Transparency International’s (TI) latest report shows that corruption is worsening in Nigeria. According to TI’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Nigeria ranked 148th out of the 180 countries surveyed in 2017 with a score of 28/100, whereas it ranked 136th in 2016 with a score of 27/100 out of the 168 countries surveyed.

This means that Nigeria has not made significant progress in the fight against corruption. This is surprising given the fact that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has anti-corruption as a priority objective of governance. Indeed, Nigeria occupies the 32nd position out of the 52 assessed countries in Africa in the 2017 ranking. In West Africa, Nigeria is the second worst country out of 17 countries, leaving only Guinea Bissau behind. Nigeria’s score of 27/100 is far below the African average of 32/100.

The TI report provides some insight into the relationship between openness and corruption. In countries where openness and media independence are absent, corruption thrives. The report called on the government and private sector organisations to support free speech and media independence. Importantly, too, government must allow the opposition and civil society to engage it. The government must give life to the Freedom of Information Act which has not been allowed to operate because of hostility by public office-holders to request for information on the basis of that law. President Buhari assumed the reins of leadership on the back of a campaign promise to crack down on endemic corruption. His slogan was that “if Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.” Now, he must ensure that corruption does not kill Nigeria by ensuring that graft is effectively sanctioned.

Since 2015 when the current government took the reins of power, very few high-profile corruption cases have been concluded. Convictions have been very scarce. The claim by the government that the judiciary has been largely compromised, thereby undermining the anti-graft war, cannot be a valid excuse.

The government has to re-engineer public institutions to address corruption. The government must lead in transparency by proactive disclosure of important data such as budgets, company ownership, public procurement and political party financing through open data formats.

Although the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) claim to have recovered huge sums of money, the size, location, owners and basis of the recovered funds have not been provided for public scrutiny. Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State has challenged the government to make public the identities of those who have refunded stolen public money.  We support the idea.  Indeed, some Nigerians fear that such funds would likely be re-stolen by government officials who are shielded by the government.

It seems that both the EFCC and the ICPC have become agencies for the recovery of stolen public money without detailed public accountability for such recovered funds. The fight against corruption must go beyond such claims. It must be done with openness. Above all, those found guilty of stealing pubic fund must be sanctioned.

Tribune

The chronic ailments that pin this country down are only a handful. They include self-deceit, selfishness, and foolishness. Fortunately or unfortunately, none of the lot is natural or extraneous. The nation-destroying vices are man-made: made in Nigeria by Nigerians for self and country!

It is not too hard to deduce that our country is where she has been, man and boy, because of the idiosyncrasies of her people. The situation is worsened by the fact that leadership and followership are as guilty as they are unpatriotic. Or which of the two strata is better: our clueless leaders or we the apathetic population? Nigeria is, has been and, may always be in trouble because those who lead are as bad as, if not worse than, those they lead.

The facts are horrendous and compelling. First, we are a docile people who allow leaders to get away with just about anything. Next, we contrive a system that plays politics even with life. How on earth do Nigerians expect a different result when we keep repeating the same lousy mistakes of old?

For instance, weeks after Dapchi transmogrified into Chibok, we have done absolutely nothing differently to reassure the populace. To this day, no one knows for sure exactly how many of our daughters were carted away. Government’s initial back and forth coupled with parents’ insistence that the number is 105, not 110 drains away the essential element of believability. We need to step up and provide leadership while so-called leaders step down and manage as followers!

Imagine, they bungled something as basic as lawmaking. Our 36 State Houses of Assembly, in their legislative wisdom, want autonomy for themselves but not for Local Governments which need it more. To the goosy honourable members, autonomy cannot also be sauce for the gander-third-tier. The legislature can only stand up for self; not for the weak, the oppressed, nor the helpless.

Disappointed, my mind wanders back to Dapchi. This may not be the best time to raise this, but when would be? Without any intention whatsoever to rub it in, I just need to wonder aloud about what’s going on in the name of education up north. I thought those Chibok and Dapchi girls abducted were in secondary school?

Why then do their mates and they always speak to Anglophone journalists in Hausa? Is there something I am missing, please? Those I have put this question to always tell me some crap about female education in that part of the country. I know too many northern women who can beat their southern counterparts educationally, to believe such fallacy.

Still, my worry persists. Are we witnessing the downside of a strategem by good-for-nothing sexists called men to keep our sisters, daughters and future wives up north permanently subjugated? Is Hausa the pedagogic lingua franca in the north? I am desperate: just what is going on?

Furthermore, I am horrified that we see the deliberate zoolification of this beautiful country as one of those things. Human beings turn into snakes and monkeys and swallow tens of millions of Naira. Yet, we laugh it off because it’s nothing. I mean, what’s 36 million or 70 million Naira in a country where people help themselves to (not steal) billions every day?

We are a huge joke. On the eve of the general elections which should activate that century-elusive change, the electorate is busy focusing on clannishness, partisanship and allied backward mannerisms that brought us to this cul-de-sac in the first place. For crying out loud, an alarming majority of current leaders deserve quit notice not tenure extension. These guys only take this country backwards!

Or, do we enjoy the silly ritual of the same folly every four years? 2019 is the time to show that we don’t, and indeed that we have had enough of self-inflicted hypocrisy, greed, and lunacy. Let’s go out, register and get our voter card so that in February we would use it to render snakes, monkeys, rats, hyenas, wolves, lion kings et al jobless. God bless Nigeria!

Exactly how does the brain of a Nigerian political office holder work?

Why do people we expect so much from give us so little? How does even the most fanatical Buharist explain away the president’s decision to visit Kano for the wedding of Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s daughter just weeks after the same man kept away from Benue and Yobe which had suffered untold lives-involving incidents? Do our leaders think we are fools?

We always knew about President Muhammadu Buhari’s propensity to make choices that damn the people but this one is completely over the bar. Try as hard as I have, I can’t seem to wrap my head around this presidential malfeasance. I am happy he attended the young couple’s wedding but I am sad not being able to understand the president’s rationale for ignoring Benue, Yobe and other states which need his presence!

I hope nobody adds salt to injury by offering one of those unmathematical excuses. The only way to heal this hurt faster is the president apologising personally or (since he never would) allowing the matter to die off naturally. Or, better still, Governors Samuel Ortom and Ibrahim Gaidam should be smart enough to set up Muslim weddings at Guma/Logo and Dapchi respectively, and invite the president!

Thou shalt not stop being proactive. Thou shalt not react to opponents hate with hate.

Thou shalt not depart from subtle marketing of thy boss’s achievements. Just as thou shalt not fail to focus on his/her achievable plans and promises.

This is re-election strategy 101.Thank me on May 29, 2019!

A former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, has said falling standards in the Judiciary can only be addressed if the culture of lobbying and godfatherism used in influencing appointment of judicial officers is discouraged and discarded by the National Judicial Council (NJC).

 Justice Mukhtar said  a competent and strong judiciary can only be achieved by reviving what held sway in the past, where merit was the watchword in making  such appointments.

She spoke at the weekend, in Abuja, at  a book presentation in honour of a retired female justice of the Supreme Court, Clara Ogunbiyi.

“I will, at this juncture, revisit the issue of lobbying and in addition, favouritism and godfatherism in the appointment of judicial officers. It is sad that we allow the rising culture of lobbying to influence appointments in the judiciary.

“Lobbying, favouritism and godfatherism should be discouraged and discarded, as they lead to the fall in the standard and, instead of enhancing the institution, they devalue and waeken it because of incompetence of the personnel.

“These practices negate the principles of justice and breeds indiscipline. I once read in one of our daily newspapers that lobbying is the norm in the United States of America and since we are operating the American system of democracy, it’s adoption here is in order.

“I disagree because, even if they do so, they consider merit first as the efficiency and the intellectual ability of an appointee is always paramout, as far as the judiciary is concerned.

“We should not think of only what we desire today, but what we will bequeath to the generation yet unborn.”

Justice Mukhtar described the celebrant, who is the first female judge from the North East and the fourth female justice of the Supreme Court as “an epitome of humility.”

As Nigeria prepares for the 2019 general election, the United States (U.S.) says it’s major priority now is to see a peaceful transition, as the country occupies a strategic position in Africa.

The U.S. Department of State said this during a background briefing on the first trip of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Africa, monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria in New York.

Tillerson would meet with Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and other top government functionaries, and also leaders of Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya during his travels from Tuesday, March 6 to 13.

The department said over two decades ago, the number of countries in Africa with really democratically elected government were really very few – only three or four.

It said, however, now we had over two dozen African countries with democratically elected governments and which are hopefully not going to have transitions in government through coup d’etats and other illegal methods.

“As we look at the 20 elections, obviously Nigeria, though it’s not this year – it’s going to be next year – that really is a major priority focus, because that’s going to be the third most populous country in the world by 2050.

“It has really very complex political issues and ethnic and tribal issues and security issues,

“And that’s an area that we really are focusing on how to do a peaceful transition, a democratic transition, but more important is how to hold governments accountable to the people,” the state department said.

The department explained that obviously, a lot of those African countries were still fragile democracies and the U.S. was trying to strengthen them.

The U.S. commended the most recent elections in Liberia, saying it was the first open, fair, and peaceful transition of governments in over 75 years, saying that it is a good thing.

It regretted what it called the “horrendous rule of Charles Taylor and the degradation of the institutions there, but now we’ll going back and they’re building, and I think with the election of George Weah, there is going to be a positive thing”.

The U.S. also noted the election of Nana Akufo-Addo in Ghana, Alassane Ouattara in Cote d’Ivoire and Macky Sall in Senegal, describing them as positive developments.

It said, however, that Ethiopia remained a challenge for the U.S. and a focus for it as well and an opportunity.

The U.S. explained that it was looking at trying to build institutions and strengthen them, and also have peaceful transitions and hold governments accountable to the people in Ethiopia.

It said it was also looking at how it could have reconciliation and dialogues between all of the different groups – the Oromos, the Amharas, the Tigrays, and also in Kenya with the opposition and with the ruling government.

Accordingly, the department said building strong institutions and holding governments accountable are some of the things that are certainly going to be the subjects of discussion during Tillerson trip.

“How do we advance political and economic reform that will help in the transition process? Those are issues too that we’re working in Zimbabwe with the transition between Robert Mugabe and Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“And also we’re looking hopefully at South Africa with the election of Cyril Ramaphosa from Jacob Zuma and seeing how that is going to transform the country,” the state department said.

NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari is currently hosting, George Weah, the 25th President of Liberia.

President Weah arrived at 12:34p.m. in three motorcades. He was received by President Buhari at the fore court of the presidential villa by 12:36p.m.

The retired professional footballer who played as a striker, was also a s Saenator representing Montserrado County from 14 January 2015 – 22 January 2018.

Weah became involved in politics in Liberia following his retirement from football. He formed the Congress for Democratic Change e and ran unsuccessfully for President in the 2005 election, losing to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the second round of voting.

In the 2011 election, he ran unsuccessfully as Vice President alongside Winston Tubman. Weah was subsequently elected to the Liberian Senate for Montserrado County in the 2014 elections.

George Weah was elected President of Liberia in the 2017 election, defeating the incumbent Vice President Joseph Boakai, and sworn in on 22 January 2018.

Sun

The plan to ban the importation of vehicles into the country, which is being currently canvassed by members of the House of Representatives, on paper, is a good one. It has the immediate and long-term effect of stimulating the local vehicle industry as well as the capacity to build wholly Made-in-Nigeria vehicles, which will have positive effects on the economy and overall development of the country. But, we urge caution in the implementation of this policy.

We recall that the automobile lobby has articulated claims of what it has achieved and what it can achieve if given the needed incentives and enabling environment to operate. But, our experiences so far, have not been so palatable. We recall the adventures and misadventures of some of the pioneers of the local content initiative in the automobile industry.

The exploits of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) in Kaduna, the Volkswagen Plant in Badagry, Lagos, Leyland in Ibadan, Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company (ANAMMCO) in Enugu and lately, INNOSON Motors in Lagos and Nnewi are already well known. But, the attempts to provide local content in the automobile industry have not been very successful. Apart from the high cost of locally manufactured vehicles, the quality of their products could not be vouched for.

But, that is the path some of the advanced countries, which have achieved local capacity in vehicle manufacturing, passed through. For the country to ban importation of vehicles, there must be adequate support for the local vehicle industry. Government must muster the economic and political will to assist the local vehicle industry develop. As we have cautioned earlier, it must be done in a manner that is devoid of deceit and undue politicking.

Our politicians and lawmakers must resist the temptation of being seen to be playing to the gallery with very important legislations which can potentially have very far-reaching effects. Have they, for example, contemplated the full implication of this legislation on the automobile industry? Are they ready to walk the talk? Are they ready to work with all the stakeholders to provide the enabling environment? Do they appreciate what it would take to have truly local automobile manufacturing companies, rather than the mere assembly plants we have had in the past?

The legislators should purge themselves of the penchant for foreign and ostentatious goods, if the local vehicle industry must be given a fillip. In the life of the 8th National Assembly, orders have allegedly been placed for many exotic and foreign vehicles for members. So, where is the seriousness of purpose for the new policy to work? Or is the intended law, as some cynics have argued, meant for the ordinary man on the street? That would have a dire outcome if that were to be so.

Rather, the legislators should make the proposed law to be complementary to the Executive Order 5, which President Muhammadu Buhari recently signed into law. The Executive Order is meant to promote the local capacity and more local participation in the oil and gas industry. It is also destined to boost the local economy and promote harmony and equity in the workplace with the overall goal of engendering peace, prosperity and wholesome development in the country. Although the law came out late, we still believe that working with the relevant government agencies such as the Nigeria Local Content and Monitoring Board, government is making a huge mark in the oil and gas sector.

This is the kind of impact we expect the new law by the federal legislators to have. But to have it, they must fix the problem of lack of adequate and sustainable power supply and issues in the steel sector. Though some progress has been made in both sectors of late, the financial outlay required to bring both sectors to function optimally is enormous and presently beyond the capacity of the nation. The new policy would require enormous sacrifices and disciplined planning by our political leaders for it to work. Unfortunately, we have not seen much of that yet.

Sun

There seems to be no end to the dissonance among government agencies in prosecuting the anti-corruption war. The ambivalence evinced again in two recent clear messages from the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.

In a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, he advised the Federal Government to drop the Malabu oil block scam trial for lack of evidence. He has also queried the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, for continuing with the N10 million corruption trial of the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danladi Umar, against the backdrop of two clearances the commission had given him in the past.

Malami’s logic does not sit well in public imagination. An EFCC clearance does not carry the weight of a discharge and acquittal by a court. If the agency has fresh evidence that overrides its earlier position, then it is within its competence to reopen the case.

The deal is murky; Etete allegedly initiated it in 1998 as the Minister of Petroleum under the regime of the late maximum military ruler, Sani Abacha, when he awarded the OPL 245 – oil block to Malabu Oil and Gas Limited – said to be largely his, upon the payment of just $2 million “signature bonus.” The oil well’s estimated value is $500 billion. Thereafter, protracted ownership wrangling that involved Shell, Malabu and others ensued. Government got involved in settling the rift. Shell and Eni eventually bought it in 2011 for $1.3 billion and the proceeds paid into government coffers, which it transferred $1.1 billion to Malabu.

According to Italian prosecutors, $466 million out of the money was laundered via Bureau de change, with which a highly politically exposed person in Nigeria was bribed.

The so-called amicable resolution of the Malabu tango was when Mohammed Adoke was the AGF and Diezani Alison-Madueke, the Minister of Petroleum Resources. The EFCC also wants to hold the duo liable. But they have denied any wrongdoing. Adoke claimed the sale was approved to save Nigeria humongous financial losses that could emanate from arbitration abroad.

However, the EFCC, in its 21-paragraph affidavit before a Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by John Tsoho, stressed: “That Italian Police have also conducted extensive investigation on the fraud….” Evidence abounds for the trial to go ahead, the EFCC says; but Malami disagrees. There was nothing in the proof of evidence to support the charge of money laundering or any case of fraud against the parties, he argued. According to him, the ex-public officials to be tried acted in their official capacities with the approval of three presidents.

The AGF’s dogged invalidation of the case does not fly. It is absurd that every high-profile corruption case in Nigeria dissolves like salt block in water, whereas, suspects in other countries do not escape justice. The Siemens and Halliburton bribery cases adjudicated in France, Germany and the US are sordid instances. What evidence did the UK Crown Court rely on to seize the $85 million, which Malami had earlier rhapsodised about? And why are Italian prosecutors unwavering in the trial? The Chairman Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, Itse Sagay’s curiosity about this turn of events bears repeating. “So, it is strange that in the home turf, where it originated, and where all the evidence exists, there is no evidence,” he lamented.

This case has passed through three AGFs with the same incredulous upshot. But it should not be the same with the Buhari government.  It is a red herring to argue or impute that every transaction with a presidential assent bears the seal of legitimacy. No! In fact, dozens of them, as our chequered past reveals, carry the badge of infamy  like the $2.1 billion arms scandal, for which not a few members of the political elite are being tried by the EFCC.

In advanced societies, the police routinely question sitting presidents for abuse of office or they are brought to account after they had left office. South Korea’s first female president, Park Geun-hye, for example, was forced out of office because of bribes received from corporations in return for business favours. She is now on trial, while her confidante, Choi Soon-sil, was on February 13 sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment and handed a $16.6 million fine. Similarly, ex-president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, received a nine-and-a-half year jail term for a beachfront apartment gift from a firm he helped win contracts in Petrobas – the state oil company.

It is difficult to see how these constitutional imperatives would be discharged with his demand. A public official that appropriated an oil block and it was later sold for $1.3 billion for his, and others’ enrichment, cannot escape a judicial inquest. Buhari should not condone this new twist.

Justice Edis of the Crown Court put it more poignantly: “I cannot simply assume that the Federal Government of Nigeria, which was in power in 2011 and subsequently until 2015, rigorously defended the public interest of the people of Nigeria in all aspects.” So, let the Malabu trial be.

Punch

Saudi Arabia has replaced some of its top military officers in a series of personnel changes that elevate a younger generation, bring a woman into a senior government job, and tighten Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s grip on power.

In a reshuffle announced on Monday, the military chief of staff, air defense, and land forces heads and senior defense and interior ministry officials were removed. Tamadur bint Youssef al-Ramah became deputy labour minister, a rare high-level job for a woman in the deeply conservative kingdom.

The crown prince, who is also defense minister and heir apparent, has promised reforms to wean Saudi Arabia off oil exports, create jobs, and open up Saudis’ cloistered lifestyles.

The decrees included adopting a new strategy to restructure the defense ministry for improved organization and governance, but provided few details.

The overhaul was a nod to a younger generation, analysts said, in what has become a hallmark of the crown prince’s approach to ruling youthful Saudi Arabia, where patriarchal traditions have long made power the preserve of the old.

The appointment of a woman at the labour ministry is part of efforts to modernise and promote a more moderate form of Islam.

Prince Mohammed has loosened social restrictions, scaling back the role of religious police and permitting public concerts.

The government has announced plans to allow women to drive this year, and said women no longer need the consent of a male relative to open their own businesses, a step away from the kingdom’s guardianship system.

A senior Saudi cleric said last month that women need not wear the abaya — the loose-fitting, full-length robe symbolic of religious faith; and another prominent sheikh said that celebrating Valentine’s Day did not contradict Islamic teachings, defying the religious police’s hardline position.

Greg Gause, a Gulf expert at Texas A&M University, said the injection of more junior officials could help the crown prince cultivate a bloc within the royal family that is supportive of him at younger levels.

Business Insider

President Muhammadu Buhari will today depart for Accra, Ghana to attend the country’s 61st independence anniversary celebrations taking place tomorrow at the Independence Square.

According to a statement by Mr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, the president is the only foreign leader invited to the event as special guest of honour.

According to him, the president will use the opportunity offered him by the occasion to reaffirm the long-standing warm relations between the people and government of Ghana and those of Nigeria.

He also said Buhari would maximise the opportunity to express Nigeria’s commitment towards strengthening its bilateral ties with Ghana in furtherance of democracy, good governance and overall development not only in the West African sub-region, but also on the African continent.

He listed those in the delegation to include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno adding that the president will return to Abuja after the celebrations tomorrow.

Thisday

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has directed candidates for 2018 UTME to start printing their examination notification slip from March 6.

The board’s Head of Media and Information Department, Mr Fabian Benjamin, said in Lagos on Sunday that arrangements had been concluded for the successful conduct of the exam scheduled to hold from March 9 to March 17.

“We have successfully conducted the Mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) on Monday, February 26, and based on that, we can confidently say, we are good to go.

“The mock UTME was to expose candidates to the process as well as test the level of preparedness of the various centres.

“Candidates can now go ahead and print their examination notification slips from Tuesday.

“These candidates must ensure that these slips are printed before Friday, March 9 in order to farmiliarise themselves with the examination schedules as no form of excuse for missing the examination will be entertained.

“We want to warn that the board will not reschedule any examination for anybody and so any candidate that fails to adhere strictly to the examination schedule as stated in their slips should have himself or herself to blame.”

Benjamin, however, warned candidates not to go to their respective centres with prohibited items such as telephones, wristwatches, pens, and other devices.

Over 1.6 million candidates are expected to write the examination in 602 centres across the country.

NAN