary of N700,000 each. Sani further explained that even though there is no specification on what the funds are meant for, each lawmaker is mandated to provide receipts to back up the expenses.

Although he is a beneficiary of the official largesse, Senator Sani’s candour was voluntary and may have been borne out of the realisation of the stark oddity of a democracy whose legislature is far removed and alienated from the experiences of the people it purports to represent. In theory, the sovereignty of the people resides in the legislature. But to what extent do the legislatures in Nigeria represent the people in terms of real life experiences? Since the minimum wage in the country is N18,000 monthly, how are the people’s representatives in good conscience sitting in such a cosy and lavish comfort? As expected, the revelation made by Senator Sani has generated outrage across the polity. Many people, incensed by the revelation, have been crying foul.

With this revelation from Senator Sani, it is no longer surprising that the cost of governance in Nigeria is unduly high, with a large chunk of the country’s resources ending up in the private pockets of political actors, especially the legislators. Politics in Nigeria is peculiarly lucrative, in fact to such a disconcerting extent that a former Senate President claimed that he had to invest heavily in order to secure his seat. This was the argument he conveniently deployed in explaining the eventual graft and sleaze in the Senate. Against the backdrop of the official admission of the plight of 82 million Nigerians living in abject poverty, Senator Sani’s revelation should call national attention to the unconscionable reward system in the country that is skewed in favour of the legislature and other political actors. Is it not odd that these wealthy political actors claim to be the representatives of the more than 82 million poverty-stricken Nigerians?

It is no wonder that election in Nigeria is warfare. The beneficiaries have become used to opulence and vacating their seats through electoral loss is often desperately and violently resisted. The truth is that democracy in Nigeria is essentially a travesty. There is then an urgent and desperate need to review the country’s democratic experience to bridge the gap of alienation between the people and their representatives in the National Assembly and the respective state Houses of Assembly. The irony, however, is that only the various legislatures can constitutionally effect any change through reforms and it will be a tall order to expect a reform that will rob them of their perquisites.

It is difficult, not to say hopeless, to expect such qualms from the former governors in the Senate who are still enjoying the perks of their former office along with the official heist. If the sense of propriety eludes them and they have not noticed the grave implications of such obscene and predatory acquisition, how can they be expected to embark on any reforms that will end up as self-immolation? Yet there must be reform. For a start, the receipts tendered by each senator for the current regime of “running costs” must be scrutinized to determine their authenticity. Then, pressure must be mounted on the legislature and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to review the remuneration package of office-holders to reflect the country’s economic realities.

Tribune

The recent report on rising cases of fraud and forgeries in the nation’s banking industry, calls for the tightening of internal controls and supervision by the regulatory authorities. In the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) Financial Stability Report (FSR), the value of fraudulent activities in the Nigerian banking sector rose to N5.52 billion at the end of the 2017 financial year, while the value of 2016 fraud was N4.12 billion.

The value of fraudulent activities in the banks from 2016 to 2017 showed an increase of N1.40 billion. Earlier, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) had decried the rising fraudulent activities in the banking sector, especially fraud and forgery cases perpetrated by bank workers. The NDIC also revealed that the number of fraud cases attributed to internal abuse by bank workers increased to 320 in 2017 from 231 in 2016.

This was the outcome of the organisation’s recent report on off-site supervision of the Deposit Money Banks in the country. The report relied on a total of 286 responses received from 26 banks during the period. The regulator noted that there were 22 nil monthly responses from the banks as at the end of December 31, 2017.

There were 26,132 cases of fraud and forgeries from the 286 responses received from the banks last year. This represented 56.30 percent higher compared to 16,751 cases reported in 2016. In the same vein, the amount of money involved in the fraudulent activities documented rose by N3.33 billion from the N8.68 billion reported in 2016 to N12.01 billion in 2017. This represented 38 percent increase. The actual loss decreased by N24.42 million or 1.03 percent from the N2.39 billion in 2016 to N2.37 billion in 2017.

Altogether, both the (Automated Teller Machine), ATM-related fraud constituted the largest with 24,266 cases (about 92.68 percent) of all reported cases or N1.51 billion of losses in the sector in 2017.

Other fraudulent activities were traced to transfers and withdrawals through insider facilitation, presentation of forged cheques, Internet banking and diversion of customer deposits and outright theft.

Although the report showed that the level of attempted cases of fraud and forgeries declined by N0.32 billion, or 11.94 percent between March and June, 2017, there was an upswing in fraud and forgery cases from July to December, 2017.                                                                       

According to the NDIC, reported cases of fraud and forgeries rose by 36.42 percent from 12,279 cases in 2015 to 16,751 in 2016.  Actual loss in respect of Internet banking fraud was N857 million, which represented 27 percent of total loss of the industry that year.

All factors that breed corruption in the sector should be squarely addressed. These include poor corporate governance, infraction in foreign exchange operations, lack of effective sanctions of offenders, among others.

From what can be gleaned form the CBN and NDIC reports, it is clear that issues bordering on unethical financial practices and conflicts between customers and their banks are yet to be properly addressed.  The Bankers Committee should look into this urgently. The CBN should take the advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and check the country’s rising bank risks.

Sun

I was confronted last week by a student who has shown a significant interest in Africa and other developing regions. The student asked me in a sombre tone: Why is Nigeria a country in which nothing works? Why do so many citizens of your country endure economic hardships when the country celebrates yearly federal and state budgets that make no impact on the lives of citizens? Why do so many people suffer when your country has many human and natural resources that could improve the socio-economic conditions of the citizens?

I was stunned by the questions. I was not expecting them but, on reflection, I found the questions represented the student’s deep understandings of the paradox that is Nigeria.

The student was absolutely correct. It is difficult to analyse methodically and critically in one essay the numerous problems that have overwhelmed Nigeria in the past 57 years. Quite simply, the nation’s problems are inoperable. In the same week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave us the bad news that Nigerians are getting poorer, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, warned that the nation would be sitting on a keg of gunpowder if no action was taken to address increasing youth unemployment. These are dire warnings the nation can ignore to its detriment.

There are so many absurdities that underpin life in Nigeria. For example, when you criticise poor services provided by telecommunications providers, someone will jump at you with a pedestrian remark that, before the advent of mobile telephones, things were much worse than they are now. It is this kind of weird argument that defines and justifies the shabby treatment we receive from government and political leaders, and the disrespect we receive from foreign businesses that operate and make huge profits in the country.

Different people have used different metaphors to illustrate the crisis of leadership in Nigeria, and the irreparable nature of the problems that confront the nation. The most appropriate metaphor, I would argue, is the one that depicts Nigeria as a mischievous adult that still behaves like a teenager. The moment you drag the teen out of the doctor’s clinic, you realise he or she has far worse injuries requiring urgent treatment.

Since the attainment of political independence in October 1960, the country has been governed by military dictators and wily politicians who promised to transform the nation to improve the living conditions of citizens. Everyone thought these leaders had figured out the solutions to the nation’s problems. Little did anyone realise the nation had been conned big time.

Nigeria is so blessed in many ways but has been unlucky with poor quality of leaders that have emerged so far in the history of the country. Haven’t we been reminded many times that every country deserves the leaders it gets? Nigeria has been weighed down by naïve and incompetent leaders, men and women who lack the capacity to govern but who are always the first to climb onto the bandwagon of leadership that has so far led the country to the edge of disaster.

We owe our generation and future generation honest and effective leaders with the foresight and undying determination to commit to educational, economic, technological and social transformation of the country. We need this model of leaders to recover what the country has lost since independence, namely genuine socio-economic development, improvements in the living standards of the people, meaningful health care system, improved agricultural production, an effective manufacturing sector, efficient air, sea, road and rail transportation systems, and uncomplicated telecommunications network.

The slow and painful downfall of Nigeria is symbolic not only of the failure of leadership but also failure of public and private institutions. It is proof of the failure of civil society to stand up and hold political leaders to account for their transgressions. Take a look at the level of youth unemployment in the country. Take another look at the frail condition of federal roads relative to the large sums of money that were budgeted over the years for road construction and repairs. Take a further look at the financial swindles that go on undetected at federal and state levels. All these and more will make you wonder why Nigeria has not yet been mortally wounded. How much longer can the country withstand uncontrolled pillaging of its financial reserves?

Across the country, many people are so broken financially, spiritually, emotionally and physically that they endure anything the government throws at them. There is no union or social movement that represents the people against abuses committed by government officials. When citizens drive on bad roads and develop headaches or suffer injuries, the only way they respond is to murmur, curse, express irritation and pull at their hair. Unfortunately, nothing changes. Their condition and the condition of the roads remain. No one has the courage to ask questions about how the money budgeted for road renovation has been used.

Take the power sector as another example. How many people can estimate correctly how much the country has budgeted in the past 18 years to fix the problem of volatility in electricity supply, including initiatives designed to make electricity regularly available to businesses, private homes, government offices and other consumers? Everyone complains about the darkness that has enveloped the country but no one is willing to do anything to hold political leaders, ministers, and stakeholders accountable.

Public concern that money allocated for federal projects has been hijacked or misused or redirected into some other useless projects has not gone beyond mere chit chat. Certainly, that is not a good way for citizens to scrutinize political leaders or promote accountability and transparency in government.

President Muhammadu Buhari should compel his ministers and other senior officials of his government to develop a culture of accountability and transparency that would see them conduct quarterly or monthly open forums with citizens in various parts of the country, where the ministers can respond to questions about their performance.

Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, (MOB) was a member of the seventh House of representatives from Iyin- Ekiti,  in Ekiti central Senatorial district of Ekiti State. He is a lawyer of note and an ex- commissioner in Lagos State. 

The state was agog last Wednesday when he formally made known his intention to run for the governorship of the state. He told party executives of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) at the APC office in Ajilosun area  of the state capital, Ado Ekiti, that he would never let the party down should the party decides to support him.

This is even as he denied having any pact with a fellow aspirant, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, who is declared his intention to run for the Ekiti governorship last Friday. Bamidele also denied being under pressure to step down for anyone.

A huge crowd of supporters and admirers of the politician, many of whom had benefitted in cash and kind from his benevolence came out en mass out in his honour and shut down the state capital, causing heavy gridlock along the popular Ado Ikere road that linked the Ajilosun Secretariat of the APC from Okeyinmi roundabout.

All clad in white T-shirts that bore Bamidele’s bold image, the excited crowd walked for nearly two kilometres from the Okeyinmi roundabout to the APC office.

They sang many love songs for Bamidele who looked resplendent in elaborate white Agbada lace. He also wore the  “Awo famed cap” to reveal his identity as a progressive member of the late sage, Obafemi Awolowo’s political family.

Earlier in the day, the supporters had chartered 18-seater buses from all the 16 Local Government Areas of the state and filling up each of the buses to its brim. They bombarded the Ajilosun office of the APC and took over all restaurants and motor parks in the capital city as early as 7:30am to await the arrival of their man.

When Bamidele stormed Ado Ekiti from his Iyin country home, broom wielding supporters came out in their hundreds to the to join him on his way to the party secretariat.

Security operatives and party officials had a difficult time controlling the crowd that had taken over the available spaces at the secretariat by the time Bamidele got there.

Just before he went to declare his intention to the party executives, Bamidele had a brief chat with the newsmen at the office of the party’s state deputy chairman, Mrs. Kemi Olaleye, where he revealed the purpose behind his grand entry into the secretariat.

He said: “To the glory of God, I’m here at the state secretariat of my party, the APC to declare my intention to run for governorship of Ekiti State in the coming primary of our party. I’m looking forward to be the next governor of Ekiti State and it is mandatory for every aspirant to so declare to the party. I have done a similar thing at the ward level three weeks ago and I have also conducted a tour of all the 16 local government in Ekiti.

Today I’m rounding up at the state secretariat of the party, to declare my intention and by implication we had also done that through the streets of Ado-Ekiti and the rest is for me to address the state exco.”

 Bamidele who also explained his recent rapport with Senator Babafemi Ojudu and former governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi respectively, further said, “it is interesting and I think this are signs of good development,  these are also things that should send signal to Ekiti people that it is not going to be the same old story, the party is coming back together and stronger and there is no doubting the fact that it is no longer a war time for us in APC, this is an election that will be conducted and done during a peace time, everybody is speaking with everybody”

He also denied the rumour that he was being pressurised by some other aspirants to step down for them, saying:” yes, Senator Ojudu wrote a letter of goodwill to me and I have been in touch with him and I believe it’s a kind of letter that should go from every aspirant to the other aspirant. What is important is that we all remain sincere about what we profess, so it is a welcome development. But that does not mean we have any pact, he’s also on this race and I’m happy the party is at home with that.

“It is also true that Dr Kayode Fayemi visited my office, when I went to my ward for the declaration three weeks ago and during my tour of the 16 councils, I made it clear that Dr Kayode Fayemi and I was bond together as friends on a personal note and we both remained as stakeholders in APC. He is definitely a frontline leader of the party in Ekiti State and there is no doubting the fact that we all need to work together. I’m in this race and by the grace of God I will work with every aspirant, the fact that Dr Fayemi also came to my office should not give room to any speculation, just like a letter written to me by Senator Ojudu shouldn’t give room to any speculation.

Sun

 “Dr Kayode Fayemi came to my office two weeks ago but before his visit, Senator Ojudu had visited that office twice, and many leaders of our great party had visited that office. People had reason to visit, either on personal or official to discuss the affairs of the party, it has nothing to do with anyone’s aspiration. It also show relevance both on my part and by God’s grace on the part of the people who are visiting, for me it is a welcome development 

 “It might interest you to also know that I have as well visited Dr. Fayemi and his family after he visited my office. For us in APC, it is not going to be the same old story. The party is getting ready to take over the state and all of us are working together to achieve this end” he added.

 Asked if he would, like it happened in 2014, opt for an option B, if the election did not favour him, Bamidele’s said: “A point of clarification, I never dumped the APC, I was a member of ACN and I was a member of ACN till the last day , and as part of the team of ACN that took the certificate of registration back to INEC, to say we were done with ACN, because it was a condition that the party must discontinue, to enter into negotiation with other political parties, CPC did the same things, ANPP did the same thing, as well as other small parties.

  “It was after we were done with ACN, but before the registration of APC, owing to disagreement within the leadership of the party in Ekiti State that I had to go and join Labour Party, I did not dump the APC. 

“APC was not even registered as at the time I joined the Labour Party and in any case, these are things of the past, we have moved beyond that, everybody is back in this party, a lot of people who left this party a long time ago are back in the fold. We started as Alliance for Democracy, we became Action Congress and later Action Congress of Nigeria, and today we are APC. During the cause of the journey, as everybody tried to approach his own destination, there have been several bus stops for different people. Before we brought Dr. Fayemi in 2006, after the primaries , a lot of people left us, Senator Ayo Arise left the party for another party, today we are happy that he’s back from PDP into APC and we are all happy together, Yinka Akerele left, today he’s back, Engineer Segun Oni left for PDP, today we are happy he’s back, I left for Labour Party at some point , even though I didn’t not dump the party like I said , neither did I cross carpet, because I was in parliament as I didn’t have to cross carpet and today I’m also in APC. So, everybody will have his own story but what is important centrally is the fact that we are all back to build a united and strong party,” he declared.

  Bamidele also spoke on the aspirants’ agitation for zoning to enable a southern Ekiti person take the plum job, saying: “I want to say that zoning is a legitimate issue. It is also legitimate for every district of the state to aspire in line with the constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria.

 “The constitution of our party didn’t respect zoning and even the constitution, so we are free to contest irrespective of the legitimacy of the agitations” he admonished.

While India has sacred cows, Nigeria has sacred cow owners. That’s why, despite the atrocities being perpetrated by cows and their herders across the country, the ownership of the estimated 19.5 million cows in Nigeria remains shrouded in secrecy. Surely, the herdsmen we see carrying AK-47 rifles and following the cows through the highways, villages, and farmlands are not the owners of the cows they tend. Rather, they are hired by the cattle owners to ensure that the cattle are fed and defended against rustling and other dangers.

We also know that the herdsmen are organised into an association known as the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria. Speaking at the General Assembly of the Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace on January 18, 2018, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, revealed that MACBAN was established over 32 years ago to cater for the welfare of its members and advance the growth of the Fulani business. By the Fulani business here is meant cattle rearing. MACBAN has a branch in each of the six zones of the country, which often promptly intervenes on matters concerning the herdsmen within its zone.

Beyond the leadership of MACBAN, the first suspects are the patrons of the association. The list consists of the echelons of Fulani oligarchs. Here’s the list as recounted recently by one of them, the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II: “The first grand patron was Sultan Abubakar III; and he was replaced by successive sultans-Dasuki, Maccido and Saad Abubakar now. Other patrons were the Lamido of Adamawa, and emirs of Zazzau and Katsina. So, my predecessor was a patron and on my ascension to the throne, I became a patron” (The PUNCH, January 14, 2018).

My investigation reveals that the vast majority of the Fulani elite each owns hundreds or thousands of heads of cattle. It will be recalled, for example, that President Muhammadu Buhari revealed in his assets declaration in 2015 that he owned “farms, an orchard, and a ranch … 270 heads of cattle, 25 sheep, five horses, a variety of birds and a number of economic trees” (Vanguard, September 3, 2015). In view of the ongoing controversy over cattle colonies, it is interesting to note that Buhari owns a ranch in which, it must be assumed, his animals are kept.

Informal enquiries within the last three months further reveal that the ownership of cattle goes well beyond the Fulani. Many Northern politicians of various ethnicities, especially governors, senators, and members of the House of Representatives as well as their predecessors in office, also own cattle. So do businessmen and thousands of livestock farmers. It is also true of military and ex-military officers from the North.

Interestingly, the ownership of cattle in Nigeria is not limited to Northerners. There is no state in the federation in which cattle owners do not reside with their cattle. And not all of such owners are Northerners. In every state, there are indigenes who own cattle. For example, the rumour is very rife that Senator David Mark, an Idoma from Benue State, owns several hundreds of heads of cattle.

What seems to be common to all cattle owners in the country is the hiring of Fulani herdsmen to tend their cattle, often through the local MACBAN branch. This is in recognition of pastoralism as their traditional occupation. The implication is that there are Fulani herdsmen resident in virtually every state in the federation. This is why, for example, many Benue residents claimed that they knew some of the herdsmen who plundered their villages and killed residents.

So far, the people’s anger has been directed at these herdsmen, who are being blamed for the serial conflicts with local farmers, whose farmlands and entire villages are being plundered by the cattle. It is high time the owners of the cattle were brought into the equation. There are several reasons to do so, and urgently too.

First, if my neighbour’s gateman drives the neighbour’s goat into my compound and the goat eats up the bunch of plantain in my backyard, I will not stop at blaming the gateman. Rather, I will report both the gateman and the goat to my neighbour and demand that the goat be gated within his compound. If the incident goes on repeatedly, I may double my demand — cage the goat and also pay reparation. If that fails, I will sue him. This rule should apply to cow owners. The problem is that we do not know them.

Third, it is necessary to know the source of the AK-47 rifles carried by the herdsmen in full public glare. Where do the arms come from and who is arming them? The other day, I saw four herdsmen march about 200 heads of cattle past an army checkpoint and a police checkpoint within 200 metres of each other. I wondered why they were not arrested and disarmed in keeping with the President’s order to do so.

Why do security officers appear complicit in the herdsmen’s crime? Why is the Federal Government always ready to appease the herdsmen instead of blaming them for their crime, while delaying, if not denying, the necessary attention to the victims? Why is the focus more on building cattle colonies than in rebuilding plundered villages and compensating the victims? These questions are being raised because many believe that there are powerful interests behind the herdsmen’s atrocities.

Fourth, it is necessary to know the cattle owners so that the Federal Inland Revenue Service could collect the appropriate tax from them. Millions of people must be raking in profit from the sale of cows, beef, milk, cowherd, and so on. The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, and the FIRS should be keenly interested in them.

Finally, it is high time reliable statistics were generated that would provide necessary data for planners and researchers interested in livestock farming in Nigeria. Such data should be able to tell us who owns what breed of cattle and where? If such data are not available now, where does the figure of 19.5 million heads of cattle come from? On what basis is the government planning its intervention in the ongoing conflicts between herdsmen and farmers? Appropriate data are needed and necessary taxes should be collected, if livestock farming were to make a dent on Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.

Russia on Monday named a deaf white cat who lives in Saint Petersburg's historic Hermitage Museum as its official prognosticator for the World Cup.

Achilles the Cat will hope to repeat the fabled exploits of Paul the Octopus and other "psychic" animals tasked with predicting winners of football's showpiece event.

"We will hold a special press conference and hand Achilles a Fan ID card," the Hermitage Museum's cat press secretary Mary Khaltunen told the R-Sport news agency.

The fact that Russia's most fabled collection of art has a spokeswoman for cats may be news to some.

But R-Sport says Hermitage Museum cats are legion — and apparently football experts.

The cats were first brought to the Hermitage when Peter the Great made its Winter Palace into the new imperial home in the 17th century.

Empress Elizabeth of Russia eventually issued a decree demanding "the shipment of cats to the court".

The Hermitage was turned into a private art collection after Catherine the Great's death in 1796.

The Hermitage's Cat Museum founder Anna Kondratyeva said Achilles went on sabbatical and "put on a belly" after also picking winners in last year's Confederations Cup in Russia.

It was not immediately clear how well he did.

But the 4.7-kilogramme (10.4-pound) feline would have to be in top form to repeat Paul the Octopus's correct prediction of all seven German wins at the 2010 World Cup.

The octopus also correctly picked final winner Spain by settling its tentacles over the Spanish flag when it was lowered into Paul's tank.

Achilles's selection process will be less dramatic: the cat will simply stick his snout into the winning bowl of food.

"Achilles was born deaf, which may explain his heightened intuition," R-Sport wrote.

AFP

Most Russians intending to vote for Vladimir Putin in Sunday's election say stability is at the root of their faith in their candidate - though many young voters believe it's time for a change of leader.

Putin, 65, is expected to win a fourth term in office with 69 percent of the vote, according to the latest survey by a state-run pollster.

Reuters correspondents and photographers who travelled around the country talking to voters ahead of the March 18 election found nothing to contradict expectation of an emphatic Putin victory.

In Crimea, participating in a Russian presidential election for the first time since the territory was annexed from Ukraine in 2014, engineer Andrei Lukinykh said Putin was the only candidate who could provide stability in tough times.

"As the saying goes, you don't change your horses mid-stream. Unlike the others, my candidate can provide the stability that's needed," Lukinykh said.

For Muscovite student Yulia Dyuzheva, economic progress during Putin's 17 years in office won him her vote.

"As a representative of the younger generation, I can say that for us, young Russians, all the doors are open. Everyone is able to grab the opportunities presented and make the most of themselves, in whatever town or region," Dyuzheva said.

But others believe Russia is ready for a change.

Accountant Natalia Dementieva, also from Moscow, said she was casting a vote for TV personality Ksenia Sobchak - one of seven other candidates - because she supported more freedoms.

"(Ksenia Sobchak) speaks the truth, openly. She doesn't lie. She raises issues which are taboo under our government."

"The next generation to rule this country were born between 1982 and 1987. There's a lot of them and they don't remember what it was like in the Soviet Union. So they're less afraid."

Sobchak is expected to garner 2 percent of the vote, according to a March 9 poll by the state-run Russian Public Opinion Research Centre.

That's less than the 3 percent who plan to stay at home, some of whom may be heeding opposition leader Alexei Navalny's call to boycott the vote after he was barred from being on the ballot.

From the Communist Party, wealthy farm boss Pavel Grudinin, 57, is set for a stronger showing, at 7 percent.

For Alexei Gruk, a mechanic from St Petersburg, voting for the Communist Party sends the signal that things need to change at home, but he wants Russia's foreign policy to stay the same.

"To hell with the sanctions," Gruk said. "So what if they don't bring foreign stuff here anymore? As if that means we have to give in. I don't care."

Nationalist firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a veteran lawmaker, is expected to garner 5 percent of votes, according to latest polls, while liberal economist Grigory Yavlinsky should receive 1 percent.

News18

Nigeria’s recent downgrade in the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index has understandably generated great furore, with the government faulting the basis for the grading. But for those who have been living in a fool’s paradise, thinking that, by mere force of government pronouncement, corruption could suddenly be put to flight, this is the time to wake up and face the stark reality of pervasive corruption in Nigeria.

No doubt, this is a development that has dealt a stunning blow to the Federal Government’s anti-corruption posturing, which is why many aides of President Muhammadu Buhari have decided to kick against the rating. This, they have claimed, is not a fair reflection of the efforts of the government to stamp out endemic corruption from public life. From a lowly position of 136th out of the 176 countries surveyed in 2016, and a miserable 28 points out of a possible 100, the country crashed 12 steps down the ladder to 148th in 2017, with a score of 27 points from a possible 100, out of the 180 countries surveyed.

The latest CPI is even more damaging because it came after the President was recently made the champion for the anti-corruption campaign by the African Union. What it amounts to is that Buhari’s anti-corruption fight has made no dent in the level of corruption in the country, especially in the eyes of the experts and business community whose opinions form the basis for the assessment. With the next round of elections just a year away, it will be very difficult for the government to justify its performance, especially as the All Progressives Congress was voted into power on the strength of its anti-graft credentials.

Fighting corruption is not just about collecting the loot and asking the looter to go and sin no more; it is about bringing them to book to serve as a deterrent to others. In the absence of this, many obvious corrupt acts are coming out even among the President’s close circle of aides. Such is the situation that people are beginning to believe that becoming an APC member is all that is needed to shield them from scrutiny by government’s anti-corruption machinery.

To be fair, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the government anti-graft watchdog, has done creditably. But even its little efforts are being hobbled by a cabal within the Presidency and the other agencies with which it was supposed to work closely to achieve the desired results. It is surprising that, up till now, no heads have rolled after the failed confirmation bid of Ibrahim Magu as the EFCC Chairman, following contradictory reports that emanated from the Presidency, which stalled that confirmation.

Perhaps, more surprising is the President’s response to the smuggling of Abdulrasheed Maina, a fugitive from justice, back into the civil service. Although he ordered the swift sacking of the man who was on the wanted list of the EFCC for allegedly stealing pension funds, he suddenly got cold feet when it was time to punish those who were responsible for his reinstatement and double promotion. Buhari’s handling of the Maina case, coupled with his slow response to allegations of corruption brought against the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has done great damage to the government’s anti-corruption credentials.

Despite gaining worldwide notoriety as a very corrupt country — with the immediate past British Prime Minister, David Cameron, describing the country as “fantastically corrupt” two years ago — Nigeria had actually recorded some incremental advances in her bid to curtail the malaise in the past, as acknowledged by TI itself. In 1996, 1997 and 2000, Nigeria came last in the TI rankings, and second to the last in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003. But the country was able to rise to 121 in the 2008 perceptions index, out of the 180 countries under consideration.

Since then, it has been a downward trend for Africa’s largest economy, which has negatively affected the quality of life of the citizens. Today, 80 per cent of Nigerians are poor and living on $2 a day, according to the African Development Bank, while the level of infrastructure has been deplorable. A former Executive Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Tim Okon, said Nigeria reaped over $300 billion from oil sales between 2010 and 2014. Yet, much of the money disappeared into private pockets, leaving the country largely impoverished.

Instead of dissipating energy on questioning the CPI, which had been warmly embraced in the past, this is the time to sit up and take the war against corruption more seriously, knowing that the rest of the world is watching. Just as the TI founder, Peter Eigen, once said, the CPI should be seen as “a wake-up call to political leaders and to the public at large to confront abundant corruption that pervades so many countries.”

If Nigeria wants to make progress in the war against corruption, she can find good lessons from Eigen’s advice. It is even heartening that Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is thinking along that line, going by his recent response to the TI rating. He saw it as “an opportunity to continue building on the many successes that have already been recorded by this government in all key sectors.” Confronting the monster is the only way to succeed in this war against graft; not by living in denial.

Punch

Serena Williams’ return to the WTA Tour came to an abrupt end Monday as she crashed out of Indian Wells with a 6-3, 6-4 loss to her sister Venus.

Venus closed out the 29th career meeting between the two on her second match point as Serena sailed a forehand long to end the third- round showdown.

It was the first meeting between the sisters since they clashed in the final of the 2017 Australian Open, which Serena won before taking a 15-month hiatus due to her pregnancy.

Serena said she is still easing her way back into match fitness.

“It wasn’t very easy, obviously,” she said. “It was good to play and try to get in the rhythm and get into the swing again.

“I can’t really replicate the situation no matter how much I do in practice. I make those shots 10 times out of 10 in practice.

“It’s just the nerves, the anticipation you feel naturally. It’s a little bit of everything that comes in a match that just doesn’t normally happen.”

The 10th seeded Venus moves on to the round of 16 where she will face Anastasija Sevastova, who defeated 12th seeded Julia Georges 6-3, 6-3.

It is rare for the Williams sisters to play this early in a tournament and the earliest they have faced each other since their first encounter at the Australian Open in 1998.

They arrived outside the stadium together on a golf cart then walked through the tunnel with Serena entering the court first, as many in the crowd stood and cheered.

Serena is still shaking off the rust after the long layoff as she hit four aces but had her serve broken four times.

“I just have a long way to go,” Serena said.

Despite the loss Serena still leads their career series 17-12.

This was their first encounter with Venus as an aunt and Serena as a new mother after giving birth to her baby daughter, Alexis Olympia, on September 1.

Venus’s victory also comes 17 years after an ugly booing incident led to a 14-year boycott of the tournament by the sisters.

It brought closure to the once testy relationship between Indian Wells and the sisters who hail from the Los Angeles suburb of Compton. Serena returned to the tournament in 2015 and Venus a year later.

Asked about the incident finally being put to rest, Venus said, “It never crossed my mind.”

Serena said she is trying not to look too far into the season.

“I have a lot to improve on,” she said.

Elsewhere, Australian Open champ Caroline Wozniacki benefited from a challenge call in the final game en route to defeating Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

– First major –

Wozniacki silenced the critics earlier this year when she claimed her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, becoming the first Danish woman to win a major.

The 27-year-old world No. 2 Wozniacki moves on to the fourth round where she will face 20th seeded Russian Daria Kasatkina, who surprised reigning US Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-4, 6-3.

“I managed to get my feet going more, and to start playing more steady, and that paid off today,” said Wozniacki.

Wozniacki challenged a call in the final game when the line judge ruled that Sasnovich’s shot caught the line. Wozniacki asked for a second look and the review showed that the line judge mistakenly called the ball in.

Wozniacki said the court conditions were difficult but she managed to make adjustments.

“These courts are really difficult to play on. That’s also why you see a lot of upsets,” she said. “The ball bounces really high and it goes extremely slow.”

In other women’s third round matches on Monday, French seventh seed Caroline Garcia defeated Australia’s Daria Gavrilova 7-5, 6-4.

Danielle Collins also won her third round match, defeating Sofya Zhuk of Russia 6-4, 6-4.

AFP

The visit fits into the US long standing policy of containing trouble and trouble makers in faraway places

For an administration that has had scant regard for and interest in the continent, the visit by the United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to a handful of African countries acquires some significance. Despite cutting short the number of days, Tillerson nevertheless visited Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya before arriving Nigeria yesterday for several hours before heading back home last night.

Ordinarily, the global gravity of the US dictates that the engagements of its chief diplomat attract attention and headlines. Predictably, and quite expectedly, the choice of countries on this visit was dictated more by the interests of the US than some globalist illusions. This was not a trip about the usual issues that usually dominate such visit in the past: AIDS pandemic, massive poverty or indeed about how to uplift African economies from the jaws of a new debt burden. This was an exercise in undisguised marketing of ‘America First’.

It is within the foregoing context that we should view Tillerson’s whistle stop visit to Abuja yesterday. President Muhammadu Buhari is therefore better placed if he does not raise any expectations from this flying visit beyond the symbolism of diplomatic handshakes and rehash of banalities. The military cooperation between Nigeria and the US has not made much progress aside the fact that a few combat aircraft were sold to our military. In spite of the basing of US drones and service personnel in Chad, Boko Haram has continued to operate freely as evidenced in the recent mass abduction of school girls from Dapchi. The normal expectation would be that with active cooperation of countries like the US, Britain and France, incidents like the Dapchi abductions would be near impossible.

Beyond the predictable counsels on terrorism, it is expected that Tillerson and his Nigerian hosts would have found time to exchange frank views on the need for the administration to improve on its human rights record which, according to Amnesty International and local Nigerian independent observers, remains dismal. The increasing use of the military to contain security threats should also be of concern to all interested observers of the Nigerian scene.

Tillersons may have had general observations to make to his Nigerian counterparts on the need to deepen democratic culture in the country as the ultimate guarantee of peace and security. Yet, he could only have had an audience on such matters for the simple reason that he was flying the US flag. As the number one ambassador of the Donald Trump Washington, Tillerson must have had quite a burden retaining attention given the fact that the administration he represents is presided over by a man whose actions and words are a travesty of the finest traditions of American democracy as the world has come to know it.

While we wish Tillerson safe journey back to America, we must nonetheless stress for the benefit of our authorities that such diplomatic stopover are meaningful only if the Nigerian state conducts itself with the dignity and sense of purpose that would compel leaders of more advanced societies to show greater respect for African countries and their governments.

Thisday